ã€ŠA Bad Guyã€‹


 Chapter 1 everyone needs a origin story

    I was never a night person as much as a day person. It doesn¡¯t help that I''m an insomniac and I barely sleep. I have to get woken up a lot by my parents and they get very creative with how they wake me up. At least my sister just poured cold water in my face. Another thing is that at night I don¡¯t need to socialize that much. I don''t really like talking to people besides my family and even then barely.

    My sister, the more charming one comes with territory of becoming the next big hero I guess. In a world full of superheroes I¡®ve lived a pretty chill life even though my parents are Nimbus and Moxie, both famous members of the vanguard but to me they''re just mom and dad. Them and the rest of the Vanguard are the reasons this city is so safe.

    The central district of Steel drake city is where the home base of the vanguard is. No one really causes crime unless there are new or real veterans. I never liked the name though it was just dumb but hey when help save and build the city what hero wouldn¡¯t want it named after them.

    Mom and dad always make sure to be there for Me and my sister, making sure to come to school events when we are younger or just order a pizza and watch a movie, one of the few times I like being around people. Mom and dad have been spending more time with Mary for the last 2 weeks can¡¯t blame them, she just got her powers. A perfect hybrid of the both of them Moms super strength speed bullet proof skin healing factor most likely to get stronger the more hurt she gets and dad¡¯s Extremely strong weather manipulation. Heard them say that she can be the next big hero especially since steel drake has been missing for a couple months.

    I would be happy for her if she didn¡¯t keep breaking stuff seriously she destroyed the microwave! Anyways people would probably wonder If I''m joining the family business like my dear sister and the answer no. I got powers: The basic superhuman physique and I can breath elements. Apparently my grandpa had something similar but it¡¯s pretty weak. I can breathe out a bit if flames or sparks of lighting or some ice mostly just use to heat up my food. Another reason is that I¡¯m not really a heroic type I¡¯m not gonna risk my Life someone who I barely know for for sometimes no rewards A lot of the time it¡¯s their own fucking fault that they got in that situation so why don¡¯t they try to get themselves out of it. I know that''s a selfish way of thinking and not everyone gets themselves in these situations but still I¡¯m risking my life to hold up a mountain for some kid I will never see again so what''s the point?

    Well I think that''s enough of thinking to myself as if I was talking to someone. I hop out of my very comfy bed that still calls for me and I head to the closet to grab some black running pants a white nylon shirt and a blood red hoodie with several black bats seemingly flying across the hoodie and A large shadowy red eyed bat on the back. It was a gift from Nosferatu, the oldest member of the vanguard, an amazing tailor and my favorite hero. As I finish getting dressed I see myself in the mirror. Height wise I¡¯m decently tall around 6 ''6 and I got a pretty muscular build but nothing too crazy I got short hair and decent jawline. The most eye-catching thing about me is that I got an odd case of albinism: pale white skin and hair and pinkish reddish eyes. I thought I was adopted when I was younger but I actually got it from my grandma apparently it skipped a generation.

    After staring in the mirror in the mirror like either a weirdo or someone that likes looking at them I get up and get out of my room and head down the stairs I make sure to jump the last 4 steps. The house I live in is a pretty nice two story building with a basement and an attic my parent can get something better. They are rich but they like the simpler home. It has that well uh that home feeling so no mansion for me. I head to the kitchen and notice a place covered in tin foil with a sticky note on it.

    I walk over and grab the sticky note it reads: "Richy, sweetie, me and your dad decided to take your sister on her first patrol We''re all really excited! I decided to leave you some leftover lasagna, your favorite, heat it up and eat before you head out on your run, Make sure to be careful! and if anything happens make sure to use the button on your watch that alerts me and your father and will be right there love you sweetie xoxoxoxoxoxo. Ps me and your father got a mission and will be gone for a couple weeks. We know you¡¯ll still be asleep so I just wanna say we love you so much and see you when we get back!". I smile as always mom is a super mom both literally and figuratively as I put the lasagna in the microwave.

    Due to me being a fast eater and just loving Italian food the lasagna is gone in a flash as I wash the bowl and head outside. I feel The October air hit me sending a small chill through my body as the leaves hit the grown leaving a sea of red orange and yellow. As I turn on the timer on my watch, take a deep breath and start running I take short light steps as I feel the wind gently press against me and lights from multiple sources fly past me. I make sure Keep my breath in a steady rhythm. Good breath control helps with running a lot. I run a lot to not only train my cardio and my leg muscles just in case I never need to run from the latest super powered brawl but also because of the rush it gives.

    I¡¯m no adrenaline junkie, probably another reason I¡¯m not a hero but the feeling of pushing yourself trying to break your limit that feeling of satisfaction when you make real progress I love it. I run down the street as I start sprinting, taking larger steps as I grab a light pole and use it to help me make a sharp turn to the left. I jump onto a fire hydrant and use it to help me jump onto a nearby car and immediately jump off as I continue sprinting. Eventually after 12 minutes I meet a gravel path with trees covering its side as I run down. This path leads to an old abandoned train track that I usually rest at before I head back home. Sometimes I run down it a bit if I really feel like pushing myself. I run into more of an open field area as I See that old rusty pierce through the field.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    I run past several old rusty cars stripped of all of what makes them valuable. I spot an orange cat staring at me with curiosity as it lays on one of the car''s roofs. I smile at it as for all I know it can be shapeshifter In disguise or some mage familiar now most people think mages are people with powers that love to roleplay and get too into character or people that just want attention but like we essentially got invanded by a evil necromancer after world war two so who knows.

    As I eventually meet The train track and decide That wanna keep pushing myself as I keep running. Sometimes I wonder If I did decide to become a hero I heard That if push your and power enough it can evolve and get stronger I wonder How would I feel If I push myself Improves grew what type of rush would I get How would i feel risking my life as I improve bit by bit How satisfied would i be? I¡¯d probably die in the first week but still it¡¯s something to think about.

    As eventually I feel my muscles crying for me stop as I feel lungs about to pop from exertion and my heart beats out of my chest I stop to catch my breath. I took deep breaths as I sat on the tracks. I noticed something. A large glowing light I turn and see a train heading down the tracks as I stand up and move a couple feet away from the tracks. Weird this train track has been closed for years since the tracks are too old and a train could cause the tracks to potentially break and the train crashes.

    I start walking, too tired to run. I hear the rumbling in the distance and can hear the sparks as if someone pulled the brakes. I turn and see the train. The train seemingly was a cargo train but it was heavily damaged as if it got hit with a bomb, parts of it burning and pieces of metal falling off. I start trying to sprint barely being able to move even slightly faster as I hear the and with a loud screech i turn to see the front the train as it explodes with a deafening BOOM launching me back as I hear the train crash and burn around me surprisingly I¡¯m mostly fine but before I celebrate another BOOM burst through my ears as I feel a wave of heat and concussive hits me as I feel something stab into my shoulder As I roll across the ground.

    I was in agony as I felt several muscles tore. I felt multiple bruises And a deep tearing pain in my left upper arm. I opened my eyes and I saw I was a bit burnt, nothing bad, the front of my hoodie being a bit charred then I stared at my left arm. A large piece of metal shrapnel was stabbing into my left upper arm. I felt it digging into my flesh and I could feel it touching the bone. I gently lift up a hand and grab the metal and I gently pull it out. Pain and blood trickle down my arm as I drop The metal and stand up with some effort. I look around the once lively field filled with large pieces of burning metal and torn apart train cars.

    Fire was starting to spread across the grass I Went to click the button on my watch to call mom and dad to get me out of this fucked situation but there was no beep. I look down and of course It''s broken ¡°GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!¡± I yell as I grab the broken watch and toss it and start walking, making sure to avoid the burning metal and train cars. I eventually make it through the Burning field as I walk for A minute. I spotted some Silver cylinders. It was very dented and had several shards of metal stabbing it. ¡°Nope¡± I mutter I¡¯m not dealing with that As I Go to walk past but with a HISS It opened. I run several feet back waiting for it to explode but nothing happens as I start to hear Gasping? I walk and slowly look besides as I gasp. Laying there was Steel drake there was no mistaking. She has shiny silver scaly skin and short silver hair. I could see her reptilian gold eyes staring at them as if they were empty. She hundreds of machines digging into I couldn¡¯t see her body past her elbows all covered in machines. By the point they connected I could see digging into her flesh it made me want to vomit as I held my mouth. She wore an oxygen mask that wasn''t pumping oxygen anymore. It was obvious she was dying but who could do this? She survived lava gunfire, skyscrapers dropping on her to the bottom of the ocean, hell even a nuke didn¡¯t give her a scratch but now she was dying in front of me.

    She tried to speak but all that came out were chokes, I tried to do something but it was too late as her eyes rolled into the back of head as she died. I needed to call mom and dad, Tell them what happened and they can handle this. I went and closed her eyes but as soon as I touched her I felt my body be overloaded. I saw thousands of flashes of different locations, the only ones I could perceive were that of several doctors doing tests on me and as soon as they came they disappeared.

    I fell to ground gasping what the fuck was happing but before i had time to understand what was going I heard A loud BANG! As I felt a searing hot pain in my ear. Did someone just fucking shoot me? I turn and see several armed figures in what seems to be in modified swat gear each holding assault rifles and one of them was holding one with a smoking barrel and was pointing at me. ¡°Secure subject and capture the kid just in case he touches the body¡± several others started to aim at me and before I could think I started sprinting I heard several more gunshots as I started to move in an erratic pattern making it harder for them to aim and hit me.

    I sprinted faster than ever before, blood trailing down the right side of my face as everything seemed to blur past me as the wind rushed against me and eventually I got home. I don''t know how but I felt faster I got to my front door I slammed into it as splinter into hundred of wooden shards as barley stopping my momentum as I¡¯d slam into my kitchen wall Shattering it fully stopping my momentum as I stood confused I then could feel the cold floor touching my feet as As my jaw nearly hit the floor.

    I saw that it was a solid, scaly dark Grey metal. The nails on my toes were claw as the remains of my shoes barely hung on and my hands were also different as they were now also a solid scaly dark gray metal like steel drake. What the fuck is happening!? As after a couple seconds they returned to normal flesh I took a couple steps back trying to boggle my mind on what was happening As I heard a couple steps near the doorway as I heard my mom voice ¡°Richard what happened!?¡± as I felt my eyes start close as i felt my body sway eventually fall over as I went unconscious.

 chapter 2 family and odd occurrences

    You know after being knocked around by being around a derailed train then being close to one of the said crash train cars exploding and then also being shot at by some stereotypical evil organization grunt fucks! I thought I would be in immense pain but nothing. Surprisingly even my left arm and right ear are fine.

    I¡¯m a bit sore and I got a headache but I¡¯m fine. Maybe I did inherit some of moms healing, guess Mary can''t have everything. I move a bit as I feel the soft cloud that is my bed Infinitely better than sleeping on concrete. I can feel the warm rays of sunlight gently touch my skin as it lightens my pretty dull room as I gently get out of bed. I feel some cloth wrap around my upper left arm and my right ear. Mom and dad probably patch me up and put me in my bed.

    Don¡¯t know why they didn¡¯t take me to a hospital. Maybe because I healed so quickly or was less hurt then I thought?

    Dad probably thought I got attacked by a villain and probably would shock the shit out of any of his or moms enemies unless mom calmed him down. She was always the calm one then there probably down stairs waiting for me to wake up. I sat up once again having to resist the even more tempting call of the bed.

    I¡¯m still confused about what happened last night. I know that wasn¡¯t a dream. I have bandages on the areas I got hurt but the last thing that happened was that real?

    Did I actually get steel drakes power? How Would I have gotten it in the first place? I''m no power copier or stealer. Usually people with some form of power manipulation see people with different Auras that represent their power and I would have noticed if my parents were glowing my whole life.

    Maybe Whoever Experimented on Steel Drake Maybe they were trying to transfer her power There''s a market on tech development of devices that would let you steal powers and transfer them. Weird how did I know that maybe I heard it in school or mom dad talk about it one time. I shake my head. I need to focus I have to check. Evolved like me have something called a vault. A mental space that lets us visualize are powers and see our growth.

    It helps people discover their powers if they have more or one even what type they fall under. I close my eyes and Focus until I feel everything disappear around me. After several seconds I see my power appear. It takes the form of a tiny Dragon with four little legs, two small goat like horns A tail with a triangle end and it has rainbow colored scales. It¡¯s always sleeping and every time it exhales a new element comes out.

    I¡¯ve been told the reason it''s asleep is because I haven''t awakened it. A phenomenon where power can grow usually through life and death scenarios and obviously I haven''t done any of that yet. I look around and like always there''s nothing there but the tiny sleeping dragon. Well actually the little dragon is sleeping on a hoard of silver corns.

    Wait does that mean I actually got steel drake powers but before I could ponder that and maybe test that out Scent crept into my nose.

    The smell of eggs with a bit of pepper jack cheese added in Some slightly burnt bacon and some chocolate chip pancakes that have too much chocolate in them that''s how I like it. I then start to hear muttering from down stairs then It starts to get louder until I can perfectly hear as if I was there.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get why you won¡¯t let me find out who hurt our son and drown them!¡± That''s dad and he¡¯s pissed But I can hear hints of worry in his voice. ¡°Dear I¡¯m just as angry and worried as you but think about None of the villains That we have fought are not idiots they wouldn¡¯t attack our kids without knowing we would kill them and the ones that are strong enough wouldn¡¯t do that. What probably happened is that Richard went to the train track like he always does for his run and got hit by some debris when that runaway train crashed¡±. That''s mom always calming down dad and helping him think straight.

    ¡°Your right still doesn¡¯t explain the door shattered to pieces or the holes in walls¡±. Ok That definitely helps that theory that I got Steel Drakes powers. I go to leave my room But the doorknob turns and the door opens and my Twin sister Mary is standing there.

    She stands around 5:8 with a slight athletic build with bright blue eyes and golden blond hair with several streaks of dark blue running through it tied into a shoulder length ponytail. Her skin has a bit of a tan and she is covered in freckles. She gets her eyes from dad and hair from mom. She gets her height from our mom and she does not like that. She''s wearing a steel gray hoodie with a Large metal dragon on the front and some blue baggy sweatpants but she has pink socks that really doesn¡¯t match the rest of her clothing.

    ¡°Hey shorty¡± And I Love reminding her. She frowned a bit ¡°I was going to give you a hug and ask you were ok like a good sister but I guess not mole rat¡± she smirks a bit at that last part.

    ¡°So how are you feeling? When we got back Because moms wrist brace was blinking we rushed back home and you looked pretty beat up. What happened?¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°I got caught up in a train crash and then when I tried to get away one of the cars exploded and some shrapnel got stuck in my shoulder and then¡±. I stop talking as I wonder if I should tell them about what I saw with steel drake and those guys in the swat gear. Why wouldn¡¯t I tell them? Like really they should know that some scientist group or villain faction had captured Steel Drake and experimented on her. That''s too dangerous to keep to myself.

    ¡°And then what?¡±

    ¡°Oh I¡¯ll tell you and mom and dad Together think you should all hear The rest¡± She shrugged and went downstairs. The rest of my family are heroes. It would be better to tell them what happened at once.

    Then I noticed something: my Hearing and smell seemed to be back to normal hell. I didn''t acknowledge the changes until they went away. I¡¯m so confused on what¡¯s happening well whatever I shake my head and go downstairs. As soon as I get to the Kitchen I feel someone wrap their arms around me, lift me up and squeeze the life out of me.

    ¡°Oh my goodness I was so worried honey I nearly felt my soul leave my body when I saw you hurt and the house damaged!¡±. My mother stands around 5:11 so at this moment she¡¯s cracking my ribcage ¡°mom I¡¯m happy to see you too but you''re kinda crushing me¡±.

    She immediately drops me ¡°sorry just happy to see your fine¡± She had A happy and relieved look on her face but I could see hints of worry lining her face. My mom is similar to Mary having an athletic build with neck length golden blond hair and bright green eyes and a heart shaped face. She wore a thick green sweater with baggy green pants and slippers.

    ¡°Yeah mom I¡¯m fan better than ever¡± I half joke. I do feel really good today, seemingly the soreness disappeared earlier and I just feel full energy. ¡°I¡¯m relieved to hear that please go sit down, your father is coming with breakfast you''re probably starving¡± she gives me a warm smile seeing mom smile always lightens my mood.

    I take a seat at the circular table as I can see my father cooking. He stands around 6:4 barley being shorter than me he has a muscular build with short black and gray hair with a goatee and finally bright blue hair. He¡¯s wearing a plain white button up with gray Khaki pants. My dad is a pretty good cook. He used to work at a restaurant when he was first starting out as nimbus. That''s actually how he met my mom.

    Using wind to help not only keep everything at a reasonable temperature but also using it to move everything without a mess dad loves using his powers to help him cook especially when he has to cook a lot of food for My mom and sister they both may be strong but they both burn a lot of calories.

    He quickly makes two normal plates for me and him and makes two trays for mom and Mary and with a rush of wind the table is set.

    He takes a seat next to me as he puts a hand on my shoulder ¡°how are you feeling Richy?¡±. ¡°Good¡± Mary and mom quickly take seats and start eating their breakfast, both of them somehow having a conversation with their mouths full, maybe it¡¯s another power they have.

    ¡°So Richy what exactly happened to you?¡± I didn¡¯t even need to look at him to feel the concern with him welp time to tell them what happened. Mom and Mary both stop eating and look at me waiting for me to start. ¡°Well I went on my run as usual and when I got to the train track I decided to run a bit so I started to run down it when I stopped to catch my breath. I saw a train on the track for the first time and it was on fire. It might have been a villain attack I don¡¯t know. Derailed and crashed close knocking me around then when I tried to get one of the cars exploded near me. After that I got out of the area and¡±.

    I felt my stomach growl as I decided to get a bite of food. As I got a bite of some of the delicious pancakes I felt a change like a dial turned up in my head. As soon as that little piece of pancake entered my mouth I felt an onslaught of flavors. It was so sweet that It Felt like someone poured a jar of sugar. I felt Like I was tasting raw butter and wheat.

    I Immediately taste bile as it rises up my throat. I run to the sink and gag As I vomit everything I eat last night. I felt several dials turn in my head. As I feel true sensory overload. I Could taste and smell everything around me. I could feel each individual particle enter my mouth and nose.

    I could smell and taste hundreds of things around me from each individual piece of food on the table and the remnants of the ingredients in the kitchen. From molded food and old wrappers from the trashcan I could even dog shit from outside causing me to gag trying to empty my already emptied stomach.

    Then I started to feel my own heartbeat. The vibration ran through my body. I could feel the thousands of mites on my skin crawling and eating dead skin cells. I could feel each individual air movement against my skin. I could feel The vibration from the ground as I knew someone was moving towards me. I started to hear My own heart beat as if someone shot a gun near my ear.

    I could hear the rapid heart beats of around each one as loud as my own. Every breath I heard sounded like being near a plane going off every drop of water hitting against the sink sound like a car crash. I could hear voices but they were so loud it felt like my ears were about to burst. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I opened my eyes and was met with a blue and orange skeleton surrounded By thousands of colors most of them I didn¡¯t even recognize but still felt like each one burnt into my retinas.

    Luckily enough I felt the dials in my turn down and as soon as it came it went away as everything was normal.

    Mom was holding with a worried look in her eyes.

    ¡°Richard, are you ok sweetie?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine mom I just Need some rest¡± as before She or the rest of my family could say anything. I ran to my room, fell onto my bed and passed out, giving my brain some time to heal from whatever happened.

    I think several hours later I woke Up feeling fine actually I felt Better as I got out of My bed perfectly fine. Still confused about what happened Did I awaken a new power? But that felt too much for just unlocking some sort of super sense. It felt like I put a speaker on max volume and put my head next to it.

    It was convenient that it happened just as I was going to tell my family what happened with those monsters and Steel drake. It¡¯s night as I see the silver moonlight peek into my room. A run would probably help me clear my head. I go to leave my room but as soon as I turn and pull the door knob I hear a crack.

    I look at the door and it¡¯s perfectly fine except for the large hole where the door knob and a large piece of wood. I slowly lift up my hand and surprise surprise I¡¯m holding the doorknob with that piece of wood still attached to it.

    I feel the metal doorknob crumbled in my hand as if it was a paper ball. I drop it causing a small thud. I then lifted up my hand as I felt stronger and my muscles felt more denser. ¡°I wonder¡± as I flex my fingers, close my eyes and focus on those silver coins that little dragon laid on. After several seconds as I felt it My fingers became more solid, denser, more cold but not any heavier or less flexible.

    I slowly opened my eyes and then they widened with shock as I stared at my fingers. Each finger on both my hands were now no longer flesh but a more solid dark grayish steel. The steel looked like it was covered in scales. My nails are now longer and more like silver claws. I stood there for several minutes. My brain was trying to process what''s happening and all I could do was just say two words.

    ¡°Holy shit"

 Chapter 3 Adrenaline rush

    I¡¯ve said it before but I fucking love running even more now with theses upgrades. I decided to test out whatever I got from touching Steel drake and frankly I''m far from disappointed.

    I decided on this run to leave the central district and head to the middle class district. This district is where most of the city newbies usually reside aka heroes and villains just starting out most of them being teenagers. So you could hear and see the distance of the battles between these newbies causing the buildings to crumble to be burnt down or be turned into hamsters. Lucky enough a super genius hero named builder was able to build the buildings out of reinforced materials making them harder to knock down.

    Tonight is a slow night so I don¡¯t have to worry about getting caught in a super powered brawl anyways back to running. Whatever happened to me didn¡¯t just make me stronger, it also made me faster. Another thing about the central district is that it has a lot of second story buildings making it perfect for running at superhuman speeds.

    I ran across the roof of an apartment crossing 100 feet in a matter of seconds as with a leap I made it onto another building keeping my momentum as I glided across several buildings at high speed. The wind rushed past me, the environment around nothing but a blur, I could feel the adrenaline flowing through my blood, I could feel My heart beating faster than ever before.

    The best part about all of this is that I have been running like this for 20 minutes straight with no breaks and I¡¯ve barely gained a sweat. My cardio has been blown through the roof. I feel like I could go for another hour and I¡¯d still have enough energy to run back home.

    I know this is selfish to say but I should thank whatever scientist made whatever happened to me. Still sucks that Steel Drake died but I never liked her anyways so why should I care? I spot a large gap between the current red stone Building I¡¯m on and what seems to be an abandoned hospital.

    I know even with my new enhanced capabilities I couldn''t make the jump but as I¡¯m about to stop I spot a large pole with what I guess used to be a sign but by time powers was broken off. This stupid I¡¯m still gonna do it But I¡¯m at least acknowledging this is a dumb idea.

    With a couple steps I''m around 30 feet away from the pole. I take a deep breath, get into a sprinter stance and dash forward And leap towards The pole. I feel Myself sore 12 feet up in the air and for several seconds I feel like I¡¯m flying, I feel peace as The wind gently kisses My skin as I sore I love this feeling, I shoot out my hands and grab onto on the pole and using the same momentum I swing forward and let go of the pole.

    I damn near fly towards the roof of this abandoned hospital as I smirk getting ready to grab onto the ledge But my smirk disappears as I grab nothing but air. I¡¯d swear if anyone was watching right they would see me stay in the air for several seconds with a dumbfounded look on my face like a cartoon character.

    ¡°FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!¡± I screamed as I rushed towards the ground. I know I¡¯m more durable but I don''t know if I could survive a 4 storey drop. Instead of panicking like an idiot I focused and flexed my fingers as they felt more solid, more dense, more cold. I shot out my newly silver clawed hands and dug them in the brick wall. I heard a loud crack! And scraping as I slid several feet leaving long claw marks down the walls.

    As I slid, dust flew into my eyes causing them to tear. Eventually I stopped, with a sigh I hung there for a hot minute. Thank god for Steel drakes power make really good climbing axes and probably work well as normal axes, wonder if Steel drake would be good at wood carving? I did a little bit of testing with Steel Drakes power learning with what I¡¯m working with.

    I can only turn my finger into the claws or my hands into tiny shields on both of my hands. I can also focus it into a whole fist but only for one of my hands. Whenever I shift my hands into the metal they become stronger and more dense, having a lot of weight behind them but still are light and flexible. I don''t know if that''s because of Steel Drake''s power or my new enhanced body. It makes my punches a lot stronger along with my grip strength. The claws are pretty sharp. I learned that when I cut a chain in the garage like it was butter I don''t know why there was a chain in the garage but that''s not what''s important.

    I can only use the power for too long or try to cover more of my body before I start getting a wicked headache and it takes a couple minutes before it goes away but I have been able to use a tiny bit longer with each use so That''s nice to know I won¡¯t be steel fingers forever.

    Now enough about ranting to myself about my recently acquired powers. I rip my claws out of the wall and start climbing up the abandoned hospital. Why am I going through all this effort to get into an abandoned hospital? Well it''s pretty simple, I''m bored and this place seems interesting to just explore. After a minute of giving this poor wall a new makeover I get to the edge and this time I grab it.

    I quickly hopped onto the ledge As I looked around and the roof was pretty empty well beside a column with a door jackpot. I walked over and the door had a rusty lock and chain but that wasn¡¯t a problem as with a quick slash of my claws the door creaks open. I quickly grabbed a black face mask from my pockets and put it on, I then pulled up my hood. I decided to wear a black hoodie and jeans along with my still tipped boots. The reason I decided to wear black on this nightly run is so I don¡¯t get confused as a debuting vigilante instead of some kid testing his power on an adrenaline high. Plus if someone is in this abandoned hospital don''t want them seeing my face that''s what''s the mask for.

    I open the door and walk inside the hospital as it''s near pitch black until I feel a dial turn in my head. Everything lit up as if the lights still had electricity running through them. I could see everything a lot clearer too as I was in an old stairwell. With a couple hops I make it down pretty quickly. Eventually The stairwell does end as I stand in front of a door labeled door one. I push it open and when I walk inside I¡¯m met with quite the sight.

    The area was filled with burnt rubble, torn down walls, Melted medical equipment and burnt corpses. The area looks like a pyrokinetic went berserk and turned this well maintained bright white halls and rooms into one big area filled with burnt corpses ashy rubble. Looks like a demonic knight will walk of the shadows and a health bar will appear like in dark fates, still need to beat it but I¡¯m still stuck on that fucking tree dragon!.

    I start walking around and there''s nothing much to note but this place just feels like I¡¯ve been here before and I would remember a place that was essentially flamed nuked. I then feel a dial turn once again as I start to smell cooked food and charcoal? Still need to figure out how to mess with these sense dials.

    I follow my nose as the scent gets stronger as eventually I found a little campsite. The place had three tents, each one could probably fit two people each. There were the remnants of a campfire in the middle with some charcoal in the middle surrounded by bricks. There were some candy wrappers and bear cans and bags of colonel Jorges flaming hot chicken with some half eaten remains inside. And there was a red duffle bag near some lawn chairs.

    I walk over and pick it up as I open my eyes and I grin ear to fucking ear from what I see. Money a ton of money my best estimate is around eight thousand dollars and it''s mine for the taking but should I? So much money but who does it belong to? I can¡¯t just take it but no one is around to stop me. As I had my morale dilemma I heard several voices behind me. They stopped and I turned to see most likely the owners of all this money.

    There was 5 people The first one at the head of the group was a dark skin man about my guess early 20s with short hair and a beard with hazel eyes pretty skiing and kinda short. he had this weird white hoodie with a blood red eye painted on the front actually all of them of them wore that same hoodie are they some type of cult or gang. The next one was a girl with bright pink hair and pink eyes with a pretty muscular build and around 6 feet tall she had a black eye and a bandage on her nose.

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    Next to her were 2 identical guys both with average builds both had blue eyes and short blonde hair but one had a negative sign tattooed on there head and the other positive sign. Finally there stood a small thin girl who had their hood up but I could see ginger hair poking out along with green eyes. Hmmmmmmm I¡¯ll call the first Doug the second one pinky the 3rd and 4th one negative and positive and the last one ginger. They stared at me like deer in headlights.

    ¡°Sup¡¯

    Doug pulled out a metal pipe from a backpack pinky put on some brass knuckles negative and positive both pulled a switch blade and bat respectively.

    ¡°Sup¡± Doug spoke with a deep voice as he took a step forward ¡°so are you going to put our money down or are we gonna have to break your hands¡± well these guys are probably apart of a gang so I¡¯m just gonna take money and go as I take step backwards getting ready to run.

    ¡°No¡±

    ¡°What do you mean no!?¡± Pinky spoke with both confusion and anger.

    ¡°I mean I¡¯m gonna keep this and leave you guys with cult stuff¡±

    ¡°Hey, we''re not a cult!¡± Ginger spoke up with a very adorable voice.

    ¡°We''re the red eye gang and if you mess with us your gonna face consequences¡±

    ¡°What she said¡± pinky spoke up ready to bash my head in. They all moved closer and I went to run but I didn''t. I don''t know why but I felt the adrenaline rushing through my body, my heart beating faster as energy pumped through my body as a singular thought went through my head. Fight them, see what you can really do, push your limits, see how strong you really are. I can just run out of here. What''s the point of fighting when I can just leave? Just imagine the rush you think running and jumping was good. How about bashing some skulls plus they are a gang they even stated it so you would be doing some good. They probably stole that money and will hurt you because you touch it so you''re right in this scenario. I put the bag on the lawn chair as I crack my knuckles and walk forward, let''s see what listening to my intrusive thoughts do. Doug ran at me with no real plan, it seems just ran with reckless abandon, sloppy.  I turned My body As shot out and hit him in the jaw with a jab, blood shot out of his mouth as he took a couple steps back. I ran faster than he could react as I hit him with a knee to the gut knocking the wind out of him and I grabbed him by the back of his hood and tossed him into a tent.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± from negative or positive couldn''t tell I turn as pinky rain towards me as she threw some jabs at me, better. She actually seemed to know how to fight As she threw a jab at my head as I ducked and I went for an uppercut but with a step she jumped back as she breathed hard as she rushed me again.

    She went for a jab towards my head again but I shot my head to the left, grabbed her arm as I turned and threw her over my shoulder slamming into the ground. She slammed into the ground hard as I went for a stomp until my shoulder hit with a jolt of pain. I feel something stab into it. I turn to see negative had stab me in the shoulder and he starts twisting it. I feel the wound start to rip and the flesh be forced to move as blood spurt out coating my sleeve.

    ¡°Motherfucker!¡± I shot my palm out as I heard a satisfying crack as I felt my palm shatter his nose as blood shoots as he falls backwards. I saw positive going for a homerun with his bat as he went to strike me in the neck. I quickly turn and fall to my knees and punch him right where it hurts as his face goes purple and he falls over. I hope up as something hits me in the side of my face causing me to stumble as I try to gain my balance But it in the face again as I grab whatever hitting me I quickly shake my head and see Doug with a busted lip trying his best to pull the bat from grip.

    I felt blood trickling down my face and a bruise formed on my forehead. With growl I back hand as I feel My hand become more solid and plated as I feel his jaw and his teeth splinter as he flies towards it and slamming into it with a thud as blood pours from his shattered jaw. I feel someone tackle me to the ground and start throwing haymakers two land giving me a busted lip and cheek the rest I¡¯m able to guard them by quickly raising my arms to cover my face.

    ¡°Blake get Mark this fucks a evolved! Try to get the¡± before they could finish I feel my fingers become solid metal claws as I slashed one at her clawing her across arm and stomach. She gasps in pain as with a strong kick I knock her off me. I hop onto my feet as she hobbles onto hers. Luckily she only got shallow cuts as only a small amount of blood trickles from the cuts, Unluckily I got up first. I run towards her as Hit with a quick left jab knocking her head backwards Then I hit her with a right cross breaking her nose blood pours from it then I hit her with a left heavy hook as several bloody teeth shoot out of her mouth some gum still being attached to them and finally I hit her with a right uppercut sending her several feet into the air as just like Doug jaw shattered and with a thud she hits the ground.

    I hear a groan as I see negative get up and grab the pipe and run at me I sigh as with a quick slash I cut the bat into several pieces as I return my fingers back to normal. He goes for a punch as I twist hit his left ankles with my right ankle as I see it bent some of the bone stabbing out as he falls to one knee screaming I quickly send out a jab and hit him in the throat causing to choke a bit I Lift of My leg up and ax kick him knocking his head into the ground as he¡¯s knock unconscious.

    I take a couple seconds to breathe as I look at my shoulder and the knife in it. Best to just leave because it would cause me to lose more blood and there''s still two more people . I looked around and noticed the Blake girl was gone. I started walking towards where they were, They were near a burnt column. As I walked over I felt something hard hit me in the face as I felt my nose break now. I get knock back several feet but I quickly roll onto my feet.

    Standing in front was a man Who was extremely bulky and had 2 inches over me in heigh. He had light white skin and had no hair and gray eyes and he wore one of those white red eyes hoodies. It was obvious he had a power, probably an enhancement type.

    Quick little lesson enhancement types are people that have powers that usually enhance their physical bodies in some way or form speedsters, super durability and the most famous super strength. There are two subtypes, constant enhancers that have their power passively activated and activated that have to choose to use their power or not.

    This guy seems like a constant and I started to grind like a manic as I licked the blood coming from my nose off my lips. My smile seemed to piss him off ¡°I¡¯m going to break every bone in your body You motherfucker¡±.

    ¡°Nuh uh¡±

    That broke the straw on the camel''s back as he charged at me. He threw powerful right faster than I could react as I lifted my arm to block it barely but caused me to slide across the ground several feet. I already felt the bruise forming as Mark didn¡¯t give me a break as he threw several more punches. I barely blocked another one but one caught me in the gut knocking the air of my lungs forcing me to gasp. I slams fist into my head forcing me to the ground as lifts up his foot and slams it on my head as I feel the pressure and myself start to pass out. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fucking stomp your head in you little shit!¡± He goes for another stomp until I remembered the knife.

    With a roar of pain I rip the knife out my shoulder taking some flesh with and stab into his foot ¡°AHHHHHH!¡± he yells. I hope One My feet as I spin kick him in the jaw then I elbow him in the solar plexus as he stops as he grapes at his chest.

    I then turn my fingers into the silver claws and slam them into his shoulder causing a sickening Crack. My claws dig into flesh as blood coats my fingers but the real damage was the force that shattered his shoulder. I then uppercut him with all my might as blood pours from his mouth he grabs my arm punches me the sides launching into a wall as I feel my ribs crack. I shakily stand up and hold my crack ribs as Mark pulls the knife out of his foot and charges at with murderous intent. I get ready to block his next attack until a dial in my head turns in my head and everything slows down as he looked like he was moving in slow motion.

    He goes to throw a punch but as soon he threw the punch I was already moving my head to the right. His fist slammed into the wall behind as on instinct my arm shot out hi him in arm as his body froze and fell backwards. Not wasting a second I fully turned my right hand into my right hand and slammed into face causing his head to be embedded into the ground. His nose was caved in and he probably had some brain damage.

    I stood breathing hard bleeding and battered as I try to catch My breath but I hear a spark as I turn around as I see Blake holding a fucking Gun! And they just pulled the trigger but luckily enough my perception is still slowed as I look at the trajectory and they''re gonna hit me around my nose so I turn my slowly just enough where just grazes my cheek. I run forward as they miss all their shots not needing to even dodge those, A real shame to all marksmen.  I grab their wrist squeeze so they drop the gun catch with my other hand and quickly dismantle it.

    Dropping the pieces in front of them they satire at me with pure fear.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me, I don''t want to die!¡±

    ¡°Why Would I kill you?¡±

    ¡°But My friends?¡±

    ¡°There fine they just need to get to a hospital well a working one at that¡±

    I walk over grab the duffle bag and hang it over my shoulder well the non-stabbed one. ¡°Cya¡± I say As I walk over to a window, shatter it and hop out.

    I walk down the street and after a couple minutes all my injuries slowly heal themselves. Minor healing factor, nice. As I continue walking and getting an odd look or two I start to think about what happened earlier.

    How did I do any of that? I know how to fight a bit but during that fight I felt Like different person. I acted differently, I was more brutal, I knew things I never learned, hell I even had different instincts like I didn¡¯t know I just instinctively could do a nerve strike. It hasn''t even been a full day since I got these new abilities and I already have a lot of stuff to deal with.

    You know what, I''m going to just go home, get some sleep and find something to spend my new money on tomorrow maybe hang out with Mary who knows. I start to head home too tired to run hoping whatever these abilities are don¡¯t affect my life too much.

 chapter 4 hanging out

    I can¡¯t sleep, no literally I have spent all night trying to sleep in my bed but no matter how much I closed my eyes I didn¡¯t even get tired. Guess that''s another change to add to the list.

    Well at least I have more free time that''s a positive. I used that free time to test out those dials. At first I couldn''t do anything no matter how hard I imagined the dials turning but nothing happened. Eventually tried flexing my brain yeah I know sounds weird but that''s super powers for you.

    While I¡¯m in this state of immense focus I can imagine all these dials and actually turn them. By turning the dials I can strengthen My sense of smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight. Increasing their sensitivity and range but if I turn the dial to high I can face sensory overload. There is a sixth dial that is my reaction time and perception. It makes things look and feel slower. It also seems to activate on instinct, slowing my perception whenever I need it.

    Another trick I¡¯ve learned is that I can choose what I sense. Essentially I can choose what I taste, smell, see and hear. Say if I was drinking coffee, I could make sure that I don¡¯t taste the bitter flavor instead make it taste very sweet. If it was too bright outside I could make it where I don¡¯t see the sunlight. I played around with this ability until 7:35 in the morning and set the dials to a higher setting I can handle Giving me much better senses.

    I decided to head downstairs and see if mom and dad were awake. They weren''t there but in their stead was a piece of paper. Hey honey, by the time you two are awake, me and your father will be heading to Japan that associations tasks us on will be back in a couple weeks. We love you both so much so much and if anything happens call us and will be there. Ps dad here It will be raining a lot over the next two weeks just wanted to warn you.

    I shrug as I walk over to the kitchen and start cooking breakfast. I learned a bit of cooking from dad so that I cook on my own specifically I learned how to make pancakes. After a couple minutes I heard Mary groan as she got out of bed. Sluggishly dragged herself out of her room and down the stairs.

    When she got to the kitchen she was wearing her cat cake pajamas and slippers. ¡°Aaaaaahn¡± she yawns as she walks next to me as I flip the pancake onto its other side.

    ¡°Your up early¡±

    ¡°Yeah, hungry?¡±

    ¡°Starving¡±

    ¡°Of course you are, glutton¡± I smirk as I stare at her.

    ¡°I will throw you¡±

    ¡°Then how will you get your 3 stacks of pancakes?¡± she goes to speak but stops as she pouts.

    ¡°That''s what I thought¡± she proceeds to give me a small shock as she sits down. After a couple more minutes I come over with the pancakes and sit at the table. She immediately starts inhaling her food as I eat mine, not like a vacuum. After 2 minutes she¡¯s finished, I still wonder how she can eat so much with such a small body? After a minute of sweet silence my sister breaks it sadly.

    ¡°Sooooooo got anything planned today?¡±

    ¡°No¡±

    ¡°Ok well I¡¯m gonna be hanging out with one of my friends Rachel and I¡¯m wondering if you¡±

    ¡°If this another one of your dumb attempts to set me up with one of your friends I¡¯m not¡±

    ¡°No you idiot I stop doing that when the last girl you pretty much just gave her a death stare the whole time plus I know your gonna be forever alone¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t like socializing¡±

    ¡°Please you don¡¯t have to talk at all just hang out with us it¡¯s been a bit since we hung out¡±

    Well I could use some time to be normal for a bit after the last 2 days plus I do want to hang out with Mary today.

    ¡°Fine I¡¯ll go¡±

    She gives me a blinding grin ¡°Yes! Well will be heading out in thirty minutes so get ready¡±.

    As she heads towards her room I quickly sniff the air and god she smells horrible like blood and trash. ¡°Hey you should probably take a shower you smell like shit¡± she stops in place as I head to my room and I could hear sniffing herself.

    I put on some jeans, a gray shirt and a black jacket along with my steel tipped boots while Mary wore a baggy green shirt with blue shorts. Around 40 minutes later we were standing in front of a little cafe waiting for Mary''s friend, people walked by us as we stood there.

    ¡°So Why are we standing outside the cafe instead of going in¡±

    ¡°Rachel will be here wanna go inside with them¡±

    ¡°Ok¡±

    After a couple I hear a clopping noise approach us.

    ¡°Mary!¡±

    Did Mary friend come here on a fucking horse? I turned to see the person Mary ran to hug and I¡¯m a bit shocked. The girl stood about 6 foot 2 but that wasn¡¯t odd at all. What was odd is that she had hoofs but not just that: large goat horns, lion ears, red scales and a green snake tail that ended with a snake head that looked at me in the eyes with curiosity. She had a mane of gold, white, red, and green hair that went past her shoulders. She has golden eyes that are a mix of a reptile''s eye, a goat''s eyes and a cat''s eyes. Finally she has tanned skin covered in patches of green and red scales. Finally She wore a gray button up with a wool jacket and jeans.

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    She was actually beautiful huh don¡¯t really say that much so I guess it¡¯s either I have high standards or I like monster girls, I mentally shrugged to myself. I walk over as I¡¯m guessing Rachel is one hugging Mary.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you so much! How¡¯s it been?¡±

    ¡°Good went on my first patrol a couple days ago¡±

    ¡°Was it fun?¡±

    ¡°Yeah until I got a dumpster thrown at me¡±

    ¡°Understandable¡±

    ¡°Ahem¡± I fake cough to get the girls attention

    ¡°Oh sorry forgot the introductions Rachel this is my brother Richard and Richard this is my best friend Rachel¡± I held out my hand as Rachel gave It a firm shake.

    ¡°Pleasure to meet you Richard¡±

    ¡°Same here¡±

    She gave me a toothy grin as she had pretty sharp canines and snake fangs as just like Mary it was near blinding. We all quickly walked into the cafe and I went to an empty table near a window and sat down the other 2 quickly following afterwards.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been here. It''s a really nice place. I love the red velvet cake. we should get some red velvet cake!¡± Rachel said with too much energy. I could already hear My social battery tying the noose and getting on the chair.

    ¡°I want some lemon cake¡±

    ¡°Cake cake cake cake¡± they both started chanting, well I can see why Mary gets along with this girl there pretty similar.

    ¡°Richard come on don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want cake too¡±

    ¡°I do I¡¯m just not gonna chant cake¡±

    ¡°Ok Mr boring¡± Rachel stuck her tongue out as I rolled my eyes in response

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna get us some cake and coffee. You guys stay and chat well, try to¡± Mary then walks off.

    ¡°Sooooo for twins You really don¡¯t look well alike¡±

    ¡°Were fraternal¡±

    ¡°Ooh that''s cool wish I had a twin¡±

    I tap my finger against the table as she sat silent for a couple seconds

    ¡°So I guess you don¡¯t talk much¡±

    I nod as I stare out the window watching people walk by

    ¡°Hey, do you like cats?¡± I nod

    ¡°What types?¡±

    ¡°The ones that don¡¯t claw at me¡±

    ¡°Hehehehe well you don¡¯t worry about it because I don¡¯t claw or bite unless someone deserves it¡± That actually got a smirk out of me.

    ¡°Ha I got a smirk out of you¡±

    ¡°So how did you and Mary meet exactly?¡±

    ¡°Oh well we met a couple years back when I fell on her

    ¡°Fell on her?¡±

    ¡°Yeah I was testing out my powers and well uh I found out there was time limit and fell hehe Anyways after nearly crushing her she said i look like I needed a coffee and took me here and we started talking and we decided to come here and talk and eventually we just started hanging out¡±.

    ¡°Aw yes The best start to all friendships is when of the friends nearly crushes the other¡±

    She chuckles at that as we talk for a bit about things we both like and even though it was mostly her talking still was an enjoyable conversation eventually Mary came back with one red velvet and lemon cake along with 3 coffees.

    I grab my coffee and I change one of the dials. I then took a sip as the bitter taste was gone and replaced with a much sweeter taste. I¡¯ve always had a sweet tooth. I love anything that''s sweet and I can¡¯t get enough of the taste. Hell, if it wasn¡¯t for my workout routine and enhanced body I¡¯d probably be not so fit by this point.

    ¡°Hey Richard, mind answering a question?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡±

    ¡°What is your power Mary said you had one never told me what it is¡± she stares at Mary

    ¡°Hey he never uses it so I kinda forgot¡±

    ¡°Oh is there a reason you don¡¯t use it then¡±

    ¡°Its weak¡± i say in a matter of fact tone

    ¡°Oh well what is it¡±

    ¡°I can breathe out different elements, nothing too big¡±

    ¡°Hey! I can do that too but only with fire and poison¡± She then takes a breath and releases a small puff of fire.

    That small puff of flames proceeds to set Mary on fire.

    ¡°Shit I¡¯m so sorry Mary let me get some water or something!¡± but before she can do anything I take a deep breath as when I exhale a spray of water shoots out and puts out the flames

    ¡°Problem solved¡± Mary says as she starts to blow air on her arm to get the water off her arm, her arm being fine due to her very tough skin.

    ¡°Well as you can see My power is hard to control hehehe¡± she nervously chuckles.

    ¡°So what exactly is your power?¡±

    ¡°Oh well obviously I¡¯m a chimera, I¡¯m a mix of a Ram lion snake and dragon I get stuff from all them as you can see I¡¯m stronger, faster, I¡¯m bulletproof, I have a poisonous bite, I got retractable claws, I can even breath fire also got my snake tail¡±. Said snake tail snuck a bite of Mary lemon cake, still confused on how that works does she control or does it have it''s own mind, do they share stomach actually I''m just gonna stop thinking about before I fry my brain.

    ¡°Also for a short amount of time I can bond with one of my creatures and transform into a new form but only last for a short amount of time and It can change my personality¡±.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like the dragon one¡± Mary shudders

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know¡± they both said at the same time

    I take another sip from my coffee ¡°so are you a hero too Rachel¡¯

    ¡°Yep been one for a month now Mary convinced me¡±

    ¡°What''s been like so far¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been interesting, met some interesting newbies like me, fought some villains, nothing too tough but the adrenaline rush I get from fighting criminals and villains to just running around it¡¯s like nothing else¡±

    ¡°Amen sister¡± Mary nods at that last part.

    I guess being an adrenaline junkie is part of being a hero or villain I guess. I go to say something but a ringing noise comes from Mary''s phone, she picks it up and turns it on.

    ¡°Aw shit gotta go guys Andrew needs me he got himself stuck in another situation¡± she throws down several bills on the table and heads to the exit of the cafe.

    ¡°Wish we could hang more guys but duty calls cya when I get home Richy¡± as she rushes out the door.

    ¡°Sooo this was nice¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    We stayed in silence for a hot minute.

    ¡°This awkward¡±

    ¡°Yep¡±

    ¡°Kinda sucks Mary left¡±

    ¡°Yep¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m gonna go home and help My mom with some stuff but this has been pretty cool. I hope we can hang out more in the future¡±. She leaves her own money on the table and goes to leave. After a couple feet she stops, pulls out some paper, writes on it and hands it to me.

    ¡°Take this it''s my number just in case you wanna talk or hang out in the future well uh bye¡± she gives one more smile as she leaves the cafe. I stare at the little piece of paper, you know a lot of boys dream is to get a girl''s phone number. I quickly add the number to my contacts which consist of mom, dad and Mary.

    I smirk as I stare at her number added to my phone as I put it in my pocket. I like her, after several minutes I leave my money neatly on the table and leave the cafe as I start walking and thinking.

    Now That I actually have had time to clear my head I need to figure out what I should do with these powers. I know I can¡¯t just have these abilities forever without delving into the world of heroes and villains but How should I handle this? Should I wait until eventually Someone or something will push me into it or should I take initiative and dive in. It might be better to dive in but I don¡¯t know if I am even close to being prepared. Heck I barely one against a pretty weak enhancer and a bunch of powerless rando''s.

    It sucks that to help grow quickly I¡¯m gonna need to get into more conflict. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m even the hero type, I want to help people, I want to do good but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m willing to help people I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s gonna do more harm to me. Some kids run past me playing with vanguard action figures as they play heroes and villains. I don¡¯t know If I could be a hero and I¡¯m not a villain. Well, I did brutality, beat a group of people and stole their money even when I could have ran away with the money because I thought it was fun.

    Jeez I sound like a villain in the making. Well, I can¡¯t be a hero because I don¡¯t have the best morals and I¡¯m not gonna become a villain because I still have morals. So what do I do ? Maybe I should do something different, do my own thing. I should try to be something new. Well I should get home and figure out how I should handle the multiple path road I¡¯m on as I start to head home.

 chapter 5 doing some good

    I like the rain, it''s soothing. Sometimes I just like to stay out in the rain and close my eyes and listen to the Noise. I sat on top of that abandoned hospital and decided to check it out again and those red eyes guys and girls were gone. It started to rain so I tuned up my hearing and started just listening. I didn''t think about anything that happened so far, just let the rain wash it away. It''s been 2 days since I hung out with Mary and Rachel. Mary has been busy with her other friends and I¡¯ve been texting with Rachel. She''s really cool. I opened my eyes just to gaze at the city. I could see the start of a hero trying to stop some villains. I could hear police chasing down some criminals. I could hear dogs barking at some cats, I could hear a party going on a rooftop about half a mile away. The city was alive and I could hear its heart beating.

    A smile creeped across my face as it was just nice to sit down and listen Something I¡¯ve been wanting to do. Sadly that calm disappeared as I heard someone scream about 2 blocks away from my current location. It¡¯s not my problem, it''s not my problem don''t get involved.

    ¡°Boss is gonna be pissed she got out!¡±

    ¡°well If we stop complaining and get the little bitch boss won¡¯t ever know she got out¡±

    ¡°Fuck you man the little shit nearly clawed one of my eyes out¡±

    ¡°Maybe you shouldn''t of have let her out of her fucking cage you idiot¡±

    ¡°Shut up she''s cornered let¡¯s get this over with¡±

    Well I guess some girl is getting kidnaped or well escaped being kidnaped. It''s¡­.....It¡¯s not my problem I¡¯m not gonna get into something that¡¯s not my business plus some hero will come by her to save her so what¡¯s the point. I then started to hear gentle sobbing as I felt my body freeze.

    ¡°Pl-please someone h-help me¡±¡­¡­¡­ Fuck it.

    I immediately jumped off the building onto another. I felt the wind and rain rush past me as I landed on the concrete. I felt the concrete below me shatter as I felt a small strain on my legs and without a second Thought I started running. I ran as fast as possible feeling everything rushed past me as I heard girls sobbing getting closer until I jumped in front of an alleyway. There stood 3 people. The first one being Man with too many piercings and a bright orange mohawk very grungy wore a leather get up. The second one had more normal clothes but had a skull tattoo on his face and one of his had a bleeding scratch mark on it. The final one was wearing full biker gear, helmet and all.

    Then I saw the girl. She was about 13-14 my best bet. She had short messy hair like it was hastily cut, she was wearing a white hospital gown stained in dirt and rain, she was albino like me as tears poured down from her pink eyes staining her face.

    ¡°Come here we promise we won¡¯t hurt you¡± biker said with a deep voice

    ¡°Hey shut up with the nice guy act the cunt clawed my face so I¡¯m gonna knock her around a bit as pay back¡± skull face spoke with a sadistic glee

    ¡°Fine just don¡¯t hurt her too much boss doesn¡¯t like damaged goods¡±

    That''s when I ran forward grab skull face by the back of the head and slammed him into the concrete next to me, shattering it.

    ¡°What the fuck!¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    The girl opened her eyes and stared at me. I slowly put on my face mask and pulled up my hood ¡°hey I¡¯ll take care of these guys so don¡¯t worry just run out of here when there''s an opening ok?¡± she nods

    ¡°Fucking hell we got a wannabe hero let¡¯s just kill him and get the girl¡± bikers fore arms started to glow with blue light.

    ¡°agreed¡± mohawks eyes glowed orange

    I balled my fists and I felt everything started slowing down as my adrenaline kicked in. me and the biker both ran at each other as he shot out 2 jabs. I side step and kick him right in the side barley making him move. He threw another punches I duck under it. His glowing fist shattered the wall behind me. I went to strike his solar plexus but an immense force hit me in the side launching several feet.

    I rolled onto my feet as I felt My ribs were cracked by that blast as mohawks eyes were sparking with energy. Great laser vision, at least it was kinetic. I didn¡¯t have time to think as I had rolled out the way of another orange beam cracking the wall behind me. The biker grabbed me by my face and slammed his knee into my jaw. As I stood up he threw a hook at me but I took a step forward, grabbed him by his arm and used his momentum and threw him over my shoulder slamming him into the ground.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± he bounced on the ground as I turned my right hand into the steel and slammed my fist into his face. Luckily for him and unluckily for me he lifted up both his arms over face and blocked it in time. I did feel his arms strain and I could hear his muscles strain and his arm bones crack slightly. I heard sparks of energy behind as on instinct I side stepped a kinetic beam. I turned to see Mohawk turn his head as I had duck under his beam then I jumped towards him tackling him as I turned my finger to claws as I stabbed them into his shoulders.

    ¡°Motherfucker get off me!¡± He tried to look at me but I twisted my finger in shoulder until I ripped my claws out spraying bits of shredded muscle and skin everywhere. Powers like Kinetic visions require concentration and enough pain can interrupt that concentration. I jumped off him, barely avoiding a strike from biker as I was on my feet again.

    ¡°Fuckers good¡± biker said as he help mohawk up.

    ¡°Sadistic too¡±

    The glow on biker arms went down to his hands and then formed 2 blue javelins. With immense force Biker threw the sparking Javelins at me. Every instinct in my body told me if those hit me I would die. I felt My perception slow as soon as he got ready to throw them I leap into the air as I only get a slash across my right thigh. As The area behind me exploded with blue light I then felt something wrap around my ankle as Biker created blue chain and yanked me towards him hitting me with a strong right hook in my solar plexus knocking the air out of me. Then Mohawk hits me with a kinetic blast in the chest launching me. I slid across the ground as I caught my breath as I felt a large bruise form on my chest. The front of my hoodie was rip up as I stood up.

    ¡°Jesus dude just stay down!¡± biker said as he formed a set of glowing brass knuckles

    ¡°No¡± as I dug my hand into the wall next to me ripping out a piece of concrete and with all my might threw it Mohawk and hit him right in the dome, Bullseye.  I sprinted forward and shot my foot Into bikers calf causing him to fall onto one leg. I then shot my leg out and hit him in the neck with my ankle. It knocked him back a bit as I shot my clawed fingers and stabbed him in the side. He threw multiple slurs at me as he went for a cross. My claws on my left hand turned to normal as my left hand turned to steel as the steel scales formed the back of my left hand into a shield as I bashed away the strike.

    I then ripped my claws from his side and uppercut him, knocking his head back as I hit him with a palm strike with my left hand cracking his biker helmet. He stumbles back as he gets his composer and then summons a blue machete. Projectors are people with the abilities to project an element or energy they can do it in a variety of ways in Bikers case it¡¯s constructs. He rushed forward and went for an overhand strike as I side stepped him and went for a nerve strike but he formed a round shield in his left hand blocking my attack and shoving me back. He went for another strike at my head as I turned my head to the side just in time as I threw a jab at his side. He moved the shield to block as I turned the jab into a feint and spun and elbowed him in the side of the head. I then grabbed him by the head and headbutted him. Causing his sword and shield to disappear as I hit him with a one inch punch knocking him into the wall his head slumped.

    I could hear his breathing wasn¡¯t dead. I turned to the girl as she had a look of wonder in her eyes. I go speak but then she screams ¡°Behind you!¡± I turn immediately as I spot Mohawk firing a kinetic beam as I raise both my arms in an x position. The beams cashed against my arms pushing me back. My sleeves get destroyed in the process as I start walking forward pushing against the beams as I feel my skin crack, my muscles, my bones crack.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°WHY WON¡±T YOU JUST FUCKING DIE!?¡± I Then duck to the ground and leap forward as Tackle him. I then grab him by the face and turn my hand fully into steel blocking the beams as I slam his head into the ground knocking him out.

    I breath hard exhausted As It run to see not only is biker back holding the girl by the neck but skull face he smirking as blood pours down his face he gives me a salute as his face tattoos glows and a shadowy skull forms behind them and bites down on all of them the last thing I see is the fear in that girls eyes. As the skull shuts its mouth close and disappears.

    I fell to my knees filled with distraught. I failed her, I couldn''t save her dammit!. I slammed my fist into the ground causing the concrete crack. I looked at my fist and noticed the blood on it Bikers blood and my instincts told me to lick it.  For some reason either from desperation or a moment of insanity I lick it. I felt the taste of copper hit my tongue and it tasted sweet, an addicting sense of sweet. I licked my hand clean and I felt an odd sensation from my eyes as if a switch was flipped. As something started to appear on the ground bloody footsteps leading off somewhere. I guess I got some sort of blood tracking and for some reason blood tasted amazing.

    I pushed away the thoughts of me potentially being a vampire as I started following the steps. Eventually all my injuries heal as after half an hour of me running I end up in front of an old factory. I look up and spot the red outlines of Biker on the third floor. I hop and dig my silver claw into the wall as the only thought running through my was I¡¯m not gonna let this girl down I will save her. After a bit of climbing I get to a window near the third floor and I spot a room filled with several computers, a pile of money and a large orange couch where a woman lazily sits on. She had a muscular build, wore camo pants and a muscle shirt and was probably 6 foot but what made her look odd was that she looked like a panther.

    She was covered in pitch black fur, had cat ears and whiskers and a long tail. Her hair was pitch black like her fur and cut short. Finally, she had Dark green cat eyes. A mutant People with powers that permanently mutate their appearance in some way or form, the mutations are usually animal based.

    After several seconds Biker and Skull face walked in, Biker holding the girl as she failed to get out of his grip.

    ¡°Hey boss where back with the escapee¡± biker moved forward with a limp

    She lazily stares at him ¡°what happened to you two?¡±

    ¡°We had some trouble with some hero beat us up pretty badly we had to leave Remington behind¡±

    ¡°Sigh Well give her to wanna see if she¡¯s still usable¡± Biker tosses the girl to the boss as she inspected her.

    ¡°She''s good so toss her with the rest. glad you two got her. We have an auction tomorrow and a albino especially one as cute as this one, people will pay top dollar for her¡±.

    Fucking traffickers I felt anger start to course through my being. Biker grabbed the girl and walked over to a large metal door, unlocked it and tossed her in.

    Biker and Skullface went to leave the room but before he left Biker stared directly at me causing me to freeze but all he did was give me a nod as he and Skullface left the room without a word, weird.

    The boss went to a computer and started typing on it. I slowly opened the window and sneaked in, making sure to take light steps as I moved. Every step I took I slowly got closer and closer to her. I stood behind as I turned my right hand fully into steel as I lifted up my fist and went to knock her out but then I saw her ears twitch.

    As she sidestep my punch and claws pop from her finger and with blinding speed she claws me across my cheek. I jump backwards holding my cheek.

    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing you''re the one that fucked up my goons?¡± she looks me up and down

    ¡°Kinda Disappointing I¡¯m not gonna lie well Mr hero here''s The deal I¡¯m feeling nice tonight so I¡¯ll let you leave and if you stay I¡¯m gonna rip your throat and use it as paint¡± She holds her claw dripping with blood as a large Cheshire grin forms on her face showing all her razor sharp teeth. I ponder the question. I don''t know If i could beat her I barely beat her henchman and she''s the boss but then I remember that scared look in that girls eyes as it reinforces my resolve. I lift up my fists to show her my answer.

    ¡°Well at least you got balls¡± She gets on all fours and with blinding speeds she appears in front of me. I lift up my arms to attempt to block her, earning a large slash across my right forearm. She then spins and kicks across the face I try to punch but she¡¯s already halfway across the room before I can even react. She''s fast, her claws are sharp, She¡¯s probably gonna try to overwhelm me with her speed and use hit and run tactics. I slowly turn the dial in my head as Things slow down for me. I lift up My steel hand as she dashed towards I can perceive her now but she''s still fast. I barely block two strikes with my steel hand but her tail shoots out hitting me in the face doing no damage but distracting enough for her to claw me across the chest. I shoot out a jab but she dodges and starts circling me now.

    ¡°You know I can tell you''re pretty strong. You would make a strong henchman. I pay a lot, really name it and I know a guy that can get it for you¡± Normally I would think about her offer but righteous anger flowing through my body affects my choice. I charge towards her as when she goes to dodge I grab her by her tail.

    I pull her towards me and punch her right in the gut launching her on the couch. She spits out some blood as she jumps to her feet smiling. She dash towards and shoots out a kick. I grab her ankle and go to swing her but she stabs her claws into my shoulder forcing me to let go. She then shot out a flurry of kicks hitting me in the gut and then in the face. She goes for another claw but I¡¯m able to knock it to the side and hit her with a nerve strike causing her to go limp as I hit her with a jab then a cross then a hook and finishing up the combo with a uppercut.

    Her nose shatters under my fist and blood sprays across face as she flies backwards once again. I wipe away the blood pouring from my nose from her kicks as I walk towards her. She lays in the pile of money dazed as I go for one last punch but I stop in place as my fist returns back to flesh as I get a head splitting headache, dammit not now! Seeing that I stopped in place she leaps forward stabbing both her claws into my side as blood starts pouring from my mouth. She opens her mouth and with a chomp she bites into my shoulder.

    Her serrated teeth dig into my flesh starts tearing into the muscles and with a pull she rips out a piece of shoulder. My shoulder having a massive chunk missing leaves the ripped muscle and flayed skin to be seen by all. The air coming in contact with my nerves felt like there were needles stable into me. She then spins around me, wraps her legs around my neck and slams me into the ground.

    She jumps on top of me going to stab in the throat with both her claws. I grab her wrists but I¡¯m too weak as she slowly overpowers me. This is how I die to some random criminal. No not like this as I focus on the dragon in my mental vault and with all my strength I try waking it up. At first nothing happens but the dragon slowly lifts up its head, waking up for the first time.

    I feel the heat build up in my chest travel up my throat and I open my mouth burning my face mask as I let out a blast of fire launching Ms panther off. Her chest and neck are covered in burns as she screams in pain. I get onto my feet as I fire another blast of flames she barely dodges as she tries to attack my side. I shoot my hand grabbing her wrist crushing it then and then I slam my forearm into hers breaking it.

    I then put it behind her back and with all my might I threw her into the ceiling covering parts of the room in darkness. She falls to the ground several feet away from me. ¡°Hehehehehehehe¡± she starts laughing, that''s not a good sign. She stood up with her broken arm hanging at her side. ¡°Here''s a little lesson boy: when someone master''s their ability they can awaken something new, a new power!¡± as she takes a step into the shadow disappearing entirely.

    She completely disappears entirely as I feel something cleave into my back then a second after in my chest then the side of my neck. Whatever she did let her hide in the shadows and is putting her speed to a new level i can¡¯t even touch her. I get cleave across my right arm as I remember something as I look at the blood on my hand and lick it. I get cleaved across the right side of my face then my left shoulder. I see her blood red silhouette in the shadows moving on all fours. I slow down My reaction time more as my headache gets worse and even though it causes me immense pain I turn my right fist into steel.

    I cleaved again this time my right thigh then my left calf then my lower back. Blood paints the ground around as I wait for the perfect moment as I see her silhouette in front. As she leaps towards me I shoot out my fist and it collides with her face as with all my might I punch her into the wall, the wall collapses on her.

    My hand returns to normal but covered in dark purples bruises and red blisters. I noticed something when the computer walked over and it showed a chat room she was talking to wearing. She was selling children and the pictures show the children in revealing clothes covered in bruises scared. . . . . . . .I stood there staring at the screen as burning rages started to rise in me, I then started walking towards her.

    I grab her out of the rubble. She has a massive bruise on her face, blood pouring from her mouth. ¡°Ok hero you won take me jail¡± she snickers as I stare at her, the burning rage turning to a cold one. My grip tightens as fear fills her eyes as with my other hand I grab her by the throat ¡°no one will recognize you or even know you were here¡± and for the first time in my life I see red.

    It was a blur that''s How I could describe it but when I came to what I saw made me want to puke. What was in front of me was a pile of gore. It was a pile of crushed organs, shattered bones and ripped flesh. I could see her stomach slowly dripping its acid on the floor. Her eye staring at me detached from its body. Her arms tied bent and brokens like branches. I Thought I would throw up or feel something from killing a person for the first time but I didn¡¯t kill a person I killed a monster.With a quick blast of flames I set the remains on fire turning it to ash.

    I limp over to the metal door and rip it off its hinges. I enter the room and what I see sickens me truly. Nearly a dozen girls the oldest being 15 the youngest being 10. They were wearing, they all wore some sort of thin dress, most of them had make up to make them look pretty, disgusting. All of them were pretty skinny and hadn''t been fed properly. Some of them had dark purple bruises on them. They all backed away when I entered the room.

    Some had fear in their eyes when they saw me, others had an empty look. The fearful look stung a bit but I couldn''t blame them. I was 6.6 and was covered in blood plus I think my eyes were glowing red. One did come up to me, the albino girl from earlier she walked up and hugged me, crying into my chest. I slowly hugged her back ¡°it¡¯s ok your I dealt with the bad guys you don¡¯t have to worry anymore I¡¯m here now¡±.

    That opened the floodgates as several other kids came up and hugged me crying some didn¡¯t but were tearing up. I held up the albino girl and led them all of that hellhole.

    By the time we exit the Factory the sun is shining, the clouds clear as all the children cover their eyes probably not having seen the sun in a bit. I hear police and ambulance sirens as I put on a spare face mask and pull up more of my hood to cover my face more. I wonder who called them and then I noticed something in the distance on a building where Biker, Skull Face and Mohawk stood. Biker gave me finger guns and Mohawk gave me the bird as The large shadowy skull covers them and they disappear. I got a feeling I¡¯ll be seeing more of them in the near future.

    Several police officers ran past me into the building while one walked up to me.

    ¡°Sir what happened¡±

    ¡°Human traffickers specifically children and teens took care of their of the ringmaster¡±

    The officers nods as I look at the girl with teary eyes in my arms

    ¡°Hey these people will take you somewhere you get food and get cleaned and a nice bed, they will eventually take you to your families¡± the girl behind hesitated but walked to the police officers and medics. I let the little albino girl down

    ¡°My names lily¡±

    ¡°That''s a wonderful name lily¡±

    ¡°Will I ever see you again?¡±

    ¡°Maybe but I hope it¡¯s under better circumstances now to go to the nice police officers¡± I ruffle her hair at that last part.

    Lily walks off as The police officer approaches me ¡°who exactly are you sir?¡±

    ¡°Nobody¡± I say before sprinting off before they could ask any questions. That felt good, I feel good, helping people made me feel good. Maybe this hero thing ain¡¯t that bad. Eventually I got home and opened the door and walked inside and standing there was my sister who was right in front of me and I was still covered in blood.

    ¡°Hey¡± I said.

    ¡°Hey¡± she said back

 chapter 6 figuring things out

    So me and Mary sat at the table in silence and it was kinda getting awkward. I was eating some grilled chicken. A side effect of me using my powers a lot I guess makes me really hungry.

    ¡°Sooooooo you heal quickly huh?¡± Finally the awkward silence has been broken.

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°Cool, cool¡±

    She''s tapping foot against the ground rapidly, a nervous tick I¡¯m guessing. I could see worry, confusion and a slight curiosity. She has been like this ever since I came home about an hour ago can¡¯t blame her though because If I saw her walk in one morning covered in blood and injuries I¡¯d be worried too. She gained the confusion when I just took a shower to wash away all blood and then the curiosity when they started healing. All my injuries healed fine but I am covered in scars, can¡¯t wait to explain that to mom and dad when they get back. My right hand is not healing as quickly as everything is still bruised but not as badly as it was originally.

    ¡°Sigh Richard can you explain what exactly happened to you¡±

    ¡°Well I was relaxing on top of a building heard some girl being kidnap fought 3 guys who all had powers beat them up 2 of them got the girl and escaped I lick some of there blood and track them down got to there hideout fought there boss I won but got hurt badly found out that they were selling young girls to people freed the girls gave them to the police and went home¡± better to tell the truth instead of lying.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like how you explained that so casually¡± she was more worried and confused now

    ¡°Well it¡¯s what happen¡±

    ¡°But how? Like really no offense but you''re not that strong dude so did you beat up 4 super powered criminals in how much time?¡±

    ¡°Like an hour¡± I take a bite of the delicious chicken.

    ¡°Exactly! you did all that in an hour with no help and you got home looking like you got slammed dunked into a meat grinder and just walked it off and are fine please explain¡± she sounded exacerbated after saying all that.

    ¡°Ok¡± As I lift up my left hand and flex it without any real strain my hand turns to steel. She just sat there dumbfounded staring at my hand as I returned it back to normal and went back to eating.

    ¡°So you got new powers?¡±

    ¡°Yep¡±

    ¡°What are they?¡±

    ¡°So far enhanced physique, controllable super senses and reaction time/perception, a minor healing factor, I can track people by consuming there blood, I can instinctively know how to fight and use martial arts moves, I can turn my hands into steel claws and my chaos breath that got a upgrade¡±

    She slowly rubs her temples ¡°when, where, why and how?¡±

    ¡°About 2-3 days ago, at the abandoned train track where I got caught up in that train crash, Probably because I touched the dead body of Steel Drake and the people that captured her did some experiments on her body that let whatever they did to her go to me¡±.

    She just sat there staring at me with a questioning look on her face ¡°what?¡±

    ¡°Yeah When I was walking away from the train and I found some high tech silver container it opened up and I saw Steel drake body in there attach to all theses machines she died I touch her then these guys in modified swat gear started shooting at me I used her power temporarily and ran home and that''s how I busted up my¡±

    ¡°So you found Steel Drakes body and didn¡¯t tell anyone?¡±

    ¡°Guess it just slipped my mind¡± The last couple days, I have been just on a joyride testing my new powers and never really took the chance to tell anyone.

    ¡°It just slipped your mind? they might have been able to find her body earlier and the people who did it!¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean earlier?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah forgot you don¡¯t watch the news or spend any time on any social media apps¡±

    ¡°Because the news is filled with fake new that tries to grab your attention for ratings and those social media apps are just filled with too many neckbeards and toxic people¡± I take another bite of food

    ¡°Sigh anyways they found her body in the vanguards meeting room mangled and missing all her limbs had the calling card of jack all over the room¡±

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    Weird jack the ripper a powerful hero killer who just appeared out of nowhere a decade ago and just started killing heroes or villains with no rhyme or reason at least one we don¡¯t know about anyways jack powers are unknown and strong and She doesn¡¯t like working with anyone especially scientists.

    ¡°Anyways back onto the main topic, you have Steel drakes powers, any differences?"

    ¡°Yeah I can only use it with my hands for a short amount of time before using hurts me and it¡¯s not the weird platinum silver like Steel Drakes more of a dark gray¡± She gives the classic your idiot she usually gives me this stare before calling me an idiot.

    ¡°You''re an idiot that''s not different, that''s just how her power started out. It''s just so much different because she spent 80 years training with her power and you just got¡±

    ¡°Makes sense¡± I take one last bite of the chicken.

    ¡°We need to get you somewhere where we can properly test out your current capabilities¡±

    ¡°And that would be?¡±

    ¡°Let me call up Rachal she¡¯s got her own little training ground that she uses and lets me use¡±

    ¡°Ok when and where¡± I start stretching and popping every bone in my body

    ¡°Preferably soon and it''s at some old scrap yard no one visits anymore¡±

    ¡°Are we running there?¡±

    ¡°No were driving¡±

    ¡°Aw¡± I feel sad that I don¡¯t get to run

    After ten minutes we were driving down the streets of the lower middle class district. This place feels like more of a town as a lot of people know each other over here and it doesn''t really have that many high up buildings. We drive past an auto repair shop, a diner, a gun shop and a grocery store all of the places having more of a friendly vibe, yes even the gun shop. It''s more sunny today as if the clouds were vaporized by the sunlight coating this part of the city in a light golden hue giving off a relaxing vibe.

    Eventually we get to another auto repair shop in front of a massive scrap yard that at least goes for a mile or two.

    ¡°Here''s the place, Rachal and her family owns it I¡¯ve met them before there all really nice¡±

    I give a thumbs up as we both get out of the car as we walk towards the place. It has in big letters Bestia auto repairs. I wonder if the rest of her family might be like her and be some sort of chimera?

    I have to lower the dial that controls my smell as we get closer to the shop as I smell a lot of gas, melted metal and burnt pork?

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing she owns the place?¡±

    ¡°Yep¡±

    ¡°So she knows how to repair cars?¡±

    ¡°Yeah that and pretty much anything she likes to modify stuff sometimes with varying levels of success, that poor poodle¡± she shudders at that last part

    Guess she¡¯s a tinker too. Hmm wonder if she could make me stuff? I quickly push away the thoughts of jetpacks and laser swords as Mary and I walk into the shop. We walk up to the counter as the area is covered in burn and claw marks. The counter has a bunch of knick-knacks made out of different pieces of scrap metal that were melted together. I wonder if I could do that?

    ¡°Hey Rachal, we''re here!¡± silence

    ¡°She¡¯s probably busy, we''re gonna have to wait a bit, she might even be gone¡± Mary takes a seat in one of the plastic chairs in the room. I tune My hearing a bit as I hear far off in the Garage snoring.

    ¡°She''s sleeping¡±

    ¡°Of course she is¡± she sighs as she stands up and starts walking to the garage ¡°lets go wake her up¡±. I quickly started following her as with a light push we entered the garage. Messy wasn¡¯t the best way to describe. The floor was coated in motor oil, more burns and claws marks, random pieces of scrape and car parts and finally there laid a car that had its engine missing in the middle of the room.

    The garage had two entrances one that led to the front of the shop and the other led to the scrap yard. Near a little workshop riddled with different tools the sleeping dragon laid there. She wore a white muscle shirt stained in motor oil and extremely baggy cargo pants. She was ripped her arms being covered in compact muscle and I can even see the definition in her back where the muscle was most compact probably because of her wings. The wings were large and reptilian covered in more plate-like scarlet scales with two black talons and orange membrane; it would be a sight to see if she wasn''t using it like a makeshift blanket.

    They covered her head and the write side of her body as she gently snored.

    ¡°Ok this is gonna be tough she is a pretty deep sleeper like really I swear not even a bomb going off right now would wake her up¡± we both waited a couple seconds just to make sure she didn¡¯t jinx us

    ¡°Let me guess not even a thunderclap near her ears will wake her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried that before and it just burnt her hair a bit she''s part dragon I guess it''s the type that sleep a lot¡±

    I walked over and lifted her wing that was covering her face as she was wearing a full shield mask that covered her face. Her hair was a wild mess as her horns were slightly digging into the workbench. She softly snored the lower part of the shield mask glowed a bit as small bits of flame shot out beneath her mask. I noticed a necklace hanging off her neck. It was made up of shiny silver and had a little dragon holding a white diamond in the middle, was probably worth 5043 dollars, pretty pricey and was just hanging there for the taking.

    ¡°Hey can you stop checking out her tits and help me figure out a way to wake her up¡± My sister spoke with a disappointed tone.

    ¡°Hey I¡¯m not checking her out just looking at this expensive necklace she¡¯s wearing¡±

    ¡°Sure¡± I was trying to resist the urge to look at her chest. She was well endowed. A quick look wouldn¡¯t hur, I quickly slap myself in the face to stop myself from finishing that thought as I walk over to Mary. I felt something cold in my hand as I turned to see I was grabbing the necklace as the flames under the mask stopped. ¡°Fuck¡± As her tail shot out slamming into my side faster Then I could even process it as I flew into the garage door denting it as I crashed into it.

    Mary walks near me as she kneels down ¡°and that''s why you don¡¯t mess with a dragon''s hoard¡±

    ¡°At least she''s up¡± as I lift myself up

    ¡°True¡± as we both walk over to the yawning chimera

    She stretches out her wings and even the snake head on her tail yawns as with a toss she removes the mask. Her face is covered in oil and grime as she looks at us. Her eyes are still odd to look at because instead of the sclera being white hers is black her pupils being thin sideways slits.

