《The Chronicles Of Max Hunter 3: The Art Of Sparring》 117. Panic In Hypercity An open street. One not too far from the Hypercity park. There was nothing particularly odd about this street. On it, the people of the city would go about as ordinarily as one would imagine. The sounds of children playing could be heard in the distance, some gentlemen talking about their day, some women laughing while taking tea from a nearby coffee shop. All that would be, in many ways, a normal day on that street. Of course, it had not been too long since the spider bots attacked Hypercity, but even still, that street would be the same even considering that situation. After all, life would go on. But at this very moment, there was, on this usually relaxing and peaceful street, a massive panic. On scene was an ambulance carrying a young woman whose face had been covered by a towel into the vehicle. Another woman, seemingly a friend of hers, was still crying loudly right next to her. A police vehicle was also on scene, and several men, women, and children looked on, as their parent of said children shielded their eyes from the scene. Policeman: What happened to her ma''am? Name: Geoffery Cox Age: 37 Description: Somewhat tubby, but not too much Occupation: Police Officer Fact: Doesn''t like jelly donuts Woman: He just... and then.... and... and.... Name: Rachel MarshUnauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Age: 20 Description: What you''d expect from a hot 20 year old. Occupation: College student Fact: Beat boxes as a hobby. Is quite good at it. Rachel was extremely shaken by her, as was the audience. Why wouldn''t she be? Her best friend and partner in crime had just been ruthlessly attacked, her face horribly mauled, and, as she was being carried away, she seemed to be in incredible pain. Tears rolled down her eyes as Cox, with a slight annoyance, waited patiently for her to calm down. Geoffery: (thinking: Oh boy, here we go....) The rest of the audience, having come from every one who''d heard the commotion and / or heard Rachel and her friends initial scream, waited as well in anticipation. There was one fact that held true here as well as in many real-life situations. That truth being, that most people only really pay attention to themselves. As a result, hardly any of them had heard of what had happened. Even those nearby had only seen a glimpse of it. But the little glimpse they''d seen was too little to make sense of what had happened. That is how things usually go in life. But in this case, it also happened that some people did catch a glimpse of what had happened. However, if seeing was believing, those who had seen enough to make sense of what had happened, didn''t want to believe it. They couldn''t. After all, how could they? It was all too absurd. So absurd, that even those who had seen enough to understand the situation, were still there, not just because they were worried about the girl, but also, because they wanted her to affirm what they had just seen. All of their minds singing, "Was it just me... or..... did I see.......?" Something along those lines ran through their minds, for no normal person would see that and immediately imagine that all was well with the world. Geoffery: Alright, alright. Standard procedure, everyone. Back off. He told the people to give Rachel some space before... Geoffery: (to his phone) This is Geoffery Cox speaking. I''ll be needing some assistance over. Woman''s voice: I got ya covered, over. Name: Sydney Celia Davis Age: 32 Occupation: Police Calls Operator Description: Spunky, but she is new there so... Fact: She always wanted to be a cop, even as a little girl Sydney: I''ll send our finest over, over. She then started another call. So, one would ask, what did happen? The public would never no. They all lazily and murmuringly turned around and left the scene. Rachel hesitantly turned to the ambulance as it left. She wanted to go with her friend, as most people would. Geoffery: No need to worry, miss. She''ll be fine. Now, about the.... Rachel started sobbing again. Geoffery: (sighs) (thinking: Here we go again. I do not get paid enough for this.) 118. Hypercity Park 1: Attack Of The Giant Squirrels About 20 minutes earlier. Perhaps a little less than that, two young, beautiful women were on walking down the street, chatting. Rachel: I know, right? Tina is sooooo crushing on Dylan. Other woman: Mmmmm hmmmm..... Name: Elizabeth Horton Age: 20 Description: Only about 1% hotter than her best friend Occupation: College student Fact: " A healthy dosage of gossip does wonders for your skin, social welfare, and friendships." She says this to herself every day. The two girls were on their way to have some tea in the park. After the destruction caused by the spider bots, the entire town''s school system ordered holidays for the kids and even free days for the adults, at least until the next week. And these two girls were going to make the most of those free days. After all, the town had been attacked by robots they knew nothing of. As a result, they needed to de-stress, as most people would. Elizabeth: (sighs) I just wish people could just be more open about what they want, you know? Rachel: Mmmmm hmmmm. (play acting as a nerdy girl) I completely concur. The pair immediately laughed out loud, even tearing up. Elizabeth: You should try acting like that girl Cassidy. Rachel: Really? Elizabeth: Yeah, for real. Their laughter slowly died into laboured breaths.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Elizabeth: Poor Tina... Rachel: Yeah.... As they turned to the next street, they found a somewhat older man. It was an odd sight, to be sure, because he was squatted down next to a tree. The girls gave each other a look before they both turned get a closer look, and much to their surprise, he was feeding squirrels. Elizabeth and Rachel: Oh my gosh! The man turned to the both of them and smiled. He was a handsome older man, but not that much older, in a coat and hat, somehat dapperly dressed. Name: Sylvester Perry Age: 29 Description: Elegant Occupation: Biologist, zoologist, scientist Fact: Has an insane sense of fashion. Really though, wow. The pair of girls could not help but try to get closer to him. After all, he was a handsome, well-dressed man, not too much older than either of them. Elizabeth: You''re so sweet! Rachel: I know, right? They immediately walked over to the squirrels who were hastily eating at the crumbs of food the man had left them on the ground. Elizabeth: Awwwww, you wittle babies. Rachel: Oh, you. Elizabeth: Oh, come on. They''re cute, aren''t they? Rachel: Uh huh... Elizabeth: Excuse me, Mister? What did you... But before she could finish, the man tipped his hat to her and walked away in a somewhat calm and gentlemanly manner, leaving both girls stunned. Rachel: Well, that was weird. Elizabeth: Yeah, but he''s so mysterious, isn''t he? Rachel: Yeah, he was kinda hot. Elizabeth: I wonder, does he live near here? Rachel: Oh my gosh, Eliza! Elizabeth: (sarcastically) What? Rachel: You.... But before she could finish, a squirrel started squirming aggressively on the ground. Rachel and Elizabeth: Huh? The squirrel had begun growling while squeezing its stomach. Elizabeth was the first to act. Elizabeth: Oh, my little baby. Are you gonna be ok? Did his food give you an upset tum tum? Rachel shook her head with slight disapproval before it happened. Bit by bit, its hairs grew longer, each standing on end. Rachel: Uhhhh... Eliza? Elizabeth shortly after begun to notice it as well and begun to back off. Elizabeth: Uhhh... baby squirrel.....? Its cute little chirps then turned to growls, something like those of a rabid canine. It also slowly grew bigger, doubling in size and grew sharper incisors as well as claws. Elizabeth: Wh... what the...?! Rachel: Wha......?! Before either could react, this odd ball of fur and aggression, turning to the closest person, jumped on Elizabeth''s face and attacked her, cutting at her face. The shock from both ladies was so great that it took them and the onlookers a full two seconds to react in any way, shape, or form. What was the first reaction? Of course, an ear piercing scream from Rachel. Rachel: Eliza!!!!! 119. Tiffanys Text That very evening..... Maximillian Hunter. He could be seen skateboarding across the street again. This time, unlike the last time, because he had a particular destination in mind. It was all because of a certain message he''d gotten from Tiffany earlier that day while video gaming. At that time... Tiffany: (text) Meet us here at seven pm on the dot. Don''t be late. In most cases, punctuality was not one of Max''s best traits. In fact, in most cases, he would think to stretch the time just a bit. By say.... five, ten,... maybe fifteen minutes. Maybe thirty. But in this case.... finally seeing people he liked hanging out with. He couldn''t help it. He had to come early. After all, it might be mission related, and he couldn''t wait to show his mettle and fight more. He smirked as he skated, pulling off a kick flip as he turned to change streets. A fight? A mission? Or just plain old chilling? He couldn''t wait. The location to which he''d been called was an odd one. It didn''t have a name. In fact, he''d just received a location with coordinates. And so, the place was probably pretty obscure. But that meant little. That just made it all the more likely to make it a mission. He felt adrenaline pump through his veins. Max: (thinking: I can''t wait!) He turned again to another street. The amount of time he would take to make it there had already been calculated by his phone, and he''d timed it accordingly so as to make it there with time to spare. An odd thought occurred to him in the meantime. When was the last time he''d gone so far so as to go somewhere on time?Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. But before he could elaborate, he heard a sound. A car''s horn, to be exact. It sounded loudly, and there wasn''t that many a car around, and so Max turned, wondering as to why that was. Max: Huh? The one who''d sounded the horn was no other than Luke, only that, he wasn''t in a truck, he was in a car. A pretty expensive looking one, to be exact. Luke: Hey, Max. Max: Luke? On the shot gun seat, he could see Tiffany, and in the window next to the side walk... Rose: Hi Max! Ken: Lovely skate you seem to be having. Max approached the car Max: You guys are... here? Ken: Well, with Luke being the only one who can drive, he remains our most efficient mode of transport. Max: Wait, then why didn''t you guys pick me up? Luke, Ken, and Rose all turned to a now pouting Tiffany. Tiffany: (sighs) Like I said, I thought he was going to super speed there. But apparently... you decided to skate there. Max: (shrugging) Hey, whatever works, right? Tiffany: (sighs) Whatever... Rose giggled at her remark. Luke: Hey, get in. There''s still some room in the back, ''less you wanna race. Max: Oh, is that a challenge? Max and Luke immediately glared at each other, not in an unfriendly way, but in a somewhat competitive way. Then, Ken suddenly retorted.... Ken: Interesting as that would be, I think it would be in the best of our interests if you spared your energy. Max: Spared? His mind immediately went into overdrive. Spare? Energy? That could only mean one thing. There was a mission. Max: Does that mean.... we''re gonna fight something? He was incredibly excited. Ken: Hmmm? No. Where would you get that idea? Max: Oh.... He immediately became depressed, muh to Ken''s and Luke''s amusement. Rose: You guys... Tiffany: (sighs) Just get in Max, I''ll explain on the way. Max: (sulking) Sure.. And with that, he entered the car, taking a window seat, seated next to Rose. It was an oddly comfy car. Comfy enough that it got his attention. Max: By the way, whose car is this? Luke: Oh, that? He started the car and sped off into the highway. Luke: It belongs to Timo. He lent it to me while the van got repairs. Max: Really? Rose: I know, right? Timo is so sweet. Max: No kidding. I''ve never heard of a boss willing to give his employee his car. Luke bit his tongue. He would say nothing. After all, Max didn''t know what Timo was to him. Tiffany turned to Luke with sympathy, as she was one of the few that understood. Max gave the car a longer look. Just how on earth did selling pizza get this man Timo such an incredible car? It wasn''t his first time in an expensive car, but it was among the better ones he''d been inside of. Tiffany started, perhaps to change the subject. 120. Training? Tiffany: Anyway,... Her voice immediately took Max''s attention, like a sudden alert in a before then quiet house. Tiffany: I suppose you''re wondering about where we''re going and why. Max: Uh... yeah, obviously. Rose giggled at his response. The car drove off into what was an empty highway. Hardly a car went by. Tiffany: (sighs) The place we''re going to is something we call the playground. Max: The playground? Of course, such a silly code name would make no sense to Max. Playgrounds weren''t even the kind of thing that teens would hang out in. Ken: That''s simply a code name. Max: Code name? For what? Tiffany: For the place where we train. Max: Train? Rose: Uh huh. It all came together in a matter of seconds. Max: Wait! So... we''re going to train? Tiffany: Uh huh. Ken: Yep. Max: So then..... but..... Tiffany: Prowess on the battlefield is not born from just sitting around and talking about it. We have to practice. It was at that point that Max noticed that, on the floor on which they were seated, a sheathed katana was lying. Tiffany: And so, we''re heading there to train. Max: Oh..... A moment of recollection passed. Max: Wait!Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Tiffany: Hmm? Max: What if somebody sees us using our powers? Tiffany: Already accounted for. Max: Huh? Tiffany: Ken? Ken: The area we''re headed to is called Groundstone, and it''s pretty deserted. Max: Deserted? Ken: Hmm. If one were to travel to, say the centre of Groundstone, one would find oneself completely deserted for three miles in every direction. Give or take a few yards. Max: Woah! Tiffany: And given the solitude as well as all the rough terrain the area, we can train there effectively without needing to worry about a thing. Max: Cool Luke: And it''s only.... say...... thirty minutes to an hour from here. And so it won''t be long till we''re there. Max: Huh..... wait.... Rose: Hmm? Max: How''d you guys find a place like that? Ken: Oh, that. Well, apparently, Luke found it. Max: Luke? At that moment, although it was brief, Tiffany''s eyes winced, and as did Luke''s. However, this brief moment escaped the eyes of Max, Rose, and Ken, as they were seated at the back. In said brief moment, all was silent in the van. But before anyone could even begin to question it mentally.... Luke: Yeah. Let''s just say.... I used to go there to.... let off some steam.... Max: Woah, really! That place must be huge! Luke: Yeah.... In Max''s mind, he could only imagine Luke using his super strength to demolish buildings without a worry on the world. Tiffany: In any case, .... Like before, her words brought him right out of his mind. Max: Hmm? Tiffany: ... seeing as you''re new to this, we''ll be needing to take some stats first. Max: Stats? Tiffany: Yeah, stats. Ken? Ken: (almost robotically) Maximum speed, maximum physical strength, endurance, extent and number of abilities, power output, and, of course, progression. Max: Eh.... that sounds kinda boring. Ken: Meh... true. No need to worry, though. I''ll simply keep all the numbers in my database. Max: You have a database? Ken: Yes. Tiffany: And on top of that, we''ll also be practising for situations on the battlefield, practice manouvres, and, of course... It was almost as if she knew that this would intrigue Max. Tiffany: ... spar. Max: Spar!? His mood immediately lit up, and his eyes immediately darted around to look at Rose and Ken. Rose had her usual nervous smile, but Ken simply smirked. Tiffany: Yes, spar. After all, what better way is there to gauge our own abilities than to fight? He couldn''t believe what he was hearing. His heart beat, and later, a smirk grew on his face. Max: Well, count me in! Tiffany: (sighs) Of course, .... Max: Huh? Tiffany: .... we''re not fighting each other for real. Max: Yeah, yeah. I know that. He fell back into his seat and shrugged. Tiffany: Good. Also.... As the car sped onto the highway.... Tiffany: ... nevermind. Max: Huh? Ken: You''ll figure it out soon enough. Rose started giggling. Max: Wha....!? Rose: It''s ok, Max. It''s just something that Tiff had all of us do. But I''m sure you''ll be fine. Max: Have us all do? (thinking: Why is everybody acting so weird all of a sudden? Did I rope myself into something weird?) 121. So... About Yesterday.... Seeing as the streets were, for the most part, empty... the drive to the "Playground" was largely uninhibited, leisurely, and most of all, peaceful. The car remained in a somewhat comfortable silence. As the car passed through the city, Max took a look at Hypercity from outside the car. At that point, it had occured to him that he''d never really taken time to try to see the whole city around him. Some new buildings he''d never seen before popped up. The X-corp tower could be seen from a distance, slowly getting repaired. And shortly after, he noticed that there was yet another tower.... a Y-corp tower. Max: There''s an X-corp and a Y-corp? Ken: And a Z-corp. Max: Huh.... That concept sounded entirely ludicruous to him. Max: Are they all connected? Ken: Yes... and no. Max: Huh? Ken: They''re all competitors producing baby products. That is all. Max: O....... K......? As if it couldn''t get any weirder. Max: Man, Hypercity is one strange town. Ken: (nodding) True, true..... (sighs), but we protect it all the same. It took an extra second for Max to suddenly say... Max: Hey, wait a minute. You think Y or Z-corp created the spider bots? Ken: Hmmm.... unlikely, but not impossible.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Max: Well.... I guess so.... This question had Ken already asked himself, but he''d long since deemed it unlikely. After all, did a baby product company have enough technology to create such a thing? No, it had to be something far more sinister. Silence returned to the car, but only for a little while before Rose, who had been working up the nerve to say something, finally spoke. Rose: Ummm.... Max? Max: Yeah, Rose? Rose: Well, I mean.... She was about to back off of the question, but her eyes fell on Max''s wrist. Her custom alien arm band was still there. In a way, that gave her confidence. Enough that she could say what was on her mind. Rose: Did you and Mrs Hunter.... Max: Yeah? Julianne Hunter. The sheer mention of her name sent chills down the spines of the then silent teens. If they were only barely paying attention before, they were certainly paying attention then. Had Luke been an even slightly worse driver, he would have sent them all skidding towards the pavement. Rose: ..... I mean... did she enjoy the ribs we cooked? I mean... she never tried them when I was still around. Around? That word only served to unnerve the others more. "What on earth was she doing with that woman in Max''s home?" That statement was in all their minds as Max replied with a smile. Max: Oh yeah.... It was great! Mom said she loved it. Thanks. Rose: I''m glad. She gave a gentle smile before being ruthlessly interrupted. Ken: Hold on... did you just say.... that....? Luke: Yeah, I wanna know what''s going on too? They were careful not to make any rude allegations. For one thing, she''d done them no wrong, and for another, her son was right there. But, as most people would not, they would not forget what had happened that night, and also her dubious behaviour in the morning right after that. Max: Huh? What''s wrong? Tiffany, Ken, and Luke all held their tongues. As they''d all figured, Max didn''t know what had happened. And as for Rose, she just went along with it. Ken: We''re just.... curious.... Luke: Yeah.... Tiffany remained silent. Max: Hmm? Perhaps Max would have questioned the strangeness of the situation further had Rose not immediately interjected. Rose: Oh, yesterday, I gave Julianne Hunter a visit. Yet again, Luke''s driving skills paid off. Perhaps because he''d already been expecting a crazy reply, had he been prepared for such a situation. As a result of all this, the car only swerved ever so slightly. Tiffany''s eyes widened massively, like she''d seen a ghost. And Ken, keeping his cool... Ken: Oh, really.... and how was it? Rose: Oh, she was sooooooo nice! And she gave me some really good advice. And then.... we cooked together. Ken: Really now.... (thinking: You don''t say.) Rose: Uh huh.... She seemed so chirpy and happy that anyone who''d seen her talk would have thought the other three had no reason to be worried. However, as evidently seen in the eyes of Luke, Ken, and Tiffany, none of them had any desire to correct Rose or even to interject further. They''d all heard enough. And would all rather that it stayed that way. After all, why ask follow-up questions? 122. Maxs Fear It wasn''t much longer before the car started to approach their destination. Max''s eyes on the window screen, he started to notice how the surrounding area became increasingly less civilised, the car bumping up a bit here and there on the ever increasingly rocky terrain. Max: Are we almost there? Ken: Hmm... About five more minutes. Five minutes, and it was already this "out of bounds." One could only imagine what it would look like at the very end of the journey. And Max wouldn''t have to wait long, as those five minutes would quickly expire, but before then.... Luke: We''ll stop here. Max: Huh? He stopped the car in what seemed to be a strange and uneven road. Ken: This isn''t the place. It''s still further up ahead. Luke: Yeah, but we''ll have to stop here. I''d rather not endanger Timo''s car. Max: Oh.... They all got out of the car. Tiffany: It''s this way. C''mon. Max: Ok. She motioned to Max to follow her, and the rest started in their trek towards their destination as well. But then, Luke held Ken back just for a bit. Luke: Hey, Ken. Ken: Yeah? Luke: Could you scan the car real quick? Just to make sure nothing bad happened to it. Ken: (sighs) Sure... His eyes glowed red and scanned through the car. Ken: It''s fine. Nothing to worry about.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Luke: Phew. Thanks. A heavy weight had left his heart. Luke: Let''s go join the others. Meanwhile... Max: Hey, you sure we should leave that car over there? Tiffany: It''s fine. Hardly anyone comes by here anyway. Max: But... why? Tiffany: It''s a ghost town. Max: Huh? Ken: (spooky voice) There''s a rumour.... that several people here..... were killed by a curse. (dramatically spookily) A curse! Rose: Ken! Ken: What? Well... it is what happened. Tiffany: However, said ghost story isn''t exactly true. Max: Huh? Tiffany: Or rather.... Ken: We simply haven''t found any ghosts yet. Max: Huh!? What he''d expected was some kind of statement explaining that it was just people being gullible. But, no....no.... They had no idea either. Max: Wait, you mean....! Ken: Yes. We have no idea either. Tiffany: But... it was probably just some folk tale meant to scare people. Luke: Yeah. When I first found this place, I''d heard about the stories, but.... For yet another brief moment, both him and, to a lesser degree, Tiffany seemed troubled. Luke: ... well, none of them ever panned out. So, it''s no big deal. Max: You sure? Luke: Yeah. Ken: Hmm? Are you scared of ghosts, Max? He flinched. This was perhaps the first time since he''d met Max in which he''d shown such fear. Max: N... no! Of course not. Ken: Really now. Fascinating. Max: Hey! I said I''m not scared of ghosts. Ken: Suuuuuuurrrreeeeeeee.... Max: Mmmmmm...... Rose: It''s ok, Max. I was pretty scared when I was first here, too. Max: But I...... He was only met with laughter from Luke and Ken. Max: Mmmmmmm...... Tiffany: There''s no need to worry. There are no ghosts here. Max: But I''m not.... Rose: When I was first here, I was super worried, too. But after a while, I just stopped worrying about it. Max: I..... ugh..... Ken: By the way, Max? Why do you fear ghosts? Max: I don''t... I... ugh.... I give up. Luke and Ken simply laughed at Max again, much to his chagrin. Max: (exhaustedly) Are we there yet? Tiffany: Almost. The trek would soon come to an end. In the area in which they walked, empty building could be seen. Tumbleweed, in a cliche kind of way, dancing around what used to be roads, the slow creak of what seemed to be an old child''s swing, the scent of "dead" buildings that had been neglected for a long time. One could easily see how one could come to the conclusion that this place was cursed. However, that did not stop Max from feeling unnerved. Suddenly.... Ken: Boo! Max: Gahhhh! He almost jumped, leaving Luke and Ken in laughter, much to, once again, Max''s chagrin. Max: Mmmmmm.....! Tiffany: (sighs) C''mon, you guys. We''re almost there. Just a few more turns. And she was not wrong. In this creepy, dusty, once civilised jungle, there it lay, right at the centre. The playground. 123. The Playground The playground. What would one expect from such a place? For one thing, it wasn''t what one would expect. Not just in the sense that it wasn''t a playground for children, but also, in the sense that it wasn''t just another centre of the town. One would imagine that it was just another set of buildings in the city, but no, it wasn''t. It wasn''t even just another open space. As a matter of fact, it was a massive crater, smack dab in the centre of the town. It was like a canyon. Deep enough that only a skilled climber could get in and get out. And as for the bottom, it was incredibly wide. Wide enough that several cars could drive there freely without any worry of non intentional collisions. Max: Woah! Ken: Yep. It is a beaut. Luke: I''ll say.... Max: That place is huge! Tiffany: Yeah, it is. Ken: Maximillian Hunter... Max: Huh? Ken: Welcome to the playground. In all its awe, looking down at it from the top of the crater, he couldn''t help but feel impressed by the sheer impressiveness of the spectacle. Tiffany: Alright, let''s get down there. She struck out her katana. Tiffany: But first, Ken? Ken: Right. He scanned the surrounding area once. Ken: No pursuers. Tiffany: Alright. Rose? Rose: Uh huh.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. She used her psychic powers to try to detect any humans. Rose: I can''t sense anyone. Tiffany: Good.... Ken: Though, to be honest, no one ever follows us here... Tiffany: I know. Just need to be sure.... She walked up to the face of the cliff. Tiffany: Alright, team.... Her eyes uneasily fell on Max as she said this... Tiffany: ... let''s move. Max: Team... Ken: She means you too, Max. Max: Yeah, yeah, I know that. Wait, how are we gonna get down there? Tiffany: Rose? Rose: Got it. At that moment, a piece of earth came from the ground, lifting them all up into the air. Max: Woah... He struggled for just a second to maintain his balance. Luke: Stay steady, Max. Max: Yeah, yeah, I got it. The rock moved down to the ground gently but also quickly. As they descended, Max got a better view of the playground. It was filled with crevices, massive boulders and had a very rough terrain with rough walls. But what became more conspicuous every moment, were signs of destruction and "human intervention." "Human intervention" that most likely came from the others. That much was obvious to Max. The boulder eventually landed on the ground. Max was the first to get off of it, dashing off of the rock and taking his time to look around. The others calmly walked down and off of the boulder. Max: This place is even bigger up close. Tiffany: Alright, team. Let''s get to it. Luke: Yeah He crackled his knuckles together. Ken: Let''s get this over and done with. Rose: Uh huh... let''s go. Max was still looking at all the destruction. It was clear as day. Exceedingly, heavy things had been lifted and then thrown, blown up, brushed or sliced, and diced. Since he seemed so distracted, Tiffany decided to talk to him. Tiffany: Max? Max: You guys.... are awesome. Rose: R.... really? She blushed. Ken: Why, thank you. Luke: Yeah. But let''s just get started already. Max: Hmph.... Tiffany: Alright. We''ll start with basic warm-ups. Rose? Ken? Rose: Gotcha! Ken: Hmph! Max: Warm-ups? Ken: Just give it a sec... He pointed a standing ready Rose to certain rocks in the cliff face, and she pulled them out with her psychic powers. Max: Huh? Why are you... Ken: Just making ure we don''t destroy this place with us in it. Max: Oh.... right. The rocks landed on the ground. There were five of them. Each about the twice the size of a normal human. Tiffany: Alright, team. Go! Max: Wai.. what....?! Before he could finish speaking, Luke smashed one rock with a single punch, Ken melted one down with lasers, Rose crushed one with her psychic powers, and Tiffany sliced and diced one into several smaller pieces. Max: Huh.... There was one rock remaining, and the others looked at Max. But they didn''t need to look for long, or at all for any matter, as he''d immediately figured out what the point of it all was. He walked towards the rock, and electricity sparked out of his right hand. Max: Hmph! An electric bolt blasted the rock and blew it up immediately. Ken: Not bad. Rose: Yeah, good job, Max. Luke: Nicely done. Tiffany: Good. We all seem to be in a good enough condition to fight. 124. Project Max Max: Great! So....... Tiffany sighed. As she''d expected, Max was only interested in one thing. Sparring. Tiffany: Not yet. Max: Huh? Ken: We still have to do data analysis. Max: Data analysis? Ken: Yes. On our own abilities progression, but as well, and perhaps most importantly, on your abilities. Max: My abilities? Tiffany: What Ken means is that in order for us to work together, we need to know the full extent of your abilities. And, of course, you need to know the full extent of our own. That''s a big part of why training is so important. It''s so we can know what to expect from each other. Her points made Max think. To him,what she''d just said was really smart. Max: Huh. I never thought of it that way. Tiffany: Alright then. Now that that''s all said and done... Ken? Ken: Sure. Max? Max: Yeah? Ken: How fast can you run? The question made Max smirk. It was like asking a teenage boy how good he was at a video game he was pretty experienced in, or, asking a jock how heavy his tackles were. Max: Pretty fast.... Ken: Hmm. Well... The gist was obvious. The place was spacious, and without a word, Max made a brisk jog a few metres from them all. Max: So, how''s this gonna work? Ken: You run, and I''ll record you and calculate your top speed, alongside other metrics.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Max: Ok then. Luke, Rose, and Tiffany watched as Max did some stretches. Ken: By the way, all things considered, would you happen to know your top speed? (thinking: It would be a little weird if he didn¡¯t.) Max: Yeah. He continued stretching, however. Ken: Hmm? Luke: Huh? Max: It''s about... He stopped stretching and took a moment to think. Max: ... 