Based on the information he had "borrowed" from the terrified mind of Roland Cox using a rough telekinetic touch, Tom Jacker learned that Griffin O'Connor often operated in a remote desert region. A paranoid loner, he was called. To Tom, that sounded like an invitation.
Casually, Tom "borrowed" a sports car from a dealership (he simply used Telekinesis to lift it through the display window when no one was looking) and drove towards the desert. The journey itself was a pleasure.
He found Griffin's lair in the middle of a desolate, rocky landscape, a cave modified with stolen technology that looked like a guerrilla fighter's base. Tom didn't try to sneak in. He walked casually towards the entrance, as if he were an expected guest.
Of course, the paranoid Griffin had already sensed his presence.
Just before Tom reached the entrance, an old, junked car nearby suddenly levitated, as if thrown by an unseen hand, and shot towards Tom.
Tom just smiled. He raised one hand, and the car stopped in mid-air, inches from his face, held by his vastly superior Telekinetic power. With a small flick of his finger, the car was twisted into a giant metal ball, which he then dropped to the side with a deafening 'THUD!'.
"Not a very friendly way to greet a guest!" Tom shouted. "I didn't even get to bring a pie!"
From within the shadows of the cave, Griffin emerged. His face was tense, his eyes wary. "I don't have guests. Get out of here or I'll kill you."
"You can try," Tom replied cheerfully.
The fight began. Griffin was a very different fighter from David Rice. He used his jumping ability as his primary weapon. He would vanish, then reappear behind Tom to land a blow, then vanish again before Tom could turn. He opened "jump scars" in the air, throwing sharp rocks through them from unexpected angles.
For a normal fighter, this would be a nightmare. But Tom was no normal fighter.
"Nice trick!" Tom said, allowing a large boulder Griffin threw through a portal to smash against his back. The rock shattered, and Tom was only pushed forward slightly. "But what if your opponent can disappear too?"
Tom activated his Invisibility.
Griffin immediately froze. He could no longer see his target. He could feel Tom's presence, but he didn't know where the man was. His paranoia spiked. He began jumping randomly around the area, trying to sense or see any trace.
Tom, still invisible, just laughed to himself. He let Griffin jump around for a few moments, enjoying his confusion. Then, Tom decided to end the game of hide-and-seek.
He used his Telekinesis to lift thousands of kilograms of sand from the desert floor, creating a miniature sandstorm that swirled throughout the entire battle area.
Griffin could no longer hide. Every time he jumped into the area of the sandstorm, the shape of his body was instantly revealed by the sand that clung to or shifted around him.
"Found you," whispered the still-invisible Tom.
Tom didn't attack physically. He used his Telekinesis to control the sandstorm itself, turning it into gigantic hands that snatched Griffin in mid-air as he was jumping, or creating solid walls of sand to block his landing, causing him to crash hard.
Griffin fought desperately. He tried to jump out of the sandstorm's range, but Tom kept expanding it. He threw everything he could find through his portals, but it was all swallowed by the sandstorm or stopped by Tom's invisible telekinetic shield.
Finally, Griffin was exhausted. He realized the same thing that Number Six and Roland Cox had realized: he couldn't hurt this man. This opponent was absurd. He was an insane god toying with him.
With one final move, Tom compacted the sand around Griffin, trapping him in a sand cage as hard as rock, leaving only his head sticking out.
Griffin stared at the empty air in front of him, panting from exertion and defeat. "Wh-who are you?"
Tom reappeared, walking casually towards the trapped Jumper. "Me? I'm a collector. And you have something very rare."
He gently patted the top of the sand cage. It was a mark of his victory. He had "defeated" the strongest Jumper he knew of.
[System Panel]
- Condition 'defeat target' has been met.
- System Notification: 'Spatial Teleportation (Jumper)' ability has been copied. Slots filled: 3/6.
- Description: The ability to instantly move to any location that has been seen or can be clearly visualized. Mastery Level: Maximum.
An incredible new sensation flowed into Tom. An instant understanding of space, distance, and destination. He felt a connection to every place he had ever seen.
He looked at the trapped Griffin, then at the vast horizon. With the widest grin he had ever shown, Tom Jacker vanished in the blink of an eye, without a scar, without a sound.
He had acquired his greatest toy.
Griffin O'Connor, trapped in his sand cage, could only stare blankly at the space where his impossible attacker had disappeared. He didn't know that at that very moment, Tom Jacker was beginning the most insane world tour in history.
One second, Tom was at the summit of Mount Everest, feeling the freezing wind on his face as he looked down at the curvature of the earth. His immortality and Garde physique made him immune to the lack of oxygen and extreme temperatures. "Nice view," he muttered, before vanishing.
The next second, he appeared in the middle of a bustling night market in Marrakech, Morocco. The aroma of spices and mint tea filled the air. He used Telekinesis to "borrow" a piece of baklava from a stall without anyone noticing, chewed it with delight, then vanished again.
He appeared at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, surrounded by total darkness and a water pressure that would crush a military submarine. He just casually watched the strange bioluminescent fish swim past him, as if he were in a private aquarium. He then jumped to the crater of an active volcano in Hawaii, walking on the molten lava as if it were a warm puddle.
He jumped into the most secure bank vault in Switzerland just to look at the stacks of gold bars, then left without taking a single ounce. He appeared atop the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, sitting on its shoulder while enjoying the sunset.
The world had become his personal, limitless playground. He could go anywhere, do anything. The power of Teleportation, combined with Invisibility and Telekinesis, made him a true phantom god.
After a few hours of jumping all over the globe, the initial exhilarating rush began to subside, replaced by a familiar feeling: boredom.
"Okay, I've got teleportation," Tom thought, relaxing on the roof of an ancient temple in Kyoto, Japan. "I've got three great powers. I could just leave now, find a new, more interesting world."
He thought about sacrificing four abilities. He would definitely keep Teleportation and Telekinesis. That was a given. But leaving now felt... unfinished. Something was nagging at him.
The Paladins.
The fanatical organization that hunted Jumpers. They were still out there, still thinking they were the hunters in this game. The thought made Tom smile with amusement. They didn't realize that the rules of the game had completely changed. They didn't realize that the biggest prey, the true apex predator, was now on the opposing side.
"Leaving them just like that feels impolite," Tom muttered. "They gave me very useful information, after all. I should thank them properly."
Tom Jacker's way of saying "thank you," of course, was to destroy their organization to its very roots. Besides, the System had informed him of the bonus slot reward if he "cleared" this world of its primary threats. And the Paladins were clearly a primary threat.
A new game had formed in his mind.
Act One: Hunt a Jumper to get his power. Complete.
Act Two: Become the Jumper and turn the tables to hunt the hunters.
He stood up, looking at the full moon over Kyoto. He could feel the presence of Roland Cox and his Paladins somewhere in this world, like little, annoying dots on his now-infinite map.
"Alright, Roland," Tom said to the night air. "You think you hunt demons and abominations. You haven't seen anything yet."
With a new, burning purpose, Tom Jacker refocused. He would no longer jump aimlessly. Every jump would now have intent: to gather information, to track, and to dismantle the Paladin organization piece by piece. He would become the bogeyman of their own creation, a ghost who could be anywhere, anytime, unseen, untouched, and unbeatable.
The hunt for the hunters had begun. And his main target was their headquarters.