Chapter 12

After dinner, I logged on and saw two things. First, Josie was on and somebody calling themselves “Mister Average” was wanting to contact me. And in the message, Mister Average identified himself as a member of the Co-op. I sent a hug to Josie and apologized, as I had to take care of something else first.

“Another girlfriend, I’m sure! :D” she sent back, but I knew she was joking. I said no, other business but I would get with her soon. And as Mr. Average was online, I sent him a message saying I was there.

“Great, your message was sent to me because they know I play the game here. Care to meet up?” I said that was fine, so he sent me a teleport. And I found myself in the stands of an arena. I saw his name and sat next to him, and about a dozen people were watching some guy that looked like me, who was fighting an obviously created Paladin that could shoot his fingernails like darts.

Turns out Mr. Average was also a mutant, and like me came here to pretend to have a life that is normal. “I know who you are. Me, I have jet black skin now, with shock white hair. But ethnically, I am Chinese. So I really fit in nowhere. But you raised something I had not thought of before, and you make a good point. Do you have a problem with them doing this? Just using your likeness without licensing?”

“Well, not completely. Most seem to be respectful of us, it is a form of fantasy like kids playing with dolls. But I can see that some are probably getting rich off of it. Not that I object to that, but maybe at least a token donation to the Fallen Paladin Fund would be appropriate.”

“And in that, I agree. In fact, I have a gift for you, here.” And he handed me a box called “Sensei”. “I bought this, it’s you. Call me perverse, but I really do look like you see me here, and you may want to do the same thing sometime. If nothing else, for a laugh. But here, this is for you also.”

I then got a landmark and an invitation to a group. “The Secret Society Clubhouse”, and “The Secret Society” group. I asked him what it was, and he said it was exactly what it sounds like. “This is a group where every member in it is vetted. I am one of the founders, and prior to being allowed in me or one of the other officers has to see proof you are an actual mutant. I got your contact info through the Control mail system, so I know you are who you say you are. We are kind of a support group, sometimes we get together and just have a party, sometimes it is a bitch session. But trust me, all of us will get it and will understand you.”

I thanked him, and we talked for a bit more, as Josie and I chatted in another window. I also suggested that he arrange to put an article about that in the Paladin Press. Turns out he was already working on that and would have somebody contact me for an interview.

I laughed as the Sensei clone in the arena finally knocked out the fingertip guy, and soon went to a sandbox to see what I had. I opened the box and changed into it. Hmmm, not a bad likeness, actually. Proportions were off just a bit, and my feet were nowhere near that big. I only went barefoot because I only had two pairs of shoes that would fit me, and it took weeks to get replacements. Whoever made this must have thought I was some kind of Sasquatch.

I added some shorts and decided I would look for more appropriate “Sensei Clothes” before saving that outfit, then changed into my usual suit. Josie and I had already discussed dancing that night, and soon I was standing next to her in front of what was now our favorite ballroom.

“Gene’s” was a classic ballroom, right out of a 1940’s movie. And of course, named after Gene Kelly. Women in lovely gowns, men in tuxedos or suits. The DJ playing appropriate slow music, mostly jazz but also more modern tunes appropriate to the mood. Velvet drapes, made with dark woods and looking great.

We walked in side by side, and several greeted us as we were becoming regulars. And I let her pick the dance and bring out the balls, and soon we were dancing towards the side of the floor. It was rather nice, and I complimented her on her outfit. “That’s a really lovely Cheongsam, but I am not sure if yellow is really your color. I am just surprised it is not a kimono.”

She had already told me she was Japanese-American, and she laughed when I said that. “Oh, I know! But most kimonos in here look so silly, the cheongsam is just sexy. But I’m surprised you know what it is called and that it is actually Chinese.”

“Oh, I often go to Chinatown, as well as Japan Town in Compass City. And of course, we have Dire Wolf, we all know how she dresses if she is not going into battle.” Of course, she then started to ask me about the Paladins in my area, and if I had met any of them.

“Well, I have seen several, of course. They had that parade after Falcon was killed in his honor, Dire Wolf, Fang, Racer, The Sensei, everybody was there. It was a really sad affair.”

“Oh, I know. It’s such a strange world we live in now, with people like that walking the streets.”

“Is anything wrong with that?” I asked.