    ¡°Sorry about hitting you I get aggressive when someone touches what is mine didn¡¯t help you woke me up¡± she gives a sheepish smile as she rubs the back of her head

    ¡°It¡¯s cool my fault anyways we need your help¡±

    ¡°Oh with what?¡± she raises a eyebrow as she holds her hands on her hips

    ¡°Well we need to use your scrap yard Rachal¡± Mary quickly steps in front of me

    ¡°Oh this is gonna be good¡± Rachal clasped her hands together ¡°So you and your brother gonna train back there or something?¡± she turns to her work bench as she start digging through it grabbing tools

    ¡°She let me use it to help me get a hand at my powers when I first got them¡± Mary states to me

    ¡°Anyways kinda were actually gonna be testing out this numbskull''s new powers¡± Rachal stops as she starts to tie her hair into a messy ponytail.

    ¡°Explain¡± her snake friend drops a pair of goggles into her hand

    ¡°Yeah he recently became a Hybrid like me but a lot more unique¡± Unique more like absolutely badass.

    Rachal pops the goggles on as she turns to me with a smile that only a shark could rival. She walks up to the both of us ¡°So what do you wanna test first?¡±

 Chapter 7 running some tests

    The first test was pretty simple; it was a strength test. We stood in the middle of the scrap mountains of scrap metal and rundown junk as far as the eye could see. I stood sitting on the ground having taken off my hoodie leaving in my muscle shirt. Mary and Rachal just got done dragging in everything needed for the strength test. A fridge, boxes of different items, a shit ton of scrap metal, a dumpster and several cars. Rachal quickly walks over as she has a little clipboard.

    ¡°I¡¯d say we got everything ready to test out what level of strength you have¡±

    ¡°So you did this test with Mary?¡± I quickly hop onto my feet

    ¡°Yeah she got around the 12 ton range in strength¡± I swear I could see Mary smirk as she dropped the last car on the ground with a thud. I walk over to all the junk I¡¯ll be lifting ¡°so when do we start?¡± Rachal puts on her goggles as Mary stands near her with her arms crossed ¡°now would be nice¡±.

    I quickly walk over to boxes as I start grabbing them and they like holding a bunch of feathers as I quickly stack all 6 boxes on top of each other, lift it up and put it down with no real stress. Rachal writes some things down as she gestures towards the fridge. I open it and see it''s filled with scrap metal and then closed as I grab the fridge by its sides, feeling my finger slightly dig into the thing. I lift it up a bit heavier then the boxes but still not feeling any strain as I quickly toss the fridge in a far off pile of scrap as Rachal eye slowly twitches ¡°I¡¯m going to have to reorganize that later¡±.

    I quickly walk over a bunch of scrap metal welded together into a ball as I lift that off as I feel the weight this time as I roll away like a bowling ball just needing some pins. As I get to the dumpster Rachal quickly walks over ¡°hey how are you doing¡± I turn to her ¡°good why?¡± she looks at her clipboard ¡°well you''re about to be entering tons of lifting capability and depending on how strong you might end up getting hurt and I don¡¯t want that ok¡± I nod as I walk over and grip the bottom of the dumpster as I feel the weight not heavy yet but getting there as with some effort I lift up the dumpster over my shoulder and hold it there a minute straight.

    ¡°So far so Good you''re able to at least lift up one ton so Far now for the cars If you lift the first one fine I¡¯ll grab one fly up and put it on top of the other ok?¡± I nod as I walk to a rusted car, moment of truth to see if I could chuck a car. I put my hands under the car and grip the metal as dust starts flowing off the old thing as I lift it. I feel the weight double that of the dumpster as I slowly lift it above my head. Rachel puts the clipboard into Mary''s arms as her wings unfurl as flies over to another car. Her claws pop out as she digs her hand into lifting it up and slowly flies above me.

    ¡°You ready?¡± I take a deep breath ¡°yeah¡± as I hear her let go as I feel the weight double. I nearly fell to one knee as this feels heavy. I feel my muscles start to ache as My legs shake a bit as my mouth slams shut with strain as My feet slowly dig into the ground. I stood there as Mary had a worried look on her face ¡°hey Richy I think you''re good, put the cars down¡± I turned to her as I just shook my head. I can handle this. I''m  Strong now, I''m not a weakling. I hear Rachal grab another car as she flies above me ¡°hey are you sure you want to do this you seem close to reaching your limit¡± I hear genuine worry in her voice as I can feel her hesitation.

    ¡°Do it, I can handle it¡± she ponders for a moment as I hear the car drop. The weight becomes immense as I fall to one knee as I feel my muscles start to scream as The cars slowly fall onto me. I feel everything slow down as Mary starts running forward as I start to slowly stand up. My muscles are on fire. I''m gritting my teeth so hard they feel like they''re about to break. As with a massive amount of effort I lift the car above my head for several seconds then toss it to the ground as I¡¯m breathing, I gasp for air as it feels like my lungs are on fire.

    I feel Mary rush over and just hold me as I catch my breath. I eventually catch my breath as I feel all my torn muscles and crack teeth healing already. I stand up as Mary gives me a quick jab into my arm, thank god she could control her strength or I would be across the scrap yard.

    ¡°You''re goddamn idiot Richard, seriously you could have been crushed but nooooooooo you had to push yourself!¡± she was worried and pissed at the same time

    ¡°I¡¯m fine really I¡¯m already healed too and plus we gotta know my hard limit and that is?¡± Rachal quickly flies over holding the clipboard as her snake friend writes on it with its mouth, still don¡¯t know how that tail works.

    ¡°Well your lifting strength limit seems to be 6 and half tons half your sisters, that''s pretty good¡± Mary sighs as she tosses the cars into one of the scrap mountains.

    ¡°So what''s the next test¡±

    ¡°That would be striking strength aka how hard you can punch. I already have the testing area set just follow me¡± yay punching time my favorite.

    We head to another part of the scrap yard, this one has 3 blocks set up. One wooden one, one concrete one and one steel one.

    ¡°So essentially each one of these blocks is solid and this test requires you essentially either punch through them or shatter them¡± Rachel pats the solid steel one ¡°this also lets see how tough your hands are¡±.

    ¡°Break a leg well hand in this case¡± Mary slaps me on the back knocking me forward and nearly making me fall. I quickly walk over to the wooden block. I think it was made out of oakwood? Can¡¯t tell anyways it''s solid like Rachel said. I take a deep breath as I lift back my fist turn my torso. As I quickly take a step forward, turn my body and shoot out my fist.

    I Feel the wood splinter as soon as my fist makes contact then as it keeps going with the momentum the rest of the wood shattered too with little resistance. Splinters fly everywhere, coating the ground in wood chips.

    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing you know how to throw a punch is part of that instinct power?¡± Mary has curiosity written all over her face.

    ¡°Yeah It¡¯s like I know what to do hell even my body acts on its own sometimes like I got muscle memory¡± I move over to the the concrete block

    I get ready for another punch as I put a lot more force into this as I take a deep breath, turn my torso, I once again take a quick step forward, turn my torso and shoot out a punch. The concrete is a lot denser and rough as I feel some of the impact from my punch lesson but my fist just like before shatters through turning it to dust that coats my hand.

    Rachal plays with the chalkboard by tossing it around as she speaks up ¡°Maybe it''s a self mentalist ability, one that lets you have instincts and natural combat skill¡±. Mentalists, one of the more terrifying power classification any mind based power falls under them mind control, telepathy, illusions and then there¡¯s self mentalists that alter their own brains there pretty rare abilities such as super intelligences, perfect recall, super learning and even forms of precognition, guess I¡¯m one of them.

    I walk over to the final block, the steel one that will most likely break my hand but here goes nothing. I go through the motions, I take a deep breath, turn my torso, I take a quick step forward, turn my torso and shoot out another punch. I hit the metal As I feel my fist go a couple inches in but stop in place as I see my hand has dented the steel block and my hand is bleeding.

    Mary Snorts as she walks over ¡°when I Said break a hand I didn''t mean literally¡±. I pull my hand back and my knuckles are a deep purple and and have cuts on them with blood slowly dripping from my knuckles. The purple quickly disappears as the cuts seal themselves and will never get used to seeing that.

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    ¡°Hey Rachel can I try again¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why you¡¯ll just hurt your hand again¡±

    I lift up my left hand and turn it into steel. It looks different, the claws are longer and sharper, the scales are looking more like littles plates, the metal is just a shade brighter and the metal reaches a small bit past my wrist now. It feels stronger and more durable now it also feels easier to use and I feel like I can use it more. Guess that''s from me using it so much yesterday.

    ¡°Hey Rachal I wanna test out my striking strength with this power activated. Is that good?¡±

    ¡°Yeah if it enhances your striking capabilities might as well see how much it does¡± I nod as I go through the motions once more as I take a deep breath, turn my torso, take a quick step forward, turn my torso again and throw a punch. I feel no resistance as I feel my punch cave through the metal block as if I was punching paper it, it even cave in like paper as it was heavily bent and deformed as it flew away 20 feet away from me.

    Both Mary and Rachal had looks of shock on their faces. Rachal writes something down on the clipboard ¡°well You have much striking force then Mary that"s a fact¡±. I stare at my metal fist and wonder did I kill a person with this? I mean when I fought that gang On my first night with these powers did I kill any of them? They weren¡¯t looking in the best condition and the closest hospital might have been far away. I didn¡¯t think to even check on them or at least call a hospital. I just ran off with the money. The money I took the money they stole well they actually didn''t say that for all I know that was money they earned, the money that was probably meant for food or clothes or anything that could help them and I just beat the shit out them maybe killed them without asking a single fucking question. I haven¡¯t even fucking used the money just having waste in my closet.

    I then start to think about that villain I¡­¡­¡­I killed her, I brutalized her made her unrecognizable a bloody mess and I made it painful but she deserved it the thing she did to those children and she was gonna sell them to people that would ruin there life over fucking money. She was a monster and she deserved everything that happened to her.

    ¡°Hey you ok there? You¡¯ve just kinda standing there staring at your hand¡± I heard Mary''s voice ending my train of thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m good just thinking¡±

    ¡°Is everything ok¡± I can hear the worry in her voice much more appsrent this time then all the others

    ¡°Ok guys are gonna be heading to the next test, the speed/agility test. I have a feeling you''re gonna like this one Mary.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m gonna love it¡± as she gives me a sinister grin that entails dark things to come

    ¡°THIS IS SO BULLSHIT JUST STAY THE FUCK STILL!!!¡± Mary''s screams at the top of her lungs as I dodged another hail of rainbow paintballs. This test was set up in a large open area, where Rachal would drive in one of modified cars that was essentially a normal car but with a mounted paintball gun that Mary would use to try to shoot at me. The goal was to try to outrun the car while dodging paintball fire and scrap that was laid kinda like an obstacle course. Now normally this would sound impossible to do but surprisingly I was doing well.

    I heard that when people develop powers there are 3 things that decide what power they¡¯ll get. The first deciding factor is related to trauma or traumatizing events that can cause a lot of mental issues and even the power can relate to their mental state most villains having this be the reason they get their power.. The second is genes aka people with parents or ancestors who had powers. The power is always very similar if not identical to the people there related to powers. The final one is that power is related to what they love. There can be someone who loves animals getting animal control or someone who loves a firefighter gets hydrokinesis. I guess whatever is happening might have given me some minor super speed because I love running.

    Dirt and shards of metal shootout beneath my feet as I¡¯m outpacing the car with not that much difficulty as I jump the side avoiding a pile of scrap. I then quickly hop onto a pile of old cars and use it to help me jump 10 feet avoiding another spray of paintballs.

    ¡°GOD FUCKING DAMMINT!!!¡± Mary is actually starting to spark but I can¡¯t blame not only am I fast but my enhanced senses let me hear the paint balls flying through the air and my enhanced reaction gives me more then enough time to predict when and where they''re gonna hit. I don¡¯t know how fast I¡¯m moving but I¡¯m definitely moving faster than the car and Rachal said she modified the car to where it would move at least 300 hundred miles per hour so yeah I¡¯m pretty fast.

    ¡°WOOOOO HOOOOO!!¡± Speaking of Rachal seems like she is having the time of her life as she swerves and makes sharp turns throughout the area.

    ¡°RACHAL KEEP THIS THING STEADY I¡¯M TRYING TO GET A GOOD SHOT AT HIM!¡±

    ¡°WHAAAAT? CAN YOU SPEAK UP I¡±M BLARING ROCK MUSIC IN MY HEADPHONES RIGHT NOW¡± the clouds get a bit darker and bigger as Mary had a devious smile.

    ¡°You know what? FUCK IT LETS SEE IF YOU CAN DODGE THIS?¡± She lets go of the Paintball gun and starts charging her with blue electricity. Fuck shes getting pissed that means she¡¯s gonna shock me. Recently whenever Mary gets pissed at something she has the tendency to shock things and she has enough control over the lighting and electricity that she can hit someone with it and only cause them pain and for them to freeze up.

    I don¡¯t really feel like getting shocked so I need to think of a plan as I slow down my perception to a halt and start thinking eventually I get one.

    This is gonna be fun  as I put my perception back to normal and jump forward as I land on my left hand as it turns to steel as I hear the car getting close and Mary shoot out a bolt of electricity as I do a handspring I feel myself rush through the air I see Mary slowly look at me as I take a deep breath as I feel my heart beat a bit faster as Sparks traveling up my throat.

    I fire a quick bolt of electricity out of my mouth aiming for the canister holding all the paintballs as it explodes coating the front of the car and Mary in rainbow paint. Sorry Mary my aim is just better, I quickly turn in the air landing on the ground causing a small plume of dust to shoot around me.

    The car quickly stops skidding against the ground as I walk over with a smile on my face as Mary hopes off of the car as she wipes paint off her face. Rachal gets out after her as the both of them have a very annoyed look on there face as they both walk over to the and simultaneously they both punch me in the face. I got launched several feet as I slid across the ground, yeah I probably deserved that.

    Next was an accuracy test, my favorite and a test of my newly upgraded chaos breath. Several targets were set up on different objects at varying distances and my goal was to hit at least one. I have 5 different types of breaths. I can probably do more but that''s when I have more training with this power. The current ones are fire, air, earth, water and lighting.

    ¡°So your Chaos breath got stronger, how? Also cool name by the way¡± Rachal asks as she gives me curiosity.

    ¡°Oh yeah I was about to die and Kinda just willed the dragon in my head to wake up¡±

    ¡°Excuse me what!?¡±

    ¡°Anyways let''s start¡± as I walk forward where a red line is drawn. The first target is a car about 12 feet away. I feel my chest get solid as rocks start to form in my throat. I feel like I should choke but I don¡¯t. I take and breath and open my mouth as a volley of razor sharp stones shoot out of my mouth and slam into the car. Most of the volley of sharp stones miss the target shooting out like a shotgun and stab into the car but a few do hit the target.

    ¡°Ok I didn¡¯t expect rock breath I get lighting fire hell even water but rock seriously?¡± I shrug at Mary, really no one chooses their powers. I turn to see the next target being an old oven about 20 feet away. I feel the heat build up in my throat as I breath out the flames firing in a large stream. It hits the target and the entire oven, it actually blows up the oven and burns part of that area.

    I turn to Rachal as she shrugs ¡°hey you''re just blowing up my junk I may be part dragon but that doesn¡¯t mean everything I own is part of my hoard¡±.

    ¡°Isn''t all junk?¡±

    ¡°No¡± She has a very serious expression.

    The third target is 32 feet away. It''s a mannequin with a kick me sign. I take a breath as this time my lungs feel with air as I shoot out a tunnel of condense rotating wind. It hits the one side of the mannequin shredding that side pieces and launching the mannequin several feet away.

    The next target being another mannequin placed behind a car and set up as if it was hiding about 60 feet away. I take a breath as I feel like I swallowed a bunch of water. I release a condensed beam of pressurized water cutting through the wall then the mannequin. It is extremely hard to control as It slices through the wall then the ground as it knocks my head back.

    I quickly shut it off as I stood up and before Mary could laugh or Rachal could ask if I was ok I felt the lighting sparking up in my throat. The last target was on a mannequin about 200 feet away, it was on a pile of cars, it was on a lawn and chair and was holding a book.

    I feel the yellow lighting sparking from my mouth as with a loud BOOM it hits the target in a second destroying it and the pile of cars. Mary and Rachal are clapping as I cough a bit from using my power multiple times in a row.

    ¡°Got to give you props Richy you got some good range on you and this is coming from the weather manipulator¡± Mary gives me a toothy grin

    ¡°Yeah so far your a good all rounder not amazing at anything but pretty good¡± Rachel writes one final thing on the clipboard as the snake hisses with a happy look in its eyes

    ¡°Thanks¡± I take a quick sniff as I smell a large amount of petrichor.

    ¡°Hey it¡¯s gonna rain soon let¡¯s get inside¡±

    ¡°Yeah I can sense it too¡± as all three of us head back inside of the shop. We head inside as Rachal takes us to a little dining room she set up in the shop. She says she got a place with her parents but she likes to stay here sometimes. I make some burgers as we sit at the table eating as it rains pretty heavily outside.

    ¡°Hey Richard?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I turn to Mary

    ¡°Me Rachal are heading out on a night in the city later wanna come¡±

    I don¡¯t really like socializing outside of my family and well now Rachel and even then it¡¯s only so much for any of them.

    I go to speak but Rachal gives me the cutest puppy dog eyes, her odd eyes making it even more adorable.

    ¡°Please¡±

    I sigh as I finish My burger in one bite, swallow and throw the rapper in the trash can behind me ¡°sure¡±.

    ¡°YAY!¡± as Rachal hugs me and Mary as I smile.

    It¡¯s just a night in the city hanging out with my sister and her friend. What''s the worst that can happen?

 Chapter 8 A night out in the city

    It was bright tonight, the clouds having quickly parted not that long after we left Rachal auto shop. The sky lit up with hundreds of stars and galaxies and bright lights coating the city in a mesmerizing purple light. Years ago a top Rouge aka powered person with no affiliations to hero or villains stargazer Used their power to make it so that at night everyone could see the beauty of the universe.

    A lot of the world has been changed by people with powers hell even the Docks and the area around has been put in a permanent winter by a powerful villain named glacier years ago never been the same since. I wonder if I''ll be able to change things like these people are able to, maybe one day.

    Anyways I¡¯m in the back of Mary''s car laying my head as I listen to the city heart beating around, people talking, heroes doing their work, people doing their jobs and people just living their lives enjoying this beautiful night.

    ¡°Hey Richy got any specific places you wanna go to tonight?¡± I open my eyes and stare at Mary.

    ¡°I¡¯m cool with anything really¡±

    ¡°Boooooooring¡± Rachal chuckles a bit

    ¡°Hey guys I know this one area it¡¯s a park with a ramen shop close by maybe we can head over there¡± Rachal says with a big smile

    ¡°Sure¡±

    ¡°Yeah that sounds good¡±

    Mary turns the car onto another street as she starts listening to Rachel directions. I got back to listening to the area around as I just noticed how tense my body has been lately like it¡¯s ready for action probably because of multiple fights I had over the last couple days.

    I focus on the hero battles in the distance and wonder why people do it? Why do they risk their lives for people they don¡¯t know? Is it for money, glory, fame just because it was right? Why did I save someone I never would have done that before but maybe with all these powers I felt like I could actually do something. I felt good helping people seeing those girls see the light again. Maybe I got that spark mom talked about. The spark that causes people with power to do what they do, good or bad.

    I want to do some good, I want to help people, I want that same feeling I get from saving these girls. Maybe later I can talk with Mary about maybe becoming a hero or at least attempting to. I felt the car stop as I noticed we were near a park.

    ¡°Were here¡± I can feel the delight radiating off Rachal as Mary smirks at Rachal as there''s an odd look in her eyes. I get out of the car having to duck down a bit as we start walking towards the park. It¡¯s a pretty large park and it¡¯s filled with cherry blossom trees. Their peddales litter the ground making the ground just as pink as the trees.

    We walk for a bit as Mary chats with Rachal about random topics as I just gaze at everything around me. The cherry blossoms just give everything a peaceful vibe, makes you wanna just lay next to a tree and relax, Reminds me of home.  Wait what was ¡°hey Richard stop standing there or will leave you behind¡± I hear Mary calling me as I shake my head and walk over.

    We walked for a bit longer as I noticed this park was kinda empty. ¡°So where are we heading?¡±

    ¡°Well be there soon be patience¡± Rachal tail is just staring at me it¡¯s very unnerving. Eventually I spot A wooden cart with an open window as I can smell someone cooking. Most non high end restaurants are usually on wheels since they don¡¯t have enough money to hire super powered bodyguards and staff meaning they gotta be able to leave quickly when shit goes down.

    We walk over as we all take a seat as eventually someone comes over. He stands at 6 foot with a muscular build he seems of asian descent. He has long gray hair tied into a bun as he wears a typical chef''s outfit. The most unique trait about him is eyes are shut closed and have large claw scars on both of them, he''s blind.

    He quickly sniffs the air as he smiles ¡°ah good to see you again Rachal-san and Mary-san¡± he sniffs the air again ¡°who is your friend?¡± Rachal smiles as she speaks ¡°good to see you too Okami-san this Mary¡¯s brother Richard¡±

    ¡°Sup¡± he smiles as he turns his head in my direction ¡°nice to meet you richard-san I heard very interesting things about you from Mary¡±

    I raise an eyebrow ¡°what did she say?¡±

    ¡°That you don¡¯t talk much¡± he lifts up a hand to shake mine. I take his hand and he actually has a firm grip but as he shakes my hand his smile falters a bit.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Rachel questions.

    ¡°He¡¯s just got a strong grip. Now anyways what are the 3 of you orders this time let me guess the usual?¡± he points at Mary and Rachel ¡°of course¡± they both said at the same time.

    He points at me ¡°and you?¡± I ponder for a couple seconds ¡°I''ll have what they''re having¡± he nods as he walks away and I can hear him cooking. After a minute he comes back with 3 streaming bowls of ramen ¡°here comes 3 bowls of dragon breath ramen enjoy¡± as he places 3 bowls of ramen in front of us.

    The ramen looks pretty good as I can smell fish, vegetables and something spicy. ¡°It¡¯s really spicy so don¡¯t take big bites¡± Rachal says as she is already halfway eating through the bowl. Mary is taking small bites as she''s already looking a bit red from the spice.

    I grab the chopsticks and take a bite. It''s really good the fish mixes well with the spice as I quickly finish the bowl. ¡°H-how The F-fuck are y-you too not reacting to s-spice like me!?¡± Marry says as she looks like she¡¯s about to burst into the flame as she¡¯s barely half way through her bowl.

    ¡°I breathe fire, I can handle some spice¡± Rachal says after she just finished her bowl.

    ¡°what she said¡± as after a couple more attempts at finishing her bowl Mary just stops as she takes several glasses of water from Okami she chugs them. Rachal chuckles as Mary''s face is still red ¡°shut up I just can¡¯t handle spices¡± Mary quickly looks away hiding her face as Okami chuckles a bit.

    ¡°So Richard, are you a hero like them?¡± I stared at him as if he were a real man. Why did you have to ask that out of nowhere? Mary and Rachel stare at me with anticipation in their eyes.

    I Tap my finger against the table as I think of an answer. ¡°I uhhh I don¡¯t know¡±.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good answer you shouldn¡¯t know the boy like you shouldn¡¯t know if they''re ready for such a big change in their life because if they make that change it can change them forever for good or worse¡±

    ¡°Uh thanks?¡±

    ¡°Well will cya later Okami were gonna go continue out night¡± Mary puts money on the table as she gets up and starts walking. Me and Rachel quickly follow after as Okami waves us off. I look at the places as I noticed above the window is the words Okami no sokutsu aka wolf''s den wait I can read japanese now huh neat.

    We all head back to the car as I hop inside ¡°so where are we heading next?¡± Mary stares at me and smirks ¡°A club¡±.

    ¡°But none of us are 21?¡±

    ¡°Well we all look 21 especially you¡± she punches me in the shoulder

    ¡°Plus I got some fake ids made by this wonderful creature¡± she wraps an arm around Rachel and pulls her in.

    ¡°It''s nothing really wasn¡¯t even that hard hehe¡± she blushes a bit as she lets out a nervous chuckle

    ¡°I¡¯ll go only to watch you and make sure you guys don¡¯t get into trouble¡± I have a feeling Mary will still cause trouble even with me around. With that Mary starts the car and we hit the road again. After about 20 minutes of me being silent and Mary and Rachal talking about how Many bananas it would take to make a nuke we end up in front of the club. It¡¯s a two story brick building with a Vanta black neon sign that reads club void not ominous one bit. We walk over as Mary exudes confidence and Rachel has a nervous sweet. Mary hands me a fake id as it says I¡¯m 21 instead of 18. Let''s hope the bouncer buys it.

    Surprisingly there was no line. Maybe this place was not that popular. The bouncer stood 10 feet tall and looked like he was made of metal. I don''t know how his black shirt and pants fit him. I walk forward first and hope he''ll find out the ids are fake.

    He stares down at me with his silver eyes ¡°Are you 3 here for Business or pleasure?¡± His voice was deep and sounded like a volcano erupting.

    ¡°Pleasure¡± Mary speaks up, he nods as he holds his watermelon sized hand out wanting our ids. We handed him our IDs, he then looked at them and then us. I give him a deadpan stare, Mary gives a confident grin and Rachel has A nervous sweat.

    ¡°Welcome to club¡± he gives a massive toothy grin as he hands us our ids and the steps out of the way so that we can enter. We enter inside a dark hallway as Rachel lets out a sigh of relief.

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    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that actually work¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t doubt yourself Rachel now come on let¡¯s go have some fun¡± Mary drags Rachel to the door at the end of the hallways as we enter.

    This place was a spectacle from the walls to the ceiling to even the floors and tables was Vanta black; this would make things hard to see if it weren''t for the moving purple lights all over the palace. There were dozens of booths and tables, a dance floor with a DJ and bar. Something I noticed though was that everyone was mutant. except for a few exceptions everyone had some mutation to multiple eyes to being made of rocks even some people that look like slimes are having fun.

    It was really cool as we looked for empty booths as eventually we found a booth and sat down.

    ¡°What do you guys wanna do first?¡±

    ¡°Maybe get some drinks?¡± Rachal rub the back of her as she replied to Mary her tail mesmerized by the lights.

    ¡°Sure¡± Mary called a waitress over; she had fox ears and several tails all colored white as she wore black work pants a white shirt and a vest as she walked over.

    ¡°well hello they-yur darlin'' Aah see that ya thray are new he-yah¡± she had a smooth voice with a southern accent.

    ¡°Yep we like some drinks, any suggestions?¡±

    ¡°well the blood mary has bin'' quite popular so aah suggest that¡± she gives a street smile as she bats away Rachel tail that tried to bite one of her tails, so it does have a mind of its own.

    ¡°Then will 3 blood marys please¡± I swear she only picked those because they had Mary in them.

    ¡°Ok 3 bloody mary''s that all?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°Well then sugar aah''ll be with ya folks soon with your drinks¡± she walked away as I noticed both Mary and Rachel were staring at the woman''s ass. I looked too but I only took a glance and wasn''t just staring at it, I mean it was nice so I can¡¯t blame them. The fox girl walked up to the bartender who wore similar attire but was a dear man with clawed hands and a deer skull for a face.

    The fox girl came over and gave us our drinks and walked away. The drinks were red like blood and I could smell the alcohol and tomato juice?

    Mary held up her glass up ¡°cheers to so far amazing night¡±

    ¡°Cheers¡± me and Rachel said as we all clink glasses and took a sip of the drinks. It wasn¡¯t that bad, the tomato flavor was both sweet and savory and it was a bit spicy, it was very alcoholic though. Rachel spit a bit not liking the taste as Mary chugs hers. We sat there what felt like a hour just talking about our lives what we will do when summer ends and what classes we took for the final year of high school and what will do afterwards Mary and Rachel talk about there superhero careers and what there names will be and we got several orders of drinks as the conversations went on.

    I sat in my seat as Mary and Rachel were deep in conversation, Rachel trying her best to keep up since even with an enhanced body she didn¡¯t have a healing factor like me and Mary so she got a bit bussed. I looked around and relaxed using my hearing to listen to some interesting conversations.

    Some people talk about their day, others work. I could hear some guys playing poker and it seemed like some guy named Isaac was lucky tonight or he was cheating who knows. I eventually picked up on a conversation going on between a small bunny guy and some guy with some of his body parts not attached and floating. Mr bunny was trying to flirt with floaty but floaty didn¡¯t seem interested then mr bunny ordered some drinks. I noticed when floaty wasn¡¯t looking mr bunny put something in his drink a little tablet The fucker was gonna drug him.

    I tapped Mary on the shoulder and she turned to me with an eyebrow raised as I turned my head towards the bar ¡°Mr bunny gonna drug floaty mind stopping his plan?¡±. She nodded as she put her hands to her mouth as if she was about to sneeze.

    ¡°Aachoo!¡± She made a fake sneezing noise as a small bolt of light shot out and hit Mr Bunny causing him to freeze up and fall over. I used my earth breath to make a small pebble then flick it at the sealing just at the right angle so that it would hit drink Mr bunny drug tip over and fall over hitting him over the head drenching him wet.

    I snorted as the man got up and gave me a grimace as he walked off to probably get cleaned. Several people close to the bar stared at me too as they all look pissed, guess there were his friends. Me and Mary did a quick fist bump as Mary quickly grabbed Rachel who was drinking some water.

    ¡°Hey me and Rachel gonna go dance don¡¯t cause any trouble¡± Mary once again gave Rachel that odd look.

    ¡°Wait wha¡± and before Rachel could finish Mary dragged her off to the crowded dance floor. I sat there rubbing the bridge of my nose. I can let them go do their own thing for a bit. Mary won¡¯t do anything dumb I hope. I sat there for a bit as I tapped my fingers against the table for several minutes¡­¡­¡­I shouldn''t overreact while having fun. I don''t need to be around them all the time as I sat there for several more minutes¡­¡­¡­¡­ok I¡¯m gonna go find them just to make sure they''re doing fine.

    I quickly got up and walked through the crowds of people to get to the dance floor. I walk past several people dancing, others making out several try to talk to me or flirt with me. A guy with pointy ears or a girl who kinda looks like a spider but I either just walk past them or push them away.

    Eventually I got through the crowds and spotted Mary and Rachel¡­¡­¡­¡­they were making out. Mary The smaller girl had pinned Rachel against a wall and was gently kissing the other. Rachel''s face was blood red as her eyes were dazed. Huh I guess that''s why Mary was giving those odd looks to Rachel. Good for them, they''ll definitely be an adorable couple, I wonder if I''ll be a wingman. I go to walk away but I feel someone tap me on my shoulder.

    ¡°Hey I¡¯m not Int¡± as soon as I turn around I get punched across the face. It wasn¡¯t even a strong punch causing my head to turn a bit as I turned to look at the person who punched me.

    Surprise, surprise it was Mr bunny or well more like Mr drink spiker. He was holding his hand as if he punched a wall. He turned to look at me as his eyes had a oh shit look as it was my turn. I punched him right in the gut causing the air to knock out his lungs as he flew into a table. I walked over to him and several people moved out of the way as I walked over to the little bastard and grabbed him by his shirt. ¡°Hey buddy, let''s talk about this. I was drunk and You look like my ex and I wasn¡¯t thinking and you aren¡¯t even hurt so we cool?¡± I go to punch him across the face as he tries to kick me in the dick. I kick his leg to the side as I hit him across the face but before I can continue I get grabbed and lifted up.

    The bouncer is holding me and Mr Bunny as he walks out of the club and throws us out. I got up and grabbed him before he could run away. I hold him up as fear pops up in his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s continue¡± I punch him across the face sending him sprawling across the ground and I go for a kick as he flinches but before I kick I feel something hit me across the face. I nearly fell to the ground as I stumbled several feet away as my jaw felt sore as I held it.

    I turned to see a man with rock like skin helping Mr bunny up but that wasn¡¯t just it then came a minotaur looking fucker and a man with pitch black skin with hair made of storm clouds and sparking blue eyes. Great, his friends from earlier are here and by the looks of it they all got powers great.

    Great, I gotta deal with this guy''s cronies as I wipe a bit of blood coming from my mouth as I get ready for a fight. ¡°Kill the motherfucker!¡± Bunny yells in his very light voice as Mr bull and Boulder run towards me. Mr Bull got to me first as he went for a right hook as I duck under and shot out my foot hitting him In the calf causing him howl in pain I go for an uppercut but I hear a step near my left side. I jump into the air and land My hand on boulders head dodging a punch and with a quick kick to the noose I stop Mr bull from getting up. I then land behind Boulder as I open My mouth and fire a Volley of stone spikes. They don¡¯t fully pierce him but cause him to stumble.

    I hear some sparking as I kick myself off boulder as a blast of electricity hits the spot I was just at. As stormy hands were sparking I hit him with a blast of air But got kicked across the jaw as I felt blood shoot out of my mouth. Mr bunny now that he has some goons grew some balls to attack me. I go to grab him but hops away, coward. I duck again as Boulder goes for a punch. Then jump to the side to dodge Mr bull as he slams into the ground. I then hit his ankle with mine causing him to tumble into boulder. I jump as I grab boulder and use him to block an electric blast from Stormy as I toss boulder at stormy as he barely dodges.

    I get grabbed by Mr Bull as He slams me into the ground again and again as I feel blood pouring from my forehead. Mr bull Goes for it again as I open up my mouth and knock him several feet with a wind blast knocking him on his ass and cutting him up. I turn my left hand to steel as I see Storming go for a lighting charge punch. I grab his fist and crush it ¡°AAAAAAHHHHHH!!¡± I then throw him into a wall. I hear several steps behind me as I slam The side of my metal fist into Boulder chest hammer striking. I then elbow his chin, knocking his head up as I grab it and slam his chin on my knee causing the stone to crack.

    I feel something hit my calf as I fall to one knee I then get kick across the face knocking out a tooth as my fraction slow down as I shoot out my hand grabbing Mr bunny by the leg lift him but before I could slam him into the ground I get tackled and I¡¯m force to drop him as I get Tackled by Mr bull. I slam my elbow into back several times as he slams me into a wall cracking it. He uppercuts me and then pulls my head into a headbutt breaking my noise.

    He goes for another punch as I slap it away with my steel hand as I jump over him, turn around grab him by his waist and suplexed him into the ground. His horn gets stuck into the ground, almost comical. As I duck under a sucker punch from boulder as I jump to the side as I dodge a kick from Mr bunny as I roll across the ground wrap my ankles around Mr bunnies and roll again knocking him to the ground as I shoot my foot to the right hitting him in the chin.

    Boulder goes for another punch as I use My metal hand to do a handspring launching me into the air as I take deep breath and launch out a large stream of earth spikes. Boulder jumps over Mr bunny tanking the spikes as I land on his head I then dig my claws into his stony head I then flip over him and using that same momentum I flip him over me slamming him into the hard concrete cracking it. I take a breath as I hear sparking again as I fire out a water beam. It hits against the wall but knocks me back as it pushes me away from a powerful blast from stormy.

    I got to blast him but I got uppercutted by Mr bull ¡°Gotcha!¡± as he grabs my arm and twists it I feel the muscle pull and tear slightly as I feel the bone be slowly br pulled out of the socket. I grit my teeth as I feel pain in my right hand as it turns to steel not having fully healed yet. I palm strike him in the noise spraying blood across his face as I nerve strike him then hit him in the solar plexus causing him to fall to his knees as I got for a hook I feel something hit my back.

    I feel My muscles tighten and my nerves flare as my thoughts scramble as I feel that my back is burnt as I¡¯m launched to the ground. I try to get up but I¡¯m kicked to the ground by Mr bunny. ¡°Stay down you albino bitch actually help him up¡± As Boulder and Mr bull grab me by my arms and hold me up.

    A stormy walk over and Mr bunny snaps his fingers as stormy hits me with shock to the chest ¡°AAAAAAAHHH!¡± I feel pain run through my body as I get kicked across the face over and over and get shocked over and over. My face is heavily bruised, my body slightly fried as bunny goes for one more kick. I close my eyes and think as my perception slows down.

    How can I get out of this situation? well isn''t it obvious you idiot? I flex the left side of my face and focus as I feel my left side of my face become solid, denser, colder, more like steel. As I grin as I see Mr bunny face turn to shock as feel his foot impact with my face. I hear a satisfying crack as I turn my left hand to steel and twist my wrist and stab into Mr Bull''s upper arm causing him to lose his grip and with a pull I drag my claws down his arm. I split the flesh, rip the muscles and cut even through the bone. Leaving the inside of his arm open to the world I chop Boulder in the throat causing him to choke.

    I then turn my elbow to steel and crack him on the nose. I then grab him, his head slamming it into my knee as it turns to steel, shattering his jaw. I then threw him into Mr bull, knocking them down. I hear the sparks and with my slowed perception and enhanced reaction time I jump into the air dodging a blast of lighting from Stormy and landing behind Mr Bull who''s still on top of Boulder. I grab Mr bull by his horns, stomp my foot on his face and with a sadistic grin I break his horns off his head.

    Leaving bone shard and blood everywhere as I spin around and throw the horns at stormy as they stab into his shoulder and panning him into a wall.

    I then leap forward and slam my metal hand face caving his nose and breaking his eye sockets as I feel the bones break under my strength. I turn my hand back to normal as I hear groaning as I see Mr bull and Boulder slowly getting up as I feel the build in my throat and I fire out a fire ball at them. It explodes knocking them into a wall burning them both. I sniff the air as I smell something salty and piss?

    I turn to see Mr bunny quivering in fear as his pants are wetter. Did this bitch just pee himself? As I walk towards and kneel in front him tears stream down his eyes.

    ¡°Pl-please don¡¯t k-kill m-me I¡¯ll do a-anything¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t like you kicking me so¡± I stand up and stomp on his calf and I hear a crack as it breaks. He screams in pain as I stomp on the other one causing him to pass out. I stand tired and hurt as I hear clapping. I turn to see the bouncer walk over.

    ¡°That was a fucking spectacle my friend¡± he gives a manic grin

    ¡°Why didn''t you help me?¡± I wince as I feel my body slowly healing as I fall to a knee.

    ¡°Simple not my job¡±

    ¡°Fuck you¡¯

    ¡°Understandable¡± he grabs the broken and passed out bodies of all my attackers

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna take these guys and make sure they don¡¯t die, their boss would be so pissed, see ya later Richard¡± as he walks inside. How did he know my name? You know what, I don''t care, I wanna go home. After a couple minutes I see Mary and Rachel walk out of the club, they look like they had a good time I can tell from the hickies on Rachels neck.

    ¡°You guys look like you had fun¡±

    ¡°Yeah we di¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­what the fuck happen to you!?¡± Mary runs over as I lay against the ground

    ¡°I got attack by rabbit fuck and his friends I won¡±

    ¡°You look bad we should take you to a hospital¡±

    ¡°You should see the other guys they all have broken bones¡± I snicker

    As with some effort I stand up as I feel healed enough to move as I walk over to the car ¡°can we please go home?¡±

    ¡°Yes Richy let''s go home¡± as I get in the back of the car we drive to Rachels auto shop. Mary drops her off as I hear them talk about maybe going to a movie sometime, ew blossoming love it sickens me. As they kiss and Mary gets back into the car with a happy expression. As I Think about what Okami said, if I choose to become a hero at this stage in my life It might change forever. Well it¡¯s already changed a lot so far so might as well add a few more plus I have a feeling I can actually do some good with these powers and help more people, become a good guy.

    ¡°Hey Mary¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Can You help me become a hero?¡±

    she grins as she turns to me ¡°thought you never ask¡±.

 chapter 9 wannabe heroes

    Over the next couple days Mary taught me about being a hero and it¡¯s been tough. The first she tried to teach me was how to hold back and her words ¡°I said toss me the watermelon not throw it hard enough that nearly gave a black eye!¡±. It¡¯s very hard to control my strength and I¡¯ve tried a lot but just said that in the moment maybe I¡¯ll subconsciously hold back.

    I hope she¡¯s right. I''ll get some lawsuits in the future. She¡¯s also been trying to convince me to talk more or even make quips. She gave me some old comics and made me watch some old movies with examples of how heroes talk. Most of it was bullshit but there were some good things like learning how to manage your tone of voice.

    She did teach some things she learned from mom and dad. Heroes should be selfless but also caring and inspiring there supposed to bring hope. She said that if I become a hero I should be able to be nice and show that I care, show I¡¯m genuine about helping people and to be hopeful even in the darkest situations because if you''re still hopeful the people are still hopeful.

    she hasn¡¯t really been the best teacher but hey she¡¯s at least trying. I did ask if one of her hero friends could help me but she said that she had to be the one to help teach me. Even if she hasn¡¯t been the best, she''s still helping and I¡¯m learning some stuff more than I can say about most teachers in my life.

    I did figure out after my right hand fully healed I can turn both my hands fully into steel claws but it causes the headache to come faster. I can also turn other parts of my body into steel but say I turned most of my head into steel I might not be able to use the full claws if not at all.

    Anyways I was sitting on the couch reading a book about a zombie shoulder who got back up and kept fighting. Untal the book was taken out of my hands.

    ¡°Hey mole rat, we have some stuff to do to help you on your hero journey¡± she beams with pure joy.

    ¡°I was reading that¡±

    ¡°Well you aren¡¯t now¡±

    My eye slightly twitches ¡°whatever, what''s the next step?¡±

    ¡°We''re going shopping!¡± kill me.

    We headed to several stores as Mary bought a leather jacket with a hood, leather pants with padding, some fingerless gloves, some dark black still tipped boots and fingerless gloves. We walked out of an army store where we got the boots ¡°and that should be everything we need¡±.

    ¡°Why do we need all this?¡±

    ¡°Well we''re making your prototype costume¡±

    I nod ¡°but don¡¯t you know someone who can make costumes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah but that''s with the Vanguard and mom and dad said that I gotta figure out my costume¡±

    I nod again ¡°ok but how am I gonna hide my face?¡±. I only have so many face masks.

    ¡°Well I got some stuff at home you can use so don¡¯t worry yourself¡± we head to the car as we start driving. ¡°So where are we heading next?¡±.

    ¡°Were gonna get you some tools¡±

    ¡°Explain¡±

    ¡°Well you don¡¯t need anything to help you move or climb or even pick lock hell you might even know how to do that with those weird instinct abilities of yours what you really need help with is to stop you from nearly killing people with your strength as least people who can¡¯t take it¡±.

    I nod as eventually we drive to a self defense store, these stores have well self defense items that can range from pepper spray and tasers to a magnum that can knock any evolve on there ass.

    ¡°The people here know me so I¡¯ll head inside and grab some stuff, be good and stay inside the car, I''ll even turn on the radio¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a child¡± I cross my arms

    ¡°You are¡± She closes the car door leaving me inside for several minutes as I listen to radio music, yay. She eventually comes back with a bag but when I try to look inside she smacks my hand away. We get a quick bite to eat at some burger place and we eventually head home.

    As soon as we head inside Mary tosses the bags on the table and dumps the one with my tools. The first item is a belt with several pouches and holsters. along with that there are several bags filled with metal ball bearings. Finally there is a pair of solid black Escrima sticks.

    ¡°So the belt is obvious, lets you hold items and any weapons. The ball bearings are for range attacks and are less lethal against normal people then most of your breath attacks plus are a lot precise and can be used just as quick especially with your insane precision¡± she then grabs the Escrima sticks and tosses them to me.

    ¡°Those will give you an extra edge in a fight giving you some extra options along with that they can help you control strength because if you hit with them hard they will break with how strong you are¡± she smiles as I stare dumbfounded at everything she got me.

    ¡°How did you pay for all this?¡± I don¡¯t think she has a job well, one that I know about.

    ¡°Oh Mom gave me a card before she left to attach to an account that I could use to buy stuff I need for any hero stuff¡± Smart.

    ¡°So what now?¡±

    ¡°Once again, very simple My dear brother tonight, we''re gonna go on a patrol¡± she gives me a big grin.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Mom and dad wait a couple weeks before they took you out on a patrol?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡± she said with so much pride

    ¡°Then why are you going on patrol where you have experience or even know what to do?¡±

    She grabs me by the face ¡°because we both need field experience just like any newbie hero¡± she lets go as she walks to her room ¡°will be heading out tonight¡±. I will be generally surprised if this goes any form of well.

    It had been a couple hours of me relaxing as Mary eventually barged in my room and told me to get ready. She also gave me a pair of goggles with black lenses and a red bandana to cover the lower part of my face. She wore pretty much the same outfit as me except she had no goggles, a blue bandana and had a storm cloud painted on the back of her jacket and lighting bolts painted down the sleeves.

    We headed out of the horse through the back door as we got to the rooftops and started running. As we got closer to the Middle class district Mary had to manipulate the wind around her to help keep up.

    ¡°I fucking hate that your able to run so fucking fast¡± she says as she uses wind to propel her self forward to catch up with me again.

    ¡°So what exactly are we looking for?¡± I jump on a sign and use it to propel me to a wall and I propel off that onto another building.

    ¡°Crime obviously¡± As Mary uses the wind to launch herself into the air and propel herself near me.

    ¡°People who commit crimes usually make sure no one knows they''re committing crimes, hell even the crasier villains try to at least be a bit discrete with what they''re doing¡± I dash across several buildings making precise jumps.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, try using your senses to find something¡± Mary is just using the air to help her glide and propel herself across the rooftops.

    I nod as I Tune my senses and start listening. I hear someone proposing in a restaurant, I hear a man complaining about his dead job, I hear a dog barking at a cat and I hear a party going on top of a building. I eventually start to hear wood crackle and I start to smell ash. I open my eyes and zoom my vision into the distance and spot smoke rising.

    I point to where the smoke is rising ¡°Fire going on over there just follow me¡±. Mary nods as she follows me as we dash towards the tower of smoke.

    I hear sirens in the distance, I hear hoses being fired and people yelling. I smell smoke, ash and burning wood. As we enter the area and spot a hospital on fire. The flames roar as coats the building, the fire fighters try their best as they try to douse the flames but the flames rage on. I see several firefighters run out of the building as the entrance collapses.

    Mary takes a deep breath as her eyes glow as she lifts up her hands as clouds start to form above the hospital and then they start to rain. The rain causes the fire rage to quiet down a bit but the building is still on fire.

    ¡°Hey I¡¯ll try to put out the fire, you use your senses to see if anyone inside?¡± I immediately tune my senses to where my hearing is heightened but all my other senses are lower as I start listening. The world around me goes dark as I tune out all other sounds around me as I listen. I hear the raspy breathing slight sodding a father comforting their kids, I hear around 6 people.

    ¡°There''s 6 people I''m gonna get them out of there just keep the rain going Mary¡± she nods as The fires rage against the rain as if it was alive and would do everything it could to keep going. I hop across several buildings as I get several buildings as I get closer to the hospital as when I¡¯m close enough I turn my feet into steel and jump. I feel the air rush past me as I fly through the air as I get drenched with rain then it quickly evaporates from the heat. I brace myself as I collide into the wall breaking through covering myself in burnt stone.

    I¡¯m hit with the overwhelming smell of ash and sulfur. I feel my bandana keeps most of the smoke from entering my lungs. The flames covered both ends of the hallways. I pull down my Bandana as I spin around letting out a stream of water dousing the flames around me. I pull my bandana up as smoke still covers the area causing my eyes to water.

    I focus on my hearing as I listen again as I hear the sobbing as it around as I hear the sobbing around 40 feet north east from me. I follow my ears as I have to dodge falling debris and put out more flames along the way.

    I eventually get to a room where there is a large amount of flaming rubble covering the exit. I hear the voices and breathing the loudest from this area. Smoke blinds as it bellows in from other parts of the hospital nearly blinding. I pull down my bandana getting in a nice lungful of smoke as I breath out a blast of air pushing away the sea of smoke. I start coughing as I feel most of the smoke leave my lungs but the damage is still there luckily being healed but I can use my chaos breath for a bit.

    I need to put out the flame rubble but I can¡¯t use my chaos breath, I need to improvise. I jump to the ceiling as I solidify my right hand into steel and with all my might I punch the ceiling. The ceiling collapse covered me in dust and rubble as I heard the rain pour in, thank god I¡¯m related to weather manipulators. I knock the ruble off as I see the rubble covering the door is no longer on fire. I ran over to pull the rubble away from the door. I kick the door open, shattering it as I enter the room.

    There stands a father in his late 20''s I estimate holding a young boy and girl, next to them was a doctor and nurse taking care of what I assume to be the mother as I could smell the blood. They all stared at me. I could tell they all were scared without even seeing their faces as the smoke made it hard to make specific details about them.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to get you all out of here please follow me and you won¡¯t have to deal with this hell anymore¡± I tried to say with a more cheerful tone ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m a hero you don¡¯t have to worry anymore¡±. Eventually they all got up and the nurse and doctor tried to help the women up. I walked over and gently held her up and I could hear her heartbeat well heart beats, she was pregnant. They quickly followed after me. I could hear the building slowly collapsing and the structures slowly breaking down from the flames.

    I walk over to a wall as I feel my throat and lungs fully heal up. I pull down my bandana as I open up my mouth and with a Volley of rocks blast open up the wall. I feel wind and rain hit against me as I could spot Mary near several firefighters talking to them as her eyes glow more probably making the t more wind so the rain can get into the building more. I spot a life net set up as I turn to the father handing him to his wife.

    ¡°Thank you¡± I heard say as I saw him jump out and wind help him fall onto the life net. The doctor and nurse follow afterwards as they land fine with Mary¡¯s help leaving me and the kids. They stood there scared as I kneel down.

    ¡°Hey I know it seems scary but you¡¯ll be fine my friend out there will make sure of that so can you please be brave for me?¡± They both contemplate for a bit but nod as they both close their eyes and jump through the hole as they gently land on the ground as Mary gives me a thumbs up.

    I go to jump but I hear the flames roar behind me ¡°ARIC¡± I turn to see the flames have seemed to form into a humanoid figure as they step forward I feel my body freeze. Mason you''re supposed to be dead how? The flaming figure lifts up a hand as the flames around them shootout and ram into me.

    I get launch several hundred feet away as I slam into a bill bored getting embedded in it. I lay there, luckily my clothes are mostly fine, just toasty. I definitely got a lot of broken bones but nothing too bad. After a couple minutes I saw Mary hop in front of me.

    ¡°You ok?¡±

    ¡°Amazing¡± as with a tug, Mary pulled me out of the billboard as I fell onto my feet as Mary dusted me off with a bit of wind.

    ¡°That actually went well¡±

    ¡°I got launch like a cannonball¡±

    ¡°You''re fine¡± I feel my rips piece themselves back together.

    ¡°Well you wanna end it here tonight and head home or do you wanna keep patrolling?¡±

    I want to go home and get some rest already filled out my good deeds quota today but there''s a little voice in the back of my head. It tells me I need to feel that rush, I need to feel that adrenaline pumping in my blood, I need that rush I get from a fight from cracking skulls and feeling the blood on my hands, I need it.

    ¡°I can keep going¡±

    ¡°That''s what I¡¯m talking about! Let''s try to find a crime this time¡± Mary beams with joy as I tune my senses once again. I listen throughout the city as I news reporters talk about what happened with us at the hospital. I hear some officers talking about why we''re here while their police sergeant yells at them about something about a donut. I then hear something a couple blocks away on top of a construction building.

    A weapons deal is going on between gangs there negotiating how much they should get for the weapons.

    ¡°We got a weapons deal on that construction building over wanna bust it?¡±

    ¡°Do I even need to answer that?¡± I can feel her grinning under her bandana as she cracks her knuckles

    We both run the building as we have to climb up it well. I have to because Mary just floats up. Eventually we both get a metal construction beam as we both sit there. There''s around 30 something guys, each one holding a gun or knife or some sort of weapon. In the middle lies several boxes of odd looking guns and glowing blue vials.

    ¡°So how are we gonna handle this?¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll stun them with some lighting and we run in and knock them around as quick as possible¡±

    ¡°Aw yes the best plan¡± I snicker

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we got this now we start on the count of 3¡±

    I take a deep breath as I feel everything slow down as adrenaline pumps through my veins.

    ¡°1¡±

    I pull out the Escrima sticks as I hold them tightly

    ¡°2¡±

    Mary''s hands spark with electricity as her eyes glow a electric blue.

    ¡°3¡±

 chapter 10 first patrols never go well

    The lighting struck a nice amount of them causing some of them to pass out from the shock alone. I jump down and rush forward immediately striking two thugs one in the head the the other in the gut. The first guy goes down like a sack of bricks as I hear his jaw shatter as he falls to the floor. The other man gets launched into another group of thugs knocking them down like bowling pins.

    I hear a thud as Mary jumps down, elbow dropping one into the ground. I turn around and jump forward at a gangster who had better reaction time then his friends as he''s already ready aiming his pistol. I shoulder check him knocking him on his ass and slam an escrima stick into the side of his head knocking him out.

    Mary ducks under a man with a bat as she slaps him on the back, shocking him as he quickly falls to the ground. I hear several people cock their guns as I quickly jump up into the air dodging several bullets. I grab several ball bearings and launch them at a Steel beam above my shooters. They bounce off the beam and hit one of the shooters in the head knocking him out, hitting one in the shoulder with a satisfying crack Music to my ears and finally hitting one in the thigh causing him to fall to his knees.

    I run towards as I hear several men get knocked on their asses as Mary shoots Air blast from her fists and feet letting her punch and kick at a distance keeping people from getting clean shots at me. I reach the 2 as I slam the escrima e stick into his side and slam the other one into the others neck. I then toss the sticks into the air and grab them both and throw them into the air.

    I catch the sticks as they both hit the ground with a heavy thud. I turn to see a man pointing his gun at my face as he pulls the trigger. I feel my perception slow as the bullet at a snail pace moves towards my forehead. I flex my face as it turns to steel as the bullet impacts with my forehead. The force of the bullet makes my head shoot backwards as I feel the bullet bend against my forehead. I grin as I slam an escrima stick into his wrist feeling it break as he screams out in pain. I silence it as I slam the escrima stick into his forehead, knocking him out.

    I duck as a blast of electricity hits a man behind me as I spot Mary giving me a thumbs up as Bullet hits her in the head as breaks against her skin causing a small bruise that quickly heals. She creates a small tornado in her hands as she shoots it out knocking several men into the wall.

    I pull out several ball bearings and start tossing them around as they ricochet off walls, steel beams, hell even people slamming into jaws, shoulders, heads and legs causing a symphony of bone cracks and cries of pain, Its beautiful. ¡°AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!¡± I hear screaming as I turn to see a shirtless guy with a machete running at me.

    He swings down as I turn my hand to steel, grabbing the blade and bending it in my grip. ¡°Sorry?¡± I look down at him and I could see him regretting his life choices as I pull out a escrima stick and slam it into the side of his head hard enough to cause him to spin in the air and onto the ground.

    I feel the escrima stick struggling to not break under my strength as I need to remember to hit lighter or these things will break. I just need to put a little amount of strength into it.

    I spun around and hit a man with an assault rifle about to shoot me as I hit him in the shoulder with one Escrima stick and hit him in the thigh. He grimaces in pain as it barely moves him as he fires at me. I jump to the side dodging a hail of gunfire. I jump to the side as I get grazed by a bullet as I feel blood trail down my left shoulder.

    To little force I guess as I run forward and turn my fingers into silver claws and slash the gun into 5 pieces. He tries to pull out a knife As I spin and slam the front of my boot into his side as I feel his ribs crack and blood spin out of his mouth.

    He once again tries to stab me but I just bonk him on the head with my fist knocking him out. I hear click and hear something rapidly move through air as I fall onto my chest barley dodging several gunshots. Mary grabs one of the people that shot me and slams them into the other two knocking them into the ground and slams the other into a wall. I hop onto my feet as several point guns are at me. Fuck it let¡¯s hope this doesn¡¯t kill them maybe. As I pull down my bandana and I feel the lighting building up and fire it. They didn¡¯t even have time to pull the triggers as I saw the electricity webbed out and hit each one of them as I could see the electricity flow through the body as they all dropped to the ground at once.

    I quickly check and they''re all breathing so they''re not dead as I hear something charging as I turn to see a man with a broken nose holding one of the odd looking guns. The gun was silver and kinda was shaped like a shotgun but instead it had a large barrel kinda like a t-shirt launcher. It was covered in orange purple lines as it had no trigger but the man pressed his finger down as the thing glowed.

    Maybe it might have been a good idea to make sure they didn¡¯t grab these, Idiot. I tried to reach him before it fired but it was too late as a blast of purple energy collided with my chest as I felt myself being launched 20 feet back.

    I felt  my chest cavity crack as I felt my ribs break as my chest immediately bruised. There was definitely some eternal bleeding and I started falling. The gun knocked me off the building, ¡°FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!¡± I screamed loud enough that I probably woke up some angler fish. I started to fall as I felt the wind rush passed me then rush towards me.

    I quickly get pulled up back on the building as Mary smirks ¡°saved your ass¡±. I nodded as I walked over and noticed the man with the high tech gun was unconscious on the ground and everyone else was the same as him.

    ¡°So where do you think these guys got this high tech gear?¡± Mary shrugged as she wiped blood off her hands.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know maybe there''s a developer in town¡± developers are people with the ability to make high tech physics breaking equipment that can range from death rays to the perfect computer virus to even chemicals and poisons. They are different from people with super intelligence since they have an actual power that lets them build and affect their equipment from making it more effective to being able to make it so that they can create infinite energy from making a battery.

    I grab one of the guns and if there is a developer in town there not a very good one. It charged up kinetic energy and shot it off but it took awhile to charge but if it had something that could constantly generate Kinetic energy it would not need to charge. Also if it was contained in something much smaller it could focus that kinetic energy a lot more making it stronger. Putting it into a melee weapon would shorten the range but its strength would be higher and more controllable. Maybe add a system where that object builds up kinetic energy and the system could make the object slow down or speed up letting you control the strength of the pulse.

    I holster the gun in my belt as I wanna make this thing better no I will make this better.  I walk up to Mary as she''s been cuffing people with cuffs made out of hail.

    ¡°That was fun¡±

    ¡°Yep¡±

    ¡°Kinda easy¡±

    ¡°You can say that¡±

    ¡°Wanna get a pizza and head home and watch cheesy horror movies?¡±

    ¡°Do I even need to answer that?¡± I grin at Mary as I then sniff something. An acidic smell mixed in with hints of copper as I turned to see one of the gangsters was chugging several vials of that glowing liquid from one of the crates. I grabbed Mary''s head and made her look as we both saw the man''s veins and eyes glow blue as he stared at us. As both me and Mary spoke simultaneously ¡°fuck¡±.

    Of course it had be fucking giants blood, Giants blood is a drug that can enhance ether a evolves power or the physicals capabilities of a human by decent amount but that''s only if you took one vial but this guy took 6 and your vain aren¡¯t suppose to glow so this is just full of bad signs.

    The gangsters'' muscles bulge as his shirt rips and tears from his new muscles grow and he even gets a bit taller. He runs at me with superhuman speed as he throws a heavy overhand punch. I was sloppy very fast and I could see the strength behind it but it was easy to predict.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    I slap his fist to the right as I throw a cross hitting him across the face. He felt more solid and didn''t get hurt that much by my punch, only giving him a small nose bleed. He grins ¡°cute¡± Mary roundhouse kicks him in the face knocking him on his ass ¡°yeah very cute¡±.

    He gets up as his nose is bleeding heavily now ¡°I fucking hate vigilantes¡± he runs at us again and goes for 2 jabs one at me and the other at Mary we both sidestep him and punch him in his sides. A bit of blood shoots out of his mouth as he goes for a swing at me. As I fall to my knees and strike him right in the crotch. His face goes purple as Mary grabs him by his waist and suplexes him.

    We take a step back as the dude gets up again as Mary goes for a kick to his head and he grabs her leg as his eyes and veins grow a brighter blue. ¡°Fuck¡± was the last thing Mary said as she was slammed into the ground hard and toss into a steel beam bending it as she starts to cough up blood. He turns to me as he grows again now being 7 foot and shredded his eyes and veins glow a bright blue as shirt and pants are straining now. I guess that''s the other doses kicking in as I solidify both my hands into steel claws and pull down my bandana as I feel heat build up in my throat.

    I hit him with a blast of flames as I dash towards him. He dodges out the fireball but it explodes when it impacts the ground causing him to stumble. I run forward as I palm strike him in his near broken nose making it break as I then grab him, lift him and slam him into the ground. He goes to grab at my feet but I kick him in the face causing him to hold his caved in nose.

    He gets up but is immediately nearly knocked back down as a bolt of lighting strikes causing him to have a small seizure as I take a deep breath, run towards him, turn my torso and punch him right in the solar plexus. I feel bones crack under my strike as he gets launched backwards right into the crates breaking several more vial and kinetic guns. As the electricity still in his system comes in contact with the devices as they are broken, the vials of giant blood and the electricity mix together as the gun starts glowing.

    ¡°Goddammit¡± all of us say at the same time as Mary runs over and creates a wall made out of solid hail in front of us as I hear a loud BOOM! As I see a small explosion of purple and bluish light in front of us.

    Me and Mary stare at each other as we lay against the wall ¡°so did we just kill that guy?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, wanna check?¡±

    ¡°Might as well mom and dad will be pissed to find out that Our first patrol ended with us killing someone¡±

    We both peaked from behind the Hail wall and saw a large amount of smoke where the man the crates where as Mary with a wave of her hand sent a blast of wind revealing lets just say interesting sight.

    Slowly getting well I don¡¯t even know what to call him now. He stood at 10 and half feet tall, his body bulging with muscle, his now hide-like skin barely containing it as there rips across his body that glowed with bluish purple light. His arms were and legs were the size of tree trunks his hands could grab around a human torso. The bulging veins on his body glowed with that bluish purple light. He had no hair on his head as his eyes glowed with that same bluish purple light and that same light came from his mouth as he roared.

    ¡°Did we just make a fucking supervillain!?¡±

    ¡°No we made fucking captain good guy, what the hell do you think?¡± But seriously are we in a fucking comic book because chemicals, technology and lighting don¡¯t just give you super powers that¡¯s not how science works! The behemoth of a man turned towards us ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill you!!¡±  At least he can speak. He charges at us faster than either of us could react as if he was walking through paper he rips through the wall grabbing both of us as he leaps off the construction.

    We fall through the air as I feel him slowly crushing my chest cavity with his grip. I try to use my claws to stab into his wrist as it does pierce through his skin but his muscles are too dense for me to do any real damage. Mary tried to shock him, it did nothing, she tried to use air to slash at him, it did nothing, she even fired hail into his face as he didn¡¯t even flinch as he tightened his grip around her as she vomited blood.

    We got closer to the ground as I Felt rocks form in my throat as I focused and felt it solidify into one. I opened my mouth as I fired a large earth spike into his right eye. ¡°AAAAAGH!¡± he grunted in pain as his gripped lighten as Mary hit with a blast of pressurized air knocking him away from us.

    Mary then made us float to the ground as we landed. Mary held her chest as I could hear chest quantity and ribs piecing themselves back together.

    ¡°This was supposed to be¡± she takes a heavy breath ¡°a simple first patrol¡± she takes another long breath as her lungs were fully healed ¡°how the hell did we end up here?¡±.

    ¡°Rule of being a hero the first patrol never ends well¡± as the behemoth got up as he ripped the spike out of right his eye as Bluish purple blood gush from it. He rushes towards us as we jump out of the way as he slams his fist into the ground making a small crater sending debris and dust everywhere. Mary covers her hands in hail gauntlets as she runs forwards and hits him in the face as it barely makes him move his head. He swings at her, she dodges and throws an air blast at his liver as it causes him to stumble a slight bit. I took a deep breath and fired a massive wave of fire.

    It hit him but he ran through it and grabbed me by the face, slamming me into a wall and then he dragged me across the wall as he then started to bash my face into a steel beam. I turned my face into steel but I felt that crack too as I felt myself being lifted up as I saw him raise his fist and punch me in the face as I felt a crack in my skull as the steel beam bends behind. I feel unconscious take me as everything went black, Thought he would last longer well onto the next person If he dies I guess.

    Pov swap:Mary

    Tonight was supposed to be a simple patrol to help my brother get some in field experience at becoming a hero. It was going well. We saved some people from a burning building and stopped a weapons and drug deal between gangsters. It was going well until this motherfucker by fucking chance got really strong powers and was beating my brother into a steel beam so Yeah I¡¯m pretty pissed.

    I propel myself to the big fuck and slam both my feet into his face ¡°GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!!¡± I pushed as much condensed air into that kick as it actually knocked him back. I landed on my feet as I felt the clouds above me and it started to storm as rain poured down around me.

    ¡°Hey Brucey! You know water if pressurized enough, can punch through steel want an example?¡± I felt the water form around me and condense as much I possibly could and fired it at him.

    The first one hit him in the shoulder punch right through his shoulder spraying his weird ass blood against the ground as he charged at me. I fired several more blasts as He dodged and kept jumping out of the way. ¡°How can something that big move that fast!?¡± He was right in front of me as He swung at me. I blast myself to the side dodging the strike as it broke the ground. I form several spikes made out of hail and launch them at him. He bashed them out of the air with a wave of his arm.

    He went from an overhand swing as I formed a barrier of spinning air around me. He collides with the barrier as it cut up his fist a bit but he broke through it as I propel myself backwards ¡°god fucking dammit!¡± I can¡¯t get through his skin and my lighting does jack shit to him. I gotta rely on the water beams that seem to hurt him.

    I formed the rain around as I swiped my arm at him sending pressurized water slices. The first one he ducks under the next he jumps over and the last he bashes away only giving him a small cut on his arm. I try to move away again but he grabs me quicker than I could react. I feel my shoulder slowly break under his grips. He goes to give me a trip to the dentist but with a pull of my hand I bring back the water slashes that kept in the air and they collide with his back causing him to let go.

    I then pull the air from his lungs and have water wrap around his head and force it into his nose, mouth and nose slowly drawing him. ¡°Gotcha you fuck, everyone need to breath even you have fun drawing¡± I start to walk over to Richard.

    I see him grab at his neck as he tries to remove the water as I smirk, dumbass but he lifted up his hands and slammed them together. ¡°Aw fu¡± as I feel a shockwave slam into me launching me through a wall and slam into a wall. I hate this city because either the heroes are busy or just fashionably late as I knock the rubble off me as I stand up and feel the bruise and cut on my forehead heal.

    ¡°Now where the fuck is that big Bitch?¡± Well I find him quickly as he slams me into the wall behind and throws at a crane. The metal bend behind me as i feel blood pore from my mouth I ry to get up but that fuck doesn¡¯t give me a chance as jumps onto me digging his feet into my chest cavity. I feel something break as blood shoots out my mouth as he slams his fist into my face again and again and again.

    As he punches my face deeper into the concrete I feel the punches have less force as I get hurt and more hurt. Thanks mom for having such a useful power as I grab his fist and slam him into the crane next to us. The crane quickly falls apart on top of him as I run over and don¡¯t give him a chance to think. As I hit him with an uppercut shooting his head upwards I then jump and kick him across the face launching several teeth out of his mouth. I then grab his head and slam him into the ground and drag him across it and slam him into the first floor of the construction building. He runs out breaking the entrance charging at me.

    I grab a steel beam from nearby wreckage and get into a batters stance and slam it into his head. I then slam it into his legs knocking him to the ground. I then wrap and bend it around his neck causing him to start choking as I coated my fists in much stronger Hail gauntlets. I slam my fist into his nose punching it off as blood gushes on me as ¡°I¡±ll Kill you your little cunt!!!¡±. I then slam my fist into his face again and again until he¡¯s all his teeth but he rips the metal off his neck and shoves his fist into my gut.

    He shakingly stands up as I feel my stomach nearly rupture from that punch. I feel more strength flow through me as I feel the wind around . I cause it to start rotating and spinning around me as I make it faster and faster until the rubble starts lifting into the air. I feel the wind rushing around as it starts to take shape around me as I form a tornado around us. He gets lifted up in the air flailing along the way. I feel the wind move faster and faster as He flies higher and higher. I then charge my left fist with every bit of electricity I have and coat with as much condensed air as possible. As I launch him towards me and I hit him with everything I have.

    I feel every bone in my left arm shatter as I punch him into the construction building as it collapses on him. I fall to my knees breathing hard as I feel my body heal itself ¡°that''s what you get you villain of the week motherfucker¡±.

    Then the rubble shakes as he pulls himself out of it ¡°you have to be kidding me!?¡±. He gets as his body starts healing itself his eye and nose slowly coming back hell he even gets bigger. I slowly get up as I clench my fist and hold them up ¡°ok round 2 I guess¡± as he goes to charge at me. Until silver giant silver hands slam into him into the ground as someone walks past me.

    They wore a silver button suit and tie with silver dress shoes and gloves. They had a blank mirror-like silver mask that didn¡¯t hide their smooth silver hair, they were a walking eyesore.

    ¡°I suggest you get you and your partner out of here this one is too strong for you to fight¡± I nod as I run over and grab Richard and book out of the area as I hear the sounds of the battle disappear as I run away. Eventually I get home and toss Richard''s big ass on the couch. He''s still breathing and fully healed but knocked out. I walk to my room and take off my destroyed proto costumes and fall on my very comfy bed and let my bruised body heal.

    This was one fucking crazy first night but hey were still alive and that''s all that matters. After a couple minutes I almost fall asleep until my phone rings on my nightstand. ¡°Goddammit what now?¡± I grab my phone as it''s a text from Rachel ¡°oh¡±. It reads hey wanna watch a movie tomorrow if you don¡¯t mind I smile as I type back sure.

 Chapter 11 giving something back and a explanation

    I felt myself drift back into consciousness and I had one of the worst headaches I''ve ever had in my entire life. The last thing I remember was getting my face smash into a steel beam and I know I¡¯m not dead. I open my eyes and see I''m in my house laying on the couch. I¡¯m still wearing the outfit Mary bought me just a lot more dirty.

    I sat up and noticed a note on the coffee table and it reads hey if you''re reading this I went to hang with Rachel for the day so I probably won¡¯t be home until tomorrow. I left some breakfast in the microwave(that I totally didn¡¯t order). Also, please just stay inside today. You were pretty messed up last night and with your current luck you''ll probably meet jack the ripper if you just go to get coffee. So yeah cya when I get home Mole Rat. Love your awesome twin sister.

    I smirked as I headed upstairs and grabbed some fresh clothes and took a quick shower and noticed I have a new scar just above my left eyebrow. I realized how many scars I¡¯ve gained over just the last week jeez if I keep going on like this by the end of the year I¡¯ll be just one big scar.

    After drying my hair, I head downstairs and open the microwave and see a plate with a breakfast sandwich and some hash browns on it. I heat up the food and grab the half gallon of milk and walk over and sit on the couch and grab the remote as I eat the hashbrown with one bite.

    I skip through several different channels from one about a cooking competition that involves powers to another about history and if powers are just alien parasites. I¡¯m tempted to watch that animated vanguard show they made a couple years back. I wonder how they wrote mom and dad? Hope its leagues are better than that one life action show they made where the vanguard were angsty teens in high school I still chuckle seeing the cringed expressions on mom and dad''s faces when the show is mentioned.

    Watch the news, I switch to a news channel I know and one of the news anchor kinda looks like that fox waitress at club void but with brown hair and well not being a fox person.

    She talks about stuff I kinda just ignore well except for the giant intelligent hamster attack that a new teen superhero team named the guardians. Eventually the news anchor talks about 2 potentially unnamed heroes that might be related to moxie and nimbus. She also talks about how the figure who helped the people out of the burning building might be related to another vigIlante named Nobody saved nearly a dozen young girls from human traffickers.

    Huh Nobody, not the worst name anyways they switch to the weather as My attention span for this dies so i just turn the tv off. What to do now, maybe I can try to beat a video game. I''ll tell myself I beat and stop at a hard part. I head to my room as I get to my desktop and turn it on.

    I then noticed a black duffle bag in the corner of my eye. The money I stole and never used I still feel shitty about that. What the fuck should I do with this? Should I finally use it to buy something or should I try to find the people I took it from and give it back.

    Gotta give it back. It wasn''t yours to take for all your knowledge, you just beat up a bunch of people and stole money from them. They could still be criminals; they called themselves the red eyes, which is a total gang name and you would have been in the right to beat their asses and the money was a reward for doing good work.

    I had 2 different trains of thought, one telling me to give the money back the other telling me to keep it. The money would be very useful. It could be used to help with the idea of improving that kinetic gun and maybe other devices by getting better supplies to help improve it. That money that you took from those people could have been for them to keep living for them to maybe get out of a horrible situation they could of earnt the hard way and just taking and spending it on stuff that you might not need is just selfish.

    The thoughts got louder, becoming more like voices. they could get more money by robbing or stealing it from someone plus they got their ass beat by someone that just got their powers. They probably weren¡¯t fighters, they barely had any real weapons and a single gun and the evolved there couldn''t fight that well. Does that sound like a gang?. It was getting louder and louder until it felt like 2 sides of my brain were screaming at me to make a choice.

    ¡°QUIET!¡± I screamed out loud as my thoughts went back to normal. Was I fucking going insane I I¡­¡­¡­¡­whatever back on the main topic. I should compromise, I should find them, maybe check out that old hospital and see if they''re still there and talk with them and see how they got the money and if they really are a gang or at least part of one. If I turn up my hearing enough I can hear their heartbeats and see if they''re lying. If they aren¡¯t a gang and I¡¯ll give them their money and if they are I leave with the money.

    It''s my best option for now since I don¡¯t have enough information or context to figure out the current situation so this is my best option for now. I grab a black hoodie and a face mask. If I do find them I don¡¯t want them seeing my face. I head over to my desk and pull out the escrima sticks, ball bearings and the kinetic gun just in case because overkill is overrated.

    I put everything in my belt and use my clothes to hide the belt. I quickly head downstairs with the duffle bag as I remember what Mary wrote down on the note. I¡¯ll be fine after I¡¯m done with this money situation. I''ll just head home and it will take like 30 minutes. What can happen in thirty minutes? Anyways after jinxing myself I quickly head outside and start running where I remember the hospital.

    Another thing I''ve noticed is that my memory has been enhanced. As soon as I try to remember something it instantly pops up in my head with perfect detail. Pretty useful still doesn''t help me find my missing socks though I swear all of my socks are all missed match by this point.

    It¡¯s midday and a bit cloudy as I run across rooftops and I can hear the traffic and people arguing because of the traffic and people wondering why there is so much traffic. I feel my mood lightened as I run across the rooftops. Even though I''ve done this a couple times so far I still love the feel of the wind rushing against my skin, the world blurring past me as I run and the rush that driveline pumping through my veins gives me, I¡¯ll never get tired of it.

    Eventually I spotted it and in the daylight I noticed that the building was covered in burn damage. Nothing bad but it made look like the place was ignited maybe it related with whatever the fuck went down with that burning hospital last night.

    Hell I even noticed the claw marks I made when I failed horribly at my attempted parkour move. I wonder, I move back quickly as I tighten the straps of the Duffle bag on my back as I look at the broken sign. I take a deep breath as I get on all fours into a sprinter''s stance as I dash forward.

    In only a couple seconds I make the sign as I jump, grab onto the broken sign and swing upwards as this time my feet make contact with the top of the roof. Satisfaction flowed through my veins after the clear sign of my progress as I walked over to the pillar with the door. This time the chain instead of being broken as I last remember was replaced with a much newer chain made from steel. This could be a sign they are still here as this time I don¡¯t break the chain. I turn one of my fingers into a steel claw as I grab the lock on the chain.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I gently placed the claw inside the keyhole as I let my instincts take over as I moved the claw in the lock. After several clicks I feel it unlock, easy fucking peasy. I take the lock off the chain as I gently push the door open as I walk in. I walk in the star way as I hop down to the first floor with a thud.

