[happiest_in_shadows]

This story contains adult content though no out right sex…yeah I know don’t worry it is coming in later chapters. Anyway if you dislike general fondling and bath scenes go read something else. Also I make no claim to any DC characters used in this story they are trade marks of the company and their creatures after all. If you want to give some feed back which is welcome you may get in contact with me at happiest_in_shadows@yahoo.com

Kate smiled as she listened to Jack on the phone despite the fact that she across the room from him she could hear every word that was being said going both ways. Actually she could probably have heard the conversation even if she had been out of the room her senses had come so strong recently. It had been a full year since she and Jack had first left the city in order to begin her testing and they where now quite sure she was going to at least maintain her human appearance. Which meant it was time for Kate to get back to the city and resume working for a living though from what she got from the conversation it wouldn’t be quite the same. They had all realized that Kate’s old apartment wouldn’t be able to accommodate her with the changes that had been going on so plans had to be made. She had left that up to the two men she trusted most in the world.

Jack scribbled down on a peace of paper the address of where Kate’s new apartment was going to be. Nathan had already began having the complex altered in order to allow Kate to continue her strength training and exercise routine. Her old apartment complex would not have been able to support the heavy machinery she required to get a good work out. There had also been some other alterations made that where most meant for Kate’s comfort rather then for practical reasons. These had been kept a secret from Kate quite a difficult task considering the fact that Kate could hear any conversation going on in the house it seemed. At last Jack hung up the phone and turned his attention to Kate.

Even though Kate had been able to hear the conversation she decided to play along also despite her being able to hear the entire conversation some things seemed to have been spoken in code as well as technical terms. “ So how much longer do we need to stay here?” Jack stood up and walked over to Kate rapping his arms around her he gave her as tight of a hug as he could knowing full well that his version of a bear hug wouldn’t have really bothered Kate when she was normal now it had no chance of hurting her.

“ We just need to clean out the fridge of any perishable items and then we can be on our way if you want to me.” Kate widely and gave Jack a hug of her own easily lifting him from the ground. Jack had came a long way since he had spent a year with Kate true he wasn’t a body builder but he had toned his body up nicely and even managed to get his abs showing lightly. While he was still pale as a ghost thanks to his natural hate of all things involving the out doors he had done what Kate asked of him and got himself into better shape. Kate for her part was in better shape then she had been in her entire life as well. Though the difference between Jack’s improvements and her own could be compared to the grand canyon and a stream.

“ Well then if that is the case I think I will prepare us a big dinner for tonight then we can get on our way. Now are you sure we don’t need to do anything about the exercise equipment?” Jack sighed and nodded his head.

“ I hate to admit it but me and your father hadn’t done very good jobs of thinking ahead as far as that goes. We can’t very well get the machines out of the basements since they are too heavy and they were not built to be taken apart once assembled. So the only way we could possibly get them out is to take out of one the basement walls since there is no way we could have them carried up stairs.”

“ All well thanks to your little over site it means I get new equipment at my new apartment in the city. Hehe it seems everything about my life is new I have a enhanced body which is constantly getting stronger, a new home and equipment and well we have been together for a year so I guess I can’t exactly count you as my new boyfriend. Hmm ahh what the hey this is going to be our first trip back to the city so I suppose I can count you as new to.”

“ Hey does that mean you are going to replace me?” Kate giggled for a moment and set Jack down.

“ Of course not I just like teasing you.” Jack grinned and follow Kate into the kitchen planning on helping her prepare dinner. The moment he got into the kitchen though Kate took hold of his waste band and began to carry him out. Setting Jack down on the living room sofa she gave him a slight kiss on the cheek.

“ I said I was the one going to prepare dinner since I am going to be the one eating most of it. You can just stay in here and watch sports.” Jack immediately gave Kate a “are you kidding look” Kate knowing full well that Jack detested sports with ever fiber of his being. Kate let out a slight giggle. “ Fine you can watch something else.”

“ Thanks, though if you where playing I would mind watching. I think it would be kind of fun to watch you push through a entire foot ball team or nock the ball out of the stadium every time you swung a bat.” Kate grinned and gave Jack a kiss on the cheek.

“ Well as fun as that sounds it wouldn’t exactly be fair after all I am a little more then human right now.” Jack grinned and gave his head a slight nod as he recalled the last readings he had seen on Kate’s strength. She could support 2.6 tons with a single arm while she could bench press 12.8 tons. The humvee’s outside could no longer give her a decent work out as far as her bench press goes. Heck she could have easily carried one on her back if it didn’t cause her to drive her feet into the ground with every step.

“ Hey Kate I have been meaning to ask just what do you plan to do when we get back to the city.”

“ I am going to rejoin the police force of course. I want to put my strength to good use and I think protecting people is the best possible use I can put it to.” Jack gave his head a slight nod he had expected Kate to want to help people with her strength. Still the fact that she planned on rejoining the police department surprised him a bit. Standing up he made his way to the kitchen door to watch Kate though he didn’t enter figuring that she would just pack him out again.

“ Are you going to tell them about your abilities?” Kate grinned as she looked over her shoulder.

“ Nope I have no intention of telling anyone about anything I can do. I think I am going to let them find out on their own. Besides it would be awfully silly of me to go around boasting of what I am capable of. I kind of want to keep the element of surprise and avoid drawing attention to myself as long as possible.” Jack grinned as he watched Kate lay out the chicken and stake they had yet to eat as well as a good deal of vegetables. In truth he was curious if Kate could think of anything that would involve all the items or if she would make several dishes instead. Kate gave a visible start as if she had forgotten something. Jack rubbed his head against the door frame as he saw what it was.