“Oh, not at all! Not in that way, but it is like a comic book come to life. Like suddenly if the Saturday morning cartoons became real, and Hong Kong Phooey and Yogi Bear were real people. It’s just almost surrealistic is all. No, I know two people who mutated, one is my cousin. Hers is actually more of a fun party trick, her fingers are all double-jointed. It’s freaky when she puts something on the back of her hand and can then grasp it like it was in her palm. But she is my cousin and I will always love her, and she said it comes in handy at other times that she only hints at.”

And then as we danced she pretty much said that it was when she was on dates with her boyfriend, and I could only imagine how she might use those powers.

It was another nice night, and she again told me to change to swimwear and took me to a beach. This one was a new one, and remarkably empty. As in nobody closer than 1,000 meters away. And this time she directed me to a blanket set in front of a fire. We got onto it, and after cuddling for a bit we were kissing.

In the week I had been getting better at responding to what she did, and tonight she was even more aggressive, talking about how she was caressing my chest, and I was now returning it to her back and sides.

But I was taken back when she said I had accidentally tugged on the string in the back as I was doing so, and her bikini top vanished! I moved the camera in, and sure enough, she was topless, but her breasts not visible as her avatar was laying on top of mine. But this was not an accident, I knew she was taking things to the next level.

And for the next hour, we continued. Our descriptions growing more intimate and explicit. When I changed the position of us so she was on her back, she even commented on how strong I felt as I rolled us over. And in looking in the menu I found one called “Tit Suck”, so put it to use. And for five minutes explaining how I was doing it as our avatars were doing the same thing.

But we both silently agreed that we would stop at second base. She made no attempt to remove my shorts, and I did not move below her waist other than caressing her bottom. But I was horny as hell by the time we logged off and took a shower so I could take care of things.

Then the next morning after breakfast, I mostly relaxed as I did not have any lessons until 3. So I logged on and decided to explore as Sensei. But then I realized that this was a unique situation, and did not want the two connected.

I found the phone number for the company that owned Virtual Worlds and was soon talking with a mid-level PR person. I told them what I wanted to do, and soon I had a conference call going with the CEO and several others. And I was amazed that they not only loved my idea but wanted to take it farther.

In short, they would set up a special name scheme, similar to one they already used for their own employees. We would all have a set first name instead of last, as either “Paladin” or “Mutant”. And each would come as premium membership, including $1,000 of in-game currency a month. But to qualify, you had to send them an email from the Control mail system. We Paladins actually had an email like” PALADIN_XXXXXXXX@Control.BMA.GOV”, and all mutants had a similar address. So it was not a problem at all to verify we were actual Paladins and mutants.

And they would get to work right away on making us an entire sim. With parts open to the public, and other parts for us alone. And as they were talking, they told me that they would be sending me my login information as soon as they had finished testing it.

And two hours later, I did indeed get an email through the Control system. So I logged on, this time as Paladin Sensei. I used my credit card to give myself another $6,000 of game currency, and after looking at several stores bought myself a $4,000 Sensei avatar.

At least I was able to find a black karate gi for only $5 in-game money. I set up my profile and was soon wandering around one of the places I had already discovered. And within minutes somebody was asking how I had made that name, as “Sensei” was not an actual name that could be picked from in the pool of last names.

“Rather easy, really. Virtual Worlds set up a reverse name sequence for some of us. If you see somebody with the first name of ‘Paladin’ or ‘Mutant’, they are going to be actual Paladins and Mutants.”

Turns out that they were a real mutant, and I told them to send in an e-mail from their Control email address. “Now it will be a new account, but more will be coming.” I soon had more than a few asking me, and they were amazed at what the game was doing for them. But I told them that the CEO was actually a fanboy, and his wife was a mutant so he thought it was a great idea.

“So like, are you the real Sensei?”

“Sure am, the one and only. It’s just that I had to buy my look in here, it did not come free like it did in real life.” Several laughed at that and said that was really cool. And of course, one of the fanboys came up and started screaming that I was not the “Real Sensei”, as he would never be in here. And after about 5 minutes of insults and abuse, I had an idea.

I picked up a piece of paper on my desk, and wrote on it “Fornicate Yourself Harold Wanamaker!”, and used the webcam to take a picture. I uploaded that into my game profile and told everybody to look.