    I walk over to the 1rst floor entrance just like before as I gently push to open. I feel the door move for an inch before it stops as if something was placed in front of the door. At least they were smart enough to have slightly better security but it still sucks. With a small shove I pushed the door open as several burnt beds and sets of hospital equipment fell to the ground with a very loud thud. Well at least they know i¡¯m here now well if they are here.

    I take a deep breath as I get ready to probably get attacked for a solid minute before I can explain things. I walked forward as I noticed the little campsite from before this time the campfire wasn¡¯t lit as I couldn¡¯t see anyone.

    I could smell them. It was weird I couldn¡¯t describe the scents since they change a bit but I could recognize it was them. I could hear some light breaths around me and one heavy one near a pillar. I look over as I think it might be that Blake girl, the small one with the ginger hair. I take a couple steps over the pillar as I hear her whisper ¡°pl-please don¡¯t find me please d-don¡¯t find me¡±.

    ¡°You know I can hear you right?¡± I heard the breathing quiet as I heard a rush of heavy steps behind me, I sigh, here we go. I immediately turn around and see Mark, this group''s strong man charging at me with that same look that promised a brutal beating. I noticed he had a scar on his nose now. ¡°Oh hi mark¡± instead of replying like a civilized person he threw a heavy over handed jab at me, predictable.

    I duck under his fist and shoot several quick jabs at his chest hitting several pressure points as he froze up and fell to the ground. I hear step behind as someone takes a breath as I pivot myself and grab a punch from pinky as I see a look of fear and anger in her eyes as I held her fist so fragile so easily I could break it just with a bit of pressure, I could just snap every bone in her hand.

    She goes for another punch and just like before I grab it and lift up in the air before she could kick me as I hear 2 pairs of footsteps coming at me as I turn around and toss pinky at negative and positive who were attempting to charge me knocking all 3 of them on the floor.

    ¡°Gotcha¡± I hear several feet away as I hear a loud bang as I hear the bullet whizzing through the air as my perception slows. As I spin around and spot Doug smirking as he holds up the pistol as the bullet flies through the air. He has a large jagged scar on the right side of his face probably from where he hit the wall oh yeah the bullet. I turn my right hand to steel as I slap the bullet to the left as it hits into a wall.

    ¡°Now that''s just ain¡¯t fair¡± Doug stares dumb founded as I hear positive or negative yell ¡°I call fucking hacks¡±.

    I turn around to see Mark ready to throw a haymaker at me, sidestep him and knee him in the side. It pushed him back a bit as he feels denser and stronger, I wonder why? I keep digging him as he gets more pissed ¡°Just stay the fuck still!¡±.

    ¡°And get hit?¡± as after his last punch grab him by his arm and turn and use his momentum to throw him over my shoulder. I could see in the corner of my eye that pink and positive and negative were getting ready to charge at me. I don¡¯t want to keep fighting because I don¡¯t want to hurt them again so I better do something.

    I turn and see Blake peaking her face out from the pillar as an idea pops in my head. Welp time to escalate the situation so I can de-escalate it. With a rush of movement I¡¯m already in front of Blake as I shoot out my hand and gently grab her by the neck. ¡°Eep!¡± Blake didn¡¯t even try to struggle as I held her as the rest of the group stopped moving and became silent.

    I could see a mix of looks of rage and worry in their eyes. Mark and Pinky look like they wanted to bash my head in. Doug was the only one I couldn¡¯t read his face was the same no changes ether he had a amazing poker face or he didn¡¯t give a fuck about this girl.

    ¡°So can we please calm down?¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Mark nearly fucking growls at me

    ¡°Sorry not into guys, maybe you¡¯ll have a chance with the other dudes here¡± his face goes a bit red from.

    ¡°Not what I meant¡± sure, I look at Blake as I get a better look at her. She had very curly reddish orange hair with Hazel eyes and her face was riddled with freckles once again cute. I could feel her breathing hard under my light grip. I could see the fear in her eyes.

    I could feel her skin under my grip I could so easily just crush her wind pip and rip out her throat or just turn my fingers to claws and claw her throat and watch as she chokes on he¡­¡­.these intrusive thoughts are getting worse as I quickly shake my head.

    I turn my head back to the rest of my group as I grab the duffle bag off my back and toss it over to them. ¡°I¡¯m not here to fight, actually I¡¯m to apologize for what I did. I''m sorry and I know words aren¡¯t enough so I bring gifts¡± hesitantly Mark walks over and opens the bag as his eyes widen ¡°this all of our money why?¡±

    ¡°I had a change of heart¡± I gently place Blake on the ground as She walks over to the rest of the group. ¡°Seriously, why are you doing this?¡± I get a reasonably distrustful look from pinky.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m trying to be a good guy and decided maybe beating up a bunch of homeless people and robbing them wasn¡¯t the best idea¡±.

    ¡°We''re not homeless people¡±

    ¡°We are Blake, don¡¯t lie to yourself¡± I hear Doug say as he points the gun at me.

    ¡°Now before I leave I got some questions and if you¡¯ll put your weapons down we can make this quick and easy¡±

    ¡°Yours first¡± pinky gives a glance where the weapons belt is hidden she definitely got a good eye. Wanting to gain a small bit of their trust and also because I know I can beat their asses without it I take off the belt and toss towards them. I see Pinky grab the belt as eventually they all slowly relax as they all put their weapons down.

    Well except Mark who walks over to me and punches me across the face knocking me to the ground as I feel my jaw crack a bit and bruise as I feel blood stain my face mask slightly.

    ¡°Yeah I deserve that¡± as I hop onto my feet as everyone looks at me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got some questions like why are you staying this place¡±

    ¡°Because we have nowhere to go¡± Negative speaks up

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Simple were on the run¡±

    ¡°From the police I¡¯m guessing¡±

    ¡°Police and some pissed off heroes¡± positive says as he grabs a soda from a cooler

    ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°We all knew each other before all this we were friends in a town not far away from this city. One day one of the local heroes, one that Blake was a big fan of¡± I don¡¯t like where this is heading.

    Blake spoke up ¡°I work at a petstore and they came in drunk and at first it was nice to talk to them then they started flirting with me and ask me to come with them back to there place I said no and they started getting angry and and¡± I could see memories flashing through her mind as Pinky walk Over put a hand on the smaller girls shoulder.

    Pinky continued ¡°we were coming to surprise here since it was her birthday and well we saw what was happening and intervened most of us got our asses handed us besides mark who broke their neck¡± I could see Mark flinch as she said that

    ¡°And we knew that they wouldn¡¯t believe a bunch of civilians so we got that well loved hero assaulted some girl so we got out of there that''s when we discovered Blake was a evolved specifically a healer really has been helpful¡± Pinky ruffles Blakes hair as she smiles slightly

    ¡°So was all this money yours?¡±

    Doug speaks up now as he steps towards me ¡°no¡±, called it.

    ¡°Explain¡±

    ¡°So we were barely getting away from some blood lusted heroes that were related to the one Mark killed so I found someone who could help us they had a teleporter with them so They got us here but we would we have to pay them a hefty sum and we were essentially homeless so yes we had to steal¡±, called it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the trouble I¡¯ve caused. I really am, I''ll leave you guys alone¡± as I grab my belt and go to leave through a window.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I hear from Pinky as I look at her.

    ¡°You owe us¡±

    ¡°I gave you the money¡± I turn to look at her

    ¡°Well yeah but the night you took it¡± she points a finger at me as she walks up to me.

    ¡°We were supposed to give it to the man we owed to but w=since we didn¡¯t have it and where to injured to chase after it we came up empty handed but luckily he gave us another week but we had to bring in double the money¡± fuck I¡¯m the reason there probably gonna get killed by some mob boss

    ¡°And we have until tomorrow until we gotta bring in the money so since this is your fault you''re gonna help us get that money, got it!?¡± she grabs me by my hoodie pulling me down to look her in the eyes

    I hear the voices already beginning to argue but with a mental QUIET! They stop as I take a deep breath ¡°I¡¯ll help¡±

 Chapter 12 doing some bad

    It¡¯s been about an hour and it started getting dark, perfect for a robbery. I eventually learned everyone''s names so that I can stop calling them by their nicknames I gave them. Pinky was Sam, Doug was Ryan and positive and negative were Aiden and Martin respectively.

    They explain that pretty much they needed my help robbing some items from a museum and Ryan knew a guy who would give them more than enough money to pay their debt for these items. I spent most of the time just laying my head on a wall getting myself ready to commit some crime. It felt weird I was stopping weapons and drugs deal before that I saved a bunch of girls from human traffickers. Now I¡¯m gonna help some people sneak into and rob a museum.

    I sat in the back of some van as I heard everyone talking around me. I was ignoring everyone as I sat in the back as I was constantly telling myself that what I was doing right now was right. I was helping a bunch of people in a situation they didn¡¯t choose to be in.

    ¡°Hey¡± once again my train of thought has been derailed. Maybe they should make new railways? I turn to see Blake sitting there with her hands on her lap looking at me.

    ¡°Hey¡±

    ¡°So are you a hero?¡±

    ¡°Yeah new one though only stopped like 2-3 crimes¡±

    ¡°Hey that''s pretty good doing anything is better than nothing¡± she gives me a small smile, cute

    ¡°So you got a name figured out because if you don¡¯t I can give you one I¡¯m really amazing at making names¡±

    ¡°Like the red eyes?¡± I poke her hoodie ¡°did you make these too?¡±

    ¡°Yes and I think its cool¡± she smiles as she oozes confidence

    ¡°Kinda uncreative¡± she immediately deflates

    ¡°S-shut up it''s a awesome name¡±

    ¡°He has a point¡± Mark says as he messes around with a Rubik''s cube turning it gently to make sure he doesn''t break it

    ¡°Both you shut up it''s a good name no one has used before¡± she pouts as she crosses her arms for a minute

    Eventually she stops as she turns to me again ¡°so do you have a hero name yet?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± she leans towards me

    ¡°Nobody¡±

    ¡°And you say I¡¯m uncreative¡± she gives me a disappointing look

    ¡°Hey I didn¡¯t choose it the media did¡±

    ¡°Well, have you thought of your own name?¡±

    She has a point I haven¡¯t even really thought of a name yet: what would even be Steel dragon? That''s essentially my powerset. I also don¡¯t feel like taking inspiration from other heroes. I''m uncreative but I¡¯m at least original.

    ¡°Can¡¯t think of one¡±

    ¡°Well you''re not supposed to just think of one it eventually just clicks in your head plus if you don¡¯t come up with one I¡¯ll always be willing to give you one¡± she gives me a big smile that blinds me. First Mary then Rachel and now this girl why does this keep happening.

    Blakes sits back down as Sam tosses me a bag ¡°so you can hide your identity better than just a face mask¡± open it up and there is a pair of black gloves and a blank white mask with 2 eye holes.

    ¡°Also take this to fit in with us¡± as Blake tosses me a white hoodie with a red eye prayed on the front.

    I switch out my black hoodie with the white one and put the gloves and mask on. After several minutes of listening to radio music that switches out every minute because Aiden and Martin couldn''t agree on a song, The van stops.

    ¡°Ok everyone here''s the game plan Aiden and Martin were able to map out the palace and find the most valuable items I¡¯ll be heading in with Sam and our wannabe hero here¡± Ryanpoints at me points at me at that last part.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get us inside and break the cases and Sam and the wannabe hero will take out any night guards and cameras. Markus will act as muscle just in case the police arrive or a wannabe hero jumps in. Blake, Aiden and Martin will stay so that if there is trouble we can drive out of here and if any of us get hurt Blake can heal us. Does everyone understand?¡±

    Everyone gives a thumbs as the rest put on the same mask as me as Me, Sam, Ryan and Markus get out of the van. We are in the upper districts of Steel Drake city. This district is where all the rich people live , where the restaurants that aren''t on wheels are and where all the kinda boring places are like the museum. The place stands two story and is made from a nice white marble. I saw several cameras near the front.

    ¡°So we''re gonna have you have you and Sam climb up to the windows and you''re gonna take a left then a right there will be a security office knock out the guard in there and put this USB into the computers¡± he hands a used to Sam. ¡°After that take out the Guards in there and let me and Markus in¡±

    Me and Sam nod as Ryan points to the window where suppose to get to. We quickly run over as Sam pulls out a grappling hook? ¡°So do you just carry that on you?¡±

    Sam tosses it to the window seal as it hooks; she clips it into her belt as she puts her feet onto the wall. ¡°Did climbing with my dad when I was younger, it was pretty fun, got good at it, helpful when you''re forced to rob places¡±. Can¡¯t argue with that as she climbs up and makes it to the window.

    I hear some scraping noises as she opens the window and enters in. ¡°The coast is clear, come up¡¯. I grab onto the rope and with a couple steps I hop through the window. We enter as we get to the second floor. I feel my eyes automatically adjust to the dim lights I noticed on the ground floor were above a history exhibit.

    Sam pulls up the hook she crouches down and moves forwards I follow after. I make sure to take as light of steps as possible to not make a single bit of noise. After walking left for several minutes we get to a cross road as we take a right. After a Bit I do notice some guards with some flash on the bottom floor looking around. They got some stun batons and pistols, nothing too bad but I do notice something. I noticed something in the shadows sneaking past the guards.

    I saw that they were wearing all black with some jackets and had a large backpack and a face mask. ¡°Hey we might not be the only people here to know good. I spot someone moving in the shadows¡±. Sam nods as she quickly Texts Ryan ¡°he says if we spot them knock them out and make sure they don¡¯t steal everything valuable¡± I give a thumbs up as we eventually make it to the security room door.

    She walks over and tries to open it but it doesn¡¯t budge. I walk over as I take off my gloves and turn my fingers into steel claws as I start locking picking it. After several seconds with a click it unlocks and Sam gives me a thumbs up. I gently push open the door as we spot a security guard at a desk with a bunch of monsters in front of him as he reads some comics.

    Sam quietly moves forward as she pulls out a bottle of chloroform and a rag as she puts some chloroform in it, a classic.  With a couple steps she moves behind the man as she puts the rag on his face he struggles for a couple seconds but he eventually passes out. She places the USB into a nearby console as the screens slightly shift.

    ¡°The twins coded this so that it will play some old footage of one knight in a loop. It won¡¯t be that hard to figure out what happened but we''ll be long gone by then now onto the fun part¡±

    She pulls out a black jack and tosses it between her hands as it time for our second objective, the more fun one. I pull out several ball bearings as she moves over to a stair well and hops down. I jump down as we start moving. I focus on my senses as I hear several guards up ahead I gesture for her to stop as we both look behind a corner. There are two guards walking near a Egyption exhibit.

    I hold up one of my ball bearings as I nod for Sam to move. She moves behind several statues and displays as I spot her getting close behind one of the guards as she strikes. She slams the blackjack into the back of one of the guards, knocking him out cold.

    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± He goes for a taser but I tossed out Ball bearing as it bounces off a pharaoh statue and then a depiction of Anubis and finally into the guard''s head knocking him onto the ground, trick shot. I walk over as I grab the tasers off the guards and pocket them along with that we cuff them and lay them next to A pharaoh statue.

    ¡°Hey why are there so few guards in this place and such bad security with all the valuable stuff?¡±

    ¡°Simple Museums got robbed so much that eventually they replaced every valuable item with a fake and hide the real ones in a vault but some places like this secretly put some of the real stuff in out of wanting to show people the real deals¡±

    ¡°How do you guys know about this?¡±

    ¡°Ryan pretty knows a guy for any situation he¡¯s been a criminal since we were kids, he is the main reason we are still alive¡± I nod as she grabs some keys off the guards and we walk over to the main entrance and unlock it. As Ryan and Markus quickly enter with Ryan having a large grin on his face ¡°Now that we dealt with all the extra shit it''s time for us to deal with the main course stealing everything valuable¡±

    He hands us all bags and tells us to get anything valuable or that has some sort of gems on it. Immediately all of them started heading over to different cases and opening them and grabbing the contents within and putting it in the bag. I follow suit as I grab things from some old crowns to cat statues to even a Viking hand ax. Always wanted one of these.

    ¡°Hey I found this weird looking mask¡± Ryan holds up what seems to be some sort of Japanese Oni mask with half of it being painted as white and the other half black. ¡°Maybe we can have Markus wear this, make him actually intimidating¡±

    ¡°Haha maybe I can cram you into a box it will fit you perfectly you small bastard¡±

    ¡°Enough boys we got a job to do¡± as Sam grabs an old jeweled necklace and puts it in the bag. As eventually we get to a black mask withs several purple gems in it inside a glass container.

    ¡°Ok this is the most valuable thing here so it has a silent alarm. It might be a bit tough to get past it¡± we walk over as he looks at the mask and as he opens his hands towards me. ¡°Give me one of your pouches¡± I hand him one of my ball bearing pouches as he grabs it and moves over and lifts up the glass container and leans in closer and moves the bag closer to the mask bit by bit as I can see some sweat going down his face.

    ¡°Stop being dramatic already and just do it¡± Sam holsters the bag on her shoulder as quickly Ryan switches out the mask with the pouch ¡°hey I always wanted to do that just like my hero indiana jones¡± Sam snickers at that as we go leave with our hall until something rushes past Ryan as the mask in his hand disappears.

    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± He looks around as Sam And Markus do the same as I hear footsteps moving towards the exit and spot the mask figure from earlier moving toward the doorway with the mask as I run after him and without any hesitation Markus follows behind me.

    It only takes me a couple seconds as I grab our mask friends and with little difficulty take the mask from their grip. I go to quickly bonk them on the head until they twist out of my grip ripping off a piece of their jacket as they start running. ¡°Hey, should we go after them?¡±

    ¡°Nah we should be fine we got everything plus we were noy hypocrites¡± Ryan takes the mask as he puts it in his bag as we start moving.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m gonna see if they try anything, give me a sec¡± Ryan nods as Markus leaves his bag as he walks in the direction where the masked figure went.

    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing these artifacts cost much and that''s why were grabbing so many¡±

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Yeah the stuff from old history is expensive or sought out as the stuff from later on. Luckily I know a collector and he¡¯ll give us enough to pay off the debt and have a little bit for us so we can try to have a new start¡± Ryan seems to have some hope in his eyes.

    I smirk at the fact that these people may technically be criminals but they''re just people stuck in a shitty situation and are trying to get out of it any way they can. I¡¯m really starting to see multiple sides to this world of ours: the good, the bad and the gray as I start to smell something it smells like burning wood?

    BOOOOOM! ¡°AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!¡± I feel the explosion from here as Markus flies past us and slams into a wall ¡°If it isn¡¯t obvious we got a problem¡± he pulls himself from the wall mostly fine except for some burns to the front of his clothing.

    I pull out my escrima sticks as I hold them up and get ready as walking from the hallway Markus came from is what I can only describe as a hero. They wore black spandex that was covered with white armor plates that cover their shoulders there upper chest and abdominal area, there for arms and shoulders and runs down there spine along with going down there thighs. They wore armored gloves and boots made from similar plating and finally. They wore an armored face mask that kinda looked like a toothy maw with a white base and black teeth. They had a hood up as I noticed their eyes glowed with a purple light.

    It was a fucking eyesore like really like main character much?  I shake my head as I don¡¯t know why I know they are a hero, it''s just a vibe I get. I toss Sam my bag as I gesture for her and Ryan to get moving. Ryan grabs Markus'' bag as they start moving but before they can get even a couple feet towards the exit a wall of flames blocks their way. That''s what I get for hoping they would let them get away.

    ¡°Ok here''s the deal you guys are just gonna let me tie you up and leave you for the police so that we don¡¯t have to go through the hassle of fighting or I beat the living shit out of all you¡± there voice was distorted by something in there mask so I couldn¡¯t tell there gender or age.

    ¡°How about fuck you Is that a option?¡± Markus walks up next to me as he rolls up his sleeves and balls his fists guess there goes negotiations as I grip my escrima sticks. Remember this is a hero just try to get them distracted enough so Sam and Ryan can hall ass out of here.

    ¡°I really wanted to not waste my time tonight but I guess here we are¡± The hero''s hands ignite as I feel everything slow down. I dash forward as I feel the heat as I see the hero launch a blast of flames at me. I slide under it as I try to slam the sticks into their legs with a decent amount of force. They hopped in the air and kicked me in the face. It only causes my head to move a bit, they don¡¯t have super strength, good to know. I roll to my side barely dodging a bolt of flames as I throw a Ball bearing at them. It misses them as it bounces off a set of knights armor and goes to hit them in their head.

    They dodge again by ducking their head as they spin around and launch a fireball at a charging Markus. He lifts up his arms just in time as the ball of flames collides with him covering him in an explosion of flames. Surprisingly Sam or Ryan don¡¯t seem worried as the hero seems to be more focused on looking for an opening to escape. Before the smoke could dissipate Markus runs through his clothes burnt to all hell but he looks perfectly fine, I guess he¡¯s fireproof.

    He runs to the hero and throws a heavy cross but the hero sidesteps and throws a jab at their head barely making his head move. Before Markus could go to hit them they blast him launching them away as I run towards them while there looking at Markus. I go for a strike against their shoulder and another at their knee. They grab the escrima going for their shoulder and try to grab the other one but I quickly move my arm upwards trying to hit them in the chin.

    They shoot their head back dodging it as they explode with flames launching me back. I feel the heat hit against me as I roll against the ground my white hoodie being turned an ashy black as I feel burns on my skin. I feel the escrima sticks crumble in my grasp fuck Mary is gonna be pissed I lost them the next day I had them. As soon as I get up I see another blast about to hit me but Markus jumps in the way, tanking the blast. ¡°Your welcome¡± I get up as we both run forward.

    Markus smacks away another blast of flames as the hero tries to hit me as I jump onto Markus shoulders and launch myself forward and tackle him. I slam my fist into their mask as it cracks a bit. They slam there fist into my liver as blast a bit of flames into my face as they kick me into the ground. They ignite their hands in flames as they go to slam into me. BANG, the bullet prices into their shoulder as blood starts pouring from it as they get dropped kicked by Sam.

    Ryan walks over with the smoking gun as I get up. ¡°You''re lucky we don¡¯t resent you too much¡± Ryan gives me a shit eating grin as Markus runs in front of us as he blocks another fireball.

    ¡°Hey just stay down man we really don¡¯t want to hurt you well except Mark¡± Mark cracks his knuckles.

    ¡°We''re just getting started, I got everything I needed¡± as they dash towards Mark and punch him in the face. Mark gets knocked to the ground as a bit of blood pours from the bottom of his crack mask. We stand there in shock for a couple seconds as we turn to see the hero gets more muscular and a couple inches taller as they ball their fist.

    Fuck there a Alpha types, essentially anyone who could manipulate powers like power amping, nullify or copy. The annoying part is you never know what are the criterias for the power to be copied but in this case I''m guessing it¡¯s not touch. He runs as Sam moves backwards and Ryan goes for another shot. The hero dodges the shot as I run towards gripping my hands into fist. Well they got Markus Physique, which means I don¡¯t have to hold back because they can probably handle it, I start to feel a smile start to creep up my face.

    They throw several jabs at my face, neck and chest. I dodge the first one, block the second one and grab their fist as it was about to hit my chest. I pull them and go to hit them with a close line but they lift up their arm blocking it as they grab my arm and toss me. I flip in the air and land on my feet, I know I¡¯m physically faster but their reaction time is amazing so lets even it. I feel everything slow down as I dash forward at full speed appearing right in front of them. I throw a barrage of blows.

    They Were able to block 2 strikes that went for their head but they got hit in the liver, stomach, kidney and several pressure points. ¡°Khoff!¡± I hear them spit out blood as their body goes limp as I sweep their legs causing them to flip in the air as I spin around and slam my palm into their chest launching them into an exhibit shattering the glass.

    They quickly get to their feet, their purple eyes burning with anger. Their feet glow with heat as flames explode from them as they rocket towards me. They reach me as they ignite their fist and slam it into my chest launching me back. I feel something crack as a bit of blood pours from my mouth. The front of my hoodie is ash as I rip the rest off.

    Great they can use more then one power at once at similar levels to the original owners still don¡¯t know what lets them copy a power but my guess it¡¯s probably interacting with power or at least understanding since they only got Markus power after seeing him use it for a bit and I¡¯m guessing since whatever my power or well powers is at the moment they can¡¯t exactly copy it. My best bet is to try to make them put all their focus on me so everyone else can get out of here.

    I take a deep breath as I slow down my perception more as they dash towards me again. They propel themselves into the air as they drop down with a burning ax kick. I quickly shoot my hands and turn them into steel. I feel his foot slam into my hands as I dig into the ground. I feel neither the impact or the heat from the attack as Markus slams his fist into there side and lunch him to the right. Markus cracks his knuckles ¡°we need to make an opening for Sam and Ryan so we need to get their full attention¡±.

    ¡°I¡¯m great at getting people''s attention¡± as Markus grabs some ancient coffin nearby and throws it at the hero. The hero ignites their hands in flames as they propel themselves past the coffins as it destroys the wall behind them and shoots towards us. They fire out several flaming missiles at us as Markus shields me from a majority of the blast as I jump onto his shoulders and slam my foot into the face of the hero as they try to fly through the smoke.

    I hop off Markus as he grabs the hero and slams them into the ground and then swings them at me. I throw out an elbow as it slams into their head as they explode themselves with flames knocking me and Markus back. Their fist pierces throw smokes hitting me in the throats as I start to choke on air as they grab me by the face and send an explosion directly in my face.

    I get launched back as I roll across the ground I feel the lower part of my mask shattered as Blood pours from my mouth, nose and four heads as I feel some burns on my face. I lay there as I felt blood pour down my face but I could do nothing but grin. The feeling of fighting, the rush of adrenaline as I figure out my opponent, the rush I LOVE IT!!!!.

    I feel my feet turn to steel as the ground breaks as I leap forward. I Feel my jaw and teeth turn to steel as the prey dodges another punch from Markus. I tackle them as I bite into their shoulder the blood rushes into my mouth as I feel my steel teeth rip into their shoulder. The softness of the flesh and the chewy muscle makes me go CRAZY!. As I tear my head backwards ripping out a chunk of flesh I then grab the heroes I drag them across the ground and slam them into the wall over and over again.  ¡°LETS SEE HOW MANY HITS IT TAKES TO GET TO THE CENTER OF YOUR SKULL!!!¡± they launch me back with an explosion as I start to calm down as I wipe the blood away from my mouth. ¡°You ok?¡± Ryan says as he helps me up.

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°You sure you went a little crazy¡±

    ¡°Yeah just trying to make him scared¡± he gives me a look as I get up and feel blood tracking activates.

    I see the hero glow with a soft red glow as after several seconds the glows turn in a detailed outline of their insides as if I had x-ray vision. I see their muscles and bones moving and turning. I could see the electric signals traveling from their brain to different parts of their body.

    Markus clothes are pretty much destroyed besides his newly made shorts and mask that is pretty close to shattering. I run forward as the hero turns to me as I see the movements in their body as they''re going to throw a right hook. I shoot out my palm and strike it into their shoulder before they could react and then turn my hand into steel and slam it into their nose breaking a part of their mask. Markus grabs them by the back of the head as they slam their fist into their gut. I see their fingers flex ready to explode but I hit them with a right cross breaking their focus as Markus throws them into a wall.

    Me and Markus rush them as I use my blood sight to see their body getting ready to do something and interrupt letting Markus pummels them with heavy blows. Their armor starts to crack in break as they get overwhelmed. We try to end it with both of us going for one last punch but the heat dies in their body as their hands turn to steel and they grab our fists, fuck.

    They shove me back with a kick as they slam a fist into Markus gut causing him to double over as they uppercut him and grab him by the face and hit him with a heavy hook launching him towards Sam and Ryan. ¡°MARKUS!¡± they scream as I run towards the hero turning my hands to steel. They spin around and try to kick me as I slide under it and grab their legs and pull them to the ground.

    I immediately put them into a leg lock as I slowly started breaking their legs. ¡°FUCK YOU!¡± they scream as they slam their steel claws into my leg as I grit my teeth as I kick them in the face. I roll away from them as they get to their feet. We rush toward each other as I block a kick from them and they block a jab from me. We trade blows for a small bit as I notice something they are constantly keeping their hand as steel.

    They don¡¯t know the drawback meaning they get the power but don¡¯t understand one of the most common power copiers have. I just need to make them over use it and they¡¯ll freeze up and damage their hands. I jump backwards as I grab a pair of khopeshe''s from a nearby exhibit and run towards them. I go for an overhead slice with my left and an underhand one with my right. They grab the weapons as they shatter them but it gives me time to headbutt them. I see their muscles and bones shrink as I see their body tense as they probably swap to flames instead of Markus strength.

    I open up my mouth and fire a blast of water extinguishing the flames as soon as they are created leaving only steam. I rush forwards I hit them in the neck with my ankle then I grab them and toss them over my shoulder.

    They rocket towards me as I turn my feet into steel, ripping my boots as I dig the claws into the ground. They slam into me as I stay rooted in the ground as I slam my fist into their back knocking them into the ground. I grab them and throw them into a wall as it shatters and they get up and rush towards me.

    They quickly turn and use their claws to smack away several bullets as Sam rushes forward and kicks them in the face. I jump forward and slam my knee into the liver as Sam punches them in the throat. They go to hit Sam with their claws as they freeze and their hands return to normal covered in bruises and blisters.

    ¡°MOVE OUT THE WAY!¡± I hear Ryan yell as I turn and see he¡¯s holding my kinetic gun. He must have grabbed it when he helped me up, Makes me proud. I immediately grab Sam and leap out of the way as I hear the gun fully charge up.

    ¡°GET A LOAD OF THIS!!¡± Ryan yells as he presses down on the glowing trigger. ¡®FU¡± the purple energy hits the hero like a truck as they fly into a wall.

    ¡°Fuck yeah! That was awesome. Hey, can I keep this?¡± Ryan asks as he has the grin of a child who just did something cool in a video game.

    ¡°No¡± I snatch out of his hands

    ¡°Aw¡± he deflates sadly

    ¡°Uuuuuuuuuugh¡± the hero groans as he slowly gets up.

    ¡°You gotta give them credit at least there determined¡± Sam says as she aims the gun

    Before the hero gets up a car crashes through the entrance and slams into them launching them into a wall that they slowly slide down it.

    ¡°THE CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED¡± I hear Aiden yell as he pops his head out of the car

    ¡°Is anyone hurt?¡± I hear Blake yell as she pops her head out of the other window. I grab Markus as I help him into the back of the van as Blake rushes over to us.

    ¡°What happened!?¡± She has worry in her eyes as her hands glow with white light as it covers Me and Markus as we both quickly heap up.

    ¡°Some hero came in tried to stop us but me and albino here fuck him up¡± Markus says with a big grin.

    ¡°More like you got your shit kicked in¡± Martin says as he¡¯s working on a laptop.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you two are ok¡± she then stops as she stares at me and Markus as she gains a small blush and looks away. I look down and see my shirt was pretty much ash like Markus. Sveerl bags are tossed into the van as Sam and Ryan hop in.

    ¡°Nice abbs¡± Sam says as she slaps me on the stomach and lays down.

    ¡°Well this went pretty well except for the hero but that was taking care of¡± Ryan has a grin as he¡¯s texting on a phone.

    ¡°Well You jinx us because police are on there way¡± Marten turns his laptop around showing several cameras pov¡¯s of police cars heading down the street

    ¡°Fuck well floor it Aiden!¡±

    ¡°Got it boss¡± as I Aiden steps on the gas and we leave the museum and race down the streets. I could hear the sirens as I turned to see several police cars chasing after us. Aiden makes several sharp turns as everyone gets shoved into several directions as we get to a highway.

    ¡°STOP THE VEHICLE OR WE WILL USE FORCE¡± one of the police officers yelled. ¡°FUCK YOU¡± Sam said as she grab can od paint thatt was in the van and tosses it onto one of the cars causing it to crash.

    ¡°Really?¡± I look at her

    ¡°What I don¡¯t like cops¡±

    One of the cops hangs out of the side of their car as they try to shoot out the wheels. Before they could, Aiden moves past several cars as we move down the highway.

    ¡°WOOO HOOO¡± Aiden yells as he drives past cars making Sharp turns as.

    ¡°Aiden when I said floor it I didn¡¯t mean get us killed!¡±

    ¡°WHAT? CAN¡±Y HEAR YOU OVER THE MUSIC¡±

    ¡°What musi¡± before Ryan can finish the sensitive Aiden shoves turns on the radio onto max volume and conveniently it starts playing free Bird.

    ¡°Is he always this crazy¡± I turn to Blake and Sam

    ¡°Yes¡± they say at the same time.

    I turn to the police as they start shooting at our tires. I slow down my perception as I grab some ball bearings and throw them at the bullets. I¡¯m able to knock them out of the air as I use the rest of my ball bearings to deflect the bullets. The cops start reloading as Marcus and Blake stare at me. ¡°I swear you''re an anime character¡± Markus says as I shrug.

    ¡°Hey we need to lose these guys you got anything that can help with that¡± Ryan asks. I have my chaos breath but fire, earth or lighting will hurt or kill the cops and water and air won¡¯t slow them down but I get an idea.

    I feel air build up in my throat as I focus and feel water rise up. I feel strain on my throat as they start to mic together as I remove the heat. I feel ice build up in my throat as frost covers my lips and I poke my head outside the van. I open my mouth as a blast of frost hits the road as it gets covered in ice. Several cars slid against the road and crashed as the rest stop so they didn¡¯t mimic their friends.

    ¡°FUCK YES¡± Sam yells as she kisses me on the cheek me as even though I feel frost in my throat my face felt just a bit hotter.

    I turn and look at me ¡°Hey if you want I¡¯ll give you a smooch¡± I roll my eyes as Ryan makes a kissy face as everyone starts to celebrate and I smile. That was fun even if I broke the law it was a blast that''s probably wrong to say but have to admit it like these guys.

    Eventually we drove to some fancy looking house as Ryan went in and came back 20 minutes later with a briefcase full of money. We got back to the hideout as we celebrated for real. Ryan got out a bunch of drinks and ordered some pizzas and the delivery man was too tired to question why he was asked to leave pizza in front of an abandoned hospital.

    Some music was as they sat around the campfire and talked between themselves on what they were gonna do after all this was over. I put on my old hoodie and got some boots from Sam she said I could have as I sat against a wall away from everyone.

    ¡°Hey¡± I turned and saw Blake as she handed me a soda. I took it as she sat next to me.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you partying with everyone else?¡±

    ¡°Because this is your guys thing not mine I just help you tonight as payback¡±

    ¡°That doesn''t mean you can¡¯t celebrate with us you were major help with us you didn¡¯t have to do all that but you did and that is amore then just payback¡± she gives me a big smile

    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you the optimist¡±

    ¡°I have been told that¡± I drink the soda as we sit there a couple seconds.

    ¡°So can we be friends?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Like after we pay off the debt and find a place for us to stay, maybe you can come over and hang out with us?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because your a cool guy and it would be nice to have you around so is that a yes¡±

    I never have made friends before, always preferring to just stay to myself I thought and I don¡¯t know if Rachel counts as making a friend since she was Mary''s friend and I¡¯m her brother. These people felt human and made me feel comfortable and I know that sounds weird. The first time I met them I robbed and beat the shit out of them but I right now I can imagine this group of wannabe criminals and idiots could be my friends

    ¡°Sure I¡¯ll be you¡¯ll guys friend¡± Blake smiled as we walked over to the campfire as they were happy I came to hang with them. I listen to everyone talk and just have fun as Sam and Markus dance as Ryan, Aiden and Martin play some power and Blake talks to me about her favorite heroes.

    Eventually something interrupts everything as Ryan''s phone rings as he takes the phone and walks over and takes the call we all stare at him. After a bit Ryan walks over with a serious face. ¡°Fish face called and ask if we had the money and I told him we did now he wants to come over to his place right now¡±

    ¡°That''s not bad¡±

    ¡°Well he wants you to come too¡± he points at me as I feel confusion run through my mind.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t say why just that he wants you to come¡±

    ¡°Ok so where is this guy''s place?¡±

    ¡°Glacier town so you better bring a warm coat¡±

    This is gonna be a long night, I just feel it.

 Chapter 13 cold blooded

    Glacier town is a place stuck in a perpetual arctic winter. Even inside you can be shivering without high powered heaters and those are rare. Originally the place had a lot of resources and help from the rest of the city and heroes but after a gang made of mutants and ice power users that could survive and control the cold took over and made the area into their own.

    Most people in the city left the place alone as it slowly got taken over by crime, well everyone except a few heroes. One of these heroes being Whale-Shark a very powerful mutant type with well shark and whale like traits. He single handedly fought back all the different gangs in the city and keeps in check if one of them tries to fully take over the town. He was given the nickname the mayor of Glacier town since he¡¯s the closest to it.

    The reason he fights so hard for this frozen town is that he was there as a young hero when it got frozen. About a decade ago a villain known as Glacier came to the docks and quickly took over with little resistance. Their power was Cryokinesis on a very high level potentially even a potentially even god-like status.

    God-likes are essentially people with powers that have no real limit and can alter the world itself like Ares or Stargazer. Glacier spent about half a year in control until a team of heroes formed led by Whale-shark and tried to take her in. they nearly got her but just as she was about to be beaten she unlocked her God-like capabilities and covered the city in a permanent winter.

    Whale-shark being the only strong enough to survive the cold was able to get close enough to break her neck but the damage was done. The whole dock area, some parts of the city and the ocean were covered in the never ending winter. The oceans froze for miles and the inhabitants eventually built a town on the ice since the ice was so thick not even TNT could get through it. Over the years the area also became a place to store people with unsavory powers. People with monstrous mutations that make them barely human or powers to deadly be around other people like life drain.

    The police force is pretty much extinct, the law keepers that are there are mostly made of Whale-sharks men but they can¡¯t be everywhere at once so the area is still riddled with crime. There is the occasional very wealthy person that has enough resources to keep themselves protected from the cold and the gangs that only live in the area because well it can be pretty beautiful.

    The reason I know so much about this area is because I did a history project on it when I was 13 and whale shark is my favorite hero so I know his history. So yeah right now I¡¯m sitting in the back of a van freezing in below zero weather, no the heater didn¡¯t help.

    Everyone besides Markus was huddled up near me as I constantly built up flames in my body and let a small bit out of my mouth as I generated enough heat to keep everyone from freezing to death. Everyone was wearing multiple layers beside Markus who gave me his big jacket. Markus was driving as I could tell he was filling the cold but he just didn¡¯t seem to care as he drove.

    No one really talk that much except for the occasional rant about how fucking cold this place was. It was weird all of us just sitting in silence as they stayed close to me to keep warm. It was weird how we went from robbing a museum, beating the crap out of a hero and escaping the police to shivering in the cold, just really a change of pace. Well my life for the past week has just been that action then some time to relax then action.

    I had to turn down my hearing due to the constant snowstorm outside as I took another breath building the heat in my body and slowly let some out to make sure I didn¡¯t overload myself. Overloading an element can cause damage to my eternal structure and that really hurts.

    ¡°Soooooooo w-what''s your g-guys f-f-favorite christmas movie¡± Aiden says as he blows into his hands trying to warm himself up as everyone pretty much treated me as a campfire at this moment.

    ¡°A c-christ-m-mas Carol¡± Blake says as she''s the closest to me trying to get the most heat due to her smallness.

    ¡°Which v-version?¡± Sam says as she tries to act like she unbothered by the cold but isn¡¯t

    ¡°The 2009 one I-I thought i-it was g-good¡±

    ¡°Of course you do you l-like ho-horror m-movies¡± Marten says as he listens to music on his phone probably trying to get his mind off the cold.

    ¡°I-it''s n-not that b-bad¡±

    ¡°It tra-traumatized me and I-I¡¯m a adult¡± Aiden points a finger at Blake

    ¡°I just l-like it i-is t-that a cr-crime?¡± I have never seen it so I can¡¯t say anything literally since I¡¯m busy keeping up the heat.

    ¡°Zzzzzzzzzz¡± Ryan was asleep right now laying on my back. I wanted to push him off but can¡¯t blame him. I probably feel like a fresh out of the dryer blanket.

    ¡°Should we w-wake h-him up don¡¯t you d-die if y-ou sleep if it''s too cold?¡± Aiden asks

    ¡°He¡¯s f-fine¡± Sam ask as she quickly checks his pulse and quickly sighs in relief

    ¡°Isn¡¯t his s-snoring a good sign he¡¯s alive?¡± Blake ask as she puts her hands on my shoulder as she slumps onto me

    ¡°Y-you never know could be the a-air just leaving h-his d-dead body¡± Martin says as he and Aiden slump onto my other shoulder.

    ¡°So Markus how much longer do we have left until we get there?¡± Sam asks as she lay her head on my lap, guess I¡¯m just a heating rock now.

    ¡°We should be there soon, probably another couple minutes and we can meet with the guy and get this over with¡± Markus seems less affected by the cold now as I start to think his power is a bit more than enhanced strength.

    ¡°Thank god!¡± Everyone says in relief as they continue to just lay one on me¡­¡­¡­I miss my personal space.

    We got close to the ice part of Glacier town and drove past a multitude of snow covered buildings, some looking straight up abandoned while others look normal due to probably good heating then there''s just the ones where they are completely untouched by snow due to the massive heaters, these being the biggest buildings. Eventually the car stopped as Markus turned to us.

    ¡°Were here guys so get ready to run in below zero weather¡± Everyone seems to be mentally preparing themselves for the cold.

    ¡°Do I have to go? You know I get colder quickly¡± Blake put on a scarf, winter goggles and hat along with a hood fully covering head as she put on 2 pairs of gloves.

    ¡°Yeah Blake you do he called for all of us and for some reason our friend here¡± Sam pats me on the head.

    ¡°Fiiiiiine¡± Blake tries to cross her arms but it''s very hard to with all the lairs.

    ¡°So are we gonna wake Ryan up?¡± Martin asks as he packs his laptop into his backpack

    A smile crosses Aiden''s face ¡°how about we give him the greatest wake up call¡± as Aiden kicks open the back of the van as The snow and ice cold wind hits Ryan.

    ¡°MOTHER FUCKER!!!¡± Ryan yells as he moves off me and falls into the snow outside.

    ¡°FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK IT¡±S SO FUCKING COLD!!!¡± I grab him and pull him out of the snow as finally I slow down the heat in my body finally being able to speak.

    ¡°Morning¡± Ryan glares at me as everyone slowly steps out of the van.

    An icy desert that is what the water and ocean for miles became. Around us I could see hundreds of miles of frozen sea. I could still see ships stuck in the ice. We started walking as I could hear everyone shiver as we all started running. Blake was not keeping up with any of us so I grabbed her and held as I thought I heard say thank you but the snow storm was so loud.

    Eventually the snow started to part a bit as I noticed it. I heard about and saw pictures but still it is odd to see. A town on the ice buildings made up of scrap metal, wood and hell even some ships were turned into houses. Massive spires surrounded the town that glowed with a white light generating enough heat to push back the snowfall and cold leaving the area with only a light drizzle of snow and not below zero temperatures. I could see people moving about mostly mutants as some gave us looks and continued with their day either working or relaxing.

    ¡°So who exactly did you guys make a deal with again?¡± I¡¯m still Holding Blake as she¡¯s trying to catch the snow with her tongue.

    ¡°All we know is that he¡¯s in charge of a gang and only likes things that benefited him. Still don¡¯t know why he helps us he doesn''t need the money¡± Ryan says as he¡¯s wiping snow off himself constantly.

    ¡°So got any guess why he wanted to see me?¡±

    ¡°Well when I told him we got the money after a bit he asked for the person that help us to come too¡±

    ¡°That''s not worrying that he knows I was there without you telling him¡± Ryan shrugged as we walked further into the town.

    The place felt like a normal town, people just going about their day complaining about their jobs, kids playing in the snow. I could see restaurants, a bar, hell, even a general store. It¡¯s inspiring seeing how people were able to make a new life for themselves.

    ¡°This place doesn''t look half bad. I can imagine myself retiring here seems nice and peaceful¡± Aiden takes a deep breath as he looks around and waves at some children creating ice statues with their powers.

    ¡°We going to see mostly likely a crime boss who probably runs a drugs ring or something¡± Martin says to Aiden

    ¡°Let me have this¡±

    ¡°No fuck you¡± The twins began arguing,

    Oh yeah I forgot to put down Blake but as I go to put her down I hear her lightly snoring and Sam glares at me until I go back to holding her up. Can¡¯t blame Blake it¡¯s pretty late at night and it¡¯s cold and I¡¯m holding her so she doesn''t really need to move. It was kinda cute that she fell asleep in my arms especially with her cute snores.

    As we got closer to the end of the town I noticed this tower? It stood a couple hundred feet tall made up of what seems to be coral and ice giving it a royal vibe.

    ¡°Ego much?¡± Sam says as she tosses a snowball between her hands and tosses it at Markus. It hits him in the back of the head as he barely seems to notice as the cold doesn''t seem to be bothering him at all and I know It¡¯s not as cold as it was earlier but still he¡¯s walking around in casual clothes in 15 degree weather not even slightly affected. We get to the entrance of the looming tower as in the front stands to men in white suits and ice like helmets.

    ¡°What is your business here?¡± the first man said with a icy voice like wind in a snowstorm

    ¡°We are here to talk to the boss, we got his money and he wanted to see us¡± Ryan says as Mark pulls two duffle bags off his back.

    The Guards walk over and open the bag and grab the money and check through it and give us a thumbs up as the door opens and we walk inside. The vibe immediately shifts as we enter into the place. The first floor was filled with two groups of people. The first group were people in suits or fancy clothing. They talk to a receptionist who was a crab man with a metallic shell. They seemed to be either people from high society or the mob but all of them after talking to the receptionist, headed to an elevator that went up.

    The other group of people look more like fighters having some sort of weapon or obvious combat mutation. They were more located to the left as they all talked with a tall heavily scarred woman with the traits of a tiger and shark. They would hand her a coin. She would look at it, open the elevator and let the people in. occasionally she would nod to some people after looking at the coin and they would drag the person to another elevator.

    There was a middle area where the receptionist was a normal looking man in his 50''s. He had a decent build with salt and pepper hair and a goatee. He wore a nice suit and his glasses shined so I couldn''t see his eyes.

    ¡°Hello! You finally arrived come over here so we can get things started¡± he waved at us

    ¡°Does he want us?¡± Aiden asked

    ¡°No, the people behind us¡± I walked over to the receptionist and everyone followed after me.

    Ryan stepped in front of me ¡°Hey man is there any reason why the big guy wanted us here tonight instead of tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Oh well I don¡¯t know exactly why but I do know he sounded excited¡± The receptionist checked a book as he quickly flipped the pages then grabbed something from under the desk and handed Ryan a key.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Head over to the door behind me and use that key to open and once you come back down, hand it to me¡± Ryan nods as we quickly head to the elevator behind me.

    As I walked over to the elevator I noticed something well, someone actually a couple someones. A tall figure in biker gear, a person with an orange mohawk and too many piercings and a man in casual wear but had a skull tattoo on his face. These guys I should have killed them, they''re probably gonna be a recurring problem. Each one of them handed the Tiger shark girl a coin and entered the elevator but as they went down Skull face turned and pointed a finger gun at me, I hate him.

    ¡°Hey stop standing there and come on!¡± I feel Sam pull me into the elevator as Ryan put in the key and we started going up.

    ¡°Hey you should wake up Blake¡± Sam stared at Blake who I was still holding, oh yeah I almost forgot about her.

    ¡°Hey wake up Blake we''re about to meet up with the guy¡± I nudge her gently as quickly she stretches her arms upward.

    ¡°Aaaaaaahn¡± she yawns as I gently let her to the ground.

    ¡°Your surprisingly comfy¡± She rubs her eyes as I see Markus smirking and Sam with annoyance in her eyes.

    ¡°Thanks¡± I lean against the elevator wall as eventually we get to top floor and the door opens

    ¡°Game time everyone¡± Ryan says as we follow after him into the top floor.

    The area was cold being completely made out of ice from the ceiling to the floors. It was all made of some pure white ice that looked more like stone. There was a path mode out ice that cut through a massive lake of water filled with mini icebergs. The path led to a small area that had a large icy throne with several bookshelves filled with hundreds of books around. There was also a wall filled with different weapons and skulls on like trophies,

    There stood 2 people who sat near that area, probably bodyguards. The first one stood a bit taller than Markus and was covered in blue scales. It had a snake head with green eyes and a mouth filled with fangs that dripped venom. They also had a long snake tail double his body tail that constantly moved around and clawed hands and feet. It wore a pair of baggy orange pants kinda like a prison outfit, thought he was my friend.

    The next was a man in a white suit kinda like the guards at the front but with some differences. His hands and face seemingly were made out of that same pure white ice that made up the room. His face had no mouth but bright glowing blue eyes with no pupils, sadistic monster.

    ¡°Do you know these guys?¡± I asked as I shook my head

    ¡°Yeah there the boss''s bodyguards but he doesn''t really need them¡± Markus said as we walked towards the little thrown area.

    ¡°Where''s the boss then?¡± Markus shrugged

    ¡°Simple he''s taking a swim right now¡± The snake man said I don''t why but I kinda expected him to hiss a bit.

    I looked into the water next to the path as I noticed a shadow in the water. Dashing through the entire icy lake in only a matter of seconds. I saw everyone tense as the shadow quickly shot out the water and landed near the throne. My eyes opened in shock as my hung open.

    He stood at 8 and a half feet tall looming over everyone in the room. His body was extremely muscular, his skin barely holding back the muscle. Most of his skin no hide was pitch black except for his chest and neck area that was pure white. His skin was covered in hundreds of scars from stabs to bites to even burns not a single inch of his body wasn''t covered in scars.

    His arms and legs were the size of tree trunks and his hands could wrap around and crush a watermelon with ease. He had a muscular Whale tail that slid against the ground behind him. He had several shark fins on his back and smaller ones on his arms. His head looked like the mix of a Killer whale and great white sharks, his serrated teeth were visible and he even had a blow hole. Finally he had piercing blood red eyes that seemingly pierced through my very being, studying me for every detail and weakness as if he was looking for the best way to kill me.

    I felt my hairs stand on end as goosebumps ran up my arms. I felt my fight or flight reflexes kicking in as I felt like running. I felt like a rabbit in front of a wolf and it was hungry. I was in front of an apex predator not an apex killer and I couldn''t even move due to fear.

    ¡°When were you guys gonna tell me that the guy you made a deal with was fucking Whale shark¡±

    ¡°What? That''s his name really?¡± Aiden replied as I just remembered of course these guys wouldn¡¯t know him that much there not from this city.

    I wall still in shock because This was fucking Whale shark a hero and he was apparently a crime boss. It doesn''t make sense he hates crime, Why would be a crime boss? For crying out loud I had mom and dad bring this guy over for my birthday. I like him even more than Nosferatu and I had a crush on her. My mind was trying to comprehend the idea that a hero I looked up to was a criminal, He always was one. Whale shark had put on a white shirt and was now buttoning a black vest.

    ¡°My apologies for calling you here so late at night especially after you had to fight a hero and escape the police but I was excited that I couldn''t wait too long to see you all¡± He had a very deep voice that had hints of a southern accent it was also worrying how he knew everything that happen must have some way of watching us.

    ¡°I figure you have the money to pay your debt¡± Ryan nodded towards Markus as he tossed the two bags over to the whale shark. He didn¡¯t even check, just tossing them behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t just call us here to get your money?¡± Sam asked as she seemed the most calm out of all of us.

    ¡°Always the one to ask the right questions but yes there is more for us to discuss¡± he snapped his fingers as Frostie eyes glowed brighter and the lake around us turned to ice and a massive table made out of ice formed in front of us enough for all of us and Whale shark to sit down at.

    I relaxed a bit more as I sat down as he seemed just as nice and respectful as he always has, it''s an act. Whale shark grabbed several cups and poured them with fruit juice as he gently placed them in front of us. He sat at the biggest chair in front of us as he drank the whole bottle, no one else drank.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it''s fruit punch never was one for alcohol, it tastes horrible and it''s not poisoned. I''m more a hands on type when it comes to that hehehehehe¡± everyone started drinking as the fruit punch was pretty good.

    ¡°So what exactly do you want from us now we paid our debt? What else is there?¡± Ryan broke the silence.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious on what you want from us and him¡± Martins points at me

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll discuss what I want from the boy later but onto what I brought here for simply I have an offer¡± he snaps his finger as snake man hands him 7 briefcases and he slides one to each of us. I open the briefcase and My eyes widen for the second time tonight as 10 thousand dollars lay in front of me.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Sam yells

    ¡°Its beautiful¡± A tear goes down Ryan face

    ¡°Mooooney¡± Blake seems mesmerized

    ¡°Fuck¡± Aiden starts

    ¡°Yes¡± Martin finishes

    ¡°Damn¡± is all Markus says

    ¡°Hehe you should be excited because you get to keep that money¡± Whale shark gives a toothy grin.

    ¡°What''s the catch?¡± I give a questioning look, There''s always one with him.

    ¡°Well that''s the juicy part I want you all to work for me¡± he clasps his hands together as we all go silent.

    ¡°............what?¡± Ryan once again breaks the silence.

    ¡°You heard me, I want you all to do work for me and do tasks that I need completed. You''ll be paid for each task and any medical fees will be paid. Also don¡¯t forget dental¡± he smiles at that last part, showing off his rows of shining white teeth.

    ¡°Ok ok why us, like most of us are just random people and one wannabe hero plus even if half of us have powers you seem stack with that¡± Sam gestures at Snakeman and Frostie.

    ¡°Well for one I can¡¯t exactly have my men go out and what I need done I want to help this city not just Glacier town and by taking over and controlling all crime I can do that because you can¡¯t get rid of crime that''s impossible it''s like trying to stop blinking if you can control and moderate it to the point where it''s still make money for the people that cause crime while making it not even close to how bad it used to be it''s a win-win¡± I listened to his heart beat while he spoke and he wasn¡¯t lying.

    ¡°And for second I for now I cant have any of this traced back to me so I need people that have had no previous connection with me to do the things I need done¡± he lifts up his hand gestures at all of us as his blood red eyes trailed over all of us but me the most ¡°And all of you are perfect for that¡±

    ¡°A ex-con who''s a master pickpocket, a great shot, highly charismatic and always knows a guy¡± he points at Ryan.

    ¡°A highly trained fighter who is able to read her opponent like a book and make strategies and plans on the fly¡± he points at Sam.

    ¡°A wild card who isn¡¯t afraid of anything and can use what he has on him and around him to its maximum effectiveness¡± he points at Aiden.

    ¡°A highly intelligent hacker, information gatherer and tech wiz who can keep his cool now matter what¡± he points at Martin.

    ¡°A healer who can heal most injuries without getting tired and much more potential than she can imagine¡± he points to Blake and she looks puzzled at that last part.

    ¡°A brute who is smarter than most people think he is and is the definition of what doesn¡¯t kill him makes him stronger¡± he points as Markus.

    ¡°And finally¡± he points at me as his grin grows ¡°A constantly growing highly skilled evolve who keeps getting new powers and is developing the right mentally for this world¡± he stares at me as if he was a scientist wanting to learn how the species he found aka me ticks.

    ¡°Now you don¡¯t have to take this offer, you can take your money and never talk to me again but if you want money, fame or whatever you can imagine just call me¡± he hands us all a card with his a number on it, DON¡¯T CALL THAT NUMBER.

    We all just sit there as we all think about this situation. I didn''t even read minds to know everyone was conflicted. I was too but the voices didn¡¯t even come this time. I''ll just think about it more tomorrow as I pocket the card. Everyone does the same as they have come to the same conclusion as me as they pocket their cards.

    ¡°Will think about this and talk with you more about when we have time to figure everything out¡± Ryan speaks up as he grabs his briefcase and goes to leave everyone following suit. I grabbed my briefcase and went to leave but someone had other plans.

    ¡°You stay I have things to discuss with you¡± he points at me as everyone stops but I quickly gesture for them to leave as they head to the elevator but Blake gives me one last look before they head down. I sit back at the table as I await for what Whale shark has in stored for me.

    ¡°You wanna know something boy? When I was just a young pup my father told me one thing¡± he stands up as he starts pacing back and forth.

    ¡°He said that when you have a goal that you need to use every opportunity to help you climb closer even if you have to make them¡± He grabs another bottle and downs it.

    ¡°Even if you have to break others down until you can make a mountain you can use to just walk to your goal¡± I feel goosebumps run through my body as I feel like I¡¯m in the room with something that could kill me without a second thought.

    ¡°I took this to heart and every opportunity I see I take and I see you and your friends as an amazing investment and you are the greatest one out of them all Because originally you took my old investment¡± I feel confusion run through my mind as I try to figure out what he means.

    ¡°I heard about an unknown corporation transporting a very powerful experiment that could give you more powers on a train so I had my men attack it but one of them hit the train engines and it crashed and well you know the rest¡± I see his smile grow as I fully comprehend what he just told me. He¡¯s the reason any of this happened to me? Half of me wanted to break his teeth, the other part wanted to thank him.

    ¡°So I didn¡¯t get what I wanted but I¡¯m very quick to adapt so I had one of my people keep an eye on you to see what exactly happened. I was ecstatic to see your new capabilities so with a bit of timing I made sure you encountered those friends of yours to see your capabilities. then I wanted to see how you dealt with real threats so I had some of my Merc that infiltrating a human trafficking ring to accidentally let one of the girls get out and lead them to area near you and well you exceeded my expectations especially with what you did with the kitty, I knew you had potential kid".

    ¡°I threw a couple more tests at you like with club void or the weapons deal. I slowly got the full picture of your level of growth and well I¡¯m far from disappointed!¡± he lifted up his fingers to form a picture frame as his eyes seemed to glow with excitement.

    ¡°Now I know the rest will take this deal. They have their own reasons but they are human and all humans want a better life and well hehehe you can see what I can offer, a classic bait and hook simple but effective¡±.

    ¡°Why the fuck do you think I would ever think about your offer!?¡± I felt intense anger in my body but it felt like someone else¡¯s was mixed in with mine.

    ¡°Because if you don¡¯t Mary and Rachel will meet a set of villains to strong for them and well lets just say they will make the news because fame is fame even in death Mr smith¡± I felt my body move on its own as I shot out my silver claws at his throat as I wanted to feel his blood on my claws, I WANTED HIM DEAD!.

    ¡°That''s what I¡¯m looking for¡± before I could even react I felt air rush past me as I''m several feet in the air half away across the room. Whale shark was holding me up with one massive hand wrap around my neck. I slammed my claws into his wrist as it didn¡¯t even leave a scratch.

    ¡°Do you wanna know how I got so strong?¡± I tried to rip his fingers off my neck and do anything to get his hand off my neck. It felt like trying to bend metal when I was three, impossible as he didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°I decided to go down to the bottom of the ocean for a year to make myself stronger and well it hurt at first couldn''t handle the pressure or the creatures but I keep pushing myself even when I was bleeding from getting chomp on by a pack of megalodons or when I could barely move do to the weight on my body so I had to starve for weeks but eventually it got easier bit by bit until I felt weightless until I could hunt ths megalodons with ease until I cold even kill a creature of myth a kraken with my bare hands until I became the apex predator and when I came back to surface I had died and was reborn a true beast!¡± his eyes were burning with bloodlust as I fought harder to get out of his grip.

    ¡°But I always wondered, could anyone else go through what I went through and survive? And if they did, would they even be the same? Would they be able to handle the endless water flooding their lungs causing them to endlessly choke?¡± I feel his grip tighten around my throat as I feel the air start to leave my lungs as I start to choke. His grip was even stronger then even that behemoth I fought last night my windpipe was close to being destroyed.

    ¡°Would they be able to handle the pressure? The near infinite weight of the water pressing down on them as they can barely move? Could they survive that crushing darkness?¡± He puts his hand on my head as It completely covers my face as everything goes dark. I then felt his grip tighten bit by bit as I slowly felt my skull slowly crack under the pressure as it started to feel like several tons worth of pressure was being put on my skull. I started slamming my fists into his arm trying to get him to let go as it did nothing.

    ¡°I think they could if they have enough will enough fight in them because if you wanna survive you gotta fight until the last beat of your heart¡± I was slamming My fist into arm over and over as I felt my steel hands break and crack against his hide as I tried screaming for anyone to help me as I felt my skull getting closer to caving in.

    ¡°Sometimes evolution needs to be forced for something to grow the best way of doing this is by putting them in a life or death situation and seeing if they have the will to go through the pain to evolve and survive¡± I focused everything thing I had into my claws as I stab them into his wrist as I felt a couple droplets of blood drip down onto my claws.

    ¡°See, it wasn''t that hard¡± I felt him let go of me as I fell to the ground gasping for air as I felt blood poor from my nose and eyes.

    ¡°Just take a deep breath in and out¡± He knelt down in front as I felt him put a hand on my shoulder as I listened to him and was able to get my breathing back in check.

    ¡°You have a very terrifying potential, you just need a push to reach it. I wonder if I toss you into the abyss like I did with myself what would surface?¡± I stared up at him as I felt fear and anger flow through my very being as I stared into his eyes, I will kill him for everything he did.

    ¡°You will work for me along with the rest of those misfits. You can still be a hero and save people with your sister as long as you leave Glacier town alone because you know¡± I glared at him as I stood up and wipe the blood off my face as I noticed my steel claws were a bit different now as the claws were longer and more like blades now as The steel was a bit of a lighter gray and the metal went half way up my for arm as I turned back to normal to avoid the headache.

    ¡°See you''re already on the path of becoming a true apex predator¡± he smiled as I glared at him as I noticed I healed a bit quicker too now as I felt my skull healing itself.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want any of this to hurt you and force you to work for me but sadly you were in the wrong place at the wrong time so I¡¯m truly sorry but¡± He grabs me by the back of the head as he makes me look at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mistake my symphony for weakness because if you try to tell anyone or go against me I WILL MAKE SURE YOUR ALONE because even Nimbus and Moxie have moments of weakness so do you understand boy?¡± I nod.

    ¡°Good now take your money and leave with your friends and don''t tell them about what happened here¡± I don''t say anything as I take my money and head to the elevator.

    ¡°And oh yeah remember when you get a call from me always answer it ok?¡± I just pressed the button for the bottom floor as I leaned against the wall.

    I got to the bottom floor as I saw everyone waiting for me as Markus held what seemed to be some sort of heater.

    ¡°Kept us waiting huh?¡± Ryan says with his toothy grin

    ¡°He talked too much¡± I wasn¡¯t wrong as we left the tower.

    As we walked back to the car I felt a tug at my shoulder as I saw Blake look at me with worry. ¡°You ok?¡± I stare at her and give her the best answer I can: ¡°I¡¯ll live¡±.

    Eventually we left glacier town as we went back to the hospital and parked in an alleyway near it. When I get out of the car I turn to everyone and say ¡°My name is Richard Smith by the way if you guys need anything or wanna hang out just call me¡± as I leave my number on a little paper and leave it on top of the car. Blake gave me a smile ¡°this was fun Richard can¡¯t wait to hang out with you again¡±.

    They all waved me back as I ran home. It was starting to turn day so when I got home I just dragged myself to my room and slumped onto my desk chair. I needed something to take my mind off this situation as I pulled out the kinetic gun and taser. I needed a new weapon as I pulled out a notebook and started writing weapons design. Maybe make something the escrima stick but much more durable add the kinetic feature and maybe add a taser mode.

    I also needed a new range weapon. Maybe I can make a launcher that uses air to launch different ammo types or maybe a mask that lets me control the output of my chaos breath letting me do less lethal damage or give new enhancements to my different breaths.

    I spent hours in a daze making detailed designs for different gadgets and weapons as I heard the door open down stairs as I heard Mary come home with Rachel talking about there day and what plans they have. I get up and go down stares to hang out with My sister and her maybe girlfriend who knows but I''m just gonna chill today without getting pulled into any conflict¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I hope.

 Chapter 14 heading to the mall

    ¡°So how was your night?¡± I ask Mary as I eat a bowl of cereal.

    ¡°Well we hung out at her place for a bit, got some food and watched a movie. I thought it was a comedy, funny as hell and I just stayed at her place¡± I could smell their scents on each other and I¡¯m hoping that''s just because they hung out a lot.

    ¡°It was pretty fun but did you do anything Richard?¡± Rachel asked, oh nothing much just rob a museum beat the shit out of a hero escaped the police and oh yeah figured out my childhood hero is a psychotic crime boss who''s been constantly putting me in conflict over the last week trying to make into a weapon and oh yeah I got to work with him or he¡¯ll kill everyone I love.

    ¡°Just watched tv and did some work in my notebook¡± I need to figure out how Whale shark is always watching me

    ¡°So got any plans today Richard?¡± Mary please don¡¯t I¡¯m just gonna get caught up in more bullshit.

    ¡°No not really¡± dammit that''s essentially saying yes

    ¡°Well Me and Rachel wanna head to the mall and check some things out, buy some stuff, hit the food courts stuff like that, wanna come?¡±

    Just say no just say no you only need to say one little word that''s all you need to say ¡°sure¡± fuck.

    Now I am currently in Rachel''s car again heading to a mall hoping I have a relaxing day. Once again I sat in the back silent as Mary and Rachel talked and I ignored them. I was trying not to think about what happened last night and the fact that there is someone who is actually altering my life so he could get a weapon, it¡¯s what he does.

    I stopped looking out the window to look at Mary and Rachel talking with each other. Laughing at the dumb puns they heard from the movie they watch and how the popcorn was so expensive but so good. I thought to myself why are things so much simpler for her then me and she¡¯s had her powers longer than me.

    Hell even if Mary has had her powers only 2 more weeks than me it¡¯s been nothing crazy while I have a lot of shit going on at the moment and I know that''s selfish to say but I just can¡¯t stop thinking about it. At least with Rachel I don¡¯t know what she''s been through because I haven¡¯t known her for so long but she seems so carefree like nothing really bothers her. Maybe it¡¯s an act even with my ability to read people. It''s not perfect, I kinda wish I could read minds sometimes, you don¡¯t.

    I sigh to myself maybe I should try that mentality and act carefree but it¡¯s hard because a lot of things bother me. I go back to looking out the window and just look at the bright sunny sky. Even though I don¡¯t like going out socializing I think I need some time to hang out with some people that aren¡¯t technically criminals.

    ¡°You ok?¡± I turn to Mary as she looks at me with hints of worry in her eyes.

    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m good¡± you''re not

    ¡°You sure you just kinda seem not there¡±

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± I hear Rachel say as she looks at me through the front view mirror, A lot actually some of it involves murder.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine just bored¡± they both shrug as I lay against the seat.

    Eventually I see the massive shopping mall in the distance, I swear each time I see this mall it just gets bigger. We park near the front of the mall as I prepare myself for probably for social interaction, my favorite.

    I get out of the car as I spot crowds of people heading into the mall but what did I expect? It''s summer break and of course the mall will be packed. Mary and Rachel talked about what exactly they wanted to do but I just ignored them because I knew they were just gonna go to the most interesting places they see at the moment. I walk through the crowd as some people give me looks but what do I expect? I''m a giant albino guy with scars of course I¡¯ll draw attention. We get to the main area of the mall where there''s only a couple stores, nothing interesting and maps.

    ¡°Hey got any ideas of where we were gonna go first?¡± Mary asks as she looks at the map.

    ¡°No¡±

    ¡°Of course Mr no opinion¡± I roll my eyes.

    ¡°Well I think some new clothes would be nice because some of us need a wardrobe change¡± Rachel gives me the stink eye I don¡¯t know why because my wardrobe is fine, it consists of gray and black baggy clothes, no shirts and a bunch of hoodies.

    ¡°I like that idea Rache, I think it''s time for Richard to get a new look¡± she grins as I start thinking of the nearest escape route.

    ¡°Come on, let''s go!¡± I feel Mary grab me and drag me away as I mouthed help to some random onlookers.

    We get to some clothing store as Mary and Rachel drag me around. Mary really doesn''t care for clothes that much but for some reason she tries to get me to add stuff to my wardrobe. They Look through different sets of clothes. None of them I like well except for a hoodie with a skull on it simple but with some sort of design.

    I only got the hoodie but it was able to keep Mary happy since it''s at least slightly more unique then what I usually wear. Mary convinces Rachel to get some tank tops while Mary gets herself some jeans and a shirt that depicts a cat killing zombies with hack and cat in big letters on the top. Mary likes cats if that wasn¡¯t obvious. After we buy the clothes, I swear that the cashier wanted death, we leave the store.

    ¡°So you guys wanna check out the Arcade¡± Rachel says as her tail hisses at a man that tries to touch it.

    ¡°Sure I hope they got that one racing game I like¡± Mary smirks as I remember the many times she beat me in hell racer

    ¡°Richard?¡± I just give a nod as we walk to the arcade.

    The arcade was only a couple minute walk as I could see the flashing lights and hear people playing video games and getting annoyed at how many tickets they needed for a teddy bear. I had to turn down my smell from the mix of old pizza and soda stained carpets.

    Mary had a massive smile and child glee in her eyes as she looked around. They both immediately grab a bunch of coins as Mary drags Rachel over to a racing game. Mary goes on a rant about the lore of the hell racer series and how she''s played every single one of them even the spin off where you played as a dog.

    I smirk as I let the happy couple have their moment and stop myself from becoming a third wheel as I walk away. I head over to the token machine and put in some money as I get the cup full of tokens and look for some game options. How about one of those shooter games? No, we gotta play the games that get us the most tokens!, maybe one of those wheel spinner games. Let''s do the punch strength test and see how hard we can punch. Let''s do savage lands. That fighting game is the best, the gore being the best part!.

    I spot whack a mole and walk over, I feel disappointment in the back of my mind. I always liked this game and thought it was simple fun. I put in the tokens as I grab the hammer like baton, this game had the moles escaping a prison.

    I toss the hammer in the air as I hear the game count down to one. The first mole slowly comes out as I quickly knock it back down. Then another quickly follows afterwards then two pop up as I knock them both down at the same time. Second after second more pop up as I pick up a bit more speed and hit them a bit harder. I go faster and faster hitting more moles until the scenes start to smoke and spark a bit as I realized I got so excited I forgot to hold back.

    I look around and see only a janitor who stares at me as I gently put the hammer away, grab my tickets and walk away. I pocket my tickets as I spot skee-ball and walk over. I put some coins in as I grab a ball, time to show off my amazing accuracy. I gently roll the ball forward as it quickly moves up the ramp and into 10000 points as I smirk. I keep hitting the 10000 point mark as I grin at my enhanced accuracy. I know I¡¯m technically cheating due to my powers enhancing my accuracy but hey no ones gonna know.

    This time I didn''t break the machine as I heard some people clapping behind me as a couple gathered to watch me get probably one of the best high scores. I spend the next 20 minutes playing different games from basketball to a shooter game and I¡¯m actually having some fun.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I can hear Mary and Rachel having fun with a dancing game as I could hear them laughing as they try and fail to do the dances. I¡¯m glad they''re enjoying their essentially date as I walk over to Savage lands, a fighting game I played a couple times, thought it was pretty good, a bit too gory, the gore is the best part. I get over to the machine and start it up and get ready to play but then I hear someone walk up and put a coin in.

    ¡°Hey, do you mind if I play?¡± I turn and see some guy around my age who is of Asian descent. They stood around 5:11 with athletic build. They also had short black hair and a jagged car on their lip. They wore a pair of sunglasses that hid their eyes and a white tie with black pants, some tennis shoes and a black jacket with a hood up, they sounded familiar.

    After a couple seconds of my brain screaming at me because I''ll have to do social interactions I give an answer ¡°sure¡±. Fighting games are alway more fun when you''re playing with another person. We get to the character select screen filled with monstrous characters. I picked scorched earth, a humanoid dragon made of flaming magma with righteous anger in its eyes while sunglasses picked experiment 205 a albino tiger man with broken cuffs wrapped around wrists and blood covering their mouth and wore a crazed expression as we selected the sinking ship stage.

    ¡°Come here often?¡± he immediately use a special and dash as I block

    ¡°Nope¡± I try to get them with a tail grab but he uses a counter that stuns me and hits me with an uppercut.

    ¡°Any reason you here or you just like the mall¡± He goes for a grab but I block and use a foot dive and a slam

    ¡°I came with my sister and her friend had nothing else better to do¡± They fired several ranged slashes. I block him but he tackles me in a maul.

    ¡°I just like it here always came over with my friends still do¡± he goes for a super but I counter and knock him into the air into a air combo

    ¡°Not really an arcade guy but it''s been fun¡± I get him with a grab and slam into the ground then I hit him with a blast of fire.

    ¡°So how did you get that scar on your cheek?¡± He dashes out the way as I go for a ground pound then tackles me again and bites me in the shoulder, healing themselves a bit.

    ¡°A very nasty cat gave it to me, you?¡± I hit them with a flaming pillar then pulled them in with a tail grab and pile drive.

    ¡°I got mine I guess from an ex friend got some other scars but they''re under my shirt¡± he gets up as we both use supers and hit each other ending with a double ko.

    ¡°That sucks, wanna go another round¡± they nod as we keep going, both of us doing pretty well and eventually I hear Mary and Rachel.

    ¡°Hey Richy, me and Rache are hungry, wanna grab a bite?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡± I turn around as sunglasses turns with me and he and Mary look at each other.

    ¡°Hey Mary¡± Sunglasses says

    ¡°Hey Tora¡± Mary says guess they know each other.

    ¡°This your brother?¡± Tora gestures towards me.

    ¡°Yep the extra large mole rat¡± ow, my feelings.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding he¡¯s tall¡± or everyone I know is just short.

    ¡°So what are you doing here Tora?¡± Mary asked as Rachel was holding a stuffed seal.

    ¡°Oh got pretty messed up last night going solo and doc decided I needed a day off even after he healed me so I went to chill at the mall¡± I give them a quick look as I noticed there height, body shape, hair and voice are familiar like I¡¯ve seen someone with similar physical characteristics before¡­¡­¡­¡­wait a minute.

    ¡°Well since you''re here now wanna come with us to get some food and chat a bit?¡± yep there was no denying this guy was the same guy who tried to take that mask away from Ryan meaning there also that hero we beat the shit of.

    ¡°Sure I could use a bite¡± Tora said as I realized that I¡¯m about to sit down and eat with that same hero who might recognize me yay.

    After we left the arcade we quickly got to the food court and after a bit of talking we all agreed to get Chinese. So there I am sitting at the same table as the hero bit a chunk out of last night as we eat Chinese. I was eating a box of noodles as Mary was talking with Tora about what he¡¯s been doing and how the rest of the squad is doing with Rachel throwing in some questions and comments once in a while.

    I noticed Tora giving glances at me once in while I couldn¡¯t tell if it was him slowly recognizing me or wondering how me and Mary are twins. Obviously they weren''t gonna say anything in this public area but that wasn¡¯t what I was worried about I was more worried about what if they sent a text to Mary or talk with her about when he gets a chance then Mary will confront me and whatever is letting Whale shark watch will know what''s going on and Whale shark will deal with her.

    ¡°So Richard heard you¡¯ve finally joined the family business¡± My train of thought was taken into the back and shot as Tora was looking at me.

    ¡°I guess so, I¡¯ve done nothing big so far¡± I pop a dumpling in my mouth.

    ¡°Well heard you did pretty well against a gang and even took out so evolve by yourself that''s pretty good for someone who¡¯s had their powers for only a week¡±

    ¡°Yeah he¡¯s pretty good but he does need to work on controlling his strength¡± Mary was eating some chicken.

    ¡°Yeah that''s a problem most people have hell even I had nearly turned a guy to ash when I started out with my power¡± He chuckles as his eyes glow purple under his glasses

    ¡°Thanks I guess¡± he most likely recognizes it''s me.

    ¡°So what exactly messed you up last night?¡± I give Rachel a side death glare as she keeps tossing jell-o cubes into her mouth.

    ¡°Oh I was doing a patrol near a museum saw some people sneaking in and decided to check it out saw they were robbing the place and I tried to stop them but what I didn¡¯t know they had a enhancement type who was fireproof and another enhancement type who bit a chunk of my shoulder total psycho¡± I can feel him stare at me a that last part as they move there jacket and shirt to reveal a large bite scar,

    ¡°Jeez were you fighting fucking Ravager junior?¡± Mary muttered to herself as she looked at the scar.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know exactly what the cannibal power was but he had a couple definitely and one of them involved consuming blood they seemed to get stronger after that¡± I was digging my fingers into the table slightly due to nervousness.

    ¡°Did you catch them?¡± he wishes he did, he only caught these hands hehehe kill me well again.

    ¡°Nah I got hit by some weird kinetic gun and then when I tried to get up I got hit by a car out of nowhere knock me out for a minute¡± it was fucking hilarious!.

    ¡°That sucks¡± I stopped digging my fingers into the table as I felt it about to crack.

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll try to catch those bastards again next time I get a chance, can¡¯t let them embarrass me like that¡± you can try fuck face.

    ¡°Well if you need help me and Rachel are willing to help¡± Rachel nods with Mary as her mouth is too full to talk.

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll gladly accept any help especially from you guys¡± he gives a massive as I push away the thought of fighting Mary or Rachel as soon as it appears.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help if you want¡± Tora smirks at me.

    ¡°That would be great, heard you got a pretty strong power set¡± his grin is pissing me off as I just wanna smash those teeth in.

    ¡°Yeah well yours gotta be pretty strong too, got any tricks besides fire?¡± I feel his gaze intensify as we stare at each other.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m gonna go use the bathroom, be back in a sec¡± he gets up as he gives me one last glance as leaves.

    ¡°Hey Richy, you seem tense, is there something wrong?¡± Mary looks at me as she seems mostly confused.

    ¡°You seem angry¡± Rachel mutters as her tail gives me a suspicious look.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go buy some stuff to meet up with you guys later¡± before they could ask any questions I got up and disappeared into the crowds of people.

    Since we both are aware of the situation I¡¯m gonna have a little chat with Tora and make sure he doesn¡¯t say shit, that''s more like it!. With a quick sniff I pick up his scent smelling like ash and follow him to the restrooms. I get to the restroom as I turn down my smell obviously and enter in.

    I lean against a wall as I use my hearing to make sure he¡¯s the only person in the restroom and I only hear him flush the toilet and walk out. I let him wash his hands and as soon as he turns I rush forward and grab him by the throat, lift him and pin against the wall.

    ¡°That was quick¡± I squeeze my grip around his throat as he starts to choke. It would be so easy, so easy to just simple squeeze and with a pull have that pretty little throat in my hands god I could make him into ART!. I shake my head getting rid of the images of ripping his throat out.

    ¡°So you just gonna kill me here and walk back to your sister like nothing happened, not the best plan¡± I tighten my grip around his throat as I feel his windpipe, just one squeeze is all you need.

    ¡°Shut up and I won¡¯t end this conversation early¡± he nods as I lighten my grip.

    ¡°So how is this gonna go? You just gonna threaten me, well news flash that won¡¯t work, not really scared of death and I know you won¡¯t kill¡± I Turn my fingers into claws as they have a slight sheen to them and gently drag it from his stomach to his heart.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave that much blood¡± his cocky smile falters.

    ¡°Jeez maybe you will kill me but what makes you think I won¡¯t tell your sister?¡± I feel anger pour in my being like a flood as I think of a simple way to shut him up.

    ¡°You''re an only child, parents died when you were younger¡± his smile slightly falters again.

    ¡°Killed by a villain I¡¯m guessing. Maybe when you just got your powers you probably tried to stop the villain and failed and gained a hatred for villains and the wanting to protect people¡± his eyes widened and his grin fell.

    ¡°You were raised by your sister who you dearly love and say if that said sister was found in front of the hospital with say severe bruising and maybe some eternal bleeding maybe after you tell someone something they shouldn''t know, am I getting close?¡± I see his eyes feel with rage as he grits his teeth and I can feel the heat coming from him.

    ¡°FUCK YOU!¡± I tighten my grip again as i starts choking him, interrupting his focus. I know his type well, the wannabe shonen hero who thinks they are the main character in a superhero story, Sadly no one is.

    ¡°No fuck you because If my sister slightly dips her fucking toes into what''s going with me right now she will get dragged in and held down until you can stop seeing the bubbles so I¡¯m a but angry some random hero fucked might tell her¡±

    ¡°So you''re going to listen to me ok or¡± I lift up my right hand and turn it into steel as I dig it into the wall inches away from his face.

    ¡°Or I¡¯ll make sure both you and your sister will be sharing a hospital room ok?¡± he spits into my face as I slam him into the wall.

    ¡°Bite me!¡± I tighten my grip as I feel myself open my mouth with a growl as I nearly go to follow his command.

    ¡°Come on do it you fucking animal!¡± I feel a hunger rise through my body, that same urge to just sink my teeth into his throat and feel that sweet blood hit my tongue.

    God I want to so badly but I don¡¯t and I drop him as he grabs his neck. I noticed my canines go sharper in my mouth as if it was ready to bite into him. I kneel down in front of him and stare into his eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you or your sister. I really do so please don¡¯t tell Mary or Rachel but if you do I will show that I am a man of my words¡± I get up and go to leave the restrooms. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t need to tell her¡± I hear him say as I walk out of the restrooms. I walk for a bit longer as I take a seat at a bench and think.

    I was pissed not at Tora but at myself for doing any of that. Maybe I could have talked it out but I just resorted to violence like always. I was just pissed at everything at whale shark trying to make me into his weapon and has been controlling my life over the past couple days. I¡¯m poised I can¡¯t Mary or anyone or they might get hurt. I¡¯m pissed I¡¯ll be forced to be a criminal for that fish faced bastard. I¡¯m pissed at the fact I still don¡¯t know what''s going on with these powers. I¡¯m pissed. I''m willing to hurt innocent people because it''s convenient.

    What I need is to let off some steam, maybe I should try some solo work. Beat the shit out of criminals or maybe even a villain. I quickly text Mary I feel tired and I¡¯m heading home as I quickly leave the mall.

    I immediately start running home as I feel myself grinning. Doing some actual good should make me feel better I hope. I should probably make all that gear I drew blueprints for, good to have a nice arsenal of weapons so I''m prepared. Tonight I¡¯m gonna let off some steam and do some good, something that I need especially after everything that''s been going on. Lets just hope that everything doesn¡¯t go to shit I hope.

 Chapter 15 going solo

    Before I went home I went to several shops and got all the parts I needed to build my new arsenal. When I got home I grabbed the blueprints aka my notebook and went to the shed in the back and got to work. What I needed was something to help regulate my strength, a new melee weapon, a regulator for my chaos breath and some extra gadgets just in case.

    As soon as I had all the materials in front of me I felt myself enter a daze as I quickly started building. I didn''t know how much time and The thoughts of how I was building everything and the science rushed past my mind. By the time it was done the materials were replaced with several items.

    The first one was a black plated face mask that covered the mouth, cheeks and nose; it also had a dial on the left side along with several little canisters on the side. This mask lets me control the flow of my chaos breath. Essentially when I turn this dial I can make the breath weaker, letting me shoot out a less lethal blast. It can also make the blast wider or a more focused beam. It has a couple other features like it being armored and it can open up so I can use my earth breath and consume blood for blood tracking.

    After that there was a pair of fingerless gloves. Well, I couldn¡¯t call them gloves more like fingerless gauntlets since they went up to the end of my forearms. They were made from a slick metal covered in a purple circuit pattern. Going from the back of my hand to near the end of my elbow were a set of silver plates. Around the palm area were several glowing circles that glowed brighter if I pressed my finger down on it in a certain pattern. These gauntlets are made from the kinetic gun and similar to the mask help regulate my strength so I don¡¯t shatter peoples bones when I hit them but they can also amplify my striking forces too. Finally I can summon some kinetic shields not that much bigger than a buckler but they can absorb kinetic energy making the shields bigger or I can release through my punches.

    The biggest item is next it''s called the thunder at and it kinda looks like a mix between a bat and a kanabo, my favorite weapon.  It was a couple feet long having a similar design to the gauntlets being a silver color with blue and purple circuits. It also had several silver and golden rings and at the end it was round and covered in a purple web like pattern. The handle of the bat also had the little purple circles and with a certain pattern of taps I can cause this thing to spark off with electricity at varying levels. I can also use the gloves to charge up the bat with kinetic energy making it hit harder and even add a bit of extra defense and if I charge it with enough kinetic energy I can fire off a powerful blast at the end of the bat double the strength of the kinetic gun and more focused.

    I also made a few extra items such as bolas, smoke bombs, a net gun, a couple self super heated knives ect and oh yes can¡¯t forget the ball bearings, Those were effective and fun!.  I did make some modifications, I can charge them up with kinetic energy letting me throw them with more force. I also made some that explode if I throw them hard enough using a mix of gunpowder and a special mix of chemicals that with enough friction and exposure to air ignite the gunpowder.

    I looked at all the gear in front of me and smiled. It wasn''t the best but for me I felt pride in being able to make this, for a beginner it''s pretty good work.  I looked outside and saw it around 5:54 and I was a bit surprised thought it would be night by the time I was done guess I got time to work on my next costume.

    If I was going out tonight I wanted to make a better costume So I got to work. I went to my room and grabbed some of my darkest clothes, some elbow pads and knee pads and went back to the shed. I looked through the shelves until I found a box filled with old spray cans. Mary went through a spray painting phase about a couple years back; she wasn¡¯t actually that bad.

    I put a bandana around my nose and mouth as I thought of several designs I could make. Eventually a design hits me as I grab the red spray can and start drawing. I decided to go for something simple as I sprayed a set of blood fangs on the front of the hoodie along with blood claws marks on the upper sleeves and thigh thigh area of the pants. After that I drew a mix of a croc and wolf skull on the back with blood fangs and drew some white teeth on the metal face mask, black and red my favorite.

    It was a bit of edgy design but it was still cool to me and didn¡¯t take me that long to do so I spent the next couple hours relaxing. I took a nice hot shower and relaxed all my muscles. After that I made some mac n cheese and watched some tv in my room. Once it was night outside I walked downstairs and saw Mary and Rachel on the couch. They were focused on watching some horror movies as Mary was trying to act tough but was scared while Rachel was laughing at the special effects.

    I walked to the backyard without them even noticing I was walking by. I hope they have a nice night while I go beat the shit out of people. Once I got the shed I quickly put on the pants and strap some black knee pads on. Then I put a bulletproof vest over my white t, got this from the self defense store. I put on the hoodie afterwards as I grabbed some puts that I turned into steel tipped boots with metal bottoms with small spikes on them to help me climb and do parkour better. I put on the gauntlets as I pressed my fingers as they glowed with a purple glow. I grabbed my belt and filled each pouch and holster with all the gadgets I got and grabbed a strap with a holster around my chest and put The thunder bat in.

    I grab the face mask and attach to my face as it tightens enough to where it wouldn¡¯t fall off and I grab goggles that Mary gave me during our last patrol and put them on. I flipped the hood up as I got a good look at myself. I was a bit intimidating but that can be very useful, plus it¡¯s fun seeing people shit themselves when they look at us.

    I left the shed and immediately left the yard and started sprinting as I left the district pretty quickly. As soon as I left the central district I tuned up my senses and started searching for anything going on. I heard the city around me the people enjoying their nights as It was mostly quiet until eventually I heard a gunshot.

    I crossed the city block in only a couple seconds as I landed in an alleyway. I saw a man in a well dressed suit shoot holding his bleeding shoulder. There was a young boy with tears in his eyes near him. Next to them was a woman in a nice dress with tears in her eyes as a man in a ski mask was holding a gun to her chest while holding her necklace.

    A back alley robbery, how original, well time to do some hero work. I grabbed a ball bearing and flick it towards the wall near the man. The ball bounces off the wall hitting right into the hand that was holding the woman''s necklace making a satisfying cracking noise. I could see the robber''s finger slowly pull around the trigger as I dash forward and smack my hand into the robber''s face and with my other hand I grab the gun.

    He flies into the side of the alleyway knock out and I smirk as the kinetic gauntlets are working perfectly. I drop the gun and turn to the woman with the pearl necklace and the man with the bullet wound in his shoulder. The boy near their father has wonder in his eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t head down alleyways at night looking like you just left a gala never ends well¡±. I jumped out of the alleyway before they could say a word and kept running across different buildings. For some reason I felt like I prevented something really important from being created huh probably nothing.

    I keep running as I look for the next crime that the amazing whatever my superhero name is gonna be can solve. I smell something this time, something acidic as I turn my head towards a bakery? I do a mental shrug as I dash in the direction of the smell. Let''s see what''s going on over here.

    I start to hear what sounds like a fight as the acidic smell gets stronger as I land on top of a roof as I what i expected.

    ¡°Stop running and just stay still so I can blast you!¡± I see a person wearing a dark blue spandex costume covered in accurate looking stars and is wearing a steel helmet with a dark black glass face. He seemed to be a guy and was decently built and didn¡¯t really have a deep voice, their hands were also glowing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die so no!¡± running away from Spandex was a person in a green hazmat suit and a gas mask. She seemed to be pretty tall and thin and had a lighter voice.

    ¡°It won¡¯t kill just put you in the hospital¡±

    ¡°This is America with the hospital bills, death is better!¡± Hazmat yells as she barely dodge a blast of energy that spandex throws at them.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± spandex yells

    ¡°No fuck you!¡± hazmat yells in response

    ¡°Double fuck you¡±

    ¡°That doesn''t even make sense!¡± Hazmat jumps behind a car as she dodge another blast.

    I sat there watching them argue and run around as occasionally Hazmat through globs of this black liquid that seem to melt anything it touches. It was fucking hilarious I wish I had some popcorn to munch while I watch these 2 dumbass argue and throw stuff at each other. I guess this is what a fight between 2 newbies looks like and I love it.

    It may be funny but they were causing a lot of property damage and with their powers when one hits the other they''re gonna be either very hurt or dead. Should I intervene or should I leave and let this be someone else''s problem?, BOOM!

    A car explodes as Hazmat accidentally hits it and causes it to explode somehow. I sigh as I dig in my belt pouches and pull out a ball bearing and pull back my arm and like a baseball player I throw it.

    ¡°FUCK!¡± They both yell as The ball bounces off a nearby pole hits spandex in the face, bounces off the glass and hits Hazmat in the head. I hop down with a thud and walk over to them as I get ready for a potential migraine. I tune my hearing to see when the police will arrive and I hear nothing nearby, guess they''re busy.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Ok now that''s a villain¡± what?

    ¡°Yeah a bit edgy looking too¡± Fuck that guy.

    I turn around and see hazmat and spandex getting up looking ready to fight. I guess they think I¡¯m a villain and can''t blame them. I did technically attack them and haven¡¯t said a word yet¡­¡­¡­I should say something.

    ¡°Hey I¡¯m just trying to stop you guys from causing anymore dam¡±

    ¡°Seriously, his outfit sucks. Did a 15 year old make it?¡± Spandex says, ow

    ¡°I¡¯m wearing a hazmat suit and your wearing fucking spandex but at least we don¡¯t like someones oc named blood steel¡± now I¡¯m starting to get pissed.

    ¡°Oh shit! Uh, temporary truce man?¡± Spandex seemed to jump back in fear. I was confused on why he was scared until I noticed my fingers were steel claws now, fuck must of activated when I got angry.

    ¡°Temp truce¡± Hazmat hands engulfed in black acidic liquid while Spandex hands glowed with white light.

    Great now I gotta fight dumb and dumber but you know what? I can work with this these too seem pretty weak so I¡¯ll just fuck around with until the police get here or I knock them out.

    I lifted up my hand and beckoned them to me as like I expected they both tried to blast me emphasize on tried. I activated the kinetic shields and knocked the energy blast but the acid actually seems to burn the energy shield a bit huh neat. I ran forward and was already in front of them and I smacked them both in the face with barely any force. Hazmat tries to hit me with a spray of acid but I jump into the air onto her head and jump off them dodging a blast from spandex and said blast hits Hazmat knocking her across the ground.

    ¡°Shit! Sorry¡± I pull out a ball bearing and flick at him as hits him in the foot ¡°motherfucker!¡± then bounces of a nearby car then hits him in the other foot ¡°Fuck¡± and hits Hazmat who was trying to get back up knocking her back down as it bounces back into my hand, trick shot!. Fall to the ground as a white energy blast goes above me and I could hear spandex cursing.

    I jump onto my feet as I spin around, grab my net gun and shoot Spandex with it. It wraps around him as he falls to the ground he starts to charge up another blast but stops when I put the thunder bat near his head.

    ¡°You guys done?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡± they both speak as Hazmat rubs there head

    ¡°Now as I was saying earlier I was trying to stop you too from causing any more damage¡± I remove the net off spandex as I toss him over near Hazmat.

    ¡°So You''re not a Villain?¡± I stare at spandex.

    ¡°No I¡¯m jack the ripper¡± I start to rub my temples.

    ¡°So Can you explain what happened?¡±

    ¡°Well It was my first night out and I was on patrol everything was going fine until I saw this villain try to rob that bakery¡± Spandex points at Hazmat.

    ¡°Screw you! I was just getting some apple fritters¡±

    ¡°Why were you getting apple fritters in a hazmat suit!?¡±

    ¡°Well excuse me, some of us have powers that we can¡¯t fully turn off Because If I don¡¯t wear this people will die around me!¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know it was very dumb of me to assume!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I accept your apology!¡±

    ¡°Can you two please be quiet!?¡± I yell as they both shut up.

    ¡°Thanks now I suggest you two get moving because the police will be here and I¡¯ll explain what happen and then you¡¯ll be in trouble¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Hazmat asks

    ¡°I can hear your heartbeat and it¡¯s beating pretty quick right now¡± after I said that they both get up and start scrambling away oh yeah I lied about the police I just wanted them to leave the area.

    Now enough with the filler let¡¯s find something actually important to deal with as I ran away from the scene as I wonder If I''ll see those 2 again. I move around the district for 30 minutes looking around and finding nothing interesting or that hasn¡¯t been handled so I sit on top of a billboard bored out of my mind. I toss a knife into the air and catch it as I move it between my fingers. I toss it to my other hand and toss it into the air again.

    I was getting antsy at this point as I guess today was a pretty slow night. I wonder if whale shark has got some bullshit for me to deal with. I quickly look around and spot some cat looking at me as it just sits there staring. I sit up and pat the cat on the head as it starts to purr. I relax there as The cat sits on my lap as I just look at the beautiful night sky.

    I felt some peace as I let myself relax a bit. Maybe there will be something big tomorrow night. I then start to hear something, a low whistling noise that gets louder and louder until I grip my head as It feels like my head is about to burst open. I shut off my hearing as I look around and see nothing in the immediate area, there coming.

    I enhance sight more as I give another look and spot a glare in a window about a block away fuck a sniper and I can¡¯t here ay bullets coming. Usually when you spot a sniper it¡¯s already too late so my best best bet they already took the shot and since it¡¯s already been a couple seconds so the bullet is about to hit me in 1 2 3. I shoot up my arms as The kinetic shield barely activates as Bullet hits into it stopping it.

    Another thing about snipers once you know where they are there kinda fuck, I know from experience. I place the cat down and leap from the billboard onto another building as I start leaping from different buildings at high speeds. I tune my sight to give myself perfect night vision as I see another bullet flying towards me as I sidestep and I¡¯m only a couple feet away from the sniper.

    I feel something hit me in the side as I crash to the side as I feel blood leak from my newly made bullet hole. I turn to see a group of men in their building. They all wore black body suits covered in dark armored plates on their arms, shoulders, chest, abdominal area thighs and wore a set of armored gauntlets and boots. their helmets fully covering their heads fully with dark red visors. They all had what seemed to be assault rifles as they aimed them at me. I started to turn my hearing, I then turned it back up and the noise was gone as I heard a radio was on.

    ¡°Target has been spotted and seems to have unlocked a higher percentage than predicted¡± The voice sounded robotic and the radio seemed to be inside the helmet. ¡°Remember everyone no lethal damage because then you¡¯ll be the one taken home¡± Guess they''re trying to capture, maybe they''re related to the people that shot at me when I found steel drake''s body these guys got much better gear though.

    I grab a ball bearing from a different pouch as I launch near the group of people and as soon as it impacts the ground near them it explodes. Several of them get knocked back as I leap over land in front of the group, show time.  There are around 10 people there, 4 knock on their asses and my best bet is more on the way.

    One of the armored men lifts their rifle to fire but I grab the barrel and pull them as I slam my fist into their solar plexus and spin around slamming the man into another one knocking them to the ground. I hear several of the armed men lift their rifles to fire as I spin around turning my fingers to steel and swipe at their rifles. I cut through the steel barrels like butter as with a step I fire out several jabs. I strike true and my fist bends their metal helmets and shatters the glass visors.

    One of the armored men pulls out a knife and runs at me as another stands behind me as They aim their rifle. I jump into the air as I shoot my left foot into the man with knife face and my right into the man with the rifle''s face breaking their helmets. When I land back on the ground I grab the man on my left knife and the man on my right rifle. I stab the man on my right in the foot as I spin around around and slam the rifle into the man on the left head. I then turn to the screaming man and bonk him on the head knocking him out.

    I hear several bullets shoot through the air towards me as I leap forward dodging the hail of bullets as I turn and see 4 armored men left. I take a deep breath as I take a deep breath and feel the lighting form in my lungs as I turn the dial on my face mask as the plates shift around allowing for wider spread as I breath out. The lighting arks out and slams into the remaining men causing them to spasims and fall to the ground.

    I hear a wheezing noise as I turn my head just in time to dodge a sniper bullet as I turn to look at the sniper. I couldn¡¯t see their face but I could tell they were shitting bricks as I leaped towards the window. I feel the glass splinter then shatter shooting glass shards everywhere as I land in what looks like an old living room with the sniper in front of me and over 12 goons identical from the ones I just demolished, some this time with shotguns. They point their guns at me as I slowly stand up, the stand off my favorite part!.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move a fucking a fucking inch or we will shoot!¡± I stared at a goon with a shotgun in the front of the group.

    ¡°Drop all your weapons and get on your knees!¡±

    ¡°Ok¡± I slowly put my hands near my belt clip as I took a deep breath and I felt heat build up in my throat as I opened my mouth. I shoot out a large fireball knocking everyone back before they could even shoot a single bullet. I pull out a ball bearing as 7 people get up as I put my finger on a glowing circle on the metal ball as my gauntlet glows purple then the ball bearing.

    I throw the ball as It bounces against one goon head knocking him to the ground then it bounces to another then another then another until everyone is on the ground unconscious. The ball bonus back to my hand as I wonder if my ability to ricochet things is an actual power hmm something to deal with later.

    I turn to see the sniper running down The stairs as I walk over to one of the unconscious goons and take there belt it holds a pistol with a couple clips of ammo I take the clips and put them into of my pouches as I cock the pistol as It just feels right to hold, guns my love you have returned to me.

    I walk down the stairs as I hear several sets of footsteps running up. I spot 3 goons with shotguns as I whip my arm up and fire several bullets into their calves making them fall to their knees as they yell in pain. I walk over and pistol whip the first one then the second one and the third one as I Walk down the stairs. I get close to the bottom of the stairs as I stop and tune my hearing.

    I hear around 5 people breathing outside the door as I holster the pistol and tune my face mask as The plates shift to be focused in one direction as I take a deep breath as air feels my lungs. I let out a blast of wind knocking the food off its hinges sending it into the five goons knocking them into a wall breaking it. I walk into a hallway as I turn to see the sniper stare at me like a deer in headlights as I give them a small wave. Instead of returning the wave like a normal person they run down another flight of stairs, rude. They should be heading to the bottom floor and I hear about 5 more goons just below welp time to make a entrance.

    I lift up my fist and amp it with the kinetic force of the gauntlets, turn my fists to steal and slam them into the floor breaking through it. ¡°Oh shi¡± I rush to the ground and land on someone as I turn to see 4 goons behind me already firing at me with their rifles. I activate the kinetic shields as I run forward. Bullets rain towards me as I swipe my left arm to block several bullets that were going for the side and heart then I swipe my right arm to block several bullets going for my liver, shoulder and knee. As soon as I get close I leap into the air as I slam my arms into the ground and release all the kinetic energy I stored up creating a purple pulse of energy knocking the goons away as they slam into a desk, some walls and even a bench, this is why tech is the best.

    I then turn to see sniper running out the front door as I sigh as I wonder what I did to make so scared of me? I run out the door as I spot an armored truck skidding into the driveway as Sniper runs toward the vehicle. I Pull out one of my knives and throw it at sniper. It slashes their shoulder spraying blood across the ground as they jump into the truck as it drives away. It¡¯s better to let them get away so they can get to whatever base they are staying at and maybe I can get some actual information there.

    I walk over to the blood knife as I pull it out of the ground as I move the dial on my mask pulling all the plates back. I stick my tongue out and lick the knife clean as I swallow the sweet delicious blood. I see the bloody steps form as I hear sirens in the distance and I start running.

    After running for what feels like an hour I get to the upper district as I run across several buildings until I spot where the bloody steps lead. A train yard where I can see several abandoned trains along with several armored trucks with dozens of people with that same black plated armor moving boxes onto a cargo train. There is one person who seems to be the leader who hears more plated and high tech gear with a cross shape visor and a set of silver gauntlets with red gems on the knuckles.

    He¡¯s giving orders and telling people to be careful with the gear and if they break anything there paychecks will be a kettle skinnier. Eventually sniper walks up to him and tells him the holder demolished all the soldiers and they barely got away. Commander tells everyone to be on alert as he gestures with several people holding what seem to be portable rail guns to keep watch just in case the holder appears.

    I do spot something that confirms my suspicions as I spot several goons carrying silver containers identical to the one I found steel drake in, bingo. I crack my neck as it is time to kick some ass and finally get some answers on what''s happening to me and what any of this means. I start moving as the train gets loaded up and starts heading off as I jump onto the back of the train.

    After a couple minutes I open the steel door on the car and walk in. I walk in on nearly 3 dozen goons and all at once they turn towards me. ¡°Sup¡± they all immediately pull out weapons and run towards me as I pull out my thunder bat and get ready to kick some ass.

 Chapter 16 pushed to the limit

    I jump to the side barely dodging a spray of shogun pellets as I roll to my right as several stun batons slam into where I just was. I spin around and slam the bat into a goon who was aiming at me with a shotgun knocking him into several goons. I duck under a right hook as I slam the bat into the gonna leg knocking him into the ground. I shoot out an elbow denting the helmet of a charging goon as I activate my kinetic shield blocking two stun batons as I shove them away.

    I get sucker punched across the back of my head by a goon from behind and while I¡¯m stunned for a second as another goon tackles me as I drop the thunder bat on accident. I barely move a foot as I lift the goon up and spin around knocking around several other goons as I slam the goon into the ceiling. I was lucky because the reason I¡¯m not getting shot to bits was pretty simple. I was in a crowd so that meant not everyone could just fire at me without hitting one of their friends, smart move.

    Three goons rush at me, two with knives and one with a pistol already firing. I rush forward as I block a bullet going for my heart with a kinetic shield as I jump forward and land on the two goons with knives faces. I jump off their faces as I toss an explosive bearing behind blasting away several goons and heavily burning the 2 knife guys.

    I dig my steel claws into the ceiling as I take a deep breath, turn a dial on my mask and unleash a wave of water. Half the goons on the train get blasted to the ground as ankle high water covers the floor. I heard small splashes behind me as on instinct I spin around and roundhouse kick goon about to shoot me. I feel his chest armor shatter along with his ribs as he flies into several goons knocking them down. I need to make kinetic boots too because I think I might have killed that man but I do still hear light breathing from him so he¡¯s probably fine I hope.

    I sidestep an overhead strike from a stun baton from a goon as I grab them by the helmet, denting the metal in my grip as I slam them into the ground. As soon as I turn around I''m forced to use my kinetic shields to block a spray of shotgun pellets As I hear Splashing stop just behind me. Just as I turn around I see a goon swinging My thunderbat right at my head. My mind could react to it but my body couldn''t As I feel the heavy metal bat slam into the side of My head. My head shoots to the right as I feel a small bruise form and Already start healing. The goon goes for another swing but this time I grab the bat as I feel little force behind the swing. I feel annoyance build up in me as I slowly turn to the goon.

    They try to pull the bat out of my grip but I keep my grip the same as I shoot my arm up lifting the goon as I pull back my fist and launch my fist into his chest shattering his armor. I shoot my head to the right as a bullet passes by my head as I spin around as I rush forward towards my shooter. They start panic firing as I rush toward them and shoulder check them into the wall, I always love doing that.

    I hear multiple steps behind me as I turn to see a group of goons with large rectangular shields and machine guns. I flip my bat into the air and catch with my hand as I jump out of the way of machine gun fire. I weave through the storm bullets as I grab a goon who was reloading and hold them up in front of me as The gun fire stops. I hold the struggling adult like a child in front of me as I see them seemingly hesitating, guess they know this guy or girl? Who cares because I don¡¯t as I put a little black ball in the belt of the goon and toss them at the group.

    They fly into the group crashing against them as the impact breaks the black small and explodes into smoke filling the train car. I can see through the spoke perfectly but the goons can¡¯t say the same as they start blind firing. I run forward and grab one of them by the back of the head as I spin around and slam them into several goons sending them flying. I spin around and slam the abt into the head of one of the goons, shattering it as they fall to the ground. I then turn a dial on my mask as I take breath and unleash a blast of wind sending the rest of the group flying.

    The smoke clears as I lean on my bat as I watch all the goons slowly but surely get up as I look at my nonexistent watch tapping my foot. They rush towards me some limping as I grab one of the shields and step on it as I activate the shock function of the Thunder bat as I put the bat in the water.

    They all freeze up and fall to the ground as I swear I could see their skeletons as I pull the bat out of the water as I step off the shield. I take a couple seconds to admire my handy work as I feel satisfaction from seeing how much I improve in this short amount of time. I went from running from guys like this to taking down nearly 4 dozen of them with much better gear without breaking a sweat.

    I start hearing steps in front of this one as I grab a shield off the ground as I walk to the door that leads to the next car and kick it open. The door flies off its hinges as I walk into the car and spot only teens goons but they look much more different. Their armor was covered in much smaller plates but went up the entire of their arms, legs, chest, stomach and back. The metal had more of a red tint to it and their helmets had cross shape scarlet visors but these ones were glowing. They all held two weapons, the first one being a black rifle that had a rectangular barrel with a silver cylinder down the middle and instead of a normal ammo slot there was a massive box. The second weapon looks like a mace made of pure silver covered in red circuit lines, aw shit we got mega goons.

    One of them lifts their rifles as they pull the trigger and I feel my body move on its own as I jump to the side. I felt my ears nearly bleed as what seems to be a metal spike creates a large BOOM  as it flies past me and punches a six foot wide hole into car behind as I realize these fucks have portable rail guns, This is gonna be a long night.

    I barely weave past two more railgun shots as I rush forward as I get close but before two step forward and slam those maces into the ground. A crimson pulse releases from the maces and collides with me as It feels like I got hit with a train as Shoot backwards into the previous car as I feel several ribs crack. I jump onto my feet and immediately I¡¯m forced to jump to the ceiling to dodge another shot as I see the guys with maces run forward as I fall to the ground.

    I fall backwards as the mega goon swings the mace and as it collides with the wall it explodes and destroys it giving a new window to the speeding outside world. I roll my side dodging another mega goon as the mace slams into the ground creating a hole into the floor as I get launched back by another scarlet pulse.

    I handspring into the air as I dodge another railgun shot as I land on feet as they don¡¯t give me a second to breathe. I weave to the right as I dodge another strike as I slam my bat into the mega goon side as I feel more resistance. I shoot up my other arm as I use a kinetic shield to block another strike as I push back a foot as the purple clashes against red as I shove the mega goon back. The both kennel down as I hear several steps behind me as I turn and see several mega goons pointing there rail guns at me¡­¡­¡­¡­fuck. I barely had time to put up my kinetic shields as the shots clash against my shields and I¡¯m shot out of the train as I feel the bones in my arms break as I feel wind rush past me as I land on the ground as I see the train quickly move into the distance.

    I quickly open up my mask as I vomit some blood as I slowly get up and look around and see that I¡¯m on a bridge over a lake as I turn and see the city in the distance. I close my mask as I feel my arms already healing as I pull up my hood and start sprinting after the train. I feel everything blur past me as in only a matter of seconds I¡¯m only 10 feet away from the train. I see several mega goons step to the exit and start firing at me. I push my reaction time and perception to the limits as I weave the shots as they pierce through the bridge.

    Explosions of metal and wood erupt behind as I see one mega goon wave as they move aside as one comes with a rpg, yay lucky me. They aim at me as the rocket fires as I feel my feet turn to steel and I leap forward. I glide over the rocket as I land on top of the train with a thud as I turn to see the bridge behind us collapse as we enter a lush forest.

    I stand up as I holster my thunder bat on my back as I shift the kinetic gauntlets to my normal strength as they glow brighter. I hear a Boom behind me as I turn to see several more open up as I start running on top of the train, just give me a fucking break! I run on top of several cars as I grab some explosive bearings from my belt as I hear several more BOOMS behind me. I count the seconds between the shots as I know there is about to fire under me. I jump backwards and another hole is put into the ceiling of the train car. As soon as the hole is formed I throw several explosive bearings into it as there is a flash of light and smoke comes from the hole.

    I drop down into the hole as I enter some sort of communications room but all the tech is well destroyed. I see several mega goons covered in some burns and some cracks in their armor already recovered. I rush forward as I slam my knee full force into the closest mega goons helmet denting as I hit them with a chop to the neck as they start choking. I then grab their mace and slam it into the other mega goon launching them into the wall denting it. I kick then rush forward and hit The mega goon right in the solar plexus as I grab them and turn around and use them to block another mace strike from another mega goon denting them into the ground. I grab their mace as I duck under the other mega goon mace and I take a deep breath and an explosion of flames fling them back.

    The other seven mega goons walk in as I take a deep breath as I turn my hands into steel as I start to feel everything slow down as I feel my heart beat faster as feel adrenaline flow through my veins as I grin like a mad man.

    ¡°LETS FUCKING GO!!¡± I yell as I rush forward and slide under a railgun shot as I jump forward and clash maces with two mega goons. The red energy of the weapons crackles against each other painting the room in a scarlet as I shove their maces down and hit them with a tunnel of air knocking them to the ground. I blast myself to the right with a beam of pressurized water as several railgun shots slam into my previous location as I throw one of the maces into one of the mega goons knocking him into the previous car.

    The rifles seem to have a recharge time and my ball bearings don¡¯t as I grab some from my belt and charge them with kinetic energy as I throw them into the floor as they bounce against the ground and perfectly into the all of there hands with a lovely crack, AND THAT¡±S WHY YOU DON¡±T FUCK WITH A MARKSMEN BABY! I leap forward as I elbow the first mega goon and with that same motion I slam the back of my hand into their helmet breaking it. Another mega Goon runs forward and jumps over the friend and tries to go for an overhead slam while another runs to my side and goes for my liver. I use a kinetic shield to block the overhead strike as I use the mace in my other hand to block the strike from the side. With a bit of effort and knock them away as I slam my first into the throat of the mega goon on my right.

    I side step another strike from the one on my front as I kick him into the one gasping for air knocking them both down. I grab my bat from my holster and charge it with kinetic energy as it starts sparking purple now as I use it to deflect a strike from another mega goon as I slam the mace into their side knocking them through the wall and into the great outdoors. I then spot one of the mega reaching for one of the rail guns as I take a breath and fire out a bolt of cold air freezing there hand. I wag my finger left to right as the last five run towards me as I grip my fists around my weapons.

    I block a strike going for the side of my head then I deflect one going for my knee, then one going for my side and two going for my head again. They''re trying to overwhelm me trying to make me slip up so they can beat me down but even if they got good gear and probably amazing training I¡¯m going to wake them up. I rush forward and slam both my weapons down on two of the mega goons in the front. They are able to block just in time but before anyone could attack I start pushing the two into the other three as I start pushing the whole group. They fail to push back as I get them to the edge of the train car as I take a deep breath and I feel the sparks build up In my throat and I let out a blast of lightning that travels between each one of them and they drop to the floor.

    I let out a sigh I didn¡¯t even know I was holding in as I leaned against one of the walls that doesn¡¯t have a hole in it. I look at all the mega goons. Five were burnt toast, three were unconscious, one was in the forest and the last one was standing up and pointing an already firing railgun while giving me the bird. I pull out the thunder bat as I get into a batters stance and with a BOOM the metal spike flies at me. With all my might I turn and swing the bat as it bursts with purple sparks as I feel the impact. I feel the force nearly snap my wrist as I grit my teeth as I turn my hands to steel and with a roar of effort I force the spike upwards as it goes fucking wide and bursts through the ceiling and into the sky.

    I marvel at The sight as I turn to see the mega goon run at me with a mace in his as I shake my head side to side. I pull out my pistol and shoot the goon in the head as the bullet doesn¡¯t go through the helmet but it does knock them out as they flop to the ground. I walk over to the mega goons as I take another two maces and holster them into my belt as I grab a railgun as I holster my bat and walk to the next car.

    The next couple cars are filled with the mega goon armors, maces and rail guns enough to arm a small army as I get to what I think is the last car. I enter the room as there stands the two silver cylinders I saw from earlier and someone standing near them. They wore the same gear as the mega goons but with much denser and heavier places and their cross visor had more of a darker glow to it along with a similar glowing cross design on their chest. They also wore heavier and more plated looking gauntlets with red gems on each knuckle along with a magnum with a foot long square barrel and a glowing red line on it.

    ¡°I thought you would take longer to get here but I guess that¡¯s what happens when you give advance gear to some mercs, it''s just a waste of resources¡± The commander had a deep robotic voice as they opened their arms in a welcoming manner.

    ¡°So you''re the new holder? Definitely one of the best assimilation of the power so far it took months for others like you to handle that power but you¡¯ve gotten this strong only in a week or two hehehe it¡¯s just impressive to see¡± this fuck knows what¡¯s going on with everything related to when I found steel drake in one of those damn containers so I need them alive, doesn¡¯t mean they needs all there limbs to talk.

    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing you''re not just gonna tell me what I want to know?¡±.

    ¡°And he finally speaks! hahahahahahahahaha but yeah I¡¯m not gonna tell you everything you''re right about that and I have to capture you because Mr and Mrs bitch aka my bosses really want what you stole¡±.

    ¡°Hey I didn¡¯t steal anything hell I didn¡¯t even choose to have this¡±.

    ¡°But you''re still using them and seemingly having a blast too¡± there not wrong.

    ¡°So my dear friend let''s just stop chatting and start trying to beat the shit out of each other, good good¡± and with that he pulls out his magnum and I aim my railgun as we both fire. A glowing red bullet fires from that magnum as it sparks with the same scarlet energy as it collides with the railgun shots and as soon as they collide they cause a small explosion. Before the smoke can clear the commander pieces through the smoke and only in a second is already in front of me.

    Before I could even react they ripped the gun out of my hand and slammed a palm into my chest. I feel the plates from my bullet proof vest bend like paper as I¡¯m launched into the next car. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m the only one who gets to have a big gun¡± The commander says as they pat their magnum at their side and then proceed to snap the rail gun into two as I pull out the maces and sprint towards them.

    Their gauntlets glow with the same scarlet energy as they lift up their right form and block the mace strike only being pushed back a couple inches. I try going for a strike to the liver but they bash away the mace with one of their gauntlets as they shoot out a kick calf kick that I¡¯m barely able to jump over. The second I leave the air they grab me by the hood and swing me into the wall denting it and before I could even think the commander is already going for a punch straight to the dome. I shoot up my arms to activate my kinetic shields as I feel my arms get pushed into me as I get nearly pushed through the wall. I release some of the stored kinetic energy as I shove them away with a purple pulse as I take breath and I fire a pressurized blast of water.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The water beam slams into their chest forcing them backwards as their chest armor starts to crack and as soon as the stream ends as I run forward. I go for a strike against the sides of their head but they shoot up their hands and grab the mace. They shove my arms backwards as they roundhouse kick me in the ribs as I feel their steel boots crack my ribs as I¡¯m thrown to the end of the car. I hold my side as I feel my shattered ribs as it becomes harder to breath as I turn to see the commander running at me. They seem faster as they run towards me as They jump into the air and go for a slam as I feel everything slow down as I jump out of the way.

    They dent the ground as I feel my ribs already nearly healed. ¡°Really all this got? I¡¯m severely disappointed. Come on, show me what you got!¡± I grit my teeth and with some effort throw several explosive bearings at them as I rush forward. They lift up their arms in a cross guard as the explosion hits them as I jump over them before the smoke could clear. I then spin around as I turn my hands and half my forearm to steel as I go for a strike right to their back. As if they had eyes on the back of their head they turn around and lift their arms as The mace''s impact with the gauntlets creates a scarlet pulse launching us both back.

    I take a deep breath as I fire a large earth spike at the commander as they rush forward and slam their gauntlets into it shattering it but just as they destroy the spike I jump forward and slam my now steel knees into their helmet. A large dent is left in their helmet and some of the glass on their visors cracks and when I fall to the floor I sweep their legs. They fall to the floor as I then slam my both maces down like meteors before they could guard. ¡°Khoff!¡± I hear the cough up some blood as the maces slam into their stomachs as armor on their abdominal area shatters, FUCK YEAH THAT¡±S WHAT I¡±M TALKING ABOUT BABY!.

    I Take several seconds to breath but before I could rest further I feel a fist slam into the right side of my head and another to my left. I feel my skull nearly crack as I feel my googles shatter as I feel blood pouring down from the sides of my head as everything goes a tinge of red as my eyes as several blood vessels pop in my eyes. ¡°Really? You thought that would take me down? woooow I¡¯m hurt by how little you think of me¡± they grab me by the head and quickly lift me up until I¡¯m face to face with them. ¡°Now let me get it through your¡± they pull back their head, ¡°thick skull!¡± as they slam their head into mine as I turn my head into steel at the last moment but I still feel my skull crack a bit as I take several step backwards as I feel blood gush down my face as I look up and see part of their helmet break off as I see a golden pupil-less eye stares back me.

    ¡°Guess a thick skull is pretty useful¡± and as soon as they finish their sentence they rush towards me as I rip off my goggles and hold the maces up as I slow down my perception and reaction time to its limits. They go for a heavy hook for my right temple but I side step them and go for a strike against the back of their skull. They turn the second I go for the swing as they grab the mace and catch me with a kick right to the gut knocking me back a couple feet and they toss the mace behind them.

    With all my might I throw the other mace at them, they are able to easily dodge it but it bounces off a wall and hits them in the back of the head causing them to stumble as I put my kinetic gauntlets on max power as I run forward. In only a second I¡¯m already in front of them as I slam my fist into their liver causing them to stagger back as I spin kick them right in the neck. ¡°Finally some good old hand to hand never gets old!¡± they leap forward and overhand strike. I immediately shoot up arms to block but they shoot out there knee hitting me in the solar plexus, fuck they feinted me. They go to grab me by the head again but I grip my teeth as I smack away their hands and grab them by the head, slam them into a wall and I immediately throw several jabs striking them in the jaw, left shoulder and stomach. My elbow turns to steel as I slam it into their solar plexus as they hold their chest as I grab them by the waist, lift them up and slam them into the ground.

    I go for a stomp not giving them a second to breath but they''re able to grab my foot and toss me to the side. I land on my feet as they''re already in front of me as they''re already going for a flurry of blows. I block a right hook heading for my ribs then I smack away jabs to my already bleeding forehead and finally I grab there a kick going for my calf as I lift them over me and slam them into the ground. They roll out of the way of a stomp as they quickly stand up.

    ¡°Damn you''re a better fighter than I thought, guess I gotta use this now¡± their gauntlet glows a bright scarlet as she throws a jab and a beam of energy shoots out. I jump to the right but my left arm gets grazed by the blast as I feel the skin burn and crack hell even I feel some of the skin on my arm turn to straight as I yell out in pain. I take several steps back as I rip off my left sleeve as I could see some of the skin on my arm goes with it as the air feels like little needles against my skin. I notice it¡¯s not even healing quick at all as I duck under another blast from the commander as they''re throwing out a series of jabs.

    I jumped to the ceiling digging my claws into it as I noticed only my fingers turned to steel. I swing my forward landing behind the commander as I feel my hands turn fully steel now as I throw out a jab into their side knocking them away a couple feet. I think I¡¯m figuring out their power but I just need to test one more thing. I run 20 feet backwards as I grab a bola and throw them at the commander. They Were able to blast it out of the air as I noticed there slower as I finally got there power. My guess is there is some sort of field where the closer you get to them the stronger they get while the further you move away from them your powers get weaker heh alpha type and enhancer mix. Explains why they¡¯ve been tossing me around and rushing me so much trying to keep me off balance from constantly weakening me then strengthening themselves, smart.

    I take a deep breath as I feel the heat build up in my chest and then rush into my throat as I fire out a fireball instead of a continuous stream. They fire another scarlet blast that collides with the fireball exploding as they meet. I dash through the explosion as I pull out two knives from my belt and hold my fingers down on triggers on the hilt as they glow a bright orange. I jumped into the air dodging another scarlet blast as I could feel the heat coming from it as I swipe at the commander''s shoulders.

    The knives cut through the commanders shoulders cutting through armor and flesh like butter, the injuries being immediately cauterized from the heat. When I land we both spin around as I slam the knives into their side as they dig their glowing hands into my side as I feel my flesh already burning. I shove my foot into their chest and kick off them as I leave my knives behind. I feel my skin on my sides crack and blood slowly oozes from the injuries as I turn my hands into the steel claws as I run forward. The commander fires another blast as I bash it away with a kinetic shield as I go for a slash at their unarmored stomach.

    They smack away my clawed hand as they swing their arm out letting out a scarlet slash. I lift my arms up blocking the slash with my kinetic shields as I see dash towards my side and go for a liver shot. I turn my side to steel as their fist digs into me. I feel the force behind the hit but not the heat of the energy as I move back a bit. They rush forward and lift up their hand to blast my face but I bend backwards and shoot up my foot slamming my still tipped boot into their jaw knocking their head upwards. I then grab the knives still on their sides and rip the knives from his side, spraying blood across my hands as I flip the knives in my hand so that the blades are facing down as I slam them into the commander''s feet. They throw a heavy hook at me as their gauntlets glow with a brighter scarlet light. I turn to the left as I turn my hands into steel and grab their form arm and then I grab their wrist as I force it down until I hear a satisfying snap as their wrist breaks and gets dislocated. ¡°MOTHERFUCKER!¡± They scream in pain as I take advantage of this moment of distraction as I jump up in the air and spin kick them in the side of the head, shattering half of their helmet as they get flung in the next car.

    I quickly head to the next car before my powers could start weakening as the commander is already up. I could see more of their face now as they had pale white skin with strands of bright golden hair falling out of the helmet as I could see a large burn scar near their cheek and dark gold eyes no pupils just golden irises. ¡°I have to admit you earned my respect, you''re a damn good fighter but there''s one thing you don¡¯t understand¡± they pull out their magnum as I run towards them and then they turn around and point at the car behind them. ¡°MY BOSSES CARE MORE ABOUT CAPTURING YOU THEN ANYTHING ON THIS FUCKING TRAIN!!¡± as the glowing line on their gun turns orange as they fire an orange bullet as it pierces into the next car as I instantly remember that that''s the car with all the weapons. BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOOOOM!! Several explosions go off as I feel the train shake as I¡¯m flung onto my back. BOOOOOOOM!!! I hear one last explosion as I feel everything flip as I fall to the ceiling then I get flung to the wall and then the other one as I finally with a massive thud I get thrown out the train.

    I slowly get up as I hear several more crashes around me. I stand up and see I¡¯m in some sort of field as the train cars lay around the area as a circle of fire surrounds the area as I get a massive sense of deja view. I shake my head as I look around for the commander but before I can start my search I hear a bang as I feel a searing pain in my shoulder. As soon as I turn around the commander tackles me as they punch me across the face again and again. ¡°Come on where''s that fucking second wind!? You¡¯ll make this boring if it just ends like this!¡± They go for another punch but I turn my face to steel as they pull their hand back before the next hit lands as I take a deep breath as I feel the cold build in my throat. I fire a blast of cold into their face freeing their helmet as I grab them by the shoulders and headbutt them shattering their helmet as I kick them several feet away from me.

    I finally got a good look at their face, well her face. She had long golden hair with streaks of white in it all. Her face was littered with scars, one long burn scar going from her right cheek down her neck and a jagged scar going down her left eye all through her lip showing her some of her teeth even though her lips were close and finally ending at her chin. She smirked at me as the smirk turned to a manic grin as they stood up and wiped some blood away from their nose.

    ¡°Well if this isn¡¯t cinematic I don¡¯t know what is¡± she gestures around us as her voice as I heard her normal voice much more feminine and lighter.

    ¡°Well before we go for round two let me do something¡± She grabbed a red pill from her belt along with a black disk.

    ¡°These little items here are given to everyone worth a damn in my bosses organization. The disk lets me access the full capabilities of the armor and the pill is an enhanced form of titan¡± She then proceeds to place the disk on the cross on her chest as it glows black now and she takes the pill as her veins glow red along with her eyes. She then lifts up her fist and slams into the ground as I feel the earth beneath my feet shake as she makes a crater as she looks at me as her grins grow larger.

    ¡°One more thing before we start since you¡¯ve seen my face fully it¡¯s only fair I get to see yours since it¡¯s good for us to remember what each other look like since only one of us is walking out of here¡± I felt my body shake as I realized I could die here that this lady could and might actually kill me. Don¡¯t back down now, remember how much you¡¯ve changed, how much you¡¯ve grown, you''re more than the kid who just runs, who doesn''t face things head on and who hasn¡¯t even fought once in his life . YOUR A FUCKING APEX PREDATOR! and they don¡¯t run away so, they face their problems head on and fight until the very end so man up, put up your fists and rip this bitch throat out!

    I take a deep breath as I feel my confidence grow as I pull down my hood and take off my face mask. I then licked the blood off my hands as I saw the inner workings of her body and finally I turned my kinetic gauntlets to full force as they glowed a bright purple. She grinned as we slowly circled each other like two wolves looking for the quickest way to get a killing blow as finally we ran at each other.

    Purple met Scarlet as we clashed. We grip each other''s hands as we both try to overpower the other. I was pushing myself to my limits to match her strength but she was strangers as I was getting pushed back. I decided that trying to match their new strength was a bad idea so I let go of their hands and spun around her as she charged forward as I took a deep breath and fired a blast of lighting.

    They dodge the bolt of lighting as she was like a blur as she was already in front of me as she punched me in the gut. I felt something snap as I vomited out some blood as she grabbed me by the cuff of my hoodie, lifted me up and slammed me into the ground over and over. After a straight minute of getting to know the ground she spun around and threw me through a train car. I tried to get up but she was already grabbing me and slammed me into the train car as she started to pummel me at blinding speeds.

    ¡°Calm on show me why you''re so important, why so many people want that power of yours SHOW ME!¡± I felt bruises covering my body. Most of my bones were broken. My body screamed at me to stop and I screamed at it to keep going. I dodge under one of her punches as I sliced my claws forward, slicing through her gut. Blood poured from her gut and she smiled at me ¡°that''s more like it¡±. Her gauntlets glowed scarlet as she pressed them against her stomach sealing the wound with a hiss as she then runs towards me.

    Several blinding strikes came towards me as I turned my dials to the limit as I felt my brain reach its limit as I felt my eyes, nose and ears start to bleed. I could see her now as I saw her muscles and muscles moving, the signals going through her body. I weaved through her strikes as I slammed my fist into her jaw and then I threw a series of jabs at her hitting her shoulder, stomach and finally liver. It felt like I was punching steel even with my fists fully turned to steel, I felt cracks in my knuckles but the damage was mutual. Her armor plates were cracking and I could see blood pour from her mouth as she grabbed my fist and pulled me towards as she kneed me in the gut.

    I grit my teeth as I feel more blood enter my mouth as I dodge an axe kick as I pun around and kick her in the face. She grabbed my leg and pulled in again as she punched me in the jaw but even though I turned it to steel but I still felt my brain rattle around in my head as she threw me again. I landed on my feet as I fired the strongest blast of flames I¡¯ve ever mustered in my flame, coating the half of the battle ground in flames as the edges had a blue color. She grabbed a scrap of metal as she ran through the flames protecting most of her body even her hands thanks to her gauntlets.

    She threw the melted piece of metal at me as I blasted it away from a tunnel of wind as she got in close once again. We both launched a barrage of punches at each other both dodging the other as the area around us was constantly being coated in red and purple as we ended the flurry by punching each other in the face.

    We both stepped back from the blow as blood was flooding from our noses as we both stepped forward and hit each other again. We stopped trying to dodge as we hammered into each other. I felt my bones snap, my muscles rip and several blood vessels pop but I didn''t back down no I matched her every blow. We uppercut each other as I felt my teeth crack as I grabbed her by the head and slammed her face into my knee painting my knee red. I then with all my might I slammed her into the ground and stomped on her chest. She grabbed my leg with her finlets as I felt my flesh sear and burn as I jumped backwards. She quickly jumped up as I took a deep breath and shot out a beam of pure electricity. She jumped out the way as it flew past her but when it hit against some metal and bounced off it hitting her right in the back stunning her. I guess I could ricochet anything even my breaths welp time to abuse this.

    I took another deep breath as I fired out a blast of flames that she dodge but it bounced off a train car and hit her in the side. I kept firing all my different breath weapon until i felt my throat reach its limits as The commander armor was torn to shreds burnt, wet and even frozen as she throw a blast a dual blast of scarlet energy hitting me right in the chest as I feel my chest cavity crack and as the plates in my bullet proof vest melt as I flew across the battlefield as cracked against the ground. I ripped the searing hot metal off my chest as I tossed to the side and hopped onto my feet as The commander charged into my slamming into the train car knocking it back. I feel the metal shatter as she punches me in the ribs, shattering them more.

    I extended my claws as I stabbed them into her back and dragged them across it drenching it in blood. She roared in anger as slammed me further into the train car ripping through it as she slammed into the ceiling and back outside. I rolled onto my feet as she rushed at me as she went for a punch but I grabbed it and I went for a punch but grabbed my fist in return. We grabbed each other''s hands so tightly as blood poured from our hands as we dug our fingers into each other''s hand. She tried to push me back but this time I wasn¡¯t backing down as we matched each other''s strength as neither of us made progress.

    As if on cue we both pulled our heads back and headbutted each other causing more blood to rush down our faces as we pulled our heads back again and slammed them into each other over and over until It felt like my skull was close to shattering. She opened her mouth and sunk her teeth into my left shoulder , blood gushing into her mouth. I felt my teeth become razor sharp as I bit her right shoulder as blood sprayed onto my face. We both pulled back ripping chunks out of each other as I kicked her away as I grabbed my thunder bat off my back and charged with as much kinetic energy as possible and had it flow all the way to the end. She ran at me as the tip of the bat glowed with a massive amount of kinetic energy. I then pulled my arm back and shot the bat forward like a spear and a condense blast of kinetic energy shot into shattering the rest of her armor and most of her bones as she rocket towards the train car knocking it over. I saw the thunderbat was steaming as it stop glowing as it probably got overloaded from using all that energy as I toss it to the side

    She got up vomiting blood as she bent her arm into place she then grabbed the train car and slowly lifted it up and turned to me as she yelled in exertion as she threw it at me. I pulled my arm back and with all my might I punched the train car chattering it to pieces along with every bone in my right arm. We both stood there huffing and breathing hard as we both knew it was time to finish this. I slammed my right first into my left arm putting as much kinetic energy into the gauntlet as it shined with purple light while the commander grip her right fist so tightly I could see it breaking as she rushed towards as only in a singular second we were already in front of each as I felt my leg bones crack from using so much force.

    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± We both yelled at each other, challenging the other one to give it all they got as we shot our fist towards each other. She hit me first hitting on the left side of my face as I felt my teeth break, my jaw shatter and my cheek skin rip. I nearly went unconscious but I used every bit of will I had to step forward and hit with everything I got. As my fist collided with her stomach a shockwave appeared from the strike blowing air over the whole area as I felt my fist punch through her gut coating my arm in blood as she got launched upwards in the air about twenty feet and hit the ground with a loud thud.

    I fell to my knees as I felt my heart beat out of my chest as after a couple minutes I felt healed enough to where I could at least kinda move. I walked over to the commander. She was somehow still only unconscious as the hole in her stomach had slowly healed a bit but she needed medical attention or she might not make it. Welp boss completed time to loot as I took her gauntlets and her magnum. I held up the magnum as I was tempted to finish her off, It would be the smart thing to do.

    I pointed the gun at her head at her head as I felt my finger slowly push against the trigger but I stopped. I shook my head, I needed her alive to get info so I grabbed her but something happened. Her body glowed with a red light as in a slash she vanished¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­you gotta be kidding me. I sighed as I looked around and saw no one nearby guess whoever these guys are got a long range teleporter that''s definitely not bullshit. I look around the area as I find my thunderbat differently needing repairs and some gear that managed to survive. A couple maces some mostly fine railguns and some armors that were in ok conditions.

    I thought about how I can sue this stuff to make much better gear and even a full on set of armor maybe even combine the kinetic gauntlets with those scarlet gauntlets maybe I can mix the maces into the thunder bat maybe turn into a staff maybe one that splits into two escrima sticks. I pushed away the ideas that flooded my mind as I stared at the tech as I remembered the silver cylinders. I stumble around as eventually I find the car that holds the cylinders I stumble and see still in perfect condition.

    I pray that I Don¡¯t find more bodies of famous heroes and I get mental flash banged. I open the cylinder and a small amount of mist comes out as instead of a body hook up to machines I find vials filled with a scarlet red liquid with gold accents. I gently hold one of them up as one the side it simply says EVO. I¡¯m tempted to drink it to see what it does but the smart side of me shoots that idea down as I don¡¯t know what this stuff can do for all I know it could be a deadly virus and that''s the last thing I need.

    I check the other cylinder and it''s also filled with those vials with both containers having 24 vials in total. I grab them all in and hold them as I walk outside and over to the pile of stuff I found. I wonder how I¡¯m gonna carry all this wish I had a backpack or something. I then hear the sound of a chest opening in the back of my head as all the vials in my arms disappear as I hear the sound of a chest closing, what the?

    I stand there for several seconds trying to figure out what happened until I try imagining a chest opening and the vials appear in my arms perfectly fine. I try this out with the rest of the gear I found and it all disappears and appears perfectly fine huh neat. Guess I got a pocket space I can store stuff now that gonna be very useful as I store all my gear away along with the weapons I found and those vials as I start stumbling away from the area.

    I feel no weight, physical or mental, from having all this stuff in my storage, I guess it''s got no limit. Speaking of limits, I fall over after 10 feet as I stop feeling the rush of adrenaline as my body gives out. I feel pure exhaustion flood through my very being as I lay there. I can¡¯t even move an inch as I start to feel how damaged my body is as I feel my muscles stop tensing and I start to bleed out. Everything starts to get blurry as I feel my consciousness start to leave me but before I pass out I hear what sounds like a car driving nearby that then stops. The last thing I see is a very blurry set of figures walk over and start dragging me as I feel everything go black and I fall into sweet unconsciousness.

 Chapter 17 the countryside

    ¡°In other news today there have been gravitational anomalies that have been popping up we don¡¯t know what''s causing them they could be the work of a hero or maybe villain maybe a hint at another in coming alien invasion I guess will also today the unnamed villain that created all those giant hamsters has escaped¡± every part of my body was in pain.

    I guess I finally found out my limit on how much I can heal because I still feel a lot of these injuries. As I moved around a bit wincing from some jolts of pain I felt my body neatly wrapped in bandages. I guess whoever found me decided to patch me up, nice. I slowly sit up making sure not to move fast so I don¡¯t reopen anything. I slowly opened my eyes and everything was a bit blurry. Guess that''s what I get for pushing my sight to its limit, you won in the end and that''s what mattered.

    I looked around and saw I was obviously in a bedroom. It had solid oak floors with bright blue walls and ceiling. There were a couple shelves with a bunch of little wood carvings of animals. I looked out a window near the bed I was in and saw fields of grass land going on for miles and a barn not far off from the house I¡¯m in, reminds me of an old friend.

    Guess I got picked up by some farmers, I gotta call Mary that I¡¯m fine and I¡¯ll be gone for a couple days. I then remember my phone most likely got destroyed in the fight with the commander so most likely Mary is going to yell at me when I get home. I tune my hearing down so I don¡¯t hear the tv downstairs as I sit and think about a new development that happened last night.

    I got a inventory maybe a pocket dimension who knows but I have it now and that makes me think what the fuck is happening with me? This is like the ninth power I¡¯ve unlocked. First it was the superhuman physique then my controllable super senses. Then steel drakes powers weaker but still hers after that my healing factor and then blood tracking and then there''s my weird instinct power. Being able to build stuff like a developer and being able to ricochet anything and now the inventory.

    All of that''s not even counting my chaos breath that gives me ten powers and I have a feeling I¡¯ll keep getting more powers. Do I have the ability to unlock powers that help me with the current situation?, nope. No, then I would have a lot more powers and they be much more specific and that wouldn''t explain why I have steel drakes power so maybe it''s a set amount of powers that I unlock over time, much warmer.

    Well whatever I got other people have it and they''re called holders so that group either made or is looking for them. Maybe I can find other people like me and I could get an explanation on what''s going on with me. I summon one of those evo vials from my inventory, then there''s theses. I hold the gold and red vial in my hand as I wonder what the hell does this thing do? Maybe it¡¯s like whatever they did to Steel drake and it gives powers maybe if I drank this or injected it into me I can get more powers.

    Twenty four powers that would make me near unstoppable or it could be a flesh eating virus or even take away powers who knows I won¡¯t because I¡¯m not desperate enough to drink this. The vial disappears back into my inventory as I lay there on the bed as I let myself relax.

    After a bit I decided to see if I could fix the blurriness because it was kinda annoying. I checked the dials in my head and saw that the sight and reaction/perception dials had cracks in them. I tried to turn them but they stayed still but I could see the cracks healing. Then I felt something, I felt a new dial and I decided to turn it.

    The ceiling I was looking at immediately turned blue as I sat up with a wince as I looked around me. The room was now a mix of blues and oranges as I looked outside and I could see orange birds and blue rocks, huh thermal vision neat. I turned the vial again as everything gained a tint of blue as I could blue lines running through the building and me.

    I turned it again this time everything turned black and white as everything became much darker as when I heard chirp outside I saw several gray waves rush by. I turned the dial again and I could see old stains on the floor, the remnants of blood on my hands and finger prints around the room as everything turned violet. I turned the dial one last time as everything went clear as I could see my own insides and through walls as I could see a figure walking towards the door that leads to the room I was in.

    I turned my sight back to normal as the door opened and an old man walked in. He stood around six two with a decent build, his hands being covered in calluses and scars showing years of hard work and the right hand seemed to have burn scars on it. He had a deep tan created from most likely years of being outside in the sun. He had short dark gray hair and a trimmed beard along with silver eyes. He wore gray overalls with a long sleeved flannel shirt and he was holding a tray of food.

    ¡°Ah you''re finally awake, thought with your injuries you¡¯d be out all day¡± he had a deep gruff voice and gave me a kind smile as he put the tray on the side of the bed it had eggs, bacon, sausage and some hash browns and a fork and knife on a napkin.

    ¡°Eat up you need it especially after whatever you went through¡± I picked up the tray and ate the food, it was pretty good, reminded me of my grandma''s home cooking wish she was still around.

    ¡°Wow you must be really hungry¡± the old man chuckled as I was already done not even a minute after I picked up the tray.

    ¡°It was good¡± I wiped my mouth with a paper towel.

    ¡°Well it''s good to know my cooking is still good¡± he chuckles a bit

    ¡°Heh well it seems you can move now so I¡¯ll bring you some clothes and we can talk downstairs¡± he gives me a smile before leaving.

    The old man came back and gave me some pants and a white button up shirt along with my boots. He said my old clothes were too damaged for him to sow back together, as expected. We went downstairs and the house was nice, everything was made from oak and was nice and clean, not a bit of dust. Pictures were everywhere, most of them just of different views and parts of the world; some had a younger version of the old man with some silver haired kid in them. We got to the dining room and he got some coffee for us. It was pretty good and We sat in silence for a bit as we drank from mugs shaped like apples. Eventually he broke the silence after finishing his coffee.

    ¡°So kid what''s your name?¡±

    ¡°Richard¡± I took a sip of coffee as I didn¡¯t really feel the heat from it.

    ¡°Well nice to meet ya Richard I¡¯m Michael¡± he lifts up a hand for a handshake as I take it. He had a pretty strong grip and that was impressive for someone with enhanced strength like me.

    ¡°So now that we know each other could you explain why I found you covered in blood and half dead near a literal trainwreck?¡± welp time to lie my ass off.

    ¡°Well I was on a train back back hom¡±

    ¡°Before you try and lie to me I already know your a evo and a costumed one at that no one bleeds that much and is fine in the morning plus I found this¡± he drops my black plated face mask in front of me guess the several concussions messed with my memory a bit because I forgot to pick that up.

    ¡°So tell me the truth kid and don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t tell anyone about your secret identity¡± he gives me a warm smile as I take a breath.

    ¡°Well I was on my first solo patrol and it was going ok so far until these guys in pretty good gear started shooting at me and I was able to deal with them but a sniper who shot at me got away so I tracked them to know why they wanted me. I got to this train yard and snuck on a train they were getting on, fought my way through the train and fought some guys with much more advanced gear and eventually fought this commander girl who was vague about what they wanted with me. I nearly died in the process but she was teleported away and then I passed out¡± I wanted to tell him about the train and the vials and steel drake and everything else but a nagging feeling in my head was telling me it was better to keep that stuff to myself, good.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you get yourself into these situations often?¡±

    ¡°Kinda ever since I got my powers it''s been a wild ride¡± a real understatement.

    ¡°Well I can understand what your going through¡±

    ¡°Are you an ex-hero or something?¡±

    ¡°Ha! nah I don¡¯t got any powers myself my son does got it from his mother think he calls himself silver agent or something I help him deal with his powers when he develop them¡± huh silver agent pretty well known hero in good Steel drake city wears a silver suit and mask kinda like a secret agent and his power lets him summon these silver weapons from a pocket dimension like giant hands, knights etc hell I even heard he might be joining the vanguard soon.

    ¡°So the farm boy was the one that made the hero fall for them¡±

    ¡°It''s not like that he¡¯s not my biological son, an old friend of mine made me promise her if she ever died that I should take care of her son and well I did¡± he seemed to have a more solemn look as it looked like hundreds of memories flowed through those old eyes.

    ¡°So uhm how she died?¡± Why did I say that? How insensitive can I get?.

    He sighed as after a couple seconds he spoke ¡°she died in one of Deadnoughts rampages couldn''t bury her since there was nothing to bury¡± My eyes widened at the name of Deadnought.

    Years ago around the end of world war two when powers were revealed to the public. it had to be since there were Nazi¡¯s who were ripping apart tanks with their bare hands, summoning giant monsters and moving at the speed of light. The world healed itself pretty quickly, going pretty good until he showed up. Garricks that''s what he called himself the first ever reported mythic and one of the strongest at that. Mythics are people with powers that are so powerful and seemingly not affected by physics or laws of this world and always similar to some ancient myth, legend or even works of fiction and Garricks well he was essentially a lich.

    He could kill people weak enough with a glance, regenerate from almost any injury, control the elements, move things with his mind and even summon the dead along with many other powers but his main and most deadly ability was that he could drain the Lifeforce out of people. No one knows what life force is but it powered Garricks fueling his powers and letting him make powerful monsters by mashing life force together with corpses and materials, usually metal hell if used the life force of someone with a power the creature would have that power.

    He was utterly terrifying most people thinking he was actually a real lich from another world some still believe that. Garricks when he first appeared declared war on the world and destroyed half of Newyork in little time and sent armies of undead to attack major cities across the planet. No one knew where he came from and how amassed such a powerful army. Many people with powers work with the different governments across the world to fight back against Garricks. A lot of them died and their bodies were used to make powerful generals, the strongest being Deadnought.

    He tore through whole armies and was near unstoppable until a group of extremely powerful evolved slew Dreadnought and helped push the side of the war. They were Beowulf, another extremely powerful mythic with god-like strength and the ability to summon a sword that could slice through mountain ranges. This group after a couple years slew Garricks in the last battle of the war being struck down by Beowulf as the world seemed to finally have time to heal.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    The world quickly rebuilt itself with the help of developers and super intelligence users but after five years Deadnought somehow returned. He went on another rampage and seemed stronger and even had the ability to change its size but it was defeated and destroyed again. Then it came back near the end of the next year stronger and with the ability to teleport and then it was destroyed and then it came back next year stronger and with power again and again not long after he would be nicknamed the walking Apocalypse.

    For many decades Deadnought would come back near the end of each year stronger and stronger, even gaining the ability to summon the dead and even absorb life force to achieve new forms. Evenutally Beowulf and the vanguard fought Deadnought a lot of them, died in the process but eventually Beowulf was able to drag the abomination to the Sahara desert and fought the thing with all his might for several days and when the dust cleared both only a burning waste land was left and nether were seen for the next twelve years. I grip my head a bit as the information flowed into my head, information I never knew.

    I knew a bit about Deadnought but I ever really looked the thing up and the dead wars and Garricks were something I never cared for either. It felt like all that information was forced into my head no, it felt more like someone told m ¡°you ok there Richard?¡±. I finally noticed Michael snapping his fingers in my face.

    ¡°Yeah just spacing out¡±

    ¡°You sure you seemed like you were thinking real hard?¡±

    ¡°I¡± Don¡¯t tell him anything.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡±

    ¡°Good now there''s some more important matters we gotta talk about¡± He gave me a smile.

    ¡°That train you were on came from Steel drake city so and since your in the countryside so it''s a pretty long way back but I will drive you back¡±

    ¡°The catch is?¡± Why would I ask if there was a catch? Because there''s always one.

    He chuckled a bit ¡°well the catch is you¡¯ll head into town with me grab some stuff and help with some stuff here at the farm I¡¯m old and can¡¯t do everything and plus you seem like you get work done quickly¡± every job I do is perfect, No its not I fuck up a lot.

    ¡°Sure¡±

    ¡°Good will be leaving in a half an hour and remember once you''re done helping me I¡¯ll take you home¡± I nod as Michael leaves and I just sit there wondering what''s going on with my head, A lot.

    I sat in the back of a pretty nice snow white truck as I lean near the window watching as we move past endless green fields with. I wonder how fast that train was going to get out of the city and here so quickly? Actually, how fast was I going to catch up with it without that much trouble?, heh maybe I am a speedster, Still much slower. Some old rock music was playing as Michael tapped his finger on the steering wheel with the beat of the song even mumbling along with the music.

    ¡°So Richard got any hobbies?¡±.

    ¡°Not really unless you count running a lot¡±.

    ¡°Well usually hobbies are related to things you''re good at so what are you good at?¡±.

    It took me a minute of thought and I realized ¡°besides things related to being a hero or my powers nothing really¡±.

    ¡°Well you''re definitely good at things besides being a hero you just gonna find it and when you do you most likely have found your passion¡± he wasn''t qigong never really tried to find my talents maybe I should start looking for it.

    After a couple minutes I start to see a small town in the distance. It wasn¡¯t a big town, kinda small, it seemed like a place where everyone knew each other. As we drove into the town I could spot a couple stores, a police station and even an orphanage and obviously a bunch of homes. I could see and hear people going about their day but it wasn¡¯t overwhelming like the city. It was actually more relaxing here.

    Eventually we stopped in front of a grocery store with a cow statue on top of the building. Me and Michael get out of the car as we start walking towards the store. ¡°Just follow me around and help me look for stuff and hold things when we find said stuff¡± before I could ask what to look out for he handed me a list. Eggs, milk, wheat bread, two gallons of chocolate milk, some apples specifically the green ones soup and some beef.

    As soon as I walk into the store I¡¯m hit with a rush of cool air as the store is pretty nice seemingly well taken care of as Michael immediately starts walking. He walked through the store pretty quickly, walking aisle to aisle as he grabbed everything on the list, not giving me a second to look for anything and proceeded to make me hold everything.

    We walked to check everything out as I was able to hold everything and had to hold two gallons of chocolate milk with two fingers. I noticed something everyone we walked by in the store said hi or at least waved at Michael. ¡°Your popular¡± he side eyed me as he smirked ¡°comes with the territory of being in this town for a while¡±. When we got to the check out section the woman working it looked up from her phone and stared at Michael and smiled ¡°Hey Michael who¡¯s Mr tall and pale with ya?¡± The girl had pasty white skin with dark black hair with streaks of cherry red running through. She also had a couple piercings, some on her left eyebrow and a couple more on the sides and below her lips. She also had a set of silver looking tattoos running up her arms that kinda had a runic design. Her most striking feature was her pitch black eyes with silver pupils.

    ¡°He''s just some kid that I¡¯m having to help me with some stuff before I drive him back to the city¡± Michael took the groceries out of my arms and put them on the register.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you need help with grocery shopping?¡± She started scanning the different items before putting them in the register.

    ¡°Well I like company and plus I didn¡¯t feel like carrying all those groceries¡± he laughed a bit as I looked at the girls name tag, Dawn.

    ¡°So you got a name Mr giant?¡± she looked up at me as I just realized something I was towering over the girl, I swear I was a bit taller then I was before.

    ¡°Richard¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet ya Richard I¡¯m Dawn the local crazy teen¡± she gave me a grin showing off a row of sharp teeth as she scanned the jugs of chocolate milk and handed them to Michael who seemed very happy with Chocolate milk even started humming a song about it.

    ¡°Is there a reason you call yourself crazy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m magic¡± she said with pure confidence and without a hint of humor in her tone.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yep¡± she scammed the last item and handed it to Michael.

    ¡°Ok if you''re magic what can you do?¡± I¡¯m not really on either side of if the magic is real debate, if I see it I¡¯ll believe it.

    ¡°She says she can see people''s souls and even their future she said she gave someone the winning lottery numbers¡± Michael mutters as he takes a quick swig of the chocolate milk gallons.

    ¡°I¡¯m a real oracle if you want I can do a quick reading if you want?¡± If she could see the future it would be nice to know what bullshit I¡¯m gonna deal with next but I¡¯ve seen too many forms of media where knowing the future doesn¡¯t end well.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass¡± Michael handed the bags to me

    ¡°Your loss¡± she shrugged as me and Michael walked away.

    ¡°Cya later dawn¡± Michael waved as we walked towards the exit.

    ¡°Unlikely, I''m heading to Nova central, got an amazing job opportunity¡± I don¡¯t know much about Nova centra except that it¡¯s a tech capital.

    ¡°Welp hope it goes well,¡± Michael said as we left the store.

    Michael quickly drove us back to his house as he ran inside quickly and came out ¡°time for the manual work¡± he said as I got out and we walked towards the barn. I had to tune my smell as I got to the barn as I could smell the animal shit. We walked inside as I could see cows, horses and pigs everywhere, classic. ¡°Feed the horses and I got the pigs and cows. Be careful about eclipse; they don¡¯t like new people and they like to kick¡± he pointed at the pitch black horse by itself at the end and then gestured to several bales of hay. This reminds me too much of my old friend.

    I walk over to the bales of hay, grab one and toss it into one of the horse''s stables. I repeat it a couple times until I get the last stable. Eclipse had its back to me as I went to toss the hay in but before I could toss the hay in it shot out a hoof and kicked me in the face. My head shot back a bit as the horse turned to look at me as it seemed shocked. I glared at the horse as it backed up and I tossed the hay in and walked over to Michael.

    ¡°Hey can you help me with milking the cows¡± I quickly checked to make sure they were all cows and not bulls ¡°sure¡±. I gently walked over and kneeled next to him as he handed me a bucket as he was already milking one of the cows. I grabbed the bucket and put it under the cow as I let my instincts take over as I started milking the cow. About twenty minutes later we had several buckets worth of fresh milk.

    Michael bought only chocolate milk from the store and only drank that I don¡¯t know if that''s healthy, I drank worse. We walked outside as after a couple minutes of walking we were now in a corn field. He handed me a basket and gestured at the corn as he gave me the you know what to do look. To make my life easier I ran through the field and started picking the corn as everything seemed to slow down around me. I filled the basket pretty quickly as I ran back and handed him the basket as he handed me a new one. I repeated the process several times as I wondered why I was slower in a fight?

    Whenever I¡¯m in a fight I slow down and match my opponents speed a couple times. Guess I subconsciously slow myself down for some reason, The reason is to make fights more fair and fun, that''s a dumb reason. By the time I was done with that thought process the corn field was cleared, Michael was already putting the corn in a truck he drove over and was handing me a shovel as he was walking off again with his own shovel.

    ¡°Why do I need a shovel?¡± he turned to me as we got as he stayed silent as we got to an open field and I saw several dead horses mangled and shredded. ¡°Some mutated wolf attacked the horses last night and nearly got me. If I don''t get lucky enough to shoot it in the head now you''re gonna help me bury them¡± I shrug as I walk over to an area with nose grass and start digging not long after Michael joined me. We shoveled snow for a bit as I was digging pretty quickly already getting a large pile of dirt. I did notice something, Michael was digging slower than me but seemed to be a bit tired even when it was pretty hot today and he was constantly digging.

    I decided to ignore that as after about a half hour we dug a big enough grave as I hop out and help Michael out of the grave. I walked over to the horse corpse, lifted one up, walked over to the pit and gently lowered the corpse into the pit and walked back to repeat the process with the rest of the corpses.

    The horse corpses laid neatly against each other as Michael immediately started shoveling the dirt onto the horses as I quickly started shoveling too. After we were done shoveling we went back to Michael''s house and as soon as Michael got inside he walked over to the stove, grabbed a carton of eggs and started cooking.

    ¡°How do you like your eggs?¡±

    ¡°Scrambled,¡± I replied as I tapped my fingers against the table.

    ¡°I prefer sunny side up. My mom always made those every morning when I was younger, simple but good heh you describe my whole life with that phrase¡± he had two pans one with scramble eggs and the other with a singular simple sunny side up egg.

    ¡°In my opinion it''s better to be simple because if you get too much going on you lose track of things and that leads to you making mistakes and mistakes lead to failure but if your simple you only have one or two things to keep track of and you understand them a lot better and that leads to less mistakes and that leads to success¡± he bugs the different eggs on two plates and hands the scrambled one to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind¡± I quickly eat the eggs on the plate not leaving even a single piece left as Michael takes his time with his single sunny side up egg.

    ¡°Oh yeah forgot to give this to you¡± Michael pulls out my phone and hands it to me as the screen as I peel off the shattered screen protector and toss it into the trash can.

    I turn on my phone and it''s at half battery as I see several text messages from Mary asking where I was and when I¡¯m getting home. I texted, stayed the night with some friends and lost my phone while we were hanging out. I''ll be home later today. She quickly texted back, you friends? Suuuuure tell me the truth when you get home. I closed my phone as I stored it in my inventory as I saw Michael walk outside. He walked over to his truck as he pulled out the keys and looked at me.

    ¡°Do you know how to drive?¡± not well Dad was teaching me but well he¡¯s been gone for a bit but maybe my instinct power will help me.

    ¡°Yep¡± I half lied

    Michael smirked as he tossed me the keys ¡°you can have it¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I catch them and look at the keys.

    ¡°You can have the truck and don¡¯t worry I got another one at the auto shop nearby just getting repairs¡± he gave me that big grin as he walked over to me.

    ¡°Why are you giving me this?¡± I don¡¯t mind.

    ¡°Well you seem like a guy who moves around a lot and I think a truck will help that even if you can just run to places car rides are nice and it you can take any friends with you¡±

    ¡°Thanks really¡±

    ¡°No problem now, don''t get into any trouble. Also if you wreck this car, I will beat your ass, understand?¡±

    ¡°Gotcha¡±

    ¡°Now it''s been nice Richard I hope things go well with whatever is going on with you and remember if you ever need help I¡¯ll still be at this farm¡± he pats me on the shoulder as he walks inside his house and I am left alone with the truck.

    I got in the front seat and put the key in and turned the car on as it ignited with life as I grabbed the steering wheel and took a deep breath. I let my instincts take over as I backed out of the driveway and drove away from the farm house as I wondered If I¡¯ll ever come back here. At first I kept constantly swerving and going off the road but after a couple minutes I Started getting a hang of it as I slowly corrected each mistake I made.

    I was now speeding down the road with a grin plastered on my face as I had the radio on and music blast into my ears. I had the windows down as I could feel the wind rush past my face as after about forty fifty minutes I saw a good old steel drake city, almost home. I then start to hear a ring as I summon my phone into my phone as the caller is unknown and I decide to answer it.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Hey Richard!¡± I hear the familiar voice of Blake

    ¡°Hey wait, how do you know my number?¡±

    ¡°Oh Ryan took your phone when you weren¡¯t looking¡± of course he did, Still proud.

    ¡°Well anyways why are you calling me¡±

    ¡°Well I just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out with me and everyone else?¡± I sat there and thought about it. I enjoyed hanging out with them for that short amount of time after the robbery. They all just seemed human and I liked that.

    ¡°Sure I got nothing better to do¡± I could feel her smile

    ¡°Great!¡± she yells with a bit too much enthusiasms

    ¡°Oh uhm sorry didn''t mean to yell¡±

    ¡°Its cool¡± she¡¯s cute

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll send you address if where we¡¯re currently staging and I¡¯ll cya when you get here¡±

    ¡°Cya Blake¡± the call ends as I drive towards the city getting closer and closer. I¡¯m making friends that''s new, but I¡¯m fine with that but there is this itch at the back of my head. Whale Shark said that they were gonna take the deal and I don¡¯t think he was talking out of his ass so that means will most likely get a call from him soon meaning will have to do another job for him. I need to find a way out of this situation because it won¡¯t end well. I need to¡­¡­¡­¡­......¡­¡­I Need to kill Whale shark.

 Chapter 18 a normal day

    The place that Blake and the rest were staying at was well kinda what I expected. It was a massive hotel made from red and gold stone with a couple expensive cars in the parking lot. I kinda figured they would stay at a fancy hotel much better than that old hospital, It¡¯s what I would do.

    I walked through the sliding doors as the interior of the hotel is made from that same red and gold stone. The carpet was a nice ruby color and the walls were a nice light yellow. Elevator doors were on the right and the stars were on the left, weird both were were on separate sides but I didn¡¯t build the place.

    As soon as I got to the receptionist I noticed something: the receptionist here is nearly identical to the one at Whale sharks tower. The only difference was that he was wearing a red suit and had no goatee.

    ¡°Hello sir are you here for the night or are you staying¡± he even sounded the same. It was weird this guy and the one at Whale sharks tower had to be twins.

    ¡°Just coming to visit some friends¡±

    ¡°Oh you must be Richard¡± oh I¡¯m hoping Blake or Ryan told them I was coming or what he said will be a lot creepier, kill him, no.

    ¡°Yeah that''s me¡±

    ¡°Well Richard your friends are on the top floor, the penthouse actually¡± huh penthouse fancy.

    I walk towards the elevators as I walk in and give one last look to the man as he gives me a large grin. I lean against the elevator wall as I click the button for the penthouse as The elevator shakes a bit and it starts going up.

    I turn a dial in my head as everything becomes see through and I start looking around. I looked throughout the building seeing what other people were doing as I saw some interesting things. I saw a couple arguing about getting their bed covered in candle wax, kinky.  I saw some kids dragging crayons against the wall trying to make rainbows. I saw some cleaning lady cleaning a room covered in foam with what looked like thoughts of quitting in her eyes. I saw some guy in a lab coat messing around with different vials and some weird device until he slipped on a blanket and the devices fell to the ground and exploded into a flash of light¡­¡­¡­is he dead?.

    There was one room I couldn''t see through just below the first floor, I guess it was lined with lead for some reason. I stop snooping around and turn the dial back to normal as I hear a ding. The elevator door opened and the first thing I saw was a bowl flying towards my face. I tried to grab it but I moved my hand too fast and it shattered against my hand.

    I stepped out of the elevator and looked at the scene in front of me. The penthouse was pretty large, had three couches in the middle, a large tv, a balcony with a pool and from my best guess what seemed to be a snack bar and a literal bar. I saw Aiden and Martin both wearing gray shirts and pants on the couch, Aiden had Martin in a headlock and I could see another bowl of cereal on the table.

    ¡°Just say captain crunch is better and I will stop choking you out¡± Aiden started squeezing harder.

    ¡°Never, because cinnamon toast crunch doesn¡¯t shred my mouth when I eat it¡± Martin was able to choke out some words as his face was turning purple.

    ¡°THEN YOU SHALL DIE!!!¡± Aiden proceeds to stop choking Martin but then grabs him by the waist and suplexed him into the floor.

    Markus was on the other couch wearing some jeans and a large white hoodie. He was messing around with a jigsaw puzzle as he gently picked up a piece, took some time to look at the pieces and placed with another one slowly completing the puzzle bit by bit. I did notice something either from bad light or not really looking at his hands before I didn''t noticed a set of scars on his hands. They were circular and it kinda looked like he grabbed a giant sea urchin with his bare hands. Also the skin on the scars seemed to be more callused like when it grew back it grew back more resistant.

    I could hear groaning as I saw Ryan slowly rise from behind the snack bar wearing a black shirt with a giant metal bat on the cover and steel bat below it along with some torn jeans. It looked like he had a hangover as the snack bar might also be a normal bar as my suspicions are confirmed as Ryan lifts up a bottle of wine and lets a couple droplets fall into his mouth before tossing it into a trash can. He turned to look at the twins fighting with annoyance but that then disappeared when he spotted me.

    ¡°Hey you actually came, that''s great come over here and take a seat but uh don¡¯t be too loud We all partied last night Sam cannot handle her alcohol¡± I nodded as I walked over to the third couch and sat down. Ryan hopped onto the couch the twins were on. They stopped fighting and they sat at the table as they were debating on how much force you would need to cook a chicken with a punch.

    ¡°So it seems you¡¯ve been busy,¡± Ryan pointed at my bandaged arms.

    ¡°Yeah got pretty messed up while on a patrol¡± once again an understatement.

    ¡°So you really are a hero¡± yes no.

    ¡°Guess so, I just like helping people and fighting is pretty fun¡±

    ¡°Well I think fighting is a waste of time and I only help people close to me¡± this guy is so similar to me it¡¯s uncanny

    ¡°To each their own¡± I tape my fingers against the tables as Markus put his now completed jigsaw puzzle away¡±

    ¡°Your different¡± Markus was looking at me, his eyes seemingly studying my every detail, Well ain¡¯t he a smart cookie.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t put my finger on it but you¡¯ve definitely changed¡±

    ¡°Well I did get some new upgrades¡± I summoned the commander''s magnum from my inventory.

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be damned you got some new powers so I¡¯m guessing some sort of pocket space or something¡± Ryan grinned showing off a couple golden teeth.

    ¡°Yeah and I¡¯m apparently a developer too¡± I stored the magnum back into my inventory.

    ¡°You''re just a bag of constant new tricks aren''t ya?¡± He''s not wrong.

    We sat there for a bit as Ruan grabbed the tv remote and flicked through different channels and Markus put on some headphones and listened to some audiobooks. The twins walked over and sat next to Ryan as they both started suggesting channels to watch.

    A very relaxing vibe filled the room as everyone just sat and relaxed. After around fifteen minutes I heard two doors open and I saw Blake and Sam walk into the living room. They both wore pajamas Sam wearing a set of pajamas covered in dynamite while Blake wore a set of shark pajamas.

    ¡°Hey Richard¡± Blake gave me a massive smile as Sam just gave me a nod as she went to get some milk.

    ¡°How was your morning? Mine was pretty good. I mostly stayed in my room in my pajamas. It was really comfortable but you seemed like you had a long morning especially with all those bandages. Wait, did you get hurt? Let me heal you!¡± She reached out at me with a glowing hand as I grabbed her hand and put a finger up to her mouth.

    ¡°You have way too much energy but my morning was fine, help a farmer and yes I got hurt but I¡¯m fine now¡± I let go of her as she hopped next to me on the couch as her shark pajamas had a little shark hood on them, adorable.

    ¡°Who did you fight¡± Sam asked as she laid against the couch

    ¡°Some criminals, most likely mercs with some high tech gear and their leader were pretty strong and messed me up badly. That''s the short version at least¡± didn¡¯t feel like getting into the long version.

    ¡°So you got hero name yet¡± Blake ask as I could see anticipation in her eyes

    ¡°Nope¡±

    ¡°Aw get one soon your not a full hero unless you got a name¡±

    ¡°Give him a break Blake he¡¯s still staring out¡± Martin spoke up as he was messing around on his laptop.

    ¡°So Blake, you called me to hangout. Are we just hanging out here all day?¡±

    ¡°Well we were gonna check out the carnival and I decided you would have fun if you came with us right?¡± I hate carnival to many people. Most of the games are rigged and the food is good but by the time you''re done you can feel your arteries being clogged.

    ¡°Well actually I¡± I saw Sam and Markus glare at me as Blake gives me a questioning look.

    I sigh ¡°sure I got nothing else better to do¡±

    ¡°Great, I¡¯m gonna go take a shower, will be going soon¡± she scuttles away into her room as I look at everyone.

    About a half hour later everyone was ready Blake and Sam changing into new sets of clothes. Blake was wearing a very large red hoodie with little devils on it trying to build a hospital along with a set of red shorts and long black and red polka dots and some sneakers. Sam was wearing a white crop top along with a pink bomber jacket and shorts and still tipped bots like me. Everyone else didn''t change only putting on some boots but well except Ryan who put on sunglasses.

    We huddled into the elevator as Markus was still taller than me but I was closer in height to him by an inch. Classic elevator started playing as we stood there in silence until we got to the bottom floor. We walked outside as The receptionist waved us off. Ryan led us to the parking lot as we got the van we all got inside. Once again I was in the back of this old van but this time I won¡¯t be doing any criminal activities, I hope.

    ¡°So Richy¡± I turned to a smiling Aiden.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that¡±

    ¡°Ok Richard I have some questions for ya big guy?¡± they''re either gonna be personal or stupid.

    ¡°Sooo do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°No¡±

    ¡°Ok well do you have any pets?¡±

    ¡°No¡±

    ¡°Ok lonely much¡± I glared at him

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Ok I¡¯ll stop asking questions now¡± good

    ¡°Hey I got a question¡± I looked at Sam as she was tossing a ball between her hands.

    ¡°Ask away¡±

    ¡°Why do you have so many powers?¡± here we go

    ¡°Couple weeks ago I got caught up in a train crash found some silver container had a dead body inside I touch and ever since then I¡¯ve been just getting new powers¡± It¡¯s better not to tell them the full truth since I don¡¯t whale shark wants them to know what''s going on with everything.

    ¡°So like a comic book character that''s super cool!¡± Black yell

    ¡°yeah really lucky to just get all those powers without having to work for them¡± I can feel the passive aggression from Sam.

    ¡°Well it has its upsides and downsides¡± like I have a group of people with a lot of resources and high tech gear who want to kidnap me and probably experiment.

    Eventually we stopped as I could see the massive carnival outside in all of its arteries clogging and rig games glory. Aiden kicks the door open as we all get out of the van.

    ¡°Ok everyone remember lets try to have fun and not cause too much trouble and Mark and Richard when we get to the carnival games please use your powers to beat the rigged games I love seeing look in the carnies eyes¡± I give a thumbs up to Ryan.

    As soon as we entered the carnival I had to tune my senses immediately as I faced sensory overload. Hundreds of people talking, laughing and screaming. Dozens of bright lights, some were flashing, some were neon. The smell of hundreds if not thousands of different greasy meals made me wanna vomit. I turned my senses down as I realized something: my senses were even stronger now and the original base level I had for them was too high.

    ¡°You Ok?¡± I turned to see Blake as I noticed everyone was ahead of us talking about what to do first. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± she gave me a questioning look before shrugging as we caught up with the rest of the group. By the time we got over there Ryan convinced everyone to start off with some carnival games.

    The game was pretty simple: you have three tries to knock down a set of stack cups on a tree stump with a baseball. When The carnie asked who was going first Ryan nudged me forward and whispered ¡°The cups are glued together and to the stump¡±. The carnie grinned at me as he handed me a baseball ¡°you have three tries, I hope you have a good arm¡± He gave me a toothy grin with shiny white teeth, Huh they got dental here neat. I grip the ball as I let my instincts take over and I pull my arm back similar to a baseball player as I look at the stack cups trying to find the spot where there was the least amount of glue. I toss the ball with not that much force as it hits the stacks of the near the bottom left knocking them down.

    Ryan gave a small clap as the carnie whistled and handed me a large stuffed dragon, I¡¯ll name it Douglas. ¡°Can I have it?¡± I turned to see Ryan and I shook my head as he shrugged ¡°guess I¡¯ll just win my own in the next game¡±. The next game was the classic slam a hammer onto something and try to get it to hit the bell game and Sam step forward grabbing the hammer.

    ¡°My dad taught me that this game yes involves strength but not a large amount of it, no more like a precise strength¡± She lifted the hammer up and looked at Blake before slamming the hammer down. She didn¡¯t use too much force but just enough to have an impact on great strength control. Maybe she could help me learn how to control my strength better. The bell shot up and hit the bell lightly as the Carine who was a middle aged woman with fours eyes smiled and as she showed off a set of plushies Sam could pick through.

    Ryan smirked ¡°ah you figured out the little trick with this one¡± I gave Ryan a questions glance. ¡°Essentially these high striker games they made so that you have to strike with just enough force or the mechanism would stay locked¡±. Well aren¡¯t you just the perfect teacher¡± Aiden commented. ¡°Well someone got to make you guys know how to deal with everything this crazy world has to offer¡± Ryan replies as he then Ruffles Aiden hair.

    I saw Sam finally pick a plushie, a shark one as she walked over to Blake and gave it to her. Blake got the largest smile I¡¯ve seen her have so far as she hugged Sam as Sam''s face turned a slight red. I didn¡¯t need super hearing or X-ray vision to know Sam¡¯s heart was beating faster, Can¡¯t blame her. Markus also got the same idea as we looked at each other and nodded as Ryan dragged us to the next game.

    The next couple games were pretty fun, Aiden and Martin competed in a game where they had to use water guns to make several horse moves, they tied and Ryan did some ring tossing. He didn''t miss a single one and had a giant Rat plushie now.

    ¡°So I think what the first attraction we should try out¡± Sam asked as Aiden got a devious smile.

    ¡°How about the t-cup one?¡±

    ¡°Really?, Aiden I thought you would say the roller coaster immediately¡±

    ¡°Trust me Sam¡± Aiden gave a look at Markus.

    We got the t cup ride as Blake sat next to me and Sam as Aiden sat next to Markus and Martin and Ryan were the last ones to get in. The conductor turned on the ride as everything started to slowly spin as Aiden stood up and whispered something to Markus as he nodded and grabbed the wheel, oh no. Before any of us could react Markus started spinning the wheel as the T-cup we sat spun with it. Everything blurred around us as we spun as I had to dig my fingers into the cup to keep myself from falling forward.

    Aiden was laughing like a maniac.

    Markus had a bored expression.

    Ryan was using every curse in the book.

    Sam was having to hold back Martin from ending his twin.

    Finally Blake was turning green and was holding her mouth as I grabbed her and aimed her at Aiden as horror filled his eyes as he realized what was about to happen.

    Everyone but me and Makris stumbled out of the ride well except Aiden who ran to find towels to get rid of his new green look. ¡°Asshole¡± Sam yelled as she punched Markus in the face, doing nothing to him as he just smirked. When Aiden came back from cleaning himself off we all Sam and Martin glared at him as we all sat down at a bench.

    ¡°So what''s next?¡±

    ¡°Ryan please no more¡± Blake groaned

    ¡°Come on, we got so much more to do!¡±

    ¡°I feel like if I do anything else in the next twenty minutes I¡¯ll vomit again¡±

    ¡°Well we''ll go on a couple more rides and you can stay here with I don¡¯t know Richard since he¡¯s not really into Carnival rides and when we come back we can do the roller coaster¡± Blake nodded as I shrugged as I could feel Sam glare at me. Ryan quickly grabbed Sam as he had a shit eating grin on his face as the group quickly went to the next attraction.

    ¡°Hey question Blake?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use your power on yourself?¡±.

    ¡°Oh I can only heal injuries, I don''t know how to get rid of sickness and stuff like that¡±.

    ¡°Oh that''s inconvenient¡±.

    ¡°Yeah most powers are like that but that''s what makes them cool seeing people with limitations getting creative with their powers that''s why I like the simpler heroes¡±.

    ¡°Did you always like heroes or did someone get into that stuff?¡±.

    ¡°Oh it was my mom she was a nurse specifically one for heroes she got to meat a lot of them in person and she told me so many of the stories she heard from them when I heard about them I became a fanatic always hunger for hero media hehehe my mom always said if I ever got a power I would become a great hero¡±.

    ¡°Well, do you want to be one?¡±.

    ¡°Obviously! I just don¡¯t really have the power for it, not super strong or can phase through walls or lift things with my mind. I know I can help a lot of people with my power but I want help with villains and criminals too¡± She pouted a bit.

    ¡°Well you can heal yourself just need a bit of training and some weapons and boom you could fuck shit up¡± lets just hope she never becomes a mouthy mercenary in black and red.

    ¡°Yeah I just don¡¯t think that''s enough no one just has healing it''s usually a part of another power or got other ones¡± she looked down at her hands.

    ¡°True but hey you¡¯ll never unless you try¡±.

    She smiled a bit ¡°your right corny but right¡± I found myself smirking.

    ¡°So how did you meet the rest of that rag tag group of yours?¡±.

    ¡°Oh uhm not that much of a crazy story¡±.

    ¡°I still wanna know that¡¯s why I ask the question¡±.

    ¡°Well it started with When My family moved from the Nova central to some town named black thorn¡± She paused a bit as she was deep in thought trying to remember everything.

    ¡°It started when I met Ryan. He was an older kid who lived by himself and provided for himself. Well, I found out how when he tried to pickpocket my mom until she broke his wrist, superhero doctors need some combat training¡±.

    ¡°Well at least something we have in common is that we have badass moms¡±.

    ¡°Heh yeah but anyways instead of calling the police she decided invite him for dinner and he was a charming guy and not long after my mom forgot he tried stealing from her and he came over more and more and we talk a lot and we just became friends he¡¯s a bit of a jerk sometimes but he¡¯s a cool guy¡±.

    ¡°I can see that¡±.

    ¡°Not long after that, just before I started high school my mom convinced me to go with her to one of her friends birthdays and I met both Mark and Sam there. It was kinda hard to talk to them, Mark being not really shy back then and Sam being more like a rabbit wolverine then a person, heck she nearly pummeled me when I asked why she had pink hair?¡±.

    ¡°It¡¯s natural?¡±.

    "Yeah gets it from her dad apparently¡±.

    ¡°Huh neat¡±.

    ¡°Anyways after a bit Mark convinced Sam to actually try to talk to me and still a bit for her to be less of a uh¡±.

    ¡°Bitch?¡±.

    ¡°Rude but yeah after the party I found that they both lived close by and I came over a lot and eventually when they came over to my place they met Ryan and he immediately tried to get us to help him steal some snacks from a conveniences store still Still don¡¯t why I agreed but I always trust Ryan¡±.

    ¡°Ok what about the twins, how did you meet them?¡±.

    ¡°Oh, they were in my PE class in high school. I asked if we could be friends since Aiden also read comics¡±.

    ¡°I have another question¡±.

    ¡°Oh uhm ask away¡±.

    ¡°Does your mom know what''s going on with everything?¡± She immediately went quiet. She just sat there as I could see her eyes water a bit, once again Richard amazing social capabilities.

    ¡°I uhm sorry I didn¡¯t mea¡±.

    ¡°It''s fine¡± she sniffs a bit as she wipes her eyes with her sleeve you didn''t know just still hurts¡±.

    ¡°Wanna change the subject?¡±.

    ¡°Yes please¡±.

    ¡°Uhm well who''s your favorite hero?¡± Her tone immediately changes as her eyes light up.

    ¡°It has to be the Steel drake no beatdown maybe shatter point wait it¡¯s definitely primal I love animals powers plus there such a nice person and actually love helping people and acts like a normal person there just so freaking cool!!¡± she was filled with so much energy it even made me smile fully instead of just a smirk.

    ¡°So who''s your favorite hero?¡± welp time to be honest.

    ¡°Well it was Whale shark until¡±.

    ¡°You found he was a crime boss¡±.

    ¡°I found out he was a crime boss¡±.

    ¡°Yeah that took away brownie points away from him¡± I finding out he was a psychopath and a power hungry one at that also he threatened my family took the whole fucking bakery.

    ¡°Well who''s your new favorite?¡±.

    ¡°Oh Nosferatu¡±.

    ¡°Oh for what reason?¡±.

    Because she is really hot, cool and I have had a crush on her since I was a kid ¡°I like the vampire theme¡±.

    ¡°Oh really?¡± she leaned forward as she had a smug look on her face

    ¡°Yep¡± she''s not buying it ABORT ABORT.

    ¡°Well I got a couple more questions if you don¡¯t mind¡±.

    ¡°Shoot¡±.

    And we sat there for I don¡¯t know how long just chatting it was the most I ever talked to someone and enjoyed talking to them in my life it was refreshing. Blake was just fun to talk to, very energetic, honest with her thoughts and it was kinda fun talking about different heroes with her. Eventually I heard footsteps as I could see everyone walking towards us. Aiden had a black eye and Sam looked annoyed.

    ¡°What happened to Aiden?¡± Blake asked, sitting up.

    ¡°He tried to pull more bullshit and I decided to give him a warning¡±.

    ¡°That was a warning¡± Aiden asked while rubbing his black eye.

    ¡°Yes¡±.

    ¡°Ok ok everyone no more violence it''s time for the main event¡± Ryan eyes sparkled at that last part.

    He Started marching to the massive roller coaster named velocity named after most likely named after the velocity family, Family of speedsters but that''s not important right now. It was pretty massive reaching pretty high as I could hear the screams of joy and fear as people got on and off the ride. We got into line as I could see excitement in Aidens eyes as I could see the opposite in Blakes as she was nervously. I put a hand on her shoulder. I try to give my best reassuring smile as it seems to work as she calms down.

    When it was our turn to get onto the ride I tried to sit next to Blake but Sam jumped into the seat next to her as she had a look of triumph in her eyes. I shrugged as I saw Ryan patting the seat next to him as I took the seat next to him.

    We got fashioned into the seats as we slowly started moving up the rail and went up and up and up. We went higher and higher as the Carnival below us got farther and farther away, everyone was dealing with this in their own ways.

    ¡°Hey I have never been on one of these, is it supposed to go this high?¡± Ryan was nervous.

    ¡°I wonder if they made sure the track is up to tip top conduction because if something is broken we can be stuck at this height even just fly off¡± Aiden was making things worse.

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t happen since they probably have had this thing checked almost daily for any faults to make sure everything was in order so we are completely fine I hope¡± Martin was correcting Aiden.

    ¡°It''s not that bad¡± Sam was trying to act tough but I could see she was sweating.

    ¡°Just keep your eyes chut and everything will be fine, just keep them shut and don¡¯t look down¡± Blake was scared out of her mind and made it worse by not following her advice as she looked down.

    ¡°I could see the hotel from here¡± and Mark was fine.

    We got to the top as we slowly moved closer and closer to the drop building tension to what seems to be a straight fall but eventually we moved forward as we dropped. The wind shot past us as I felt my hair fly through the wind as we got close to the ground we shot forward then up then down again then we went into several loop de loops. I could hear everyone Screaming in fear but I was screaming in joy as we started moving in spirals now. Finally we went up once more and dropped back down as I could see flashes as eventually we stopped where it all started.

    After I had time to calm down I noticed Ryan was holding onto me as we just stared at each other as we both silently agreed to never speak of this. We all slowly got off as Blake went to the trash can to vomit once again, How much did she eat before coming here? After the excitement that was the velocity we all got the picture that was taken of us as we went down and got some funnel cake and just relaxed at some empty table.

    ¡°We should do this more often¡± Ryan was digging into his funnel cake.

    ¡°Agreed¡± Mark didn¡¯t get any food but did get a big thing of lemonade.

    ¡°I¡¯d say today''s hangout session was a total success¡± Aiden Smiled as he tried to sneak a bite of his brothers funnel cake but was smack away.

    ¡°Yeah his pretty fun¡± Blake was on her third funnel cake guess she made a lot of room.

    ¡°It''s been a while since I did the carnival and it will never get old¡± Sam was smiling as she laid against the table.

    This was fun, it was good to just have a normal day with no bullshit and I could just relax and be normal for a bit since that damn train accident. As I was about to start a conversation I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out and saw that it''s a unknown caller and I answered it.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Put the phone on speaker¡± of course it¡¯s fucking Whale Shark.

    I put the phone on speaker ¡°hello everyone I hope you are enjoying your time at the carnival¡± Everyone went silent.

    ¡°Ah is everyone surprised I¡¯m calling so soon after you accepted my deal¡± guess he was right about them taking his deal.

    ¡°Well you know why I¡¯m calling so let''s cut to the chase. I got another job offer and this one is both sweeter and more dangerous than the last one ". It''s always constant escalations of jobs with him that just keep getting worse.

    ¡°This is pretty simple, I need you to steal a special bit of tech from the forge¡± The forge gang from Nova central it''s filled with tech fanatics who are always trying to stay at the top of the tech market no matter what.

    ¡°Now don¡¯t worry it¡¯s not the full group I wouldn¡¯t send you to deal with them no there trying to expand their territory to other cities and a small group was sent here and there gonna be fighting against some new group now during this chaos I want you to sneak into their base and steal this item I want and take to a specific location so my men can pick it up. He talks too much.

    ¡°This will little heist will be happening tomorrow night so you have time to prepare and don¡¯t worry I sent you all the information that you will need now I hope things go well and call me when the job is over¡±. He hung up as we all sat in silence trying to deal with the information.

    Yeah I¡¯m gonna fucking kill him.

 Chapter 19 preparations

    The mood was well tense as we all sat in the van in total silence. After the call from yesterday we immediately all went home with Ryan saying that we need to think of a plan. As soon as I got home I immediately went to the shed and started some tinkering. I restocked all my previous items and even fixed the Thunder bat. I didn''t have any resources to make anything new but I think I''ll be good for tomorrow.

    After I was done with restocking my arsenal I decided to check out the new weapons I got from the train ride last night. At first everything looked pretty simple but with developer creations the simpler the look the more advanced, amen. When I got a look at the inner workings of one of the maces I had to cut open with one of my claws. Everything was compact, evenly connected together as it was all connected to a blood red gem.

    I sat back in my chair as I looked at the tech in front of me and realized one thing: it was gonna take me a while to do anything with this. I needed resources and people willing to get me those resources without asking any questions. Maybe Whale shark can give me resources instead of money? So I stored away back into my inventory and went to my room. I got into my swivel chair and pulled out my notebook and started drawing some blueprints.

    I started drawing up ways of mixing all that tech I found into the gear I already made. Mix a couple of those maces with the thunder back to amp its strength along with giving the ability to still hit someone if I miss due to the shockwaves. Maybe I could combine the commander''s gauntlets with my kinetic ones, potentially adding kinetic blast or repulsive shields. Maybe I could make myself a full set of armor using the ones I have in my inventory, maybe even make some gauntlet mounted rail guns.

    Hundreds of ideas flowed through my mind as with every new idea I filed a new page in my notebook but eventually I stopped as I closed my notebook. I started to think about the mess that I had no part in getting myself into. I was going to steal some tech from Forge, a high tech gang with a lot of power as they went to war with one of the local gangs in the city because the actor who played Jaws wants me to and if I don¡¯t he¡¯ll kill everyone I love.

    I should be enjoying my summer like any regular teenager staying up all night playing games, hanging out with friends thinking about what to do after high school, not fighting for your life, getting involved with criminal activity, fighting heroes and killing someone. God I still remember it vividly, the smell of copper in the air, my hands soaked in blood and that¡­¡­that bloody mess in front of me. I killed a person and I made it hurt. I remember her screaming, I could remember her bones breaking and flesh tearing as I I I¡­¡­¡­¡­No she¡­¡­¡­she was a monster she did inhuman things and was gonna ruin those kids life I¡­¡­I didn¡¯t kill a person, I killed a monster, not a person just a monster.

    Crack!, I felt the arms of my chair snap as my hands were squeezing into fists so tightly that my hands were bleeding. My hands shook as I opened up my palms and saw the scarlet coating as flashes of what I did ran through my mind. Sweet blood, god why do I have the urge to just consume it? Maybe I should call up Nosferatu, I heard she had a similar problem and maybe ask her to make me another hoodie too.

    I quickly clean my hands as I plop down on my bed as I summon the commander''s magnum into my hands. The massive foot long hand cannon felt light in my hand as I could tell this gun was more advanced than anything else I¡¯ve seen before. As I looked over the gun I noticed a carving on the barrel Chaos. Well at least I got a name for the gun but I wonder.

    I look at the gun once again until I find a second trigger below the first one as I open up my winder point the gun outside and pull it as the red line on the gun changes to blue. I pull it again as it changes to green then yellow then black as after a couple more pulls of the trigger I get back to that scarlet red. Each color is most likely a different ammo type. I don''t know why the commander didn¡¯t use this really that much, guess she is a more hands one type girl.

    I store chaos back into my inventory as I walk over to my console and get ready to beat that fucking tree dragon in dark fates. After several hours of getting my ass beat by a fucking tree and nearly breaking my controller I see sunlight start to poke through my window as my phone vibrates.

    I check my phone and see I got a text message from Ryan and it simply says hey I think I got a plan or well at least parts of one so come over here we''re gonna spend most of the day preparing for tonight so get here as soon as possible. This is gonna be a long day, I just got a feeling that that''s gonna be the case.

    Oh yeah I forgot something. I think my healing factor should have worked its magic. I take off my shirt, sit down and slowly unwrap the bandages on my body. After a couple minutes I fully unwrap myself from the bandages. I slowly lift up my arms now covered in multiple new scars. Small scars litter my arms more so on my right arm, the one I used to punch that train car. I turned to my right shoulder and there was a large bite scar where she bit into my shoulder. Finally there were two large burn scars in the shape of handprints on my side.

    Jesus once again I gotta marvel how I got so many scars so quickly after getting my powers. I swear by the end of this year I¡¯m gonna be just one big scar but it does remind me, It reminds me that I¡¯m still human. I still have limits and I can be pushed to those limits and unlike fiction I can¡¯t break my limits without any trouble over and over. This is real life and even if you can heal better than most people in this world if you get hurt enough there will be consequences.

    Even if my senses got stronger after pushing them to the limit my body doesn''t work that way. Even If I look healed internally I still need more time to recover but sadly I probably won¡¯t get that time. If I move too fast for too long, lift something too heavy or punch something with too much force I can worsen my body or even cause permanent damage.

    That goes more for my right so I¡¯m gonna have to use my left arm much more. I stare at the back of my right hand just staring at the jagged scars on my knuckles that lead down my hand and up my forearm. Welp time to stop thinking top myself and get ready to commit crimes once again but first I need a shower I stink. I get into the shower and quickly clean myself with the purifying soap and shampoo. I definitely need a haircut in the future, my hair now reaches half way down my neck.

    I dried off and quickly changed into a pair of gray pants and a shirt along with that black hoodie with a skull on it. After I went downstairs as I could still hear Mary sleeping so I wrote a note on the kitchen counter saying I had to help my friends out with something.

    I got into my truck and turned on the radio as I started driving to the hotel. Once again it was a bright sunny day and guess dad was still wrong about the weather. Eventually I got to the hotel and parked into the front and quickly walked in.

    The same receptionist from yesterday sits there with a smile. I quickly walked past him and got into the elevator as I clicked the button for the penthouse. ¡°I hope things go well for you and your friends Richard¡± The receptionist gives me one last smile as the door closes, I don¡¯t like him.

    I rapidly tapped my foot against the metal floor as the elevator music started playing until I finally reached the penthouse. The doors opened up as I saw everyone sitting down in the living room.

    Aiden was flipping through different tv channels.

    Martin was typing rapidly on his laptop.

    Markus was eating a banana.

    Sam was doing some push ups.

    Blake was hanging of the side of the couch,

    And Ryan was looking at his phone in detail.

    As soon as I stepped into the room Ryan looked up and smiled ¡°Finally here Richard we got stuff to discuss¡±.

    ¡°Ok¡± I walked over and sat next to him.

    ¡°Morning¡± Mark said as he ate the banana peel, gross.

    ¡°Morning Richard¡± Blake said as she sounded tired.

    ¡°What they said¡± Sam sounded done with everything.

    Aiden and Martin didn¡¯t greet me and were too engrossed in what they were doing as Ryan stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone''s attention ¡°ok now that we''re all here it''s time to discuss what we''re doing tonight¡±.

    ¡°And when you mean discusses you mean try to come up with a plan steal from a gang not be killed¡± Martin finally spoke up

    ¡°Yep¡± well at least he¡¯s honest.

    ¡°So what''s the plan oh so amazing leader¡± Sam said with a mocking tone as she hopped onto her feet.

    ¡°First thank you and second I got a simple one¡± We all sat in silence ready to hear Ryan ¡®amazing¡¯ plan.

    ¡°From the Research are new Aquatic boss gave us, I was able to learn the location of where the piece of tech we are stealing is located near the border of the middle district and lower district and the gang war is going to be pretty far away so if we trip any alarms or anything like that will have time to leave before forge can send anyone¡± Still hard to believe we¡¯re going to steal tech from Forge.

    ¡°Along with that since forge sent a small group most of their forces will be sent to help with the gang war meaning will be dealing with a small group guarding the tech and with our good friend Richard with his super senses he can help figure out how many guards there are and where they are¡± Let''s hope that''s the only thing I gotta do.

    ¡°But the tech we''re going after is hidden behind a Tungsten door so there is no breaking into it but the mechanism is pretty advanced that a USB won¡¯t do but I got a guy who can hook me up with something that can so that means Martin will be joining us this time¡±.

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°What?¡± Martin finally looked up from his laptop.

    ¡°You heard me you, me, Sam, Markus and Richard will be heading into the action this time and like always Blake and Aiden stay behind like always to act as the getaway driver and healer respectively¡±.

    ¡°Aw man, I''m always the getaway driver¡± Aiden pouted.

    ¡°Well it''s because you''re the best driver here, better than any of us so be proud¡± Blake beamed as Aiden smiled a bit.

    ¡°So yeah will heading out tonight since that''s when the Forge group leave their base¡±

    ¡°So what do we do until then since we got like the whole day to kill till then¡± Aiden said as stopped watching the tv and was now playing with Markus rubix cube and was doing kinda bad, just say he¡¯s an idiot.

    ¡°Oh well we relaxed until then I already ordered some stuff we might need so kick back and relax¡± Ryan gave us all a thumbs up before leaving the room.

    We did as Ryan said and sat back and relaxed, all of us going to different parts of the living room. Marcus went to swim in the pool and when I mean swim I mean just sit at the bottom. Aiden and Martin started talking about what type of food we were gonna get after the job was over. Finally Me, Blake and Sam sat on the couch. Blake sat in between us as Sam was watching some superhero movie starring beatdown some four armed muscle head from Lazarus city. Blake was reading a comic about the reimagining of Beowulf''s origin story. Well it took place in modern day and had Beowulf be a nerdy teenager. Blake was constantly switching her attention from the comic and the movie as occasionally Me and Sam looked away from the movie to read with Blake.

    After a couple hours Ryan came back with two heavy bags and that same cocky grin on his face. Before we could speak he opened the bags and started pulling out the contents. The first thing he pulled out was a set of smoke and gas grenades ¡°for quick getaways¡±. Then he pulled out a couple bullet proof vests and biker armor and tossed one to everyone but me and Markus ¡°for everyone who isn¡¯t super fast, durable or can heal¡±. He then tossed Blake, Aiden and Marten stun batons ¡°for self defense or if you really don¡¯t like someone and don¡¯t worry I got you something to Sam¡±. Sam gets tossed a set of spike silver brass knuckles with a square handle and trigger. When she grip the trigger the brass knuckles sparks with electricity Sam expression turned manic as the look in her eyes foretold immense violence, the crazier the better.

    Finally Ryan pulled out a silver disk with a bright blue circle in the middle ¡±and this little beauty is the key to this whole operation so be careful with her¡±. He then threw at Marten who nearly dropped it as he fumbled to catch it. ¡°Now we wait until it starts to get dark then we head out¡± We all gave thumbs up as Ryan flopped onto the couch.

    The silence returned as we all went back to just enjoying the time we have before we gotta rob Forge. Eventually the sun finally started to clock out and the sunlight slowly retreated under the night sky. ¡°Welp everyone it''s time to get ready and head out because that tech ain¡¯t gonna still itself¡± Ryan announced as he jumped onto his feet. Everyone started grabbing the gear Ryan gave them, putting the biker gear and bullet proof vests on along with holstering the grenades and stun battens.

    ¡°Wait! before we go gotta get something real quick so give me a sec¡± we all stop as Blake made her announcement and then ran to her room.

    ¡°Do you know what she is getting?¡± I asked Sam as she shrugged.

    ¡°Ok I got it!¡± Blake ran out with a box and dropped it on the table.

    ¡°Ok I decided since we still need to hide our identities and The red eye gang isn¡¯t the most serious name I decided to a bit of updating¡± Blake then pulled out even masks and hoodies.

    ¡°I think the scarlet beholders is a much cooler name!¡± She had the biggest smile on her face as she handed each of us a hoodie and mask.

    The hoodies were the same but what was drawn on them was much different. The eye painted on the chest was now a blood red color and much more detailed looking more like an actual eye and it was much larger too. There was another eye on the back and the sleeves had smaller eyes running up them until they stopped at the shoulders.

    The masks were made out of a much tougher material this time but each one had a unique design on them.

    Ryan''s had a large toothy grin on it with a couple golden teeth along fox whiskers drawn on the side and Fox ears drawn on the top.

    Aiden and Martin mask both had one side blank but the other side was one half of a comedy mask Aiden having the smiling side while Martin had the frowning side.

    Sam''s mask was pretty simple, only having a scarlet red handprint on it but she seemed happy with it.

    Markus¡¯s mask seemed to be covered in scarlet cracks and generally looked like it was broken over and over and glued back together each time.

    Blakes had a small smile on it and The medical cross on the forehead.

    Finally mine had a toothy maw on it similar to that of a crocodile or a shark and unlike the others it didn¡¯t have eye holes but instead two little red dots.

    ¡°Sorry Richard I forgot to add eye holes on that last one but I poot dots where you can poke them out¡± Blake looked at the ground as I quickly replaced my hoodie with the one Blake gave me and put the mask on as with a bit of tuning with the dials I could see perfectly through the mask. I gave a thumbs up with everyone quickly following my actions and put on the new attire Blake gave us.

    ¡°Ok now that we''re ready it''s time for the Scarlet Beholders to do a bit of thievery¡± Blake had the biggest smile as we went to leave.

    ¡°Wait, maybe we should take off the mask and hoodies until we actually get to the place we need to go?¡± Aiden spoke up.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡± Ryan said as we quickly took off the masks and hoodies.

    We left the hotel with the receptionist waving us off as we got to the truck and we quickly drove to the location Whale Shark gave us. After thirty minutes it was completely dark as we stopped in front of a three storey brick building with black tinted windows.

    ¡°Ok everyone ready¡± Ryan asks as he puts on his mask.

    ¡°Nope¡± we all answered as we put on our hoodies and masks.

    ¡°Me either but I know we''re gonna do this and we are gonna do this really well so let''s go!¡± Ryan cheered as he opened the back of the van as Me Markus, Martin, Sam and Ryan got out and stood in front of the building ready to complete this job.

    Before any of us even took a step towards the building Markus lifted up a hand ¡°cameras¡±. I gave a quick look as my night vision kicked in and I could see dozens of tiny spheres surrounding the area. ¡°Good eye Mark but hey Richy got anything in your bag of tricks that can take care of this¡± Ryan said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that¡± Ryan lifted up his hands in defense as I started thinking. Best bet cameras are waterproof and electricity proof most of Forges gear is. Another thing is I can¡¯t use the magnum since it¡¯s too loud and even my kinetic amp ball bearing¡¯s won¡¯t fully destroy them. After another second of thinking I did remember a trick I haven¡¯t used in a bit since me and Mary fought that behemoth, and got your ass kicked.

    I pushed my mask up just enough to reveal my mouth as I took a deep breath and I felt the rocks form in my throat. They bounce constantly in my throat causing a rapid tapping sensation as I condense them into a singular rock and I open my mouth. A spike shot from my throat and smashed into a camera completely destroying it as with a thought it ricochet to the next camera destroying it. The spike softly glowed with a yellow aura as I controlled how fast it moved and where it would go when it ricochet as the rock shattered after destroying the last camera.

    ¡°Now Richy I want you to use those amazing senses of yours to see how many goons were gonna be dealing with¡± I could feel him smirking under his mask as I pulled mask down and tuned my senses as I stared at the building. What I saw inside was not that much there was a living quarters, an empty armory and what seemed to be a meeting room but I eventually found something interesting on the second floor. There was a solid square room I couldn¡¯t see through, probably lined with led and two guards stood in front of it. They wore black body suits with a scale pattern on it and covered in small plates on it covering the shoulders, legs, spine, arms, knees, chest and stomach. They wore black helmets with a medieval knight design and glowing orange lenses. The one on the left was pretty short, only five eight but was covered in all sorts of weapons and the much taller one on the right Had what seemed to be a large square shaped battle axe with orange glowing edges and was around the same height as mark.

    ¡°There¡¯s only two guys in the whole place but there guardian the only room that I can¡¯t see through that room most likely the one where the device is¡±

    ¡°My best bet since they left those two in this place by themselves guardian, something important there only is two options: either they''re extremely over confident in their ability to stay hidden or they left some of their evolved members to guard the place while the grunts go to the gang war¡± Markus replied as Whale shark was right this guy is smart.

    ¡°Well they just look like regular grunts so there not any of the known roaster of evolved in Forge¡± I replied

    ¡°That''s not good since we don¡¯t know these fucks powers so were pretty much in the dark with what these guys can do¡± Sam spoke up as I could see a glint of worry in her eyes and tone.

    ¡°Welp will just do what we always do and wing it. It''s never failed us before¡± Ryan said with too much confidence.

    ¡°You just jinx us¡± Martin said with an annoyed undertone as Ryan shrugged.

    ¡°Hwy since we''re gonna be fighting evolved you two take these¡± I quickly summoned my kinetic gauntlets and chaos handing the former to Sam and the Latter to Ryan.

    I point to Sam ¡°When you put those on, tap your finger on the circle, turn it off and hold one finger on it to amplify your striking strength and hold down with two fingers to weaken it. tap with three fingers to activate the kinetic shields and yes they absorb kinetic energy and you can use it.¡± Sam immediately put them on and then put her new brass knuckles over them.

    I point to Ryan ¡°It¡¯s a powerful Magnum and has some kick when you fire so be careful but it doesn''t use bullets so don''t worry about counting your shits it¡¯s also pretty strong and accurate and that second trigger let¡¯s switch what you''re firing. I know Orange is explosive but I don¡¯t know what the rest do so be careful.¡± He nods as he holsters the chaos.

    ¡°hey why don¡¯t I ge¡±

    I cut off Martin before he could finish ¡°Martin, do you know how to fight?¡±

    ¡°True¡±

    Sam spoke up ¡°Ok now that we''re all ready let¡¯s sneak in through the second floor throw in a smoke bomb and try to take them both out before either of them can use their powers and wreck our shit. If we can¡¯t try to take away their weapons so there forced to use their powers and we can see what they can do and try to damage their helmets so it¡¯s harder for them to see¡± We all nodded as Sam pulled out a grappling hook and threw it to the second floor window and quickly climb up.

    I turned my feet into steel as I jumped into the Sam as I quickly turned my fingers into claws and dug them into the wall next to her. She goes to open the window but I stop her as I turn a dial in my head and look at the window seal as I see electricity flow through the window seal.

    I gently dug one of my claws into the window seals and cut corner to corner as I pulled my claw out and gently pushed the glass forward. It fell backwards but I stored it into my Inventory before it could shatter against the ground. Sam slid through the window and I did the same after a couple seconds both Ryan and Aiden quickly got in.

    I heard a crack outside as Markus jumped from the concrete and latched onto the window seal squeezing through into the room. Sam took her grappling hook as I gave a quick glance around the room around us. It was the living quarters and I could see rows of bunk beds. Ryan kneeled down and lifted one finger to his mouth as he slowly moved towards a door on the far right of the room.

    We followed after him as he gently opened the door and slowly moved it open without a creek. When The door fully opened up we walked into a large open room. I could see burn marks and bullet holes covering the area. I guess this area might have been a testing room or maybe people tried sneaking in before who knows.

    Ryan started slowly walking towards a double door that led to the room where the two guards were in. He pulled out what seemed to be a flash bang as Sam took a deep breath and Markus clench his fists but before we could enact our plan we got interrupted.

    ¡°Hey I¡¯m gonna take a piss¡± the voice was raspy like someone who damage their lungs

    ¡°Gotcha just don¡¯t fall in the toilet¡± The second voice was a lot deeper.

    ¡°Oh screw you¡± I heard steps start approaching the double door as Everyone started quickly moving back.

    The door quickly opened as the Smaller guard walked out but before he could react to any of us Sam rushed forward and struck him in the throat. As the guard started to choke she spun around and slammed her foot into the side of his causing him to stumble. Finally she grabbed by the shoulder and chest and threw him at Markus who punched him in the chest launching him through the double doors as I heard a crash.

    Everything was silent for a couple seconds as tension slowly built up but I started to hear popping? After a couple seconds the popping stopped and several BANGS Came afterwards. I felt my perception slow down as I rushed forward and grabbed Sam as I leaped away from the door as a hail of bullets tore through it. I winced as I felt pain flow down my legs as I landed on the grown as Sam had a mix of annoyance and worry in her eyes ¡°fuck we got a duplicator¡± she muttered.

    I quickly put her on her feet as my perception returned to normal as The small guard walked through the door. Then another identical guard walked through then another and then another and more kept walking through until a crowd of them filled half the room. Eventually the tall guard walked in with one more Small guard.

    The Tall guard spoke up ¡°I told you there would be people stupid enough to come and try and rob us¡±

    His little buddy replied ¡°yeah yeah I know I¡¯ll give you the twenty bucks after we''re done killing them¡±

    ¡°Nice¡± He lifted up a fist as the little guard gave him a fist bump.

    The Tall guard readied his axe and The little guard and his clones all pulled out different weapons from guns to knives to brass knuckles; one even had a flintlock. Also for simplicity Sake the I¡¯ll call the clone guy crowd because he can make a crowd and the The tall guy Executioner because he has a big axe anyways time to fight for my life again.

    Crowd and his copies Started and Executioner started to rush forward as I remembered something: we don''t have to beat these guys or we just have to stall them as Martin Hacks into the door and grabs the device. So I took a deep breath as cold built up in my throat pulled my mask up a bit and fired a blast of cold. Half of the clones got frozen as Crowd spawned a group of clones to take the blast for him and the executioner. I then fired a fireball and knocked them all to the ground, shattering the Frozen clones and burning the couple non frozen ones to ash as Crowd and Executioner knocked to the ground.

    I yelled at Markus ¡°get Martin into the room so he can hack the door and get the tech, will try to stall these guys!¡± Markus nodded as he grabbed Martin in a football carry and before Martin could complain he rushed toward the entrance to the next room. Crowd spawn in several clones to pull him and Executioner up as Markus rushes past them. Executioner tried to slash Markus legs but he jumped over the axe as he rushed into the next room.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill the big guy and then can you take care of these guys?¡± Executioner asked crowd as he jumped to his feet.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I got these guys just make sure those fucks don¡¯t steel the tech or were all fucked¡± Executioner nodded as he and several of crowds clones rushed into the room after Markus.

    ¡°Welp time to kill you guys, I hope you have good weapons¡± Crowd grinned as his clones rapidly formed a crowd around us.

    Me, Same and Ryan went back to back as Ryan pulled out chaos already aiming. Sam slammed her fists together as The kinetic gauntlets glowed with purple energy and her brass knuckles spark with electricity. I summoned a pair of those scarlet maces as I grip them tightly in my hands. I took a deep breath as I felt everything slow down, My heart started to beat faster adrenaline pump through my veins and finally the crowd rushed towards, lets fucking go.

 Chapter 20 bloody business

    <h2> </h2>

    <h2> pov:Markus</h2>

    I ran like hell as soon as Richard told me what the game plan was, carrying Martin as the hammers were still recovering from the blast of ice and the fireball. I felt the wind rush past as my feet thumb against the ground holding Martin in one arm at my side kinda remind me of when I played football just with the potential of people dying. The room I entered was empty with nothing to grab or hide behind so it has its advantages and disadvantages. I dropped Aiden in front of the door as he quickly pulled out the circular device and attached it to the door and a little screen popped up on it as he started typing.

    The large hammer with the battle axe rushed into the room followed by a couple clones of that smaller hammer. They definitely had the numbers advantages plus weapons but from what I can see each of the clones prefers to use a different weapon. I¡¯m also guessing that the Hammers axe is super heated at the edge so I don¡¯t have to worry about that. But I do have to worry about Martin since there trying to stop him from unlocking the door,

    ¡°Martin, how long is it gonna take you to crack that thing open?¡±

    ¡°I don''t¡¯ it could be five minutes it could be twelve just depends if you can keep them off my ass or not¡±

    ¡°I can do That¡± I crack my knuckles as I still couldn¡¯t believe I was gonna fight one of Forges Hammers, one of their Trained evolved with actual good tech but since they''re only wearing grunt gear I bet these guys are noobies.

    I get into a boxer¡¯s stance putting my left foot backwards as I put my right one forwards and I hold my arms up. Surprisingly even though the hammer could have attacked me any moment it seems like he''s waiting no, watching me trying to figure me out. The hammer starts walking towards me at a leisure pace, I guess he¡¯s done watching. I start walking towards him matching his pace as when we meet in the middle of the room he immediately swings his axe at the right side of my head.

    I step forward and drop down a bit causing him to decapitate the air behind me as I hit him right in the liver with a heavy hook. He gets launched into the wall on my right embedding him into and before he can even remove himself from the wall I grab him by the face and slam further into the wall. I then rip him out of the wall, pull my arm back and throw him into the clones knocking several of them down. One of the clones finally decides to attack as this one has a pair of serrated knives. It rushes towards me as it throws one of its knives. I shoot my hand up and catch the blade crushing it in my hand. The clone using my moment of distraction leaps towards me and swipes at me, nicking me across the chest. I try to grab it but it spins to my side trying to stab the knife into my ribs.

    I immediately turn and slam my elbow into the clones cracking their helmet and as soon as their stunned I hit them by their head and punch them right in the face. the helmet shatters as my fists collide with their bare face, shattering every bone in it as the momentum continues as their head bursts open like a watermelon drenching my fist in blood. I immediately turn as I see another clone fire a shotgun at me but I quickly lift up the headless clone in my hands as the pellets turn the front side of their body into mince meat.

    Two more clones rush forward one with a hammer and the other with a crossbow? They fire a bolt at me as I lift up the body I¡¯m still holding as the bolt pierces it sending some blood droplets onto my mask, I throw the body as the clones roll out of the way. The one with a sledgehammer hits me right in the knee as it kinda stings a bit but no real damage as I weave out of the way and throw a jab right into their chest. Their chest cavity caves in as they fall to their knees and I grab them and use them to block another bolt. I hear some revving as I see one with a chainsaw of all things rushing at me screaming at the top of their lungs. I drop the clone''s body and as I sidestep a downwards strike as they spin around and swing at my left side. The swing was wild and uncoordinated so I could see it a mile a mile away so I simply lifted up my hand and grabbed the chainsaw blade.

    I feel the blade dig into my skin as a bit of blood trickles down the blade as I squeeze it a bit and the blade stops. The clone tries to pull the chainsaw away from my grip but it doesn''t budge as I kick them right in the crotch as I hear a pop and they fly into the sealing and just hang there. My pants leg is covered in blood¡­¡­.ew crotch blood and I just rip that part of my pants leg.

    I go to turn around but I feel something stabs into my cheek. I poke the object with my tongue and taste metal or is that from me tasting my blood? I turn to see the clone with the crossbow as they''re quickly reloading. I break off the tip with my tongue and pull out the bolt causing blood to pour down my neck but luckily enough it doesn''t stain the hoodie Blake made, Thank god.

    I start walking toward the clone as they fire another bolt but it''s not as fast as before as I put my hand in front of the bolt. As soon as the bolt impacts my hand it shatters, coating my hand in pieces of metal as I shake the shards of metal off my hand as I walk towards the clone as they load another bolt in panic. When They finally load the bolt I¡¯m already in front of them ¡°drop it¡± they slowly point it at me ¡°no¡± and try to pull the trigger. I sigh as I grab the crossbow and crush it in my grip as I lift up my fist and bonk them on the head like a dog. But unlike a dog the top of there head cracks open spraying blood and gray matter onto my first as their neck stabs and the bones shard shot threw their neck spraying blood as it shatter even further as there head goes further into their body as skin rips and tears as several piece of bones stab through head. Even I had to admit that was a bit much as the body fell to the ground with a thud. After a bit the bodies turned to dust including the blood covering my hands. That easy to easy so I turn and the hammers getting back up and I¡¯m not surprised one bit.

    ¡°Uuuugh I have admit you hit pretty fucking hard¡± The Hammers cracks his neck.

    ¡°Ok round two here we go¡± I roll my eyes as he sprints towards me with blinding speeds and swings at me with a lot more force then before.

    I step back as the axe only cuts my a bit but with that same momentum and they hit me right in the calf with a low kick. I grit my teeth as I actually felt that as they go for another swing as I¡¯m able to catch the axe blade. The edge burned with heat as the blade cut into my hand a bit as I knocked the axe to the side as I hit him with a cross and knocked his head to the right as I grabbed his head and headbutt him. His helmet gets a large dent in it as his right lens shatters as he stumbles back. I rush forward as he goes for another swing but I quickly weave out of the way as I enter his blind spot.

    I hit him with another hook to the liver but it only sends him back a foot as he coughs a bit ¡°damn you really got a really good hook I still felt that¡±. Definitely an enhancement, maybe activation based explains why he¡¯s stronger but there is definitely something else going on him guess I gotta make him show it.

    Instead of rushing at me again he spins around and throws the axe at me. I duck as the axe slams into the wall behind me as the hammer rushes towards me and goes for a knee to my jaw. I grab his knee and squeeze until I hear a crack but it doesn¡¯t stop him, he seems happy? He goes for a simple straight punch as I grab his fist and break it too. I stand up and force his leg to up and as I spin him into the air and kick him right in the chest as his armor takes most of the force but still knocks him back.

    He slowly stands up ¡°hehehehehe come on is that all you got!? HURT ME MORE!¡± oh god he¡¯s a masochist. He runs towards me again as he goes for a tackle but I slam my palm right into his face shooting his head back as I grab him by his shoulders and knee him in the gut. I then lift up my elbows and slam them on his shoulders as I feel them cave in as his shoulders. This forces him to his knees as I twist my hips and pull my right arm back and hit him right in the side of his head cracking his helmet then I pull back my left fist and slam it into the other side of his and I repeat the process for a minute straight.

    His helmet shattered but I kept punching until his face was a blood mess until my hands drench in blood and his face was just one big bruise. When I¡¯m finally done I couldn¡¯t see any details of his face except that he had long brown hair, a bushy beard and was of Spanish descent. But his eyes were swollen shut, his face had multiple bleeding bruises and his teeth shattered and stabbed into his gums. I gently poke him as he fell backwards with a loud thud as I turned around and walked over to Martin .

    ¡°How much more time do you got until your able to open the door¡±

    ¡°I still need a couple more minutes this system just so complex and there are so many fucking firewalls!¡± I pat him on the back.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m gonna go help everyone else deal with the duplicator yell when you''re done¡± Aiden gives a thumbs up but I hear rapid steps behind.

    I immediately turn around but it''s too late as I feel an axe dig into my shoulder as blood sprays across the side of my face as I stare into the hammers eyes. His eyes were pitch black and pupils as I could see the bruises on face slowly disappear as he grinned at me with a row of shiny white teeth. So he just has regeneration, It wasn''t that he was strong or durable, just able to use a hundred percent of his body''s strength and quickly heal from the muscle damage. Probably passive unlike who has to actually heal herself explains his reckless fighting style.

    He grins at me as moves the axe like a hacksaw as I grit my teeth as I feel my muscles tear and as more blood gushes out as I pull back my head and slam it into his launching him back as the axe rips from my shoulder as blood sprays across the ground. I feel hemostasis immediately kick in as my injury stops bleeding. I turn to see Martin looking up at me.

    ¡°Before you say anything I¡¯m fine really¡±

    ¡°but yo¡±

    ¡°Its ok just keep hacking and keep an eye on this for a bit¡± I take off my mask and hoodie and gently place it next to him

    ¡°Blake work real hard on it so I don''t want it to get destroyed¡± Aiden nods

    The hammer rips off his armor as he is wearing a pair of sweatpants and a muscle shirt under teeth. ¡°Come on HURT ME MORE!!!!¡± We rush towards each other as he goes for a hook. I duck under it and tackle him, knocking him into a wall. I then jab my fingers into ribs as I feel the flesh as I grab his ribs and break them in my grip. Blood sprays onto my hands as I try to rip them out but get knees in the chest as I feel the air actually get knocked out of my lungs as I start gasping as he uppercuts me knocking back words as I feel blood poor from my mouth. Finally he shoulder checks me into a wall as he¡¯s smiling like a mad man as his rips sink back into his body.

    Ok he¡¯s definitely getting stronger but it seems to be in only specific places my best guess is that whenever he gets hurt and heels that area he healed comes back stronger probably why he keeps saying hurt me. It¡¯s definitely temporary or he would be much stronger then he is most likely he does have a limit on how much he can heal just have to push him to that limit. I spit out some blood as He runs towards me and goes for another hook but I quickly sidestep him and hook him right in the side of the head as it only moves his back just a bit.

    I grimace as he goes for another punch but I slap away as he goes another and another but I keep smacking away his strikes. As eventually he backs away and grabs his arm and rips out of the socket, spraying blood against the ground as bone grows from his socket then followed by muscle, then veins, then his flesh. He then grabs his other arm and with ease rips it off spraying more blood across the ground. He then picks up both his arms and rushes towards me once again as he swings one of his dismembered arms like a club.

    I tried to block but he swung it at blinding speeds and slammed it into the side of my face knocking my head to the right as he slammed the other limb into the other side of my face. Seems the bigger the injury the stronger the boost makes sense but I¡¯m understanding his power more and more. I feel my bruise as he keeps hitting me in the face but slowly the speed at which he attacks becomes slower as I catch both arms and squeeze them hard enough to cause them to explode into a bloody mess covering us both.

    He knees me in the gut once again but it seems to hurt less as I grab him as my hands shoot much faster. As I lift him up and slam him into the ground cracking as I lift up my foot and stomp onto chest over and over as he vomits more blood. Eventually the floor finally gives in as we fall into the floor below us. It seems to be a kitchen as I feel him grab my ankle and threw me into a sink shattering all the dishes in it making small cuts all over my face.

    I grab a couple glass shards and slam them into his mouth before he could fully stand up and I then grab the top of his and slam his chin into the ground shattering the glass shredding his mouth. I then drag him across the ground and slam his face into the oven, a little window shattering it, I then pull him up and slam into the ceiling as he falls into the ground. I then walk over to a fridge, pick it, walk over to him as he tries to get up once again but slam the fridge on him. Blood slowly pools from under the fridge as I take a deep breath and take a couple steps back as 3 2 1. He bursts from the fridge as he throws a milk jug at me as I slap it away he runs towards me again. He jumps into the air, spins and kicks me in the side of the face and when he lands he elbows me right in the nose.

    I stumble back as I grab my broken nose and snap it back into place as he runs over to a drawer and pulls out two long knives. He leaps towards me and stabs the knives into my shoulders as I fall backwards . He grins as he twists the knives in my shoulders as he lets go of them, lifts up his fists and slams them into movies causing them to go deeper and deeper. He goes for another slam but I grab his wrist as I put my foot on his chest as I push on his chest and pull his arms.

    He laughs as I kick him away from me, well most of him as I drop his arms and stand up. ¡°Hurt me more come on rip and tear until I¡¯m nothing but mince meat¡± I Look around and spot a frying pan laying on a rack I grabbed it as his arms regrow and he¡¯s already going for a blinding jab. I weave out of his strike and slam the frying pan into his wrist, denting the pan but breaking his wrist and I shoot out a low kick. My leg hits against his legs, shattering them as they bend forward. I didn¡¯t damage his legs in a bit so they didn¡¯t get as strong as his arms. He falls forward as I slam the frying pan into his head, breaking the pan but denting the back of his skull. His hands spring up onto his feet as he throws a barrage of punches each one of them connecting, causing me to spit out more and more blood until.

    The punches do get weaker as they hit as they also got slower again too as I weave through his strikes and punch him right in the gut. I punch straight through it, coating my arm in blood as I feel his entrails slowly pour out but he lifts up his fist clasp them together and slams them into my head as he quickly moves behind me and wraps something around my necks several times .

    I look to see he¡¯s using his own entrails to choke me as it gets tighter and tighter it gets harder and harder to breathe. I slam my elbow into his side multiple times but he doesn''t seem fazed as he pulls tighter and tighter everything starts to get slowly blurry. But suddenly it becomes less tighter and tighter until I flex my neck muscles and the entrails snap. As soon as it snaps I grab him by the shoulders and him in front embedding him into the ground as the building shakes a little.

    He tries to get up but I lift up my foot and stop his head in first caving in his nose I stomp again shattering the bones in face then I stomp again as I feel his skull break and I stomp again as I feel his turn to mush and I keep stomping until there is nothing but a bloody pile as he stops moving and after a couple seconds his head doesn''t seemed to be growing back a I limp towards the hole to where Martin is as I jump through it. When I land I see Martin standing in front of an opened tungsten door with the biggest smile on his face.

    ¡°Finally you opened that damn do¡± Before I could finish my sentence I felt something stab into my gut as I turned to see The hammer with a new head slowly regrowing all the hair on it with a big grin as I looked down and saw a chainsaw going through my gut. I vomit blood as I fall down to my knees fuck I guess he knows how to do delayed regeneration should have thought of that.

    He tries to twist the knife but I just flex my abdominal muscles as I grab him by the head and slam the back of my head into his nose, knocking him back. I stand up and turn to Martin ¡°just get the tech and we can get the hell out of here¡± he nods as he runs into the room as I turn to the hammer. He smashed his fist into a wall over and over until his hands were a blood mush as they quickly healed and instead rushed like before he leapt into the air. He digs his hands into the ceiling and handsprings towards me.

    ¡°FOOT DIVE¡± he yelled at the top of his lungs as I lifted up my arms in a cross guard and blocked the attack. I feel the ground crack beneath me as I shove him off but he quickly lands on his feet and rushes forward at blinding speeds. I barely could react as I tried to hit him with a jab but he ducked under my jab, grabbed the knife in my gut, ripped it out and slashed me across the tendons. I¡¯m barely able to stay on my feet as my toes rip through shoes and dig into the ground and I feel something poke into my back as I turn and see he tried stabbing me in the back but it seems the knife didn¡¯t go that deep.

    I try to back hand him away but he catches my arm and quickly stabs into my wrist and drags the blade up my arm. I try to grab him but he¡¯s already to my side as he stabs me in the side as before I could even turn he¡¯s already stabbing me in the thigh. He keeps moving around me trying to stab me in the vitals but it seems my muscle density is too much for the knife. Once again he seems to be getting slower or is it that I''m getting faster? Whatever, what¡¯s important is that I can see him coming.

    He goes to stab me in the solar plexus but I put up my hand palm forward and the knife shatters against my hand. I then shoot palm slamming it into his face as I run forward slamming him into the wall over and over and over. He tries to punch me in the liver but I grab his wrist and crush it in my hand and I dig my thumbs into his eyes. As I¡¯m gouging his eyes out he knees me in the crotch as the intense pain forces me to let go as he grabs me by the face and hits me with a heavy hook. I felt several teeth shoot out of my mouth as he went for another punch but I opened my mouth. His knuckles hit my teeth as I felt some cracks but I chomp down on his hand taking a nice chunk out as I kick him in the gut and knock him away.

    I chew part of the hand in my mouth and swallow, I hope this gives my power the materials it needs to give me the edge and end this fight. The hammer who had already covered leaps at and starts headbutting me. I feel blood start pouring from my forehead as I grab his wrists but with a yank he rips them off. More blood sprayed across my face as the bones in his slowly started to heal but it stopped as a set of spike-like bones were formed as he struck at my neck.

    I flexed my neck as the bones pierced the skin but stopped at the muscles breaking but they kept regenerating as they started slowly piercing through the muscle. I grabbed his arms and I was barely able to keep him from fully piercing my neck. ¡°This was fun but the thing is no matter what you can¡¯t kill or take me out so JUST GIVE UP!!¡± He pushed with all his might as slowly he broke through my grip as but before he could rip my throat out there was a loud ZAP as electricity coursed through his body as I turned and saw Martin jabbing a stun baton into the Hammers spine.

    ¡°Your welcome¡± Martin said with a smirk as I Let go of the Hammers arms and uppercutted him into the ceiling. ¡°You got the item?¡± Martin nodded as The hammer fell from the ceiling ¡°just let me finish then we can help everyone and get out of here¡± Martin stepped back as the hammer slowly got up as he spit out some blood and I hope one last time rushed towards. I took a deep breath as I felt an acidic taste feel my mouth as I lifted up my hands. The hammer threw a flurry of punches but I caught his fists and when he tried to get out of my grip I spit in his face.

    The spit was a dark green and when it hit his face it started to burn his face. He started to scream as the acid traveled down his face and his chest burning and deforming the flesh as he tried to wipe it off with his arms but only ended up burning them too. Eventually it stopped burning as he was one ugly mother fucker now as he threw a punch at me but it was much slower now as I catch his fist and easily crushed it in my grip.

    I then grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him into a headbutt shattering his nose as Then hit him with a hook knocking out most of his teeth. I then gently pushed him back as I ran forward and hit him with a close line, flatting his nose and shooting his head backwards. I quickly turn and get behind him and wrap my arms around his waist, lift him up and suplex him into the ground. His head is embedded into the ground as he slowly tries to get up once more. I sigh as I grab him by the ankle, pull him out of the ground and slam him into the ground. Then I Lifted him up and slammed him into the ground again and again until he stopped trying to get up and I let go of his ankle.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°H-how did y-you stop my healing?¡± he kept spitting out blood as I lifted up my hand to his face ¡°simple I adapted¡± and I flicked him in the head knocking him out. I stood up and turned to Martin.

    ¡°Ok we can go now¡±.

    He gave me a worried look now ¡°you have multiple stab wounds in vital areas, How are you not dead?¡±.

    I shrugged ¡°I don¡¯t know, I still don¡¯t really understand how my power works most of the time¡± Martin sighed as he held up a backpack.

    ¡°I got the device¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Instead of saying anything he just opened the bag and there was a pitch black sphere covered in sickly green lines ¡°I have no clue on what this is¡±

    ¡°Me either but that''s important right now, we gotta get everyone and get out of here¡± Martin nodded as we quickly when to leave the room but before we left I spotted the Hammers axe on the ground contemplated taking but after a second I decided not since it probably has a tracking device in it.

    When we entered the room where everyone was fighting the duplicator and what I saw well it worried me. Ryan and Sam were standing near the back of the room, most fine a couple scrapes and cuts, nothing to worry about but Richard was a different story. It wasn¡¯t that he was badly hurt, a couple cuts and tears on his hoodie but nothing too bad. What worried me was that he was covered in blood and dozens of the Duplicaters clones, each one mangled or ripped to shreds.

    Another thing I noticed was that his hands were in that weird Steel clawed state but were longer a light gray but now a scarlet red and the metal wasn¡¯t smooth but jagged and spiked. He was ripping through more and more clones as he was trying to get to the Duplicator. He was acting more like a beast or a butcher as he tore through flesh and bone like butter or bashing the clones into bits as he constantly turned to attack clone after clone in an endless bloodbath.

    Sam and Ryan noticed us as they smiled as I pointed to Martin''s bag as Sam started walking towards Richard . ¡°Hey Richard I know you''re having fun but we got what we came here so stop fighting and let''s get out of here¡± When Sam got close to Richard he immediately spun around and shot a claw towards her face without even thinking. I felt everything slow down as I could see the claw going towards Sam as I immediately ran forward. I couldn''t let her get hurt, not on my watch. As I got closer the claw was about to cut into her face as I reached out and grabbed Richard''s arm and blood dripped to the ground.

    <h2> Pov swap:Richard time:several minutes ago</h2>

    I immediately had to dodge a hail of bullets as the crowd''s clones flooded towards us. Ryan the second the clones moved forward fired chaos as he got knocked back a bit as the scarlet bullet punched a hole through the crowd. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Ryan yelled as a smile formed on his face as he started to aim once again and fired.

    As another scarlet bullet pierced into the hoard of clones me and Sam ran forward, hoard fights my favorite. A clone with a battle axe was the first one to strike aiming straight for my head. The bat moved slowly towards me as I quickly swiped my arm outwards as my mace smashed through and a second later the scarlet shockwave came with it. The second shockwave shot out the clone was flung into several more behind them as with a second of hesitation the other clones ran over the other clone crushing them in their rush.

    As they rushed towards me I quickly moved my mask up a bit, took a deep breath and fired a blast of wind blasting the clones across the room. They all quickly got up and ran at me again as even more clones joined them. I sighed as I feel like I¡¯m going to understand why mom hates cloning as a power after tonight. As soon as the hoard got within five feet of me I shot forward and slammed the mace into a clone with a revolver knocking them into the ground as the shockwave knocked away several others before they could even use their weapons.

    I jumped to the side as three clones shot at me as I took a breath and shot a stream of lighting causing them to violently shake and fall as the lighting coursed through them. Before I could even take a second to breath a CRACK! Shot through the air as I turned and saw a ship going towards my face. I bent backwards as the whip cracked above me and I was met with the sight of a shotgun, Is that a shotgun or are they just happy to see us?.

    I smacked the shotgun to the side as the pellets shot into two clones behind me knocking them to the ground. The clone who tried to shoot me was flung into several others by a scarlet shockwave as I immediately stood back up. I then immediately had to jump backwards as a stun baton was swung at me then I had to duck as a battle axe nearly made me a foot shorter.

    I kicked the clone with a battle axe in the gut as they were knocked back a couple feet as they held their stomach in pain. I could hear several bullets shoot through the air behind me as with a quick leap I jumped over the bullets as a clone had fired into the crowd with an assault rifle.

    I stored my mace as I fell back to the ground as I summoned several ball bearings into my hand and threw them at different clones as I fell to the ground. The little pieces of metal could knock these guys out or break their helmets but not only do I have to use less force due to my still recovering body but my kinetic gauntlets are currently being used by Sam so I can¡¯t charge them either. Welp time for something more old fashioned as I summoned a pistol and took aim as soon as I landed.

    Even though the ball bearings did no real damage to any of the clones but it did make them stumble and stagger and that is all you need in a fight with powers. I quickly spin around in a three hundred and sixty degree motion as I unload the clip. I knew the helmet was definitely the strongest part of the armor along with most of the plating being most likely being heavily resistant to small arms fire. So I aimed for the unarmored parts, specifically the joints.

    The bullets didn¡¯t fully pierce through as the body suit these clones war seemed to be made of some sort of enhanced kevlar but the bullets still did their work. The force of the bullets still crack and damage the joints causing a lot of them to drop their weapons or fall to the ground there from pain or losing some function in their limbs.

    A clown with a limp arm ran at me firing a revolver and every single shot and when they ran out of ammo they were already in front of me. My smack them over the head with my pistol then I stored the pistol, grab them by helmet and slam them into several more oncoming clones. I heard several beautiful cracks as they got slammed into the crowd. I summoned another mace into my empty hand as the clones quickly formed a circle around me.

    Finally deciding to be smart they charge at me as I quickly lift up my solutions to crowd up into the air and slammed my maces into the ground in front. The scarlet wave shot forward and crashed into the charging clones in front of me, shattering the plates on their armor and probably some bones as a path was cleared in front of me.

    I felt my feet become more solid and cold as they became steel and I leap forward as I threw several explosive ball bearings behind. BOOM, I heard the explosion as most of the clones were heavily burnt and the ones that weren''t were still on the ground and dazed. I took a deep breath as I unleashed a stream of sub zero winds as I turned all the clones in front of me into statues. I took a couple steps forward and slammed a mace into the ground as the shockwave shattered and turned all the ice statues into an icey dust.

    I took a second to rest as I felt my legs were already pretty strained from the constant movement, need to slow down a bit. I looked around and saw Crowd wasn¡¯t creating any more clones; he was just leaning against the wall tossing a knife into the air. So either he was just messing around with us and wanted to draw this out as long as possible or he had a set amount of clones he could create or his cloning is stamina related.

    Well for the time being I¡¯m not getting attacked by a horde of clones with a large variety of weapons so I decided to see if Sam or Ryan needed my help, they didn¡¯t. I realized something about Sam. She was an amazing fighter but normally that doesn¡¯t matter in the world of powers because even a non enhancement or mutant type still are physically stronger than a human but with technology you can breach that gap, once again amen.

    Sam was doing great against the horde of clones, she weaved through all of their attacks only getting a couple cuts or nicks here and there. Even when she couldn''t dogged she used the kinetic gauntlets to counter any attack that would have hit her. She was even better with her offense throwing out jabs when they charged at her. Hitting them with a heavy hook when she counters them or disoriented them to a strike to the chin. Even with her counters she used their own momentum against throwing them to the ground or even just throwing them over her shoulder. Hell with the added strength of the kinetic gauntlets she could even use nerve and pressure point strikes letting her get even more hits in.

    Ryan wasn¡¯t slacking off either, Every shot he made he didn¡¯t miss constantly punching holes into any clone that tried to just shoot Sam or sneak attack her. He even shot them in the hands making them drop their weapons making it even easier for her to take them down in a strike or two. They took care of their share of the horde pretty quickly as once again the crowd was left alone.

    ¡°That was easy¡± Ryan said as he studied every detail of chaos.

    ¡°I swear to god if you jinx us I will shove that gun up your ass¡± Sam wiped some blood off her hands as she glared at Ryan.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t¡± I said as I didn¡¯t want to clean that thing if she was serious.

    Crowd started doing the classic slow clapping ¡°well seems you guys are lot more confident then I thought¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡± Ryan was quickly punched in the shoulder by Sam

    ¡°But yeah that means I gotta take you seriously and kill yo¡± They immediately jumped out of the way as an orange bullet exploded the wall behind them.

    ¡°Yeah none of that monologue bullshit¡± Ryan said as he blew smoke from the barrel of chaos.

    I shrugged as me and Sam immediately ran towards Crowd not giving him a second to think. Sadly he was a quick thinker as several clones already started popping out of him. The first clone had a flame flower and as soon as they popped in there was already a wave of flames coming towards us. I fired a blast of water to counteract the flames as steam erupted between me and the clones as the flames and water clashed.

    I was already over powering the flame thrower but before I could do anything the clone''s head exploded as Ryan gave me a thumbs up. Sam had already rushed past me as soon as the flames were taken care of striking one of the just formed clones in the throat causing them to instinctively grab their throat. She then grabbed their weapon and pointed at the other just formed clones, it was a double barreled shotgun and she pulled the trigger.

    The clone head splattered against the wall as the rest of their brain mattered splattered against the ground as blood spurted from their half stump of a head. As soon as they fell to the ground Sam immediately turned the other clone around and snapped their neck.

    Crowd immediately started running away from us as clones started popping out of them as they tried to make distance between me and Sam. But once again the clones were taken out before any of them could do anything as Ryan fired another explosive shot into them.

    Crowd once again tried to start spawning more clones in a panic but sadly Me and Sam decided to make their day worse. I grabbed Sam by the arm and started quickly spinning around as when I let her go she launched towards Crowd. She tackled Crowd and immediately started bashing their head into the concrete as Crowd''s helmet started breaking pretty quickly.

    ¡°Should we stop her?¡± I asked Ryan.

    ¡°Nah, beating the shit out of people with powers makes her happier¡± Sam was repeatedly slamming her first into Crowds liver as I think I got a bit more scared of her, I¡¯m just more aroused.

    As Crowd was probably reminiscing on his life choices and how he got into this situation I saw him stab something into his arms and as he dropped said object I saw a needle file with droplets of a neon blue liquid, Giant''s blood. I immediately ran forward to grab Sam but several clones had already slammed into propelling her backs ever feet as a horde quickly formed from the amp up Crowd.

    The horde rushed towards Sam as I summoned a railgun into my hands and fired into the horde as Ryan quickly followed after. We ran forward as we kept turning the clones into bloody chunks. The flow never stopped as Crowd just kept popping out more and more, Luckily Sam had recovered and rolled over to us.

    ¡°Ok we need to hold these guys off until Mark and Martin get a device¡± Ryan said as he shot who was aiming a sniper rifle.

    ¡°That''s gonna be much easier said than done¡± Sam muttered as I saw her holding her gut.

    Well The solution to our problems is pretty simple take out crowd so I aimed the rail gun at him and fired. Nearly a dozen clones pop out of the crowd blocking the shot as a blood hole was put through the wall of duplicates. I sighed as I handed Sam the rail gun and summoned the maces back into my hands.

    ¡°Watch my back¡± I said before rushing towards Crowd. Range attacks won¡¯t since the crowd is constantly spewing clones but in melee they''re a lot easier to hit but I¡¯m gonna have to get through their hoard of clones but I think I do have an idea.

    As bulleted from behind me and in front of me rushed past me I turned my feet to steel as I leap towards the ceiling as I threw one of maces into the crowd and before it could hit could hit the ground I threw my other mace into it as they both hit each other then the ground. I dug my claws into the ceiling as the triple impact caused blithe maces to unleash a massive scarlet shock wave knocking most of the horde away hell even Sam and Ryan had to jump back.

    Crowd used a set of clones they spawned from their back to keep themselves up and not launch away. With an opening now I pushed myself off the ceiling towards Crowd as I stabbed him with my claws. Well I stabbed into a half form clone of Crowd. ¡°Idiot¡± Was the only word Crowd said as a flood of loans slammed into me.

    Several fists, a couple metal bats and a comically large hammer slammed into me as I got knocked back. The clone with the large hammer rushed at me as I pulled out the glass from earlier and smashed it over there head. It barely even affected them as they swung their hammer at me. I swipe my hand out as my steel claws easily cut through the hammer and the head of the clone as both fell to the ground. A fountain of blood sprayed onto me coating my mask and part of my hoodie in crimson as the rest of the horde rushed towards me.

    Sam and Ryan were already firing shots taking out a couple clones. There was still a shit ton of them but it¡¯s still something. I took a deep breath as everything slowed down further as I fully extended my still claws to half way up my forearm as it became a lighter gray and my claws became more like blades.

    I ran forward as I immediately swiped left my arm out at a set of clones with swords. My claws cut threw their swords like butter as with another swipe I gave them new airways as blood poured from their throats. Before they could even fall to the ground several more clones already replaced them. I sidestepped a stun baton as before I could attack the clone I felt something wrap around my neck. I looked down and saw a chain and turned to see several clones pulling on it trying to choke me out.

    I quickly ripped through the chain with one swipe of my claws but it was too late as a stun baton was already slammed into my gut. For a couple seconds I felt my body freeze up, I felt my muscles lock and my mind kinda go hazy but my instincts kicked in and intensively turned my stomach to steel as I regained full control over my body once again.

    I quickly twisted my hips and hit the clone that tried shocking me with a simple straight punch. When my left fist impacted with their chest I felt their chest cavity instantly cave in as the plates dented into their chest and blood filled their helmet as they were launched straight into a wall and nearly went through it.

    I spun around and saw the group that tried choking me running at me. Two of them were shot dead by Ryan and Sam but the last two got in my range. One tried firing an auto shotgun at me but with a breath it froze in their hands. I quickly grabbed them both by the throat and dug my claws into there throats before the other one could use their hatchet.

    I spun around and threw the bodies into the horde knocking down the horde as I heard several steps coming towards me. I went for a slice but the clones had already ducked and slammed two maces into my gut and I quickly realized those two maces were mine. I felt the scarlet shockwave crack several of my ribs as it threw into the same wall where I punched that stun baton clone into.

    I tried to get up but several clones started jumping onto me trying to hold me down as the rest of their friends started to dogpile me. I tried to shove them off as I was able to knock a couple off but without being able to use my full force I couldn¡¯t get all of them off as they quickly covered me.

    I fell to the ground as I could hear Sam and Ryan trying to shoot them off me. I felt the clones repeatedly hitting me trying to beat me to death as I took a deep breath and fired out a blast of pressurized water. The blast cut threw the clones like butter as I quickly turned my head, cutting threw most of the clones holding me down as I was able to pull away from them.

    I quickly spun around and slashed at the other clones, quickly turning them to mince meat. I took a deep breath as I stared at the claws and the blood covering them and looked around at the blood remains all around me. I could smell the sweet blood as I licked my claws and I wanted MORE. Immediately rushed forward at a fresh batch of blood bags as I leap forward. While in the air I grabbed the blood bag by the head and used the momentum and my strength to take the head with me as I landed. I took a nice bite from the head as I slammed it into a charging blood bag with a cleaver caving their skull in.

    A blood bag tried jumping on me again but this time I shot out my clawed hands, grabbed them by the shoulders and slammed them into the ground as their head got stuck in the ground. I grabbed them by the leg and ripped it off as I took a nice juicy bite out of the thigh ¡°tastes like chicken¡±. The other blood bags stopped in their place as I started to see the inner workings and see all the juicy parts.

    I dropped the leg, ¡°the leg, my favorite part of the chicken, sadly doesn¡¯t last long, well that doesn¡¯t matter when there are so many of you!¡±. The little chickens decided to be brave and run towards me and sadly brave little chickens were still chickens as I rushed threw them and tore them to shreds. I ripped ones arms off and used them to caved in two other chickens skulls in. I dug my hands into another one''s sides and ripped their ribs out, not my favorite part but still good. I licked the bones clean as I then launched them into the throats of several more chickens. Some got hit in the skull and got the easy way out while others got hit in the throat and got a taste of their own sweet blood.

    I looked towards the mother hen who kept spawning out all these delicious little chickens and ran towards them. The mother hen spawned an ocean of little chickens, ah there giving me a gift. I jumped into the crowd of little bite sized morsels and immediately dug my claws into them.

    They were even easier to carve through, with only a single swipe as I had already carved through several and when any of them tried to hit me in a blind spot I immediately spun around and struck at them. As I ripped through the endless sea of little chickens I felt my claws grow and become just as beautiful as the blood as the more sweet blood I got the stronger not only claws got but my body got. I became a butcher as I carved threw multiple little chickens over and over spilling more sweet blood painting the ground in a beautiful scarlet hew. I tore through chicken after chicken, ripping them shreds in what felt like an endless cycle of slaughter as I was constantly spinning around to slice into the next little chicken.

    Eventually the sea started to dry out as less and less chickens kept coming as I heard several steps behind me as I immediately spun around to sink my claws into the next juicy little chicken. As soon as I spun around I saw pink? wait Sam! I tried to stop my momentum but before I could I felt a vice grip around my wrist stopping the momentum of my arm completely. Sam was saved well except for a bit of claw cutting into the cheek of her mask causing some blood to drip to the ground. I turned to see who stopped me and saw Markus who looked like he just got back from jumping into a wood shredder. ¡°Chill out¡± was the only thing he said as he let go of my wrist.

    ¡°Jeez Mark what happened you look like you just fought a five foot 3 angry Canadian¡± Ryan asked as he ran over.

    ¡°The one with the axe was a lot more trouble than I thought but he has been dealt with also we got the device¡± Markus said as he pointed to Martin who held up his backpack.

    ¡°Fuck yeah now lets get out of here before Mr duplicate decides to mob rush us again¡± Ryan said as he pulled out a smoke grenade and threw into the middle of the room as Crowd tried send another horde.

    Smoke covered Crowds half of the room as I could hear coughing as I could see the silhouette of spawning a couple clones at a much slower rate then before guess it was a less potent version of giants blood. As we ran out of the smoke I noticed that the blood covering my body slowly turned to dust leaving me perfectly clean out of sight out of mind. Even my weird looking blood red spiky claws returned back to normal as it went from bloody red to a stainless steel out of sight out of mind.

    When I turned my hands back to normal I winced a bit as a couple bruises and cuts had already formed, guess that''s a consequence of going a bit crazy, again. I shook my head as we got to the window ¡°ok Sam get out the rop¡± Martin to speak but was immediately cut off as Markus grabbed him and Sam ¡°screw it¡± jumped out the window. Me and Ryan stood there for a couple seconds as he spoke up ¡°so I guess gotta get on your bac¡± I grabbed him and chucked him out the window as I hopped down myself quickly afterwards. As soon as I hit the ground I grabbed the groaning and ran to the van with everyone else. Sam unlocked the back as I threw Ryan in.

    ¡°You guys are back, is everything ok, did the guys you fight have any cool powers or costume? It sounds like it was pretty crazy in there, lord what happened to mark!¡± Blake spoke a word every second as Markus covered her mouth.

    ¡°Everything is fine but can you please heal me? I can feel my intestines slowly falling out¡± Mark said as Blake gave a little salute as the white glowed from her hands and envelop Markus completely healing him but leaving Sam a bit exhausted.

    ¡°So I guess you kids have fun made any new friends¡± Aiden asked as he raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Just shut up and drive¡± Sam said as she took off her mask and wiped some blood off her cheek.

    ¡°WAIT!!¡± Blake yelled ¡°I gotta do something reeeeal quick¡± She said as she quickly ran out of the van, pulled out a spray can and drew a large scarlet eye on the front of the Forge building and jumped back.

    We all stared at Blake with a questioning look ¡°what? It¡¯s so people know that the Scarlet Beholders were here and totally rocked!¡± She had the biggest smile on her face as no one said anything and Aiden started driving.

    I slowly tried to relax my sore body but I heard a loud thud. I sighed as I used my x-ray vision to see some guy in some bloody muscle shirt and his face and arms looked melted and he was holding an assault rifle.

    ¡°Hey Markus there''s some guy in bloody pajamas and a melted face holding an assault rifle, friend of yours?¡± Mark sighed.

    ¡°He¡¯s the big guy with an axe from earlier. I melted his face and slammed him into the ground¡± I nodded as I opened my mouth and fired a small bit of lighting into the roof.

    He stopped in place as I could see him get pretty burnt up as he slowly stumbled backwards near the back of the van. Markus hearing the footsteps got up and opened the back of the van, reached his arm out and grabbed the toxic avenger reject and pulled him off the roof. He quickly grabbed him by the neck, pulled back his fist and punched him right in the dome. His pop like a watermelon leaving the man a foot shorter as he tossed the body out the back of the van as he started wiping the blood off his face.

    ¡°Jesus Mark¡± Sam muttered as she stared at Mark with hints of respect?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had it in you¡± Ryan said nonchalantly.

    ¡°I swear if you got blood in my car I will beat your ass!¡± Aiden yelled.

    Blake was completely silent as her eyes widened. She was slightly shaking ¡°y-you ju-just killed h-him¡± She constantly was stuttering as she was completely in shock.

    ¡°Oh there not dead there regenerator and pretty good one at that just wanted to take them out for a bit¡± Everyone sighed as Sam tossed Markus a towel to wipe the blood off his face as I noticed something. Blakes eyes glowed a bright blue for only a couple seconds and returned to normal as I looked at the motionless headless body on the pavement slowly shrinking as we drove away. I''ll keep note of this.

    After a bit of driving and some horrible lip syncing on Ryan and Aiden¡¯s part we finally arrive at the hotel. Everyone quickly took off their gear as I simply just stored my mask and hoodie and switched into my black skull hoodie. Blake fell asleep so Sam decided and when I tried to wake her up Sam gave me a death stare so Markus decided to gently carry her to the hotel.

    I noticed Sam was slowly rubbing the cut I gave on her cheek ¡°hey I¡¯m sorry about¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡± I could feel the annoyance in her reply as she didn''t even look at me.

    I couldn''t blame her since I did kinda go crazy and nearly claw part of her face off so I just left her alone. I needed to find someone to talk to about these new powers of me and the group that related to this hell, maybe find out what the hell is a holder besides the obvious.

    SO I told everyone that they could celebrate without me and that I¡¯ll be heading home. I made sure to take back chaos and the kinetic gauntlets to the dismay of Ryan anf Sam. Everyone except Sam who was still mad at me and Blake who was asleep waved me off as I got into my truck and drove off. I started thinking about who I could talk to about what''s going on with me. Mary was a no go since she was just as clueless as me, Mom and dad are much more confident and even worked with Steel Drake but if they knew any of this they would have already told the rest of the vanguard.

    After a minute of thinking I finally thought of someone who could at least give me some good advice if not tell me what''s going on with me. I was gonna call her anyways, might as well call her for this. As I quickly stopped in front of my house, pulled out my phone and dialed my new favorite hero and auntie Nosferatu, let''s just hope she can help me.

 chapter 21 advice and confusion

    When I called Nosferatu she asked how Mary and I were doing and was I eating well and when I wanted the replacement to my old hoodie, I swear she has a sixth sense when it comes to her clothing being destroyed. After a bit of chit chat She eventually asked me why I was calling her.

    All I said was I had some problems going on involving my powers and she was the only person I could think of that might know what''s going on with me or can at least give some advice.

    She said she would be happy to help and asked for a meeting place for us to talk and the only place I could think of at the moment is that cafe where I first met Rachel.

    Now here I am sitting in the middle of a cafe sitting at a table by myself drinking some coffee. Well I wasn¡¯t really drinking the coffee, more of just staring at it. I wanted some coffee, I wasn¡¯t tired, I wasn¡¯t thirsty and I didn¡¯t get it for the taste but I still bought it.

    I guess I got it to feel normal, just someone waiting for a friend drinking a cup of coffee but I wasn¡¯t normal. I was a vigilante who was the child of two famous heroes who got more powers from some weird experiment made by some mysterious group who is working for a secret crime lord and who is currently waiting for a real life vampire and all of that is just the cliff notes.

    Well what did I expect when my hands turned to steel for the first time? Things were never gonna be normal so I might as well go with the flow and enjoy myself. So I downed the coffee, altering the taste to something much sweeter as I the paper cup and I bounced it off the ceiling into the trash. I lean back in my chair as I tap my bandaged hands together, I was still suffering the consequences from last night so I decided to bandage them up. Well at least my steel claws will get stronger, definitely gonna have to rename the power at some point maybe steel incarnation or something like that. I¡¯m probably gonna be sitting here for a bit since Nosferatu gets side tracked so easily. So yeah I¡¯m gonna be sitting here for a hot minute so I guess I¡¯ll buy a couple pastries while I wait.

    One hour, it has been an hour of me sitting in this cafe eating enough sugar to kill three hippos. Some people were giving me strange looks as I ate my sixth strawberry and downed it with a glass of lemonade . I hadn¡¯t had sugar in a bit so as soon as I took a bite of that strawberry goodness I just couldn¡¯t stop, this is what we call an addiction.

    I tossed the paper plate in the nearby nearly full trash can as I looked as I heard the little ding of someone walking into the cafe and walking over to my table ¡°Richard!¡±, Finally she¡¯s here. I turn my head to see good old Nosferatu in all of her vampiric nature. She seemed to be in her early twenties and was around five ten with a slender frame. She had long straight night black hair and blood red eyes and her skin was a snow white color along with long bat ears and her nose was kinda like a bat. She wore a dark black sun dress and wore a dark purple jacket over it along with some black knee high boots and a pair of square glasses.

    ¡°§ª§Ù§Ó§Ú§ß§Ú§ä§Ö, §é§ä§à §Ó§Ñ§Þ §á§â§Ú§ê§Ý§à§ã§î §Ø§Õ§Ñ§ä§î §ä§Ñ§Ü §Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à, §é§ä§à §ñ §Ó§Ó§ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Ó §ã§á§à§â §ã §ã§í§ß§à§Þ §Ú §Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ö§Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ú§Þ §Ó§í§Ò§à§â§à§Þ §à§ä§ß§à§ê§Ö§ß§Ú§Û¡± Now most people expect a literal vampire to be Romanian or something maybe even English but the thing is Nosferatu is from Russia.

    ¡°Oh sorry it¡¯s been a bit since we talked¡± she immediately switched to English. I don''t know why I could understand her just fine but I guess she just thinks it better.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine I understood you¡± I guess she doesn''t like her son taste in woman

    ¡°Ah ok¡± she took the seat across from me and after a couple seconds she reached across the table and gently grabbed my head and gave me a look.

    ¡°Hmmmmmm what happened to you? The bags under your eyes have disappeared, you have scars and you¡¯ve gotten a lot muscular and even an inch taller¡± I feel like this is a preview for when I see mom again.

    ¡°Well it involves the reason I called you here¡± Don¡¯t tell her anything.

    ¡°Well your favorite auntie is here to help you with any of your problems¡± She gave me a big smile showing off her gleaming fangs as she sat back in her seat.

    ¡°Hey can you do that geass thing so no one sees or hears what were doing¡±

    ¡°Ok one geass coming right up¡± She lifted one finger up as a small black and red sphere appeared on it and shot out surrounding us. A geass is one of many powers apparently it lets her mess with people''s minds she usually uses it to make sure people don¡¯t even know she''s there it gets much stronger if you look her in the eyes.

    ¡°Thanks, now¡± don¡¯t tell her anything.

    ¡°I guess it started a couple weeks ago¡± DON¡¯T TELL HER ANYTHING!.

    I smack myself in the head to clear my thoughts as Nosferatu gives me a worried look ¡°You ok?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah just clearing my head¡± she just smiled at me, yeah she¡¯s not buying it.

    ¡°Anyways it started when I was going out on a run and when I got to this old abandoned train track I always stop at and decided to run down it, push myself a little bit and well a train actually come down the tracks the one time and it look like it got attack and well crashed near me¡±

    ¡°Richard you §Ú§Õ§Ú§à§ä, Me, your mother and your father have all said that night is the time when criminals do most of their business and it¡¯s much better to run during the day¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like the daytime because I¡¯m more likely to meet people and I¡¯m more likely to end up in conversations and I don¡¯t like that¡± most of the time at least.

    ¡°§ä§í §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §Ø§Ö, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ä§Ó§à§Û §à§ä§Ö§è¡± she muttered as she waves at me to continue.

    ¡°Well as I was saying earlier the train crashed and I got caught up in it and spoiler I survived I think this all could be a hallucination my brain is making as I¡¯m bleeding out juries still up in the air¡± Nosferatu snorted at that last part.

    ¡°anyways as I trying to leave the remains of the train I found this silver cylinder that seemed to have have flown off the trains hen it crashed didn¡¯t have a scratch on it¡±

    ¡°And you touch¡±

    ¡°And I touched it¡±

    ¡°Good curiosity only took one of the cats lives¡± More like it added a life.

    ¡°Well you''re not far off as soon as I touch the thing it pops open and well I found Steel Drake in it¡± You shouldn''t have told her.

    ¡°What¡± Her eyes were now wide with shock, confusion, worry and a deep curiosity as her hands slightly dug into the table cracking it.

    ¡°She was hooked up to all these medicines and it seemed like most of her body was gone, she died and as soon as she died these guys in modified swat gear started shooting at me and I ran home¡± There was also that weird mental flash that I still don¡¯t understand.

    She sat there just staring at me as it didn''t take that long for the gears to turn in her head as she sighed. ¡°Ok I knew something was wrong when we found Steel Drake''s body in the injuries were not as precise as the ones Jack makes but I¡¯m still a bit puzzled on who is behind this and what they wanted with Steel Drake¡±.

    ¡°They experimented on her¡± they tortured her.

    ¡°Figured but what were they after? Maybe They were trying to somehow steal her power or at least replicate that metal that makes up her body¡±

    ¡°Something like that¡±

    Nosferatu gave me a questioning look ¡°there¡¯s more to this am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yep¡± and as soon as the word left my mouth I flexed my hand as it turned into a scaled claw.

    ¡°§ã§Ó§ñ§ä§à§Ö §Õ§Ö§â§î§Þ§à¡± was the only thing she said as she stared at my hand. The only emotion running through her eyes was just confusion. She gently grabbed my hand as if seeing if it was real or just a figment of her imagination as she dragged her sharp nails across it.

    ¡°Yeah apparently I got a weaker version of her power but I keep getting new powers just randomly like blood tracking and some sort of pocket space hell I even became a developer¡± Nosferatu eyes never left never left my hand as she kept studying.

    ¡°Well this is definitely a surprising development, §Ô§à§ã§á§à§Õ§Ú, §ï§ä§à §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä §ã§Ý§à§Ø§ß§à¡± she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

    ¡°But don¡¯t worry auntie Nos is here to help with all your problems¡± she gave me a warm smile filled with compassion that lifted a weight off my shoulders as I relaxed a bit.

    ¡°Thanks really¡± I found myself smiling a bit once again.

    ¡°So, got any theories on what the hell is happening?¡±

    She closed her eyes and held her chin as she looked deep in thought ¡°well I got a few but the biggest one I have is that the group that captured steel Drake is trying to make an artificial mythic power¡±.

    ¡°What?¡± Now it was my turn to be confused.

    ¡°Well mythic types are some of the strongest out of all the different evolved types but the thing is they are extremely rare and highly resistant to alpha types or alpha type like tech so if you could learn how to make them and give them to people well you could be the richest and most powerful person on the planet¡±

    ¡°But why a mythic power in specific it just feels like a bunch of different powers mix to together¡±

    ¡°Well you''re probably not wrong but that''s the thing most mythic powers seem like that¡±

    ¡°Explain¡±

    ¡°Look at me and all my powers, super speed and strength, blood manipulation, shapeshifting, control over my own gravity, being able to control and summon animals, messing with people''s minds and high speed regeneration. yes all these powers are strong but most of them fit in with each other just seem put in with each other but in reality they fit in with a theme¡± ok I see where this is going.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°The thing that all mythic types have in common is that their power follows the theme of the myth they are based on, no one knows why but all powers that a mythic has are all related to the myth they are based off. Best example, me with supernatural strength and speed, turning into a bat, summoning hordes of rats and wolves, hypnotizing people with glance, powered by blood and being seemingly immortal, all powers a vampire has but I¡¯m not a vampire I don¡¯t burn in sunlight, I love garlic and I can see my reflection just fine¡±.

    ¡°So you''re saying all these powers I¡¯m developing are following the theme of some myth?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, it¡¯s only a theory but it seems like the most likely but don¡¯t get ahead of yourself your not actually a mythic just similar to one¡±

    ¡°True¡±

    Nosferatu smiled ¡°well I am a mother and us mothers are always right¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± she replies by flicking me in the nose.

    ¡°Shhh your wrong¡±

    ¡°Ow, but I do need some advice on something¡±

    ¡°Oh sure, what is it?¡±

    ¡°Ok so I have this blood tracking power that lets me track people down by consuming their blood and it seems the blood I consume the stronger it gets. It found out last night when I was fighting a duplicator that it could also amp steel drakes power but also makes me go into a¡­¡­¡­a blood craze¡± as I spoke Nosferatu gaze became sharper and serious.

    ¡°It just comes out of nowhere with no warning and It just feels like someone rewired my brain to just crave blood and make me go berserk until I get my fill¡± It¡¯s fucking amazing!

    ¡°Well I uhm well¡± Nosferatu sighed ¡°ok when I was younger I had a similar problem, I get stronger the more blood I drink and when I started out. I only drank blood when I needed just a small power boost. Over time I fought tougher and tougher villains and I relied more and more on the boost fresh blood gave me until I relied, I craved it, I was addicted to it and I Nearly killed one of my friends over it but over time I had to force myself to learn how to force ignore the cravings even when I had to drink blood when to get a boost. I don¡¯t know if you can do that, this blood craze you go through might be related to the power. Maybe if you train with it enough you¡¯ll get a better handle over it¡±.

    ¡°Thanks but the only way to really train that power is to get fresh blood and I don¡¯t know if that duplicator will pop a couple clones or two to help me train¡±.

    ¡°Well I know a couple blood banks that can help with that just call me¡± ok I love this girl.

    ¡°Thanks I guess¡±.

    ¡°Yooouuuur welcome¡± She gave me a toothy smile.

    ¡°Heh so what now?¡±

    ¡°Well since we''re done with all the boring stuff let¡¯s talk about something more exciting but first I need something sweet¡± in a blur she already had several cookies, cakes and a donut as she started nibbling on a big cookie.

    ¡°That¡¯s stealing you know?¡±

    ¡°don¡¯t worry I put money in the register¡±

    ¡°Sure¡±

    ¡°So Richard got any plans after high school since when summer break ends it will be your final year¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡± I shrugged

    ¡°Bah of course you know, you''re eighteen you should have some idea of what you want to do¡± she got crumbs everywhere as she talked while eating.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t know really haven¡¯t put that much thought into it nothing really interest me¡±

    ¡°You are just like one of my old friends Aric. Both of you don¡¯t talk that much and most things rarely interest you, §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§Þ §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ, §é§ä§à §ï§ä§à §Ö§Õ§Ú§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö §ã§ç§à§Õ§ã§ä§Ó§à¡±

    Aric¡­¡­¡­¡­why does that name sound so familiar? Remember, I think that weird creature that set that hospital on fire Remember. I think that called me Aric, Why though? who is Aric and why did it call me that and why was it so pissed? REMEMBER.

    I felt everything quickly fade away as even Nosferatu''s voice becomes silent as once again like when I touched steel drake thousands of flashes of different locations pop into my vision. Unlike last time though I wasn¡¯t overloaded. Instead rapidly the flashes quickly shifted and became smaller and smaller until it focused on one particular scene but this scene it wasn¡¯t a flash no it felt more like a memory?

    It showed the view of what looked like a burning hospital as a burnt corpse laid in front of me as I quickly got up. I was wearing some sort of black plated armor as I started moving. I I I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I needed to get out of here Mason already slowed me down enough fuck up my helmet too so there goes my way to know if the others are coming, yay.

    I tried to take a step forward but I wince as I felt my side gush with blood, I need to take care of this first. With a thought I felt my side stop bleeding as I pat the crystal covering my side, well I got to finally add some red to the new armor. I quickly walked forward but stopped in front of Mason¡­¡­¡­¡­he should have just listened to me but he had to be stubborn and force my hand.

    I grabbed the body and through It through one of the windows of the burning hospital, he always wanted a Viking funeral wonder if this counts? I look at my handy work as the hospital went from white to an ashy black as the flames remodeled it. I definitely should have tested that plasma blade before using it but like always I¡¯ll just learn from my mistakes.

    ¡°Welp time to get going¡± and with that I feel an air rush around me as I land on some apartment building a couple hundred feet away from the hospital as I quickly look around the city block using x-ray vision to spot anyone coming. I see nothing and even the apartment I¡¯m above seems completely empty. I guess I can relax here until Jack arrives, I pass right through the floor into some sort of living room pretty empty. Well there¡¯s a couch that looks pretty comfy so that''s good enough.

    I plop onto the couch as for the first time in the last couple weeks, I finally let myself relax. A bear pops into my hand as I flick off the cap and take a nice cold sip. I was never a beer guy especially when I first became a hero but after everything that I¡¯ve been through I got a taste for it.

    ¡°look at the bullshit you¡¯ve gotten yourself into everyone knows who you really are and wants you dead, forced to leave your destroyed lab in your latest prototype armor and you had to kill your ex well cheers to still being alive¡± I clink the glass against the non-existent people around me as I down the cold beer.

    It shouldn''t take that long for Jack to find me unless they sent Stargazer to stop her. If that''s the case I¡¯ll have to head to Glacier town, Willson still owes me a couple favors. I wonder how Martin and Sarah are doing? I hope they don¡¯t mind if I come visit to see their kids, I still need to tell that poor kid the truth when I get a chance. As I relaxed into the couch and I tried to close my eyes at least for a second but before I could, a series of flashes of me being attacked appeared before me. I sigh as I sit up, throw the bear out the window and walk to the other side of the room.

    When I took my final step several scarlet spears stabbed through the couch as a bolt of lighting shot through one of the windows turning the once plush and soft couch to ash. The entrance to the room exploded open as several figures in black plated body suits and helmets with green visors ran in. They looked at where the couch was and quickly turned to me as I tapped my foot against the ground in anticipation. The first one to strike was the shortest one in the group as they started to charge at me and I turned a couple dials.

    They stopped only a couple feet away from me as they immediately started punching the air and weaving said air as if they were fighting someone. I appeared next to them as I Hit them in the side of the head with a right hook as a shockwave shattered their helmet and launched them out of the building. I turned to see there were around three people left, each one posed to attack.

    ¡°I¡¯m hurt really I thought they would think more highly of me well¡± I clasp my hands together ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to change their minds¡± I turned some more dials as two of the three figures started fighting the air and the third one floated up in the air as lighting sparked across there body ass thousands of little bolts of electricity shot out of their body and towards me. Ah Norton of course you came when will you ever learn.

    The lighting slowed to a halt as everything in the room became still as I walked under the floating electricity boop one of the other attackers and walked over to Norton. I grabbed him by the ankle as I felt the raging aura surrounding him was kinda a grayish blue will. It was as with a thought it disappeared and everything went back to normal speed as I slammed him into the ground. I quickly lifted up my arm as the armor retracted as I quickly started to shift my arm. Felt it grow as the muscles and bones multiplied until it was a mass of bone and muscles shaped into a large mace. Nortan formed an air shield the second the arm was formed as I slammed it into him. The shield shattered as the fist slammed into him launching him to the basement.

    As my arm returned back to its original state I cringed a bit as I fell the bone crack back into place, I will never get used to doing that. I turned and saw a metal fist about impact my face but the fist collided with my face and I barely moved an inch. ¡°Did you punch me yet?¡± quickly they threw another strike but I simply just stepped to the right as they missed by an inch.

    She started throwing a barrage of blows but I just kept stepping out of the way as I could see their attacks a mile away. She kept getting more frustrated as she kept missing and missing until I felt the wall hit against my back. Their arm turned to a platinum color as it grew in size and shined with a bright light as they went for a body shot.

    I shot my arm forward as it passed through her strike and I gently touched her on the shoulder and pushed her. They shot back through several walls and kept going for a bit ¡°now that''s what I call a home run but what do you think?¡±. I turned to my last attacker as a blast of scarlet rushed towards me, and people say small talk isn¡¯t dead.

    I lifted up a finger as the blast stopped mid air and dropped to the ground. As soon it dropped to the floor my attacker was already readying to sink their razor sharp claws into my chest. ¡°Oh no what am I going to do? Oh wait¡± With a flick of my wrist a pillar shot out of the ground and slammed into their jaw and propelled them into the ceiling ¡°that¡±.

    With another flick of my wrist the pillar turned to dust as they fell to the ground as I kneeled to the ground ¡°do you feel it? The lack of strength and not being able to fight hundred percent well that''s what happens when you get close to me¡±. I stood up and stepped back a couple feet ¡°now get up you''re already pathetic enough as it is¡±. They jumped onto their feet as several scarlet spears formed behind them as the spears started rotating at high speeds and catapulted towards me.

    With a snap of my finger each spear splattered against the ground staining it red as my attacker moved towards. They moved so slowly it was as if they were in slow motion, it was boring so I swiped my hands out in front of me. Ten wind blades clashed into my attacker, spraying blood across the ground around them as I walked over and grabbed them before they could fall as I dug my finger into one of the open wounds.

    ¡°You know I can see why Nosferatu became addicted to this, the taste is out of this world¡± I dragged my tongue across my bloodied fingers and let the sweet taste feel my mouth. Quickly the memories flashed before me as I saw everything over the last 24 hours and well I was disappointed.

    ¡°Wow really you guys? You''re really pulling the same shit you did with Roman again HA! Well sadly this time you''re lacking a lot Of fire power¡± and with a kick they quickly impact the wall near the end of the room ¡°and like always you underestimated me¡± they quickly got up as their injuries sealed themselves and they created a scarlet spear in their hands. I turned to see Norton floating up from the hole I punched him through as lightning started to spark near his heart and crackled around the room.

    Finally the two brawlers shot through the back into the building as everyone quickly surrounded me. The metal one fully became a platinum color and grew in size by a foot as they stepped towards me. ¡°Your a monster it''s that simple because at least Roman had an excuse, Where''s yours?¡±.

    ¡°Simple I don¡¯t need one to purge this world of filth and I at least don¡¯t kill children when they can¡¯t be controlled¡± I felt the air and rubble formed into my hands and become a pair gladius as they quickly become a deep white and burn with heat as several scarlet blades started to spin around me.

    ¡°And unlike Roman I still have something to lose¡± as I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I was left in shock as the vision slowly faded away. I had so many questions on what it meant and what this vision was. Was it a vision of the future, was it a vision of the past, was it just a hallucination or was it a memory? ¡°Richard?¡±. my mind raced as I tried to figure out what the hell I just saw and if it was related to everything that was happening to me. ¡°Richard¡± and was this Aric I saw in the vision though maybe it was ¡°RICHARD!¡±. Nosferatu finally knocked me out of my train of thought as she held me by the head, her face riddled with worry.

    ¡°Richard, are you okay? You just kinda blank out and started clawing into the table¡± she was right as I looked down I saw my steel hand had ripped a chunk out of the table.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine I just had thi¡± DON¡±T TELL HER.

    ¡°I just had a bad headache, it''s fine now¡± I quickly turned my hand back to normal as I did have a bit of a headache.

    ¡°It doesn''t seem like a headache, maybe we should take you to a hospital Richard¡± she grabbed my hand as I felt myself flinch and shoot back to get out of her grip as I felt my hand turn to steel for a couple seconds.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I gotta go¡± Nosferatu had a shocked look on her face as I sat up and quickly walked towards the exit.

    ¡°Wait Richar¡± I left the cafe before she could finish speaking and I quickly started running.

    I ran for a couple minutes as eventually I climbed onto a building and ran across the rooftops. For an hour straight I ran as I got my blood pumping and just let the wind rush past me. I ran across the entirety of the middle district as I simply didn¡¯t think and just ran letting the adrenaline take me.

    I was now sitting on top of a water tower. I wasn¡¯t tired but my mind was at least clear. I went to the cafe to talk with Nosferatu to get some advice and maybe figure out some answers but I ended up even more confused than before. I looked up at the clouds trying to make out different shapes and I wondered if I ever did this when I was a kid maybe I did with Mary once or was it with Mom and Dad, no maybe it was with.

    I heard several footsteps slowly approaching the water tower. I swear to god if I get attacked again when I¡¯m trying to relax and think I¡¯m going to kill someone, now I hope we get attacked. I stood up and turned around ready to get attacked but what I saw just made me confused. There stood a kid around my age with a nice athletic build, strong jawline and just skating being six foot. He had a light tan with silver white made into a buzzcut and whitish blue eyes. Finally he wore a blue shirt with a man with a sun for a head firing two guns firing mint stars with the words shooting stars just below it.

    Just behind him was someone weaning a green hazmat suit and was a couple inches taller than him with a wiry build and was pretty thin. Wait a minute it''s Spandex and Hazmat, great it¡¯s dumb and dumber. Another thing is they probably wouldn¡¯t just walk up to any random person so most likely they know who I am, so I leap down and walk towards spandex.

    ¡°Explain what you want from me and how you found me and it better be good since you contacted me in my civilian identity¡±

    ¡°I told you this was a dumb idea¡± Hazmat said as they leaned against a wall.

    ¡°Shut up, this is are only option¡± Spandex replied.

    ¡°Just start talking¡± Hazmat said as Spandex grumbled a bit as he turned back to me.

    ¡°First it wasn¡¯t that hard to find you because you have a unique energy signature even for a evolved¡± figured most energy manipulators have some sort of energy sense guess his works on people.

    ¡°The hard part was trying to catch up to you¡±

    ¡°Do you have to sprint faster than a car? Seriously, it¡¯s ridiculous¡± Hazmat complained.

    ¡°Ok that still doesn''t explain why you two are here¡±.

    ¡°Well after you got us arrested¡± guess the police actually were coming huh.

    ¡°for no reason in my case¡± Hazmat muttered.

    ¡°Shut up you tried melting me with acid¡±.

    ¡°You tried hitting with LASERS!¡±.

    ¡°Because I thought you were a villain¡±.

    ¡°That''s bullshit and you know it¡±.

    ¡°Please stop arguing and continue or I will throw one of you off this building¡± it was extremely tempting.

    ¡°Jeez, but yeah we got arrested and when we got to the police station the place was attacked by a group of villains and when we tried to escape they thought we were villains and took us with them¡±.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t feel nice to be judged by your outfit¡± Hazmat commented.

    ¡°Quiet, anyways after a couple hours we tried to leave these guys but when we tried to leave they caught us and ask why we were leaving and when we said we weren¡¯t villains and they weren¡¯t happy¡±

    ¡°Figured¡±

    ¡°But instead of killing us they knocked us out and took out phones and found out everything about us, our identities, our friends and families everything they needed to make sure we would work with them¡± he had a much more serious expression in his eyes as he bald his hands so tightly that I thought they would start bleeding.

    ¡°And they said if we told anyone they kill our families and even if we told the police or heroes no one would believe us since they thought we broke out of jail and killed several guards your are only choice since your a vigilante and a pretty strong one at that so please help us¡±

    I wanted to say no, I already had enough things going on and these guys got themselves into this mess and they could get themselves out of it but I would be a hypocrite if I said no. I was going through a very similar situation with Whale shark and I even threatened to kill someone''s sister if they told anyone about what was going on to keep Mary safe so I¡¯m no better then them and I did get them arrested so it is technically my fault.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help¡±.

 chapter 22 other peoples problems

    Pain flooded through my body as it felt like every nerve in my body was on fire. The bones in my arms were shattered and were barely piecing themselves together, tearing the muscles in my arms as the bone shards ripped away from them in an attempt to reform. A strong copper taste filled my mouth as I quickly spit out the mouthful of blood. I quickly spat out the blood at the wall beside me as several bloody molars pierced the concrete wall.

    I slowly tried to stand up but a sickening CRACK from my right knee said otherwise as the sound reverbarated around the room. With a quick glance with my x-ray vision I saw the bones on my right knee were completely shattered and were barely starting to piece themselves back together. I laid there for a second as I took a long deep breath as my ribs had finally healed so I could breath without coughing up blood. I glance around the area around me but was kinda hard to get details especially when everything was painted red by the blood felling my eyes.

    I then looked at the entrance that I created as the wind howled outside and the rain pelted the ground making a noise similar to gunfire. It wouldn''t be long until she gets here, probably making sure that multi eyed prick is still breathing. So I had a couple more seconds before I would be forced to get back to fighting for my life.

    I¡¯m starting to regret helping those two dumbasses with their problems just a bit. It has really just been one thing after another well what did I expect that¡¯s been my life so far. I have nearly died so many times in this past month, what''s a few more? But this time it really does seem like I¡¯ll be buried in this stadium huh wouldn¡¯t that be a interesting place to have a grave in.

    There was a large crash sending dust and rain across the room, Welp it¡¯s been fun. I shakingly stood to my feet as my body screamed at me to just stay down and give up but sadly I¡¯m too stubborn for that. She slowly walked through the dust dragging her hammer behind her causing sparks across the ground as her copper colored gauntlets gripped the hammer with enough force to break anything else.

    Her eyes were glossed over like empty mirrors and they had no pupils, just bright blue irises kinda reminded me of the commander. She was covered in blood, some mine, some hers but unlike me her healing had a higher limit.

    She slowly lifted up her hammer holding over her shoulder as The lighting struck behind her lighting her up. I slowly lifted up my arms caked in blood as I felt my body become more dense as my boat stop constantly shaking. I felt my arms turn to steel as I clench my fists once again, that¡¯s more like it.  Lighting started to spark off her hammer as with a burst of air she rushed towards me again. ok Mary Let¡¯s try this one last time, we are so fucking dead.

    <h2>Several days ago</h2>

    I leaned in my seat as I watched in curiosity and in slight horror at the scene that unfolded in front of me. Leo and Mia aka Spandex and Hazmat sat in front of me, they quickly told me their names after I agreed to help them. After a bit I decided to take them to a diner I went to whenever I needed a quiet place to think and get some good food.

    While Mia only ordered a soda since it''s the only thing she could get through her mask while Leo was a whole nother story. I swear he got one of everything and was already on his eighth plate as he shelved more food down his gullet. For someone so skinny he eats enough to feed three people, maybe he¡¯s like one of those coal powered trains and needs constant fuel. ¡°You gonna finish that?¡± Leo said as she stared at my burger as I shook my head suddenly no longer hungry as he grabbed it and ate it in two bites, both me and Mia were truly disturbed. ¡°What?¡± Leo asked us as me and Mia said nothing as I simply just passed him some napkins to clean the mess he made.

    ¡°Ok now that I have had my appetite ruined, what exactly is the plan here?¡± Mia questioned.

    ¡°Yeah, got any ideas on how to help Us¡± Leo said as he finally wiped his face clean.

    ¡°Well for one I need all the information you got on this group¡± Leo stared at Mia as she sighed.

    ¡°Well I already knew some stuff about them¡±.

    ¡°Why?¡± Leo asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

    ¡°I like researching the history of different evolved heroes and villains included¡± She crossed her arms.

    ¡°Now the group is called the underground and they are mostly made up of evolved specificity mutants or ones with more lethal powers¡±

    ¡°Like you¡± Leo said as Mia just froze.

    ¡°Sorry¡±

    ¡°Anyways, as I was saying, the underground mostly take in evolved and the reason is pretty simple. Their leader thinks that evolved are superior to humans¡± Oh that''s an original concept.

    ¡°Oh that''s an original concept¡± Leo repeated what I was thinking.

    ¡°Well yeah they probably take in evolved that have been wrong by human society for either their appearance or power so they don¡¯t question any orders there given, you know?¡± Me and Leo nodded.

    ¡°But when I was digging into their history I found they originally came from Lazarus city the same city that Forge, the daughters of Salam and the Carnival¡± Me and Leo nodded as I didn¡¯t know any of those people and most likely Leo didn¡¯t know either.

    ¡°Ok what does this have to do with stopping these guys from killing our loved ones if we don¡¯t do what they say?¡± He has a point.

    ¡°ok for one I¡¯m getting to that and for two I haven¡¯t been able to talk to anyone about this stuff¡±.

    ¡°Oh so you''re a lonely nerd gotcha¡± I stared at Leo, He¡¯s probably not wrong.

    ¡°Ok fuck you but as I was saying the underground was one of the four big gangs in Lazarus actually it was one of the only gangs in Lazarus. Each one had there own gimmick, Forge with their tech, The daughters of Salam with their quote on quote magic, the carnival with all the evolved with strong powers they had and that weird pocket dimension tent thing but you wanna know what the underground had?¡± She went silent for nearly a minute.

    ¡°Just say it¡±

    ¡°Fine, they were pretty much everywhere. There was at least a couple members in every city so if you pissed them off you couldn¡¯t really escape them and their leader at the time had contacts with so many people that the group didn¡¯t need to worry about resources¡±

    ¡°So were fuck¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me, So there they pretty stacked but eventually when the gangs finally decided they were done sharing the city there was one last fight between all the gangs there was loses on all sides but from what I was able to dig up the underground took it the hardest loosest there leader and most of their members and were forced out of Lazarus by the vanguard who stationed there for a couple years¡± Huh I did here mom mentioned that one dinner night.

    ¡°So along with all the other gangs The underground left Lazarus and went one to the other nearby cities and they chose Steel Drake and hid there until eventually they got a new leader and started making Moves again¡±

    Leo raised a hand ¡°ok what does that do for us?¡±

    ¡°Simple we just need get our families and us out of the city and were scott free since they don¡¯t have the resources or contacts to follow us out of the city and with our friend here¡± she points at me ¡°will have all the protection we need until we get out of this place¡±

    ¡°Well it¡¯s better than anything I can think so let¡¯s do it¡± Leo said as I could see some hope bloom in his eyes.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°If it works it works¡± I give a thumbs up.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go already¡± Leo said as he hopped out of his seat and started walking to the exit.

    ¡°My family lives pretty close to this diner so let''s get them first and if we need to we can split up¡± Mia said as she quickly followed after Leo.

    Before I got up I realized something, neither of them left money for the bill. Of course what did I expect from these guys? Well I got a ton of money so I guess I can¡¯t complain. I quickly throw some money on the table and follow the two idiots outside.

    I didn''t think I would be playing bodyguard today but like always I just gotta go with the punches, Or they will knock you out.  As I got outside I already saw Mia trying to unlock her car. It was a black Volkswagen and she was messing around with a ring of keys while Leo was tapping his foot in impatience.

    I walked over as a couple people bumped into me in the crowd as more and more people started coming down the sidewalk. The two seemed like they were about to argue again but I noticed something in the corner of my eye. There was someone in a heavy buttoned up trench coat and a full face black Balaclava and a pair of sunglasses. They were pulling their arm back as they wore a pair of fingerless gloves as four out of their five fingers were glowing a pitch black as I realized they were going for a punch.

    I instantly ran towards Mia and Leo knocking several people away as I rushed through the crowd as I grabbed them both and I tried to run out of the area well, I definitely tried. BOOM!,  I felt and heard the sound barrier break as I felt everything slow as I felt myself slowly leave the ground. The Volkswagen was hit by most of the shockwave ripping it to shreds but it still didn¡¯t stop us from getting launched into the diner. I rushed through the air as I saw Leo screaming in slow motion as Mia slammed into him knocking them further back. The rest of the crowd was knocked into different directions as I quickly slammed into one of the diners windows shattering it.

    My back was littered in cuts as the glass shredded my back and I quickly slammed into the ground pushing the shard deeper into my back as I slid against the ground. Of course someone was watching them . . . welp time to get work.

    I sat up as I saw the once lively diner was now destroyed, tables destroyed or knocked over the entrance was a lot larger as glass and debris littered the ground. I sat up as I felt blood ooze from my pack painting the ground red. I felt the glass slowly dislodged from my back as I felt the cuts slowly knitting themselves together, more scars I¡¯m gonna have to explain to mom and dad, hey ladies love the scars.

    When I fully stood up I could hear groaning behind me as I could see Leo and Mia were laying on top of each other in the kitchen still dazed. I heard glass shatter as the man from the trench coat was walking through the exit whistling. I sighed as I summoned my hoodie, plated mask and kinetic gauntlets onto myself as I pulled up my hood covering my face, better to keep my secret identity well secret.

    The figure stared at me as they slowly took off their tech coat and threw it to the side. Underneath they were wearing a short sleeved camo shirt and a pair of baggy camo pants and a pair of climbing boots with spikes on the souls and elbow and knee pads along with a bullet proof vest. They had a belt that had a knife, a pistol and a tomahawk holstered in it, tomahawk huh that''s a first. They quickly took off their black Balaclava and sun glasses as they had black eyes with orange irises, no pupils. They also had brown hair with orange streaks and their most distinctive feature was they had no lips showing their pearly whites to the rest of the world. They stood only three inches shorter than me and were very muscular, a sign of years of physical training.

    ¡°Well well well ain¡¯t today''s my lucky day?¡±

    ¡°Well that''s a matter of perspective since I think it''s definitely the opposite¡± I started walking forward as I turned on the kinetic gauntlets painting me in a purple hue.

    ¡°Heh I like you hope you put up a good fight if you do good enough I¡¯ll just knock you out and drag you to the boss with the other two¡±

    ¡°So before we start this, why exactly did you attack us?¡±

    ¡°Oh that''s a pretty simple answer and I got a pretty simple reply¡± he pulled out his tomahawk.

    ¡°And that is?¡± I gripped my fists.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t like you guys¡± he pulled his arm back as one of his fingers glowed black and he launched the tomahawk at me, well he¡¯s definitely honest but definitely has a very basic personality I swear I fought this type of person before.

    I quickly turned my head to the right dodging the weapon as well, what am I gonna call him? Hmm I guess dead hands seem to fit whatever his power is and he has no lips. As I finished my thought he was in front of me trying to land a haymaker the attack was very sluggish as I simply sidestepped him and kicked him to the ground. When he hit the ground he immediately rolled back on to his feet as his pointer fingers were both glowing black.

    When he got in close again he went for several jabs each one moving just a bit quicker but still pretty slow as I weaved through each strike. As I was about to dodge another jab at the last second he changed the direction of the punch as he tried to hit me with a hook right for the jaw. Once again he was just too slow as I turned, lifted up my leg and went for a kick.

    He immediately put his guard up but my instincts kicked in and I quickly turned my body to where my leg was higher in the air and slammed my ankle into the side of his neck, a Brazilian kick a classic.  I held back a large chunk of my strength, I wanted to interrogate this guy after I beat his ass as the kick knocked him several feet to the right.

    On instinct he held his neck as I ran forward and hit him three precise jabs hitting him in the solar plexus, jugular and his stomach at explosive speeds. As each strike landed he was knocked further back as I finished the barrage of strikes by grabbing the cuff of his shirt pulled him in close as I switched my grip as my grip just under his right arm near the armpit and used my arm to grab by the neck. I lifted him up while simultaneously turning as I spun around and used the momentum to slam him into the ground in one fluid motion. I learned that trick by watching what Sam did to those clones last night, it''s a lot more sloppier than hers.

    Death hand launched into the air and quickly landed on his feet as three out of his fingers on each hand were glowing pitch black now. ¡°Your good but you''re definitely lacking a lot of strength so ether your holding back or your not at your full capabilities my best guess it¡¯s both¡± hammer on the fucking nail. He grinned as I took a deep breath and fired a blast of compressed air but instead of dodging he pulled back his arm and punched the air?

    When his fist met the blast of air a black shockwave shot out and dispersed it as he was already going for another punch. I activated my kinetic shields and bashed away the blast as I ran forward turning my feet to steel as I leap towards him cracking the wood below me. He went for another punch but sadly for him I didn¡¯t let that happen as I shot out a blast of frozen air at his arm stopping his momentum as I slammed my knee into his face painting my knee red as I felt his nose flattened.

    When I dropped to the ground he was already throwing a punch with his other hand. I dodged once again but his punch was a lot quicker as I hit him in the jaw with a quick jab. I saw several teeth leave his mouth as I grabbed him by the head and pulled him into a headbutt breaking his nose even more. He slowly fell back as I sighed and I went to go get the two idiots but I heard a step and a crack.

    I immediately turned around and saw death hands throwing another punch, this one much faster than before. He was going for my liver so I used my right arm to block but before I could turn on the kinetic shield four his fingers on his right hand turned black and his punch quadrupled in speed.

    His fist slammed into my right arm as I felt a crack and I was launched several feet away. I rolled across the ground as I felt the bones in my right arm were definitely cracked. Great it wasn''t like that arm was already damaged enough but at least I could tell it was healing. I tried to get up but death hands was already rushing to hit me again but was forced to jump to the side as a blast of energy and blast acid nearly hit him.

    ¡°You ok!?¡± I heard Leo say.

    ¡°I think it was a dumb idea to fight the guy who destroyed a car and launch all of us with a single punch by yourself¡± And there''s Mia.

    ¡°Thanks for the save¡± I quickly stood up with the help of the two.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Leo said with a smile.

    ¡°We need you alive,¡± Mia said with a very tired voice.

    ¡°Well I need you two to stay back your both strong no doubt but your powers are kinda lethal and I need this guy alive¡±

    ¡°Aw but I wanna hel¡± Before Leo could finish Mia grabbed him by the mouth and dragged him back into the kitchen.

    I took a deep breath as I quickly turned and slammed my first into the charging Death hands. I hit him right in the liver as I then hit him with a calf kick causing him to yell in pain. I then a roundhouse kick him into a wall near the exit as I ran forward and slammed fist over and over again into his gut. He tried to attack me but I quickly sprayed water into his eyes as I hit him with a heavy uppercut right in the chin knocking him out cold. I stood there as he slowly slid against the wall as I took a deep breath.

    Lord he was annoying but it was finally over you jinxed it. I turned to see a cheering Leo and Mia cross her arms as I walked towards them holding my right arm. As I got closer to them I saw Leo''s expression quickly change as expression went from joy to fear. I turned around and saw Death hands already going for a punch this time with his frozen arm as I could see all five of fingers were glowing Vanta black. Wait a minute I get it now, five finger death punch neat.

    I quickly put my arms up activating the kinetic shields as his fist impacted slammed against me. It felt like my arms were about to snap as I felt the wind pressure shoot around the room punch through everything it hit as it tried to make a hole right through my arms. I turned my forearms to steel as I felt the kinetic gauntlets start to spark and then glow brighter than they ever did before as the cores exploded knocking both me and death hands back.

    I slid across the ground as I could see the gauntlets were no longer shining and heavily damaged. I quickly sent them to my inventory as I saw Death hands reaching for his belt. I grit my teeth as I felt my feet turn to steel as I blurred towards him in the blink of an eye. I grabbed his belt and sent it to my inventory as he grabbed nothing but air. I felt the strain on my legs as death hands went for a punch but I stepped forward making him miss as I grabbed him by his arm and yanked with all my might. I heard a pop as I felt his arm dislocate but I heard a tear next as blood sprayed across the ground now reamed to death hand, huh forgot my kinetic gauntlets were destroyed my bad.

    ¡°What the fuck!¡± Leo said as he ran next to me.

    ¡°He¡¯s not dead¡±

    ¡°You still ripped his fucking arm off!¡± Mia replied as I quickly took a deep breath and froze both the stump where his arm used to be and the end of that said arm.

    ¡°See now he won¡¯t bleed out and at a hospital they can reattach his arm, happy?¡±

    ¡°no/yes¡± Leo and Mia said as they both stared at each other.

    ¡°Now lets get the fuck out of here before the police arrive¡± and as soon as I said that I heard sirens

    ¡°Fuck¡± we all said in unison, speak of the devil and he shall come.

    I saw several police cars park in front of the place as Leo in a panic grabbed Death Hands balaclava and put it on even though he was the only one in full civilian clothing, guess his mother dropped him when she first saw him. Police officers quickly filled the room, each one wearing plated armor with the police symbol on front and what looked like a modified swat helmet. Each one held what looked like a rifle but instead of a barrel it kinda looked like a tesla coil. Yeah ever since powers became a thing the police kinda got an upgrade forgot about that.

    ¡°Put your hands behind your back and get on the ground!¡± the one in front yelled, guess they think we caused it.

    ¡°Hey sure this all a big misunderstanding I¡¯m actually a her¡±

    ¡°Wait minute I think recognize the big guy¡± what

    ¡°Yeah he was the one that froze the road when he and his friends stole from a museum and beat a hero to a pulp¡± Leo and Mia slowly turned to me as all the police officers pointed their weapons at me. I sighed as I realized something, I think I just have really really bad luck, you''re just now releasing that?.

 chapter 23 resisting arrest

    The tension in the air was pretty high as I was the center of attention as all police officers looked ready to fire at any second. Leo looked shocked and Mia well I couldn¡¯t see her face but I think she was shocked too.

    ¡°I thought you were a hero?¡± Leo took a step back as I could see the worry and hints of distrust in his eyes.

    ¡°I am, it''s just things are a lot more complicated than you think¡±.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain anything¡± Mia spoke up as I could see a couple police police officers getting itchy trigger fingers.

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later after we deal with this¡± and that was gonna be a hassle since If I tell the truth Whale Shark might kill these two, well future me can deal with that, let''s focus on the present, yeah let¡¯s roast some pigs.

    ¡°I will only repeat one more time to get on the ground or we will use force!¡± the police officer in the front of the group shouted at us as I took a deep breath.

    I felt air feel my lungs as I quickly compressed it down and at the same time I turned the dial on my mask. Before any of the police officers could fire their weapons a wide blast of compressed air fired from my mouth and knocked them onto their asses, should have used fire. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± I said as I grabbed Leo and Mia dragging them quickly past the groaning Police.

    They were quickly recovering and weren¡¯t gonna be happy with us when they fully got up so I immediately went for one of their vehicles. Well I tried too as when we left the building I almost ran into a police officer who barely stopped in front of me. With a quick glance I could see there was another group outside and a couple armored vans. I turned to the short police officer as they looked behind me at their slowly recovering friends.

    Leo quickly stepped in front of me ¡°Hey sir this is just one big misunderstanding if you give us a second to explain we can put this all under the r¡± The short police officer lifted up there weapon and shot Leo. Leo started spasming as the electricity flowed through him as he fell back with a thud as he hit the ground.

    Not even a second later the police officer aimed at me as their buddies behind mimicked the action as they all fired. I felt everything slow down as I quickly grabbed Mia and tossed her into the air as I felt my hands shift into steel. I turned to see the bolts of electricity flying towards me as I quickly swiped my claws forward. The electricity dispersed as soon as I touched it and without wasting another second I started swiping away any bolt of electricity that would hit me.

    Normally I would just run out of the way but I still haven''t fully recovered yet from when I fought the commander and the fight with death hand didn¡¯t help either. As I ended that train of thought and quickly knocked away the last bolt. Afterwards I held up my arms as Mia fell into them a scream. She looked like she was about to punch me but I quickly put her onto her feet as I could hear Leo getting up with a groan.

    I heard several steps behind us as officers in the Diner finally got up off their asses and now we were completely surrounded, this is just gonna keep getting worse I just know it. I definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to block all the bolts this time not only because we''re surrounded but they know I can block the bolts so they¡¯ll just keep firing. Well the simplest solution is to dig your claws and teeth into their soft flesh and let that sweet life nectar empower you. Just imagine it, all the different blood types, they would make you so much stronger just imagine it, faster than a bullet, strong enough to destroy a truck with a single punch and you would just feel so g NO!.

    I smack the sides of my head with my fists to push away the thoughts, I¡¯m a hero not a great one but still a hero and these people are just doing their jobs they''re not monsters. Leo and Mia were giving strange looks at what looked like an attempt to knock myself out. I took one more deep breath as everything quickly slowed down around me. I felt my heart beat faster as the adrenaline poured through my veins as I felt more energetic, show time.

    I turned my perception and reaction time to their new limits as everything seemed to freeze as if time had stopped. I quickly summoned a mace in each hand as I threw them up in the air as I could already see the police sluggishly lifting up their weapons to fire. When the maces were high enough in the air I summoned two ball bearings into my hand.

    I launched the ball bearings into the crowd of police surrounding us as the metal balls bashed into the helmets of two police officers cracking it. The balls quickly bounced into the air glowing with a yellow aura as they smashed into each mace. The scarlet shockwaves were already rippling through the air as I quickly grabbed Mia and Leo and dropped all three of us to the as the force of the ball bearings knowed the two maces into each other.

    I felt everything return to normal speed as the surrounding area was painted a deep scarlet red. It didn¡¯t sound like a bomb, no more like when you drop a metal pipe onto a metal floor, a constant ring sound vibrating through the air. Quickly after the sound came I felt a blast of wind slam into my back pushing me, Leo and Mia further into the ground.

    Luckily we only had to endure it for a couple seconds as the scarlet light was quickly replaced by the light of the sun, PRAISE IT. ¡°Is it over please tell it¡¯s over?¡± I heard Leo whine. ¡°Well I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m about to get crushed by the wrath of the kool-aid man so yeah I think it''s over¡± Mia answered him in a mocking tone as we all quickly stood up.

    ¡°Screw you, that was terrifying, felt like I had a boulder on me¡± Leo turned to me ¡°and screw you for not warning us¡±. ¡°Pussy¡± Mia muttered under her breath ¡°ok now I¡¯m kicking your ass¡± Leo hands and eyes glowed with the blue energy as Mia hands started to turn black.

    I felt my brow twitch as I bonk both of them on the head getting a ¡°Ow/fuck!¡± from them both. ¡°Enough of that we already have enough shit to deal with and you too fighting isn¡¯t helping you two can rip each other''s throats out when we don¡¯t have the police or a crime gang on our asses understood?¡±. Without a word they both nod as I turn and walk over to one of the unconscious police officers. I snatch one of their shock rifles and look it over, studying every detail, I don¡¯t understand the hype behind high tech weaponry because a good old sniper rifle and knife can¡¯t be hacked or made useless by an emp.

    I used my electrical sense to spot any hidden mechanisms and I saw currents running in four particular areas. One went through the barrel and a small box near it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out what those did but the other two were more interesting. There was small but complex current running near the back end of the gun, tracking device most likely. The other current ran through the handle and trigger of the gun, definitely a fingerprint scanner pretty useful when you get your gun snatched by a wannabe criminal.

    I used my x-ray vision and technical knowledge as a developer to quickly remove the tracking device and print scanner and store the weapon in my inventory. I went from each officer quickly snatching any gear on them and removing the tracking devices on anything they probably couldn''t track in my inventory but I will eventually take out so better be safe than sorry. I also found a couple grenades, smoke, flash, emp and even containment foam ones. I also found a vibro-knife and some high tech cuffs, this is definitely the making of a hoarder, good. I wanted to take their armor and helmets. I heard the armor was pretty tough and the helmets had some seriously good gear but there¡¯s a reason police wear masks never knowing when a villain develops a vendetta against you.

    ¡°Are you robbing them?¡± I turned to Leo to see him glaring at me ¡°yes, yes I am¡±. ¡°And here I was thinking you were an actual hero¡± I sighed ¡°they already think we destroyed the diner and I just assaulted them even If I didn¡¯t do that much damage well I think I didn¡¯t¡±.

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    ¡°He¡¯s not wrong¡± Mia shrugged as she walked over to one of the armored vans ¡°so what''s one more?¡± she patted the side of the van as I got the message. I walked over as I could see Leo dragged his hands across face and I could feel the smugness coming off Mia. She put her hand near the handle of the door as her gloved hand quickly became covered in that black sludge as the handle of the door quickly melted off.

    I gently pulled the door open and as soon as it was opened I saw a bright flash and I felt my body immediately lock up. I felt every muscle in my body was contracting and it was getting hard..to...think. I then felt everything quickly return to normal as I blinked a couple times and saw Leo next to me, his hands glowing that bright blue.

    ¡°You ok?¡± Leo asked with a bit of worry mixed in with annoyance as I turned to see a police officer laying a couple feet away from the armored van on top of a bent car door and had a cracked chest plate. ¡°I¡¯ll live¡± was my only reply, Note to self use x-ray and thermal sense whenever I just got done with a fight it might not be fully over. I made sure there was no more surprise before we all got in the van ¡°hey do we have the key for this thing¡± I answered Leo''s question by ripping open the glove department pulled out some wires and quickly hotwired, his first case of grand theft auto I¡¯m so proud.

    ¡°Ok do you know how to even dri¡± before Leo could even finish speaking we were already driving away from the destroyed diner ¡°why did I even ask?¡±. The car ride was pretty silent, the only one speaking was Mia who kept giving me directions to where her family lived. Leo was dead silent, I could tell he was anxious he was constantly shaking his thigh and was staring at this odd little necklace in his hands. It was this silver infinity sign attached to a onyx black string but the infinity sign was square shaped. He was gently holding it and just blankly staring at it, it was actually a bit unnerving, maybe the wannabe boy scout has more issues than we thought.

    I turned my eyes away from the road as we were in between the Middle district and the lower districts Mia said we were getting close. As we drove near a couple shops my hearing picked up something. Sirens, well I should have seen this coming ¡°we got company¡± I pointed my thumb behind me as Leo and Mia quickly ran to the back.

    They opened the door as yep we were now officially in a police chase yay, YAY! ¡°Fuck fuck fuck what should we do?¡± Leo was panicking ¡°I don¡¯t know we''re already in enough trouble!¡± Mia was trying not to panic. I turned to look at the two ¡°just keep them distracted I¡¯ll drive us out of here¡± I started to press down on the gas pedal.

    ¡°How the hell do you want us to do that!?¡± they both yelled as I shrugged ¡°Just figure out¡± I then immediately swerved to the left as I felt myself starting to grin. ¡°PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND STOP THE VEHICLE OR WE WILL BE FORC¡± boom! Several cars swerved out of the way of a blue blast as Mia turned to Leo ¡°what? He said to slow them down it¡¯s not like I hit any of them¡±. ¡°Well get ready to get shot at¡± Mia sighed as I could see her hands were shaking a bit.

    As I made another quick turn onto another empty street I heard ¡°Ok we have permission to fire¡± from one of the vehicles. I sighed ¡°ok there about to shoot at us¡± I tuned my hearing as I was looking for a specific spot to drive. ¡°WHAT!?¡± they both yelled again as bullets well bolts already started flying. They both immediately dropped as several bolts flew through the door as I turned the back of my head turned steel as I made another sharp turn this time to the left as the noise started getting louder.

    The bolt that hit the back of my head did nothing as I heard Mia breath start to quicken as Leos did the opposite. Mia lifted up her hand as the black sludge started to pour from her hand but instead of pouring onto the ground it started to flow through the air.

    It slowly started to move outwards until it formed into a three foot wide oval shape mass. Her breaths became a bit more haggard as the shield hardened and she stood up as another hail of bolts came again. The bolts did nothing but make the shield sizzle a bit as Mia was completely blocking everything. ¡°Ok thank you, why didn¡¯t you do this before?¡± Leo said as he slowly stood up. ¡°Oh thank you Mia for not letting me get shot¡± Mia said in that same mocking tone ¡°because it makes me really fucking tired and it doesn¡¯t do well against FUCKING LAZOR BEAMS!¡±.

    ¡°Jeez I was just asking¡± Leo held up his hands in defense as turned to face the shield. ¡°Can you open up a hole in it about this many inches wide?¡± He held up two fingers. ¡°Sure I guess you like getting shocked so much that you want round two¡± a small opened up in the shield ¡°shh and let me do what I¡¯m good at¡±. Leo held up his index finger and middle finger pointed through the hole as another hole formed. ¡°You need to see to shoot¡± Mia said as she seemed more tired ¡°thanks¡± was the only thing Leo said before his eyes started glowing.

    His fingers started to pulse with energy as each pulse went out it immediately went back into his fingers. As fingers stopped pulsing and his fingers shot back like a gun but it didn¡¯t make a sound. The front tire of one of the cars popped in a flash as it served and crashed. He moved his fingers rapidly as half the cars chasing us were now stuck in walls or light posts.

    ¡°I hate doing¡± Leo heaved as he fell to his knees ¡°makes me feel like shit¡±. ¡°Ok we both use cool abilities but there''s still a couple cars coming after us and we''re both pretty exhausted so¡± Mia turns to me ¡°what''s your plan?¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we''re already there¡± they both looked at me with a confused look as I made one last turn.

    Leo¡¯s eyes widened as we quickly drove into a farmers market as the people walking around grabbing their fruits and veggies just enjoying their day, I made steroid bees in one of these once. Well the people were enjoying their day as they all quickly turned their head towards us and quickly moved out of the way. Most of the police stopped but one really determined or just crazy officer started chasing after us.

    I stuck my head out as people kept jumping out of the way ¡°excuse me, coming through don¡¯t mind us just going through a police chase¡± well everyone listened I think they jumped out of the way. As we moved through the crowds of people I kept constantly making turns causing Leo and Mia to get constantly thrown around. ¡°Are you fucking ugh!¡± Leo gets thrown as I make another turn ¡°crazy!?¡± Mia finishes barely keeping herself stable. I shrugged ¡°dunno still up to the jury¡± they just blankly stared at me as I drove through a stall absolutely smashing it into bits.

    I felt the car get shoved forward a bit forward as I steady the side view mirror to see the police officer is ramming into us guessing someone is wanting a promotion. Welp there ten dollar bonus can wait as I summon a ball bearing in my hand and I roll down the window. With a bit of effort I throw the ball bearing into a light post as it glows with yellow energy and flies towards the car.

    It shatters the window and a second later the car smashes into a melon stand and some old lady comes out screaming about why her melon stands keep getting destroyed or something. I have to admit this was kinda fun, maybe I should try street raci ¡°EYES ON THE ROAD¡±. I gave my two back seat drivers an annoyed eyebrow as I turned to the road and saw that we were heading straight to a wall.

    I slow my perception to a halt as I take a couple seconds to think about maybe there is a reason why I don¡¯t drive much and how to get myself out of the situation my reckless driving caused. Oh idea, as everything slows down as I smash my fist into the front window shattering it into a hundred pieces. When everything returns to normal speeds I grab Mia and point out the window ¡°spray¡±.

    As if she read my mind she held up her hands and fired a blast acid. Waited only a second before it hit the wall as I took a deep breath and fired a blast of freezing air. When the two elements met the cold dominated the black sludge freezing it solid and at the right moment forming it into a ramp. I stomped on the gas launching us forward as slid onto the ramp and launched forward as we started soaring through the air. ¡°I DON''T WANT TO DIE!¡± I heard Mia scream ¡°THIS OS THE MOST STUPID WAY TO DIE EVER!¡± Leo yells, now that''s just incorrect.

    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS SO AWESOME¡± I couldn¡¯t stop myself from laughing like a madman because this was just so fucking liberating, this guy gets it. After a couple seconds we headed towards a highway. It was not a soft landing as Leo and Mia fell back and I felt my neck pop as my head shot back. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s still alive say aye¡± After a second I got a weak ¡°aye¡± from Mia and Leo as they both sat there.

    ¡°Is it over? Leo Asked as he slowly sat up holding his shoulder. ¡°I think so?¡± Mia sat up and looked at me ¡°no one please don¡¯t say anything or will get jinx¡±.

    We will sat there silent until I hear a helicopter?¡­¡­of course they sent a helicopter. I started driving as the look in my companions'' eyes told me they heard it too. ¡°I think you jinx us¡± Leo said ¡°just shut¡± Mia replied more tired than before.

    As I drove through the streets I had to drive past several passing cars as I turned my head to see not only was there a helicopter there, nearly double the amount of cars that originally went after us. ¡°Ok Mr super cool vigilante guy what the fuck are we gonna do now?¡± Mia said.

    ¡°Simple¡± summon a set of blue granade''s with square buttons on the top ¡°though these there emp¡¯s¡± they nodded. With a press of a button they toss the now beeping grenades. They rolled across the ground as after about five seconds to be exact a large blue pulse shoots out and most of the cars start to slam into the deactivated cars.

    ¡°Hey, since they have gas and were already moving, why did the emp work?¡± Mia questioned. ¡°Oh, all police vehicles don''t run on gas anymore; they use special cores that really never run out of energy and let them not worry about running out of gas,¡± Leo said matter-of-factly. ¡°Huh where did you learn that¡± said ¡°oh my moms a police officer¡± I started to hear a buzzing noise, you forgot about something.

    I turned to see the helicopter flying near us and it had what seemed to be a larger version of police shock rifles, oh yeah I did forget about that. The cannon then shot a pulse of energy at us as I quickly swerved out of the way as it crashed against the street.

    Now I wonder how I¡¯m gonna deal with this hmmmmmmm. I summon chaos into my hand and aim it out the window and switch the green ammo, lets see what this does. Let¡¯s just hope this isn''t acid, I pull the trigger as a green bullet shoots out and hits one of the helicopter''s rotor blades. When the bullet impacts with the blade it explodes into a green blob that quickly wraps around the other blades stopping them.

    Quickly the helicopter slams into the ground. ¡°Are they dead?¡± Leo said as I heard the people in the helicopter''s hearts were still beating, ¡°there fine don¡¯t worry¡± I think. Now that all the immediate problems were dealt with I started driving down the road at a much slower pace. ¡°So Mia, do you have any idea how we''re gonna convince your parents to leave the city¡±.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry with what we¡¯ve been through it won''t be that hard to convince them¡± I then turned to Leo ¡°what about you?¡±. ¡°Yeah that''s gonna be a bit harder to explain since she doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m a hero haha¡±.