Kate having forgotten to wash her hand simply turned the sink to pure hot water. Kate held her hand in the water until she noticed the steam and realized it had reached its max temperature. Soaping up her hands Jack could help but stair as he watched Kate clean her hands. The scalding hot waters causing no discomfort as it rushed over her fingers. Kate grinned as she turned around to look at Jack and held up her hands. Her skin was the same tone as always the heat having not even been able to turn her fingers red. It wasn’t overly surprising though considering her over all strength still it was amazing to see. Flipping off the sink Kate turned her attention back to cooking. “ I figure we can have some baked chicken and grilled stake. Oh and a nice little salad.”

“ Hm I think I will be able to help with the chicken and the salad but stake is purely up to you.”

“ Do you mean that you are going to leave all this for little old me to eat?” Jack gave his head a slight nod.

“ You are the one that is cooking it after all. I suppose I should get to work on a few last details as well.” Noticing Kate’s questioning look Jack didn’t give her time to answer. “ Your dad had a new computer station set up for me at your apartment so I am just going to go down stairs and delete anything that we don’t want other people knowing from my computer. I also need to get rid of some of the dna samples that haven’t died off already.” Kate grinned actually feeling a bit of pride at the news of her cells still being alive. The fact that they could last so long even when removed from her was pretty neat as far as she was concerned. It took Jack a moment to tear himself away from the door frame and head on down into the basement. Having no desire to leave Kate alone.

As he trotted down stairs Jack took a moment to look at the exercise equipment that had been costume built for her. Trying to think of a word that defined the machines the only thing that came to his mind was big. The press had actually been built to deliver up to 20 tons of pressure in hopes that it would last Kate a good long while. Which it had done the machine had actually lasted Kate for a few months and would have lasted her for one or two more months as well before Kate had exceeded its maxim weight. He still couldn’t help but find it humorous though after all most people don’t end up getting rid of their weight sets because they can’t offer enough resistance.

Walking over to the bench press he looked down at the wholes in the floor. The concrete having given way under Kate’s feet when she had attempted to lift the entire machine. It had been decided that there was no way the stairs would be able to support her if she had attempt to carry the machine upstairs. Even if they had been able to she would have fall strait through the floor the moment she had made it all the way up the steps not to mention would have been forced to nock out a good chunk of the wall. Getting his mind back to the task at hand Jack took a moment to check through his desk and removed a few cd’s. The disk containing the information he had gathered on Kate as well as several hours of video from the microscope. Carefully packing the cd’s away in a storage case he finally placed the reformat disk into the computer.

Leaving the machine to take care of itself Jack began to rummage around with a few vials of Kate’s blood. Getting out a pack of deer blood he began to empty the vial of Kate’s blood into the large amount of the deers. Having learned that Kate’s blood cells once removed from her will basically destroy themselves when placed with another type of dna that is in a larger amount. Thus making the easiest way to destroy Kate’s cells is to mix them with another type of blood making sure the other type is in the larger amount. As Jack came to the last vial he considered storing it away and studying it some more but finally emptied it into the container as well. Finally dumping the contents down a drain he doubted there would be much to worry about since even if a few cells didn’t destroy themselves they still could only survive so long once removed from Kate.

Kate by now had moved herself outside and was working with the BBQ flipping the stakes and occasionally giving them a light poke in order to see how they where coming. She didn’t bother making use of any utensils though. While the heat of the flames could indeed cook the meat it had no effect on her own fingers. Actually Kate felt that the heat and the flames licking at her fingers felt kind of nice. This got a giggle from her as she wondered how many people had burned themselves while trying to grill and here she was using her fingers.

The smell of the roasting chicken finally made its way down stairs to Jack who was finishing up with the last task. Reprogramming the computers on each one of Kate’s work out machines in order to make sure they could not put out more pressure then it was humanly possible to withstand. It was likely that the machines would see any use any time soon especially by someone that didn’t know what they are capable of but it is better to be safe then sorry. Jack had actually been extremely nervous when the old weights had been moved out of the basement and he had been worked to work with the same machines as Kate. Each time he would start to work out with them he would actually check three times to make sure that he had lowered the setting to within his human limits.

Finishing up his final task Jack finally made his way out of the basement and flipped off the lights. Considering that he and Kate planned on taking off tomorrow morning he imagined that it would be the last time that he saw the place for a while. At least with all the equipment there they could always hide away once again if something began to happen to Kate. A grin formed on Jack’s face as he considered that despite all her new abilities they where still worrying about her more then anyone else.

Taking a moment to look around he realized what Kate would be most likely doing at the moment. Making his way on the patio at the back of the house he leaned against the door frame as he watched Kate. It was actually amusing to watch her place her fingers in the flames or to ster the coals without showing the least bit of pain. “ I swear I wish I had skin as tough as yours. I have burned myself so many times while cooking.” Kate giggled and looked up at Jack.

“ You might end up eating stake with me and letting me finish of the chicken as well. I think it will be a while before that bird is done. Don’t worry I won’t eat it all though I will be sure to package some of it for our trip back to the city.”

“ Ah you just want to keep that entire chicken to yourself you glutton.” Kate instantly stuck her tongue out and Jack.

“ Fine then you can wait for the chicken to get done baking and in the mean time watch me eat these nice thick stakes.” Walking on over to Kate Jack peaked over to see how Kate was doing.