500 kmh. Ken: Hmm. Luke: Woah! Rose: That''s incredible. Tiffany: (thinking: 500 kmh..... That is fast.) Ken: There''s only a handful of human invented vehicles that can top that speed. That being said... Max, you''re really fast. Max: Thank you, thank you. He fakely bowed, much to Rose''s amusement. TIffany: Agreed. With speed like that, he can avoid enemy attacks better than all of us. (thinking: Which also means I won''t have to worry too much about him. That''s good news.) Max: Yeah. But it also means that my punches... He made a fist and threw a jab. Max: ... are gonna hit real hard. Ken: True. Luke: Yeah.. Ken: (sighs) However, since unlike Luke, your speed has to be consciously activated.... Max: Mmmmm.... Ken: ... it also means that you won''t always be moving that fast. Max: Yeah, yeah..... I''ll be fine. He started to hop on the ground. Max: So, am I running or what? Luke: I guess so.. Why not? Ken: Yes, while we do know how fast he is, I do want to check on some other things. Max, Rose and Luke: Other things? Ken: Yes. Other things. (smirking) I''ll let you all know once I''m done with the analysis. Max: Alright.... He turned to the distance. Max: Then, without further ado.... They all silently watched him as he got into position, and then shortly after, dashed. He sped at an incredible pace, as he always did, leaving a dust cloud where he''d started. Rose: So fast... Luke: Yeah.... Tiffany: Hmph.... They all knew he could do it, but seeing it in a situation in which they weren''t distracted was another story. Max raced across the crater bottom, dashing while making a few tight turns here and there, before running in a circle for several minutes and then, brirefly, simply dashing in a straight line for quite a stretch and then returning to his starting position. Max: So, how''d I do? He was barely sweating or even panting. For the most part, he only seemed slightly exhausted. Rose ran up to him. Rose: That was amazing! Luke: Hmph. Yeah. Tiffany: Agreed. Ken: Absolutely. Like anyone receiving praise for something they did, Max couldn''t help but feel a little proud of himself. High speeds weren''t a talent, but rather, a part of his DNA. For that reason, one might say he had no reason to feel proud of it, as he''d never worked for it. But, as humans, it is a matter of course to feel proud of oneself when someone exclaims that oneself is intrinsically good. Be it a talent or genetics. That''s just how it is. 125. Maxs Super Speed Suddenly, Max interjected. Max: Yeah, so..... Ken? The obvious question. What was Max''s highest speed? After all, it was the whole reason he''d started this in the first place. Ken: Absolutely. A blue holographic screen appeared from Ken''s eyes, showing a video of Max moving at super speed but in super slow motion. Max: Woah... The rest of them came together to view it all at once. Rose: That''s.. Max? Ken: Yes. The video showed Max running at a speed that one would consider to be normal. Ken: As you can see here, to capture Max in this frame rate, I had to slow it down significantly. Tiffany: How significantly? Ken: It took a factor of about.... 29. Rose: Oh my gosh! Luke: Yeah, that''s really fast. Max simply kept being proud of himself, smirking all the while. Tiffany: I see. (thinking: That''s good news.) Ken: On top of that, towards the final stretch, Max''s final speed just so happened to be... Towards the end of his sentence, Max suddenly started paying close attention. Ken: .... 570 kmh. Rose: Woah! Luke: Huh!Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. But their reactions were cut short by Max''s sudden celebration. Max: Oh yeah! Ken, Luke, Rose and Tiffany: Huh? Max: New personal best! Ken: Personal best? Max: Yeah. The last time I calculated it, I could only make it to 517. That was about a month ago. Ken: I see.... Rose: Hmmm. Is something wrong, Ken? Ken: No. But that would mean that Max''s top speed will keep increasing as he grows older. Luke: Hmph. Well, that just means he''ll keep getting stronger. Ken: Affirmative. Max: Yeah, I''m awesome. Hmph. Tiffany: (sighs) Anyway... Ken? Ken: Yes, your ladyship? Tiffany: You said you were going to do more than calculate his top speed. For one to understand Ken''s thought process, one would have to understand the mind of one who loves science and also the mind of Kenneth Stone. Scientific minds are rarely satisfied with simply one-word or one-sentence answers. A good example would be, where do chicken come from? A not very scientific mind would simply say, "Eggs hatch into chicks which grow into chicken." And another not so scientific mind would simply accept this answer, perhaps with a bit of evidence here and there in form of videos or live evidence. A scientific mind, however, would want to look into the process in and of itself and ask questions that some wouldn''t have even thought of asking. Say, for example, "How does the chick develop in the egg?" "How does it survive in there without what seems to be air?" "How does it break out?" Such questions are what one who has a scientific mind tends to ask. And Ken... was one such person. The obvious question was, "How fast in Maximillian Hunter at his best?" But Ken wanted to take things a step further. In his own glee at the realisation of a scientific discovery, which in reality could simply be referred to as a greater understanding of what was around him, he smirked to himself before starting. Ken: Absolutely, and I did. He started by showing them all a video of Max''s start. Ken: This is Max''s starting speed. He played the video. That, on its own, meant almost nothing to any of them, as he showed it to them in slow motion. They all simply watched as it showed Max simply break into a sprint from the start. Ken: Now, I''ll play that again, but I want you all to take a look at the bottom right hand of the screen, where I''ve calculated the degree to which I had to slow it down to make it look like he was running at that speed as well as the time that had passed. A perplexing point, considering that he''d already told them the factor by which Max had out paced a normal human. Ken played it once again. This time, the time elapsed, and the "slow mo factor" were clearly visible on the holographic screen. They all watched intently as the video began, focusing on those two numbers. The amount by which the numbers increased would have shocked just about anyone who had a conceptual understanding of acceleration, speed, and time. Ken: As you can clearly see, those numbers are exceptional. 126. The Finer Things Of Speed Of course, said numbers would have made no sense to anyone who didn''t know much about acceleration. Rose: Uhh...... what numbers? Ken: To be more precise, it''s not his speed that fascinates me. Well, to be even more clear about that.... He fast forwarded the footage, showing Max moving at incredible speeds, turning and twisting across the crater. Ken: ... It would also seem that Max has an exceptional control over his super speed, and so he''s not just mindlessly runnung around. Max: Yeah, yeah, obviously. So, what''s up? Ken: Hmph. However, what is truly intriguing is this. He returned to the footage of Max in his starting position and played just until he''d begun to run, this time highlighting one of the numbers on the bottom of the screen. Ken: His acceleration. Rose: Huh? Max: Hmm? Luke: Oh, I see... Tiffany: His acceleration? Ken: As you may or may not know, most car companies rate the acceleration of their car based on how much time it takes for them to go from 0 to 60mph? Luke: Hmm. True. Ken: So, you''ve noticed? Luke: Yeah... Ken: The lowest recorded time taken to get to 60mph is 1.2 seconds. With Max, it''s... And the highlighted number, in an almost strange sense, loudly sounded in their minds. Ken: .... 0.13 seconds, which is unprecedented.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Those very words shocked them. Tiffany: But that''s..... Rose: So cool! Max, smugly, rubbed his nose. Max: Yeah, I''m pretty awesome. Ken: No kidding. Max: Huh? It was an odd thing to receive an honest complement for Max. Moreso from Ken, whom Max had already figured out tended to be sarcastic. Ken: You have an acceleration of over 200 metres per second squared, which, quite frankly, is ridiculous. Rose: Really? Luke: I''ll say... Luke wasn''t too unknowledgeable about cars, and so this number did actually mean something to him. Tiffany: I see.... (thinking: Could it be...?) As for Tiffany, she knew what it meant. Max: Huh.... Ken: You didn''t know? Max: Well.... He seemed to be in deep thought. Max: My mom did say something about that being exceptional amongst.... For the briefest moment, he paused before he continued. Almost as if he was in seriously deep and troubling thought. However, while this was noticed, it was hardly registered. Max: .... other protonites. Yeah.... Ken: So, your acceleration is higher than that of most of your species? Max: Yeah! He was mighty proud of that fact. Ken: (smirking) Heh... well, well...... (thinking: Ever full of surprises, I see.) Rose: Wow, Max! You''re so talented! Luke: Gotta admit, if it''s what I think it is, that is pretty insane. Max simply scratched his head, smiling and continuing to enjoy the compliments. Tiffany: Alright then. On to the next one. Max: Next one? Tiffany: Yeah. Up next is your electrokinesis. Max: My electrokine..... After all the excitement with his speed, he''d almost forgotten what they were doing at the time. Max: Oh, right. He dashed in front of all of them. Max: Alright.... And then cracked his knuckles. Max: .... so, how are we gonna do this? Tiffany: Rose? Rose: Right! Tiffany: And make it a big one this time. Rose: A big one? Tiffany: Yeah Rose: Ok! She immediately began to look for one while Ken, after promptly shutting off his screen, directed her to a very specific rock. She used her powers to, once more, pluck a massive rock from the walls of the cliff. This time, she could be seen visibly straining herself to carry it. As for the boulder, it was heavier than all the five previous rocks together. Just as she was about to put it on the ground, all the while almost dropping it, Luke came up from under it and grabbed it. Rose: (slightly strained) Thanks.. Luke. Luke: Don''t worry about it. He dropped the massive rock onto the ground, but even gently, it made a massive thud. Max: Sheesh! It wasn''t just heavy, but also incredibly tall. Luke: Well, that''ll do. Right Tiff? Tiffany: Yeah She walked up to it and patted it a few times. Max: So... I have to blast that? 127. Lukes Power Tiffany: Simply put, yeah. Max: Oh boy.... In his life, Max couldn''t say he''d ever blasted something that huge with electricity. He took a moment to think about it. Luke: Hey. Max: Huh? Luke: Need me to break it for you or something? Max: What!? No way! He turned back to the rock once more. Rose: You''ve got this, Max. Luke: (quietly, to Ken) Think he can do it? Ken: Hmmm.... I don''t believe I''ve ever seen him bring out that much power. Max: Hey! I heard that! Ken: My apologies. Max nervously turned back to the rock. In a sense, a test of one''s is a terrifying thing. While some may say that they are simply in the want of some way to prove themselves, others may also say that such a test terrifies them. After all, what could be more terrifying than the sudden realisation that you''re not as strong, smart, or amazing as you''d earlier thought. Even more is the fear of what others will say about you. That much being said, Max charged up the electricity in his right hand after taking a short, somewhat deep breath. A sound of electricity, like several birds tweeting all at once, could be heard coming from Max. Rose: Woah! Ken: (thinking: That sound....) Tiffany: (thinking: That''s the same technique...) She briefly flashed back to the time Max attacked Wolfram from the air in their battle right before he''d entered an overload state.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. That same violent electrical surging sound. He carefully aimed his hand at the rock. And then... he fired it, directly at the boulders centre. The resulting sound was that of an explosion. Not a very big one, but definitely a powerful sounding one, leaving behind a massive cloud of smoke, causing them all but Tiffany and Luke to close their eyes. Rose: Did he do it? Tiffany: No. But.... The smoke slowly after begun to clear. Tiffany: He did do a substantial amount of damage to it. At the centre of the rock lay a massive hole, with black marks around from the lighting bolt and cracks protruding from the point of contact. Rose: Woah! The smoke cleared, showing how much damage had been done to Max, Ken, and Rose. Rose: That was awesome, Max! She ran up to him. Max: Awww.... man. Rose: Huh? Max: I couldn''t blow it up. He was quite upset with himself. Ken: Hmmmm... No need to be so ashamed of yourself. Max: Mmmmmmmm.... Ken: After all, the only one among us who can destroy that boulder easily is Luke. Max: Luke? Luke: Hmph. Yeah. It wouldn''t be that hard. Several moments later, they were all gathered a safe distance from the rock. All of them, except for Luke, of course. Luke: Ok, here we go. He simply walked towards the rock and, flexing his muscles once, destroyed it all in a single punch, sending smaller boulders all around them. The act shocked Max more than them all. Max: No way! Rose: Awesome work, Luke! Max: Yeah, no kidding... (thinking: Man.... Luke is strong. Real strong.) Luke: It wasn''t a big deal. Tiffany: Now that that''s said and done. Ken? Ken: Yes, yes. His maximum voltage. That would be about.... enough volts and current to kill a normal human. Rose: Woah! Luke: Hey, wise guy. What about some numbers? Ken: Meh.... they wouldn''t mean much to you. Luke: Tch.. Fine. Tiffany: (sighs) Alright then. Ken: (thinking: But that still wasn''t anything close to what overload was capable of that day. Not even a little.) Tiffany finally pulled her katana out. Max immediately got excited. Tiffany: Now that that''s said and done, let''s actually train. Rose, Ken, and Luke: Hmph! Max: Alright! Let''s get this party started! Electricity sparked out of his hands. Tiffany: Not so fast, Max. Max: Huh? Tiffany: Luke, Ken, you''re up. Sparring! Luke: You got it. Ken: (sighs) Oh boy, I was hoping I''d have more time to relax... The two teen boys walked a distance from the other three. Rose: Do your best, guys! Ken waved back half-heartedly. Tiffany: Max? Max: (almost aggressively) Yeah? Tiffany: I want you to watch. Max: Huh? Tiffany: Just to make sure you don''t get the wrong idea about how sparring works. Max: Mmmmmmm.... Fine! (thinking: Of course I know how sparring works. I''ve played a ton of video games that had that in the story.) 128. The Art Of Sparring Luke and Ken faced each other from a distance of a few metres, as Max watched in anxious anticipation. Max: (thinking: Super strength vs. super smarts. This is gonna be intense.) To Max, a lover of video games, a battle between these two would be one for the books. On the one hand, Luke was like an unstoppable force. If he connected once, it would be over. But on the other hand, he had been a first-hand witness to how useful Ken''s intellect could be in a pinch. Tiffany: Now watch closely, Max. Max: Yeah, I will.. Of course, he was watching closely for a different reason. Even if it was just a sparring session, even if it was fake, the question was, "Who would win?" Luke cracked his knuckles while Ken nonchalantly sighed. Luke: You ready? Ken: As ready as I''ll ever be..... He was not in the mood for this. That statement would be an understatement. Tiffany: Alright...... Both teens got into position and then bowed. Max: Bowing? Rose: You''ve got this, guys! Luke: Hmph! Ken: Hmph! Max simply remained silent, thinking... "Here they go." Tiffany: Ready...... She raised her hands like something of a referee. Tiffany: Begin!Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. She "karate chopped" in the air, and at that very moment, Luke made a charge at Ken, who simply stayed in place. Luke: You better get ready, Ken. Ken simply sighed before, with full force, firing lasers out of his eyes, right onto Luke. Said lasers, however, only served to push Luke back a bit as he, shielding his eyes, continued to push forward. Max: Woah! He did not expect Ken to go all out like that. After all, it was only sparring. And then, as if Tiffany could read Maxs mind.... Tiffany: Luke''s skin is tough enough that it can take a lot of punishment. Max: No kidding... His mind then returned him to their battle with the spider bot. Luke took a point blank laser that could disintergrate a building in one shot and survived. In fact, he had no wounds to speak of. Tiffany: Therefore, Ken allows himself to go all out against him while using lasers. Max: I see.... His eyes were still glued to the fight. Tiffany: Do you get it, Max? Max: Huh? Tiffany: When sparring with someone, you need to know how much of your powers you can use without badly harming your partner, or else.... Max: Oh... The "or else" was obvious. As one with his powers, he knew perfectly well how easily he could kill someone. Max: I get it.... Meanwhile.... Luke had just about caught up to Ken, who had simply remained in place. All the while, he took the laser blast with his left arm. Luke: (strained) You''re gonna have to do.... better... At that point, he was right next to Ken. Luke: ... than that! And then suddenly, he stopped blocking and jabbed the ground right next to Ken as hard as he could, creating a massive tremor. Max and Rose: Woah! Rose and Max almost lost their balance. And as for Ken, he''d jumped away at the last minute. Max: What was that!? He almost hit him! Tiffany: Almost.... Max: Huh?! Tiffany: He punched the ground near Ken. That way, he could discombobulate him without actually harming him. Max: Oh.... He didn''t actually notice that while watching them, as he''d initially imagined that he''d intended on hitting him. Tiffany: Pay close attention. Max: Yeah, yeah... Back at the scene of the battle.... Luke: (panting) Heh.... You got away in time. Ken: Hmph... (thinking: Had I been there even a second longer.... Well... I suppose there is no harm in me taking this a little more seriously.) Rose: That was great, you guys! Tiffany: Hmph! (thinking: Good control from Luke and a wise decision from Ken.) Max simply watched in anticipation. One burning question on his mind was this. How badly were they going to get hurt? Or perhaps more important, "While sparring, how badly were they allowed to hurt each other?" Luke and Ken continued their staredown. Tiffany: (thinking: This is where.....) The earth under Luke was then broken and cracked into many pieces, and following simple battle logic, he grabbed a shard about the size of a normal human. Tiffany: (thinking: ....it gets serious.) 129. Tiffanys Definition Of Battle Luke: Think fast! A massve boulder came hurtling towards Ken, which he dodged incredibly easily. But Luke didn''t stop at one. In fact, he continued to throw boulder after boulder, keeping Ken on his toes, as he dodged them one after the other fairly easily. Tiffany: Have you noticed it, Max? Max: Huh? Tiffany: Take a look at Luke. Max accordingly turned back to look at him. It wasn''t the most noticeable thing, but with every boulder thrown, Luke took a few steps closer to Ken. Max: Wait..... he''s.... Tiffany: That''s right. Classic misdirection. It all came to him almost immediately. With every boulder he threw, Luke got closer to Ken. Max: Woah.... Tiffany: And it doesn''t end there. Look at the boulders he''s thrown at Ken. He accordingly turned to look at them. The boulders seemingly landed in random positions. Ken was starting to sweat, trying to dodge them all. Tiffany: It may not look it, but he''s using the boulders to wear him down, and also, with all those boulder shards on the ground... Max: It will be harder to get out of there once he finally gets to him. Tiffany: Hmph. That''s right... And it happened exactly as Tiffany said. Luke slowly but surely got close enough to Ken to take him down once again. Max: (thinking: What''s gonna happen this time?)Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Luke prepared to strike the ground again, but to his surprise, Ken unleashed a blast of frost breath at the last moment, blinding Luke as he escaped. Max: No way! (thinking: Way to go, Ken.) Tiffany: Of course, ... Max: Huh? Tiffany: .... Ken had also noticed what Luke was doing. Max: He did. Tiffany: Hmph. That, Max.... is battle. Max: Battle? Tiffany: In a fight, both sides look for every eventuality to win. And in this case.... Ken turned to fire his laser at Luke''s back, but Luke turned at the last second to block the lasers. Tiffany: Enough! Both Luke and Ken paused and, immediately, bowed. Tiffany: I declare this match... to Ken! A massive breath escaped Ken as his hands fell to his knees. Ken: Phew.... Luke: Good job. Ken: (panting) Yeah.... The pair walked back to the others. Rose: You guys did great! Tiffany: And that, Max, is how sparring works. Max: Yeah, I get it. He couldn''t help but feel even more excited. He was about to fight someone. Now the question was, who? Ken grabbed a smoothie he''d carried in a backpack, and Luke took abottle of water. Max: Ok then! His sudden expression made all the others turn to him in surprise. Max: Who do I get to fight? Tiffany: That... will have to wait. Max: Wha...?! Ken, Luke, and Rose all looked at each other knowingly with a smile. Max: But why not!? You brought me all the way here! Tiffany: No, you will be sparring.... just not quite yet. Max: But.... Tiffany: Luke? You up for another round? Luke: Yeah... He immediately crushed his water bottle in his hands. Tiffany: Good. You''re with Rose on the next one. Max: Huh? But.... Tiffany: Ken? You''re officiating that match. Ken: Of course, your Excellency. Max: But... hey! Stop ignoring me! Tiffany: Max... Max: Huh? Tiffany: You''re with me. Of all the words he''d anticipated Tiffany saying that day, that was the last of them. Max: With.... you.... Ken walked up to him and patted him on the back. Ken: You''ll be fine... Trust me... Luke: Yeah..... He got up and stretched himself a bit. Rose: Don''t worry, Max. You''ll be fine. Tiff''s just gonna talk to you. Max: Talk to me? Talk to him? The statement in and of itself sounded crazy. After all, he believed that Tiffany was going to spar with him, after all. Ken: Yeah, talk to you. Good luck. Max: Good luck? Wait, but you just said... Tiffany: (sighs) Don''t worry about it. Come on, let''s go. Max: Go? Where? Tiffany: Somewhere private. And, as a result, Tiffany and Max walked off into the distance. Luke: Anyway, ... He got into battle position. Luke: ... you ready, Rose? Rose: Uh huh! Are you ok? Luke: Yeah, I''m good. I''m good. 130. The Quadra Multi Petal Flower Several metres from the battle, the loud sounds of rocks breaking could be heard from the direction of Luke and Rose. Max would, occassionally, while travelling with Tiffany, look back after hearing an exceptionally loud blow. Tiffany: Come on! The pair walked further and further away from them. The loud sounds had by that point stopped, either because the battle was over or because they were too far away to hear what was going on. Max: Are we there yet? Tiffany: Almost.... They were then in a small cave. A dark one, to be precise. Max: Where are we? Tiffany fumbled in her backpack and pulled out a glowstick. Tiffany: This is a cave I found around the first time I was here. Max: Oh..... Ok.....? The pair silently continued their trek through the cave until the silence began to bother Max. Max: So..... what are we gonna do here? Tiffany: I''ll explain later. Max: (sighs) Ok..... The cave was, for the most part, empty and dry, with little to no signs of life. Even under the white glowstick, one could see how barren it was. Max: This place is really something. But Tiffany did not reply, much to Max''s chagrin. Max: (sighs) Whatever.... Tiffany suddenly paused, and Max bumped into her from behind her. Tiffany: We''re here.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Max: Huh? In front of them lay the end of the cave, as well as some odd cave paintings. Max: Woah..... He walked closer to take a better look at them. There were four paintings on the wall. Each painting being that of what looked to be four petalled flowers, with all petals sporting different colours and sizes. The four paintings were all drawn in different styles. From the left to the right, the first was drawn the way one would expect one from Asia to draw a flower, with a few strokes of a brush. The next was drawn somewhat hastily and shabbily, nowhere near as artistically as the first. The third was drawn almost autistically perfectly, with several details left and right, all of which made it look almost perfect, seeming more similar to a picture out of a book than any of the others. That flower took Max''s attention for quite a while. As for the fourth, it was drawn very simply. Nothing special. Just four petals of different sizes. Max: What are these....? Tiffany was, in the meantime, rummaging through her bag. Tiffany: Promises. Max: Promises? Tiffany: Yeah.... She pulled out a paint brush and some markers and motioned a purple one to Max to take them. Max: Huh.... ? Tiffany: Here... Max: Wait.... hold on.... what am I doing here? Tiffany: This is all part of joining the team. Think of it as a sign of your commitment. Max: (thinking: Commitment?) It would only take Max a few more seconds to rationalise that all four of those paintings had been made by all other members of the team. After all, there were four of them, and there were four of them. Max: Wait.... you mean...? She simply nodded. For a moment, Max felt a rush go through his chest. Making this pledge pressured him a lot more than he''d thought it would. But, being him and being a teenage boy, he sucked it up and... Max: Ok... .... grabbed the markers. Tiffany: You can use the paint brush too if you''d like. Max: No... I''m good. He nervously fumbled around with the marker. Max: ... just gotta.... Tiffany: But before you do..... Max: Huh? Tiffany: ... we need to talk. Max: Talk about what? Tiffany took a moment to walk towards the paintings, so she was directly next to them. Tiffany: To talk about what it means to be a part of this team. Max: (thinking: Part of this team?) Whaddya mean? And wait, does that mean I''m a part of the team now? Tiffany: No. Max: Awwwwww.... Tiffany: And also, being part of this team means more than just fighting and having superpowers. I just want to make sure you know what you''re getting yourself into. Max: Ok.... He looked directly into her eyes. Max: I''m ready. Tiffany: Good. Let''s begin. She turned to an open space next to the right most painting and motioned to Max to come closer. Tiffany: First off, the purple petal..... Max: Purple petal? Tiffany: And before I allow you to paint this petal, I have a question for you. That question being a question of refinement. Max: Huh? 131. The Purple Petal A talk. A dark cave. Petals. Markers. And now, refinement. What on Earth was Tiffany going on about? Max: Refinement? Tiffany: Hmph. Max: Well, what about refinement? Tiffany: Max... when you join a team, you cease to just be you. You become a part of something else. A part of something bigger.... Max: Yeah, yeah, I get it. You told me about that. That thing with the teeth and everybody playing their part and all that. Tiffany: That''s right. But that''s not all. There''s also hard work and diligence. Max: Hmm? Tiffany: (sighs) I''ll show you. She got onto her hand and did a hand stand. Max: Woah! To Max, who couldn''t manage that, it was pretty impressive. Max: Not ba..... But before he could finish, Tiffany got into a single hand stand with little to no difficulty, impressing Max further. Max: .... aaaaaaaaa..... And before he could finish, she got into a single finger stand and remained plenty motionless there for several seconds. Max: ... aaaaaa....d. He was speechless, and she, seemlessly, flipped back up to her feet. Max: That was... Tiffany: "That..." doesn''t just happen to anybody. You have to work on yourself, ... hard... if you want to be able to do that.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Max: No kidding, I don''t think I''ve ever seen someone do that. Tiffany: This is serious. Max: Hmm? Tiffany: The first promise you''re going to make... is one to ensure that you will always try to improve your skills over time. Max: Oh.... It suddenly fully dawned on him what shed meant by "refinement." Max: You mean... "train.?" Tiffany: Not just train, but also abstinence. Max: Huh? Tiffany: You''ll have to keep yourself from excessive indulgence. Max: Indulgence of what? Tiffany: Junk food, video games, parties.... With each word that escaped her mouth, Max only became increasingly annoyed... Max: Hey! ... but she cut him off. Tiffany: Of course, I don''t mean to take you away from living your life. Which is as to why there is some lineancy to be observed. Max: Huh? What kind of lineancy? Tiffany: (sighs) Just.... don''t overdo it, ok? Max: Mmmmmm..... Fine! Tiffany: Good. And now... Max: Now... It all clicked within a second. Max: .... I get to paint the first petal. Tiffany: Hmph. Right. Max: Alright! He excitedly snapped open the first marker and was about to paint again when she immediately showed him a photo on her phone. Max: What''s this? Tiffany: Just paint one petal, alright? Max: Sure... He started to draw on the cave wall before realising that his drawing would be significantly smaller than the others of he didn''t do any shading. And so, he started with an outline while Tiffany quietly watched him. Max: So... if I make a mistake... do I get to rub it off? Tiffany: You can, but I''d rather you dont. Max: Why not? By this point, Max had drawn an outline. Tiffany: (sighs) I''d just... nevermind. At that point, Max snapped the marker shut. Max: Done! Tiffany: Huh? The drawing Max had "finished" was an outline of the petal she''d just shown him. Tiffany: You''re... done? Max: Uh huh. She stared at the painting for a moment before continuing. Tiffany: Just the outline? Max: You didn''t say not to just do that. He seemed quite proud of himself. Tiifany: Ugh... fine. Moving on... She pulled out and tossed him a white marker. Max: A white... marker? Tiffany: Uh huh... To be fair, Max had never seen one. And you, as a reader, have probably never seen one either. Tiffany: Paint this petal... (sighs) or its outline.... or... whatever. Max only took a moment to look at it before.... Max: Sure. Tiffany: And as for the second question, ... Max: Yeah? Tiffany: ... it''s a question about honour. Max: Honour, huh? Tiffany: Yeah... Max: You mean like that thing where the samurais say... (mimicking deep manly voice) I will fight for the honour of my brother! His action shocked her only for a moment before she continued... Tiffany: Sure... but there''s a lot more to it than that. Max: (still mimicking voice) What could be more honourable than fighting for my family''s honour? Tiffany: (sighs) Well... that''s not really the point here. Max: Hmm? 132. The White And Yellow Petal Tiffany: The meaning of honour I want you to exemplify is one of control. Max: Control? Tiffany: Hmph. Although I doubt this is news to you, you shouldn''t be using your powers to get ahead of people. Max: Yeah, sure... To keep our identities secret. Obviously.... Tiffany: Yes, that is true and a good enough reason on its own. I''d also prefer that you kept another one close to your heart. Max: Another? Tiffany: Hmph. She took a moment to look Max directly in his eyes. Tiffany: Max, do you think it''s fair to use your powers to bully people? Her mind immediately went to the time she saw Max face off against Vince. She knew full well that Max had never met the guy, and so his reasons for doing this were unclear to her. However, it was clear enough to her that he wasn''t the kind of guy to take advantage of others'' lack of power. And so, as she expected.... Max: No way! That''s totally unfair! Tiffany: That''s right. Max: The strong are supposed to protect the weak. Tiffany: Hmph. I couldn''t agree more. And so, you know what this means, don''t you? Max: Hmm? Tiffany: It means never using your powers to gain an unfair advantage over others. Ever. Max: Never? To Max, it wasn''t much of a rule to him, as he''d never ordinarily do that on the account of his promise to his mother. Tiffany: Yes, never. It''s the same reason as to why Rose never uses her powers to read minds, or why Ken never uses his internet skills to hack into the city mainframe, or why Luke always holds back while playing football.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Max: Wait! Rose doesn''t read peoples'' minds. Tiffany: Hmph. Not unless it''s a mission or an emergency. Max: Huh....... A perplexing fact that he''d never really given much thought. It suddenly dawned on him that that was what Ken meant by "honour regulations" the previous day. Max: That''s easy. Tiffany: Good. (thinking: I thought so.... Although, ....) Max turned to the wall and started painting yet another outline. Tiffany: (thinking: ... I still don''t get it. Why did he protect Lenny?) Within a few moments, some spent admiring the white marker, he had finished drawing yet another outline of a flower petal. Max: Ok. Done. Tiffany: Great. She pulled out a third marker. This one was an orange-ish yellow, and the photo that followed it was a yellowish orange flower. Max: This one''s pretty weird. Tiffany: Hmm? Max: It''s got a lot of petals. Tiffany: Yeah... true. Max: So... what''s the.... (slightly mocking tone) super important lesson here? Tiffany: The third question here is a matter of self-control. Max: Eh... (thinking: You''ve gotta be kidding me.) Tiffany: As a member of this team, I''ll be needing your loyalty. Both in mind and in body. Max: (unsurely) Sure....? Whatever that means? Tiffany: What I mean is, I''ll be needing you to make the team one of your main obligations, even when things get hairy. Max: Hairy? Tiffany: Max, we go to Hypercity High. Trust me, a lot more things can go down in high school that just "Vince" and food fights. Max: Yeah, well... whaddya mean? Tiffany: What I mean is... well... I have no intention of keeping you from living your life, but also, I''ll be needing you to keep your mind off those things when we need you, if such a case arises. Max: Oh.... I get it. Tiffany: Good. Max: Its like in that one episode of Super Powerful Man, where his girlfriend Louisse Ways wanted to have a date with him, but he had to go save some people and so he abandoned her and went off to save the day. She got real mad after that because she didn''t know he was really Super Powerful Guy. Tiffany simply silently listened. She was somewhat surprised that she listened, but she did. Tiffany: Sure. As long as you get the gist. And so Max drew the third petal. It was yet another outline. Max: Aaaaaaaaaannnnnd done! Tiffany: Good. Now.... She handed Max a red marker. Tiffany: ... on to the final petal. Max: Hmph. And after showing Max one photo of the flower, she started. Tiffany: Before you paint this one, Max. I have to say something.... Max: Yeah, yeah... important question. I got it. Tiffany: No. This may well be the most important petal of them all. Max: Hmm? (thinking: The most important?) 133. The Red Petal Max: Most important? Tiffany: Yeah.... The most important flower petal.The final question is.... Given her current disposition, Max couldn''t help but flinch. She was so serious. Tiffany: ... one of perserverance. Max: Perserverance? Tiffany: Max.... do you remember.... our battle with Wolfram? How could he forget? In his mind, he''d never faced someone so tough. Luckily for him, his overload kicked in and stopped him. However, that did not remove his acknowledgement of the threat that was Aloysius Wolfram. Max: (suddenly serious) Yeah, I remember. He immediately punched his fist. Max: Hmph! Tiffany: Fights against evil can be like that. Max: Huh? Tiffany: Max... what I''m trying to say is.... is that... from the moment you choose to be a part of this team, your life will be in constant danger. Her voice turned to a more solemn tone. Tiffany: I can''t guarantee that you won''t get badly hurt. I also can''t guarantee that you won''t be killed in battle.. Her last statement made Max flinch. Tiffany: Wolfram may have been tough, but there''s more where that came from. For example, the spider bots.... Max: Hmph... Tiffany: So... what I''m asking of you now isn''t just to understand that there will be suffering if you join us. No, that''s not the point. Max: Hmm? Tiffany: What I''m asking you, Max, is.... can you perservere? Max: Perser... vere?Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Tiffany: Like I said.... this fight.... It''s not one for the faint-hearted. Max: Hmph.... Tiffany: One slip up. One little mistake. And all of our lives and the lives of our loved ones could be in danger. So... Max: (solemnly) Hmmm. Yeah, I get it. Tiffany: Good. So, I want you to take some time to thi.... Max: Nah. I already made up my mind. Tiffany: Wha.....!? Max: Of course, I''m gonna do it! Why''d I wanna back out now? Tiffany: Bu......!? (thinking: This guy....) He turned to the wall and began painting. Max: Alright... lemme see.... something liiiiiiikkkkeee..... yeah. Something like that, right? Tiffany: (still slightly shocked) Sure.... Max: Awesome. He fist pumped in the air and offered Tiffany a fist bump, which she declined. Max: Awwwww.... come on... Don''t leave me hanging, Tiff. Tiffany: I''m not interested in fist bumps. And.... (sighs) it''s Tiffany. Max: Mmmm........ Fine! He shrugged and turned away from her. Max: So... are we going back to spar? Tiffany: Yeah... Max: Awesome! He fist pumped again. And so, the pair made their trek back to the cave entrance. Max: So..... do we have a team name? Tiffany: No. Actually, we don''t. Max: How aboooooouuuuut.... the forces of good? Tiffany: No. Max: The super five. Tiffany: No. Max: The Heroes of Liberty, Who Fight For Truth and Justice. Tiffany: (visibly flustered) No! And.... too long. Max: Well I''d like to see you come up with a better one. Tiffany: (sighs) No. Max: Awwwww....... C''moooooon.... Tiffany: No, means no. Max: Have you at least tried to come up with a name before? Tiffany: Ugh.... A few minutes before..... Max''s picture had just been finished. Right after he''d said, "Awesome..." Tiffany: One more thing... Max: Hmmm? She pulled her phone out once more and pointed its camera at Max. Tiffany: Smile! Max: Huh? The photo thing came out of nowhere. Tiffany: Or whatever. As long as it''s right next to your picture. Max: Oh.... Sure! He lay his back next to his photo and smiled while Tiffany took a photo. Immediately after she was done, he super sped right next to her so he could see her phone, slightly bothering Tiffany. Max: So, how was it? Can I see it? Tiffany: Sure... Max peeked into her phone. Max: Cool. I look awesome. Tiffany did not reply. Max: Hey, do you have a photo of the others too? Tiffany: Yeah... Max: Can I see them? Tiffany: I''ll send them to you later. Max: Alright, fine. Tiffany: Let''s head back. Max: Ok. So........... And that was how it ended. As Max spoke, Tiffany discretely added the photo to her favourites list. Alongside these photos, could other photos be seen. One of herself and Luke next to two flowers, one of a cockily smirking Ken next to his flower and one of a nervously smiling Rose next to hers. All those were the only photos on her phone marked as favourites. 134. Physical Prowess Vs. Psychic Might It wasn''t long before they''d made it back to the others, and what a sight it was. There was a panting Rose and a sweaty Luke. That wasn''t to speak of the now added rocky carnage to the ground. Much more than before. Max: Wooooaaaah! Rose: (panting) I.... I think I''ve..... Luke: C''mon, Rose. You can go a bit longer, right? Rose: (panting) Yeah, ..... I... Max: What happened here.....? His words were heard by Ken. Ken: Oh, you two are back. The battling pair heard Ken''s statement and turned to see Max. Rose: (exhaustedly) Ma... ax. Luke: Hey, welcome back. Max replied, but not before taking more time to look at the scenery. Max: You guys are insane. Luke: Heh.... Ken: Given their more offensive abilites, psychic powers, and super strength, any battle between the two of them is bound to cause incredible destruction. Max: No kidding. Several rocks had been pulled out of the ground, leaving massive holes on the Earth''s floor, and there were several cracks on the ground where Luke must have punched the ground. Max: You two are awesome! Luke: Thanks. Rose: (blushing) Thanks. She was glad to hear him recognise her abilities. Max: But wait, who won? Luke: Hmm? Ken: Unclear. Max: Huh? Ken: Or rather.... a winner has not yet been decided. Max: Oh... so I''m not too late?The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He seemed really hyped to see the fights end, and an exhausted Rose immediately felt pressure fall onto her back. Should she fight to gain Max''s approval or submit because she was spent? Ken: Although... given how it''s been going, it would seem that Luke would likely be the winner. Max: Luke? Ken: Yes. Max: Really? Ken: Yes.... Max: But...... He awkwardly looked at the pair. Meanwhile, Tiffany walked off, seemingly looking for something. Max: ....how? Ken: How? Luke seemed slightly offended. Max: Yeah, how? Ken: Hmm? Max: Couldn''t she just lift him in the air and end the fight like that? Ken: Well.... yes. However, Luke is physically stronger than Rose is psychically strong. To her, trying to grap hold of Luke when he resists is like trying to hold on to slippery fish with the strength of an elephant. Max: Oh.... Then... Huh.... Never thought of it that way. What about mind reading? Ken: Using mind reading takes a bit more effort for Rose than you''d think. And that decreases her ability to focus on offence in battle, which, of course.... Max: Oh........ Huh..... Ken: Intriguing question, isn''t it? Max: Well.... yeah. It''s kinda like power scaling in Super Powerful Guy. Ken: Hmmm... True. Max: Super Powerful Guy is the strongest. No question. Ken: Agreed. Squirrel Man only wins because of plot armour. Max nodded in agreement. Neither Luke nor Rose understood what on Earth they were talking about. Ken: So, I take it you''re done with Tiff? Max: Yeah. It was super easy. Luke: Good. Rose: Oh my gosh, Max! That''s incredible! Max: Thanks. (suddenly serious) But anyway... He made a fist and palmed it. Max: .... when you guys are done, I wanne be next. Ken: Really now... Max: Yeah. He was hyped. Ken: Well... alright then. (to Luke and Rose) How about you two? Rose immediately flinched. Luke: Yeah, I can keep going. Rose: (hesitantly) I''m fine. The pair slowly walked back to the battlefield. Max: Is something wrong with Rose? Ken: Who knows? Maybe she''s scared of losing. At the battlefield.... Luke: You ready, Rose. Rose: (gulping) Yeah.... Ken stood up, and karate chopped the air, much like Tiffany. Ken: You may continue. Luke immediately made a charge towards Rose. And as for her... Be it because of the pressure of trying to look good for Max or her own previous exhaustion, she panickedly started hurling boulders at Luke. Luke: That won''t be enough, Rose. You should know that. He effortlessly punched each rock aside or simply bashed right through them. This only served to make Rose even more flustered. However, suddenly... Max: C''mon Rose, show him what for! Her eyes turned to see Max rooting for her. She couldn''t believe it.. And said rooting gave her enough peace of mind to think clearly enough to duck and dodge Luke just as he was almost upon her by reading his mind at the last minute. Max: Awe.... However, perhaps out of excitement, perhaps out of exhaustion, perhaps because she thought the attack was over, did not read the very next thought Luke had. And then, while Luke was still recoiling in the air from his miss, a loud clap was heard. One so loud it could be heard all over the crater. And as for Rose, she was sent flying. Max: What the....!? Ken: Luke clapped his hands. Max: He what!? Rose got up with her hands on her head, seeming quite hurt while Luke ran to her, his eyes filled with worry. Luke: Rose! 135. When The Tiger Snarls Max: What just... happened? Ken: He clapped his hands with super strength. Luke went on to check on Rose. Luke: Are you ok? Rose: (weakly smiling) Yeah.... yeah.... I''m fine. She was sad that she lost, and sad that Max had seen her lose. Luke: You sure? Rose: Yeah.... The thunder clap shocked her so much that she''d failed to protect herself while falling. Luke, on the other hand, was simply worried that he''d gone to far. Max: Woah! Luke is.... Ken: Yes. Not to be underestimated. Max: Hmph. (thinking: If I have to fight him, then.....) But those thoughts didn''t fill Max with feelings of fear or anxiety, but rather with feelings of excitement. Luke could be seen from a distance helping Rose to her feet. Ken: That being said, this match goes to Luke. Max: Yeah... Tiffany suddenly returned. Tiffany: Are they done? Max: Yea... hey, where''ve you been? Tiffany simply showed him her katana. Tiffany: Busy. Max: Huh? Ken could only smirk knowingly at that remark. Max: O.... K? Her eyes then turned to Luke and Rose. Tiffany: I take it Luke won.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Ken: Affrimative. Tiffany: How did it end? Ken: He clapped his hands at close range. Tiffany: I see.... She seemed only slightly bothered by that. Max: Yeah, it was all so fast. Ken: True. To top it all off, Rose can''t deal with loud sounds. Max: Huh? Ken: It''s one of her bigger weaknesses. Max: Oh..... At that point, Luke and Rose returned. Tiffany: Great work everyone. Luke: Thanks. Rose: Thanks, Tiff. Ken: Much obliged, my good woman. Tiffany: You can all take it easy now. Ken: Phew.... Great. Max: Huh? Luke lay Rose on the ground. Rose: Yeah, I was really tired And then, an incredibly surprised Max suddenly interjected. Max: Wait a minute! Who''s gonna spar with me? What he expected was an answer, but what he''d gotten was a look of surprise from Luke, Ken and Rose. They all glanced at each other right after. Max: Huh? Wh... whats wrong? Rose: Max. Didn''t Tiff tell you? Max: Tell me? Tell me what? He heard the sound of the unsheathing of a sword behind him and turned to see Tiffany. Tiffany: Of course, as team leader, it makes sense that I''ll be the first to fight you. For a whole second, Max paused. Max: WHAT!? Ken and Luke chuckled from behind him. Ken: Guess our gracious leader found it fit to give our newest member a little surprise. Max: But... but.... It wasn''t so much that Max was scared of fighting Tiffany, it was a lot more that Max had not considered doing it at all. In his mind, he''d only thought of fighting Luke, Ken and Rose. But Tiffany.... Tiffany: (expectantly) Well? Max was still too shocked to reply. Tiffany: Are you ready? Max: Mmmmm... tch... Yeah! I''m ready. He pumped his fist to get over his nervousness. Max: (thinking: Yeah, yeah, so I''m fighting Tiff. It''s no big deal.) Hmph. Tiffany: Good. She turned to the distance. Tiffany: Meet me on the battlefield. Max: Sure.... There were many things that would come into the mind of one fighting someone weaker, at least in terms of perspective. For one thing, Max had been made aware of Tiffany''s lack of powers. He knew she was a normal human. And, as a result, he couldn''t think straight about what to do about his situation. She was just a human. If he shocked her hard enough, she would die. And so, .... what then? How would this fight go? He suddenly remebered Tiffany''s words. She''d said not to go hard enough to kill or dangerously harm. So he knew what to do. After thinking all that through, he took a deep breath. These were the thoughts that ran through his mind as he walked to the other side of the battlefield to face Tiffany Chang. There is a saying that people can emit a certain aura. And that everybody has some kind of aura. To Max, Tiffany was a completely different person on the opposite side of the battlefield. Her eyes were sharp, searching and focused. And her aura, it was far more fierce than Max had earlier imagined. At that point, it occured to him that he''d never actually faced her in battle. That very thought only served to make him even more nervous. However, he wasnt the only one having bothersome thoughts. On the other side of the battlefield, a serious looking Tiffany Chang looked directly into Max''s eyes. But said eyes failed to betray what was going on in her mind. 136. Tiffany Is No Joke Tiffany Chang. Age: 15 Not much is known about her personal life. For one thing, she is a very private person, as most people would say. But, she is also intelligent, "fairly athletic" and well behaved for the most part. That is how most people would explain Tiffany Chang, based off of what they''d known about her from high school Tiffany Chang, however, had a lot more to her than would meet the eye. For one thing, she was far, far, more athletic than one would imagine at first glance. Back at the battlefield.... Max and Tiffany simply looked at each other. Direct eye contact. For not a single moment did either leave the other''s gaze. Tiffany: Ken? Could you do the honors? Ken: Absolutely, my esteemed mistress. He stood up and stretched a bit. Rose: Ooooooooohhh my goooosssshhhhhh! She, on the ground, started jittering. Rose: This is so teeeeeeensseeee! Luke: Yeah...... (thinking: Max might actually put up an amazing fight.) Ken: Alright, are you both ready? Tiffany: Yea... Max: Wait! He cut her off, much to her and everybody else''s shock. Tiffany: Hmm?Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Max: I just wanna make one thing clear. This had been really bothering him. Max: I''m gonna go easy on you cuz you don''t have powers. After all, my powers are really strong. Tiffany remained silent and as did the others, until suddenly.... Ken: You may wanna reconsider that. Max: Huh? Ken: You may not no this, buuuuuuuuuutttttt....... Luke: She beat all of us in our first matches. Max: She what!? The amount of shock he felt at that time could not be underestimated. Max: But..... but....... but ... how? Luke: Weeeelllllll..... Rose: Tiff''s just super strong and smart. Ken: Admittely, yes. (thinking: Though if I was to explain it, it would be like saying that she is psychic.) Max: Tha... bu.... but..... In no way could he imagine a normal human giving them that much trouble. Max: There''s just no way. Ken: You know what that means, dont you Max? Max: Huh? Ken: Don''t underestimate your quarry. Luke: True. Tiff may just be a normal human, but she''s a lot tougher to bring down than you''d think. Rose: Uh huh. When I fought her, she just played tricks on me until she knocked me out. Ken: Yes, that was embarassing. Rose: (gasp) Keeeeeennnn! Ken: (chuckles) In any case.... Max turned back to Tiffany. She hadn''t moved a muscle. Her eyes were stuck on him like glue. Perhaps a weaker man would have avoided her gaze, but Max? No. He looked directly back into them. Ken: ... come what may, this fight will be interesting. The staredown continued. Luke: (to Ken) So.... whod you think is gonna win? Ken: Hmmm... depends. They both have things in their arsenal. In all honesty, before Max joined the team, I would have called Rose our most powerful member. But Max''s speed is such a strong ability that Im tempted to say this could go ether way. Luke: I see. Rose waited in anxious anticipation. Ken: (thinking: Max is always full of surprises. But then again, its not like Tiff lacks surprises of her own.) In the mean time, Tiffany had been silent. But it was not like her mind had nothing going on. Tiffany: (thinking: Maximillian Hunter...) As an experienced warrior, she had plenty of experience fighting dangerous opponents. Opponents that no normal human had ever had to think of fighting, and so dealing with Max would really just be another monster of the week for her. So, why then was she bothered? Because, unlike most people, she wasn''t a fool. She knew full well that Max was much more than just another non human opponent. She''d fought by his side twice and from those two battles she could make a few conclusions about him. The first two... One, Max is reckless and bull headed. Two, Max is reckless and bull headed. Those two lessons were quite relevant, seeing as she was about to fight him. But the other lessons, even as well as seeing him before her at this very moment could all be compounded into this one statement. To Maximillian Hunter, there is a lot more than meets the eye. So much more. 137. Tiffanys Ambush Ken raised his right hand and Tiffany and Max tensed up slightly. Ken: Alright....... Tiffany bowed, and Max who was completely prepared to attack, flinched before oddly bowing himself. Ken: Ehh..... Luke: He''ll get used to it. Ken: Hmmm.. Begin! And so it started. Both sides locked eyes once more, not moving. Rose: (thinking: This is so intense.) Ken: (thinking: Interesting choice playing defense. But both of them? Even Max?) Luke: (thinking: C''mon, Tiff. You''ve got this.) To Max, the creature in front of him was many times more terrifying than it was mere seconds ago. Ken''s comment about her beating Luke, Rose and Ken made him think twice before attacking. It wasn''t fear, per se, but rather, the question, "How on earth did she beat them? Did she have some kind of special trick he didn''t know about?" And as for Tiffany, it wasnt so much that she was being cautious, but rather, that she had long since decided that moving was a bad idea. 570kmh. In mere seconds, in the blink of an eye, he could punch her. Could she dodge it? She didn''t know. It was her first time fighting against something this fast. And so... she would wait and let Max make the first move. Besides, given her calculations.... Max''s stance suddenly changed to something of a racing pose. Tiffany: (thinking: Given his personality, I wont have to wait very long.) And then, it happened. Max super speed dashed and punched Tiffany right in the face, sending her flying straight to the ground. Rose: Oh....Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. She then closed her mouth. Luke whistled and Ken simply remained silent. Max shook the arm he''d used to punch. Max: (thinking: I hope I didn''t overdo it.) But to his utter shock, he heard Tiffany getting back up from behind him. Max: Tiffany? She rubbed her cheek and turned back to look at him. Rose: Tiff.... Luke: (thinking: This is gonna be tough...) Ken: (thinking: What will you do.... oh unsurmountable leader?) Back at the battlefield... Max and Tiffany looked at each other for a moment. Tiffany: If you want to do some real damage.... you''ll have to do better than that. Max flinched. That was the last thing he''d expected to hear. Max: (thinking: That hit was supposed to be hard enough to knock a normal human out.) Luke: Heh.... Ken: She''s encouraging him. Rose nodded, her eyes ever on the battlefield. Tiffany: Are you ready, Max? And then again, even more shocked by his opponent, before eventually making his decision. Max: Yeah (thinking: So, shes tough. No kidding.) He palmed his fist. Max: Ok then. Let''s go! He got into a running position and started his dash towards her once more, but this time, just as he made it to her, a massive smoke cloud engulfed the both of them. Max: Huh?! At the outskirts of the battle field... Ken: Hmmm... she finally used it. Luke: Huh? Ken: A few months ago, Tiff had me make her a super compressed smoke bomb. Rose: A super compressed... smoke bomb? Ken: Yes. One that releases smoke so quickly that if you open it infront of your face, you''ll need to hold your breath to keep yourself from suffocating. Rose: Oh my gosh! Really?! Ken: Yeah... (thinking: So that''s your counter to super speed, huh, Tiff?) In the smoke cloud, Max quickly started trying to find Tiffany. But within what was no longer than a few seconds, perhaps even one second, from right above him, Tiffany pounced on him and forced him to the ground in a restrictive hold. Max: What the...?!? The smoke slowly cleared to reveal a captured Max with Tiffany right on top of him. As it was, Tiffany had jumped into the air as the smoke bomb went off. Rose: No way, Tiff! Ken: Hmm... Luke: Good job, Tiff. Max: But... how....?! She pulled at his arm, making him groan even more. Tiffany: Max. Do you know the true meaning of battle? Max: (grunting) True... meaning of... battle? Tiffany: Hmph.... The other three simply silently watched. Tiffany: A fight, ... Max, .... is not decided just by who has more powers or by who has more speed or more strength. A fight, Max, is also decided, by whomever can take advantage of a critical situation. Max: A critical situation? Tiffany: Hmph. Every moment on a battle matters. If you remember that, you''ll understand that even a weakling can beat a well established warrior if he or she is willing to make that critical decision. Remember that, Max. Ken: Hmmmm. Well... this battle may soon be over... Max: Oh yeah? Tiffany: Hmm? Max: Critical decision, huh? You forgot about this! At that moment, while Tiffany was on top of Max, he begun to discharge electricity. Not enough to kill her, but at the same time, just enough to stun a human. But even after that, Tiffany remained undaunted. She gritted her teeth and made her hold even stronger, pulling at Max''s arm even harder. Max: (thinking: Jeez. Tiffany''s so...... ) It wasn''t as though Max''s electricity bore her no pain, but rather that she refused to let that stop her. Ken: (thinking: Whomever endures this pain the longest... will be the winner.) 138. Battle Of Wills It wasn''t as though either side was incapable of ending the fight had it been serious. She could break his arm and he could electrocute her till she fainted. Both were aware of their own ability to end the fight, but neither would dare to. It was just a sparring match, after all. Rose: Max.... And then it begun.... Max started to try to wriggle his way out of her hold, while Tiffany tightened her grip in response. Max: Gahhhhh!! But he didn''t let up with his electricity either. Ken: This is a real struggle. Luke: Yeah.... Rose: Hmph... Back at the battle... Max: C''mon, c''mon, c''mon... Tiffany: Grrrrr..... The struggle continued. It was a stalemate. Max could not leave because he had been restrained, and Tiffany could not afford to let go. After all, would she get another chance to grab Max like this? But like in all stalemates, all participating parties slowly begin to look for ways to gain an advantage. And in this case.... Tiffany: (thinking: He''s struggling... and so I won''t be able to hold on for much longer. But... if I can just hit his head... just right....) Max''s body was turning left and right as Tiffany slowly lifted her other arm, preparing to strike. The other three noticed and quietly anticipated the battles end. Max: (thinking: C''mon... if I can just keep moving... then maybe....)The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. And then, it happened. Her hand made a fist and traveled at an incredible speed towards Max''s head. However, at that very moment, Max had turned just enough to be able to just barely make out what Tiffany''s hand was about to do from the corner of his left eye, and, with super speed, his head moved out of the way, leaving a hole in the ground where Tiffany''s fist had landed. The ending result, Rose, Ken and Luke were shocked. Rose: Oh my gosh! Ken: Impressive. Luke: Hmph... And at the battlefield.... Tiffany: (thinking: Dang it.... I missed..) The shock of the miss made her loosen her grip and Max had also stopped electrocuting her, but that didn''t stop Max from taking advantage of the situation to start breaking free of her hold. Ken: He''s breaking loose. Rose: Go Max! She immediately closed her mouth, feeling surprised to find herself rooting for him, and Luke and Ken gave her a questioning glance. Meanwhile... While the shock had allowed Max to break free of the hold and get up on his own two feet, Tiffany did not completely let go of his arm. She continued to hold it, while he stood up and tried to get away from her. Max: (thinking: Sheesh. Her grip is like steel.) And at close quarters, she begun to throw punches and kicks, all the while Max dodged with super speed. Tiffany: (thinking: He''s fast.... but.... that moment.) She flashed back to when she was right on top of him. Tiffany: (thinking: He said his super speed had to be manually activated by him. Does that mean....?) Max suddenly discharged electricity, firing it from his captured arm, still not bothering or slowing her down. Instead, she did the last thing Max would have expected. She threw another smoke bomb into the air and, withdrawing her katana, cut it in half midair. Rose: Oh my gosh! She had a second one?! Luke turned to Ken. Ken: She didn''t ask for just one. Yet another smoke cloud was created. Several loud sounds and struggling noises were heard in the smoke cloud before Max was seen flying out of the smoke cloud. Rose: Max! She wanted to check on him, but Ken halted her, as Max slowly got back up. As the smoke cloud dissipated, it revealed a panting and heavily electrocuted Tiffany. And as for Max, he stood up to face her again. Both fighters looked each other directly in the eye. Max: (thinking: Ok.... that was close.) Tiffany: (thinking: This guy....) Ken: This fight.... Both sides were panting. So, one would ask, what exactly had happened inside the smoke cloud. The answer being, that Tiffany''s plan worked, but only half way. She''d planned on using the second smoke bomb to further debilitate Max and then take him down. However, Max, while in the smoke screen, was not nearly as shocked as she''d earlier expected him to be. He had reacted to the smoke bomb better than most would. Most people, while stuck in such a miasma, would fall into a state of panic and instinctually try to get their bearings. But in Max''s case, he simply continued discharging electricity even when inside the smoke screen, rather than getting disoriented or confused. He also continued to struggle out of her grip, keeping her from quickly ending the fight as she''d intended. His discharges were, finally, too much for her, and as a result, she had to let go of his arm. The best she could do was give him a kick. But that was it. 139. New Found Respect Maximillian Hunter. In his mind he had one thought running through his head. Just what was Tiffany Chang? He looked up and his gaze met her''s once more. She looked hurt and was also panting. So she was also hurt. It didn''t feel like that though. He straightened himself up and stared at her and she did the same. Ken: This fight.... is really something. (thinking: Was Tiffany pushed this hard against any of us?) But in any case... Rose: Hmm? Ken: ... I do believe that this fight is ..... almost over. (thinking: After all, as the officiator, I''m supposed to stop a fight if it gets too far. And I think we''ve just about reached that point.) Meanwhile.... Max still couldn''t wrap his head around it. She was a human. So, just how had she been giving him so much trouble? He was going easy on her. That was true. If he wanted to, he could go all out and really give it to her. But.... would that even work? He''d hit her harder than he''d hit a normal person so far, but so far, she''d taken it like a champ. In a sense, it was an odd feeling of respect that welled up in his heart. Respect for one who''d accomplished so much without any special powers. As for Tiffany.... She knew what she''d signed up for. Twice, she''d had a chance to end the fight and in both cases an unexpected aspect of her opponent changed the course of the match. That much was expected. Just like she thought, Max may have had a lack of battle experience and even had a bull headed mentality, but that didn''t stop him from surprising her. Her earlier analysis of her opponent was correct. Maximillian Hunter. There was more to him than met the eye.Stolen story; please report. The pair stayed there, silent, gazing into each others eyes, all the while, anticipating a surprise attack, preparing their next moves and calmly taking the time to gauge their feelings about the battle and their opponent. Rose: Are they... Ok? Ken: Hmmm.... Luke: They''re fine. Rose: Huh? Ken: Hmm? Luke: Trust me. They''ll be fine. Max poised himself to dash again. His eyes transfixed on Tiffany. She, in return, poised herself for battle. "This time," Max said to himself, "This time, I''m not gonna take her lightly." He dashed again, this time running straight towards Tiffany, and just before he made it to her, he paused, mere feet from her, and dashed to her right. Ken: Hmmm Rose: Woah! And so his new plan came to fruition. Max dashed from place to place, making several quick dashes to random areas not too far from Tiffany and then stopping suddenly, before continuing to dash some more. Tiffany could only try to follow him by turning left and right, trying to keep track of him. Ken: (thinking: Hmmm... not a bad strategy. If youre not sure of when or with what Tiffany will strike, you make her unsure of when you''ll strike. Good job, Max. Good job.) And the speedy dashes only continued as Tiffany grew increasingly bothered by it while trying to keep up. And then... Max suddenly struck Tiffany, bashing her at full force. This was his plan. Hit her hard. Much harder than before. After all, his first blow didn''t knock her out. And this time... his bash sent her flying to the ground. She landed on her back. Rose: Tiff! Tiffany slowly begun to pull herself up to face Max again. Ken: Match over! Rose: Huh!? His statement shocked Max and Tiffany, as well as Luke and Rose. Ken: Hmph. The winner has been decided. Rose: You mean.... Max..... won? Ken: Affirmative. Rose: Oh my gosh! I don''t believe it. In his first fight?! Ken: Yes. Rose: That''s incredible. Ken: Hmph. (thinking: Maximillian Hunter. Always full of surprises.) Luke simply walked over to Tiffany. Luke: You alright? Tiffany: Yeah, I''m fine. (to Max) Good job. Max: Yeah... Those words would have sounded much better to anyone had the fight have been fair, but for Max, it felt... odd. For one thing, in a sense, he''d grown a new found respect for Tiffany after fighting her. But also, just as he''d bashed into her, or maybe while he was bashing into her, in that brief moment, ... Max''s hand touched his chest. .... she jabbed him. The punch was hard alright. Not hard enough to knock him down, but hard enough that he felt it dig through his chest. It hurt. It hurt a lot. So much so that, while he''d won, he knew full well that the actual results of the fight were a lot closer than one would think. Did anyone else even notice? But that wasn''t all that bothersome. What truly bothered Max, was that she was able to hit him at that speed. He still hit her, but... how did she hit him? Like a wolf that had just had a tough battle with what to him was a sheep, he took some time to reflect on things. Rose: Great job, Max. Max: Hehehe... thanks... He didn''t feel like celebrating. That was a first for him. As for Tiffany, she''d lost. That wasnt that big of a deal to her. But as for her thoughts towards Max... yeah. She decided that she was right the first time. 140. After The Fight... Several moments after the fight, the whole team had gathered together to take a break. Luke: Hey.... He slapped Max''s back. Luke: ... still can''t believe you beat Tiff. Great job. Rose: I know, right? Max is soooo strong. Max: Yeah.... Ken: Indeed. That would be the first time Tiff lost a first fight against any one of us. An impressive feat to say nothing else of it. Max: Yeah.... He tried to play it off a bit. Tiffany stretched her arms and legs. She had recovered, slightly shocking Max, as he thought she''d be hurt for a bit longer. Tiffany: Alright, I''m good to go. Rose: Great. You were amazing too, Tiff. Tiffany: Thanks. But in any case, it''s getting late. Max: Late? Luke: Yeah... we have to be back in Hypercity before 9pm. Or rather... Ken needs to be back by then. Max: Oh... Ok..... Ken: (sighs) (sarcastically) Forgive me. Luke: It''s no big deal, but we really need to get a move on. Otherwise, we''ll be late. Tiffany: Agreed. Rose: Yeah, I''m beat. Max: Hmph. Tiffany: Let''s go, team. Rose, Ken and Luke: Right... Max answered later. Max: Riiiighhhht... Rose giggled in response. And so, the teens made their way back to the car. Luke: Man... I''m beat.... Ken: You''re one to talk.... Rose: Yeah, I can''t wait to get back home and take a shower.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Ken: Seconded! Tiffany: Hmph. True... Max remained silent. Tiffany: But we''ll have to be back tomorrow. Max: Tomorrow!? The others were none too pleased to hear that. Tiffany: Yep! We''re still not done training with you. Max: Huh!? Tiffany: Max, you just showed us your powers. It''s only fair that you get a proper demonstration of our own powers. Max: Huh?! That level of courtesy was completely unexpected from Tiffany, not because of her personality, but rather because of the situation. Max: Oh...... huh... never thought of that Luke: (sleepily) Well... fair enough... I''ll have to take an earlier shift but... I think I''ll manage. Ken: And I''ll have to sleep for the rest of the... well day.... just to make up for that. Rose: Its ok, Tiff. I''ll be ready and prepared. They all sounded quite exhausted. Tiffany: I know it''s hard..... but.... we need to take advantage of the situation. We don''t have any emergencies to take care of... and we have till next week off, so I''d rather we get this done as quickly as possible. Ken: (groaning) Fine.... Rose: Yeah.... Luke: Alright... The five of them got into the car and got on the road. Ken: Goodbye, my fair playground. Until next time, we meet. Max only turned to look back in it''s direction once more before the car picked up speed. Ken: By the way, Max... couldn''t you just super speed back home? Max: Hmmm? To Max, the answer was obvious. Max: Not really. Why? Ken: Won''t your mother worry if you stay up too late? It was at that point that Max realised that he hadn''t even told his mother he wouldn''t be coming home early. Not that it bothered him much, but it was interesting to him that he''d never even considered it. Max: Oh yeah.... Ken: Did you send her a text? Max: Hmmm... No. I didn''t. Ken: (sighs) Oh brother.... Max: What? Ken: Nevermind... Luke: Anyway, best get comfortable. It''ll be a while before we can make it to Hypercity. Ken: True.... He relaxedly reclined in his seat. Ken: (yawn) And, of course, well probably have to deal with some traffic jam along the way. Max: Traffic jam? Ken: Yeah. The ol 8-9pm hour rush. Quite the bother I''d say. Luke: Yeah, don''t worry about it. I''ll get you home before it gets too rough. Ken: Ok. I''m sending you the best route via Gps otherwise. A light lit up on Luke''s phone highlighting the fastest route to Ken''s home. Ken: And a route for your homes as well. Luke: Thanks... Ken: No problem.... At that point, Max begun to consider simply leaving. Max: Hey.. if that''s the case then... It took only a moment for Luke to understand. Luke: Oh... got it. The road they''d been travelling through didn''t have any onlookers, but even still... Tiffany: Wait! (to Rose) Rose? Periphery check! Rose: Sure... She closed her eyes and seemingly focused on something quite hard. Rose: No one''s there. Tiffany: Good. You can leave now, Max. Max: O.... k..... The fight still left him with a lot to think about, and on top of that, he also wanted to get to bed and take a nap. Max: See ya, guys. Rose: Bye Max! Ken: See ya... Luke: Yeah, goodbye Max. Tiffany: Goodbye. And Max suddenly dashed away without a second word. Rose: Hey, guys. Did Max seem a little bothered by something before he left? Luke: Hmm.. not really, no. Ken: Hmmm.. Mayhaps he''s just tired. Rose: Oh... you''re probably right, Ken. No need to worry. Ken: Hmph. (thinking: And now on to other matters... Getting home and making up yet another lie for my parents. At this point, it''s an art.) 141. Just A Little Mayhem In a dark, dingy room somewhere in Hypercity. There lay a young man by the name of Sylvester Perry. He was on his bed, looking up, breathing heavily. In the distance, a TV screen could be heard playing and audio, and visual. On a closer look, it began to look more like a news station channel. And then, the reporter''s voice could be heard clearly. Voice: Reporter Janice Carlson here, reporting live here at Hypercity Park. Another voice suddenly sounded. Dillan: Hey there, Janice. How''s it going? Janice: Not too well, Dillan. Dillan: How so? Janice: We''re getting reports of a savage wild animal attack that happened here just one hour ago. Dillan: Really now? Janice: Yes. The victim was a 20 year old female college student. She is now receiving treatment in the hospital after receiving serious damage to her face. Dillan: Oh dear. What kind of savage animal would do such a thing? Janice: That''s just it, Dillan. The creature responsible for this assault, according to all credible eye witnesses, including the very woman standing right next to her when it happened, was a squirrel. Dillan: A squirrel? The man on his bed suddenly smirked and even chuckled. Janice: I know. It is completely unbelievable. Dillan: Do we have any footage of this attack? Janice: Unfortunately, no. However, experts are, at the moment, searching for the squirrel. Dillan: What kind of squirrel was it? Janice: According to the young lady who was next to our victim, the squirrel seemed to grow bigger. Dillan: I see. There was a pause after that.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Even this news man didn''t know what to make of the predicament. Dillan: Are there any clues of what may have caused this predicament? Janice: Yes... well... according to our witness, there was a man that appeared to be feeding the squirrel before it attacked. The man on the bed started laughing. Dillan: Could you describe him for us? Janice: According to the woman, he was very well dressed for his age. About 27 years old. Maybe 30. But dressed as a 40 - or 50 year old man and very good-looking. Dillan: I see. Ladies and gentlemen, please do your due diligence in keeping a look out for any strange individuals that fit this description. While I am not law enforcement, I do not advise approaching any suspicious persons who fit this description. The man on his bed suddenly broke into an outright horrid laughter. That man.... Sylvester Perry. He continued to cackle, even sitting up on his bed and continuing his laugh. Janice: Agreed, Dillan. Dillan: Stay safe out there, Janice. Janice: You too, Dillan. Dillan''s voice went out. Janice: This was reporter Janice Carlson, reporting. Out. And then, the clip played once more, going back to Janice''s first sentence. As it would turn out, the clip was on repeat. How often had it repeated? Who knew? But it simply amused the man laughing in his bed. A laughter that he continued, until he finally calmed down and got to his feet and walked to another room. In this room, several strange pieces of equipment could be found on the tables. Almost as though a lab of some kind. On the walls of his room, several certificates lay, each louding out some kind of incredible intellectual achievement. Most notable being one on his work with animal behaviour and another on his work wth DNA. Sylvester: (like a presenter) Dr. Sylvester Perry. A genius. Unsurpassed by all. A genius. A visionary. A man who will change the world''s understanding of DNA and revolutionise the world. He started to laugh maniacally again as he cleared his table, pulling out a massive microscope, needle, and an odd blue coloured liquid. And then, he spoke again, in a more sad morose, almost child like tone. Sylvester: Sylvester Perry. The weirdest kid in school. He''s a monster. A violent cruel creature. Don''t look at him. He isn''t like us... people. He then started a somewhat crying laugh... before grabbing the liquid and a small pen from which a laser was fired, turning the liquid to a green colour. Sylvester: Ah...... this is it. The next stage in DNA evolution. He quickly added it to his syringe. And then, he placed it into a vial before going to get some food to eat, and then, he left to go prepare some food. His meal? An oddly healthy helping of salmon and salad. What did he do while eating? He continued to watch this video over and over again, bursting out laughing. Why did he keep watching it? He couldn''t help it. It felt so good to laugh. And then... Sylvester: I know, it''s so funny, right? No sound was heard. Sylvester: Ugh.. you needed to have been there. Still, no sound was heard. Sylvester: (sighs) Alright. Next time, I''ll bring you along. He slurped some juice in an oddly gentlemanly manner. Sylvester: Hmmm? My plan? He then smiled to himself. Sylvester: Well..., if it felt this good to do this much, then.... He threw over a piece of salmon into the air. Sylvester: ... a little more fun wouldn''t hurt. A moment right before the food could land on the ground, a gigantic and long tongue came out of nowhere and slurped up the piece of food, briefly revealing what looked to be a massive chameleon, but not exactly.... And after that, a loud hiss was heard. The kind of hiss one would expect from a snake. Sylvester: Now now... don''t get too excited. Hehe.... hehehehehe.... Heheehehehhehehehehehhehehehehheheheheheheheheheheh 142. Mothers Thoughts That very night... Many thoughts ran through Max''s head as he skateboarded. Well, not that many. He still couldn''t believe Tiffany was that strong. That was one thing. But otherwise, as he skateboarded back home, he had nothing truly bothering him. Max: Well... this has been one crazy week. In just the space of a few days, Max, whose life had been almost completely mundane for years, had just, met people who were just like him, in other words, odd balls, almost died twice and even maybe sort of become part some kind of super hero crime fighting team. If someone had told him that he''d be going through this just seven days earlier, he''d have brushed it off as some kind of folk tale or joke. After all, who would have thought.... He ruminated on this while he skateboarded home. Naturally, he''d supersped all the way to Hypercity, but once he''d made it, he reverted to his skateboard. Say what one would, but it was his way. That''s just who he was. A skateboarder. And to him it didn''t matter much, because he''d make it back home eventually. And sometime after 9pm, he did make it back. Max opened the door with the house key and walked in. He heard the sound of dishes and plates in the vicinity. Max: Hey, mom! Julianne: Oh, hey, hon. Where''ve you been? She, of course, had already deciphered the mysterious code that was, "Where did Max go?"Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The answer was obvious. He''d been hanging out with his friends. And on that note, he may have had to fight someone or something. She noticed a few scruffs and a bit of dirt on his face. Max: Oh, that. I went out skateboarding to meet up with Rose and the others. Julianne: Oh.... In any normal case, a mother would go and tidy up her son''s face. But in this case, even interacting with the thing she feared most, her son getting hurt, was a terrifying ordeal. So terrifying that she hesitated to even do it, and so, she turned and decided to busy herself with preparing food. Max: And then, we went out training. Julianne: Oh, how was it? She was somewhat relieved to hear it wasnt something horrid, but also still bothered about the fact that Max seemed to be a bit hurt. Max: It was awesome. And, of course, like most teenage boys in love with what they are doing, he continued to elaborate on what had happened. Max: I got to see Ken and Luke fight, and then Luke and Rose and then...... Julianne: Then what? He was still a bit bothered by Tiffany, but not enough to not feel proud of himself in front of his mother. Max: ... I got to fight Tiffany, and I won. Julianne: Oh really! (thinking: So that''s who did it. Who''d have guessed she could casue that much damage?) That''s incredible honey. The famous Julianne Hunter is putting her best work in today. Julianne: I''m so proud of you. She walked over and gave her son a hug. Max: Hey..... Mom! Julianne: (giggles) Sorry, sorry.... it''s nothing. I''m just proud of my little man. Max: Alright. She let go of her son. Julianne: Anyway, you''ll tell me all about it during dinner. But for now, you need to take a shower. Max: Ok, ok..... The teenager dropped his skateboard on the floor and left his shoes behind to go take said shower. He, about 15 minutes later, came out of his room in his normal clothes. As for his mother, she lay at the dining room table, patiently waiting for him while also biting her finger nails in a psychological sense. There was a problem. She, as much as she hated to admit it, was not 100% ready to deal with everything that had happened in the past week. In just one week her couch potato son had turned into a running jumping excitable child who wasn''t just interested in video games or skateboarding, He was talking to people, laughing, spending time with them. That was good. That was healthy. But her son was also putting his life at risk. He was also fighting. At times like these, she would wish her husband was still alive. He always understood her son in a way she never could. If he was here, she could bet he''d start training him. Training him. Training him. Training him? Since he isn''t around, should she......? 143. After Battle Supper The teenage boy, completely oblivious to his mother''s current dilemma, walked over and sat down to a plate of ribs and a side of cake. There was a lot of food left over from Rose''s and Julianne''s antics. Max: Thanks for the food, mom. Julianne: No problem sweetie... Bon appetit. She herself had a smaller side of ribs and a smallerpiece of cake. And the teen happily begun to take a bite, before continuing in his story... Julianne: So, tell we what happened? I want to hear everything. Max: Oh yeah... And then he continued to elaborate on everything. The car, .. Max: ... Luke had this really fancy car hed gotten from Mr. Timo. Julianne: Oh, really.... Max: Yeah. It wasn''t as fancy as your old car though. The mother couldn''t help but laugh. Ah... memories. ..., the playground, ... Max: There was this place they called the playground. It was huuuuuuge! And deserted. Julianne: Mmmm... hmmm... Max: It was in.... ahhh..... I forget... anyway..... ..... the tests..... Max: .... Oh! Ken checked out my super speed, and turns out, I got a new personal best. 570kmh! Julianne: Really? Thats incredible hon! ...... and then the fights... Max: ... so Luke was throwing a ton of boulders at Ken, and I mean a lot, but Ken kept dodging them like....The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He started trying to illustrate the fight with his hands and the sounds with his voice. Max: .... whoosh, shhoooo, hah. But get this, Luke was planning on that and was trying to get close to Ken, Julianne: Hmmm really.... Max: Yeah! But it gets even better.... He continued with a smile that shook the mother. Max: That whole thing... was Ken''s plan all along. Now at that point, even Julianne Hunter was a bit surprised. Max: Ken used his ice breath to disappear from his sight and then hit him from behind. It was so cool. The mother was stunned for a moment. Julianne: I see. That was cool. (thinking: These kids he hangs out with... they''re no joke.) Max: I know right. But the tales did not end there. Max: Then Tiffany had me draw some weird flower to promise that I''d be a good teammate, but then.... He only glossed over it for a moment. Max: I had to fight her right after, and maaaaan, she was... For a moment, the humbling thought returned to him. Max: ... she was way tougher than I thought she''d be. Julianne: Really. Max: Yeah... For several seconds, as his mother noticed, her son seemed quite troubled. But that look on his face quickly disappeared. Max: (cockily) But I still beat her. And then the last part of the story. Max: And so I super sped here cuz they''d need to go through some traffic jam to head home. Julianne: Well, that was an interesting story, hon. (thinking: And now, he''s learning life lessons as well.) It was hard to fully admit it, but this situation she was living in, her son''s risky life, in a sense, was growing him. He was changing. And not in a bad way. He''d just learned humility. Max: And tomorrow, we''re going there again. I can''t wait. In the mind of Julianne Hunter, what had just occured was almost a miracle to her. Her son had only ever spoken excitedly about video games or skateboarding. And even then, his excitement had never reached this level. And so.... what could she say? In a sense, she had to admit, she was glad she got to see this side of her son. But there was another pressing matter she needed to resolve. One that would require that she went through a lot of pain. She knew this. And in an odd sense, she knew this would cause her hair pulling agony. But, she knew, or rather something in her knew, that this would solve a lot of her problems. So, as her son walked up stairs to get to bed, right after he''d said good night, she made a statement. One she knew she could have just kept quiet about, but, she knew she had to say. Julianne: Wait hon! Max: Hmm? Julianne: Before you go to bed, we need to have a chat. "We need to have a chat." Max had heard those words before. It never ended well for him, at least from his perspective. Max: Oh... And so, with a tad bit of melancholy, the teenage boy returned to his mother. Max: Yes, mom.... Julianne: Have a seat. "Have a seat." Those words are always a follow up of that previous sentence. Max''s head suddenly started running laps. What had he done wrong this time? Or worse, had she had a change of heart? Irregardless, he sat down. And the mother begun to speak. As the conversation went on, his mother said something that made his eyes open wide with shock. 144. Juliannes Tough Conversation And what did Julianne Hunter say? Julianne: We need to continue your training. Max: Wh... wha.....!?! In order for one to understand as to why that shocked Max so much, one would have to understand this. Max Hunter had not seriously trained for a very long time. Max: But.... but...... for real!? Julianne: Yes. Absolutely. She got up and walked towards his seat. Julianne: It''s a bit long over due, don''t you think? Max: Hmm? Julianne: After all... you''ll need to get even stronger if you want to keep fighting alongside your teammates. Max: Well... yeah.... I guess so. For a moment, Max simply paused. Max: Yeah.... There was one thing bothering the child. One thing his mother was well aware of. That fact being, that the last time he''d trained, or done anything approximating training, his father had been around. A sad look then filled his countenance. Julianne: I know sweetie. She placed her hand on his shoulder. Julianne: I know. They both missed him dearly. Had he been around, there''d be no need for Julianne to do this. The pair remained silent for a moment. Julianne: But... you know? Max: Hmm? Julianne: I''m sure... he would be happy to see you the way you are now.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Max: R... really? His eyes widened, with some sort of ecstatic expectation. Julianne: Absolutely. That mere statement brought a smile to his face. To be told that his father would have been happy to see this of him. To Max, that was an honour above any other honour anyone could guve him. She herself paused, finding herself remembering quite fondly all of the better memories she''d had with him. Julianne: I know that for certain. For yet another moment, the pair remained silent. Max: Thanks... mom. Julianne: No problem, sweetie. The pair smiled at each other. Julianne: Ok then... What she was about to say, and she knew this well, would set up a chain reaction. One she was not happy to or ready to start, but that she knew was necessary. And so, she braced herself and her body for emotional impact. It was going to be a challenge to keep herself together and to pretend to not be upset, both now and at this point. Julianne: So it''s settled. We''ll be starting tomorrow. Max: Tomorrow? But I have training with the others tomorrow Julianne: We''ll.... Theses statements... The first part of what she''d dreaded was having a conversation with her son about training. The other.... Julianne: ... how about you invite them over here? ... was telling Max to ask his friends over. Max: No way! Really?! Julianne: Uh huh. After all, you said they had a hard time travelling back home late at night. Training from here could give them a chance to get back home earlier. Saying that stung. Max: Really!? Julianne: Absolutely. After all, you are a team. It only makes sense that training alongside them will make your fighting more efficient. Crazy as it may have sounded, that was only one of her reasons for this. There were yet other reasons... The first one being completely true. But the other two were a bit more complex. First off, Julianne knew instinctively that, the way things were going, they were going to become more involved with one another sooner or later. And so, making sure to get to know them, was a way to make sure that Max''s relationship with them would grow unhindered, and therefore, making Max''s life easier. But there was yet a darker reason for this. Julianne wanted to get more information about them. Or rather, as per her own philosophy, one can never be too safe. After all, it was her son''s life on the line. And she would never take bets on that. And what would make this difficult? Well... she was well aware of the fact that her actions perhaps left a nasty aftertaste in their mouths. And of that, she needed to be cautious. Max: That''s.... thats great! Thanks mom! Even he was in shock. Max: I''m gonna tell them. Julianne: Sure do... Max: It''s gonna be so cool! Julianne could only smile as her son smiled. And that joy, albeit not completely, calmed the fiery pain in her heart. The pain that told her that she was making a big mistake not keeping her son safe. The pain that wanted nothing to do with this. But... to her chagrin, she knew something had to be done. Julianne: Ok... ok..... She quietened him down. Julianne: Now. You need to go to bed, alright? Max: Ok. Good night mom! He super sped dashed to his bedroom as his mother sighed. Julianne: (thinking: That boy.... ah well.....) Preparations would have to be made. As, of course, the next day, they would very likely be having guests. 145. Dread I like to think that in the olden days, when our species saw volcanoes erupting, or heard wild animal sounds, or felt earthquakes, or any other kind of impending doom, that a certain kind of dread would fall before us. Dread, is a fascinating thing. If I were to describe it, I would call it an inevitable future force that bears a message of impending doom. What makes dread so cruel, is the fact that its power lies not only in the future, but also in the victim''s own belief in their powerlessness to stop it. Like a constant remeinder of one''s doom and perhaps more importantly, of one''s own weakness. Anyway.... The morning right after, Max arose quite late, as usual, but in reality only a little later than he would ordinarily have woken up. There was only one thing in his mind. Telling his friends about what his mother had said. He stretched energetically in his bed before heading to his phone to send a text. The text? It would go to the group chat. As with most things in the team, Ken kept an artificial link between their phones. That way, they could have conversations without any outside "interference." Max: Yo! Guys! My mom just said you should come over for training later today in her lab. To properly understand just how off brand this comment would sound to Tiffany, Luke and Ken, one would have to understand just what they thought of his mother. In their eyes, his mother was not a bad person. No, in fact, they wouldn''t expect a mother to react any differently than she did.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. That would have bothered them more, perhaps. But what was truly terrifying, was the fact that it wasn''t Max that said that. It was his mother. The memory of an angry blue eyed woman that looked like she wanted them dead was firmly etched into their memories alongside feelings of guilt. There was no forgetting that night. And to top it all off like some fancy cake, she was a completely different person the next morning. That only made them more suspicious. And as if that wasnt enough, again, she was the one who''d called them. Walking into that house would have been the equivalent of a fly going straight into a spider web. Would they be killed? Likely no. However, what would happen? They had no idea. But they all instinctively knew this.... Max''s mother had an ulterior motive. Rose, however... Rose: Oh my gosh! Really? Max: Yeah. You guys coming? Rose: Yeah, but wait! We have to ask Tiff first. Of course, adding complications to this siuation, was the fact that Max and Rose were completely oblivious to their situation. Max, because he didn''t know what had happened, and Rose, because she was quick to believe what people said to her. Max: Oh yeah.... Huh..... I guess we have to wait for her to reply then. Rose: Yeah, but its ok. Tiff always replies to texts in the team group chat as quickly as she can. And she was right, Tiffany had indeed already seen the chat. And shortly after, Ken and Luke would as well. It was a complex situation. Tiffany Chang was a girl of principle, and even before that, she couldn''t say that Max''s mother had done what she did. To even insinuate that to her own son went against all sorts of social principles as well as her own code of honour. And so the big question was simple. How on earth was she supposed to deal with this situation? Both roads seemed utterly unacceptable. Ken, who had also seen this text, had a similar line of thought. Luke as well, who saw it last almost immediately recongnized the conundrum. As for Max and Rose... Rose: So, how''s your mom doing? Max: She''s fine. Thanks again for all that food you helped mom cook, by the way. It tasted great. Rose: Thanks. It wasn''t a big deal, really. She blushed and smiled nervously. Getting gratitude from Max just felt that good. As for the others, Ken did something quite discrete. He opened up another channel for himself, Luke and Tiffany to have a conversation about that. After all, he knew his team leader well. Well enough to know that even she would be confounded by this. 146. The Secret Meeting After Ken added them to his new group... Ken: I suppose you''re wondering as to why you''re all gathered here. Luke: Ken? Did you...? Ken: Create a new group so we could talk about this without those two figuring it out? Why... yes. Luke: Phew. Thanks. I appreciate it. Luke had only just woken up. Tiffany had been awake for quite a while. And Ken had been up long enough to see what had happened. Ken: No problem. And as for our wise and unerring leader? It took a moment, after all, Tiffany was always sideways about doing sneaky things like these. Tiffany: Yes, Ken. One could hear the sigh from her text. Tiffany: Thanks. Ken: Don''t mention it. Even she didn''t know what to make of this situation. And so, although not being something she''d ordinarily do, she allowed it. Tiffany: Anyway, as I assume we all know. We need to talk. Ken: Seconded. I for one would much rather not return to that woman''s house. Luke: Agreed. Tiffany: So... what now? Ken: Well, even my genius has no idea. Luke: Yeah. And we can''t just chicken out of this, can we? Ken: Yeah. And we can''t tell Max what really happened. Luke: Yeah.... Ken: Maybe we could feign illness. Tiffany: No. Ken: Of course, you would say that. Tiffany: I mean it will be tough, but we can''t just run from this.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Ken: Really now. Tiffany: It was bound to happen sooner or later, with Max being part of the team and all. Ken: But, you do realise that that woman may very well just do something horrible to us, right? Tiffany: Yes, I''m aware... but.... Luke: You don''t see another way around it, do you? Tiffany: Yeah.... There was nothing for it. There was nothing they could do. Ken: And here I was hoping I could goad you two into letting me have a pretend sick day or something. Tiffany: Sorry, Ken. But we have no other choice. We have to get back in there and deal with it. Ken: Alright There was a silence for a moment, as though none of them were looking forward to it. Ken: And how are we going to go on about this? Another brief pause. Tiffany: Just endure, alright. Unfortunately, we have no choice. Lets just make sure to watch each other''s backs. Ken: Fine. Signing out. Ken left the chat. Luke: You sure about this? Tiffany: To be completely honest, no. Tiffany left the chat, and shortly after, so did Luke. And returning to the other chat... Rose: Oh my gosh! Youre so right! Earth is soooo weird! As one who could read the previous texts would notice, there had been a long conversation about how weird Earth was compared to their home planets. And as the three re-entered the chat, Tiffany was the first to make a statement. Tiffany: Morning guys. Rose: Hey Tiff. Morning. Max: Morning. There were smiley faces attached to that text. Tiffany: Morning Rose. Ken: Morning. Luke: Morning. Rose: Morning Ken. Morning Luke. Max: Morning guys. Tiffany: In any case, I saw your text and.... If one could only see the looks on Luke and Ken''s faces as her text was fully unravelled. Luke, was cringing, and Ken, he fell flat on his bed and just looked at his ceiling. Of course, he could always access his texts using his bionics, but he was just a tad bit depressed. Tiffany: ... I''ve decided. Well be there. Tiffany made a massive sigh after saying that. In her mind, one thing rung. There was no way out of this. Rose: Oh my gosh, really?! Max: Awesome! Tiffany: Yes, Rose. After all, I suppose training in a new place for once will be a nice change of pace. (thinking: And besides... it''s about time we deal with her.) Rose: That''s great, Tiff. To be honest, I was a little worried you wouldn''t be ok with it. Tiffany: No need to worry about it. That being said... Max, when should we come over? Max: Hmmm... About 7pm I guess. Tiffany: Alright! We''ll be there, team. Ken: Right, oh ever gracious leader. Luke: Yeah, sure. I''ll pick us all up. Rose: Great! Thanks Luke. Luke: No problem. They all seemed to be quite thrilled to do this by text, however, they were all silently cringing. Max: Awesome. I''ll tell my mom you guys said yes. But for Max on the other hand, all he could feel was excitement. After all, when was the last time this boy had had friends over. Friends he could be open with about his powers no less. Tiffany: Ok then. Now that that''s all settled, I''d say well be seeing each other soon. Till later, guys. Rose: Bye Tiff. Ken: Goodbye all. Luke: See ya. Max: Yeah, bye. Now on to other matters. 147. Prep Time The ancient art of party preparations. Yes, really. While it may seem strange to some, partying is just another normal human social gathering. When did it start? Who knows? But it is one of the things that has remained as a fundamental part of the human lifestyle for, perhaps all of humanity''s time on Earth. And as for preparations, one of course finds themselves bringing their better apparel rather than just normal clothing. In this case, while Rose prepared a recipe she''d found on the internet, Tiffany, Ken and Luke mentally prepped themselves for anything. After all, anything could happen. About the party makers? They have the distinct privilege and perhaps burden that is ensuring that all the people in the room had as much fun and felt at as much ease as possoble. This requires an intense amount of focus, intellect and attention to detail that most normal people lack. As a result, only well trained and or talented people ever find themselves given this task. Maximillian Hunter was, unfortunately, not one of these people. And so.... Max: Moooooom! Julianne: Yes, dear? Max: How do I set a table? Young Maximillian Hunter found himself stuck trying to figure out how the forks and spoons would be sorted. As he''d just remembered from some T.V show, there was a certain order to the kinds of forks and spoons to be used. Table spoon. Tea spoon. Who even knows the difference?Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Before this day, Max would simply grab whatever spoon seemed best. Besides, what did the name even matter if the only difference was size? His mother came downstairs, hearkening to her son''s distress. She found him nervously fumbling with cutlery. Julianne: (thinking: Ah... my baby boy.) Is something wrong, Max? Max: Yeah.... so.... He showed her the spoons. Max: Which spoon goes where? Julianne: (sighs) Max, your friends are still teenagers. I seriously doubt the fact that they''d know any better about that than you. Max: Oh.... right. Then.... maybe I could.... It was obvious to his mother. He''d never had friends over. Not for a very long time. And so.... he was nervous. Self conscious even. She walked up to her son. He immediately super sped dashed to clean the place up with the broom. Julianne sighed once more. Max: I could clean this place up. Julianne: Max.... Max: It''s ok mom. I know using super speed to sweep the house just makes it dustier. But its ok. I''ll just.... Julianne: Max. That voice. That motherly voice that every child knows. It''s the kind that tells a child to stop immediately. And it worked the same way with Max. He kept quiet. Did he even have a choice? It''s an instinct. An instinct children have to their parents and or caretakers. Max: Yes... mom The mother walked over her to her son and placed her hand on his shoulder. Julianne: Don''t worry about it. Really. It didn''t need to be said. What had happened in the past needed not be mentioned. She said it as simply as she could and he still got the message. Simply put, that was the bond between the mother and son. More words were not necessary. She understood how worried and lonely he was, and he knew that she knew that. That was all. Max: Alright, mom. He somewhat botheredly walked up to his room. Julianne: They''ll be here by 7pm. So you best be ready by then. Max: Ok. Julianne: And Max... He turned to her. Max: Yes, mom? Julianne: You''ll be just fine. Don''t worry about it. I''m sure they''ll be happy to see you too. Somehow, those words made max feel a bit more at ease. Max: (slightly smiling) Yeah... In a sense, he was probably just panicking. After all, they''d been there before. So what was he worried about? He laxedly plavced his hands behind his back. Maybe he was worried for nothing. The teenager returned to his room. How long would they be there? How hard would they train? How hard would they fight each other? What would his mother think of him after she saw him fight? Who knows? But, reverting to a mindset more in touch with his own personality, he simply cast caution to the winds and decided to stick to look to the future. 148. Into The Gates Of.... Satin Fabric? Night time. Luke''s van entered the road. Roseglade Street 42. A.k.a, the gateway to what could be hell. Ken: Well, here goes nothing. Rose: Hmmm? Ken: Nothing, Rose. Don''t worry about it. Rose: Ok. Luke and Tiffany did not interject. They had long since decided that Rose not knowing their true beliefs towards Julianne was for the best. Tiffany: I want us all to be on our best behaviour. She may be Max''s mom, but she''s still a full-grown adult. Ken: My my, oh diligent leader, how dutiful of you. Tiffany: I know it''s a bit odd changing pace so quickly. But in this case, we need to do this to ensure that our relationship with her remains positive. Ken: Fair... She was right. Even though Max was not an official member of the team, having Max''s mom not have a problem with them would be an absolute plus in several ways. Just as they pulled up at the driveway.... Inside the house.... Max: They''re here! He super sped dashed to the front door and waited at it impatiently and jitteringly excitably. Julianne: Be calm now, hon. Max: Ok. Ok. And inside the van... Tiffany: Alright then, are you ready, team? Rose: Yeah! Ken: (sigh) Take me sweet death. Rose: Hmm? Ken: Oh, nothing.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Luke: Yeah, I''m ready. Tiffany: Good. It was a cold night that day. The three teens walked outside of the van, all looking entirely normal except for Tiffany, who was carrying a sheathed katana. Rose: I can''t wait to show Mrs Hunter the recipe I found. The three other teens looked at her warely but said nothing. And soon, Luke knocked on the door. Max, who was waiting on the other side, waited only two seconds before deciding he''d waited long enough and opened the door, just as Julianne joined him. Max: Hey guys! Rose: Hey, Max! Tiffany, Luke, and Ken: Hey. The look on Julianne Hunter was one of an open smile. Having seen that, it became almost immediately apparent. Things were about to get awkward. Julianne: Hey kids. Rose: Hey, Mrs Hunter. Tiffany, Luke and Ken: Hey.... They couldn''t hide the awkwardness completely Julianne: I hope your journey here wasn''t too severe. Tiffany: Not at all, Mrs Hunter. That was the first time she''d openly replied to her. Julianne: That''s good to hear. Rose: Oh, Mrs Hunter, I found a new recipe. Julianne: Oh really? Rose: Uh huh.... It''s for cheesecake. They called it a super secret recipe. Julianne: Ooooohhhh! I''d love to try that. But for now.... She had already noticed her son slowly becoming antsy. And, it was cold out. Being an actor came with many extra talents. Amongst them was taking note of people''s responses to one''s actions. This is true of every art a man or woman may learn in life. A fighter learns balance, a philosopher learns psychology, a reader learns patience, and a race driver learns to stay calm. Truly, any and every art is multi dimensional. Moving on... Julianne: ... let''s all get inside. The four teens walked into the house. In any normal circumstances, statements such as, "This place looks nice," or great or some other generic complement. But, they''d already been there. And so it was unnecessary. Although.... the place did look slightly different. For one thing, the table was well made. Almost artistically so. Almost as though some kind of expert diner was the place to which they''d gone. So artistic in fact, that the four teens took a moment to look at it. The door was then presently shut by Julianne, who then locked it. Rose: Oh my gosh, Mrs Hunter. I love what you did with the table. Julianne: Oh, that? It was nothing, really. Seeing Rose get along so well with Mrs Hunter seemed like such a twilight zone thing to Tiffany, Luke and Ken, that they almost couldn''t hide it in their faces how strange they found it. The simple question they were asking themselves constantly was this. Max''s mother was mad at them for endangering her son''s life. That much was obvious. And so... why did she change her mind? Was she manipulating them? Dis she lure them here? What was her purpose? Rose, in the meantime, walked over to the table cloth and took a closer look. Rose: It''s so soft. Julianne: Oh, that thing. It''s made out of organic cotton, linen, and satin fabric. I reserve it for special guests. Rose: Woah! Ken: (thinking: Special guests?) Max: Err..... Mom? Julianne: Oh, right. Sorry, hon. I completely forgot. The look on Julianne Hunter''s face suddenly changed. Julianne: We''re not here to talk about food. We''re here to train. 149. Like Mother Like Son Julianne Hunter. Just what was she planning? The first word. Train. But... from where? The Hunter house hold was a decidedly normal looking building. In fact, on closer and more expert attention, it was almost artistically average. Not completely average, but average enough and with enough personality, tha no one would suspect anything strange was happening inside that house. That spider web that trapped people''s minds into a sense of foolish complacency while entering her house, was the creation of Julianne Hunter. A perfect web, she would call it. A good example being the team. Not even Ken could catch on. Julianne: We''re here to train. Max''s countenance immediately changed to a smirk. Max: Hmph! Rose: Oh, right. Rose returned to her friends side so Julianne could face them all at once. Tiffany: Ok, where do we start? Every statement that came out of her lips felt so wrong. She wasn''t used to being pretentious. Ken: (thinking: Our poor dauntless leader.) Julianne: Right there. She pointed to a door leading to what would look like a normal basement. The unsureness in all the teens inceased even more. Train.... in the basement? Tiffany: Sure..... She was trying so hard to be polite as well as not reveal her true feelings towards the situation.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She motioned the rest of her team to follow her, but she paused at the door and turned to look at Julianne. In her mind, it was rude to enter a room in a house to which she did not belong, especially since it was her first time. And so, permission was necessary. Julianne: (smiling) (thinking: She''s a polite one.) Go right ahead. And so, she opened the door. One may have expected to see a room full of technological advancements, or at the very least an open space. What appeared in front of them, however, was a normal looking basement. So normal, it was absurd. It was clean. But there was nothing else to be said of it. And so the usually calm Tiffany paused. For one thing, there wasn''t nearly enough space to train. For another, what exactly did Max''s mother have planned for them if this was where they were going to train? To make things even weirder, his mother spoke up from behind them. Julianne: What''s the hold up? Go on. Go inside. Ken, Luke and Tiffany gave each other questionable looks. What would they even say? The same could be said of Rose. Even if she was better acquainted with his mother, she didn''t quite know what to say of this. And so, the four teens remained silent, not knowing what to say, until.... Julianne: Is something wrong? Rose: Ummm... well...... it''s just..... I mean.... Rose''s rebuttal gave Tiffany a bit more confidence. Tiffany: I think what she''s trying to say, Mrs Hunter, is that... well... given our abilities... But saying it made her feel like needles should''ve passed through her throat. It was agony. Tiffany: It''s just... And then the thing she expected least happened. Julianne Hunter burst into a loud and hysterical laughter, shocking all of them. They all exchanged glances once more. To perhaps alleviate some of their confusion, they turned to Max, who was simply laughing as well, albeit not as hysterically. Just what kind of family was this? Julianne: Oh, I''m so sorry. Really. She laughed once more. And they simply looked at each other again. Julianne: (reeling from laughter) Oh.... oh.... ok. I think I''m done. She had laughed herself to the ground. Julianne: Alright then. Rose: Ummmm.... Mrs Hunter....? Most confused, of course, was Rose. She''d never seen this side of his mother. In fact, none of them had. To think she''d be one to laugh like that. Julianne: Oh, I''m so sorry. That was all just a prank. Ken, Tiffany, Luke and Rose: A prank!? Julianne: Yes, a prank. And then it dawned on them. They didn''t just know little about her. They knew nothing. As for Julianne, this was simply her way of breaking the ice. The teens werent the only ones stressed out about the night, after all. Julianne: Now, if you''ll excuse me. She walked into the basement herself and placed her hand on a wall. There was nothing peculiar about this wall. No cracks, or stains or even something to make it look somewhat different from the rest of the wall. But right after she''d placed her hand on it, the basement started to expand. The teens could only gaze in awe at the sheer impressiveness of the room. 150. Julianne Hunters Lab The room was incredibly wide, as the walls of the basement had then finally fully opened up. A light turned on, revealing a room full of white tiles all round. In the room, several other technological pieces of equipment were present. Some that looked like weapons, others that looked looked like vehicles and others that could not be described. Rose: Woah.....! Ken: Indeed. Luke: (whistle) Yeah.... Max cockily walked inside with his hands behind his head. Julianne: Tiffany Chang, Rose Wright, Luke Parks and Kenneth Stone. The teens all turned to her. Julianne: Welcome... to... my lab. The teens continued to look at it in awe. To think that such a place would be found right under her house. Rose: This place is...... Ken: You said it. Rose: .... so huge! Julianne: You got that right. She walked over to the centre of the room and a podium with a computer on the top popped up from the ground right in front on her. Julianne: Impressive, isnt it? Rose: Yeah, it''s so cool! Max: I know, right? Rose: Uh huh.... She turned the computer off and all the machines and vehicles begun to sink into the ground. Julianne: This room is my personal private laboratory. It takes great inspiration from labs back in my home planet, Neutron, as well as inspiration from some Earth labs. It''s where I conduct research when I have free time. Ken: I see. Luke: Its quite impressive. Julianne: Think so? Why, thank you. There was a charm to her.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The three teens walked around the lab, inspecting every nook and cranny. There was a touch of an other worldly feeling to it. In a sense, the room itself felt a bit alien. Ken''s eyes turned red and he was about to scan before looking at a disapproving Tiffany, who shook her head, much to his disappointment. Julianne: Oh, you have scanning and detection software. Ken: Well... yes. Julianne: Ooh! Could I have a peak? Oh wait no... I shouldn''t have asked just yet. Sorry. maybe I could make a deal... no. That''s not right either. Ken: Err.... It was an odd thing for Ken to be weirded out by something, especially considering how much time he''d spent with weirdos such as himself. Julianne: Oh sorry, I weirded you out, didn''t I? The looks of shock on all their faces were quite something. And as for Max, he was completely unsurprised. this was his mother, after all. He knew her too well to be surprised by this. Ken: No, no.... it''s... fine. Julianne: Phew...good. I got a little side tracked there. Anyway, this is where you''ll all be training today. Pretty spacious isn''t it? Rose: It really is. Luke: Yeah. There was, however, one glaring issue. One that only a tough person could bring up. There is such a thing as accommodation. And when one is accommodating, it is a very rude and almost cruel thing to turn that person down. Tiffany: It is... but.... The thing was, big as it was, there was a chance that they would end up destroying it in the process. And so, Tiffany spoke up. Tiffany: ... well.... It wasn''t like it was easy to turn her down, given all that had happened. But she knew from years of discipline, that such a thing was necessary. Tiffany: .... what if we destroy the place? Julianne: Hmm? That statement seemed to have actually shocked the mother. Tiffany: I mean... it''s just.... She gritted her teeth as discretely as she could. What if she ended up saying the wrong thing? What if she offended his mother? Tiffany: ... well... for example.... Luke has super strength. What if he.... destroys your lab? She meant it in the most sincere way she could. In a sense, one could say it was the most sincere and innocent side of Tiffany. Rose: Oh... Tiff..... Even Rose agreed. Ken: Well, now that you mention it.... Luke: Yeah... None of them, however, had the gall to look her in the eye while they said that. Max: (thinking: Is something wrong with these guys?) Max knew they''d met. But he didn''t know what had happened between them. Also, he''d never once given it an inkling of a thought. And so, he didn''t understand as to why they all looked so perturbed. Julianne: Oh... that? As a scientist and an intelligent person, she was one with a habit. A habit that is quite common to those that are much smarter. That habit being, forgetting that she knew something that the others did not. She walked to the rest of the team. Julianne: (giggle) I completely forgot. Her reaction shocked the teens. Julianne: Tiffany? Tiffany: Y... yes? Julianne: Strike the floor with your katana. As hard as you can. Tiffany: Huh? Julianne: Go on! She made a warm and inviting smile. Julianne: It''s ok. Trust me. And now she had no choice. Tiffany had to strike the ground. She could, of course, use less force, but if she didnt, it would make her look suspicious. Being so manipulative and pretentious truly disgusted her. But she had no choice. She pulled her blade out, gave Max''s mother one more look in her lack of assuredness, and then struck the floor as hard as she could. The result? It didn''t penetrate the floor. In fact, it seemed that some kind of force field kept it from being penetrated by her blade. 151. The Secret Of The Lab Rose: Oh my gosh! Ken: Unbelievable. Luke: Huh? Tiffany was taken aback. She knew her own strength. Strength enough to break rocks and boulders. Even dent metal. But this....? There wasn''t a scratch on the floor. Julianne: An electro magnetic shielding field. What do you think? Rose: That''s so amazing, Mrs Hunter! Julianne: Oh, thank you Rose. (to Tiffany) So, as you can see, you can fight here to your hearts content. The electromagnetic field cushions all damage and sound here. Nothing short of a nuclear bomb could even crack these lab walls. Rose: Amazing! Luke: You mean... Julianne: Uh huh. She knew exactly what he meant. Luke looked at the ground with a tinge of nervousness. Julianne: It''s ok. Go on.... He took a moment to take a breath of air. Luke: Alright. He punched the ground with a medium amount of strength and, to everyone''s surprise, except Max and Julianne''s, the wall didn''t even get a dent. Instead, a sort of wave of energy emanated from the point of contact and spread throughout the walls. Luke: Woah... Rose: Oh my gosh! That''s amazing! Luke: Yeah.... Max: My mom''s lab is basically indestructible. Believe me. I''ve tried. Julianne rubbed and messed up her son''s hair, much to his annoyance, and much to Ken, Rose, and Luke''s amusement. Julianne: Oh you.... Max: Mooooooommmm!Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Julianne: (giggle) Sorry, hon. Oh, and I almost forgot. She re-summoned her computer from the floor and started typing in commands. Julianne: Let''s see.. here... there... They simply watched her in silence, all wondering what she was doing. Julianne: ..... and...... done! And then suddenly, large white cubes morphed from the ground all around the floor, much to all of their amazement. Julianne: In protonite labs, we call these training blocks. She walked up to one of them and gave it a tap. Julianne: We use them for training. Electricity began to come out of her hand, and she blasted the training block, creating a hole in it. Rose: Woah! Luke: Cool.... Julianne: Think so? Rose: Yeah. That''s so amazing. Julianne: If you think that''s amazing.... She walked back to her computer. Julianne: ... then you''ll love this. After a push of a few buttons, the hole in the training block was automatically repaired. Rose: Oh my gosh! Julianne: That''s right. These blocks can be re-used as often as you want. So, don''t fret about destroying them. Rose: Really!? That''s amazing. Rose herself ran off to one of them. Julianne: Go on. I''m sure sirenite psychic powers can work on those rocks. Rose: Ok! She focuused her powers on the rock and lifted it. Rose: It... it''s just like a boulder. Julianne: That it is. Rose then gently placed ot back down. Rose: Thanks so much, Mrs Hunter. Julianne: No problem, Rose. As for Ken.... Ken: (thinking: Forming objects out of what seems to be thin air. Just how advanced is protonite technology. Can I even.... Can my bionics even...) Julianne: So, any questions? Tiffany, Luke, and Ken looked at each other for a moment. Luke: I think we''re good. Ken: Agreed. Tiffany: I have one. Julianne: Hmm? They all turned to Tiffany, who, at the moment, seemed to be struggling to speak. Tiffany: I just..... Ken: (thinking: No.... she wouldn''t.) Tiffany: I just want to know.... why... Now, this was an interesting situation. Tiffany could not say it too hesitantly because it may alert Max or Rose of something. But she also couldn''t be too direct, lest she upset Julianne Hunter. Tiffany: ...why you''d go so far for us? She wanted to be respectful, but she needed to know. Not just for herself but also for her team. She wouldn''t want to put herself and the others in a bad situation. Julianne: Oh, that. (thinking: She''s tougher than I thought.) Ken: (thinking: Oh Tiff... how predictable you can be.... Ah, well....at least you didn''t talk about Monday night. Now that would be a serious problem.) Max: Tiffany? Tiffany: I am on no way trying to undermine you or your kindness or hospitality. It''s just.... I want to..... She couldn''t go any further. Her lips stopped. Rose: Tiff..... (thinking: Is something wrong?) Julianne: Its all alright. Tiffany: Hmm? Julianne: The thing is.... She surprised herself with how honest she was becoming about this. Well, there was some deceit, but it was almost completely honest. Julianne: ... well.... it''s just.... I''d rather I got to see the people my son fights alongside more often. 152. Her Motivations Rose: Mrs Hunter.... Julianne tapped a button on her computer, and a chair materialised behind her, and she sat. Julianne: The thing is, .... It wasn''t like being open was easy for her. She didn''t want just anyone to know everything about her. Julianne: ... well.... Her eyes turned to Max. Julianne: ... it''s a lot more about my son. All four of them turned to Max. Rose: Max....? Max himself was taken slightly aback. Julianne: Yes. About Max. In a way, her eyes relaxed and fixiated upon him. Julianne: My son still has a long way to go if he wants to master all of his powers, and all things considered .... well..... I figured the best way to train him would be.... Tiffany: To have him train with us. Julianne: Exactly. And preferrably, in a place from which I can monitor his progress. And, seeing as the four of you train with him... Ken: You decided to have us train at the same time and in the same place. Julianne: Uh huh. Rose: Oh, that makes sense. So if we all train together while you''re here, Max will get stronger. Julianne: That''s right. All for my baby. That statement made Ken and Luke turn to Max teasingly. Luke: Baby? Max: (blushing) Hey! Mooooooooom! Julianne and Rose giggled. That was what Tiffany had been looking and hoping for. Some reason as to why she was doing this. Or rather, at the very least, a reason that made sense. She could then, perhaps not completely, but somewhat... relax.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Julianne: Of course, I also wanted to get to know all of you better. Her response shocked Ken, Luke, and Tiffany. Rose: Oh, really?! Julianne: Uh huh. Ken: (thinking: Oh boy. That is where things fall apart.) Julianne: In any case.... She got up and stretched. Julianne: ... it''s about time I let you kids get to work. If you need anything, I''ll be upstairs getting dinner ready. The chair shrunk down into the ground again. Julianne: You kids want anything? Tiffany, Luke, and Ken didn''t know what to say. Rose: Oooh oooh! I''d like some pie. Julianne: Ok, and the rest of you? They all looked at each other. Luke: Anything would be fine, ma''am. Julianne: Oh, come on now, there''s no need to be shy. I mean, I''m not trying to brag, but I can afford pretty much any kind of meal you want. Even if it''s only made in foreign countries. Luke: Well... I.... However, Ken decided he wanted to test this. Ken: Some roast beef would be fine. Julianne: Sure.... Luke: I guess.... ribs wouldn''t be so bad. Julianne: Ok then. And then she turned to Tiffany, who looked back at her, thinking quite ferociously. On the one hand, Tiffany was never the kind to ask for food. But on the other hand, there was no saying no to her. This social situation couldn''t be avoided. Julianne: Don''t be shy now. Tiffany: I''ll have.... (sigh) some fish cakes. Julianne: Oooooh, how foreign. Those very words made her flinch. Did she ask for too much? Julianne: I''ll have that ordered right up. Ken: Ordered? Julianne: Of course, I''m an alien. Not magic. Ken: Oh.... Julianne: But don''t worry, I''ll have my best guys on the job for each of these orders. And then she turned to Max. Julianne: And for my special baby boooooooyyyyy! Max: (blushing) Moooooooooooooooommmmm! A fex snickers could be heard from Luke and Ken. And even Rose giggled, not because she was making fun of Max, but rather because she found it quite cute. Max: Mmmmmmm.... pizza and french fries. Julianne: Ok, hon. Max: Mmmmmm..... Julianne: And now that that''s settled, I''ll just get out of your hair. Ken: Huh? Julianne: Well, I''d rather I don''t make things awkward for all of you. So why not you five get started. I''ll check in on you all later. She started towards the stairs. Julianne: Hard training, kids! They all remained there, somewhat dumbfounded. They all, even Max, thought she''d remain there to watch them. But rather than do that, she simply left right at the start, leaving them with a bit of an awkward air. Ken: Max? Max: Yeah? Ken: Your mom..... He decided to say it as nicely as he could. Ken: ... is also full of surprises. Everything that had occurred that night. All of it. Truly, she, like her son, was quite the enigma. Rose: Yeah. But she''s also really cool. As for Luke and Tiffany, what could they say? What had happened, happened. And they had to move on to why they were there. 153. Worlds Fastest Loss Tiffany started. Tiffany: Alright, team, let''s get started. Ken, Rose, and Luke: Hmph! Max: (awkwardly) Ahhhh yeah!!! Rose giggled, and Ken simply shrugged. Ken: He''ll get used to it. Max: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, let''s get to sparring. Tiffany: Not yet. Max: Huh? Tiffany: Remember what I said the last time. As he recalled, Tiffany said something about showing him their powers. Max: Oh yeah.... You said you''d show me your powers today. To Max, that wasn''t a necessarily boring thing, but he''d still much rather just fight something. Max: Sure..... Tiffany: And I suppose the best way to do that.... is for you to fight each of us. Max: Wh... what!? That was the last thing he''d expected her to say. Max: Really!? Tiffany: Absolutely. Max looked at the others. Ken: She did the same thing with each of us on our first day. Max: No way! So, I can.... Tiffany: Yeah. Absolutely. Only, since we''ve already fought... we won''t be sparring again today. Max: Alright! He cracked his knuckles. Max: So, who''s up first? Tiffany: Rose? Are you up for it?Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Rose: M.... me? And Tiffany asking Rose to be Max''s first opponent was the last thing she''d expected. She turned towards a gung-ho looking Max. Rose: S... sure..... Tiffany: Alright then. It''s settled. First match, Rose vs Max. Get over there to that open space. Rose: Oh... ok..... Max happily walked over there while an unsure Rose followed after. Max: You ready, Rose? Rose: Uhhhh.... yeah. Yeah. Sure. He took notice of her red face and nervous disposition. Max: You ok? Rose: Y... yeah... Back with the others... Ken: Was it really a good idea to have Rose fight Max first? Tiffany: (sighs) I want her to learn to stop being so nervous. And that lesson won''t be learned if she''s always playing it safe. Ken: Right..... The pair stood several feet from one another. Max: Alright, Rose, let''s do it! Rose: Uh huh.... Tiffany: (thinking: Of all the ways to show people what you''re made of, sparring is amongst the most effective. That''s what my master taught me, and that''s what I''ve learned to be true in my life.) She walked towards the two, stopping only at a safe distance. Tiffany: Alright, are you two ready? Max: Hmph! Rose: Uh huh! Tiffany''s eyes lingered just a bit at Rose as she lifted her hand. Rose bowed, and Max, having seen her, also hurriedly bowed. Tiffany: Ready.... Back with Luke and Ken..... Luke: Whod''ya thinks gonna win? Ken: Hmmm... Rose is a dangerous opponent. However, Max is tricky to beat. Luke: Hmm? Ken: I''ll save my opinions on the subject for now. As for Rose.... In her mind, all she could think about was Max. The questions being.... What if she lost? If she lost, Max would be disappointed in her and think she was weak. She could already imagine him making fun of her, calling her a weakling. But there was another question. What if she won? What if after she''d won, Max got upset with her and decided to stop talking to her? That would be even worse. Her mind ran a marathon with these thoughts. Tiffany: (thinking: Be careful, Rose. Max can end a fight in an instant. If you don''t have your wits about you, it could all be over before you know it.) And as for Max.... Max: (thinking: Ok. Rose has psychic powers. Just gotta make sure I don''t get caught.) And then, her hand karate chopped in the air. Tiffany: Begin! Max: Ok, Rose, let''s go. However, Rose was too paralysed by fear to make an immediate move. She raised her head to look at Max directly, but Max wasn''t there. She turned from left to right, wondering where he was, only to hear.... Max: Peekaboo! Rose: Ahhhhhh! She flinched. And as for Max, he simply placed his hand on her shoulder and electrocuted her till she fell on her knees. Tiffany, Ken, and Luke could only look on at the scene. Rose: (thinking: Where... where did he come from? It was all so sudden.) Max suddenly halted his electrocution. Max: Yeah, I got you. Wait, does that mean I won? The other three remained silent for a moment before.... Tiffany: Match, Max! Ken: It''s already over. Luke: Hmmm. (thinking: Yeah... Max is no joke.) Rose: I.... I lost.... just like that. Her eyes shamefully turned to Tiffany. Did she really just lose without even landing a blow? Did she really just lose without even moving a muscle? And as for Max, he seemed happy. But still, she just lost. Was something wrong with her? 154. Roses Greatest Fear Rose remained on her knees, feeling dejected and horrid. And as for Max, he was too busy jubilating to notice. Max: Woohoo! Two wins in a row. Who''s next? Tiffany walked over to Rose and lay her her hand. Tiffany: You ok? Rose: Err... yes. Absolutely. A fake smile came up on her face. Max, at that point, turned towards her. Tiffany: Are you sure? Rose: Yes. Absolutely. She turned ever so slightly to Max, before turning away from him once again. Rose: I just.... (wincing) need some water. She immediately dropped Tiffany''s hand and ran off to go upstairs, all the while shielding her face, just as Tiffany expected, and much to Max''s surprise. Max: Hmmm. Is she ok? Tiffany: Yeah... I just.... I''ll go check on her. Luke? He immediately knew what she wanted him to do, and so he started cracking his knuckles. Luke: Yeah? Tiffany: Since Max isn''t all that worn out from his first match, I want you to be his next opponent immediately. Max: Luke, huh? Luke: Hmm. You got it. The two teen boys looked each other directly in the eye, and then smiled. This is gonna be fun, they both thought. Tiffany: Ken? Can I leave you in charge of this match? Ken: Sure. No biggie. He''d known Tiffany long enough to know how this story would unfold. As for Tiffany, she went upstairs, going after Rose.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As she walked upstairs, she''d half expected to find Julianne Hunter somewhere, but no, she was nowhere to be seen. But, focusing on her objective, she, using her knowledge of the house from her last visit, went into the bathroom. And there she found a silently sobbing Rose, curled up in a corner, with tissues in her hands. Tiffany: Rose.... The pink haired girl''s eyes rose to look at Tiffany. It was a rare sight to hold indeed. Tiffany seemed to actually be quite sad to see her like this. Much unlike her usual incessantly serious countenance. Tiffany: Rose, are you ok? Rose: Yeah... But she continued to sob. Tiffany walked towards her, but not before closing the door and locking it. Tiffany: There there.... She grabbed Rose and held her in her arms, gently stroking her back. Tiffany: Its ok, Rose. Its ok. Rose: I''m sorry, Tiff. Tiffany: Hmm? Rose: I''m sorry Im so weak. Tiffany: Rose.... I.... To Rose, her loss made her a disappointment to Tiffany. Tiffany: I don''t think youre weak. Rose: But I.... I lost without even moving.... Tiffany: Shhhhhhh... there there....it''s ok. Her voice was as silent and comforting as one could expect, although one would never expect such a tone from Tiffany. Rose: I... I couldn''t even do anything..... it all.... it all just ended so fast... Tiffany: Rose.... you''re not weak..... Rose: .... he probably.... This statement made her sob even more loudly. Rose: He probably thinks I''m weak. Tiffany: Rose.... Rose: I couldn''t even see him. I couldn''t even put up a fight. Tiffany''s hand rose, only to then gently pat her head. Tiffany: Rose. Don''t worry about it. Max is just really tough. And also, you just need to relax. Rose simply continued sobbing. In her mind, Tiffany looked for something to calm Rose down, and an answer suddenly hit her. Tiffany: Do you remember what had happened with the spider bots? Rose: (wince) Y... yeah.... Tiffany: Do you remember that time you made the giant spider bot trip over itself? Rose: Y... yeah..... Tiffany: If it wasn''t for you, we wouldn''t have gotten out of there in one piece. In this moment of anxiety, one could say, that Rose had forgotten all of her achievements. But in this case, Rose remembered that one scenario. A scenario in which she was not only useful, but also necessary. Someone without whom the team likely would have died. But even more, there was another thing that came to mind. That being... the remark a certain someone made to her right after she''d done it. Voice: No way! That was awesome. As to whether that voice was more responsible for this or her own achievement, who was to say, but... Rose begun to calm down. And as a result, she stopped sobbing. Tiffany: See.... you''re not weak. You just need more battle experience, ok? Rose turned to look at Tiffany. Rose: Ok.... Tiff. Ok. Tiffany: Good. She got up and lay her hand out again. Rose: I''m ok now. I just... need to wash up. Her face was wet with tears. Tiffany: Oh.... I understand. Alright. I''ll be with the others. Rose: Hmph. She nodded slightly, with a smileon her face. Rose: And Tiff? Tiffany: Hmm? Rose: Thanks a bunch. Tiffany: Don''t mention it. She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Rose behind. At the very least, one massive weight was off her shoulder and Rose was ok. 155. Helping Out The Mother As Tiffany walked out of the bathroom, her ears picked up on something familiar. The sound of dishes and plates being set up. Seeing as she''d left Rose in the bathroom and the other three in the basement, it was most likely one person. She paused. Why on earth did it have to be like this? Where even was she right before she''d walked into the bathroom to comfort Rose? Just for a moment, she considered things. But... she decided to go downstairs anyway. Was it because she didn''t want to avoid her? Was it because she didn''t want to look awkward? Was it some desire to be honourable? Who knew? She walked down the stairs and sure enough, she was standing right there, right at the table, setting it up. On one of the plates was a pizza and french fries, on the table, packages of different sizes. Tiffany: (thinking: So the orders have arrived.) And Julianne noticed her. Julianne: Oh hey, Tiffany. Is everything alright? Tiffany did not expect her to be so forward. Especially considering the fact that they were alone. Tiffany: Er.... everything''s fine, Mrs Hunter. Her voice heightened towards the end. Julianne: Oh, that''s good to hear. She went on, carefully placing things on the table with an incredible amount of effort, almost as though a painter or artist drawing something. Tiffany observed this only for a second, before going back to the basement stairs, but before she could make her first step.... Julianne: Oh, Tiffany? She flinched. What could she possibly want from her? Tiffany: Y.. yes...? Julianne: If you aren''t too busy right now, would you mind helping me set up the table? Tiffany turned back to look at her, a tinge of horror in her heart. Julianne: Of course, it''s not that big of a bother. Just... y''know. It''d be nice to have a hand.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Tiffany flinched. By every law of honour, social paradigm, and even common human decency, she simply had to accept. After all, she had nothing pressing to do. Tiffany: Sure... She said it, holding back the hesitance in her voice. Julianne: Great! She said that with a big smile on her face. Julianne: Now, could you get me some more dishes from the cupboard. Tiffany: Ok. She walked over to her cupboards while Julianne continued to carefully place the food onto the plates. Tiffany opened the first cupboard. Tiffany: This one? Julianne: Uh huh. Now get me the big white plate. Tiffany: Ok. She pulled it out and placed it on the table. Julianne: Thank you. She then walked right next to Tiffany and placed a large steak right on top of it somewhat slowly and carefully and then also continued to add a side of fries. It wasn''t that she placed the food on the plate. Rather, it was how gently and slowly she did it. To describe it, it would be like a scientist, with great scrutiny, taking great care to dissect his or her specimen. This sight was quite perplexing to Tiffany, who couldn''t help but observe her. Even after placing the steak, she would move it by an inch or two, and then add fries to the side, pause, add more fries, and then pause again, before nodding. The result? The ordinary table started to look... livelier. And the food, tastier. That surprised Tiffany. Julianne: Oh, and could you get me some more cups from the cupboard right below that one. Her words broke Tiffany right out of her mesmirisation. Tiffany: Sure! She got into the cupboard and looked at the cups. There were of several colours. Julianne: Could you get me the white cups? Tiffany: Sure. She picked six of them and placed them on the table, and then, ensuring to add one cup to each plate. And then, she would move each cup just a bit right after adding it. But even more than that, as Tiffany''s eyes could easily tell, once she was done, each cup was the same distance from each plate as the other. And as for the table, it looked incredibly organised and in some way, stylish. Julianne: And now, for the pi¨¨ce de r¨¦sistance. Tiffany? Tiffany: Yeah? Julianne: Could you get me that vase from the cupboard over there? Tiffany: Ok. She went to go grab it while Julianne continued to move things on the table. And then, she gave it to the mother. Julianne: Thanks, Tiffany. Tiffany: No problem. Her curiosity had been piqued. What was she going to do next? Julianne walked over to the table and piqued up some yellow looking flowers. Tiffany: Huh? On closer inspection, the flowers looked mechanical. Julianne: Lighting flowers. Not exactly "traditional" buuuuuuuuutttt.......... well, I''m not one to worry too much about those things. The brown part at the bottom of the flowers wasn''t mud or dirt, but rather a mechanical block. Julianne placed the flowers inside the vase and gently changed their positions. Tiffany only silently watched, Julianne: Oh, Tiffany. Want to see something cool? Tiffany: O... oh... sure! Julianne turned the candles on. They shone with an orange ish light. Nothing too impressive. Julianne: Oh. And one more touch. Tiffany? Could you turn the lights off? Tiffany: Ok. She searched the walls for the light switch, promptly found it, and then turned it off. The result? A romatic looking ambience that made the whole room look so calming and yet so beautiful. Tiffany: Woah! It wasn''t a common thing that Tiffany Chang would be shocked. Not this much, at least. 156. The Beauty Of Perfection Julianne: What do you think? Tiffany was speechless. Well, almost. Tiffany: Mrs Hunter. It''s... it''s gorgeous. For a moment, she forgot her troubles and worries with the woman in front of her. Not just because of the scene, but also because of how shocked she was to see that in the house. It wasn''t just the flower light. It was the tables, the plates, the food, even the cups. They''d all combined to create some kind of beauty that she had no words for. Julianne: Think so? Tiffany: Yeah. It''s so..... And then, in a sense, she came back to her senses. Tiffany: ... beautiful. Julianne: Oh, why thank you Tiffany. It took a lot of work to get it this way. Tiffany: I can see that. Julianne: But it still needs some tweaking. Could you turn the lights back on? Tiffany: Yeah.. She turned the light switch back on and Julianne turned the flowers back off. At this point, for whatever reason, Julianne started... Julianne: Y''know... while I was acting, I learned this thing called table design. Tiffany: Hmm? Julianne: I know, right? I wanted to get to acting.... and my boss wanted me to learn how to set a table properly. (sighs) It was so annoying. She became starngely amiable. Yet another thing Tiffany did not expect. Julianne: But later, I got pretty good at it. In fact, I got a lot better than he''d expected me to be. Tiffany: I see. That was obvious, seeing what the table looked like. Julianne: You know what that taught me? Tiffany: Hmm? Julianne: It taught me, that the smallest changes... can make the biggest differences. Even though it doesn''t make sense at the moment, it starts to before you even know it. Tiffany: Oh....Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. A strangely good lesson from something as odd as table arrangement. Julianne: Every little thing matters. Down from the position of the plates to the exact lighting of the flowers. After all, the most beautiful things in this world, tend to come from the most strenuous forms of hard work. Wouldn''t you agree? Tiffany: Yeah... I... I guess so... Julianne started giggling, leaving Tiffany in even more shock. The last thing Tiffany had expected was for Julianne to be like this. The kind of person to share wisdom, even more especially at a time like this. And then suddenly, as she''d stopped giggling and sighed, her countenace changed to something slightly more serious. Julianne: You know, Tiffany... thats how I learned to become a better actress. Every little change matters... even the one''s that seem inconsequential. Tiffany: Yeah... I agree. So that was how she became a great actress. She never would have imagined. Of all the things she could think of, she''d never considered that Maxs mother would say that. Julianne: (sighs) Oh... sorry. Am I boring you? Tiffany: Oh! No! Not at all. Julianne: Phew. Good. The last thing I''d like to be is boring to one of my son''s friends. Tiffany: (awkwardly) Yeah.... And then, Julianne''s voice turned to something more soulful. Julianne: Y''know.... I made a lot of mistakes when I was sorting all those tables. Tiffany: Hmm? Julianne: Oh, you would not believe. (nostalgic sigh) I cost my boss so much money in those days. Even now I can''t believe it. She started to giggle again. Julianne: But I learned.... in fact, even as a scientist I learned.... that you shouldn''t let failures keep you from going on further and further. After all, ..... Julianne Hunter''s eyes fell on Tiffany, causing her to flinch. Was what she was saying directed towards her? Julianne: .... no one ever succeeds without having a few failures here and there. Tiffany: I.... see... She was right. Julianne was saying that to her. Was it because of what had happened that Monday night? Was she... trying to help her? Julianne: Oh... but enough about me. I suppose I''ve taken enough of your time already. You should get back to training. Tiffany: (unsuredly) Ok..... She turned to leave and just as she''d taken a few steps away, Julianne, who was silently debating something finally decided to speak up. Julianne: Oh, Tiffany? Tiffany turned back. Tiffany: Yes, Mrs Hunter? Julianne: I know we don''t know each other very well.... but..... In Julianne''s hands lay a ladel, concealed under the table cloth. Julianne: .... please take care of my son. Her words were unlike anything else Julianne Hunter had said before. Not in words, but in substance. For the first time since shed met this woman, she seemed to be genuinely begging her. There was a massive weight in her words. One so heavy she couldnt help but sympathise with her. It was her son she was talking about, after all. Tiffany: I will. That was all she could say. Julianne Hunter then took a deep sigh. Julianne: Thank you, Tiffany. Tiffany: No problem. And with that, Tiffany walked downstairs, her opinion on this woman completely changed. As for Julianne Hunter.... One thing that could be said about her was that she was not an especially physically strong woman. However, this not so physically strong woman, had bent this metal ladel several times over while speaking to Tiffany about taking care of her son. Was it because she didnt want to say that? No. Rather, because she was holding herself back from saying more... What she really wanted to say was, that she wanted her to have her number in the case that they ended up in any serious trouble. But she knew, deep down, how wrong that was. She knew what needed to be done. She looked once more at a photo of her husband and winced. To think, he would never approve of her doing something sneaky like that. And to her chagrin, she knew quite well, that he was right. 157. Super Speed Versus Super Strength While Tiffany was partaking in something of a mental adventure in the Hunter household.... The battle between Max and Luke had long since already gotten underway.... And how did it start? About ten minutes earlier.... Max stood in position while Luke walked to his. At that moment, Ken had many thoughts towards the battle. Ken: (thinking: Super speed vs super strength.) That was the beginning of his long thought process right before the fight started. And perhaps, a question that many till this day do ask themselves. In fact, it may even be a question that many in the distant past may have asked themselves It may have taken the form of, what would be better, to have the speed of a cheetah, or the power of a lion. The answer? Well... it is not very certain what the answer is. Super strength means nothing can stop you. Super speed means there''s nothing to stop you. So, who was to say who would win? These were, in some sense, the thoughts that crossed Ken''s mind as he thought through what may happen in the fight. Luke made it to his position and crackled his knuckles. Luke: Y''ready, Max. Max: (ecstatically) Yeah! The pair then bowed. Luke: I''ll be holding my super strength back a bit.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Max: Hmm? He then remembered Tiffany''s words about sparring. Max: Yeah, yeah... sure. Ken: Alright then, are you both ready? Both poised themselves for battle as Ken raised his hand. Ken: (thinking: Well.. this will be interesting.) Go! This time, not even a second had passed, but Max had already super sped to Luke and jabbed him at super strength, and as for the result, Max found himself in excruciating pain. Max: Ooooooooouuuuuuccccch! Luke: Hmph. Ken: (sighs) (thinking: Did Max just forget that one of Luke''s super powers is invulnerability?) Luke: You''re gonna have to do better than that. Luke grabbed a reeling Max and threw him into a training block. The throw was, in and of itself, not that hard, as Luke was holding back, but it did still do damage. And then Luke started towards him. Max got up quite easily. Max: (thinking: Man. I knew he was gonna be tough to hit. But...... sheesh. He''s almost as tough as Wolfram''s crystals.) Luke: That all you got? Max: Hmph. No way! Electricity begun to surge around Max, emanating from his hands. Max: How about this? He fired a bolt of electricity directly at Luke. Not at full force, of course, but what Max had considered would be enough to knock him down. The blast, however, did a lot less than he''d expected. Luke only moved back one step. Luke: Not bad. Max: Mmmmm.... (thinking: He''s tougher than he looks.) Ok then. In a mere second, Max zipped right behind Luke and blasted him again. He only moved a step back. And then to his side, and then to his other side, and then also, right in front of him, all the while, firing bolts of similar intensity at him. Ken: (thinking: Using his super speed with his electrokinesis. Not a bad strategy.) With every blow, Luke slowly begun to lose his footing. Ken: (thinking: And it seems to be wearing him out.) Until suddenly, Luke slammed the ground with a tremendous amount of force. The wave of blue rushed around the room, keeping the shock from destroying the walls, however, the force was enough to send a wave of impact around himself. Max simply dashed backwards, barely avoiding the impact. Max: Sheesh. (thinking: That almost got me.) As for Luke, he pulled himself up, after just for a moment worriedly looking at the floor, making sure he hadn''t broken it. Luke: Heh. I almost had you. Max: Tch.... (thinking: This guy....) When fighting Tiffany, he was able to overwhelm her. That was even more true about Rose. But Luke.... he''d blasted him multiple times, but he didn''t even seem to be that damaged. In fact, he seemed quite fine. Max smirked. Max: You wish! Luke: Heh. This fight was anout to get interesting. And Max was all about that. Ken: (thinking: Well Max, Luke, what will you do? Luke can''t hit Max and Max can''t seriously damage Luke. But.......) He placed his hand on the room floor. Ken: (thinking: .... for many reasons, I do believe that, at least for now, Max has the advantage.) 158. Of Pebbles Of Rock Shards Ken: (thinking: Because Luke can''t just grab pieces of rock from the ground, he''s at yet another disadvantage. But.... I think he already knew that going in.) And back at the scene of the battle... Max: (thinking: Since he can take it, I guess I should up the ante.) Electricity begun to spark out of his hands even more ferociously than before. Max: Ok, Luke. I''m gonna get more serious now. Luke: Hmph. Bring it. And without further ado, Luke charged at Max, who then fired another bolt at him. This one stopped him right in his tracks. Luke: (thinking: Man! That actually hurt.) Max: How ya feelin? Luke: Hmph. Pretty good. Luke continued his charge while Max remained in place, firing bolt after bolt after bolt, with Luke pushing past the pain form each bolt. It wasn''t that bad to Luke, in fact, it was like being punched in the face to a normal human. The punches were becoming increasingly difficult to endure, but he was getting closer to Max. Ken: (thinking: If you make it to Max, he''ll just zip out of there. So.... what are you planning, Luke?) Max''s lightning bolts were slowly starting to slow him down, and then Luke, suddenly changed course and jumped behind a training block that was nearby. Max: Huh? Hey where are you going? Luke: Just gimme a sec. Ken: Hmm? (thinking: Truly... what is he planning?)This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Max: Hmmmm.... Hey, if ya wanna quit right now.... Luke: Nah. I just needed to get behind this block. Max: Hmm? And then Luke lifted the block, preparing to throw it. Ken: (thinking: Throwing? Obviously, Max will dodge it.) Max poised himself to flee, and Luke gently crushed the rock a bit before finally throwing it directly at Max, who easily dodged it. Ken: (thinking: Well... Luke. That can''t be the end of it. Can it?) Several block pieces came flying from the boulder, more so than would have because he took the time to crack the blocks, leading to a small storm of flying pebbles flying in all directions. Max, however, still dodged them, albeit with slightly more difficulty. Max: Sheesh. (thinking: Was that his plan?) Ken: (thinking: Just like in our fight. Hmmm. Not bad Luke. Not only is it harder to dodge multiple pebbles than it is to dodge one rock, but also.....) Max looked warily at the now pebbled ground. Ken: (thinking: .... even in super speed, navigating such an area will be a bother for Max.) And without skipping a beat... Luke: Think fast! Yet another cracked boulder was thrown at Max, and he dodged it as well by running in another direction. Ken: (thinking: If this keeps up.... Max won''t have any even ground to run on. And as for Luke....) Luke eagerly ran over a bunch of pebbles, his feet crushing each pebble he stepped on into dust. Ken: (thinking: ... he''ll be absolutely fine.) And Luke went for yet another boulder. Max: Dang it! He dashed again, avoiding the pebbly explosion. Max: Tch. (thinking: Man! He''s cutting me off.) He fired an electric blast at Luke, but he brushed it off and went for yet another training block. Max continued to fire two more as he lifted another rock, crushed it, and threw it directly at Max. In retaliation, Max fired a bolt at the training block, but it only disintergrated a few of the pebbles, leaving Max with only one option. Fleeing. Looking behind himself and slowing down, he could see what they could all see. Luke''s plan was starting to take shape. There were pebbles, pretty much all over the place. And so... Max would have to think twice with every step he would take. Luke: Hmph. Ken: (thinking: Restricting Max''s movement. Not bad. So, what will you do, Max?) He begun to approach him. Luke: Now that you can''t run so fast.... Max: Mmmmmm.... Ken: (thinking: You''ve been full of surprises since I met you. So, what about now?) Max fired one more bolt, but Luke brushed it off. Luke: Heh. And then, Max suddenly smiled brightly. Luke: Hmph? What''s up? Max: (playfully) Nothing, my good man. Nothing at all. Luke: Huh? Max stopped firing electric blasts. He just stood there. 159. The Smile Of Maximillian Hunter Ken: (thinking: Well.... that..... is still a surprise.) Max didn''t make a move. He just stood there. Waiting for Luke to come to him. All the while with a bright smile on his face. The scene was so perturbing to Luke that he actually paused. Luke: Hey.... you do realise that if I grab you, it''s basically game over, right? Max: Yeah... that is true. The smile in his face didn''t wane in the slightest. Luke: Ok then. I guess I''ll just... take a free win. I guess... He slowed his pace, trying to be more cautious. Luke was no stranger to Max doing the less expected thing, and so, he knew something was off. Especially that smile. Why on earth was he smiling? Ken looked behind Max. No nasty surprises. So, what was it? The smile on his face perplexed both teens. So much so that even a few metres from Max, he began to slow down even more. Luke: (thinking: Just what is he planning?) And it was at that point that Tiffany arrived on the scene. Tiffany: Hey, what did I miss? Ken: It''s not over yet. Ken''s eyes were glued to the battlefield. Max: Hey, Tiffany! Luke: Oh, hey. And they both almost immediately turned to the battle. Tiffany: (quietly) How''s it going? Ken: Let''s just say... that this battle is about to get...This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. He motioned to Tiffany to look at Max. Ken: ... very interesting. It only took Tiffany a few seconds to guess what had happened. Pebbles all over the floor, Luke approaching Max slowly, and the final piece of the puzzle, the out of place smile on Max''s face. Why was he smiling? Did he have a plan? Was he just unnerving Luke? Who knew? Luke approached Max with more caution than he ordinarily would have, this time stretching his hand out from a distance rather than just grabbing him. Luke: Well... I guess I w... And just before he could grab Max, he moved from his position. Max: Too slow! And then proceeded to zap him. Luke: What the....? He made another grab, and Max proceeded to dodge and zap him again. He made yet another, and Max did the same, all in the same small distance. Ken: Oh yeah... he can do that. Tiffany: Hmm... Ken: While it can be hard to remember this, Max isn''t just fast when he''s running. Tiffany: Huh? Ken: Max can... accelerate any movement he makes. No matter the kind... He continued as Max continued to dodge Luke at close range. Each dodge followed by an electric shock. Ken: ..... be it ducking, dodging, even punching.. Tiffany: I see..... Ken: (thinking: But.... even Max should know by now that there is a danger to staying so close to Luke.) After several failed attempts, Luke finally got tired of trying to grab Max. Max: Whatsamatter, Luke? Give up? Luke: Heh.... At that point, Max was behind Luke. Luke: Nope. He slammed his hands as hard as he could, creating a massive shockwave, sending several pebbles flying back, and leaving Ken and Tiffany quite surprised by the result. Luke: There. Now, where are... He had indeed felt Max disappear from behind him, but what he did not expect was for Max to be standing right behind him, completely unscathed. Max: (like a butler) Hmmm.... I do believe you''re quite tired, Master Luke. Luke: What the.... Ken and Tiffany exchanged glances. They weren''t allowed to give tips during sparring, but if they could, what they''d said would have surprised Luke. Luke: How did you...? Max: (like a gentleman) A true magician... never reveals his secrets. Ken: Well now.... (thinking: Truly.. surprises are your nature.) Tiffany: (thinking: Max... just... what are you?) He then playfully bowed to Luke. Luke: Tch... (thinking: What did he do? I''m sure of it. I clapped my hands, and he flew away. And there''s too many rocks around for him to run away normally.) And Max? He continued to smile brightly. Luke: Well then.... I guess I have no choice. Max: You quit? Luke: Nope He looked around, realising that due to his first clap, several of the rocks had been misplaced, and so Max had more breathing room. A lot more, in fact. So, instead, Luke decided to try something. He turned around to go find another training block, only for Max to fire yet another bolt at him. Luke turned back to Max. Max: What!? I''m not gonna make this easy. Luke: (thinking: This guy...) He went for the next block at a running speed. It was quite a ways away, and so Max got several blasts in. As Luke was running, he suddenly heard a voice.... Ken: Enough. Match, Max. 160. How It Happened Max and Luke: Huh!? Tiffany: Hmph. I agree. This match is over. Luke: But I... He turned to the boulder he was about to throw, and then, as well, to Max. Luke: (sighs) ... Heh... good job. Max: Thanks... While Luke seemed wounded here and there, Max had only a few scratches on him. But whereas Luke didn''t seem tired at all, Max was already sweating. In fact, right after that, he wiped the sweat out of his face. Max: (panting) Phew. that was tough. What could he say? Luke was a tough opponent. No matter what he did, he just wouldn''t go down. He was proud of the win, sure, but Luke was the kind of opponent that made him have to use everything he could throw at him, not so much in terms of arsenal, but rather, in terms of power. Luke and Max made their way back to Tiffany and Ken. There was one pressing thing in their minds. How and why did Max win? Ken: Well, that was not too shabby of a performance for the both of you, especially Max. You both have my congratulations. Tiffany: Yeah, good job. Max: Thanks! Luke: Yeah... thanks... Anyway... Ken: Yes, yes, why did I decide that Max had won? Well... to explain that, you''ll have to watch this video. Luke: Hmph. Ok. Max simply smirked. Ken''s eyes projected a screen, and he began to play a video. Ken: Right there... It started at the point during which Luke started throwing boulders around the room to restrict Max''s movement. Ken: To begin with, your idea to restrict Max''s movement with rock shards was an impressive one. In fact, it was quite effective, considering that super speed is one of Max''s fundamental abilities.Stolen novel; please report. Luke: Yeah, continue.... The next clip was Max struggling to figure out what to do next, as he was surrounded on every side. Ken: In fact, even more effective, was crushing them just enough that the rock pieces would break even more on impact. The result being, That if you''d tried to attack Max, he would have a hard time escaping, while you, because of your invulnerability, would simply walk at anormal pace, unharmed and unhindered. Luke: Hmph. Ken: And so... you decided to approach him to land the finishing blow. Luke: Yeah, then... The next clip showed Max dodging him at close range, avoiding him, stepping back and forth, and zapping him in return. Ken: But then Max took advantage of the situation and electrocuted you. Luke: Yeah... and.... The last clip showed Luke preparing a thunderclap, but in a clip by clip fashion, with Max standing right behind him. Ken: And then you attempted to thunderclap Max. However.... And then it happened, Max zipped behind Luke, dashing unhindered in super speed. Luke: Huh!? Ken: Max just so happened to have taken advantage of the crushed rocks you''d left behind when walking towards him. Luke: Hmph. Ken: And he used those crushed rocks.... Luke put a hand behind his head and scratched his hair. Luke: ... to pull one over my head. Max simply cockily smiled. He was very proud of himself for coming up with that strategy. Luke: Well... what can I say? Good job, Max. It wasn''t like loss meant nothing to Luke. Luke: (sigh) Anyway, I''m headed to the bathroom. He waved his hand and walked upstairs. Luke: I need a wash. See ya. Ken: Hmph. Tiffany''s eyes turned to look at him, slightly worried about him. After he''d left... Max: I was pretty awesome, wasn''t I? Ken: Oh, yes. What you did was most interesting? (thinking: And to think, he''d pulled that strategy off in the heat of battle.) Max: Yeah... His eyes turned fiery, like he was psyched up. Max: You know....... His face turned to a somewhat mischievous countenance. Max: If I beat you in a fight, that would make me.... (proudly) the strongest member of the team! Ken: Hmm? Max: Hmph! How about the next match? Tiffany sighed and walked away from him, only slightly perturbing Max. Ken: Sure. But you should know something. We were sparring. Max: Hmm? Ken: After Luke had filled the battleground with pebbles and rock shards, why do you think he didn''t just start throwing boulders at you? Max: Huh?! Ken: All things considered, if he threw a rock at you, you''d have a hard time dodging it, wouldn''t you? Max: Well.... I..... It suddenly occurred to Max that had he done that, he would have lost. Ken: Luke didn''t throw it at you because we were sparring. Had it been a real fight.... And the sudden reality hit Max hard. Had he just won because he was going easy on him? Ken: Of course, you were holding back as well. But.... I figured I''d let you know. Max: Oh.... The very thought made Max doubt himself more. Was he really that weak? Max: Well... whatever!? Ken: Hmm? Max: I''m still gonna kick your butt. Hmph! He then foot stompingly walked upstairs. Ken: (sighs) (thinking: Maximillian Hunter. Always full of surprises. And also...) He flashed back to Max, smiling right as Luke approached him. Ken: (thinking: ... you''re not a very starightforward opponent, are you?) He turned to look at Max once more. Ken: (thinking: To think that you''d already decided that you''d won at that point. No, maybe you hadn''t figured that out. If so, what was going on in your mind, Max?) 161. Finally, A Reprieve And then, Ken turned to Tiffany. Ken: Is all well, my great chief, undefeated in heart and in soul? Tiffany: Yes. Ken: So... what do you think about Max? Tiffany: Hmmm. He''s fine. Ken: I see. The pair remained there, standing, silent. And then, as if all at once, life returned to the battlefield, as Luke returned. Luke: Hey, what''s going on over here? Tiffany: Hmm? Luke: Shouldnt somebody else be sparring? Tiffany: We were waiting for another referee. At that point, Luke realised Max was missing. Luke: Oh, where''d Max go. Tiffany: I don''t know. It only took a second for them to realise that, for the first time since they''d arrived in that house, all three of them were right next to each other, without Max, Rose or Julianne to witness what they wanted to talk about. Ken: On another note... His eyes turned upstairs... Luke understood what he''d meant. Luke: Didn''t see her on my way up. Tiffany: I did. Both teen boys turned to Tiffany in a bit of alarm. Luke: You did? Ken: Well, what did she say? Tiffany: She... For just about any normal person in Tiffany''s situation, and of course, Tiffany herself, it would be incredibly hard to put into words what had happened earlier that night. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Her countenance became somewhat troubled. Tiffany: ... she told me to take care of Max. Ken and Luke: Hmmm? The teenage boys shared glances. The most simple thing in the world for a person to understand. Well, maybe not exactly, but... It was something that, in a sense, humanised her in both their eyes. For one thing, it proved that she didn''t have any ulterior motive and meant it when she said she wanted them to train there. But for another, a mother worried about her son. Who couldn''t sympathise with her? Ken: I see.... And then suddenly.... Max: Hey! Max returned. Ken: Oh, you''re back. Max rushed towards them. Max: So, do I get to fight Ken next? Luke, Tiffany and Ken all exchanged glances. Tiffany: No. Max: Huh!? But you said... Tiffany: Later. Max: But... but.... Tiffany: You''ve had two fights so far. You need to take a break. Max: But I''m fine. All three of them looked at him with a knowing gaze. Even Max had to admit it. He was more exhausted than Luke at that point. Max: Ugh.... fine..... Ken: That much being said, (to Tiffany) since were the only ones who haven''t fought so far... Tiffany was just about to agree with him when.... Rose: I wanna be next! Max, Tiffany, Ken and Luke: Rose!? She shouted it out. Her eyes were clear. One couldn''t even tell that she was sobbing before. And as for her loud interjection.... Rose: I... I wanna spar next. Her eyes raced between all members of the team. But they refused to even make contact with Max. She couldn''t look at him, and so, her eyes narrowed every time she almost looked at him. Tiffany: Rose.... Ken looked at Tiffany. Ken: So... what do you think, Tiff? Tiffany: Well.... Rose: I''m fine! Tiffany: Hmm? Rose: I''ve.... I''ve fully recovered. She walked down the stairs and walked towards Tiffany: Rose: It''s ok. I can go again. Tiffany was taken just a bit aback. Aback enough to turn and look to Ken and Luke for their facial opinion on the subject. They were both also quite confused. Tiffany: Sure.... Rose''s eyes suddenly lit up. Rose: Really? Tiffany: Absolutely. Rose: Oh! Thanks so much, Tiff! She quickly grabbed Tiffany''s hand and held it tightly. In this scenario, Rose wanted two things. One, to make Tiffany proud. The other, to make Max proud. Tiffany: I''ll be your opponent. Max: Huh? Ken: Hmm? The statement wasn''t as big of a shock as her straightforwardness. Even Rose paused for a moment before continuing.... Rose: Hmph! Sure! Max: Ok then. Guess we got ourselves a match. Ken: Hmm? Max simply watched the two silently. One thing had been bothering him about Tiffany. Ken said shed beaten all of them. If that was the case, and Max beat Tiffany, it would make sense to say that he was the strongest of the team. But if Luke was that strong.... And even still, there was an even more pressing matter. That matter being... How did Tiffany beat Rose anyway? But before that could happen.... Julianne: Heeeeeeyyyyyy kiiiiiddddds! Max: Mom? 162. Bionics And Protonite Tech Julianne Hunter walked downstairs to the basement. Julianne: How''s the sparring going? To understand what was about to happen, one would have to understand a teenager''s normal reaction to an adult, especially a not very well known one, while said teen is preoccupied with something he or she considers important. It is even more pronounced in teens that are doing something social. Even to Max, her own son, it was a bit awkward. Not because he hated his mother, but rather... Max: (nonchalantly) Pretty good. Julianne: (thinking: Awwwww... Look at my little man. He wants his independence. He''s so cute.) As a result of all that, as well as their experiences with Max''s mother, only one person was truly glad to see Julianne. Rose: Yeah, it''s going great Mrs Hunter. Julianne: That''s great to hear. Hope I didn''t miss it all. Rose: Oh, right now, me and Tiff are gonna spar next. Julianne: Oh, really... Rose: Yeah.... And then the pressure sank in. The sudden fear of losing in front of this kind and generous woman. Julianne: Well, I can''t wait. Tiffany: Hmph. Tiffany looked towards a suddenly doubtful Rose. She instantly knew what was wrong. As for Julianne, she noticed the peppered field. Julianne: What happened here? Max smirked cockily. Max: Well... Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. And Max briefly elaborated on what had happened. That being, his fight with Luke. Max: Anyway... Ken said I''d won, so... Julianne: Oh my gosh, honey. I''m so proud of you. She rushed over to her son and gave him a hug, and Max, naturally.... Max: (flusteredly and blushingly) Moooooooooom! Julianne: (giggles) Ok, ok. She let him go. Julianne: I''ll have to watch that battle myself. At that point, Ken was about to interject, offering her a video file in his hard drive, but then he considered the structure of her sentence. Ken: I''m sorry, did you say.... watch? Julianne: Oh... of course. Everything and anything that happens in this room is recorded. The sudden realisation was like a new upbringing of anxiety for all three of them. They were all being recorded. And to think... they were so close to finally letting their guards down around her. Rose: Really? Julianne: Absolutely. Ken looked around the lab. Not a single camera lens. Not even one. Ken: (thinking: Protonite tech. It really is something else.) Tiffany: I... see.... Julianne: Oh... right... Silly me. I should have mentioned that from the start. She tapped another wall button to summon yet another computer. Julianne: If you feel like it, I can delete it all...... Except my Maxie''s moments. Max: (blushing) Moooooom! His mother simply giggled, and Luke and Ken simply smirked, while Rose giggled as well. Luke, Tiffany and Ken all exchanged glances. Just where were her cameras anyway? But more than that, what should they say? Julianne pulled up her video files. Julianne: There they are. She then took a few steps back from the device. Julianne: (to Ken) Well? Ken: Hmm? Julianne: I mean, I do want to see how your bionics react with protonite tech. It only took Ken a second to get it. Ken: Alright then. It was the perfect opportunity to look into their files and delete the files for sure. But also, it was the perfect opportunity to gain information on the Hunter household, as well as on protonite tech. He would be lying if he said he also hadn''t become curious about that as well. Julianne Hunter waited in what seemed to be an almost childlike ecstasy as a blue light exited Ken''s eye. Julianne: Fascinating.... The blue light interacted with and almost immediately interacted with the computer, creating two similar screens, and, in a graphical form, a bunch of files could be seen being sent into a trash can icon. And then, just like that, Ken closed his eyes, and the blue light disappeared. Ken: It''s done. And before anything could be said. Julianne: So, how was it? She said it so excitably, one would think she was a child asking about her favourite doll. Eagerly waiting to hear anything and anything from him. Ken opened hs eyes. Ken: It was..... All the other teens had had their interest piqued. What was he about to say? Ken: ..... Ok. I guess. 163. An Interesting Comparison At that very moment, Max and the others had something of a "flip take." Max: Oh c''mooooooon. I thought you were gonna say something cool like.... Ken: Like what?! Max: I dunno... like... the processing thingy or... the software.... or I dunno.... The boy by the name of Maximillian Hunter... is not very good with computers. Ken: Hmmmm..... As for Max''s mother, she was still staring at him in honest anticipation. Like a child waiting for a piece of candy. Ken: Well... for one thing.... I have to say that protonite tech meshes surprisingly well with my bionics. Julianne: Really now... Ken: Yes. However.... He turned back to the computer. Ken: If I was to compare it to human technology, I would say that protonite tech is especially straightforward. Max: Huh!? Rose: Straight... forward?! Ken: Yes. For example... this computer and this computer alone, while being incredibly complex all on its own, only handles a few specific commands at any given time. Max: Oh yeah.... Max was well familiar with the way both of them worked. Julianne: Uh huh. That is the protonite way. Tiffany: What does that mean? Ken: Simply put, each computer in this room serves a single purpose. One so specific that it, in and of itself, is especially complex, having many alterations within itself. Rose: I.... I still don''t get it. Ken: Its like having an incredibly complex computer and comparing it to an incredibly complex camera. Both have cameras, however, one takes far better photos. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Rose: Oh... Ohhhhhhhhh So that means, Ken: Yes. Every single computer in this room has one singular purpose. Quite interesting, I would say. Julianne: Oh... you. Ken: And also, the mere fact that my bionics were able to so easily intergrate with it.... Julianne: Oh, that. Well I did take the passwords down for you. Ken: I see. (thinking: I decided to leave her personal information alone. (sighs) The things you have us do, Tiffany. Honestly.) However, I would still say that your technology quite different from ours, although, in a weird sense, not that different from it. Julianne: I completely agree. Ken: Hmmm? Julianne: It was the first thing I''d noticed while here on Earth. Getting accustomed to everything here... it was strange. Everything was so different, yet at the same time, the same. Ken: Yes, I think that is an accurate analysis. Julianne started giggling. He found himself smiling at her, a gesture which he almost immediately shook off. Smiling...? at her.....? How could he? Tiffany: Alright then. Now that that''s set and done.... let''s get a move on. Ken: Oh, thats right... Rose: Hmph. The two teen girls looked each other in the eye. Tiffany: Our match is next. Rose: Yeah.... Rose couldn''t help but feel a bit nervous. There she was. Tiffany Chang. The very girl she wanted to impress. Max: Alright! I can''t wait to see that match. And there he was. The boy she wanted to impress. She failed to turn to look at him, stopping herself halfway, as she couldn''t allow herself to do that. This gesture was noticed by basically everyone in the room, including Max, who was the only one who failed to understand why. Tiffany: Let''s get to the middle of the room. Rose: Hmph! As the pair walked towards their battle stage, treading carefully because of all the stones, .... Max: (to Ken, somewhat discretely) Hey, is something wrong with Rose? At that point, Ken fought desperately to withhold his laughter. Luke simply smirked, and his mother discretely closed her mouth as she followed the girls to the stage. Ken: Nothing that I''m aware of. Max: Huh..... He''d never known Rose to seem even a little standoffish. As the two teen girls were about to reach their places.... Julianne: Just a moment, ladies. Tiffany and Rose: Hmm? Julianne: I could always reset the battlefield. I mean... if you''d like me to. Both girls looked at each other for only a moment before... Tiffany: Thank you, but it''s fine, Mrs Hunter. Rose: Yeah. We''ll be fine. Julianne: Ok then... The pair then stood, several feet away from each other, in a field of small pebbles. Tiffany: Are you ready.... Rose? Rose: Yes, Tiff. I''m absolutely ready! Julianne returned to the others, and Ken held his hand in the air, as he was the one officiating the match. Ken: Ok then..... Max: (to Ken) So... whod you thinks gonna win? Ken: Hm.... No idea. Max: Mmmmmm.... Well... I think Rose is gonna win. Ken: Hmm? Max: Yeah, she can just grab her with her psychic powers, right? Ken sighed. Max: Hmm? Ken: I thought you''d known by now. Max: Known what? Ken: Fighting Tiffany Chang.... is almost never as simple as it looks. 164. The Power Of Fear And so it begun. Rose and Tiffany stared each other down on the field. Julianne: (thinking: Now I finally get to see what makes this girl so special. To think... A mere human....) They then bowed to one another. Julianne: (thinking: Bowing...?) In response to Ken''s earlier statement.... Max: Yeah... but... Rose is a psychic. So, she can end the fight just by grabbing her, right? Ken: Correct. Max: Hmm? Ken: However, that depends on "if" she can grab her. Max: Huh? Ken: You''ll see it soon enough. Back to the battle, the room was filled with a field of stones and small rocks. Tiffany was holding on to a katana, and as for Rose, she remained there, suddenly overcome by her situation. In reality, she had done this to prove herself, but at this very moment, albeit not very heavily, she was starting to have second thoughts. The core of her fear being, what if she lost? What would Tiffany think? And also, what would Max think? She forced these fears down her throat. No, she said to herself. I just have to win. And back with those watching the battle... Julianne and Max waited with earnest anticipation. Ken and Luke were less taken by the battle, but were still paying attention. And then, Ken lifted up his hand. Ken: Alright, are you ready? If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Tiffany and Rose: Hmph! Tiffany''s eyes had already caught wind of Rose''s doubts. But she would not hesitate. That just wasn''t her. Ken: Begin! He karate chopped in the air. And at that very moment, before anyone with a human perception of time could think, a rock flew to Rose''s position. It flew so fast, in fact, that Rose was barely able to stop it from hitting her head with her psychic powers. Rose: (thinking: A... already.) But the assault didn''t end there. Several more rocks came flying at her at a terrific speed, with her having to stop all of them, one by one. The culprit of this assault? None other than Tiffany Chang. Max: What the.....!? Julianne: (thinking: Intriguing strategy...) Max: Wait.... what... why can''t Rose just stop her? Ken: You see, Max... Max: Hmm? Ken: Have you ever heard of the quote, "my greatest strength is also my greatest weakness?" Max: Errrr.... No. Never heard of it. Ken: Simply put... Rose is a psychic. He continued as Rose continued to dodge these flying rocks. Ken: And being a psychic, means that her greatest strength is her mind. Max: Yeah... so.... Ken: So, it goes without saying... that if someone were to disrupt said mind... Max''s head turned back to take a closer look at Rose. She seemed somewhat distressed. Somewhat pressured. Max: So... throwing those rocks is... Ken: Throwing her off her game? Yes. And because shes so concerned with that... As they all noticed, but Rose had a hard time noticing, Tiffany had slightly closed their distance and had changed her posture. Ken: ... she can''t retaliate properly. Julianne: (thinking: That boy... he''s a sharp one.) The young man by the name of Kenneth Stone was indeed correct. However, he had not mentioned another crucial fact. That fact being, that Rose''s own fear of losing was bothering her. It wasn''t like she was unaware of the fact that Tiffany was planning something. But rather, that she was fully petrified because she didn''t know exactly what to expect. A fear that further increased her fear of losing. After all, what would Tiffany think? She was the one who''d asked for this. Hence keeping her from focusing properly. Leading to a vicious cycle. Fear and anxiety, to more fear and anxiety, to even more fear and anxiety. All that built up so much, combining itself with the constant blocking of rocks, seemingly artistically thrown as if to keep her from retaliating. One rock after another in quick succession, in a random pattern. Tiffany had clearly thought this through. And Rose was so caught up, that she couldn''t think of using her mind reading powers all that efficiently. And as with all vicious cycles, it was only a matter of time before one of the rocks finally hit Rose, right in the cheek. Rose: OoooOOOoooooouuuuuchhhh! She held her cheek in pain, as it had become somewhat swollen. "Ouch" was something of a foreign term in situations like these. In situations in which combatants were fighting seriously, or even semiseriously, "Ouch" was like a plea to give up. Max: Rose? Ken simply sighed and Luke''s gaze narrowed. Julianne: (thinking: A simple yet effective strategy) 165. Last Legs Max: Rose... She held her cheek and because of her yell, Tiffany paused and quietly waited as Rose rubbed her cheek some more. Rose: Mmmmm... mmm... As if that stress wasn''t enough. Now she''d been hit. She gritted her teeth. Not in pain, but because of her sheer embarassment. Not only was she just hit, but also, Max and Tiffany saw her. The mental stress and shame were almost too much to bear. He''d think she was weak, wouldn''t he? That was her first and only thought. And then, more flooded in. She''d never actually won a sparring match in front of Max before, had she? First Luke, then he himself, and now Tiffany. Her eyes wanted to look to Max, but she kept her eyes on Tiffany, forcing herself not to look. And also, she hid her face from them. Just enough that they wouldn''t notice the pain she was in. And then... Tiffany: Do you surrender? Rose gasped. So caught up in her thoughts was she, that she''d completely forgotten that she was in a fight. She looked up to Tiffany and, forcing her voice to sound self assured... Rose: No. I won''t. Tiffany: Good. Yet another stone flew at her, which Rose was able to catch yet again, and then, Tiffany continued the barrage. Back with those watching the fight... Ken: Tiffany is a fast one, but sooner or later, she''ll run out of pebbles to throw. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Max: Oh.... yeah.... Ken: But... then again.... Max: Hmm? Ken simply pointed to Tiffany''s current pose. It was an interesting pose she''d taken while still throwing the few stones left in her hand. The kind of pose one ready to lunge at something would take. Max: She''s.... Max turned to Ken who simply nodded quietly. And as for Tiffany.. Having thrown her last stone, she lunged at Rose at an incredible speed, covering a surprising distance, and landing a kick to Rose''s torso, sending the teenage girl flying and crashing into the wall. Max: Woah! And woah was right. In such a simplistic sense, Tiffany Chang had subdued the psychic. A feat that impressed both Max and Julianne that day. Julianne: (thinking: She''s a sharp one. I can see why they have her in their ranks.) Max: (thinking: Tiffany''s something else. Tch.) As for Rose, the embarassment had gotten even worse. Now she was on the ground again. It wasn''t like Rose believed Tiffany was a weak opponent. On the contrary, she believed that she was an incredibly strong opponent. Instead, it was the shame of her decision. Now... both Max and Tiffany would be disappointed in her. That feeling of pain in her heart... She slowly brought her head up. Yet again... Tiffany had paused. She was simply looking at her. Like a child who''d just failed her parent, she was terrified of even looking at her. And as for Tiffany, she saw her sorrow. She knew she was scared. Tiffany: Do you surrender? Rose hesitated. Back with those watching the battle... Max: What''s wrong with her? Ken did not answer. He knew, but knew better than to interject. Max: Why doesn''t she just use her psychic powers? Luke and Ken knew better than to answer that question. As for Julianne Hunter... she could put two and two together and see that something was wrong with Rose, but she thought better than to do something about it. After all, team business is team business. Back with those at the battlefield.... Tiffany: Rose... She still did not answer. Tiffany: Do you... It took everything in Rose just to answer that, as her intrusive thoughts worsened. What if Tiffany had begun to think she was weak? What if Max was making fun of her right then? What if... But no. In her she still had the strength to say, albeit weakly... Rose: N... no.. She slowly pulled herself up but kept her gaze to the ground. Rose: I can still fight! Tiffany held one more rock in her hand. She knew that this must have been hard for Rose. She knew how she must have felt. But irregardless, a battle... remained a battle. The kick she''d thrown wasnt strong enough to knock her down. That was a calculated move. She knew exactly what she was doing. But in this case... she had to end the fight. And so, yet another rock flew from her hand. Going directly to Rose at a terrific speed. It was at that moment that Rose hesitated more than ever before, this time she couldn''t even process the idea of stopping to protect herself. The rock would hit her and she would lose. And just as she''d almost accepted this fact, a loud voice echoed from the other side of the room. It was Max. Max: Hey, Rose! Kick her butt! 166. The Power Of.... Smoke Bombs? Infactuation, romance, love... whatever you call it. If there is one universal language that holds the world together, be it in one culture or another, it is eros. Eros, being the Greek definition of romantic love. And as we all know, its effects are not only powerful... but also unpredictable. One could say that the true meaning of love is to be seen in a true and pure sense by someone. Nothing hidden and everything perceived. After all, if such a being could exist, wouldn''t this being have a better right over your heart than others? Wouldn''t it make more sense to believe in this being''s words rather than someone else''s? And also, if this person truly understands you, then... what is that person? More importantly, who is that person to you? A god? Is someone who loves you, is someone you love... truly... In any case.... Rose heard Max''s interjection. An interjection that made Ken, Luke and Julianne pause and look at him in shock. They never would have guessed that hed do that. Julianne: (thinking: My boy...) And as a result, for that brief moment, Roses mind regained its clarity. She sent the rock flying and turned to look at Tiffany, who did not expect such a rebirth from her. Tiffany: Rose... Rose: It''s ok, Tiff. Her eyes seemed energised. Like something just light the fires in her heart. Tiffany: (thinking: Could it be...? Did Max....? Did he....just....?) The shock in Tiffany was enough for Rose. Enough to give her a moment to strike first against Tiffany. She simply and effortlessly psychically held Tiffany down. Rose: Got you! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. A massive smile rose around her head. She couldn''t believe it. She''d actually done it. Rose: I.... I did it! As for Tiffany, she was even more shocked to be caught up in her psychic hold. Tiffany: Rose... you.... Rose: I... I did it! As for those watching... Max: Yeah! That''s right! Show her who''s boss! Julianne simply smilingly looked at her son. Ken: (thinking: Why is he.... well.... I guess at this point, I shouldn''t be surprised. That is simply your nature, Max.) Luke: (thinking: He just psyched Rose up. Hmmmm.) And as for Rose, she was so surprised by her actions that she held Tiffany in her grip for several seconds, not sure of what to do next, before... Rose: Ok.... here I go. She slowly brought Tiffany a few feet closer to her before suddenly deciding to stop. Rose: (thinking: Tiff always has some kind of plan behind her back. So... maybe I should read her mind first.) As for those watching... Max: Hmmm... why''s she stopping? Ken: Perhaps to make sure nothing is wrong. Max: Hmm? Ken: Like I said, and we all know this from experience, Tiffany Chang is not always a starightforward opponent. Max instinctively turned to look back at her. Now Tiffany was genuinely trapped. The rock in her hand was useless at that point. If she tried to throw it, Rose would stop her. There was nothing she could do about it. But in her other hand.... Rose started to read Tiffany''s mind. As with her own powers, using mind reading alongside her other abilities caused her some strain, but she could pull it off. And only a second after she''d done that.... Rose: (thinking: Wait... no....) A massive burst of smoke came out of Tiffany''s right hand. She had concealed it the whole time. And Rose was so concerned with the rock that she''d failed to notice it. Julianne: What is that? Ken: Pressurised smoke bomb. Patnpending. Julianne: Not bad. The smoke shocked Rose so much that she let go of Tiffany, giving her a chance to strike back against her. And so she did. The smoke cloud cleared to show Rose paused, standing straight, with Tiffany''s hand directly in her neck in a karate chop position. Ken: Match, Tiffany. Max: Huh? The statement would have ordinarily bothered Rose, and it did. After all, she asked for the match, and she''d lost. Max psyched her up, and she still lost. She hesitantly turned to Tiffany, with some shame in her eyes, but instead... Tiffany: You almost had me. Rose: (gasp) R... really? Tiffany: Uh huh. A moment passed between the two girls. Tiffany: Good job, Rose. And with that, a massive weight flew from Rose''s heart. Tiffany was proud of her. Tiffany said she''d almost lost to her. That was all she''d needed to hear. Not a "I lost," but rather an "I''m proud of you" Rose: Th... thank you. Tiffany: Hmmm? Rose: I... I just... Tiffany: You don''t need to thank me for that. Rose: Oh... I.... Tiffany: Come on. Let''s go talk to the others. Rose: R.. right... And then for the next conundrum. How would Max react? 167. Gung-Ho Rose, in a less than giddy fashion, pulled herself up and walked with Tiffany to the others. All the while, she hid her gaze from Max. She just couldn''t bring herself to look at him. And once they''d arrived... Ken: Good job, both of you. Luke: Yeah, you did great. Tiffany: Thanks, guys. Rose: Yeah... thanks.... The fact that Max hadn''t said anything had not gone unnoticed by Rose. Her eyes weakly turned towards him before... Max: Yeah... great job. The statement came out of nowhere and surprised Rose so much that her face jolted towards Max immediately. Rose: R.... really?! He seemed somewhat bothered about something. Max: Yeah... Tiffany''s just really tricky, isn''t she? Rose: Ummm.... uh,... yeah... She is. Ken and Luke simply smiled at each other knowingly, while Tiffany sighed and simply shrugged it off. Julianne: I must say, that was quite the spectacle. Rose: R... really, Mrs Hunter? Julianne: Absolutely. Tiffany''s strategy for dealing with psychic powers really did surprise me. Tiffany: Thank you, Mrs Hunter. Julianne: And Rose, ... Rose: Hmm? She''d only expected Tiffany to receive praise at that point. Julianne: ... you did quite well yourself. Rose: I... I did? Julianne: Uh huh. She gave Rose an earnest smile. Julianne: It takes guts not to give up even when it looks like it''s over. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Of all the things she''d expected to receive that day, a genuine complement, moreover one specific to a trait of hers, was not one of them. Moreover, a complement from an adult. And an adult that she respected and adored. And so, while jolting, she replied... Rose: Oh! Thank you so much, Mrs Hunter. Julianne: Oh, it''s no trouble, really. After all, it''s true. The pair looked into each other''s eyes with something of an understanding happiness as the rest of the team watched, all of them but Max happy to see Rose so happy, and as for Max, he did not understand what was going on, and so he chose to ignore it. Julianne: Alright, everyone, let''s go eat! Luke: Great, I''m starving. Ken: Yes, my appetite could use some satiating. Luke: Easy for you to say, you haven''t even sparred today. Ken: Well... to be fair, I have officiated several matches. That to me was quite stressful. Luke: Uh huh...... Luke was well accustomed to this part of Ken. Rose: (to Julianne) I can''t wait. Oh, oh, I never showed you that recipe. Julianne: Oh, that''s right. We can take a look at it together after dinner, m''kay? Rose: Ok! Tiffany could only observe the two looking at each other, smiling, much to her shock. Tiffany: (thinking: Did these two.... genuinely... bond?) She wasn''t mad or upset or even jealous. Just... shocked. And to a small degree.... happy. Happy that Rose had another friend. Tiffany: I apologise for the interjection, Mrs Hunter. But since Ken hasn''t sparred, and since I haven''t sustained that much damage, then the two of us will have to spar next. Ken: Oh.... (thinking: Well... so much for getting out of that.) Julianne: That''s alright. I can wait. Luke: Ugh... Rose giggled at Luke''s discomfort. As for Max, one thing had struck him as necessary to mind at that moment. Max: Hold it! They all turned to Max, wondering as to what was wrong. Max: Since Ken didn''t spar, then I should take him on next. Ken: Oh brother. It was immediately apparent to Ken what Max was talking about. Tiffany: It''s fine. We''ll deal with your match with him next time. Ken: That''s not what he''s talking about. Tiffany: Hmm? Ken: As you may all have been keeping count... if Max defeats me... then.... Tiffany: Oh... It wasn''t that they didn''t know that. Rather, it was that they hadn''t taken a lot of time to think of this. If Max beat Ken, he''d have beaten every member of the team. At that realisation, as Tiffany turned to Max, she saw a cocky smile show up on his face. Tiffany: (thinking: So, that''s what he wants. Oh boy...) Luke: (sigh) I see what you''re getting at, Max. But your fight with me left you too exhausted. Fighting Ken now will only put you at a disadvantage. It wouldn''t be fair. Tiffany: He''s right. You should wait till our next session. Max: Yeah, yeah... but Im good now. Luke: Huh? Max: Well, I rested up while Rose and Tiffany were sparring. So... Luke: You think you can take Ken on? Max: Yep! Rose: Max.... Somehow, that only made her admire him more. His mother, who''d been watching the whole thing happen, was barely surprised. Julianne: (sigh and smile) (thinking: That''s my boy....) Max: So, let''s go, Ken! He raised his fist to Ken for a fist bump. All eyes turned to Ken, who simply looked back at Max, motionless and unresponsive for several seconds, so much more that Max had begun to get second thoughts. But he didn''t remove his arm. And then suddenly, to everybody''s surprise... Ken: Sure. Why not? Max: Alright! 168. Tiffanys Thoughts Luke: Wait.. seriously? Ken: Yes. Rose: But Ken.. you... Ken: Don''t have to? Yes. But... He turned back to Max. Ken: This could be interesting. Max: Hmph! Ken''s eyes then turned to Tiffany, who simply in a sense of silent understanding, nodded. She knew Ken too well to start questioning him. After all, Max sparring with Ken was of a greater priority than her sparring with him. Max: Ok, let''s go! Ken: Hmph! Suddenly, his mother spoke Julianne: I guess I finally get to see my little man in action. Max: (blushing) Moooooooooom! As usual, Ken and Luke both laughed and Rose simply giggled. Julianne: Be careful out there. Max: (blushing) MMmmmmmmm. I will. And with that, the pair started of towards the battlefield. Meanwhile, back with the others.... Tiffany: (thinking: His mother won''t even interject. Is she... used to this kind of reckless behaviour?) And on top of Tiffany''s contemplations about Julianne, her countenance had changed from extremely chill to somewhat concerned. As for Max and Ken, they got into their positions. Max: You ready for this? Ken: Sure... Lets do it. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. There was a broad smile on Max''s face, as well as a small one on Ken''s. Luke: This fight... Tiffany: Yeah.... In all senses, this fight was heavily to Ken''s advantage. Not only was the battlefield still full of stones, but also, Max had already fought. So, even though he''d rested up, he was still a bit tired. Back at the battlefield, the pair bowed, .... Julianne: (thinking: They even have my Maxie doing it.) Ken: Would you like to have your mother clear up these stones? Max: Nope. I''m good. In a sense, Max only said this because he wanted to fight like Rose and Tiffany. A fight in an unchanged battlefield. Ken: Hmph: Ok then. Back with those watching the fight... Rose: Max.... (thinking: I hope you''ll be ok.) All four of them had gotten closer to the edge of the battle ground. Tiffany: (thinking: Ordinarily, I wouldn''t have allowed this. However, since he does have to spar with all of us..., I suppose this is for the best.) She raised her hand as she always did, in a karate chop fashion. Tiffany: Ready...... begin! And so it started. Both battlers immediately stared each other down, neither side moving an inch, both in a battle ready pose. This went on for several seconds. Back with those watching the battle.. Rose: Ummm... why are they.... why aren''t they moving? Tiffany: Its a staredown. Rose: Hmm? Tiffany''s eyes narrowed. As one who''d been in many fights, she knew this better than the rest of the team would. Tiffany: For some reason or the other, they''re both trying to out anticipate the other. Rose: Really? Tiffany: Yeah... really.... The other two simply watched quietly. Tiffany: (thinking: Both of them are wary of the other. But... why though? Could it be... that they both expect this fight to be difficult? Even Max?) Back at the battlefield. Max: Just so we''re clear, if I zap you, you wont just get fried like some robot, right? Ken: Hmph. Right. In fact, my bionics give me more durability than most humans. Max: Huh? How much more? Ken: You''ll see soon enough:.. Max: Tch... alright. A staredown. A stand off. Whatever you want to call it. In this pre-battle ritual, both or even all combatants simply look at each other, almost as though their spirits are gauging each others'' strength. Almost as though their spirits are fighting with one another. There is an old adage. A battle is decided before the first move is made. This statement, while paraphrased, is making reference of the human spirit. The very thing that drives a man. As a more commonly mentioned of adage goes. Once a spirit is defeated, the battle has been decided. That is true. And in this case, both combatants couldn''t make a move, because neither one could take the other down. Tiffany: (thinking: Could it be... that these two have fought before?) Her judgement of the sitaution was born out of her genuine questioning of what was happening. Neither side was doing what the other would ordinarily do. And to top that off, they weren''t doing anything at all. And so Tiffany wondered that because in her mind, they must have gained some kind of respect for each other''s skill from somewhere, right? 169. Odd Sense Of D茅jè„¿ Vu The stare down continued.... Max and Ken: (thinking: My opponent is... no joke.) Their hands were spread out. Prepped for an attack, defend, or counter attack. Max and Ken: (thinking: It''s just like......) Both well aware of one thing. Their opponent would be difficult. The question now being... who would strike first? And then, it begun. Not with a blow, but rather... Max: Hey Ken. Ken: Hmmm? Max stetched his arm out. Max: How about a little contest? Ken: Contest? Max: Yeah. My electricity versus your lasers. Ken: Huh? Those watching the fight were equally shocked. Rose: Wh... what!? Julianne: (thinking: That''s my boy...) Tiffany: (thinking: Oh boy...) And as for Ken... Ken: Hmph. Sure. A cocky smirk popped up on both of their faces. Ken: (thinking: Just as I figured. You would make this interesting.) His eyes glowed a bright red. Ken: Ready when you are. Max: Hmph. Electricity crackled in his hand. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Max: Yeah Back with the viewers of said match... Tiffany: (thinking: Here we go....) Luke: (thinking: This... is going to be interesting.) And as for Rose, she hesitantly looked at the both of them, looking left and right at each of them. Rose: Ummm.. uh.... And then... Rose: Good luck to both of you! She shouted it loud enough for both of them to hear. Neither side even flinched or responded. They were too focused on the fight. Ken: Ready? Max: Yeah! And then, the battle begun. Max and Ken: Now! Max''s electricity vs Ken''s lasers. That was the battle. A bright red light came from Ken''s eyes and a vicious blue bolt from Max''s hands. The result? Both attacks converged somewhere in the middle, intensely colliding with each other. The result being... a beam battle. Those watching the battle witnessed a brilliant red light and a vicious blue light coming from the collision of the attacks. Rose: Woah! So pretty! Luke: Hmmm.... Yeah, I guess so. Julianne: (thinking: Be careful.. hon.) As for the battle, their attacks were evenly matched. And so, like teenage boys would, they simply upped the ante on their attacks. Both sides increasing their intensity. The red and blue light grew stronger and stronger before, finally, a massive explosion occurred, both sides shielding their eyes from the impact. From a distance, a loud voice could be heard Rose: Max! Ken! Julianne wanted to yell to, but she stopped herself. She knew better than to say something like that at this moment, no matter how much it bothered her. And as for the battlers... The smoke cleared. Both combatants were fine. Lightly panting, but fine. Max: Not bad, Ken. Ken: Hmph. I was about to say the same thing. Max: Hmph. Back with those watching... Rose: Those two... Luke: Yeah.... Tiffany: (thinking: She''s right. Those two get along really well.) But the fight wasnt over. The explosion hadn''t just blown them back, it had also blown several of the smaller pebbles in between them away, leaving a moderately open space around them. Ken: And to think, I was planning on using those rocks to my advantage in this fight. Max: Well ya snooze you lose. Ken: Heh.(thinking: Could it be... that he saw that coming? No... unlikely.) Max: (thinking: Phew. What a lucky break!) Those watching thefight noticed it too. Tiffany: The explosion cleared the field. Luke: Hmph. Tiffany: (thinking: Now Ken might be at a disadvantage.) Julianne: (thinking: Max can win pretty easily now) She then turned to look at the other kids. Julianne: (thinking: But if these kids are as tough as Max says... it won''t be that easy.) Max: Ok then. Your move? Ken: Hmm? It was obviously a joke. Since Max could move more freely, he knew he could end the fight easily. Ken got the message. Ken: Oh, I see. Well.. don''t count your chickens before they hatch. Max: Oh? The smug smiles on their faces only grew. Tiffany: (thinking: Oh brother..) Rose smiled. She was happy to see them getting along so well. Rose: Great job, you two! Again they heard her, but yet again, they were too focused to even look away. And then... Max asked an odd question. 170. Weird Powers Max: By the way, .... Ken: Hmm? Max: ... now that I think of it, ... what are your powers anyway? Ken: My... powers? Those watching the fight were just as confused. It was a truly out of place question. Max: Yeah. You said you had a lot of... what was it... odd powers here and...? Yeah, something like that. Ken: What are you getting at? Max: Well.. Max started counting with his fingers. Max: You can scan stuff like a robot, fire lasers, search the internet, ice and heat breath.... well... what else is there? Ken: Hmmm. That really was an odd conundrum for Ken. He himself didn''t know what to say. That was the last thing he''d expected Max to ask him. Ken: Well, .... to be completely honest with you, ... He sighed. Ken: ... quite a number of my abilities rarely have any real purpose in battle. Max: Huh? Ken: For example... At that very moment, Ken''s body begun to glow a bright green light. Rose: Woah! I didn''t know Ken could do that. Luke: Yeah... he''s only ever used it like once. Although it did come in handy. Max: Huh? Ken: Bio luminescence. Max: Wha...!? Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Ken: Kind of like... fireflies. Max: O... ooooohhhh. Man! That is useless! Ken: Yes, in most cases it is. Max: Like really... really useless. Ken: Yes. It is... Max: It''s kind of like a.... He started to chuckle. Max: ... like a night light. And then started to chuckle at Ken Ken: (sighs) Yes.. yes, ... I suppose so. But Max only continued laughing. Rose: Oh Max....(thinking: Is he hurting Ken''s feelings?) The rest simply quietly watched. As for Max, he continued to laugh. But as for Ken, he didn''t seem even the slightest bit sad. In fact, he just watched Max. And then... he smiled. Ken: Heh... yeah. I suppose it is kinda like a night light. And Max slowly stopped laughing. Max: (sigh) Ok ok. Any other abilities? Ken: Hmmmm.... How about... His eyes suddenly turned towards Max. Ken: ... we fight, and if and when one becomes useful..? The look in his eyes was undeniable. He wasn''t bitter about the joke. Not in the least. He was simply daring Max. And Max being Max. Max: Ok. If that''s what you want. He brought himself into a fighting position. As for those who''d watched this whole spectacle. Rose: (thinking: Phew. So he didn''t make Ken upset.) Julianne, however, was even more perturbed. It was one thing hearing about friends from her son, it was another to see them. But, seeing Max get along with them, even bond with them, even be himself around them. That feeling. Had she been a weaker woman, she would have cried. But no. All those years learning about crying while acting had also taught her of the ways of not crying. And taking a moment to cry, risking interrupting, slowing down or missing being their for her son''s match. There was no way on this good green Earth she was letting that happen. Max: So... let''s go. Ken: Hmph. The next move? It was obvious. With his super speed, Max dashed and smashed right into Ken. Not with the same amount of force as he did with Tiffany, but rather with just enough force to knock him down. Ken fell on the ground with a massive thud. Max: Gotcha! Rose: Ken... Tiffany: (thinking: Well, Ken... you seemed to know what you were doing. So... what now?) Max turned back to him. Max: You good, Ken? Ken: Meh... yeah. He simply got up without any issue. Max: Huh? Ken: Amongst my abilities, is the ability to heal from damage at a much faster pace than that of a normal human. Max: What!? Ken: Yes. I suppose you could call it a healing factor, albeit not a very strong one. Max: Woah, really? Ken: Yes. That being said.... Max: Tch... Ken: If you want to bring me down, you''re gonna have to do better than that. The language of fight. As a cartoon character once said, them''s fightin'' words. This word being, the dare. Max: Hmph. Ok then. It was well understood and well received. As, of course, the true depth of the language of fight is not based just on words, actions and situations. It is also based... on the thing behind the words. The battle was about to get serious. 171. What To Do But before the battle could really get underway... Max: So... how about this? He swiped his hand at super speed, blasting him with an electric bolt and therefore knocking him down. Max: Gotcha. Those who were watching the fight had these thoughts.... Tiffany: (thinking: Firing electricity while using his super speed.... If he does that, it''s almost impossible to dodge.) At that point, her eyes turned to Max''s mother. Tiffany: (thinking: Combine that with those force fields and...) The answer was obvious to the teenage girl. Tiffany: (thinking: Protonites are a truly formidable alien race.) Back at the battlefield... Max''s celebratory smile was cut short by Ken getting up almost immediately, patting himself down. Max: Mmmmmm.... Ken: You were holding back, weren''t you? Max remained silent. Much as he liked the battling, he was always careful not to use too much of his own power. He, as his mother had shown him, was well aware of how powerful his electric bolts were. Ken: Well... you''re still gonna have to do better than that. Max: Tch... It was just as Max had earlier expected. Ken wouldn''t be an easy opponent. And, of course, not a staright forward one. If Ken kept slowly healing from damage, then taking little jabs at him would never work. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. As for Ken, the biggest question to him was this. How do you hit a target that can react to everything you throw at him and dodge before your attack can connect? Not only that, but a target that can also hit faster than you can react? Ken: (thinking: Well.... I didn''t think taking you down would prove to be such an entertaining puzzle.) And so both fighters remained silent again. Back with those watching the fight... Rose: Wh... what''s going on? Tiffany: They''re considering their next moves. (thinking: And they''re doing it a little too much.) And then, without warning... Max swiped his hand again and fired yet another bolt at Ken. One more powerful than the last. And consequently, it took Ken down. And as for Max, he simply stayed put. The electric bolt hed fired at him was quite a bit stronger than the last one. But that was the least of his worries. There were two things keeping him on his toes about him. One thing, Ken''s abilities were still unknown to him, and another, and perhaps more importantly, from experience, he knew Ken tended to have a backup plan of some kind. For that reason, he waited patiently for Ken to get up, rather than attack right away. And, as one would expect, he did. Ken: Hmmm... not bad.... And as for Ken.... Ken: (thinking: And if he keeps hitting me like that... this fight will end real quick.) Max: Hmph. The pair remained silent for a mere moment before.... Max: Whelp. This is going nowhere. Ken: Hmm? Max changed his stance, lowering his pose. Max: I guess I''ll just blast you over and over again till you go down. Ken: Hmmmm. That was the obvious conclusion to this fight. Max had super speed, and so nothing was really stopping him from just overwhelming Ken with attacks. Ken knew that well. Ken: Sure. Go ahead. Max: Huh? That was the last thing Max had expected Ken to say. Ken: Something wrong? Max: Tch. No. And so his previous concern about Ken''s other abilities made Max question himself for a second. But then, electricity started to spark out of his right and left hand. Max: Y''ready? Ken: Hmph. Yeah. Back with those watching the fight... Luke: (to Tiffany) Hey.... Tiffany: Hmm? Luke: Think Ken can win? Tiffany looked back at the pair. So far, Ken had taken some damage here and there, and Max was relatively unharmed, not counting his fatigue and damage from the previous two fights. Tiffany: I dunno. However.... She looked back at Ken. Tiffany: ... I wouldn''t put it past either of them to win. In her mind, the winner of this match was up in the air. Whoever would win, to her, was a coin flip. Rose, meanwhile, watched with earnest interest. Her eyes never leaving the battle. Julianne: (thinking: Well, sweetie. Show ''em whatcha got.) 172. Kens Counterattack And so it begun.... Max fired an electric bolt that was immediately parried by a laser blast. But right after, Max fired an electric bolt, this time, moving his hand at super speed. Moving fast enough that Ken could not counter him. And so, the blast connected, knocking Ken off his balance. Max: (smirking) Direct hit. Ken: (smirking) Hmph. And with that, Max dashed to Ken''s left and fired another bolt, knocking Ken down further off his balance. He tried to retaliate with his lasers, but as expected, Max dodged them immediately. Ken: (thinking: Hmph. Staying out of my eye line to avoid my lasers. Well... isn''t that a bother.) And the attacks kept coming, one after another, all the while, Max dashing to his left, right, back and so on. And every time Ken missed, he would simply loud out.... Max: Too slow! This went on until Ken was on one knee, and at that point, Max stopped. Max: Had enough? Ken: Hmmmm... no. Ken somewhat shakily got back up to his feet. Back with those watching... Tiffany: (thinking: If he takes any more serious damage.... I''ll end the match.) And as for Ken.... Ken: (thinking: He''s not just fast, he''s also smart enough to take full advantage of it during battle. So.... what can I do?) His eyes turned to the ground, while Max stretched his arms, in a somewhat celebratorily taunting way. Max: It''s ok. Take your time. Ken: (thinking: Maximillian Hunter....) The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. His eyes locked onto Max. He knew going into this that this fight would not be straight forward. In fact, up till then, and he knew this quite well, Max hadn''t had to come up with any special strategies. Of course, that simply meant that Max wasn''t taking the fight all that seriously. And so... Ken: Alright then... Max: Hmm? Ken: I suppose I should make this fight interesting as well. Max: Huh? Ken: Do you know how to ice skate, Max? Max: Ice skate? Ken took a deep breath and blew at the ground, releasing a blue mist that begun to fill the floor. It wasn''t like Max had forgotten what that attack was capable of, after all, he was once a "victim" of it. And so, Max simply dodged. However, that was Ken''s plan, as it left the floor without pebbles frozen with a sheet of ice And as for Max, he soon found himself on frozen ground, having run in a circle to avoid Ken''s attack. The idea had occured to Ken while he saw Max speeding up and around firing blast after blast. The question to himself being, what of he could restrict his movement somehow? Max: What the...!? Ken: I''m sure youre well aware of what''s happening here. Aren''t you, Max? Max: Tch... Back to those watching the fight... Rose: Wh.. whats going on? Tiffany: Freezing the ground. I see what he''s getting at. Rose: Huh? Tiffany: If Max tries to move at super speed on land, it''s fine. But walking on ice is hard even for normal people. Julianne: (thinking: Clever boy.... Disrupting Max''s speed like that. Not bad. Not bad at all.) Back at the fight... Max: Tch. Well... Ken: The Bright Light, issue 344. Bright light vs the tundra emperor. Max: Yeah, ... I remember that.... In that issue, the tundra emperor used ice to disrupt the Bright Light''s speed. And with the others... Rose: You mean....? Tiffany: Yeah. He just restricted Max''s movement. Back at the fight... Ken: And as you can see, the rest of the battlefield is filled with stones. His eyes lit up red. Ken: So.... how about we try this again? Max: MMmmmmmmmm..... And then suddenly... Max: Sure. Lets do it! Ken: Hmm? Max: I was wondering when youd finally get serious. Ken: Hmm? To Max, Ken tended to have a back up plan. As a result, he''d expected something to go amiss during the battle. So this frozen floor, while a surprise, was not that unexpected, or to him, all that dangerous. And as for Ken, he simply did not expect Max to remain unfazed. Max: What''s''a matter? Thought this''d scare me? Ken: Hmmm. No. I suppose at this point I shouldn''t be surprised. Both teens smiled at each other. Ken''s eyes in a red light and Max''s arms filled with electricity. However, one thing was already incredibly apparent to Ken. Max had the ability to fire attacks at super speed, and so, in a contest of who could land the most blows, Max would undoubtedly win. That was plainly obvious to him. And, of course, since Max was now cornered. He wouldn''t avoid or dodge. No. This time he would strike back. So there was no turning back with this strategy. Max: Y''ready? And as well obvious to Max. However, that was not the end of Ken''s plan. Ken: Sure. Max: Hmm? 173. A Slippery Slope And so it was. Max stood upon the icy ground, not moving much as he was concerned about slipping on the ice. Ken, on the other hand, was standing on solid ground. So he had no worries about slipping. Max: (thinking: I gotta be careful.) Max''s eyes gave the icy ground a look. Ken: (thinking: And now, for the next part of my plan.) He knew for sure that Max would be wary of moving. He knew that. That was what any ordinary person would be thinking. "Just don''t move and everything will be fine." And at the moment, the ice on the ground was solidly frozen. Ken: Ready? Max: Hmph. How could he back down? Back at the scene of those watching the fight... Luke: (to Tiffany) Well... this is getting interesting. Tiffany: Yeah. (thinking: This is gonna be close.) Rose gulped as she watched. Julianne: (thinking: Well sweetie, what are you gonna do now?) Max couldn''t move, but he could still fire electric blasts fast enough to beat Ken at a "blast off." However, Max could no longer change his position quickly. But still, it was apparent to everyone watching as well as those fighting... As long as Max refused to move, he still had the advantage. And then, it started... Max, with his super speed started swiping his hands, firing electric blasts while Ken started firing laser blasts in quick succession, their collisions ending in small but powerful explosions of red and blue. Those watching noted the beauty of the battle... Rose: It''s so pretty.... Tiffany noted that, but was more concerned with something else. The electric blasts flying towards Ken vastly out numbered the laser blasts, and so, Ken was getting hit over and over. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! However, he kept firing lasers irregardless. As for Max, not a single laser had hit him. He was fine, completely and absolutely. Tiffany: (thinking: This fight is over. Max just has way to much of an advantage right now.) She straightened out her right hand as she watched the fight go on. Max was landing hits over and over, and Ken was almost on his knees. Tiffany: (thinking: It''s over: Max wins.) And just as she was about to give the victory to Max, something interesting happened. Max suddenly lost his balance Max: Woah! And then, he slipped, much to everyone''s surprise, and fell on the icy ground with a thud. Rose: Max! Back at the battlefield... Ken took a deep breath. Ken: Finally. It happened. Max: Huh!? Ken: You fell!? Max: But... Ken: You were careful not to move. I know. But I was counting on that. Max: What!? His hands rubbed against the icy floor, it was way more slippery than before. Max: This floor... it''s.... Ken: Heat travels through the atmosphere, from molecule to molecule, and.... He turned to the smoke in the air as a result of the explosions caused by their attacks colliding. Ken: ... from explosions to the icy floor beneath them. Of course, combine those with your little upper body movements trying to hit me... and.... the end was inevitable. In short, my lasers weren''t meant for offense. I was stalling. Max pulled his wet hands from the ground, noting how soaked they were before slipping again. Max: Dang it! Back with those watching... Rose: Ken.... Luke: (whistle) That was smart. Tiffany: Yeah. (thinking: Should''ve figured you''d have some kind of back up plan, Ken.) Julianne: (thinking: That kid... he''s a lot smarter than he looks. A lot smarter.) Her eyes turned to the rest of the kids. Julianne: (thinking: These kids.... they''re no joke.) Back at the battlefield... Ken was staring down a Max that was on the ground, struggling to get up. Max tried once again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, Ken''s eyes turned red. Ken: Now then... of course, because my lasers are deadly to humans, I''ll hit you with just enough to knock you down. Sound good? Max: Tch... Juat mere moments ago, it was Max who was taunting Ken. Now, the roles had reversed. This situation naturally annoyed Max, however, he did expect that something like this could happen. The problem? He didn''t expect his counterattack to catch him off guard so much. Ken: If you try to use superspeed, you''ll slip. And without a firm hold on the ground, you''re liable to slip if you try to to stand up. Also, you can''t even maintain your posture long enough to land a blow. In short... it''s over. Max: Mmmmmmm..... Back with those watching... Rose: Max.... Tiffany: (thinking: That''s just how Ken is. He''s a sharp opponent. I should know. Amongst the four of us, hes usually the toughest to beat.) Luke: (thinking: So, Max... how are you gonna get out of this one?) Julianne: (thinking: C''mon sweetie, you can think of something, right?) Julianne didn''t want to vocally support her son. After all, she''d rather her son dealt with it the hard way. But even more importantly, she didn''t want to interrupt him in his fight. Back at the fight... Ken: Well.... Max: Mmmm..... There were a lot of things on Max''s mind at the time. For one thing, this was his chance to beat each and every team member. Another thing, his own mother was watching this fight. That was enough of a load to bear. But on top of all that, he was about to lose. And, to be honest with himself, he was out of ideas. 174. Old Slams To The Face Tiffany: (thinking: This could be it. To think... I was about to count Ken out.) Julianne, meanwhile, was struggling to bottle up the urge to yell her son''s name in support. And back at the battlefield... Max: Mmmmm.... Ken: You know you can just surrender. Right, Max? Max: Mmmmm... Ken: After all, there''s no need for me to hit you with these. And that was it. Just moments before, he''d teased Ken. And now... he was the one on the receiving end. Max: Hey! Ken: Hmm? Max: I ain''t quitin'' y''hear. Ken: Hmm? Really? Max: Yeah... Max''s shakily got himself up, slipping and falling once more. Ken: But, you can''t even move.... Max: Yeah... so?! Ken: Hmm? Max: I said I''m not quitting! Hmph! He pulled himself up once more. Back with those watching... Julianne: (thinking: My boy...) And to the battle.... Ken: So... you''d rather get hit? Max: Hmph! Max looked back at Ken with an incredibly certain gaze. He was serious. Meanwhile, Julianne Hunter put her hand on her mouth. An act which Tiffany noticed. And also, one that somewhat terrified the teenage girl. It had just occured to her that that was the first time during the battle at which Max was on the losing end and had been in danger of getting hurt. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. As a result, it was reasonable to assume that she would be quite upset. And given her memories of Julianne Hunter''s actions that Monday night, it was hard not to get worried. However, to her relief, Julianne said nothing, and showed no signs of starting a fight. As for Max and Ken.... Max shakily pulled himself up and started struggling to keep his balance, spreading his arms out wide. Ken: Alright then... (thinking: This guy....) To Ken, Max was simply wasting time. But he could not deny this. Max had guts. Taking a hit just because he believed in his own power. Just because he refused to give up. That wasn''t something even the logical Ken could fail to respect. He sighed. To Ken, this fight was as good as done. Ken: Alright, I''ll be extra gentle. (thinking: He can''t even fire bolts while trying to balance with his two hands spread out like that.) Max continued in this odd awkward stance, waving his hands aggressively to keep himself from falling. Ken poised himself to strike Back with the others, Julianne prepared herself to close her eyes. Tiffany herself, debated ending the match there and then. On the one hand, Max seemed to be cornered. On the other hand, Max didn''t want to give in. And, of course, Max hadn''t taken enough damage for her to be concerned with him. But, out of respect for Max, she decided to let Max simply do as he pleased. Ken: No hard feelings, right Max? Max: Grrr...... An interesting thing had begun to happen with Max. An odd memory that came to his head. Now, Max had never ice skated before. Not once in his life had he ever done that. However, like with all things, it was connected to other things. And in this case, to something he was used to. In fact, it was something he was exceptional at. This wasn''t something he figured out immediately. In fact, he''d completely forgotten that hed learnt this lesson a long time ago. And so, with a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤-vu, what was a completely unfamiliar situation quickly became something so plainly familiar. Something he knew all too well. The answer? Skateboarding. Memories of himself trying to find balance the first time he''d used a board. He had painful memories of falling on his face several times and at times several embarassing ways. In a sense, his falling down and struggling to get up reminded him of his early skateboarding days. How many times did he fail? How many times did he rage quit at the skateboard before grabbing it again and trying once more? How long did it take him to master it? Who knew? Only he did. And as he continued to balance himself with his arms, the feeling of slipping on ice, slowly became more and more like the feeling of balancing on a skateboard. The feeling wasn''t exact, but the little he felt was enough. The connection he had to skateboarding slowly made the cloud standing in front of him disappear. What seemed impossible slowly became possible. What seemed foreign slowly became familiar. And so... his hands stopped shaking as quickly. In fact, they slowed down so considerably that they''d almost stopped shaking. And it was at that point, that Ken fired his laser. But Max, having found his balance, was able to dodge, shocking not only Ken, but also all those watching the bout. Rose: No way. Luke: Hmm? Tiffany: What?! