Speedster

“I've seen some of the fights in the news…” you consider as you get up, “I'd rather avoid getting hit.”

“There’s a lot of ways to do that,” the dragon on your hand replies as you get some paper towels from the counter, "you could be an agile flying blaster, a speedster, a sneak, or a summoner, to name a few options.”

You start wiping yourself off… ooh, that area is sensitive… feels really good… “A summoner? I could have minions?”

“More than one is impractical for a hero,” the doc corrects as you scrub more than is probably needed, your lower lips quickly soaking the towels as your knees go weak.

"You end up spreading your strength among them, and quickly become unable to harm a tough opponent. The single summon sort is superior, unless you're into villiany.”

“Why the qualifier?” You inquire as you get more paper towels.

“A villain mostly tears up on civilians,” he apparently switches to lecture mode very easily, “weak minions are fine when ‘weak’ is still strong enough that a civilian needs to hand over their money to avoid dying, and the ability to be in multiple places at once is far more useful for that sort. A hero really needs to concentrate their power.” He pauses as you gently pat yourself dry to avoid the stimulation, “Oh, and your body is far more responsive than average. It feels amazing, but you're going to be a nymphomaniac in short order if we don't tone you down.”

“So you're saying I'm going to like sex too much?” You consider, tossing the towels in the trash and working your way into your now ill-fitting clothes, “How sure are we that it's a bad thing?”

“Well…” he considers, “...it's not too hard of an itch to scratch, looking like you do.”

You finish dressing and look at yourself in the mirror:

“I'll keep feeling really good then, if it's all the same to you,” you can't stop the goofy grin on your face.

“All right then,” the voice accepts, “and what sort of power?”

“Speedster, please,” you answer. “If I'm moving fast enough, I may as well be invisible, and I've seen what one can do with a thrown rock.”

“I can do that,” Doc replies, “Time Bender subtype, of course.”

You pause, “Subtype?”

“Yes…” the ring considers, “...few speedster are purely one or the other, mind, but we can largely divide them into two categories: Time Benders and Planners. A Time Bender experiences time at a different rate - be that due to an accelerated brain or literally bending time - so when they're fast, they can react to unexpected or dynamic things - so if they try to disassemble an illusion, they'll know about it and be able to change tactics. The downside is that if a Time Bender runs a mile, _they'll feel like they ran a mile:_ They'll be tired, need to eat, breathe hard, and so on, because even if that run only takes a fraction of a second of real time, the speedster was still running for ten minutes or so of their own personal time. A planner doesn't have that problem, because their bodies recover quickly, they just need fuel… but their brains don't truly keep up with their bodies. If someone manages to pick one up by the collar while they're running, the planning speedster will continue running their legs through empty air for a bit. It's actually quite funny.” He chuckles, apparently at a memory, “Time Bending is a lot better for a beginner. We can mix some Planning type in for those benefits once you're a bit more experienced.”

You nod, “You’re the instructor. How do we do this?”

“Well, first, you need to relax again,” he answers as you look down and see your male form. You take a slow breath, and do so, shifting back to your apparently natural state as he continues, “and we can go pick up a bracelet. Just start walking, I'll direct.”

You shrug and get up, heading towards the door. He gives you a bunch of ‘left, now right’ style directions as you go, plus “remember to relax” every time you shift back into your male form. He gives some numbers to type into keypads at a few different doors, and a verbal countersign for when a human guard greets you with, “A bit chilly today, isn't it?” (specifically, “That's fine: I like my meals spicy”). After a short while, you get to the vault… which is apparently a big fire safe. He walks you through an old fashioned left/right/left combination lock, and when you open the door, there's a bunch of jewelry… which he has you lift up and out of the way, so you can pull open the false bottom and climb down the ladder.

“Paranoid much?” You ask as you descend into what appears to be a basement made of reinforced concrete, with shelves lined with jewelry… all of it a silvery metal with blue stones.

“You’re not wrong that this could outfit an army,” the ring chuckles, “and while the stuff in here is inefficient, some of it absolutely enables certain tricks that are very hard to counter. Anyway… you want that one.” A particular piece of jewelry starts glowing.

You walk over to it and pick it up… it's styled like a man's watch, complete with a minute and hour hand, but the cover is a large round blue gemstone. It stops glowing when you pick it up. “How much does something like this cost?”

“Not too much, a couple hundred bucks plus a few hours of my time,” the dragon on your finger answers, “the gemstone is lab-grown sapphire, the mounting is coated titanium. Didn't think you'd want the woman's style.”

“Thanks…” you slip it on your left wrist and take a look:

With the on and off of your sex shifting, you can feel the difference when wearing it, “Why does this…” you begin.

“That's the feel of your magic in use,” the dragon answers before you've properly asked, “it's charging up, and you're the generator.”

“Ah.” You consider, and go for the obvious, “So… how do I make it work?”