And there was no way to deny then it was really me. And 15 minutes later I had an invitation from “Terrance Nightfire, the guy that ran the area to meet him in the arena.

Wow, he had made some changes. He had put in 2 large chairs, and I saw he was an avatar of a wolf that must be 12 feet tall. “Man, I believe you are who you say you are, VW just put out a press release not only stating what you said but saying you were the first one they were doing this for. Can you tell us all about it?”

So I did, and for over an hour it was like an interview, in front of a growing number of spectators. Thankfully I had replaced the image in my profile with one of me holding a sign saying “Hello Virtual World”, so Harry Wanamaker would not be proclaimed as a douche in front of everybody. And it turns out that quite a few were just regular mutants. Some did this to pretend like they were actual Paladins, some had obvious mutations like me and simply wanted to try and at least live some of their life like they were real people.

I saw Mister Average in the stands and asked in private if he wanted to join us. He declined but said he was already waiting on his new account. “Thanks, Sensei, but like your Clint one, I want this to remain private.”

And overall it was a pretty friendly group. A few were slightly abusive, and Terrance quickly bounced them out. Like the one that demanded to know if I “grew everywhere” when I transformed. Yea, that was the kind of thing that was not really appropriate.

And as we talked, we started to see brand new avatars popping in to join us. Almost all with “Mutant” as a first name, but a few with “Paladin”. One was even “Paladin Sarge”. We were able to get him to join us, and then laughed when he said that this was weird.

And one of the guys in the audience said he was one of those that made and sold avatars. He sent one of “us” to Sarge and me, and in a few minutes, he was largely looking like himself.

“You know, this is one of the reasons why this has all come up. Just as an FYI, the reason there are no toys or anything like that involving us is that the rights are still tied up in litigation. And soon, expect letters to be sent out to all of you that make things like this. Now I am sorry if this pisses some of you off, but I think you will find it reasonable.”

I then laid out that while our representation was still in discussion, to expect to be told to donate part of their profits or stop selling the items. “And no, the money is not going to us. You sell a $3,000 Sensei avatar, I will see none of that. But expect to be told to donate say $300 of that to the Fallen Paladin Fund. That is like $1 in real money out of $10 in real money you make, and I think most of you would agree it is for a good cause. I would see none of it, and neither would Sarge, Dire Wolf, or anybody else. But we have all lost friends, like Falcon. He left behind a wife and four-year-old daughter. The money would go to the families of people like him, who gave their lives.”

And I actually smiled when I saw everybody agree. Then “Mutant Chuck” sent me a message, saying he was Mister Average. And he joined us on the floor. Thankfully, Terrance kept materializing chairs for us all to sit in.

He told everybody he worked for Control and was one of those now in charge of PR for this from their side. “I have talked with Sensei before this actually, and he is right in everything he said. Expect it to be a ‘tax’ of 15%, but entirely going to the Fallen Paladin Fund. There is already an avatar created called ‘Mutant Control’ that is a placeholder, all fees and donations will be sent there. It will not be retroactive, and there will be a week’s grace from when the letters go out to start doing it. But all money sent to that avatar will be donated directly to the Fallen Paladin fund and nowhere else.”

By this time I had to get ready for my lesson and thanked everybody again for their time before I logged off. I then started my class, and at the end was surprised when a young woman came up and identified herself as a reporter for the local newspaper.

We sat down and I gave her an interview, turns out she also played Virtual Worlds and had caught most of the conference. “So, why exactly are you doing this, Clint?”

“Well, I started playing a few weeks back. Mostly as a way to try and have some kind of normal life. I mean, it’s not like I can go to a singles bar and meet somebody, is it? In there, I can at least pretend once again I could do all the things I could before this happened. Like go on a date, hang out in a club and not be stared at like a freak, or just explore an amusement park and take some of the rides.”

And she covered much of what had already been said in the game, and I repeated it for her microphone. She then pulled out a camera and took several photos of me in front of my computer, and actually playing the game. Then of course it went into the keyboard and mouse.

“This is actually made by a company called ‘Omega Enterprises’, which I was an early investor of. They are working on things like this, for those of us that can not use normal computer equipment. The first models were kind of crude. But as you can see, now they are little different than usual keyboards. Just larger. And smaller ones are made also. For those that were shrunk instead of grown.”