    ¡°Well, will figure that out when we get there now you two talk about whatever I¡¯m gonna just focus on the road¡±. I didn¡¯t even try to listen to their conversation as I just focused on the road. I was starting to realize something. I just made enemies with not only the underground but also the police. I wish things were simpler but I need to realize that is not a possibility for me anymore.

    As I drove down the street I noticed something: the shadow of the car was much larger. I turned to see if it was getting cloudier or something but it was just a bright sunny day. I turned to the shadows as they started to shift and before I could do anything the shadows shot forward and slammed into my face as everything went black.

 chapter 24 fade to black

    I groaned as I finally felt myself return back to consciousness as it felt like I got a tree slammed into my face at high speeds well that seems pretty close to what happened to me. Speaking of what happened, whoever attacked us was either some hero who saw us escaping the police or another member of the underground who decided to wait and hide instead of joining their friend.

    I was leaning more on an underground member since they were definitely going for the kill there. If I wasn''t as durable as I am, I would probably have an amazing headless horseman costume next year. Well I definitely got knocked out but I don¡¯t know for how long. I don''t think it was as long as when I got my face beaten in by that behemoth, it was still very lucky we survived that.

    Well I should probably open my eyes and figure out what the hell is going on, and kick some ass. I opened my eyes slowly as it was still pitch black as I finally noticed a heavy weight on my body. I also was hearing some muffled voices from somewhere as I used my x-ray vision to see that Leo and Mia were talking to each other while pulling at something.

    Ah I get what was going I was trapped under the remains of the car and maybe some rubble welp not for long at least. I took a deep breath as I felt my hands turn to steel and the claws form and with a quick burst I rip through the metal like butter. It took some effort as I was still not at full strength but in a matter of seconds was free.

    ¡°Oh fuck!¡± I heard from my dear companions as I slowly lifted myself from what was a police cruiser. ¡°How the fuck are you still alive¡± I turn to Mia had a look of shock plastered on her face. ¡°I¡¯m durable but the real question is how are your two not dead?¡±.

    ¡°We got knocked out of the car when whatever that was hit us well more like I got knocked out and I accidentally grabbed onto him¡± Mia points at Leo. ¡°Yeah speaking of what hit us either you get a good look i was too busy getting knocked out¡± they both shrugged as I sighed. ¡°Well we should get moving whoever attacked us is probably close by¡± I hopped off the car as I started walking towards a couple buildings. ¡°You sure even if you''re super durable you still look pretty beat up and your right arm seems broken and the left side your face is still heavily bruised hell even your left eye is bloodshot¡±.

    Leo was right I still haven''t fully recovered yet but that doesn¡¯t mean I have the time to. ¡°I¡¯ll heal so don¡¯t worry and we still got a threat nearby so let''s find somewhere to hide for a bit¡± that might work. ¡°Ok oh great leader will follow your command!¡± Leo said as Mia snickered a bit ¡°good¡± was all I said as I started walking.

    We seemed to be in the lower district as the buildings that we were walking to were old, decrepit and abandoned, I made sure of that. The area was dusty and silent, the only noise being from the cars on the highway and our own footsteps. It was silent but that didn¡¯t mean that we were alone, invisibility and cloaking tech existed, welp if my time in the jungle taught me anything we''re gonna need mud, a chopper and a very buff Austrian governor .

    At the moment we were in between what seemed to be an old factory building and a warehouse both pretty ominous. ¡°So you too have any energy left?¡± Mia and Logan give worried looks. ¡°Yeah why?¡± Leo seemed to be getting nervous ¡°oh well we''re probably gonna get into a fight soon¡±.

    ¡°What¡± I turned to Mia ¡°well do you think the person who attacked us is just gonna let us walk away?¡± They were both silent. ¡°Yeah now that we are on the same page, be on guard since we can be attacked by whoever that was at any moment¡±. One of the main reasons I was having us just walk instead of hauling ass to Mia house was pretty simple. I wanted to draw out our attacker instead of having them get another sneak attack when we were running.

    The thing was our attacker had some sort of stealth ability, maybe there was a controller or a shifter that involved shadows. My bet is on the former since It didn¡¯t seem like the shadows were alive just growing in size.

    As I was trying to figure out what type of power we were dealing with there was a loud THUD then another then another. As thuds became more rapid they seemed to be getting louder, someone was getting closer. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck fuck¡± Mia was starting to panic as Leo tried to keep a cool face but he was already sweating.

    I felt my body tensing as whatever was coming towards us was big and that meant it was probably pretty strong. Well I had a solution for that as I summoned chaos into my hand and switched it to sticky shot. ¡°Hey we''re gonna be fine as long as we keep a cool head so both you take deep breaths and get ready to fire¡±. ¡°You suck at motivational speeches¡± Leo was correct but still seemed to work as both were already aiming to see where the sound was coming from as it seemed to be nearly on top of us.

    As whatever was making the noise was about to run into us I felt something cold gently wrap around my neck. ¡°Nah ah ah we can¡¯t have you messing up our plans¡± the voice was wispy like rushing wind on a fall day. I wanted to turn around but I quickly felt myself start to fall as one second I was in an alley in between the two buildings the next I was in pitch darkness.

    I felt like I closed my eyes but someone glued them shut as no matter how many times I opened and closed my eyes it was the same sight. I couldn¡¯t hear or smell anything either. It felt like I was in a place where you would go if you got erased. After several seconds which felt like hours I was returned to reality again, that was actually kinda peaceful, agreed.

    After a couple seconds I realized my eyes were closed as I mentally slapped myself, opened my eyes and looked around. I was in some old warehouse. Everything seemed to be covered in rust or dust and most of the windows were completely shattered. This was probably the warehouse near the factory so Mia and Leo are still nearby.

    I quickly used my enhanced hearing to pick up on them as I could hear screams, roars and what sounded like several walls being destroyed. ¡°Just fucking leave us alone you big gorilia fuck!¡± I could Leo yelling. Guess they are having trouble with some overgrown monkey yay, actually it''s a overgrown ape.

    I started walking towards the exit ready to save those too again but I felt that same cold feeling from earlier on my shoulder. I quickly spun around as I slammed my fist into nothing but empty air, great I¡¯m crazy, nah you got a couple more months until that. I sighed as I went to leave but there was something, no someone standing in front of the door this time.

    They were at a pretty average height, about almost a foot shorter than me and were pretty thin. I couldn¡¯t tell their gender since they had no curves or muscles. Their skin was pitch black as if they were dipped in oil, matching well with their bright white sundress. Their hair was just as black but didn¡¯t look like it had the consistency of normal hair more like bubbling tar as it was continually flowing and reaching past there waist. Their eyes were guess what black except for a set of white irises with no pupils, huh kinda like that death hand guy maybe they were related. Finally they had no mouth, just smooth skin, well, I think it¡¯s skin.

    ¡°Well now that you''re done checking me out we can get to tal¡± I shot a fireball at them interrupting them covering them in an explosion of flames ¡°sorry I don¡¯t like talking¡±. ¡°Now you''re just plain rude interrupting me like that now as I was s¡± I spun around and rushed towards them as My fist slammed into the concrete floor, shattering a large chunk of it.

    I turned to see the shadow person appear out of a nearby shadow ¡°well I was trying to be nice you just had to be rude well time to beat you to a bloody pulp¡±  Finally I¡¯ve been waiting for that. I went to rush towards them again but I immediately stopped and stepped back as there shadow quickly started to grow and cover the floor of room, yeah no fuck that.

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    I fired a blast of lighting as it sped towards them in only a second but before it could reach them a solid black wall shot up and blocked it. Huh, that''s definitely gonna be an issue welp time to do the old game of trying to figure out my opponent''s power while I try to die. I took a deep breath as the wall fell back into the inky black ground as I got ready for what I felt like was going to be an annoying fight.

    I tried to rush at them again but before I could even take a second step the inky black ground shifted and over a dozen pitch black spears shot out of the ground. I was barely able to react as I had to jump backwards to avoid getting turned into swiss cheese. As I was midway in the air the ends of the spears shifted as the ends became more like daggers and rocketed towards me.

    I quickly turned my hands into steel and swiped away several of the shadowy daggers but a few still were able to stab into my left shoulder, left arm and my right thigh. When I landed the daggers quickly faded away completely disappearing as if they never existed. The shadowmancer was simply standing there face shifting as if they were trying to grin. Once again the inky ground started to shift as large black square shaped pillars shot towards me.

    The second they appeared I leaped into the air digging my claws into the ceiling as the pillars slammed into each other spreading black dust everywhere that quickly fades away. Before the black dust disappeared another square pillar this time with spikes shot up towards me. I swung forward barely dodging the pillar as more kept shooting towards me not giving me a second to breath as I was forced to keep swinging forward.

    I jumped off the ceiling stabbing my claws into a wall after the 5th pillar but that pillar quickly shifted as a hail of daggers shot towards me. I took a deep breath and fired a blast of pressured air and when the air collided with the daggers they quickly faded away. Several more pillars appeared and once again tried to crush me as I leaped off the wall.

    I landed on one of the pillars and quickly leaped off it as I summoned chaos and switched it to the yellow ammo type and fired it. The shadowmancer quickly summoned another black wall ¡°really this trick again? Are you a idio bang fuck!¡± Half way through their speech the yellow swerved to the left of the wall and pierced through their arm.

    Their blood suprise suprise was also pitch black had started pouring from the hole in their arm. Little threads appeared from the ground near them as needles formed on the end and stabbed into their arm and started sowing the injury shut. Yeah no, the first rule in a fight is never give your enemy a chance to breathe.

    When I landed I fired chaos several more times as the shadowmancer instead of summoning a wall they summoned what looked like a solid black shipping container. The bullet shattered against it as what damage was left by the bullets quickly repaired itself. I rubbed chaos against my head and stored it away as I summoned a railgun into my hand and used my x-ray vision to see through the container. Sadly I couldn''t see through the container so I quickly shifted to thermal and fired.

    A large hole was punched through the container as it quickly sunk into the ground but all I could see was a mannequin? ¡°Gotcha¡± I felt something stab through my side as I looked down and saw a black spear was halfway through me. I turned to see the shadowmancer grinning at me as they fell back onto the ground and appeared several feet in front of me.

    I felt some blood pour from my mouth as the spear quickly disappeared as the blood started to pour from the newly formed hole in my body, this is what happens when we forget that are enemies aren¡¯t stupid. Hemostasis already kicked in as the blood flow stopped and the wound started to slowly close.

    ¡°Hey now that you''re busy healing I can finally speak!¡± they sighed as they shot their arms up. ¡°Please just go back to trying to kill me¡± I needed to buy time to heal but I still don¡¯t like talking. ¡°You know I don¡¯t understand why some people are scared of evolved we are such marvelous creatures even we don¡¯t look like humans¡± this better not be a fucking sails pitch. ¡°Are abilities are so vast and powerful even the simple ones like mine can become something more¡± wait a minute. ¡°My ability originally let me hide in my shadows, in other people''s shadows. I learned I could hide items and people in my shadow I could even eventually teleport thought them but when I mastered it something Happened, my power evolved¡± oh come on, not this shit again.

    ¡°And I gained my little shadow garden where whenever I store something in my shadow and whenever I spread out my shadow I can create and control whatever I stored inside it, example¡± a large black wall appeared behind them as it shifted and several sets of shadowy guns popped out of it. ¡°Before I shred you to pieces I¡¯ll tell you my name¡± she bowed ¡°I am shadow garden and it has been an experience¡± she snapped her fingers as bullets started flying.

    I jump out of the way as the wall started to turn as I ran for my fucking life, RUN BITCH RUN! I was barely weaving through the storm of bullets as my body started to get littered in cuts from being constantly grasped by bullets. I summoned a set of explosive ball bearings as I launched them into a nearby wall as the yellow aura surrounds it. It quickly bounces around the room as it starts to build momentum until I make the ball bearings slam into the wall behind shadow garden.

    As soon as the ball bearings impacted with the wall exploded launching shadow garden forward. I felt my feet turn to steel as I launched forward at high speeds and quickly turned my hands into the steel claws. I went for a swipe but the ground below shadow garden shot up as I struck a newly formed pillar. The pillar shifted as a large buzzsaw quickly appeared and slash me across the chest as I was jumping back. Blood started to pour down my chest as once again I had to realize I still wasn''t at hundred percent.

    I took a deep breath as I tried to fire another blast of electricity but a pillar slammed into my side. I felt a couple of my ribs crack as I flew through the air as another pillar slammed into my gut as this pillar kept moving. I slammed both my arms into the pillar but I winced in pain as I felt pain run through the broken bones in my right arm.

    Wall formed behind me as a pillar slammed through it and then into another pillar and another as I was finally slammed into a normal wall as the air was knocked out of my lungs. I nearly fell to my knees as I caught my breath, you''re getting beat by someone who is named after their ability you can do better than this.

    I heard the bullets already flying through the air as when I took another breath I felt the cold fill my lungs. I unleash a large blast of freezing stopping the bullets mid air and painting half the room in ice. Shadow garden was caught in the blast as the ice kept them in place. I turned my left arm up to past my elbow into steel as I rushed forward at full speed ignoring the burning pain in my legs.

    Several walls appeared in front of shadow garden as I pulled my fist and punched with all my might. The walls took most of the force as they shattered but I finally landed a solid punch into shadow garden face sending them flying. A large pile of black pillows appeared catching their fall as I turned my left arm back to normal.

    I held my left as I already felt it start to ache. I could already see my knuckles starting to bruise. I went to go after the shadow garden but I stopped as I heard the entrance of the warehouse shatter. I turned to see Leo covered in cuts and cruises laying on the ground. I walked over as he looked up at ¡°you look like shit¡± we both said at the same time as I quickly sat him up on a wall.

    ¡°So a giant gorilla?¡± Leo looked at me ¡°yeah well it grew armor when we hit enough but yeah¡±. ¡°I¡¯m guessing it flung you not long after that¡± he nodded as I heard shadow garden getting up. ¡°Fuck what the boss said I¡¯m gonna kill this fuck¡± kinda figured they were holding back.

    ¡°Hey Leo¡± he looked at me ¡°yeah?¡±. ¡°You think you got enough energy to help take down this living shadow? I¡¯m pretty beat up myself and they''re going for the kill so your help would be nice¡±. He shook his head ¡°I¡¯m too beat up to fight and I¡¯m out of energy too¡± fuck. ¡°But I can help you¡± I raised an eyebrow ¡°I can boost you, make you stronger, tougher and all round more of a tank might be a bit slower though¡±. ¡°What''s the catch?¡± he sighed ¡°well I¡¯ll be knocked out after using it and I¡¯ve never used it on a human before used on animals though but it seems pretty painful¡±.

    ¡°Just do it, we don''t have the time I can handle it¡± he nodded as he put a hand on my chest and blackish purple slowly started to glow from his hand. The aura grew brighter and brighter as I could see the sweat forming on his brow as he seemed more strain by the second. Eventually the light stopped growing in intensity and slowly flowed into me. At first It kinda felt warm but that feeling got more intense as it felt like melted metal was being poured into my bloodstream as the feeling got worse as it spread. The pain only got worse as once it covered my whole body it started to feel like every cell that made up my being started to be crushed. The pain made me nearly vomit as I dug my fingers into the ground as after what felt like an eternity it disappeared.

    I wanted to take some time to recover from this But I could see from the corner of my eye several pillars were rapidly approaching. I stood up as I felt a lot heavier and swung my right arm just as the pillars were about to hit me. What is the best description of what the concrete felt like as it shattered to dust against my fist hmmm ah it felt like I was punching air.

    The pillars were destroyed in an instant as I looked at my hand not a single scratch on it. Actually I noticed something. I was different, my skin looked thicker, my knuckles looked like rocks, I was skinnier but my muscles were a lot more compressed hell I was even shorter. I felt amazing too; it felt like I never even got hurt during my fight with the commander. It felt like my skin could stop bullets, it felt like I could knock down a building. I took a step forward as the ground cracked beneath my new weight, kinda suck I was slower but I could work with this.

    I turned to the now unconscious Leo ¡°thanks¡± was all I said as I started walking towards shadow garden. ¡°Hey did you get shorter you know what that doesn''t matter you¡¯ll fit in a casket either way¡± They seemed calm but I could see the rage in their eyes. Speaking of their eyes one of their eyes ad black blood pouring from it and another thing a mouth had finally formed on their face.

    Shadow garden lifted up their hand as over a dozen spike pillars formed behind them and several walls with many different weapons sprouted next to them. I slowly took off my now baggy hoodie and wrapped it around my waist as I took a deep breath and everything started to slow down. I felt my heart beat faster as adrenaline rushed through my veins. I felt my fist turn to steel as I started to walk forward and I smiled. I smiled because for the first time in my life I started to feel truly alive.

 Chapter 25 hit them where it hurts

    <h2>Mia¡¯s perspective</h2>

    Fuck fuck fuck what the fuck did I get myself into? This whole mess started with me trying to take out the goddamn trash!. Now I just escaped the police not even five minutes and I¡¯m gonna have to fight some monster that belongs to a gang that wants both me and my family dead. Another shitty thing about the situation is that the actually competent person with us just disappeared as something huge is about to probably rip us into little bitty pieces.

    ¡°So did he just disappear or am I going insane¡± I turn Leo ¡°nope he¡¯s gone¡± I replied ¡°were screwed¡± I nodded ¡°maybe we should start ru¡± before Leo could finish something crashed in front of us knocking both of us on our asses as dust was sent everywhere. I felt the wind get knocked out of me as I flew back several feet and slammed into the concrete ground. I wheeze and gasp as I struggle to force air back into my lungs. As soon as I felt air fill my lungs I immediately started to frantically check my suit.

    I signed in relief as there were no tears in my suit ¡°thank god¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Hey, I think we have bigger problems than your outfit getting dirty,¡± Leo said as slowly lifted himself off the ground. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind since if this suit rips everything gets so much worse but I was quickly interrupted ¡°excuse me¡±. The voice was extremely deep sounding like it came from some sort of viscous creature hidden in a dungeon or a powerful dragon in a castle. ¡°Would you two mind having a quick chat with me?¡± as the dust was cleared what was left was a gorilla in a suit?

    Well he didn¡¯t exactly look like a gorilla there were a few differences such as he stood completely right up making him around eight feet tall and had more human looking brown eyes along with that his hands had sharp claws. ¡°Is that bigfoot wearing a suit?¡± I turned to Leo who looked more confused than scared ¡°I think so? ¡°Excuse me sir, I find that very offensive. You compare me to some folk tale creature just because of my appearances now I find that very absurd¡±.

    ¡°Oh uhm I¡¯m sorry?¡± Leo looked even more puzzled as I felt a small glimmer of hope as maybe we could reason with this guy. ¡°Thank you now I¡¯m not one for violence so can you please come with me to my dear leader so we can figure out this situation¡± ok that hope is flickering but maybe we can still convince him.

    ¡°Hey you seem like a calm and reasonable person and you probably know that it¡¯s not in your best interest to go with your boss so maybe we can work out a deal¡± I would try to give my best smile but you know the mask. He closed his eyes and sighed ¡°sadly I can¡¯t do that I do sympathize with you. I really do but I have a job to do and well my boss doesn''t like it when I don''t do my job so please just come with me¡±.

    ¡°Sorry uhm not bigfoot we really can¡¯t go with you¡± I could see Leo was already tensing up as The gorilla man sighed. ¡°I guess we have to go with option B sorry for what''s going to happen¡± the gorilla man ripped off his shirt. I quickly realized that this guy seemed nice but he was still a criminal and deadly one two. His body bulged with muscle once hidden under his well made suit, his limbs were thicker than longs and both of his pairs of hands look like they could easily crush a watermelon. His eyes became a darker yellow and his claws extended as he snarled a revealing set of bone crushing teeth as his gentleman person disappeared, replaced with that enraged beast.

    ¡°Are you sure you''re not bigfoot?¡± he immediately started charging at us, breaking the ground with each step, god dammit Leo. The gorilla-lunge towards Leo at speed something that big shouldn¡¯t be moving at. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!¡± Leo launched a barrage of energy blasts but all it seemed to do was sing the big guy. I winced a bit as I felt the black sludge drench my hand as I pulled back my arm but in a flash the Gorilla-man grabbed Leo and quickly made him into a human shield.

    Leo tried to fire several blasts into the gorilla-man as if that would make his grip listen. ¡°Hey uh big guy before we get you beating the shit out of us can I know your name so I don¡¯t just call you gorilla man?¡±. ¡°Oh uhm it¡¯s Roger¡±  Roger said with a surprisingly apologetic tone. Leo decided to take this time to fire several blasts in well uhm rogers private area.

    Roger didn¡¯t even flinch as he slowly turned to Leo ¡°jeez man I bad for your future or current wife¡±. Roger started to frown ¡°or husband I don¡¯t judgAHHHHHH!¡± I ducked as Leo flew into the wall behind with a thud. He groaned slowly as I just shook my head ¡°you are horrible at reading the room¡± he gave me the bird as I spun around and hurled the glob of acid at Roger.

    In what seemed to be instinct Roger leaped out of the wall as the sludge burned right through the red bricks. Roger switched to moving on all fours as I couldn¡¯t land a single fucking on him he was just to quick as he kept leaping our of the way constantly trying to get close. I shot a much larger glob of acid towards him and once again he leapt out of the way but as soon as he left the air I fired another glob of acid.

    It was going to hit him dead on but to my surprise and dismay he proceeded to spin mid air as my attack missed him by inch, Huh that was actually kinda impressOH SHIT!. Roger as soon as he landed leaped towards me like a furry cannibal. I closed my eyes in preparation to have every bone in my body crushed. Something did break but since I was still standing so I opened my eyes and saw Leo next to me, His fingers and eyes were glowing with that same bright blue light as I could see Roger was half way through a wall holding his smoking eyes.

    ¡°Thanks¡± Leo turned to me ¡°your welcome but I really don¡¯t think I did really anything to him¡±. ¡°That was extremely rude! When I get my sight back I will give you a piece of my mind¡±. ¡°You think?¡± He rolled his eyes as I quickly ran to the hole I made earlier, ¡°hey maybe it¡¯s not the best idea to go in there¡± Leo said as I felt his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°And what try to run away from the obviously faster and more agile eight foot tall six hundred pound monkey man no the only way out of this is with us beating this guy¡±. Leo opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut as he followed me into the building. As soon as we entered the building I focused as I felt my home ache in paint as I blocked our makeshift exit with an acidic web.

    ¡°You know he can just bust through another wall right?¡± This time I opened my mouth in protest but quickly shut it as he was right, still think it was a good idea. The room we were in was pretty barren and extremely dusty as if no one was here for at least a decade, ¡°So what''s the plan?¡±. ¡°that¡¯s stupid it¡¯s obviously uhm well huh let¡¯s just make it up on the fly¡± this was a factory there had to be something useful around.

    There was a door on the other side of the room as we both quickly hurried through it. We entered a much larger room filled with boxes of metal pipes. Leo went to grab one but I stopped him. ¡°If your energy blast did nothing, what do you think a metal pipe gonna do?¡± he sighed as we both kept searching around CRASH! Then we started running as the distinct sound of a wall being busted open ran throughout the air. Leo blasted open a hole into a wall, the newly made doorway led into a stairway as without a second thought we hauled ass up the stairs.

    Each stair creek as we ran up the stairs, I hoped maybe there was something on the next fl¡±aw there you are¡±. I turned to see Roger in all his hairy glory at the edge of the steps. The thing was he didn¡¯t run up after us, he just slowly started walking up the steps. I couldn''t tell if he was trying to be nice or just didn¡¯t want to fall through the stairs, wait, idea!. With every step we took I made sure to leave a black footprint. We quickly got to the second floor as Leo kicked open the door crack! ¡°God dammit¡± and there''s Roger falling for my trick.

    ¡°What now and please tell me you have a plan¡± Leo nearly yelled as I looked around and saw several red canisters. ¡°Hey, do you play video games?¡± I pointed at the canisters ¡°what does that have to do oooooh I see¡± I grab several of the canisters ¡°my acid has a special reaction when it comes in contact with gas so we just need to distract him for a bit so I can throw one of these at him and well you know the rest¡±.

    ¡°The main problem is how are we gonna distract him¡± I tried to brainstorm a couple ideas but that was interrupted by Leo clearing his throat ¡°what?¡±. ¡°I got something that can distract him for at least a couple seconds¡± I turned to him as I felt my eyes start to twitch ¡°really? And why didn¡¯t you use this until now?¡±. He held up his hands in defense ¡°well I got in close and like you said that''s not the best idea¡± I sighed ¡°ok what is it?¡±.

    Leo held up his hand as it glowed with a soft purple light ¡°I can control gravity¡±. I stared at him ¡°ok, essentially my powers are based on a star so I can control energy, heat and gravity well, not to the best extent but I can still do¡± I gave him a thumbs up. He rolled his eyes ¡°what''s important is that I can make things heavier, lighter and even denser but the problem is I¡¯ll have to CRASH¡±. Well whatever Leo was saying wasn''t as important as roger bursting through the floor in front of us ¡°Sorry to interrupt¡± at least he¡¯s respectful.

    Before either me or Leo could do anything in a flash Roger already had us in his grasp holding us up by our necks. ¡°Now I¡¯m gonna put a bit of pressure on your necks and sadly you will choke for a bit but it won¡¯t hurt that much¡±. I immediately felt a large pressure on my neck as I felt the air quickly leave my lungs. I felt pressure get worse and worse as I felt the¡­¡­everything¡­.slowly¡­.go..dar¡±g-get the f-fuck OFF!¡±. With a gasp I felt air feel my lungs as a blue pulse slammed into Roger knocking him to the other side of the room. I could see Leo gasping as he pointed at the canisters and mouthed shoot.

    Without a second of hesitation I launched a ball of acid into one of the canisters ¡°now that actually kinda hurts now BOOOOOM¡± Roger was cut off as the acid finally melted through the canister and when the gas and acid mix it made one hell of a boom. ¡°Did we do it?¡± I dared to question out loud as I started into the burning half of the room. ¡°I think it kinda sucks I didn¡¯t get used to gravity manipulation¡± Leo said as he held his bruised neck.

    ¡°Wanna go find where other friend went off too?¡± I ask Leo.

    ¡°Sure but just give me a couple seconds to breathe¡± Leo laid back as his eyes glowed blue and quickly widened.

    I turned to where he was staring as¡­¡­you gotta be kidding me. ¡°As I was saying, I think it¡¯s time for us to end this little situation¡±. Roger was walking through the flames completely unharmed; actually it seemed like he got an upgrade. He was covered almost completely in thick plates seemingly made from some hardened bone. It even formed around his head like a helmet with a skull like appearance and his claws were much longer and blade like.

    ¡°You almost got me there but sadly I just had a little trick up my sleeve¡± I stepped back as all work was made null. He was definitely stronger, maybe he was slower. I tested that theory as I sent out a blast of acid but as if he knew what exactly he needed to do to shatter my last bits of hope he easily side stopped it. Roger launched towards me, grabbed me by the torso and slammed me into the ground. I felt a couple ribs crack as I grabbed onto his wrist and started burning it. He winced a bit as it was starting to get harder to concentrate as I Leo was firing several blasts into Roger in an attempt to get him off me but sadly it was useless.

    ¡°Just stop please, you''re just making this worse for yourself''s¡± Leo stopped for a couple seconds and I could see the dilemma in his eyes but quickly they were harder as he grabbed onto Roger. Roger raised an eyebrow not even trying to stop Leo from grabbing him and he became confused as Leo''s hands glowed a light purple. That look of confusion quickly turned to shock as Leo easily lifted Roger into the air and then slammed into the ground over and over. Then his hands quickly turned to a darker purple as Roger fell like an anvil right through the floor.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    I slowly got up and looked through the hole to see Roger barely standing as it looked like he was about to sink right through the floor. Leo then pointed two fingers at Roger as they started to pulse and glow with energy. Nearly thirty seconds later Leo aimed fingers at Roger and fired as Blue bolt slammed into his head as he finally fell down.

    ¡°Jesus Leo, when did you become a badass?¡± I said in a playful tone. ¡°Oh because of my dear friend adrenaline I¡¯m sure you met them¡± That actually got a snort out of me.

    ¡°Hey Mia¡± I sat down ¡°yeah?¡±

    ¡°Sorry about attacking you when we first met. I was just so excited to be a hero and I assumed and that was stup¡± I put a finger on his lips.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, seriously you saved my ass multiple times in the last ten minutes¡±.

    ¡°Thanks¡±.

    ¡°Your welcome¡±.

    ¡°So we friends?¡± He held up a fist to me.

    ¡°Sure¡± I pounded his fist with mine.

    ¡°So what do you think is happening with our fri¡± Before he could finish, a bony palm slammed into his chest. I could see the blood shoot out of his mouth as he shot backwards and crashed through several walls. I turned to see Roger back up like the villain of a slasher movie. His right eye was gushing blood as I simply just stared at him. ¡°Sorry about your friend, he was probably a good person but I had a job to do so now please just come with me¡±. He killed Leo, someone who tried to help me is dead because of me, it''s my fault again. Why do people keep dying because of me¡­¡­.why?........why?........FUCKING WHY!?. I gently grabbed a steel bracelet on my wrist as I slowly started to twist it ¡°what a surprise you got someone killed again because you were being selfish¡±. A small beep came from the bracelet as a black mist started to spray from it.

    You need to accept that you trying to be human is an endless cycle of you constantly getting people killed. I slowly pulled off the glove. ¡°You''re a plague that destroys everything around you, your friends, your grandparents, your father, even your dear Si¡±SHUT UP!!!¡± I ripped off the glove as I shove forward and let everything out. I felt my arm buckle and nearly snap as an ocean of blackish mist shot hitting Roger. I grit my teeth as I let everything out until it felt like my arm was about to get ripped off as I finally grabbed the glove and slammed it back on my hand and with a twist I felt everything return back to normal.

    I fell to my knees as my breaths became haggard as I quickly looked in front of me. Everything was gone from Roger to that part of the building to the city block, even part of the highway. Once again I destroy everything around me, I felt the corners of my vision go blurry as I fell to the ground. ¡°Monster¡±, ¡°shut up¡± was The last thing I said as I felt myself drift away into unconsciousness.

    <h2>Richards perspective</h2>

    I nearly stopped in my stride as I heard what seemed to be several bombs going off in the distance. That must be Mia hopes she''s ok, If there¡¯s an explosion and anyone near it is never fine¡±, ¡°agreed¡±. Well I¡¯ll focus on that later, what''s important now is the person trying to kill. Let''s hope this upgrade is as good as I think. Shadow Garden Sent a onslaught of spikes towards me as instead of dodging I ran towards them. I pulled back fist and shot outa jab. As soon as my fist made contact with the pillar it shattered into dust along with several pillars near it, now that''s what I call a punch.

    I could see the shift from anger to shock just for a couple seconds. I can''t blame them even I''m a bit shocked. Five pillars rocketed towards me, two came from my left, two came from my right and one came from my front. I Wanted to leap out of the way but I was just too heavy so I just hit it.

    I shot out a knee shattering the pillar in front of me as I stepped forward making the other pillars shatter on impact behind me. ¡°Just fucking DIE!¡± Shadow Garden held up a hand as the ground below shifted and dozens of spears stabbed into me. They bent, they fucking bent against my skin my skin not even leaving a scratch.

    I smirk as I continue my stride ripping through the metal like wet tissue paper. Several walls popped up around me as an armory''s worth of guns popped out of the walls and immediately fired. I held my arms in front of me as the bullets did sting a bit but it just felt like a bunch of mosquito bites. I took a deep breath as I unleashed a blast of freezing air covering my surroundings in a thick layer of ice and with a stomp my surroundings were mostly gone.

    ¡°You are so bullshit!¡± I swear they would have steam shooting from their eyes like a cartoon right now. ¡°Hey I thought you were going to beat me to a pulp. I don''t think I¡¯m a pulp right now¡± I smirk as they roared in rage as an ocean of buzzsaws rushed towards me. I started running forward as I smashed through dozens of buzzsaws with only a few jabs.

    With every jab the force I unleashed was similar to that of a train and I just absolutely loved this feeling. The black metal easily bent and teared as I made contact with the incoming attacks. This was a blast but I needed to remember I couldn''t drag this out so I took a much deeper breath as I unleashed a wave of frozen air as once again shadow Garden and well her Shadow Garden were frozen solid, seriously who names themselves after their power it''s just dumb and confusing

    I put my hands into my pocket as I walked over to my frozen opponent. ¡°You good there?¡± They tried to say something but their mouth was frozen shut. I tap their face ¡°Hey I can¡¯t hear you? What are you trying to say?¡±. If looks could kill well I would be dust because they were giving me quite the glare. I held up my hand ¡°it¡¯s rude to stare¡± and I flicked them right in the chest sending them flying.

    Shadow Garden barely caught themselves as a large solid black arm shot out of the ground and grabbed them mid air. They were coughing blood and when they stopped I could see veins starting to bulge on their forehead. ¡°I am going to kill you and I¡¯m going to make it HURT!¡± Dozens of massive black hands appeared around me. A solid black fist shot towards me, I quickly caught it and slid back a bit. With a push it shot backwards as I quickly backhanded another hand away destroying it.

    Several black hands came at once as I spun around shredded them to bits with my claws. I tried to move forward but I felt something stop me in place as I looked down and hundreds of pitch black arms grabbing at my legs. I went to kick them off but a truck sized fist slammed into me not really doing any damage but interrupting my focus.

    Not even a second later another fist slammed into then another then another as what seemed like a barrage of endless punches started hitting me. If it wasn''t for my newly enhanced durability I would probably be a bloody mess but instead I was only being shoved around even then it wasn''t by that much.

    I slowed my perception as everything quickly starting moving in slow motion as I pulled back my fist and went to destroy the on coming wave of giant fist but before I could I felt a wire wrap around my wrists. The wires weren¡¯t that strong but it started to glow and quickly it started to spark. I felt electricity course through my body as I felt every muscle start to spasm.

    ¡°Gotcha! Hahahahhahaha finally not so fun now where did that smile go huh!¡± As they were talking I felt my muscles stop spasming as I looked down to see the electricity flowing into my steel claws as they started to glow brighter.

    I yank my hands upwards, ripping away from the wires as I quickly ripped away from the hands. I then swiped out my claws as ten crescent waves of electricity tore through the arms. ¡°You gotta to be fucking KIDDDING ME!¡± Shadow Garden tried to Form several more hands but with a swipe from my claws they quickly destroyed as soon as they formed. I sprinted towards them as they frantically started trying to stop me. Nothing worked as I quickly tore through a number of walls, pillars, guns and giant arms. Sadly not long after I got it my electrified claws riveted back to normal as the electricity faded away.

    As I got closer to Shadow Garden I could see the mix of worry and anger in their eyes as they sent another wave of shadowy constructs, This is getting us nowhere, find a better way to get close to them. I quickly turned my feet to steel as I felt the ground beneath crack as I leap forward smashing through the constructs like a cannonball through paper.

    I was only inches away from Shadow Garden as I tackled them right into the wall. Crack!, I felt something crack as I slammed Shadow Garden into the wall, I definitely broke them with how hard you hit them I''m surprised they didn¡¯t splatter against the wall. I held up the broken body as the dust cleared to reveal a mannequin. Not this bullshit again BOOM! I felt something slam into my back nearly knocking me to my knees as it felt like my spine nearly snapped in two.

    I turned to see several metallic shards stabbing into my back as I turned to see Shadow Garden with an all too familiar rifle poking out of a wall behind them. Fuck should have stored that earlier well guess I gotta deal with the consequences of my actions. ¡°Wow I didn¡¯t think you would fall for the same trick twice but here we are and I must thank you for the new addition to arsenal don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll make good use of it¡± They ended that last part with sinister grin as more railguns popped out of the wall behind them.

    They snapped their fingers as The weapons quickly charged and fired as I held up my arms and realized something, this was gonna hurt. I tried to dodge, I really did but I was quickly slammed into the wall as I was bombarded with a hail of metal rods smashing into my body. Each impact the metal rods made with my body felt like one of my bones was turned to dust. The rods were strong enough to piece through me but dozens of metal shrapnel was left stuck in my bruised skin as blood slowly started to trickle down my body.

    I grit my teeth as I tried to smack away at least one of the metal rods but each time went to knock away one five more knocked me back. Fuck I don¡¯t know how Long I could last I may be so much more durable but with constant pressure I would eventually break. Damn it what¡¯s the point of being stronger if your slow as fuck.

    Maybe if I was faster I might have been able to get myself out of this situation but I¡¯m just too slow, quick your whining and think. As I was going through a bout of self pity I felt something click in the back of my head. I felt like a switch was flipped as everything slowly started to slow down as I felt myself decompress. I felt my body become less dense as I felt my body return to normal but then it changed again.

    I felt my body become lighter no weight less as it felt like I could walk on air hell I was even more lengthy. I felt more flexible and just quicker as the metal rods coming towards were moving at a snail pace. This was nothing special since I could use my perception and reaction time to have a similar effect but what was special was I was able to move as quick as my senses.

    I Had to duck my head to avoid a metal rod as I quickly walked over to Shadow Garden, Please draw a mustache or a dick on their face, it would be hilarious. I now kinda wish I had a marker with me well, whatever there''s more important things to focus on as I pulled my fist back and hit Shadow Garden right in the jaw with a classic haymaker.

    They shot back a couple feet as I looked at my hand. Huh that was full force guess this form stat whatever focuses more on speed and agility. Another guess I have is the switch in my head is related to this. I flick the switch as I returned to my normal self and then to strength mode as I quickly returned back to normal.

    ¡°I hate you I hate you I HATE YOU!¡± Shadow Garden looked to be having a mental break as a black blood started to pour from their eyes as hundreds of shadowy constructs started to form around them.

    Jesus Christ how much stain does this person have it just seems like every time I knock them down they just get back up more pissed off then before. That wasn¡¯t good since I needed to end this quickly and I could hear the police starting to enter the range of my hearing.

    I sighed as I slowed my perception and gave myself time to think. I needed to hit them with a direct hit or this will keep dragging out but with there power they can be on both the offensive and defensive. What I needed was enough strength to get through their defense and enough speed to get past their offense. After a couple seconds I figured something out as I prayed for this to work.

    I felt my body strengthen and become heavier as I entered strength mode and quickly stomped forward to the ocean of shadowy weapons. I focused all of Steel Drake''s power into my left arm as The constructs got closer I pulled my arm back but instead of aiming in front of me I slammed my fist into the ground.

    A shockwave shot out as most of the constructs were shattered but that''s not what I wanted. As the shock wave from the punch traveled through chunks of the ground shot through the air as I quickly changed to dexterity mode. I jumped into the air as it nearly felt like I was flying as I quickly leaped from each piece of rock as I started to speed between them.

    I could see Shadow Garden already forming another attack as I felt a yellow aura surround me as I quickly started to bounce around the room. My momentum kept rising as I built up more force as when I passed over Shadow Garden I fired a blast of flames towards them. In response Shadow Garden formed another black steel container around them blocking the blast, perfect. I then shot towards the end of the room as I sped towards the container and turned my feet to steel and switched to strength mode.

    I felt the black metal crumble as I made contact with it as a shockwave quickly followed after I landed Launching the container outside of the building. As soon as I landed I switched to dexterity mode as I sprinted Shadow Garden who just started forming from the inky black ground.

    As soon as they fully stood out I was already reeling back back my fiat right in front of them. I could see an ocean of emotions flood their eyes from shock to fear to anger. I stopped focusing on them as I switched to my normal state and with all my might slammed my fist right into their face.

    I felt their jaw snap as I swear I left an indent on their face as they slammed into the wall getting embedded in it. I wanted to see they were finally done but the inky black ground slowly fading back to normal was definitely a sign. ¡°FINALLY!!!¡± yelled in victory as I wanted to rest a bit after one hell of a fight but I knew that we didn¡¯t have much time left as the sirens got louder.

    I rushed over to the unconscious Leo, who luckily was not caught in the crossfire as I grabbed him and put him over my shoulder. Without wasting a second I already leaped out of the warehouse as I quickly used my X-ray vision to find Mia in the nearby Factory. When I got outside the whole area was just a mess covered in burn marks and melted stone. There was Large Leo shaped hole near the second floor as I quickly leaped through it to find Mia unconscious and a terrifying sight.

    I didn''t know how to describe it but it was just pure destruction as I could see that several blocks were just completely gone as if they never existed. I looked down at Mia as it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out who caused this, maybe we should just leave her, no. I gently grabbed Mia as if I was grabbing a bomb as I gently placed her on my other shoulder.

    I could hear the sirens coming down the non destroyed blocks. Fuck I need a way out of here and to get too these two to there families I can¡¯t just run them so I needed another option. I looked around for a bit until I saw a couple cars on the highway, that will do.

 chapter 26 a long drive

    It was silent, there was not a single sound well I guess there was the light breathing of the unconscious Leo and Mia. Even after twenty minutes they still were unconscious guess they both pushed themselves too much, you think!? the chick fucking disintegrated a city block. After getting them into a car I borrowed from some woman I started driving but after a bit I realized that I didn¡¯t know where I was going so I searched through their phones to find out where they lived and put it into the gps, their search histories were interesting to say. Mia was the closest one but still pretty far away so it would take me some time to get there. I hope she wakes up soon or It will be very awkward talking to their parents.

    So I¡¯ve been driving for the last twenty minutes in near complete silence occasionally checking the gps to make sure I was going the right direction. It wasn¡¯t that actually yeah I like adrenaline rushes like everyone else but I do enjoy myself some peace and quiet. Hmm I wonder how Mary is doing, after I¡¯m done with this I should check up on her maybe hang out it has been a bit.

    I have been a bit on edge since we were attacked by three supervillains in under an hour. On the more positive side it seems whatever Leo did to speed up my recovery process. As around halfway through the drive I just kinda felt repaired, well that''s the best way to describe hell. I think I¡¯m a bit stronger than before in my base at least. I definitely have to thank Leo when he wakes up because I have a feeling this new upgrade will be useful in the future.

    I tap my finger against the wheel as I hum a little song ¡°unnngh¡± oh there finally awake. Leo yawned as he stretched out his arms while Mia rubbed her eyes as they both looked around. ¡°Who¡¯s car is this?¡± Leo questioned ¡°Why is that the first thing you ask?¡± Mia said as she looked at me.

    ¡°What happened¡±.

    ¡°A lot but to dumb down I fought some shadow person they were winning until Leo flew through a wall and boosted me, thanks for that¡± Leo gives me a thumbs up ¡°and after I beat the shadow person I grabbed Leo then I grabbed you and after that I borrowed this car¡±.

    ¡°Wait what do you mean borrowed?¡±.

    I shrugged ¡°I borrowed it¡±.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer anything?¡± Leo gave me a suspicious look.

    ¡°Well we''re on the road now so focus on that¡± Mia picked up her phone and opened it ¡°did you look through my phone?¡±. ¡°Yeah I needed to know where you guys lived and yes I saw your score history¡± Mia went silent as Leo started to laugh ¡°and I saw your search history too Leo¡± Leo went dead silent too.

    Eventually Leo spoke up ¡°so Mia how exactly are your parents gonna leave the city?¡±.

    ¡°Oh they already have some stuff set up so it won''t be that hard¡±.

    I raised an eyebrow ¡°so they are used to moving cities¡±.

    I can feel her glaring at me ¡°none of your business¡± Mia then just started looking out the window, I think we touched a nerve.

    ¡°Hey question?¡± Leo asked.

    ¡°What?¡±.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°I mean you know are names might as well know yours¡±

    ¡°Richard¡±

    ¡°That''s simple¡±

    ¡°What did you expect?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anything crazy it just you don¡¯t seem like a Richard seem more like a Jason in my opinion¡±

    ¡°Hmm Jason smith does have a ring to it¡±

    ¡°Yeah it does, don¡¯t you think so Mia¡± Leo nudged Mia.

    ¡°I guess¡±

    ¡°Aw come on lighten up a bit¡± Leo smiled as he gave me a look and I immediately knew what he wanted, is this the start of a bromance?.

    I turned on the radio and started switching channels until I found a channel that played classic rock music. Leo grinned as he started to sing with the song started out slowly until he started to match the pace. After a bit I started to tap my finger against the wheel to the beast as Leo sang louder and louder as he started doing a little dance.

    Mia seemed a bit amused as I could see her tapping her foot against the ground. Leo saw this and quickly grabbed a hair brush off the ground and started singing into it like a mic as he was actually pretty good with the vocals. At first it started as a whisper but eventually Mia was singing along with Leo as her singing voice wasn¡¯t as good as his but still pretty good.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    When we got to the next song, they kept trying to hand the mike to me. The first couple times I pushed them away but eventually I found myself singing with them as our singing quickly turned into a three part duet, aw singing it was actually a hobby of mine. We dueted a couple more songs until eventually we all settled down. ¡°Well we all learned something today. We are good at singing,¡± Leo said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Maybe we should go on tour after we''re done with this underground stuff¡± I could tell Mia was in a much better mood and in this situation positivity is key. Mia went to say something but there was a loud growl of hunger coming from her stomach. ¡°Hey I haven''t eaten once today so mind stopping somewhere?¡±. ¡°I could eat¡± we both turned to Leo as he gave us a confused look ¡°what? I¡¯m hungry¡±. I sighed ¡°ok if there¡¯s something I¡¯ll stop there ok since you both have somewhere to be¡±.

    Not even a second later I saw several fast food restaurants as I could smell the grease. I quickly made a turn as I drove over to a burger and went down the drive thru. ¡°Ok what did you guys want¡± please don¡¯t be too much stuff it¡¯s I can¡¯t but but the smell will overload.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have a burger,¡± Mia said.

    Then Leo spoke up ¡°I¡¯ll have three burgers, a large thing of cheese fries, two chicken sandwiches, a large drink and¡± I clamp his mouth shut ¡°You will get two burgers you glutinous bastard¡± I could see the sadness in his eyes.

    Eventually we got our food as I barely had time to hold the food as Leo immediately snatched one of the bags out of my hands. Mia took her food as she opened up a part of her mask and put the burger inside. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just take off the mask?¡± Leo said while he was eating and to my annoyance was getting crumbs everywhere.

    ¡°You are so dense¡± Mia said as I could hear munching very loudly, how is she gonna clean her face with that mask on?. After a bit Mia and Leo finished their food and started chatting. I tuned them out and just listened to the radio. I don¡¯t know why but I never was one for focusing on other people''s conversations well I guess I just like to let other people have their conversations.

    They seemed to be in a good mood, it was surprising since their families very well could be in grave danger. I guess them focusing on the light side of things is definitely better than being nervous wrecks. Optimism is key I guess expressly when you''re dealing with a gang who wants your or your family.

    I hope things end well for those two and their families, if not It¡¯ll probably be my fault. I sighed as I had a feeling what we¡¯ve been through so far was only the beginning. After about ten minutes we finally got off the highway as we got to the same street I met Leo and Mia for the first time ¡°well this my stop¡± Mia said as she pointed out the window. I looked to where she was pointing and saw a two storey brick building with a wooden sign that says Kenko¡¯s Garden.

    Mia was about to hop out of the car but I grabbed her arm ¡°what?¡±. ¡°We don¡¯t know if there¡¯s any underground members around so I¡¯ll wait outside to make sure everything goes right¡±. Mia nodded as she got out of the car and quickly rushed inside of the building. I could see her yell something as two people who I presumed to be Mia¡¯s parent came into view.

    They both were Japanese and probably in their forties, the father was pretty tall with an average build with short black hair and blue eyes. The mother was not too short but Mia definitely didn¡¯t get her height from her; she had more brownish hair and green eyes.

    They all hugged each other as I could see the worry wash off their faces. The Mom seemed to get pretty angry after a bit while the father seemed more confused as Mia seemed to eb explain something to them. After a bit she pointed at me as the parents turned their heads. Their expression changed the second they saw me and Leo going from angry and confused to cold and calculations as they seemed to be studying me? They said something as Mia quickly walked out of view and they started walking towards the exit.

    Yeah no I immediately drove off as I didn¡¯t feel like talking with those two. I quickly switched the GPS to Leo''s house ¡°hey Richard?¡±. ¡°Yeah?¡± Leo quickly hopped into the passenger''s seat ¡°why did you leave Mia¡¯s parents, it seemed like they wanted to talk with us¡±.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like talking with them¡± I also didn¡¯t like the way they looked at me.

    ¡°Really what if they had something important to say¡±.

    ¡°How do you know?¡±.

    ¡°If they had something important to say they would¡¯ve walked faster¡±.

    ¡°Ok¡± Leo laid back as we drove in silence for a bit.

    ¡°Sooooooo what''s your favorite animal?¡± I looked at him.

    ¡°What it¡¯s, a simple question¡±.

    ¡°Cats¡±.

    ¡°Cats?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah I like cats¡±.

    ¡°Really¡±.

    ¡°Yeah I just said it¡±.

    ¡°I know but you just don¡¯t seem like a cat person¡±..

    ¡°What do I seem like then?¡±.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know lizards, maybe a spider, you''re just kinda of a weird guy and a bit terrifying¡±.

    ¡°I like cats, what''s wrong with that?¡±.

    Leo held up his hands ¡°nothing, nothing at all¡±.

    We sat in silence for a couple more seconds ¡°do you have any siblings?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah one my sister¡±

    ¡°Older or younger¡±

    ¡°Twin¡±

    ¡°twin waist so just a female version of you?¡± I saw him hold his chin as I saw him deep in thought.

    ¡°No we¡¯re fraternal so we don¡¯t look alike¡±

    ¡°Oh well time to get rid of those thoughts¡±

    ¡°What thoughts?¡±.

    ¡°Nothing¡±

    ¡°But uh is your sister single?¡± I glared at him, Kill him.

    ¡°No she has a girlfriend¡± I saw him visibly deflate at the word girlfriend, kill him still.

    We sat in silence once again ¡°so d¡±. ¡°Actually I have a question for you¡±.

    ¡°Ok ask away¡±

    I point to his necklace ¡°what''s up with that?¡±

    Leo actually froze up a bit as he just sat there and stared at me as after a bit he held the necklace ¡°it uh belong to my grandpa¡±

    ¡°He still around?¡±

    ¡°Died before I was born apparently someone stabbed him to death¡± Leo was staring at the necklace as he gently held it in his hands as if it would break at the slightest touch.

    ¡°That sucks¡±

    ¡°Yeah That definitely sucks¡± Leo glared at me at that last part.

    ¡°Uh I¡¯m sorry¡± you are such an amazing conversationalist.

    ¡°It¡¯s cool, I just wanted to meet the guy, heard he was actually a pretty good guy¡±.

    ¡°We should be at your place soon¡±

    ¡°Finally my mom is probably gonna yell my ear off¡± He chuckled a bit as his mood seemed to change pretty quickly as if we didn¡¯t just have our conversation.

    Leo¡¯s neighborhood was actually pretty nice as after a minute we pulled up to Leo''s house. ¡°I¡¯m gonna do the same thing I did with Mia, better to be safe than sorry¡± Leo nodded as he got out of the car and quickly walked up to his house. Tick,  what was that noise, tick, I looked around for the source of the noise, tick. I tuned my hearing to pick up where that noise was coming from as it was coming from Leo¡¯s house¡­¡­¡­¡­shit!

    I kicked open the car door as I switched to dexterity mode and ran towards Leo. I grabbed Leo just as he was about to enter his house as I grabbed him by the shoulder, DIng. I saw the doors already cracking open the door as I could see the flames slowly seeping through the cracks. I could see the rest of the building starting to crack as I grabbed Leo and turned around and changed to strength mode. I felt the flames slammed into my back as I could feel the skin on my back start to sizzle. The explosion launched me through the air as I slammed into the car. I felt the steel crumble and bend as the car slid back.

    ¡°Unnngh¡± I groaned as I dropped Leo onto the ground as I could smell pork, actually I think that was my back. I slowly lifted myself from the mangled car as I got a look up at what remained of Leo''s house. All that remained was burning rubble. ¡°Unnngh what¡­¡­¡­happened¡± I could see Leo''s eyes widen as He quickly stood up and he immediately started sprinting over to the remains of his house ¡°MOM!¡±.

 Chapter 27 The Motivation

    <h2>Leo¡¯s perspective</h2>

    What the fuck happened? One second I was about to probably get an earful from mom but the next I¡¯m on the ground. ¡°Unnnnngh what happened?¡± I asked with a groan as I slowly lifted myself from the asphalt as I kept hearing a constant ringing, also why the hell do I smell pork? I got onto my feet wince as my body was still pretty messed up from when the gorilla threw me as I felt everything stopped when I looked forward.

    Where was my house? What happened to it? Did we get teleported by one of those underground members because that wreckage can¡¯t be my house No we had to be teleported and they tried blowing us up Yes! that''s what happened my house is fine everything is fine nut when I looked around the neighborhood was the came from Mrs Normans oddly painted house to the halfway being built house at the end of the street. So it is my house th-that''s that''s fine mom is probably not home hell we won¡¯t even have to pack when we get out of this dam city. My eyes widened as I saw her half burnt car in the driveway¡­¡­¡­¡­.if mom was home when the house exploded that would mean that would mean ¡°MOM!!!¡±.

    I ran without a second thought ignoring my body screaming at me to rest as I felt pain and exhaustion run through every fiber of being but that wasn¡¯t important, not even close. As I got closer to the burning wreckage I could immediately feel the shift in heat. The heat got even more intense as I finally stood where the entrance of my house used to be. My home was gone and all the memories that came with it I¡­..I¡­¡­I Mentally slapped myself as I needed to focus.

    I tried to use my energy sight to help locate mom but I nearly was blinded as the flames seemed to intensify in brightness. ¡°God fucking dammit!¡± of course the thermal energy would mess with energy sight, this situation just keeps getting better and better. I stared at the burning wood, I couldn¡¯t just blast it away because I might hurt mom but it¡¯s still on fire damn it¡¯s not a time for hesitation.

    As soon as my hands touched the wood I winced as I felt the burn wood sing my hands as I pulled the wood back. I started to shoveling handfuls of burning wood, it hurt so fucking much as I could feel my skin slowly burning from the heat and bleeding from splinters that stab and tore into my skin.

    I teared up from the pain I wanted to stop but I needed to keep going. I can''t let mom, I just can¡¯t so I grit my teeth and kept digging through the wood. It didn¡¯t take that long for my hands to turn pitch black as my hands were covered in a mix of blood charcoal and chard skin. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck!¡± I pulled my hands back as the pain was too much. I instinctively held my hands to my chest as I tried to calm myself. I took several deep breaths as I looked down and saw that my shirt was covered in that same black mush that covered my hands fuck mom was gonna kill me wait fuck mom!.

    I was about to shove my hands back into the rubble but a blast of wind quickly dissipated the flames. I turned to see the cause of the wind to see Richard wearing that weird face mask. His back was steaming as his pale white hair was now a dark ashy color. Before I could do anything his pink eyes glowed a blackish color as he pointed at a pile of rubble ten feet away from me ¡°she''s over there¡±.

    I was already on my feet as I felt sweat start to pour on my hands as I felt that weird pulsing feeling in my hands. As soon as I got to the pile of rubble my hands were now glowing a light purple as I shove them into wood and as if I was lifting up a pile of paper towels I easily lifted the wood and tossed it to the side.

    I froze as everything seemed to freeze around me as I found mom but she¡­she......she wasn¡¯t¡­¡­¡­.I¡­.......she seemed halfway dead. Her body was covered in burns, it looked like¡­¡­¡­it looked like skin was about to slide off. Her left arm was completely gone, all that was left was all that was left was a mangled and twisted stump that looked more like a burnt tree branch than an arm. She still had her other arm but it was¡­¡­¡­flayed as the bloody muscle was exposed to the air.

    Her legs were mostly fine but her face one half was the same face I saw every morning when I woke up for school. when I hurt my leg when I tried football and she told me I still did great, when it was my birthday and she always made sure it was better than the last and the other half was covered in burns, skin cracking and leaking pus and blood. To tie the bow on her already fuck physical state there were several pieces of wood and metal were stabbing through her shoulder, side and her thigh. She looked dead but she wasn''t as her chest slowly rose up and down as she let small but raspy breaths as if every breath caused her pain.

    She was alive¡­¡­¡­¡­thank god she was alive! but she was horribly injured, she would never be the same and it''s my fault. I¡¯m the reason she¡¯s in pain I¡¯m the reason she¡¯ll never die if I wasn¡¯t a fucking idiot and didn¡¯t attack Mia if I wasn¡¯t always trying to be a fucking HERO the underground wouldn¡¯t have targeted you. Maybe if I wasn¡¯t so fucking weak maybe I could have done something I could have protected made sure she was safe like I always said I would guess I can¡¯t keep my promises like always.

    I felt a hand grasp my shoulder ¡°she''ll live, nothing vital was hit and a lot of her injuries were cauterized so she won¡¯t bleed out but she definitely needs medical attention especially with that arm¡±. I turned to see Richard as he had that same blank look in his eyes ¡°I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t have some sort of healing power?¡± he shook his head as I sighed ¡°yeah it would be nice if you could pull another power out of your ass¡±.

    ¡°That would make things so much easier¡± He kneeled down ¡°I heard some of the neighbors calling some paramedics and the fire department so she should be good¡±. It was annoying, I know he meant well but the way he talked and acted so casually when my mom was in total agony not even a foot away from us it just made me so¡­¡­..I mentally slapped myself none of that was important right now is making sure I still have a mom.

    I gently grabbed mom as I made her as light as possible as I gently lifted her up ¡°tell me when you hear the sirens¡±. Richard nodded as I started walking away from the burning wreckage that was my home. I made sure to hold mom as gently as possible as if the lightest amount of force would shatter her like glass probably would.

    It only took a minute to walk to the sidewalk but felt like an eternity as all I could do was focus on her raspy breathing. I could hear how lungs slowly forced themselves to work even with the damage from smoke. Each raspy pained breath she took kept reminding me of how much pain she was in and it¡¯s my fault she¡¯s like this.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Sir What happened!?¡± my train of thought was interrupted as I looked away from my mom to see a paramedic looking at me with a worried expression as several firefighters ran past us, huh didn¡¯t notice they were here. Apparently I was in some sort of trance as I finally heard the deafening sirens. Several paramedics had run over to Richard who had taken off his mask, ¡°sure we need to get her to hospital now, she¡¯s in critical condition¡±. She went to grab my mom to take my mom away to some hospital, she¡¯ll be alone again ¡°if you touch her I swear you¡¯ll be fucking matching¡± I nearly shouted as the words left my mouth as the woman stepped back.

    ¡°Sir at least come with us to the ambulance¡± I took a deep breath, I¡¯m fucking stupid for yelling at her she¡¯s trying to do her job and here I am yelling at her. ¡°Sure¡± I quickly followed her into the ambulance as they quickly took my mom and strapped her to a stretcher.

    The car started moving as I sat there not making a single sound as I just closed my eyes and tried to drown everything out as if that could take me away from everything, I wish it was that easy. I don¡¯t know how long I sat there. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been an hour I really couldn¡¯t tell as I just tried to drown everything out. I only opened them when I finally felt the car stopped, I saw the medics quickly rushed my mom out of the ambulance.

    I didn¡¯t want to get up, I was so tired that I felt like I was going to pass out any second and I could feel every muscle ache but that would be selfish of me. A son needs to be with his mother especially in a moment like this so I sat up and quickly rushed after them. I made sure to follow them though the building constantly keeping an eye on mom. It didn¡¯t take them that long for them to get her to the operating room as I wanted to run in with them but I knew I wasn''t allowed in so I sat down on a chair outside the room and waited.

    Everything started to glow as I activated energy sight as I kept glancing back at the operating room I needed to make sure mom was safe. I gently grabbed my necklace as I Held it tightly squeezing the cold steel. I stopped looking into the operating room as I put my attention fully on the necklace. ¡°You''re a Romain Leo you¡¯ll be strong enough to protect people heh what a load of bullshit¡± you would be right dad if I actually could do shit.

    Today has shown me time and time again it has been shown I¡¯m useless. I didn''t do anything against that guy who attacked us at the diner or when we were chased by the police or when Roger attacked us, no all I was annoyance. At least Mia took out Roger all by herself and Richard, he kept saving our asses over and over again. He help my mom more than I did, it¡¯s funny really her own son did less to help her then some random guy no it¡¯s fucking hilarious.

    My father was Nova, he had a whole city named after him, he was a walking sun! While if I try to do anything that isn¡¯t shooting lasers I¡¯ll nearly pass out. I thought the child of an evolved would have stronger powers then their parents, guess I''m in the minority. What¡¯s the point of me having powers if I¡¯m completely useless? I can''t do anything? If I¡¯m pathetic? Why can¡¯t I do anything? Why can¡¯t I help the people I love? Why can¡¯t I be stronger? WHY AM I PATHETIC!?

    ¡°You ok?¡± Those two words quickly snapped me out of my session of self loathing as Richard sat besides me. He was now wearing a gray hoodie and had a bandage on his forehead but it was still him in all of his extra large albino glory.

    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m just having a mental breakdown while my mom is getting operated on in the next room so yeah I¡¯m peachy¡± it came out a bit harsher than what I meant it to be but it got the point across.

    ¡°Yeah that was a dumb question¡±.

    ¡°Yeah it was like asking a one armed man if needed a hand¡±.

    ¡°Heh more like telling a short person to walk away and be the bigger person¡±.

    That got me to start smirking ¡°so why are you here?¡±.

    ¡°Oh decided to make sure you were fine and you know make sure you''re safe just in case another underground member wants to ruin your even more¡± I nodded ¡°makes sense¡±.

    ¡°Hey Richard, I have a question¡±.

    ¡°What is it?¡±.

    ¡°How did you get all these powers?¡± I know it¡¯s a stupid question but maybe I¡¯ll get a good answer.

    He sat there for several seconds just blankly staring into nothing, it was kinda creepy ¡°I guess I got lucky well depending on how you look at it I got unlucky¡± I gave him a confused look ¡°explain¡±.

    ¡°Well after I got these new abilities yeah I¡¯m getting stronger and I¡¯m approving in other area but I almost died so many times I made enemies and I have gotten caught up in stuff that could affect my life and other people''s lives around me¡± Richard sighed ¡°I know Leo you want me to give you some answer that will make all those self loathing thoughts in your head disappear but the best I can say is if your strong your gonna get dragged into trouble and if your weak your gonna have problems and your gonna need to be stronger to deal with them¡±.

    ¡°Wow it¡¯s actually shocking how wise you sounded, you sure you''re not an old man with some de-aging power¡± ok there was a mix of actual shock and sarcasm.

    Richard shrugged as I heard a door open as we both turned to see a female nurse walk out of the operating room ¡°oh I guess you two know the patient?¡±. ¡°I¡¯m her son¡± and I pointed to Richard ¡°he¡¯s a friend¡± The nurse nodded. ¡°Well she¡¯s stable but unconscious we don¡¯t know how long she¡¯ll be out¡± I gripped my necklace ¡°figured¡±. ¡°Well some goodness¡± she pointed at me ¡°you''re aloud to see her since you are next of kin¡±.

    A part of me didn¡¯t want to see her since it was my fault but I needed to have some time alone with her ¡°that would be nice¡±. ¡°Well follow me¡± I got up and gave a quick nod to Richard as I followed her into the room. As we walked into the room there was no medical equipment, It looked like a normal patient room ¡°hey wasn¡¯t this an operating room?¡±. ¡°Oh lately there have been so many patients that we''ve needed to turn patient rooms into operating rooms¡±.

    ¡°Let me guess about gang violence?¡± she gave a solemn nod ¡°well I¡¯ll leave you alone with your mother now¡± the nurse gave me a bright smile as I walked over to the hospital bed where my mom lay and sat in a chair next to it. She looked better I guess, she was covered in bandages, had a iv stabbed into her and was using a breathing machine hell they even cut her hair leaving only a short blond mess but it was still a major improvement she''s even wearing a hospital gown.

    ¡°Hey mom it¡¯s me Leo I know it¡¯s been a couple days but I¡¯m here now¡± no reaction. ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry for making you wait for so long I uhm got busy with stuff and uh¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I messed up mom¡± still no reaction. ¡°I fucked up again and led to me pissing off some bad people and they decided that to hurt me by¡­¡­¡­¡­by hurting you¡± still no reaction.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry mom for everything if I was just better you wouldn''t be like this you wouldn¡¯t be in pain if I was just a better son maybe I could have done something! But I¡¯m not, I''m pathetic, I¡¯m sorry for being such a horrible son¡± I felt tears streaming down my face as I held my face in my hands. I felt something gently wrap around my hands ¡°L-l-le-leo¡± I opened my eyes to see mom had opened hers as soon as mine. Her voice was quiet that was barely a whisper; it seemed like it hurt even for her to talk. When I looked into those blue eyes I felt nothing but love and calming warmth but as soon as they opened they closed.

    I gently held her bandage to my face ¡°sniff I¡¯m sorry mom I¡¯m sorry that you got hurt maybe if I didn¡¯t piss off the underground maybe¡­¡­wait¡± In that moment I realized something it wasn¡¯t my fault that mom got hurt no no no no it was the underground fault if they just had let me and Mia go none of this would have happened.

    My mom would have been fine hell even threatening me with would have been better then blowing her up. I grit my teeth my teeth as I felt anger slowly boil inside me, there fucking animals and I¡¯m gonna treat if them like animals. I¡¯m going to make them go through what they put my mom through tenfold not just for me but for all the other people they hurt, Yeah, it would be a good thing to get rid of every last one of them but I can¡¯t do it alone I¡¯m weak but strength doesn''t just come from someone individually no it can come from numbers maybe Richard will help me. I sat up with renewed energy as I gently kissed mom on the forehead ¡°I love you mom I¡¯ll be back I promise just as soon as I make sure karma is served¡± huh Karma I actually like that the sound of that.

 Chapter 28 is going solo stupid?

    <h2>Richards pov</h2>

    ¡°No¡± Leo had asked me the dumbest question after we got some food. Leo didn¡¯t seem shocked at my reply, who wouldn¡¯t have said the same thing well, maybe one of those heroes with the power to do what he wanted to do. ¡°Yeah I saw that coming¡± I took a bite out of my burger ¡°then why did you even ask it?¡±. He shrugged ¡°don''t know just felt like I needed to tell someone¡± Leo just picked at his food, he¡¯s not shoving food into his mouth so something is definitely wrong.

    ¡°Why me?¡±.

    ¡°Well you''re really the only person I could ask and really talk about with since my other friends are just normal people and Mia has her own shit going on¡±.

    ¡°True¡± I leaned back against the back of the seat as I made sure to do a quick check on Leo''s mom.

    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t even be thinking about this especially after what happened today¡± He¡¯s figuring shit out probably has a lot of emotions running through him right now.

    ¡°Why? Why shouldn¡¯t I? They came after my mother let me repeat again they came after my mother and I have a feeling they''re still not done with me¡±.

    ¡°And that means you should lie low, stay with your mother, wait for more experienced heroes to take care of the problem and not try to get yourself killed¡±.

    ¡°Really after everything that happened after everything those monsters did you expect to just lay down and let them get away with destroying my home nearly killing several times and what they did yo my mom!?¡± he pointed to the room where his mom laid ¡°do you wanna see how she¡¯s doing get a quick reminder not everyone is as durable or can heal like you!?¡±.

    He was leaning over me as I could see eyes crackle with energy ¡°first Leo please quiet down we don¡¯t need anyone knowing what''s going on with us and second that''s not what I¡¯m saying¡±.

    A nurse came by and Leo quickly sat down as his eyes returned to their normal shade of blue ¡°then what are you saying?¡±.

    ¡°I¡¯m saying give an anonymous tip to the police or a local hero group and have them take care of it, it¡¯s still helping take the underground down or at least make things a lot worse for them and it doesn¡¯t involve risking your life against a whole gang¡±.

    I could see Leo contemplate what I just said as he went silent and started to slowly hold that odd necklace in his hands, seriously what''s with the necklace I know it belong to his grandpa but I feel like he¡¯s a bit obsessed with it,

    ¡°I get what you''re saying Richard I really do but I have to say no to your idea¡±.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Simple it won''t change anything¡± oh is he finally starting to see it?

    Before I could say anything Leo continued speaking ¡°don¡¯t you think if it was that simple the underground and a bunch of other gangs in the city would be dealt with but they aren¡¯t dealt with you wanna know why?¡± Oh boy he¡¯s actually going down the rabbit hole!

    ¡°It¡¯s because they aren¡¯t important¡± I raised an eyebrow in confusion ¡°explain¡±.

    ¡°Think about it a lot of heroes both solos and teams always go after the big guys, the gangs everyone knows down to each important member''s powers and names. These gangs are both famous and feared and if a hero or group of heroes take them out you could imagine the massive amount of publicity that someone would get but the little guys the small group the ether new groups or the ones that like to lie low the ones that don¡¯t do big things and not many people know aka the ones that won¡¯t bring in a crown if there stop¡± YES! Finally someone else sees it. He just needs some more lethal methods and he''s perfect!

    I rub the bridge of my nose ¡°ok I¡¯m starting to see where you''re going with this¡±.

    ¡°Then you would know that vigilantes aren¡¯t just heroes starting out and don¡¯t know what do or heroes who are violent and don¡¯t like listening to authorities¡± they still make a big chunk of them ¡°they are people who ether have been fucked with by the these minors gangs or realized the big guys won¡¯t do shit to help you¡±.

    ¡°And so you''re suggesting we do vigilante work?¡± Leo nodded as I sighed ¡°but still us for to go against a whole gang with multiple evolve on their sides and know information about them it¡¯s suicide¡±.

    ¡°Well Mia seems to know a lot about them and you''re really strong and just seem to be getting stronger and maybe we can find other people that could help us¡±.

    ¡°Stop Leo just stop, I like beating the shit out of criminals as much as the next guy¡± a little too much more than the next guy  ¡°but I¡¯m not risking your life or Mia''s life on something stupid¡±.

    I could see the brightness in his eyes dim as He just glared at me ¡°your right I don¡¯t know what I was thinking I just need some time to myself so could you leave¡±.

    ¡°Yeah you definitely need it also¡± I held up my phone ¡°we should share contacts just in case¡± he nodded as quickly swapped numbers as I made my leave.

    I knew he was lying, my enhanced hearing could detect his heart and even without it he was a really bad liar. I gave him my number just in case he does something stupid and he needs my help, aw I didn''t know you cared. When I got outside it the sun was hidden by a sea of clouds that just rolled in, as Instead of running home I just started walking.

    Today was just crazy as I somehow ended up committing several crimes while trying to help people. I¡¯m glad Mia and her family are safe but I¡¯m worried about Leo. I know he¡¯s hurting but I hope he realizes that he can get himself killed if he does something stupid.

    Well I¡¯ve done stupid things but not as much as wanting to take out a whole gang. Well I guess I did mess around with Forge but I had six other people with me and I¡¯m not even fighting them, it''s Whale shark who is messing with them. The walk home was luckily uneventful as I didn¡¯t get attacked by a random villain so that¡¯s something. When I got home I nearly ripped the door off its hinges as I walked inside and fell onto the couch and tried to take a nap ¡°Nice to see you mole rat¡± emphasis on tried.

    Mary was resting her elbows on the couch as she smirked at me ¡°nice to see you to sis¡±. Mary hopped over the couch and sat next to me ¡°well you¡¯ve been gone for the last couple days so I¡¯m just glad to see my favorite mole rat¡±. ¡°That implies you keep a list of mole rats¡± she grabbed and pulled my cheeks ¡°just trying to be sentimental here¡±.

    I pulled her hands off my face ¡°you''re still calling me a mole rat¡± she pouted as she sat back ¡°it''s just a term of endearment¡±. ¡°I don¡¯t think being called a rat is endearing¡± Mary shrugged. I turned my sense of touch a bit up as I relaxed into the soft couch hmm maybe I should find a way to use that sense more.

    ¡°So how''s everything been going with you?¡± I turned to Mary as it took a couple seconds to find the right word ¡°shitty¡±. ¡°Care to elaborate?¡± I pondered her question for a couple seconds ¡°hmmmm no¡±.

    Mary rolled her eyes ¡°well everything has been going great for me if you wanted to know¡± we really didn¡¯t. ¡°That''s good to hear at least one of us was born with great luck¡± she nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, been hanging out with Tora more lately, weirdly he¡¯s been trying to recruit me and Rachal into his little team¡±.

    At least he¡¯s keeping his mouth shut, if he cares about his and his loved ones safety ¡°didn''t know he was a part of a hero team¡±. ¡°Yeah he and a couple other newbies started some vanguard team but most of the people there are pretty cool¡±.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Did you accept¡± please say no please say no I don¡¯t need you on the same as the guy who might tell you stuff that will get you killed. ¡°Uh I said I would think about it. I''m still new to all this hero stuff, don''t know if that team stuff is for me¡± a maybe works too.

    ¡°What about you Richy? Do you think you''re solo or do you have a team that you want to join?¡±. That made me stop for a couple seconds, I never really thought about my future as a hero. Joining a team would be pretty nice people to watch my back, being able to handle villains a lot more efficiently and even funding depending on the group, also people you can socialize with.

    But there are disadvantages to joining a team that going solo would¡­¡­going solo¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­going solo was such a stupid idea! I got the perfect offer, the vanguard themselves actually offered me some wannabe fighter who only had powers for a week! But no I had to get angry just because HE was on the goddamn team maybe he changed maybe maybe he didn¡¯t but that''s not the point dumb rewards and all.

    I took a deep breath as I looked down at the cooking going down below me. A bunch of guys from the glacier gang decided to move from the docs and thought the slums weren¡¯t already shitty enough. I smacked my face several times in an attempt to get rid of my anxiety, I think it worked. ¡°You got this you got this¡± I whispered to myself as I hype myself up and took a deep breath. I did a quick headcount and ended up with 6 goons 2 had ak 47s and I could spot an assortment of more up close and personal weapons on the rest.

    There were definitely more but I¡¯ll probably be able to deal with them well I hoped at least. I already felt the black and white images already started to form as I found my first target, one of the men with a gun and jumped down. My target stepped into my landing zone as my boots got real acquainted with the back of his head.

    Before the man in white armor could hit the ground I made him into a great springboard as I landed several feet away from him. ¡°Nailed it¡± I whispered to myself and I saw a black and white version of me fall forward as blood pours from the back of their head well, my head. I dropped to the ground as I felt fly just above my head and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up.

    I saw another projection of me fall forward this time it had a hole in there chest. Seeing where the bullet hit and since I¡¯m crouching they should be about¡­¡­¡­there. I shot out my elbow behind me as there was a small boom and then the sound of bones breaking. I turned to see another glacier goon holding their very broken hand as their weapons laid not too far away from them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I may not have any anesthesia¡± I threw out a job and with another small boom he fell backwards as I could see his nose had smashed into his face ¡°I have the next best thing hahahahahahaha kill me¡±. ¡°Well you heard the man¡± I could already see the projections forming. I grabbed the wrist of the charging man with an axe and slammed my palm into his shoulder as he went flying.

    ¡°Huh You guys are a lot weaker¡± I spun on the balls of feet dodging a sucker punch and slamming my elbow into my wood-be attackers temple dropping them ¡°then I thought¡±. I threw out 3 jabs in one quick motion sending the last 3 goons to the floor as I just kinda stood there. I looked around and just scratched the back of my head ¡°really That''s it?¡±. I think I overestimated these guys, I¡¯m not even hearing the dozens of goons rushing to the room like I expected not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed. ¡°Well uh this was uhm fun but I¡¯m gonna call the police so cya¡± I pulled out my burner phone and tried to type in the 3 numbers for the police but I was failing horribly due to these damn gloves.

    ¡°I have more trouble calling the police then taking out a group of goddamn criminals¡± I tried yanking them off as I almost dropped the phone in the process. I then stopped as I heard a long and drawn out creek as I slowly turned to see a person half way through the door.

    Well I think they were a person it was hard to tell since he? She? It? Yeah it looked like a living ice carving and a well made one at that. The statue looked like a heavily armored knight, each plate on the armor was polished and almost looked like actual metal for it being a bright blue. It was just one of many examples of how detailed this thing was from the straps keeping the armor together to the chainmail under it. The helmet was a bit off in my opinion since it had goat horns that were kinda out of place for a knight.

    ¡°Oh hi there uhm¡± I looked around ¡°yeah this is definitely what it looks like¡± my icy friend didn¡¯t even utter a word as it stepped forward with the door shutting behind it, I wonder if this is when the boss music starts playing. ¡°Ok rude guess you don¡¯t speak¡± an epiphany hits me as I snap my fingers ¡°Oh! I get it now your one of those ice golem things glacier makes gotta admit you''re a lot cooler in person¡±. The golem still not speaking started stomping toward me ¡°oh you''re about to try to kill me now aren''t you?¡±.

    I quickly jumped backwards avoiding a slam that sent pieces of concrete flying as I took a couple extra steps to build some distance ¡°that''s technically an answer¡±. I quickly straightened my feet and moved my shoulders width apart as I held my dominant foot and hand forward as I took a deep breath. I let out a flurry of jabs each one making a bang noise with it. The golem tried to keep moving forward but it was forced to move back as the invisible strikes started to hammer into the golem each strike causing a small bit of ice to fly off it.

    The lightning fast strike kept coming as I shot out jab after jab pelting the golem with more invisible strikes. After about a dozen or so jabs the golem wised up and held up its arms in an attempt to lessen the onslaught. The golem stomped forward as I already saw the grey spikes form in my vision. I stomped into the ground as I felt the rush of wind shoot me upwards as I barely avoided an ocean of frozen spikes ¡°hey I don¡¯t feel like becoming swiss cheese!¡±.

    With another rush of wind I flew forward and landed behind the golem and it took it a minute to turn around as I pelted it with more jabs knocking it forward. With surprising speed the golem spun around with a mean hook and even with already seeing it coming still got clipped across the cheek. Not even a second later another hook flew past my face as the golem started picking up speed as I was nearly running backwards to avoid getting hit. The bastard made sure I couldn¡¯t just sidestep as each time I tried to move away from them it threw another hook in the direction I was moving, forcing me.

    ¡°hey could ¡± I duck under another hook ¡°you¡± I tried side stepping the next one ¡°please¡± I immediately had to step back to dodge another icey fist ¡°CHILL OUT!?¡±. I don¡¯t think it liked the pun as it reeled back his fist and put all its weight into its strike. Already seeing the attack coming I stepped back and quickly felt something solid hit me back.

    Huh it backed me into a corner, wait oh SHIT IT BACKED ME UP INTO A CORNER! I frantically tried to dodge to the side as I was able to get out of the way of the icey freight train but I couldn''t do the same because the explosion of ice came from his fist impacting the wall.

    I grit my teeth as I felt my arm go numb as the ice traveled up it. I saw another grey projecting forming as I stomp my foot into the wall next me launching me to the left side of the room avoiding a wave of ice as The golem rips its arm forward. I took a deep breath as I let out a plume of frozen air as I noticed the windows in the rooms started freezing.

    ¡°This is w-why I d-don''t like ice p-powers there such bu-bullshit!¡± I could feel the golem smile under its helmet as it sent out a wave of ice towards me. ¡°I can¡¯t just keep my m-m-mouth shut¡± I muttered as I pulled back my fist and punched the air in front of me as a shockwave shot forward. The two forces impacted in the middle canceling each other leaving an icy mist. I saw the grey projection of the golem rocketing through the mist like a frozen torpedo so I took a deep breath, took a step forward, pulled my arm back and launched my fist forward just as the golem flew through the mist.

    I swear I saw its glowing blue eyes widen as my fist collided with its helmet turning into dust as a shockwave rippled through the room blowing everything back as the golem went through the wall. I shook my now bruised hand as I felt the biggest grin form on my face ¡°now that''s how you throw a proper punch!¡±.

    I knew the golem was far from dealt with but I didn¡¯t care as I kept moving forward. I felt my heart beat quicken as adrenaline started to pump through my veins and a rush of energy pulse through me. The golem was already pulling themselves back into the room as I got a good look at their frosty mug. The golem face was well lack of since it had no mouth or nose, just a pair of bright glowing blue eyes and obviously there was no hair on it would be funny if it had an afro or a man bun.

    I started hoping as I let my right arm hang in front of me. The golem, speechless as always, grabbed the wall, ripped a chunk out and launched it towards me as it barely made it a foot through the air before I shattered it.

    A pillar shot from the ground under the golem feet propelling it towards me as it held out its arms in a flying tackle. With a quick step I stepped out of the way, already turning as the golem skidded across the ground as I sent out a flurry of jabs before it could send another wave of ice. The golem''s head shouted back as small bits of cie flew into the air and before it could regain its balance I dashed  towards it.

    I jumped into the air and slammed my elbow into what I thought was the golems jaw as the shockwave nearly knocked it to the ground. I then pulled back my arm and bashed my palm into its stomach area, shattering the armor as I turned with that same motion and slammed the back of foot into the side of its head as the shockwave sent it flying. ¡°You know even if I know multiple martials arts, boxing is something I always start with, habits you know?¡±. The golem got up and ran towards me as once again it tried hitting me with a flurry of hooks. Instead of trying to sidestep it I moved my body to where the blow hit my shoulder and just as I hit it I rolled my shoulder diverting most of the force.

    To add insult to injury each time I did this I hit the golem with a jab into its face cracking it more and more. The golem seemed to be actually getting frustrated as I kept pushing it back further and further as it finally did something new and tried going for a kick and it failed. I dropped to my knees and did a spinning kick cutting right through its leg like warm butter and with that same motion I spun with my out cutting right through its other leg as soon as it landed on it trying to keep its balance and well, failing.

    I hop to my feet ¡°now what you did was a very mediocre kick let me demonstrate proper ones¡±. I unleash a variety of different kicks I¡¯ve learned over the years from a Brazilian kick to a crescent kick to a simple straight kick to even the classic roundhouse kick. Each kick let out a shockwave cracking and breaking more and more of its icy frame as eventually I stopped the onslaught. The golem battered and was nearly crumbling as I grabbed the golem by the head.

    The golem almost fell over but I stop that by grabbing it by the head ¡°hey this was a blast but I think we gotta cut it here I know I know it sucks but I got other stuff to do like going on a date and stopping super powered criminals stuff like that, I would say cya later¡±. I put a finger just below its jaw as I shook my finger, the golems burst open sending ice chunks everywhere ¡°but I only make friends with people who have good heads on their shoulders¡±.

    With that the Golem body fell to the ground as I let you deep sigh ¡°holy shit! That was so much more intense than I thought¡±. If this was a golem how strong is Glacier gonna be maybe I should contact Wi¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­what the fuck!?. I gripped my forehead as I had a massive headache as once again I had another weird vision and I didn¡¯t even get a warning like last time it just kinda happened plus this one felt different, it felt older and was that even th ¡°earth to Richard¡±.

    A jab to arm knocked me out of my train of thought, ow. Mary was giving me a worried look ¡°that finally brought you back¡±. ¡°Why did you hit me?¡± she looked more confused now ¡°oh I don¡¯t you just stared into space not reacting to anything for a minute also what the hell was that?¡±.

    I shrugged ¡°I don¡¯t know I guess I just zoned out¡± she obviously didn¡¯t believe me but she didn¡¯t continue to ask any questions so that''s good. While I Was zoning out, Mary turned on the tv and was watching some animated show about dragons or something I really wasn¡¯t paying attention. So I just continued trying to keep my mind off everything and relax as I was already very mentally drained after everything that happened today.

    Well I tried to as I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket as I prayed it wasn¡¯t Whale Shark wanting me to do another job. I picked up my phone and found I got a text message and it was from leo, yeah that''s not promising. It simply read Richard, I know it''s stupid but I can¡¯t just let this go, I want to make sure they pay for what they did to my mom and to make sure no one else gets hurt because of that bastard, if I die maybe that will inspire someone else to do something.

    I rubbed my temples as the only thing I could of was how stupid Leo was. He was gonna get himself killed and his mom will be left alone, Then help him even if what he is doing is stupid he¡¯s still doing something that is the start of every great hero or villain''s career, someone doing something stupid for the right reason but sometimes they definitely need help so go help him. Goddammit I sat up ¡°Mary I¡¯ll be back I gotta help someone do something really stupid¡±.

    ¡°Hey can I come?¡± I sighed ¡°no Mary¡± I tried to leave but I felt a very strong grip stop me as I turned to see a very annoyed Mary. ¡°oh no you don¡¯t we haven''t done anything in a bit and I want to hang out with my brother also I love helping people do stupid things¡±. I sighed as I knew there would be no convincing her ¡°are we taking my car or yours?¡± she smiled as she hopped onto her feet ¡°mine obviously¡± and we started walking to her car.

 chapter 29 helping someone do something stupid

    As soon as we hit the road I quickly texted Leo to tell me his location and about a minute later we were already heading towards the park. ¡°So what exactly is the really stupid thing we¡¯re doing?¡± Mary was rhythmically tapping her fingers against the wheel. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you are coming with me to do this¡± Mary shrugs ¡°dunno bored plus I wanna do something with my brother¡±. I raised an eyebrow ¡°even if it¡¯s stupid?¡± Mary gave a nod of approval as we kept going down the street.

    As we passed what seemed to be the aftermath of a house fire I could see Mary start tapping her fingers against the wheel ¡°so what are we doing? You never really told me what bullshit you yourself into¡±. ¡°I didn¡¯t get myself into anything¡± Mary grinned ¡°oh really? You sure because lately it seemed like you''ve been getting into a lot of trouble, am I right?¡±. I opened my mouth to pretest then shut it quickly as I had to admit she was right ¡°I¡¯m right aren¡¯t you make that face whenever I¡¯m right¡±. ¡°I¡¯m not making a face¡± Mary turned to me ¡°yes you are you always make a face kinda like¡± Mary¡¯s smile turned to a heavy frown as her eyes filled with annoyance ¡°this¡±.

    I rolled my eyes as I flicked her in the nose ¡°eyes back on the road¡± Mary snorted in reply ¡°really I¡¯m pretty invincible and can heal from life threatening injuries in a matter of a minute and you''re like a lesser version of that¡±. A jab to the arm changed her tone as she kept facing forward as I started to see the park in the distance.

    Finally no more car ride small talk. ¡°So what are we doing and can you tell me?¡±. I held my chin ¡°well uh were going to help my friend fight the underground¡± Mary just stared at me as I prepared for her to yell at me in 3 2 1 ¡°ok¡± what. ¡°Really? Just ok?¡± Mary shrugged ¡°yeah what did you expect?¡±. I sighed ¡°for you to yell at me and call me stupid?¡± Mary smirks ¡°oh you forget my dear brother I am also extremely stupid hahahahaha!¡± I like this girl.

    I held my face as I groaned ¡°yeah why didn¡¯t I realise this earlier?¡± Mary smirked as we parked in front of the park. ¡°So where''s the guy?¡± I checked the message Leo sent me again ¡°by a pond just follow me¡±. We both got out of the car as we quickly made our way through the park. It was nice the flowers were blooming, the birds were singing and when I smelled the air it smelled pretty good.

    ¡°Smelling the roses?¡± I looked down at Mary ¡°yeah? Actually smells pretty good. Super senses are cool until you get sensory overload¡± Mary snorted ¡°it can¡¯t be that bad¡± I felt my eyebrow twitch ¡°yeah smelling dogshit trash and rotten food along with hearing people fucking two miles away and¡± I felt a hand cover my mouth ¡°ok ok I get it you made your point¡± Mary shuddered ¡°yeah maybe I don¡¯t want super senses¡± I smirked as we kept walking.

    We walked in silence for a bit as I saw a couple birds start picking at a dead mole as they quickly tore the thing apart. ¡°Sooo have you found a Mary Jane yet?¡± I raised an eyebrow ¡°a what?¡± Mary sighed as if I should know what she was talking about. ¡°You know like a girl next door or class mate who you really hitch off with and you can¡¯t really hang out with them because you have to keep saving the day and then for some reason they keep getting kidnap and start falling in love with your other identity and¡± I covered Mary¡¯s mouth this time ¡°found the pond¡± I thought she stopped with the small talk.

    It was one of those ponds with a bridge over them. There were even a couple ducks swimming around and there Leo wearing a large grey jacket feeding the little pieces of bread, ain¡¯t that sweet, hey! were the only ones that wear dark jackets and hoodies because were boring. ¡°Huh I actually didn¡¯t think you would come and you even brought someone with¡­¡­¡­¡± Leo halted his movements and just stared forward as Looked where he was looking and he was staring at Mary, OH HELL NO!

    Mary looked confused until she looked at me and then at Leo as she quickly realized something and hit Leo with a small shock. ¡°Fuck!¡± Leo fell over as Mary punched me in the shoulder ¡°chill out¡± I went to ask why she punched me in the shoulder as I noticed my hands were already steel ¡°that''s odd¡±. ¡°Jesus what was that for!?¡± Leo said as he slowly rose off the ground. Mary snorted ¡°Because you were staring directly at me and I swear I could hear your heart beat faster and I don¡¯t even have super hearing¡±. Mary pointed a thumb at me ¡°and mole rat here looked like he was about to maul you¡±.

    Leo dusted himself off ¡°well if you two aren''t going to maul or shock me¡± Leo gestures to a park bench ¡°can we sit down and talk?¡±. Mary was already on the bench as me and Leo sat next to her. ¡°So uhm Richard who is your friend?¡± I sighed ¡°my sister¡± the realization hit Leo as he quickly looked between us. ¡°Before you say anything, we''re fraternal¡± Mary said as she was staring a duck in the eyes.

    ¡°Now Leo explain your brilliant idea to us?¡± Leo winced a bit at my comment, was that sarcasm? ¡°Yeah I¡¯m curious on how you expect 3 newbies to fight the underground¡± Mary said with clear interest. Leo fidgeted with his necklace for several seconds as he took a deep breath.

    ¡°Ok so apparently finding information on the underground wasn¡¯t that hard there are a lot of different forums out there¡± true.  ¡°On a particular one, there were some geeks that recorded fights and talked about them. After a bit of chatting they let me have some specific fights that helped a lot¡±. Mary gestured her hands for Leo to continue as I was more stuck on the fact that he was using forums to get info, They can have good info on them¡­..sometimes. ¡°I only watched videos that involved underground members and I started to notice something: a couple of them were in similar areas and that''s when it clicked¡±.

    Before Leo could continue Mary spoke up ¡°oh you figured out the edge of their territory since they only attacked heroes that got too close since it''s much better to be on the defensive and keep the territory you have then be on the offensive and potentially lose territory to more experienced or lucky heroes¡±. Me and Leo just sat there in silence Leo was more dumbfounded while I was surprised then anything ¡°what? When I went on patrols I was taught a bit more than how to properly land my fist into a criminal''s very punchable face¡±.

    Leo quickly found his voice again as he continued speaking ¡°well as uhhh¡± Me and Mary both sighed ¡°Mary¡± we both said as Mary smirked at me ¡°jinx¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Well as Mary said I think I found the edge of the Undergrounds territory and that means¡± it was my turn to speak up ¡°we know where they are also letting us potentially snoop around and figure out where all their stuff is with my enhanced senses¡± Leo snapped his fingers ¡°bingo¡±.

    ¡°But that is so much easier said than done. This is a gang we are talking about a small one but still a gang¡± a even the small ones can get ya, we know from experience. Mary still had her smirk as she sat up ¡°well we don¡¯t have to take out the gang just makes things worse for them. Example take out a couple of their bases, get some of their grunts arrested and destroy whatever stashes they have maybe if we''re lucky, we can one of their Evolves, just softens them up so that some other group of heroes can just scoop them up and tossed them right into the slammer¡±.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Be careful Mary we don¡¯t need you frying your brain by overworking it¡± Mary rolled her eyes as Leo gave a small clap. ¡°You have to give her Credit Richard she seems to know what he''s talking about even as a newbie¡± Mary gave me a little smirk at that last part. ¡°But I gotta ask Mary why are you helping me?¡± Mary shrugged ¡°I¡¯m bored¡±.

    ¡°Really?¡± Leo replied ¡°well not fully I¡¯ll take any chance I can to feel a couple cells and make things better¡± ew such a basic answer. ¡°What about you Richard you seemed pretty adamant about not being involved in this what''s with the change of heart?¡±. I tried to answer his question but I quickly stopped as I wondered the same thing, why was I helping?. I just kinda got up and decided to help him even if he could get injured. A part of me wanted to help while another wanted to let him be either because I didn¡¯t want the trouble or him getting beat would help him learn but after that vision everything kinda blended together.

    That vision, what did it mean, what d ¡°earth to mole rat¡± I was shocked out of my train of thought as I quickly glared at Mary. ¡°Does he always do that?¡± Leo said with a confused look ¡°yeah he just kinda stands there for a couple seconds staring off into space probably monologuing to himself¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t monologuing¡± Don¡¯t lie you were. ¡°Well anyways why are you helping me again Richard?¡± I gave Leo a shrug ¡°dunno¡±. Leo sighed ¡°is that  the best answer I¡¯m gonna get?¡± I nodded ¡°yeah¡±. Mary stepped over to the pond and started to mess with ducks using the water ¡°sooooooooo are we gonna keep talking or are we gonna actually prepare to do some vigilante work¡±.

    ¡°Yeah you''re definitely the fun one¡± Leo said with a growing grin. I rolled my eyes as we all got to Mary''s car, hopped in and started driving off. ¡°So where are we heading?¡± Leo said as he laid in the back. ¡°Oh just gotta make a detour to grab something¡± Mary said with an extinct glint in her eyes. ¡°Is it an actual costume?¡± Mary grin widened ¡°well you can say that¡± Yeah her girlfriend definitely built her something nice.

    The car ride was pretty nice since no one really talked Mary was too busy probably thinking about Rachel or whatever she''s grabbing and Leo was probably mentally preparing himself for the bullshit that we were getting into but I was more focused on what I was gonna eat for dinner. It didn¡¯t take us that long to get Rachels scrap yard as Leo had to move back a bit to get a nice look at the whole thing. ¡°Why are we at a scrap yard? Did you hide something here?¡± Leo said as he kept looking at the scrap yard ¡°no a friend of ours just lives here¡±. ¡°They live in the scrap yard¡± I grabbed his head and turned to the auto shop.

    I could smell the smoke and motor oil as soon as we parked in front of the shop, I just love the smell of newly made tech. While me and Leo stepped out of the car Mary straight jumped out of the car as she rushed into the shop. I sighed at Mary''s inability to hide her affection for Rachel like seriously just starting dating her.

    ¡°She seems excited¡± Leo commented as we walked into the shop ¡°I wonder why?¡±. Before we walked into the shop. there was a loud BOOM! as smoke started to roll from under the door of the shop ¡°Uhm should we be worried?¡±. ¡°Nah Mary and Rachel are pretty tough so an explosion might give them a small headache¡± before Leo could question further I quickly walked inside.

    The shop was pretty much the same well except the smoke as it didn¡¯t take long to find the source. ¡°Rachel, why did you think that was a good idea?¡± Mary seemed worried I also started to pick up the scent of rain.

    ¡°It is¡± I could hear the pout in Rachel''s voice.

    ¡°Trying to build a mech with the parts of a monster truck, jet airplane and a freaking tank seems cool but not like a good idea¡± a what?, really? A mech of all things well that''s just THE MOST IDIOT THING A DEVELOPER CAN MAKE!

    ¡°I guess so well at least I had you to save me this time¡±

    ¡°Heh yeah¡±

    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you two just adorable¡± They both turned towards me as I walked in.

    They were both covered in ash and grime as I could see the remains of what looked like the beginning stages of the said mech. Leo stepped next to me ¡°what the hell is that thing and who is¡­¡­that¡± Leo eyes quickly traveled from the hunk of metal to Rachell ¡®assets¡¯. I quickly flicked him in the shoulder almost knocking him over ¡°ouch that hurt man!?¡± well it''s better than getting water bored by Mary.

    ¡°Who''s the new guy?¡± Rachel said as her Tail grabbed a towel and wiped her face.

    ¡°Newbie, like fresh out of the oven, well maybe he was brought out a bit early¡± Mary said that last part with a snicker at Leo¡¯s expense.

    ¡°True¡± as he walked over to Rachel.

    ¡°Leo¡± He held out a hand.

    ¡°Rachel¡± She said with a smile as she took Leo''s hand and shook it with a pretty strong grip because I could see Leo wince a bit.

    ¡°Introductions are good and all but can we get into the reason why we''re here?¡±.

    ¡°Ooooh that''s why you here ok give me sec I hid it somewhere so I didn¡¯t accidentally break it¡± Rachel quickly rushes into the back as I could hear throwing back different junk in the search of whatever were here for.

    ¡°So what did she make for you?¡±.

    ¡°Shh mole rat just wait and see¡±.

    After a couple minutes Rachel came out dragging a large metal box her ¡°found it it''s just kinda heavy¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll help¡± Mary easily lifted up the box as I could see her smile at Rachel.

    Mary places the large metal box on the table ¡°ok Rachel time to show them your genius¡±.

    Rachel gave us a fanged grin as I crossed my arms and watched as Rachel stuck a claw into a little mechanism and with a small hissing sound the box clicks open, huh claw based mechanism we should do that.

    ¡°You have the honors Mary¡± Rachel said with a little bow ¡°oh with pleasure¡± Mary lifted the metal box open as we got to see its contents.

    Inside the box there were 4 copper bracelets, what looked like a large copper chest plate, a foot long copper cylinder with silver ends and finally a what looked like a copper block with silver engravings all over it. ¡°So Richy you know how I have similar powers to dad?¡± Mary said as she started to place the bracelets on her ankles and wrists. ¡°Yeah you¡¯ve made it very obvious¡± Mary had placed the chest plate onto her chest as with a click both it and the brackets snapped tightly onto her body.

    ¡°Well when I was first testing out my powers dad told me about a little trick¡± Mary grabbed the block and attached it to the cylinder making a one handed hammer. ¡°It let him boost his body to even a higher degree then mom since but only a small amount of time I have his powers plus moms I will be able to do it eventually but until then I had to improvise¡±.

    Mary¡¯s eyes sparked electricity as blue circuit-like lines started to appear on the tech and bit by bit it slowly started to extend. A wire mesh slithered out of the bracelets covering her hands and feet up to elbows and knees respectively. The wires glowed a pale blue as dozens of little silver plates started to cover wires as they covered most of her limbs except for her knuckles and the tips of her toes which got covered in much thicker copper plates.

    A similar process happens with the chest plate as the wire mesh covered her back and shoulders as thicker copper plates covered her the wires connecting together to form much larger plates that glowed with that same blue light. Smaller a more silver chainmail-like wire mesh connected the gap between her gauntlets, boots and chest plate as smaller silver plates quickly coated the mesh.

    Finally a copper neck guard shot out around her neck as a copper plate with silver engravings covered her face as a glowing blue visor appeared. ¡°Names Storm Herald and¡± with a flick of her wrist the shaft of the hammer extended as the hammer itself sparked with electricity as it grew in size now a foot and half long. Mary slammed the hammer against the ground sending electrified concrete through the air ¡°I¡¯m ready to bring the thunder¡±, Man we need to get something that cool.

 Chapter 30 cracking some skulls

    ¡°spot anything yet?¡± I sighed in annoyance as Mary asked me the same repetitive question again. ¡°For the 8th time no Mary still hasn''t seen anything yet, just people doing their jobs¡±. A loud groan came from Mary ¡°come on I thought we¡¯d find something by now¡±. Leo shrugged ¡°hey we just kinda came up with the patrol flash stake out idea. Usually these types of things take a while, didn''t your parents teach you that?¡±.

    After a bit of preparation we all decided we were going to petrol a couple of the warehouses at the edge of the Underground¡¯s territory. Mary asked if Rachel wanted to join us but apparently she had to go watch her little sister because her older brother was out of town kinda sad I couldn¡¯t see her in action, Wonder if all of them are mutants?

    Besides that I was able to repair my kinetic gauntlets with a bit of help from Rachel hell she even used a bit of her know-how to make them have higher energy capacity that''s definitely gonna come in handy. I also decided to wear something besides a hoodie, finally, we needed a new look. I was now wearing some of that high tech armor I got during that horrible train ride, a bit more tighter than I expected but not that bad.

    I didn''t use the helmet since I wouldn''t be able to use my breath attacks with it so I¡¯m still going with the red goggles and the plate face mask I even wore my hoodie under it, I still don¡¯t why a lot of new heroes have hoods it''s a bit overrated. Most people would probably wonder why I need armor when I have two ways of being knife and bullet proof well for one, It looks completely badass especially with the black and red. I need to activate those abilities and for two in this world you need all the protection you can get.

    Leo wasn¡¯t left out either as I gave him a less plated version of my armor he needs to stay mobile as a projector and controller combo. Besides that he was still wearing that black Balaclava and with that the 3 of us actually looked like real Heroes.

    ¡°So what''s the plan if we do find anything?¡± Leo said as he tossed a stone into the air. ¡°Simple we crack some skulls, destroy whatever operation and we get some noodles to celebrate afterwards¡± Once again Mary¡¯s optimism shined as everyone stopped working in the warehouse. At first I was gonna note it as everyone was clocking out for the night but one of the workers walked to the end of the room and opened what looked like a hatch and climbed into it as he disappeared from my x-ray vision. ¡°Storm herald, Karma I just saw a guy climb down a hatch into what I think is a lead lined basement¡±.

    ¡°Why would they need a Lead lined basement unless¡± Leo started ¡°they had something to hide¡± Mary finished as a grin formed on her face. ¡°As law abiding citizens I think we should do a quick inspection to make sure that what they''re doing down there is completely safe¡± With Mary hopped off the building she was on as she silently made her way over to the building. ¡°Finally¡± Leo muttered as he glowed a light purple and jumped down quickly following her.

    I sighed as I realized we don¡¯t even have a plan, guess we gotta wing it then, Winging things makes it so much more fun, I then jumped down myself and quickly followed Mary and Leo. Even with the armor Mary was pretty silent, maybe she actually knew how to be silent, wait  no she was just hovering off the ground. Leo was actually being stealthy making sure not to step on any glass. You may call it unnecessary, I call it living in a world where super hearing is not uncommon.

    As we got closer to the building a couple of the workers inside started going down the hatch while the rest stood guard my best bet. I started to hear murmuring as I quickly tuned my hearing and started to listen in ¡°Hey Jake, did you hear what happened with Roger and Shadowgardin?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah it sucks those two were actually pretty useful¡± Ok that definitely confirms this is one of the Undergrounds operations hmm lets see if I can get any other information so I motion for Leo and Mary to stop as I tap my ears to show what I¡¯m doing.

    ¡°Well we might be able to break out Shadowgardin but from what I heard Rogers a no go heard they never found body so he was probably destroyed in whatever took out that massive chunk of area¡±.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­hey tony?¡±

    ¡°Yeah jake?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it''s a good thing Shadowgardin got arrested¡± ah my favorite part of stakeouts you get to hear all the juicy drama.

    ¡°Come again?¡±.

    ¡°Ok they were always kind of a nut job you know?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah the whole playing games gimmick kinda creeped me out¡±.

    ¡°And how they treated us?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah when I got them the wrong type of coffee they threw me into a wall and broke my arm, I had to tell my girlfriend I fell down the stairs¡±.

    ¡°Oh Stacey, are things going well with you two?¡±.

    ¡°Absolutely amazing I think she''s the one but back on topic yeah Shadowgarden was a bit crazy but aren''t most people who are in the super bis at least a little crazy?¡±.

    ¡°That''s the thing they shouldn''t be like especially with the bosses power but for some reasons it doesn''t work on them¡± wait a minute the boss uses there power on there own henchmen hmmm need more info on it to make a full guess but it¡¯s most likely a alpha type or a mentalist or a developer you never know.

    ¡°Jesus I¡¯m surprised the boss didn¡¯t just kill them, guess they were that useful¡±.

    ¡°Yeah¡±.

    ¡°.....¡±.

    ¡°.....¡±.

    ¡°.....¡±.

    ¡°So do you think Shadowgarden was a dude or chick?¡±.

    ¡°Hmmm kinda hard to tell they kinda got the whole androgynes thing down to a t but my best bet is there a boy¡±.

    ¡°You''re kidding, obviously there a girl, have you looked at them?¡±.

    ¡°Hey in this modern age anything can happen¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°So who would you rather sleep with Shadowgarden or¡± thankfully the two were interrupted as a third came over ¡°hey you two knuckleheads we need you downstairs our product isn¡¯t gonna make itself¡± yeah I kinda expected it to be drugs, when is it never?

    ¡°So what are you dealing with here?¡± I felt Mary lean on me a bit as I quickly nudged her off me.

    ¡°Well this is definitely an underground base not only that but a place where they make their product, probably drugs and¡±.

    ¡°Nice lets go bust them¡± I stopped Mary before she could continue forward ¡°I wasn¡¯t finished¡±.

    Mary sat back down ¡°now as I was saying I also heard a couple of the grunts talking about the boss and I got a clue on what the bosses¡±.

    Leo sighed ¡°here comes the butt¡±.

    ¡°But from what the grunts said about how the boss couldn¡¯t use their power to keep one of their members in line and that narrowed it down to them either being an Alpha type or a mentalist I¡¯m leaning more on the ladder¡±.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t those types of powers that are the most terrifying to fight¡± Well we beat the ever living crap out of two so far hell we bit nice big chunks out of both of them so we¡¯d probably win.

    ¡°Yeah I was told to stay away from those two types unless you know what you''re dealing with¡± Developers are dangerous too, Quiet.

    ¡°Well if we''re smart about this we won¡¯t even have to deal with the boss, the police or some other heroes can take care of them¡±, oh they won¡¯t they never do.

    With that we made our way over to the warehouse Mary apparently had a plan. ¡°Ok Leo you''re a controller projector combo we need you somewhere you can stay at long range¡± Mary glanced at the roof ¡°hey Karma you got something that can go through walls in that toolkit of yours?¡±.

    Leo snapped his head towards Mary as once again he was busy messing around with his necklace ¡°uh oh uhm yeah well actually I¡¯ve been wanting to try out a new trick¡±. Mary grinned as she grabbed him ¡°use that energy sight of yours to keep an eye on us and you¡¯ll know when to fire¡±. ¡°Ok that won¡¯t be that hard but why you¡± Mary pulled her arm back and with a burst of air she tossed Leo ¡°shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii¡± air around Leo let him gently lad and when he got up he gave Mary a very specific bird.

    ¡°You know the guys in there heard that right?¡±.

    ¡°Yep¡± Mary said as she removed her hammer from her belt and it extended to its full 5 foot length ¡°while there focused on the rood will give them quite the surprises now¡± air the swirled around her feet as she leaned forward and with a blast of compressed air she flew forward ¡°let¡¯s crack some skulls!¡±. I sighed as I saw Mary smashed through the brick wall turning it to powder as I felt my frame become more wiry and light as a feather as I entered dex mode and in an instant I blurred into the Warehouse.

    As soon as I stepped into the dusty warehouse there were already 3 goons on the ground covered in burns as Mary was in the process of throwing another into 3 more smashing them into a crate full of dolls?

    I turned to see 5 more goons slowly making their way towards the hatch. The kinetic gauntlets glowed with raw force and in a flash all 5 of the goons were slowly falling backwards unconscious, a jab to the bottom of the chin faster than the eye can track can do that to you.

    ¡°That was anticlimactic¡± Mary said as she shocked a goon she was holding by the face ¡°you know you just jinxed us¡± I could tell Mary was smiling even under a mask ¡°yeah that''s the point¡±. And as if mistress luck herself was listening as the hatch at the end of the room flew open and several goons with a variety of guns and some body armor.

    ¡°Huh I expected more¡±.

    I shrugged ¡°better than nothing I guess¡±.

    We both shot forward running towards a hail of bullets as Mary simply ran through them unfazed as I used my kinetic shields to deflect any bullets I couldn¡¯t dodge. I reached the group of goons first as I made sure each one got a jab to the chin, make sure everyone gets one before anyone asks for seconds. It''s only fair. I heard the crackle of electricity behind me so I quickly leaped into the air and dug my claws into the ceiling as the crowd was struck with a blast of electricity causing them to cease up and fall onto each other.

    ¡°wow this is¡± Mary let out a yawn ¡°still boring¡±.

    ¡°What did you expect, these guys are goons didn¡¯t mom teach you that they are kinda I don¡¯t know cannon fodder¡±.

    ¡°Yeah maybe there¡¯ll be something more interesting down¡± before Mary could continue several loud groans filled the air as all of the goons slowly started to rise to their feet again.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Second wind?¡± Mary said as she held her hammer up as it crackled with lightning. As all the goons were now on their feet, some cracking their necks or stretching I noticed something. Their eyes were glowing a familiar neon blue and several small syringes laying on the ground ¡°of course they would be manufacturing giant blood¡± I groaned.

    ¡°Oh shh you baby it¡¯s not that bad¡±.

    ¡°Yeah unless you turn these guys into giant monsters too¡±.

    Mary rolled her eyes ¡°well I¡¯ll take the ones on the left side of the room you take rest¡± I nodded as we were both already moving.

    I sped forward as I quickly switched out of dex mode and used that momentum to slam that my elbow into the first goon. I felt little resistance as a burst of blood shot from his now broken nose. I then grabbed his collar and judo threw him into a goon behind. Spinning around I was met with a haymaker so I slowed my perception and quickly moved under the strike and grabbed the goon and tackled him.

    He was strong but not by that much since these guys only took one dose so it wasn¡¯t that hard to use the goon as a makeshift battering ram knocking several other goons aside. When I got to the end of the room I could already hear the bullets flying. I spun on my feet and the bullets hit the goon causing him to roar in pain. The bullets kept coming so I took a deep breath and let out a torrent of water sending the hole filled goon into my shooters.

    After a couple seconds I closed my mouth as one of the goons gave me a confused look ¡°really water? Do we look like witches?¡±. I sighed ¡°I wonder why I shot water?¡± I then took another breath as I let out a blast of freezing cold air.

    By the time the goons realized what was happening they were already stuck to the ground. ¡°We still have guns shoot the fuck!¡± I swapped to dex mode as I weaved through each of the goons touching their guns and sending them to my inventory. ¡°With what guns?¡± The looks of fear on their faces nearly made me crack a smirk, I miss that look.

    I cracked my knuckles as I stopped forward as most of the goons had already freed themselves but before I or them could do anything a hail of ethereal purple bullets? Flew down from the ceiling. The second the  bullets made contact with goons they instantly slammed into the ground. I glanced up and looked through the ceiling to see Leo kneeling down and holding his fingers in the same motion he did when he used the charge shot. He¡¯d seemed to notice me and gave me a small wave.

    ¡°Huh gotta admit gravity manipulation is pretty fucking cool¡± I turned to see Mary sitting on a chunk of hail as she laid her feet on a pile of soak, wet, burned, bruised and cut up goons.

    ¡°Gotta agree that was pretty cool trick¡± kinda wish I had something like that but hey I¡¯m fine being mostly a bruiser.

    ¡°Ok¡± Mary hopped onto her feet causing a set of groans as she put her full weight onto the goons ¡°time to check what these guys got cooking¡±.

    Mary walked over to the hatch as I turn to the ceiling and mix a bit of my wind breath into my voice ¡°HEY KARMA STAY ON THE ROOF SINCE SINCE TO PROVIDE ANY COVER FIRE ALSO DO YOU SEE ANYTHING IN THE ROOM BELOW US?¡±.

    ¡°Uh there''s a group of guys that might be packing something also there''s definitely an evolved down there and a pretty big one at that¡± Leo said in a regular tone.

    ¡°THANKS¡± I said as I walked over to Mary.

    ¡°They''re probably packing up since they definitely heard us¡± We were the opposite of stealthy.

    ¡°There''s also an evolved down that''s probably gonna try to keep us occupied while everyone else makes there get away with the goods¡± A basic but classic strategy.

    ¡°So one of us is gonna have to fight the villain while the other chases after the guys driving away¡±.

    ¡°Pretty much¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°Wanna play rock paper scissors to see who fights the villain¡±

    ¡°Sure¡±

    We both held our hands up ¡°ok here we go¡±

    ¡°Rock¡±

    ¡°Paper¡±

    ¡°Scissers¡±

    ¡°Shoot!¡± I held my hand outwards flat while Mary kept her fist.

    ¡°Aw dang it best 2 out of 3?¡±

    ¡°You have to say that before we start¡±

    ¡°Shit I wanted to fight the villain¡± She somehow pouted with her mask on.

    ¡°Well it''s been decided now come on we got criminals to beat¡±.

    I ripped the hatch from the floor tossing to the side as I hopped down to the floor below Mary quickly following after me. The room we landed was filled with fluorescent lights and boxes filled with dolls or vials of titan, oh there probably hiding the vials in the dolls. It''s the oldest trick in the book. The concrete floor was stained with a mix of blood, soda and sauce stains, ew. At the end of the room there was a tunnel, there was a truck filled with crates as several goons carried more into it and finally there was the villain.

    He stood about a foot and a half taller than me so about 8 foot 4 even if he was a bit hunched and his width was about nearly 4 feet. His skin was a thick hide like skin that was a greyish color. He had a barrel shaped torso and trunk like arms and legs and massive muscled hands. His head made it really obvious what type of mutant he was since he was basically a humanoid hippo in overalls and his eyes also only had iris no pupils, there is something going on with those eyes I keep seeing.

    ¡°HEY GET EVERYTHING INTO THE TRUCK WE NEED TO GET THIS TO ONE OF THE OTHER BASES OR THE BOSS WILL TAKE OUR HEADS!!¡± Jesus christ he''s loud.

    The big guy kept yelling as me and Mary just stood waiting for them to notice us as Mary rapidly tapped her foot against the ground.

    It took the hippo a couple seconds to notice us and when he did he sighed ¡°drive off with what we got now I¡¯ll kill these two and burn this place down afterwards¡± With that the goons closed the back of the truck and hopped in as the hippo started walking towards us.

    ¡°So look what we have here, two wannabe heroes who think they can mess with the underground Huh?¡± I summoned 2 objects into my hands. ¡°Well I¡¯m honored to be one to give you the reality check of a lifetime because I''m going to bea¡± I tossed the objects as they landed in front of him. ¡°What? Did you throw rocks at me?¡± He squinted as he tried to figure out what I had just thrown. I decided to help him by holding up two fingers as his eyes widened as he saw two pins ¡°oh fucBOOM!¡±.

    Mr hippo flew into the ceiling and then quickly slammed back into the ground splintering the concert from his weight ¡°when did you get grenades?¡±

    I shrugged ¡°long story but uh you should start running the goons are getting away¡± I point towards the now moving truck.

    ¡°Shit yeah well I hope you have fun¡± She gave me a fist bump before Mary got into a sprinters position. I could see lighting spark from eyes as it quickly went through her armors causing the blue circuit lines to crackle with energy and with a small boom Mary was already heading down the tunnel looking like a living lighting bolt, we need to work with that Rachel girl. The tech she makes is seriously impressive.

    ¡°Unnnnnnngh¡± Hippo was slowly getting up as he was completely fine as I could notice he was completely covered in scars and that meant two things one he has a decent amount of combat experience and his durability isn''t too high.

    ¡°Well that was a cheap trick you little shit¡± hippo cracked his neck as I made my way towards him.

    ¡°Well I gotta give it to you, your pretty smart, most of the new heroes I have encountered let me finish talking before we fight¡± He started walking towards me.

    ¡°Names roundabout used to be something else but I decided to change it due to recent events¡± he smiled well I think he smiled kinda hard to tell with the hippo head ¡°what''s yours?¡±

    That''s a good question, what is my hero name? Definitely not nobody that¡¯s stupid, how about black drake?, no no marauder is much cooler, I think i got a great one especially with what we can do, ¡°call me Apex¡±.

    ¡°Huh not that bad well I''m the only one who will know it¡± Roundabout towered over me as I squeezed my hands popping my knuckles staring up at him.

    ¡°I guess so I¡¯m still working on the whole name thing might change it in the future¡± I had already jumped out of the way as he made a small crater where I was just standing.

    He was pretty slow but he definitely extremely strong but even if he¡¯s a mutant he¡¯s still human. I hit with a hook right to the liver, nearly knocking him over as he stumbled to the side. I raced forward, not giving him a second to breathe as I turned my kinetic gloves to max level and started hammering them right into his jaw.

    He stepped back as he tried to go for a hook of his own but I stepped forward avoiding the striking and hit him with a heavy cross knocking his head to the left. I then strike him in the calf resulting in him crumbling to the ground with a grunt of pain as I switch to dex mode and unleash a bombardment of jabs to his face and finishing it with a roundhouse kick sending him flying.

    When he landed I immediately froze him with a blast of cold. I turned my feet to steel as I flew past him slamming into the wall. A yellow aura surrounded me as I shot towards him just as he broke out of the ice slamming him into a wall. Before he could recover I started hammering into his side full force over and over again, BEAT HIS ASS!

    For some reason he wasn''t even attempting to fight back he just stood there as I realized something he didn¡¯t even have a single scratch on him. ¡°hahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA they fall for it every time seriously I should get into acting¡± I jumped back as he gave me that weird grin again.

    ¡°You probably already know this but when someone master''s there power they unlock a new similar one but this applies to all evolved including mutants and it¡¯s pretty easy for us mutants to master our powers just gotta train to our physical peak and when we get this power its different but compliments our unique physiology in my case I was already strong and durable but¡± he nearly became translucent as he glowed with a bright purple energy ¡°I can now absorb kinetic energy¡±.

    ¡°Fuck me¡± the stone exploded beneath his feat as he was already in front of me aiming for a hook to the gut. I barely was able to put up my kinetic shields as the blow sent me flying smashing into the wall fragmenting the concrete. Before I could recover, roundabout was already trying to drill his knee into the ribcage. Luckily enough my shields were already up so I only got further embedded into the wall.

    Roundabout with an annoyed look grabbed me by face, dragged my head against and spun around at such high speeds I could see a small twister form as I started to get nauseous, we¡¯re gonna hurl! With a boom I was launched through the air as the room blurred past me. I felt my shoulder nearly get dislocated as I slid across the ground as I used my claws to stop my momentum. I didn¡¯t waste a single second as I was already unleashing a blast of lighting but it was more like a hose since the fucker ran right through it and charge right into me cracking my chest cavity and sending me into a another wall.

    ¡°Damn you are one tough son of a bitch I have to give you that so¡± I had to open my mask as I vomited a bucket of blood ¡°how does it feel to be hit with your own force?¡± I gently ran hand across the dented chest plate and slowly felt my chest cavity slowly piece itself back together ¡°it fucking sucks¡±.

    I stood up as I closed my mask as it seemed that Roundabouts'' kinetic rush had just ended. Great I can¡¯t hit him unless I want to be flung around again I gotta improvise.

    Well I wanted to do something but Roundabout was already trying to hit me with a hook. I stepped back barely dodging the strike as I had to dodge another and another as I noticed his attacks were deliberately slow and full of openings, he wants me to hit him. ¡°Come on! where was that¡± I sidestep and resist the urge to kick his liver ¡°ferocity you had before!?¡±.

    His strikes were starting to pick up speed and momentum as I was able to still keep dodging his strikes but I needed some way to hurt him without charging him, wait a minute. I switched out my kinetic gauntlets for different pairs as I turned my feet to still as my clawed feet stabbed into the ground and I caught his arm.

    ¡°Finally you actually, wait when did switch gloFUUUUUUUUUUUU!¡± I activate the heat function of the commander''s gauntlets as I could already smell the sizzling flesh as I squeeze with all my ripping the burned flesh earning a howl from roundabout. He yanked his arm back, tearing his skin off in the process leaving his arm bloody and raw as I could see fear in his eyes for the first time since we started this encounter and made it smile as I opened my mask and licked the blood off my hands, MORE GIVE US MORE!.

    I grinned under my mask as I could slowly start to see his body''s inner workings as my grin grew as he went for another heavy swing. With a step at the right moment his swing went wild as I grabbed his arm and dragged my hands across his arms leaving trails of burns. He tried to kick me but I twisted his arm behind his back tightening my grip drawing more blood and howls of pain.

    ¡°You see how easily I beat you when like an idiot you told me how your ability works seriously, isn''t that the oldest trick in the book?¡±. I let go of his arm and kicked him away as I let the blood coating my hands pour into my mouth as it tasted like heaven.

    ¡°Your a fucking freak!¡± I leaned forward as a haymaker flew by the back of head and with that same motion I pivoted and swiped forward as I felt a small bit of blood coat my fingers no claws. I looked to see the gauntlets were now a dark silver, were covered in scales and the fingers had shifted in blades and the best part was they were still glowing with heat. Guess I can coat my clothes in the metal too.

    ¡°Hey Roundabout my sister should be here soon and this has already lasted long enough so¡± I felt my teeth lengthen and everything got tinted red ¡°wanna see me cut loose?¡±. I could see his heartbeat quicken as I sped past slashing him across the chest. I switched to dex mode as I jumped onto a wall and shot forward slashing roundabout again and when I landed onto another wall I leaped off that one two slashing him again and again and again as an orange aura surrounded me as I started to blur across the room leaving dozens of orange lines.

    Blood coated my claws as roundabout was barely still standing so I turned my right arm into metal as I shot forward at full speed towards roundabout and before I hit him I switch to strength mode and drove my fist into him full force sending a large shockwave through the room as he flew into the wall shattering as the building shook<i>, ULTRA COMBOOOOOOOO!!!!!</i>

    I fell onto my ass as I took several deep breaths as I started to hear slow clapping ¡°damn mole rat if you¡¯ve definitely improved¡±.

    I could see the truck behind Mary and the unconscious goons inside it ¡°how long have you been standing there?¡±.

    ¡°Oh when he slammed you into the wall I wanted to help but I knew you wouldn¡¯t need it¡±.

    ¡°Fuck you¡±

    ¡°I was right wasn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°True¡±

    ¡°So successful drug bust?¡± I slowly got up and walked over to Roundabout, summoned Chaos and shot him with a sticky shot.

    ¡°Where did you get the gun?¡± Mary said as she leaned against the truck.

    ¡°Another long story¡±.

    ¡°What the hell do you get up in your off time¡±.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like talking abboom!¡± I groaned in annoyance as Roundabout was back up glowing with kinetic energy.

    ¡°Is that¡­¡­is that a purple hippo?¡±

    ¡°Wow kid you almost¡± with a grunt of effort Roundabout ripped through his green confines ¡°got me¡±.

    ¡°But the thing is newbies you need to learn it''s not over until someone''s di¡± before he could finish I could hear a cracking noise as the ceiling slammed onto him.

    There wasn''t just one ceiling there were two ceilings and on top of them stood Leo ¡°uuhhhh I think I might have just that killed guy¡±.

 chapter 31 two birds one stone

    We were all in a pretty great mood after what we did last night, especially Leo. We tied everyone up and called the authorities. Luckily everyone was alive, Really with how we turned that hippo guy into minced meat I thought he would be dead?

    We decided to get some food and after a bit of arguing we decided on Chinese. I asked if Leo wanted to crash with us but he said he needed to watch his mom so we dropped him off at the hospital. Now me and Mary are in the living room eating some Chinese food watching a shitty action flick.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how one guy can kill all these people,¡± Mary said as she loudly slurped her noodles.

    ¡°Hell he even killed a couple evolved and he¡¯s just some guy¡±.

    ¡°Well evolved can be beat just takes the right skill and¡± I popped a dumpling into my mouth ¡°motivation¡±.

    ¡°Yeah I guess I would throw hands Deadnaught if someone killed my dog¡±

    We were silent for a bit afterwards as we watched a man in a suit keep killing people in more creative ways. Even if we didn''t talk that much it was still nice to spend time with Mary, make sure to treasure this time with her it might be the only way you can remember her. Well it¡¯s not like she''s gonna die soon¡­¡­¡­wait who said th ¡°sooo you¡¯ve gotten pretty strong¡±.

    I shook my head a bit as I regained my train of thought ¡°yeah had a little help from Leo apparently he can make things more dense but when he used it on me kinda unlocked a new power¡±.

    ¡°Huh, for someone who keeps getting new powers like its hot cakes, how does it feel to know that your sister is still strong with you?¡± she smirked as I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Sure but it¡¯s not like we can test it out?¡±.

    ¡°Hmm maybe we can spar in the future?¡±.

    ¡°Maybe¡± we could use it, yeah¡­¡­wait.

    ¡°So wanna hear something cool?¡± Mary said as she threw her takeout box into the trash she missed but she used a puff of air to knock it back into the can.

    ¡°Sure¡± I bounced my box off a nearby wall as it perfectly landed in the trash.

    ¡°Well I know where the underground are manufacturing their drugs¡±.

    I immediately sat up and looked at her ¡°what?¡±.

    ¡°I was able to get off one of the goons in the truck, took a couple shocks to make him spill¡±.

    ¡°You tortured him?¡±.

    ¡°Maybe¡± Mary said as she looked away.

    I sighed ¡°well tell me what he told you¡±

    ¡°Well he said it was a old toy factory near the edge of the city they got a couple evolved over there so it might be a bit of trouble but I think we could handle it¡±

    ¡°You just jinxed you know?¡±

    ¡°Did not¡±

    ¡°Did too¡±

    She rolled her eyes as she hopped off the couch ¡°well since some of us need sleep I¡¯ll be heading off night Mole rat¡±.

    ¡°Night spark head¡± She gave me one last smirk before heading to her room and since I had nothing else better to do I spent the rest of the night watching movies until light finally started to flow past the blinds of the living room.

    I already could hear Mary waking up and flailing a bit as I think she was trying to free herself from her blanket cocoon. I heard a thud then a couple seconds later I heard a couple more thuds as her door slammed open. ¡°Fuck!¡± then I heard another thud ¡°fuck! fuck! fuck! fuck! Fuck!¡± I turned to see what looked like a caterpillar cursing as they fell down the steps.

    ¡°Unnnnnnnnnngh¡± Said caterpillar laid there for several seconds in pain then squirmed over to the couch as I stared at Mary ¡°sometimes being lazy isn¡¯t always the best idea¡±.

    ¡°Can we swap powers for a bit? I''m really liking the idea of not being able to sleep. I always wake sooooooore¡±.

    ¡°Nah I prefer my powers over being a weather boy¡±.

    Mary gave me a glare ¡°hey weather manipulation is an awesome power have you''ve seen him in action?¡±.

    ¡°True true¡± he¡¯s still a weather boy.

    I walked to the kitchen and grabbed some chocho crips and poured us some cereal as I sat back next to her and handed her a bowl¡± ¡°mmmmmmmm diabetic chocolate goodness¡± she quickly devoured the bowl of cereal as I flicked through different channels that were mostly cartoons or news channels.

    ¡°When are you gonna text Leo about the info?¡±.

    ¡°Probably when he''s awake¡±

    ¡°He probably didn''t get that much sleep because you know his mom¡±

    ¡°True¡±

    ¡°But yeah you should text him now¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because we''re going to be hitting the factory next¡± smart take out their supplies.

    Mary put her bowl on the table as she sat up ¡°ok a lot of time when vigilantes are trying to weaken a gang they usually take out a couple of their hideouts and maybe even lock up some of their evolved like we did last night¡±.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Well that can help but if you aren¡¯t hitting the vitals parts of the gang they can always make more supplies or find more evolved by ether giving desperate mutants what seemed to be a better life or freeing small time villains but if you hit the vital points like their ability to make and sell drugs or take out there heavy hitters it will be hard for them to  recover and while there recovering the police or more experience heroes can do the rest¡± huh she actually knows her stuff, yeah.

    Mary grinned ¡°and if we hit the factory not only do we take out there drug operations we¡¯ll also take of any of the evolved that are guarding the place¡± Mary formed a bird made of ice in each hand ¡°two birds¡± she then smashes her hands together ¡°one stone¡± as she held a small round piece of ice in her hands.

    I gave a small clap ¡°you getting better at your ice creation¡±.

    She gave a small bow ¡°thank you I''ve been practicing at making more detailed constructs¡±.

    ¡°But yeah I¡¯m going to come with a plan and actually get Leo a actual costume and hero gear¡± Mary removed herself from her blanket cocoon as she was now sporting a pair of cat pajamas ¡°so I¡¯ll be gone for the day so you do whatever you do when I¡¯m not around¡± like getting into life death situations?

    I wave her off as Mary quickly changes into her typical rock attire and leaves as I give a quick text to Leo just giving him a heads up on Mary''s plans. The only response I get is a simple k I shrug as I lay against the couch and flick through a couple channels until I find a very nostalgic cartoon ¡°welcome back to Beowulf:young blood on Mania TV!¡±.

    I always thought it was a bit disrespectful that they made a story of a young soldier turned super powered veteran into a young hot head teenager who accidentally finds a magical sword. I regained my thought process I had to admit this show was a bit disrespectful.

    Even if it was disrespectful it was still mindless entertainment and like the sheep I am I enjoy mindless entertainment. I was also eating some cereal straight from the box as the sheep I am. After a couple minutes I remembered something so I held up my hand, summoned the heat gauntlet onto it and flexed my hand.

    At first nothing happens as I do feel my hand become steel but the gauntlet looked the same. I tried again but this time I tried imagining the gauntlet turning to steel so I closed my eyes and after several seconds I opened my eyes aaaaaand it was still the same. ¡°Hmmm, let''s try something different¡± this time instead of imagining the gauntlet turning to steel I simply imagine a liquid metal slowly forming into a metal gauntlet.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    I opened my eyes to see the familiar sight of the steel gauntlet as I quickly returned it back to normal. I send the gauntlet back to my inventory as pocket dimension its a fucking pocket dimension call it that or don¡¯t use it at all! I felt my train of thought get back on the rails as I sent the gauntlet back to my pocket dimension, I really need to deal with that it''s getting annoying.

    I grabbed the remote and imagined liquid metal slowly forming into a similar object as I opened my eyes to see the remote was now a grey color and had scale-like pattern on everything but the buttons hell it even still worked. I returned the remote back to normal and tried the process again with my eyes open. It was a bit harder but I repeated the process several times.

    After that I spent the next couple hours wandering around the house writing some designs in my notebook making some food watching reruns of beowulf:young blood, that show went on for way too long. I was hanging off the couch when I heard the front door open.

    ¡°Huh I expected something bigger¡± Heard Leo¡¯s voice guess she brought him along though he stayed to watch his mom.

    ¡°What, you expected us to live in a big old mansion?¡± and there''s Mary and she''s carrying several bags.

    ¡°Well with who your Parents I expected them to be loaded¡± we are.

    ¡°We are, it''s just our parents don''t want any attention since you know secret identities¡±.

    ¡°Ah makes sense oh hey Richard¡± Leo said as he gave me a wave.

    ¡°Find anything good on tv?¡±

    I shrugged ¡°just reruns of old cartoons¡±

    ¡°Ah ok well I got some stuff for Leo¡±

    ¡°Anything cool?¡±

    ¡°Besides some basic equipment I was able to convince Rachel to make something for our friend here¡±. Mary said as she pulled out a cardboard box as I could see the excitement in Leo''s eyes.

    ¡°Since our star man here can¡¯t use that gravity manipulation to help him consistently move around I got Rachel to make him some g¡± Before Mary could finish Leo snatch the box from her hands he pulled out its contents ¡°Grappling hooks!¡±. Even with Leo saying out loud what they were I was still a bit confused at the design of the grappling hooks. At first they seemed like normal black armored gloves with protective padding on the knuckles and fingers but when he fully pulled them out of the box they seemed more like gauntlets.

    The rest of the gauntlet was a large rectangular shape seemingly made from a dark copper steel mix. I also noticed the metal was folded adding extra durability and weight heavy for a human but an extra boost to an evolved punch. The final detail on the gauntlets was that just above the back of hands attached to the metal rectangle was a metal egg shaped object and was about the same object.

    ¡°These babies will make it a breeze to move around well until I figure out how to fly, hell I¡¯ll still probably use them still¡± Leo was giddy as he quickly put on the gauntlet and Mary stepped back a couple feet as placed her bags onto a table.

    ¡°Wanna see them in action?¡± definitely, not really.

    ¡°Uh sure I guess¡± I said somehow with the perfect mix of interest and disinterest.

    Leo held his arm and held towards the kitchen closing one eye as he grinned as he gripped his hand tightly as I could see with a dim dark purple light. I slowed my perception as the egg shaped object shot out as a thick steel cable followed it. I could hear several clicks as the metal egg slowly opened into 4 parts as I could see a spike shoot out as it stabbed into the box of choco chips inside the trashcan and as the cable was pulled back the box came with it.

    The box smacked into Leo as a small smirk formed on Mary¡¯s face but Leo either didn¡¯t care or noticed as he still had a big old grin on his face ¡°grappling hooks¡±.

    ¡°Yeah they''re pretty cool, well everything Rachel makes is awesome¡±.

    The stuff we make is cool too ¡°I can make cool stuff too¡±.

    Mary raised an eyebrow ¡°is that jealousy I spot Richy?¡±.

    ¡°Shush¡±

    ¡°Whatever you say¡± Mary said with very obvious sarcasm as she started to gig through her bags.

    ¡°Wait Leo I thought you¡¯d stay at the hospital to watch your mom?¡±.

    ¡°Oh Mary actually took care of that¡±.

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°She''s having one of her friends watch her¡± wonder if it''s that Tora kid? It would be very awkward if I had to talk to him again, especially after our last talk.

    ¡°So when are we heading out?¡± Leo said as he put away the grappling gauntlets into the box.

    ¡°Yeah I would like to know that too¡±.

    Mary turned to us ¡°well The underground definitely works at night and maybe if they''re paranoid enough they might have an extra evolved at the factory¡±.

    ¡°Is that bad?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no¡±

    ¡°Yes in that will have more to deal with and no in that if we can take down the factory we can put more of the Undergrounds evolved into the slammer¡±.

    ¡°Also¡± Mary said as she pulled out a belt with multiple pouches and some still-tipped climbing boots from one of the bags ¡°I was able to dig up info on different members of the underground¡± Huh guess Mary is good at info gathering.

    ¡°Spill it¡±

    ¡°Well most of it was pretty basic but I was able to gather info on the 3 heavy hitters of the underground¡± Mary checked her phone and quickly turned to face us.

    ¡°The first is Shadowgardin pitch black skin wears a dress hard to tell if there a boy or girl well if the name didn¡¯t make it obvious they got shadow powers and¡± I held up a hand ¡°Mary you can stop there I already dealt with them¡±

    ¡°Oh uh well I guess I will move onto the next guy¡± Mary held up her phone to reveal a guy wearing what seemed to be an orange and red race car driver suit helmet and all with flame patterns on his arms, legs and helmet and the photo depicted him sitting on top of a melted police van. ¡°this would be hot streak enhancer generator hybrid who can move high speeds while engulfing himself in fire that is hot enough to melt metal¡± god I already hated fighting speedsters enough and then god decided to give them fire powers to o yaaaaay.

    ¡°Finally we got from what I was able to find the boss''s right hand man¡± She switched to another photo as a man in full police swat gear came into view ¡°this is bloody justice he was pretty respected hero named pursuit he was always a bit violent but still a good guy but one day he beat a villain to death and was found out to be doped up on giants blood so he was kicked out of the hero teamed he was apart of¡± and was eventually picked up by the underground.

    Mary switched to another photo showing blood justice standing over several hero corpses each one looking like they had a building dropped on them and several had handcuffs on them as he held a bloody baton and riot shields each hand. ¡°He''s probably the deadliest member besides probably the head of the underground since not only is he a trained fighter, he''s a wild card and a pretty stacked one at that¡±.

    ¡°Fuck me¡± I said out loud as I remember from one of mom and dads story of a wid card that nearly put them in the dirt. Wildcards are extremely deadly since they are similar to a mythic in that they don¡¯t follow any other power type but unlike mythics wildcard powers are even more complicated and out of there meaning they can be really anything and that makes it really hard to deal with one in a fight but they all usually follow a theme that can make it easier to deal with it well at least a bit easier.

    ¡°Bloody justice has quite the tool kit. First if he binds your wrists in any way from handcuffs to his own hands as long as your wrists are bound you¡¯ll start losing all will to fight or resist him¡±.

    ¡°Lets just hope he only uses that power for fights¡± Leo said with a grimace

    ¡°Yeah lets hope¡± I said agreement and if not we can shove that baton of his where the shone doesn''t shine.

    Mary rolled her eyes ¡°Next he¡¯s able to charge his riot shield with some sort of energy making it nearly indestructible, bullets, grenades hell even powers have a hard time getting through it and he can charge his baton with similar energy letting smash through pretty much anything no matter the durability next¡±

    ¡°Wait there''s more?¡± Leo said in slight horror.

    ¡°Yeah, like I said this guy stacked, he was able to slaughter his whole team by himself,¡± Mayr said so casually it made sound like she was talking about her breakfast.

    ¡°Jesus let''s pray we don¡¯t have to fight him¡± Leo said as started to slowly mess around with his necklace.

    ¡°I can probably take him¡± Mary with a lot of confidence as if she wasn¡¯t talking about how strong this guy as it was now my turn to roll my eyes¡±

    ¡°Next he has a minor variation of super speed and enhanced senses that grow stronger the longer chase after a target that was thought to be his only powers until you know the murder but finally there is his last deadliest power the one he used to fight off several members of the vanguard¡± I gulp a bit at that last comment, don''t be worried the vanguard aren''t that strong.

    ¡°Of course he can do that,¡± Leo said in a almost exacerbated tone.

    ¡°Well he didn''t win so take that as it will but as I was saying his most deadliest power lets a create large dome that expands to surround him and his targets it can not be broken on the inside or outside and inside this field he can create clones of himself that have the powers and gear as him and there doesn¡¯t seem to be a limit to how long he can keep this up¡±

    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m not fighting him¡± Leo said as he gripped his necklace tighter.

    ¡°Well let''s hope he¡¯s not factory when we hit¡± Mary said as she gave a shrug.

    ¡°Well actually there is one more thing heard the underground has got a new evolved and no one knows what their power is let¡¯s be prepared for that¡±

    I just hate having to figure out new powers in a fight, I love it.

    ¡°Well that''s out of the way I¡¯m gonna relax until we gotta head out cya¡± Mary then left as me and Leo was left in silence.

    Leo was the first one to break the silence ¡°got any good video games¡±.

    ¡°I got several ok video games¡±.

    ¡°That works¡±.

    For the next couple hours Me and Leo went through my game category as we tried and failed to think about the shit we were gonna get ourselves into. Eventually Mary came down as Me and Leo quickly finished our game and got into Mary¡¯s car. After about twenty minutes of driving we stopped and drove into a parking lot as we got out of the car and made our way into an alleyway.

    We all changed into our hero outfits as it was pretty easy for me and Mary since she only had to put on a chest plate and 4 bracelets while I had to summon my armor from my pocket dimension onto me. It took Leo a couple minutes as his new costumes consisted of him wearing parts of the high tech armor under a black shirt with a yin yang symbol painted on and dark camo cargo pants along with the grappling gauntlets, still tipped climbing boots and the utility belt.

    Finally to finish up his new costume he wore a black duster coat and motorcycle helmet that also had a karma symbol on it ¡°so how do I look?¡±.

    I gave a thumbs up ¡°looks good like the karma symbols¡± I could feel the smile off Leo.

    We all quickly moved onto the roof of a nearby building as we all started moving on the rooftops. Leo moved with not much grace as he was pulled to one point to another stumbling everytime he landed. Mary was a lot more controlled with her movements using her power over air to slow her fall or shoot through the air. As always I was always being extra with my movements with how fast I could move. I could easily outpace Mary and Leo but I decided to do several tricks as I kept moving.

    I spotted the old factory in the distance as I could see the remains of what looked like giant statues of different toys on top of it. Switching to thermal sight I could spot dozens of figure moving throughout the factory ¡°bingo¡±

 chapter 32 first raids never go well ether

    The factory was much larger than I expected as when we got closer I was able to see that The factory was about 5-stories tall and was double that in width. As soon as I landed on the roof I took a quick headcount of how many people were in the building.

    I heard a thud behind me ¡°jeez I heard this place was huge but I don¡¯t think they have a building this big to make toys¡± Mary looked around as I continued counting.

    I heard a second thud, well more of a tumble as Leo patted himself off ¡°well more room means more places to make toys means more money¡±.

    ¡°True¡±

    I turned to face Leo and Mary ¡°we got several dozen people throughout the whole place. Karma, could you check out how many evolved were dealing with?¡±.

    ¡°Oh give me a sec¡± I could see Leo eyes start to glow under his mask as after a couple seconds his eyes returned to normal ¡°well we got 4 evolved in total so this is definitely the place¡±.

    ¡°Huh guess there''s honor among criminals¡± Mary said with a shrug as she walked over to a column with a door ¡°well we don¡¯t know what we are entirely dealing with so we gotta be pretty careful ok?¡± I gave a nod and Leo gave a thumbs up as Mary crushed the lock and gently pushed it open as we quickly followed her down a flight of stairs.

    Old that was the best way to describe the interior of the factory as we made our way to the first floor. When we finally reached the end of the stairs I had summoned my Thunderbat into my hand as I looked into the next room as I counted 5 goons. I held up five fingers as Leo and Mary gave me a nod as Leo eyes glowed behind his max and he held up a finger gun.

    Leo¡¯s fingers glowed a dark purple as he took aim and shot out 5 small purple bullets as I could see the goons get flung into the wall opposite of them. The door flew open from a kick from Mary as I shot past her towards the slowly recovering goons. I turned up the voltage on my bat as I quickly slammed it into the goons as the electricity flow putting them into a deep sleep.

    I searched the rooms around me as I could see more goons coming towards our current location ¡°we got company¡±. Leo¡¯s hands charged with bright blue energy, Mary extended her hammer as it sparked with power and I summoned several ball bearings into my left hand as the goons smashed through the doors on the left, right and the one in front of us.

    Two goons on the left with a shotgun and Ak respectively, 3 on the right all with steel bats and finally 5 from the front with a mix of both guns and melee weapons. I tossed out several ball bearings as quickly impacted the two gunmen on the left as with a yellow glow as quickly they ricochet into two more gunmen temples. I raced forward as I was quickly followed by Mary leap in front of the two goons on the left sending them flying to where they came from with a blast and several gravity bullets from that sent the 3 goons on the left straight into the concrete wall.

    The goons in front of me tried backing away but I had already bounded towards them as I swung bat into one goon then that goon slams into another then into another until all 5 of them are smashed into the ground. ¡°Was that it?¡± Leo said with mild disappointment ¡°oh we''re far from done we still got over several dozen more goons and 4 villains¡± Mary said as she finished zapping the two goons into unconsciousness ¡°then let''s go¡± I said as we all went into the room in front of us.

    We walked into what seemed to be a break room that had a couple pool tables, some boxes filled with random snacks and what seemed to be a half finished game on beer pong, reminds me of college. ¡°Huh I¡¯m not gonna lie but these guys had a pretty nice set up¡± Mary said as she flicked one of the eight balls on the pool table.

    I took a quick glance around as I could spot more goons coming to greet us. ¡°Hey guys question, shouldn''t we be moving faster so we can catch whoever is making the drugs here?¡± Leo said, why are we only realizing that now?.

    Me and Mary both stood there for several seconds staring at him before Mary lifted her hammer into the air and with an explosion of stone she made a large hole in the ground. ¡°Yeah he''s got a point¡± she said as she hopped down as I could already here yelling then gunfire from downstairs as me and Leo quickly followed her well I grab a couple of eight balls from the pool table before I headed down.

    Before I even landed I could already see Mary smashing her way through a group of goons as their bullets bounced off and their bats and blades broke against her. Seriously I¡¯d think they would have better gear to deal with really tough evolved especially when this place is the lifeline of the gang, can¡¯t blame them that high tech ammo is expensive as hell.

    Blasts of air, blades of water, pillars of ice and bolts of lighting shot through the air as Mary swapped from smashing goons with her hammer to hitting them with one of her many ways of range combat. Leo shot out a couple gravity bolts here and there blasting away any stragglers.

    I decided to follow his example by throwing the eight balls I grabbed earlier into the temples of several goons. Said eight balls then glowed with a yellow light as they ricochet off the heads of the goon just to fly right into another goon. The goons keep coming and we keep knocking them down but as I break the nose of another goon I start to notice something no, I start to hear something.

    It kinda sounded like a computer booting but a lot more staticiy and it was getting louder and louder. All my instincts were telling me that I should get moving so I grabbed a Leo and leapt a good 20 feet from my current location. My suspicions were confirmed when I turned to see a massive ball crackling green energy melt right through the floor, Finally something exciting.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Mary stopped halfway through electrocuting the remaining goons with a mini storm cloud as like me and Leo she turned to face the entrance to the room. After several seconds someone, no several someone''s rose from the hole seemingly on a floating green disk.

    The first figure had a skinny build like they never worked out before, not even once, didn¡¯t help that they were wearing bright green spandex with dark green lighting bolts running down his chest, arms and his legs that really showed off how skinny he was. Finally he had two dots for eyes that glowed a soft pulsing green ¡°huh I missed that''s new¡± he seemed generally surprised as he kinda nasally voice. ¡°Huh, maybe these guys are actually competent?¡± Said his companion sounded monotone like a robot. She seemed to be a girl wearing a set of heavy dark grey robes that dragged behind and a large hood that covered the entirety of her face. There was a loud burp as I turned my attention to the final member of the trio. Unlike his friends he was wearing something more casual, a pair of sandals, some swimming trunks, a red Hawaiian shirt and a pair of shades. To go with the surfer vibe he had a pretty muscular build, a deep tan and bright blond shaggy hair, oh I wonder what his power could be it''s so hard to tell, it''s definitely water related, I wonder how you ever could get that idea?

    ¡°Can we just get this over with? I have a hammock at my apartment that is just calling my name¡± Surfer dude said as he sounded so much more relaxed than his companions as if it was just a normal day at the job.

    ¡°Well I heard scratchers are pretty comfortable¡± Mary said as she lifted her hammer from her shoulders and pointed towards the 3 villains.

    ¡°So my friends weren¡¯t wrong about most villains just being walking stereotypes¡± Leo glances up and down at surfer dude ¡°and lazy ones at that¡±.

    I could see a vain start to bulge as Surfer dude grit his teeth and balled his hands into a fist ¡°ok I¡¯m gonna kill Them!¡±.

    Grey hood sighed ¡°Riptide please don¡¯t do anything r¡± before she could finish Mary burst into laughter. The 3 villains stared at Mary as eventually her laughter died down in a small snicker. ¡°hehehehe really riptide? For someone who seems to get mad over getting called a walking stereotype you really don¡¯t help your own case¡±.

    I could feel the shit eating grin under Mary¡¯s mask and Riptide seemed to feel it too as it also seemed to break as a swirling blue energy coated Riptide''s arms. ¡°Screw it I¡¯m going to kill them starting with the blond bitch¡± Riptide walked forward as I gripped my bat. Grey hood tried to stop her very angry friend as she put a hand on his shoulder ¡°Riptide rela¡± but He quickly shoved her back. ¡°Shut the fuck up Stoneheart¡± he snarled as he rip himself out of her grip.

    Leo whispered towards me ¡°these guys aren¡¯t work friends guess¡± I gave an agreeing nod. ¡°Greenlight¡± Mary starting laughing again at the even more stupid name ¡°let''s kill these fucks¡± Riptide said to his neon green friend as he sighed in relief ¡°finally ass kicking time¡±.

    As soon as greenlight stepped forward I had already switched to dex mode and rushed towards the trio of villains. I could see Mary charging after me and Leo shot several gravity bullets. I was already in front of riptide before greenlight foot could hit the ground as riptides head shot back as I hit him in the jaw with a quick jab.

    At the same time Greenlight was knocked to the ground as he took a gravity bullet right to the stomach. It seems Stoneheart had better reaction time then her friends as she was able to sidestep Mary. Mary shrugged as she went for another swing but Stoneheart simply leaned back avoiding the swing as Mary shot a bolt of electricity but once again she missed as Stone heart simply just hopped out of the way.

    The weird thing is she never retaliated once not a single counter or even using m=Mary own force against her she did nothing maybe she was just quick not strong. After the 6th missed attack from the almost raging Mary Stoneheart finally did something. She clasped both her hands together tightly and placed them against where her heart would be on her body.

    Before I could figure out what she was trying to do I could spot Riptide walking towards me rubbing his jaw. ¡°You are such a rude little sh¡± his head shot back again as I hit him with another jab this time right in the nose but instead of feeling his nose shatter I felt pain shoot through my hand. It felt like I punched solid rock as I hand throbbed as I could see riptide start walking towards me again but he was different.

    Last I saw his skin was a light tan and fleshy but right now I¡¯m seeing more of a dark grey color and rigid stone. Head to toe his skin seemed to be made of rock now hell even his eyes and hair was stone as if he was a stone statue brought to life, Of course stone hearts a support¡­..kill her now.

    I could see a large grimace form on Riptide''s face as he stepped towards me again ¡°you interrupted me you son of a¡± I switched out of dex mode and hit him with a straight right to the gut but it didn¡¯t even faze him, ok what did you even expect to happen there? ¡°Ok you''re dying now¡± I tried to step back but Riptide shot his hand and what seemed to be a blast of water slammed into me. It knocked me back a foot as it wasn¡¯t really that strong of an attack as it just kind of stung but I quickly realized something the water hadn¡¯t fallen to the ground.

    The water paused in the air for several seconds as I tried to step out the water but I couldn¡¯t move even an inch. It felt like I was trapped in cement as I could see the frown on Riptide''s face turn upside down. ¡°Newbie you should have hit me full force because now¡± the water started to pull me towards him as his palm and the water started to glow a neon blue. As I was pulled towards him the water was quickly absorbed into his hand as the light glowed brighter and brighter until his palm landed on my stomach ¡°you''re just gonna get washed away¡± and the light exploded forward.

    I felt the wind get knocked out of me as I shot through the air at high speeds as I smashed right through a concrete wall. I skittered across the group as I eventually stopped as I laid on my stomach. Before I could start gasping for air I was forced to yank off my mask as I started vomiting blood.

    I could feel most of my ribs were shattered and the shard had stabbed into my lungs feeling them with blood. The rest of my organs weren¡¯t really doing well as I could feel my healing factory working at top gear to keep me from choking on my own blood. I shakily stood up as I could feel my lungs were no longer being punctured by my own ribs, that''s a plus.

    You know this is what you get for constantly underestimating your opponents, you really need to fix that or we will, ¡°shut up¡±. I shook my head a bit as I made my way into the me size hole and well it seemed like I wasn''t the only one having a bad time. Leo was constantly firing blasts of blue energy at greenlight but the guy in basically a green suit was kinda kicking his ass. That large disk the 3 villains seemed to also act as a shield as every energy or gravity blast seemed to dissipate against it and every time Leo stopped to conserve energy greenlight would fire a smaller version of that energy ball from earlier. This kept Leo constantly on toes as he was forced to keep grappling around or he would be turned into a donut.

    I turned to the other side of the room to see Mary was having it even worse than Leo. She couldn¡¯t land a single hit on Stoneheart and whenever she tried to use an attack with a bigger range she would be forced to move or be blasted away by riptide. She tried to damage Riptide but seems whatever Stoneheart is doing to him is making him pretty much indestructible as her attack just bounced off him.

    So let me break this down real quick, We got an energy manipulator with a great offense and defense. A guy who has the ability to draw you in if he hits and hits you with the force of a freight train. finally a girl who seems to have superhuman reaction time and can make her friends invincible, this is all just so wonderful. I sighed as I shifted to dex mode and summoned a scarlet mace into each of my hands. You gonna get your ass kicked again?, quite the opposite¡­¡­¡­wait who said that?¡­¡­¡­¡­You know what that''s something I will deal with later. So I take a deep breath as I Feel everything slow down, my heart starts to beat faster as adrenaline runs through my veins and I rush back into the fight