“ You wouldn’t make me go hungry now would you?” Kate gave Jack a evil grin for a moment before moving her free hand behind his head. Pulling him forward Kate pressed her lips to his giving him a rather deep kiss. Jack held his mouth shut for as long as he could as he felt Kate’s poking around trying to gain access to his mouth. He couldn’t help but feel amazed though as Kate easily worked his mouth open with her tongue along. It was a fun game for both of them as Jack tried to keep Kate’s tongue from entering his mouth even biting down on hers once it was inside of his mouth. She would easily move his tongue about with her own and despite his efforts to bite down upon her tongue he couldn’t hurt her in the least. At last Kate let out a large smile on her face.

“ Of course not though you will end up waiting for a while if you hold out for the chicken and don’t eat some of this with me.” It took Jack a moment to respond as he couldn’t recover his breath as quickly as Kate could.

“ Alright well then I am going to go ahead and set the tables.”

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Jack gave a slight jump as he heard the loud crunch of a bone. Looking over at Kate he noted the chicken bone in her hand was missing a certain portion of it. Unsure of how to handle the situation he had just saw Kate eat to large stakes and half of his a short while ago then they have moved on to the chicken once it was finished. He had been impressed by how much Kate could compact inside of her body however her digestive system had strengthened with the rest of her and she was more then able to handle it. However this was the first time that she had actually snapped a bone in two just by biting down on it. “ Kate did you just do what I think you did?”

Kate rather then respond right away proceeded to chew on the bone a few times as if getting a idea of how it tasted finally swallowing it. “ I can’t say that I actually enjoyed the taste but I was curious. Actually that took surprisingly little of my jaw’s actually biting force.” Jack didn’t say anything but rather got a rather silly grin on his face.

“ I swear at the rate you are going it won’t be long before you can bite through solid steel.”

“ Oh now that would be so cool though I don’t imagine it would taste very good. Still I suppose this is one of those things that I shouldn’t do in public if I don’t want to draw attention to myself.”

“ I don’t know with the way you have been eating I wonder if we should just start entering you in competitive food eating contest I would be willing to bet you would win.” Tapping his finger against the table for a moment Jack gave Kate a rather serious look. “ Hey Kate are you sure you want to go back to the city now? I mean I know you are plenty capable but do you really think that you are powerful enough? I would hate to think that you got injured or killed up on your return because we rushed things. Your strength is growing so fast that if we just spent a few more weeks here you would be more then double what you are now.” Kate moved her fingers along the rim of her glass for a moment before speaking.

“ That is true but then we could just say that in another few weeks I would be even more powerful then that. We have discussed this after all and we both know that if we start saying I should wait because I will be more powerful next week then I am now then I might never be willing to go back. No we set this to be the date for my return to work and that is what it is going to be. Besides it isn’t like I am going to stop working out just because we return to the city.” A long sigh came from Jack as he nodded his head. “ Hm though I wonder if you are just wanting to keep me up here all to yourself?” A big grin formed on Jack’s face.

“ Well I would be laying if I said that wasn’t one of the reasons. When we get back to the city I am going to have to compete with other men for your attention after all.”

“ Ah you don’t have to worry about that after all you are going to be my room mate we are going to get to spend plenty of time together and get to know each other even better then we already do. Besides don’t you think I have my own concerns as well. I mean you might decide you want a normal girl instead of a genetically unstable person such as myself.”

“ Now that is not going to happen right now I think I am one of the luckiest men on the planet.” Standing up from the table Kate made her way over to Jack but instead of bending down to give him a kiss she lifted him and his chair into the air before planting a kiss on his cheek.

“ That is sweet of you to say but I think we need to see how well we get along with other people around before we make any solid decisions. After all I don’t know how you are going to react to my work schedule.” Jack nodded his head in agreement as much as he didn’t like to admit it conflicting work schedules and other interest that they didn’t have to deal with while away from everyone could very well prove to be fatal for any relationship they might form other then friend ship.

“ Ah well I guess I might as well get ready to turn in for the night. Since I don’t think you will be finished eating any time soon.” Kate couldn’t help but grin as she continued to make a pig of herself.

“ Well we can’t very well let it go to waste can we? Besides it isn’t like I am going to be putting on any weight any time soon considering how much my body is changing.” Jack nodded his head in agreement as he put his plate in the dish washer he walked over to Kate. Giving her a good night kiss on the cheek. Before he could walk away though Kate pulled him back taking a moment to return the favor before she allowed him to head on into his room. As Kate set alone she looked around the place that had been there home for the past year. It had been a rather lengthy vacation for her and she wondered what had happened while she was away. Had another over powered maniac broken lose and destroyed some of her old friends or had they been lucky enough too only have to deal with the regular lunatics that made use of fire arms.

Taking a moment to snap one of the chicken bones between her fingers Kate grinned. Though she knew she wasn’t a match for some of the more powerful villains she at least felt confident she would be able to handle some of the light weights. Finishing up her meal Kate cook her time and actually did the dishes by hand knowing that she would be awake at least two hours before Jack even if she went to bed a hour later then him. Over the past year her body’s efficiency having increased to the point that she only required 5 hours sleep in order to be completely rested.

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A wide grin was on Kate’s face as she poked her head into Jack’s room the following morning. Having woken up a full 2 hours and 23 minutes before him she had already found the time to shower, make breakfast, and brush her teeth. Normally she would have taken this time to also job today was different though as they would be heading back to the city and in truth Kate was eager to get back to her job. Being careful not to make a sound Kate moved over to Jack’s bead and gently removed the covers from around him. As she did this she regretted that Jack always slept in a pair of shorts as well as a t-shirt meaning there was no way for her to remove his clothes without waking him or at least risking it. As she lifted Jack into her arms though waking him was exactly what she planned as she made her way into the bathroom.

Taking her time to adjust the water to a pleasant temperature she had to make sure it was the right temperature for Jack and not for herself. If she had thrown Jack into a bathtub full of water that she considered comfortable then she would have probably burned his flesh off. Content that the water was safe for a normal human Kate quickly thrust Jack into the shower setting him down at the bottom of the bath.

Jack nearly jumped clean out of the bathtub as the water rushed over him soaking his clothes as well as him. Setting up sputtering he looked around for a moment only to hear some giggling coming from outside the curtain. “ Time to get up sleepy head and no stalling your breakfast is getting cold and I want too on our way back to the city. After all it is going to take a while considering that we can only go 70 mile per hours on the interstate.” Letting out a long sigh Jack realized what had happened and began to strip away his clothing. Tossing them over the shower’s top he attempted to aim for the outline that he assumed was Kate. When that out line moved out of the way at a alarming rate he knew it was her.

“ No fair you got to soak me.” Kate just chuckled and walking out of the room her first instinct being to toss Brian’s clothes in the dirty laundry basket when she recalled the days plan. Digging into Jack’s suit case she tossed a few dry items of clothing on the bed and then put his wet clothes in a little pouch. Selling up the suit case and calling over her shoulder.

“ Bring the trash out when ever you eat your breakfast. I put it on paper plates and already washed the pots and pans myself so you won’t have to do anything. I am going to give the place another look over before we leave to make sure that we aren’t forgetting anything.”

“ Yes Mam.” Heading on out of the bathroom and back outside Kate looked around for a moment. Her parents having come and taken the spare humvee a few days earlier Kate actually regretted her decision to leave the place so soon. What Jack had said at the dinner table had been true the thought that if she would only take a while longer to build up her strength she wouldn’t have to worry nearly as much. In that time though more things could go wrong and she wanted to put her new found strength to good use. Strength and speed a grin formed on her face as she considered the fact that she could now run over 200mph true she wasn’t braking any land speed records but that allowed her to move more swiftly then most ground vehicles.

She had joked with Jack about running back to the city instead of riding since she could make in 1/3rd the time it was going to take him. After all unlike the other vehicles Kate didn’t really have to worry about getting pulled other. Since even though she would have been moving remarkably fast she would have still been a pedestrian. That wouldn’t have been the best way to keep a low profile though and she wanted to keep attention away from herself for as long as possible in order to do the most good. Walking over to the humvee Kate bent down and began to look over the bottom of the vehicle a wide grin forming on her face as she noted the spots where her hands had been. Having used the vehicle as a weight before the machines had arrived she had accidently placed her hands on a few of the weaker areas and thus the imprints of her fingers could be seen there.

Fortunately she had noticed what was going on and had put the vehicle down before she could damage anything important. The sound of the front door opening got Kate’s attention and she turned to see Jack exiting the house wearing the clothing she had selected for him. “ Well are we all packed up?”

“ Yup did you set the alarm?” Jack seemed to do a double take before dashing back to the door. Using the key Kate had given him to unlock the door Kate chuckled a bit as she heard the beep to signify the alarm was now set.

“ Sure thing.” Kate just grinned and stuck her tongue out at Jack.

“ Yeah after I reminded you.” Kate grinned as she climbed into the driver’s side of the vehicle. Taking a moment to buckle up Jack climbed in a second later and followed suit. Having been with Kate for a little over a year now Jack no longer required her reminding him to buckle up but rather did it out of a force of habit now. “ Okay here we go lets see if I can keep this under control.” A wide grin broke across Jack’s face as Kate prepared to confront one of the problems her powers had been given her as of late. Kate had developed the habit of speeding while driving thanks to the rate at which she could run. The standard speed of the interstate seemed mind numbingly slow and the back roads where even worse. That wasn’t overly surprising to Jack at least consider the fact that Kate could sprint at 252 mile per hour and considered a nice jogging speed to be 200 mile per hour.

Kate for her part was more then a little nervous as with her increased reaction time and hyper active senses everything seemed to move far slower then normal. This resulted in her wanting to drive far faster then what was legal. It was made even more complicated by the fact that Kate had far more control of her own body then she did the vehicle. She actually wished she could just pick up the humvee and run with it rather then have to ride in it. This wouldn’t have been a good idea though as her feet would have probably sunk rather deeply even into the pavement and leaving even a few inch foot prints going all the way up the interstate was not a good thing not to mention the attention she would get just by the simple act. “ Don’t worry Kate I will help keep a eye on your speed and let you know if I think you are going to fast.” Kate gave a slight nod and started the engine and their trip was on. The only stop the two of them making before leaving the town being in a local land fill to drop of their trash.

“ Kate you are going to fast. Kate you are going 95 on a 70 you need to slow down.” Jack leaned back in his seat Kate having began speeding up roughly 30 minutes after she had got on the interstate she had slowly worked her way up to her current speed. Kate giving their speed reading a quick glance grinned sheepishly and began to slow down the vehicle once again pulling into the slow lain. Jack knew this would annoy the people behind her immensely as even those in the slow lain wanted to at least go 75 and Kate’s habit of speeding up and slowing down was no doubt getting on their nerves. Still she needed to get this down other wise she would be in trouble when she tried to get her old job back and couldn’t keep her patrol car within the legal limits.

“ Sorry.”

“ No problem not that it bothers me I want to see what your father has set up for us. I do think it is annoying the people that are behind us though.” Kate nodded her head in agreement as people began to pass her now almost as quickly as she had been passing them only a short while ago. “ Tell you what I will let you know when you start getting up to 75 and we will see if you can keep it down.” As Kate gave a slight nod Jack gave the radio a look. Getting a idea he began to play through the radio stations trying to locate something with a soothing melody in hopes of getting Kate to relax a bit. Finding a nice soft station he leaned back in his seat and proceeded to keep his eyes on their speed trusting in Kate’s ability to keep her eyes on the road. Every time Kate would begin to exceed 75 mph Jack would in form her helping to keep her within the legal limit.

Two hours of this and Kate finally seemed to be getting the hang of keeping within the steep limit once again. Though she had hardly every broken the speed limit before hand it wasn’t overly surprising that with her new abilities some things would change including her driving habits. If she had been capable of staying below 80mph Jack might have not even mentioned it to her. “ Hey cuddly why don’t you lean back and rest for a while? I think I got it down now.” Jack nodding his head in agreement wasted no time in reclining in his seat. Finding that long rides in the passenger seat had the tendency of putting him to sleep a grin formed on his face as he began to consider something.

“ You know with your pound for pound strength having increased so much I bet your feet don’t hurt you anymore when you walk around. I also bet that setting down for such a long time wouldn’t make your but sore either no matter how bumpy the road was.” Kate chuckled at this and nodded her head in agreement. As she noticed Jack relaxing her reached a hand down and began to play with the music. She hadn’t mentioned it to Jack but she found a decent amount of the songs he had her listening to too, be depressing. Thus it didn’t take her long to find something with a more up beat tune though not wrap or rock. Being a former cop herself Kate had developed a dislike for anything that suggested violence against the police and thanks to her parents already had a deep hate for anything that suggested the use of narcotics. Kate was careful to watch her speed not wanting to get pulled over on her way home to get her old job back. She had left under good conditions though the reason for leaving had been personal she still felt confident that she could get her old job back.

The only thing that had her worried was if they wanted to do some blood work on her. Though she doubted her physical would get that far it was still a fear. As Kate drove along something caught her attention a vehicle pulled over to the side of the road with a woman standing outside the vehicle. Pulling over herself Kate was careful not to wake Jack who by now had nodded off. Hopping out of the humvee the woman gave Kate a some what nervous look until she noticed that it was a female hopping out such as herself and didn’t seem be armed. Walking on over to the lady Kate grinned. “ Hi what seems to be the prob oh.” Kate noticed that the woman had a flat tired. “ Do you have a spare?”

“ Yes but my husband forgot the jack he went on up the road to try and get to a gas station or a telephone.” Kate gave her head a slight nod.

“ To bad he wasted the trip here I will give you a hand would you mind popping the trunk?” The woman seem delighted Kate figuring she had been stuck waiting for a little while. Walking over to the trunk and taking out the spare the woman seemed to give Kate a strange look though when Kate made no move to return to her vehicle to get a jack.

“ Umm aren’t you going to get a “

” Nope don’t need it.” The woman gave Kate a concerned look especially when Kate placed one hand under the vehicle. A moment later the woman’s concern seemed to turn to shock as Kate easily lifted the vehicle off the ground just enough to remove pressure from the tire. Using her free hand Kate proceeded to remove the hub cap setting it aside the woman’s shocked only seemed to grow as Kate took hold of the lug nuts and proceeded to unscrew them. Kate was grinning the entire time as she couldn’t resist a chance to show off her strength and it wasn’t like anyone would notice. She was shielded from most people’s view by the car and those that did notice her would simply assume she was using the proper tools not her bear hands. Slipping the tire off Kate picked up the spare and slipped the tire on. A few moments later she took hold of the lug nuts she had removed seconds earlier and began to tighten them. Kate began to be careful at this point though she wasn’t sure she could she didn’t want to risk braking off one of the nuts.

In short order Kate had the tire back. “ There you go and don’t worry those are on plenty tight.” The woman didn’t say much of anything as Kate let the vehicle back down and stood back up. Dusting herself off as she walked back to the humvee she wondered what the woman would end up telling her husband. That some red head had showed up and replaced the tire with her hands instead of tools? The thought got a giggle from Kate as she climbed back into the drivers side. She jumped a little when she felt a hand settle down on her shoulder and looked over to see Jack waving a finger at her.

“ And I thought we wanted to keep a low profile.” Jack just continued to grin as Kate stuck her tongue out at him and started back up the vehicle.

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Jack had forgotten about the quality of air in a city vs the quality of the country and as he drove through the city streets he was sure he preferred the country. He and Kate had switched out two hours ago when she had finally began to feel tired. It had actually shocked Jack how long she had managed to keep driving though it was little wonder when he stopped to consider how well her body was working. Now he wished he had been the first to drive as he navigated the city streets occasionally glancing at the peace of paper that had the address of Kate’s apartment on it. At last though he was able to locate the building Kate’s new room was housed in looking at it for a moment he quickly decided that it wasn’t of the same quality as her previous apartment building. Though it was still a nice one Jack could pretty much guess why the quality had changed even if it was only a slight difference. It probably was a rather unusual request to have floors as solid as Kate was going to need them.

“ Are we there?” Kate’s sleepy voice broke him from his concentration looking over at her he grinned.

“ You sure are a sound sleeper aren’t you?” Kate grinned and gave her head a slight nod looking up at the building for a moment she then leaned her head on Jack’s shoulder.