She was fascinated with that, so when the interview was done I took her to the back and left her with Link. I had a feeling this was going to be a good boost for him as well.

After dinner, I logged back on as Clint, and soon was actually rollerskating with Josie. Something else I had not thought of that I would likely never be able to do again. But we only spent about an hour doing that, and soon we agreed to go elsewhere.

She left first, and about 5 minutes later she sent my teleport. I arrived, and it was an apartment. Not only that, but Josie was in a light green negligee. One that was so light and sheer, I could see her nipples and pubic triangle through it.

And for the first time, we made love. I removed my clothes when she had told me she was doing it, and then we both laughed. After all, I was the equivalent of a Ken doll and had no genitals. Josie then said to hold on, and sent me a box that said “Penis”. I put it on like clothing, and indeed now I had a penis. Which we both proceeded to use for the next hour and a half.

And I do not know about Josie, but I was masturbating during a great deal of that. And while I came long before I told her I was, it was actually very satisfying. It felt less lonely than when I masturbated most times. More like the times with Francesca.

I had a few more interviews after that, mostly from game and computer magazines. And every few days we would have one at Terrance’s area. And the new “Mutant Control” area was up and running. And it was very nice! A large area where we would congregate and meet with others, as well as another area that was for us only. We could not even invite guests into there, mutants and Paladins only.

And a home! I got a message from “Mutant Control”, giving me a landmark. I opened it, and over 20,000 meters in the air was a house. And I zoomed out, it was inside of a large sphere that was black on the outside. But a panel by the door let me change the inside to various settings, from sunrise and sunset to day and night. The house was not unlike the one my dad lived in, plain but functional. And a notecard explaining how to set up the security if I wanted to keep others out of it.

But that evening I saw Josie log in, and she immediately said we needed to talk. Well, I knew it was too good to last. “Clint, I saw something on the news earlier. You already told me you live in Compass City, and I was watching an interview of somebody there on the TV. Are you The Sensei? Because in it, the first thing he did was insist that he be called ‘Clint’. Tell me that is all a coincidence.”

Fuck! Well, I was not about to lie and asked to meet somewhere private. We went to one of our favorite parks and told her the truth. “Josie, I was never trying to lie, you should know that if you saw the interview. This is just my way of trying to have a somewhat normal life. I will of course leave you alone after this, but I ask that you keep this private. I do not want others to know that Clint Eastfire is Sensei.”

“Oh, you silly man! You are taking this all wrong, I am not mad! In fact, I perfectly understand. I will just say that I am like most in here, and have some secrets of my own. Yes, I am female, and yes I am not single but divorced. In fact, I only have one grandmother that is Japanese, I play that up in here actually.”

Well, I told her to hold on a minute and changed accounts. I logged back on as Sensei, and after searching her name we listed each other as friends and I brought her to my house. “Now VW has assured me these are completely private, and nobody can even look inside. But this is my house here, so at least we have a place we can go to talk like this without others around.” She looked around and said it was bland but nice.

Then I was amazed to find out she was a builder in the game. She helped me check my build limits in the game, and said she would try to build me a nicer place within those limits. “In fact, ask them if they can replace the house with just a platform and you should have a larger build limit.”

We spent two hours in there, most of the end in my default shape as she gave me another penis and we made love again. She also said she would give me some more furniture, as the most we could do with these visually was cuddle. But we had our imaginations and our words, so we had no problems in that area. But more positions would be nice on occasion.

I was dancing with Josie as Clint in one of the ballrooms we often went to a few nights later when my phone went off. I answered it and it was Control, telling me a pyro was loose downtown. I quickly apologized to Josie and logged off, and after getting dressed I got on the trike and raced downtown.

And it was like a warzone. I could see the flames rising, and I was on the radio with Control. Racer was out of town, Bohica was on the way but would be at least thirty minutes before he arrived. They were trying to contact Dire Wolf, but she was not answering. Others were responding but would take time. Carol was already on the scene, but as CCPD and not herself.

I moved in, trying to keep him distracted. And it worked, for about 5 minutes. It was cat and mouse, as he would shoot a blast of flame and I danced away. Mostly trying to keep him in place so the area of destruction would not spread. Then of all things, I tripped.