“ So which one is our room?” Jack just grinned and took the vehicle around the back before parking. Taking a moment to look around he finally pointed towards a door that would have normally went over looked had one not known to be looking for it. Kate didn’t say anything as she climbed out of the vehicle and began to get some of the bags. Jack taking a few tried to read the expression on her face to see if she was disappointed in her new living conditions or not. All he could get though was that she seemed rather glad to be out of the vehicle and able to stretch her legs a bit. Jack for his part had actually been expecting better as he carried a few things over to the door.

This only lasted until he put the key in unlocked the door and stepped inside. The room that Jack stepped into actually exceeded Kate’s old apartment in size much to his surprise. Kate stepping up behind him gave the place a once over. “ I guess daddy figured we could use some extra space if we are going to be living together.” Jack nodded and then remembering himself finished walking through the door allowing Kate to enter. Kate lightly chuckled at Jack’s reaction looking around the area she quickly located her room and put her suit cases in there. It took Jack a while longer to find his but after words he placed his items down. A hand rested on his chest though before he could get back out the door to get the rest of his things. “ You go ahead and get to unpacking I am going to get the rest.”

Nodding in agreement he didn’t exactly see a reason to argue with Kate since she could easily carry far more weight then he could. Really the only reason she hadn’t got everything at once is her arms weren’t big enough. Jack started unpacking his things while Kate made two more trips the sound of the door shutting told him that Kate had finished getting the last of their things. “ Umm Jack would you mind if I went ahead and exercised some. I don’t want to put unpacking off on you but I could really use a stretch.”

“ Hm only if I can watch you work out when I am done.” Kate giggled for a moment.

“ Alright it is a deal.” Proceeding back into her room Kate took a few moments to locate her exercise clothing. Slimming on the red and black outfit Kate stopped by Jack’s room before she went to locate the weight room. Striking a pose she whistled to get his attention. Looking up he gave her the thumbs up which got another soft chuckle from Kate who trotted off to the exercise room.

Kate’s first instinct was to jump in and try out all the machines she saw but she managed to control herself. Looking around at the devices most of the machines resembled what one would find in most gyms except for the fact that they where all much larger, clearly sturdier and didn’t have any weights. The devices actually went off hydraulics that one could program to put out a certain amount of weight or within a certain range if the machines where like the ones they had left behind. Debating on what she should do first Kate grinned as she recalled how much Jack loved watching her lift weights and how much she enjoyed showing off for him. There was also her little promise to show off for him as much as possible and she did need to warm up. So instead of going strait to her weights’ Kate made her way over to the treadmill. Looking at the machine for a moment, Kate let out a slight whistle.

The frame was a bright silver and the device was clearly meant to go much faster then what the standard treadmill would have. Just like everything else in the area it had been custom built so that it could provide Kate with a decent work out. Climbing onto the machine Kate first typed in 10mph in order to see if it could keep itself down to human levels. Confirming this Kate quickly brought the speed up to 150mph in order to get her heart pumping a bit before she brought the machine up to a more suitable work out pace. As Kate ran along though she found herself having a problem. While she was in the mountains she could just jog and get to see the forest around her. Now as she was inside the only thing she found herself looking at was the same wall. With a slight nod of her head she resolved that she would have to get a television put in the room before she went crazy.

Of course a part of her wanted to just go for a run around the city however considering the speed she would be going she doubted she would be unnoticed. Jack could hear Kate running on the treadmill as he finished putting away the last article of clothing. He had even taken the time to put away Kate’s clothing though that had actually been more fun then putting away his own. Finishing up the entire process had only taken him twenty minutes since they didn’t exactly have any furniture to bring it. He would use the cd’s he had brought with them to reinstall all the needed programs on his new computer. At that moment though he found himself eager to see just how Kate was doing. As he made his way into the exercise room and saw Kate though he was amazed by the rate at which her legs where moving.

He could hardly see them as Kate had finally gotten the machine up to her regular 200mph jogging pace. Walking over to her he found the site kind of amusing as Kate’s arms and legs where both a blur while the rest of her remained entirely still. Kate for her part had noticed the look on Jack’s face as he had approached her. It was funny the effect that jogging in place was having on her as her senses seemed to kick into full gear and yet everything around her remained still. Jack’s movements seemed painfully slow though her full appreciation of this came when he actually spoke to her. “ Hey Kate I was just wondering. What do your legs look like to you?” Kate got a curious look on her face then realized it must be remarkably difficult for Jack to follow the movement of her legs and arms.

Taking a moment to look down at herself it was kind of amusing since to her they seemed to be moving at the same pace as they always had when she was jogging. Her reaction time and thought process having increased in rate so greatly. “ They look normal to me.” Jack blinked for a moment he had heard Kate speak at least he had thought she was speaking but he couldn’t be sure.

“ Umm Kate would you mind saying that again and slowing it down perhaps?” Kate got a huge grin on her face as she realized what had happened. She had been speaking at a accelerated rate and the words had been so close together that Jack hadn’t been able to tell them apart. Curiously she wondered if she could slow down one part of her body while the other was having to remain moving at super human speed. Jack watched as Kate seemed to take in a deeper breath then normal even more deeply then what her jogging would normally require. As she spoke he was finally able to understand her.

“ My legs look perfectly normal to me but you seem to be talking and moving at an incredibly slow pace.” Jack just grinned at the news though he was actually quite excited by it.

“ Hey Kate once you are done jogging would you mind getting off and trying to keep taking in information at the same pace?” Kate gave a slight nod then turned her attention back to her exercise. Jack clapping his hands together and debating on what to do finally got a little way away from Kate though he made sure he could still see her and began his warm up exercises. Kate found herself constantly glancing at Jack as she watched him go through his warm up exercises. Even his jumping jacks seemed to be in slow motion to her. Of course she had been noticing the effects of her increased rate of thinking and her magnified senses for a while but with them all in full swing it was rather amusing.

As Kate finally began to feel her body was warmed up enough to begin weight lift she slowly turned down the machine and climbed off. Jack stopped warming up and turned his attention to Kate. The two of them waiting a few minutes before doing anything. “ Well Kate how is it working.” Kate got a grin on her face.

“ You are still a slow poke.” A second later Kate was standing besides Jack having closed the gap between them in less then a second. She was careful to keep her movements slow though as she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “ Oh this is so neat.” Jack gave a slight nod despite the fact that he wasn’t the one currently moving at inhuman speeds.

“ Neat is a good word for it though would you mind slowing down now? I wonder would you mind if we tested this later to see if you could go into this state while in a completely relaxed situation.”

“ Sure thing.” Kate nodded her head yes several times making sure she used and spoke at her accelerated rate. Then she began to slow down and move at a more human pace. “ But right now I want to get on with my exercises.” Walking over to the treadmill Jack turned his attention to Kate.

“ Kate would you mind turning this around a bit so that I could watch you while you exercise.” Kate looking over her shoulder gave Jack a playful grin.

“ It depends if you want me to turn it around for scientific reasons or if you want to admire the view.” Jack returned Kate’s grin.

“ Admire the view of course.”

“ Sure thing then.” Walking over to the machine Kate easily lifted it from the ground immediately grateful that the ground didn’t give out beneath her as it had done at her grandparent’s home. Turning the machine around completely so that Jack could watch her as she lifted weights Kate made her way over to the hydraulic press. As Kate situated herself on the machine there was one thing that she didn’t like about it. While using normal weights one could look at her and tell just how much she was pressing or at least get a idea. With the machine one would have to look at the computer read out. Turning to Jack before she laid down she called out the numbers that she punched into the computer. “ 12.8 tons.” With that Kate proceeded to lay herself down just underneath the par. Pressing up on it the machine took a moment before the bar began to get up requiring Kate to exert slightly more then 12.8 tons of upward force before the safety lock went off and it began to press down on her.

Jack was so mesmerized by the site of Kate’s muscles expanding as she began to press the massive amount he almost forgot to switch the treadmill back to more reasonable settings. Catching himself just before he could turn the machine on he was grateful he hadn’t pushed the button considering how he could have ended up getting injured. Adjusting the machine back down to a more reasonable rate he began to jog along the whole time focusing on the site in front of him. The thought that there was over 12 tons nearly 13 tons pressing down upon that bar proving to be an extremely exciting one.

As Kate pressed and lowered the bar she couldn’t help but notice the muscles in her arms seemed to be more defined then what they had been. It wasn’t that the seemed larger but as she turned her head to look at her arm she couldn’t help but think they seemed to speak of more power then before. Though she couldn’t be sure if it was just the physiological effect of knowing that she was supporting several tons with just her arms. Even with this she found herself envying some of the video feeds she had seen of other super powered beings. Capable of lifting a tank with a single arm the thought that she might poses such strength eventually only serving to excite her. As Kate’s excitement grew the bar seemed to become slightly lighter though it still offered a good deal of resistance. Turning her gaze in Jack’s direction she noticed where his eyes where focused while his body seemed to be on auto run.

Jack found himself taking in the site of Kate’s lovely form while she weight lifted her muscles stood out in their greatest relief muscles that could crush him in just a moment. The thought that Kate could brake every bone in his body without even trying had crossed Jack’s mind several times and in all truth it only excited him even more. Looking down her sculpted form Jack wished he hadn’t started exercising just yet as he desire to reach out and touch those biceps. He was able to keep himself running only because he knew that once he was done Kate might permit him to explore her entire body when it was fully pumped. Letting his eyes travel from her arms Jack’s eyes actually went to Kate’s face finding her eyes meeting his. His gaze didn’t stray away from her form though having spent a year with Kate he knew she enjoyed the admiration of others.

Also as he looked into her eyes he realized that she was most likely seeing how well he had progressed just the same as he was seeing how well she had. This made him pick up the pace a bit though he knew it wasn’t anywhere near what Kate was capable of he at least wanted to attempt to impress her. As his eyes left Kate’s face it traveled down to her chest and he took in the site of her C-cup underneath her work out outfit. Looking at Kate’s breast despite the fact that they weren’t the largest they had always been nicely formed and quite firm though they where now firmer then any he had encountered before not really requiring any support. Kate still liked to wear a bra but he had a feeling that was to tease and taunt him more then anything. He had yet to get his hands on those wonderful breast but he had at least felt them pressed against him during their cuddling sessions. A huge grin threatened to split his face in half as he recalled that after a good work out and a shower Kate was normally up for a lengthy cuddling session and it was about time for bed. Perhaps he would get to spend the night wrapped in those remarkable strong arms of her’s.

Leaving the wonderful view of her breast Jack’s gaze caught site of one feature of Kate that as far as her muscles went competed with her arms. The sight of women’s abs had always been a subject of interest for Jack. He recalled how surprised he had been back in college when he had found Kate’s abs where remarkably defined and clearly noticeable if she wore a tight enough shirt or simply decided to leave her stomach exposed. The thought that he would like to kiss each one of the four well-defined muscles did cross his mind a action that he had done many times before during their cuddling. Kate seemed to like it when he paid attention to such details of her body that wasn’t too surprising though after all she did love to show off her strength.

At least with Kate Jack didn’t have to worry about feeling like a jerk when checking out her body. After all not only did Kate enjoy showing off her body and what it was capable of but she also enjoyed looking him over as well. He had been grateful when he had learned Kate wasn’t into the body builder type since she enjoyed being the more powerful one in the relationship even now she enjoyed the fact that she still looked stronger then Jack. Still she had expected and got him to get himself into better shape actually the best shape of his life. Still now that he was back in the city he worried that he should have pushed himself a little harder. Just put on a little more muscle just in case that was what Kate decided what she wanted.

The sound of a click took Jack’s thoughts away from this as he noticed Kate setting the bar in place a task done but holding it within a certain zone for a few moments or by simply telling the machine what to do. The zone had been set up since Kate seemed to enjoy the more natural feel it gave the machine. Setting up for a moment and taking in a few deep breaths Jack, who had been jogging the entire time actually found himself struggling to talk since his body currently needed all the air it could get. “ Move on?” Kate looked over at Jack and realized why he hadn’t used a more complete sentence then shook her head.

“ Going to wait a few minutes then I am going to try and do another set.” Standing up for a moment Kate watched the sweat rolling off Jack’s face. Picking up her bottle of water she walked over to him and held the container over his head. Tipping it lightly she poured some of the ice cold liquid over his form. Jack shivered for a bit but smiled showing that he was grateful this got a grin from Kate who proceeded to dump some of the liquid on herself before walking back over to the weight bench. “ 12.85" Jack blinked for a moment then realized that Kate had added on some extra pressure as Kate lay down and began to lift the weight Jack took a moment to figure up just how many pound Kate was currently working with. 25,700 running through his head he couldn’t help but wonder when the time would come that Kate would be lifting a few hundred tons instead of mere pounds.

Having worked with Kate for a year now Jack had watched as her body and her cells had undergone one miraculous change after another. Now after a year of observation and her body’s constant steady increases in power he was quite confident that it was only a matter of time before her body would reach such levels of power and exceed them. Though he wasn’t quite ready to say it was a scientific fact that her body would continue to change and evolve in order to increase its own power he was willing to say that it was willing to at least hypothesize that it would continue to increase in power so long as Kate gave it a reason to. Actually he wondered if it would continue to gain strength even if she didn’t exercise however upon mentioning this to Kate she had refused the idea. He didn’t mind though after all if they had found out that her body didn’t require her to exercise in order to grow stronger. Then he would have been deprived of the wonderful site currently in front of him.

Kate for her part was having to focus at hand as she pressed and lowered the bar. While it hadn’t seemed like much over all the extra 100 pounds she had added had pretty much forced her to her limit. She couldn’t spare any attention to look at Jack but rather had to focus on over coming the pressure the bar was currently pressing down with. At least with the machine though she didn’t really have to worry about the need for someone to spot her. The device having been set up so that the bar could only be lowered so far. This meant that even without a person to spot her she didn’t have to worry about being crushed still she didn’t like the idea of having to tell the machine to let off the weight so that she could get up. Paying close attention to her arms due to the extra weight and the fact that she had already been working out Kate ended up cutting her final set short feeling that her arms wouldn’t be able to lift the bar again.

Setting up Kate flexed her now fully pumped arms feeling the blood course through out her muscles. Placing her hands over her heart Kate was surprised by the fact that the beat seemed powerful even to her. Jack had mentioned that her internals might be changing as well still it surprised her. She felt fine though in fact she felt great as she stood up and stretched her arms. Looking over at Jack a giggle escaped Kate’s lips as she debated on asking him if he was having trouble jogging. Having noticed that her little display had gotten quite the reaction from Jack Kate refrained from this action. Instead she simply set the machine back to a more human level for when Jack got done with his jogging.

Walking over to what would now serve for her leg curls Kate set down and slipped her feet into the machine’s grips. Once again choosing the pressure Kate knew to only set the weight for a ton or more then what her arms could support. Kate’s body just didn’t bother her legs anymore causing them to be about the same pound for pound strength of her arms just more muscle to work with. Jack finally climbed off the treadmill and began to work with the bench press himself though set for far less then Kate had worked with. Actually he had set it for less then he normally worked with as well wanting to keep a eye on Kate as those wonderful legs of hers resisted several tons of pressure. The thought of what a kick from those legs or a punch from her arms would do to a normal human being made him shutter. A moment later Jack realized what had happened and a bright blush appeared on his face. He hadn’t realized that just watching Kate had worked him up that much. “ Umm Kate I think I am going to go and shower now.”

Kate grinned a knowing grin and nodded her head as she watched Jack trot off. As he left she couldn’t help but notice she was getting a little wet herself. Her power was actually a turn on for her as well plus the effect that she had on Jack was wonderful fun as well. Still she had an work out to finish up and then she would go and take her bath. She knew that the place had a shower for Jack and for herself so they wouldn’t have to compete over a bathroom. Though she hadn’t actually seen what the showers where like she had been so eager to work out the stiffness in her muscles from setting around so long that she had yet to give the place a good once over. Jack felt more then a little embarrassed as he got himself cleaned up but it seemed that the more powerful Kate got the more attractive to him she became. He was glad she wasn’t shy and didn’t seem to mind his little out burst every once in a while either. Actually from the grin she had given him he couldn’t help but think she enjoyed the effect she had on him.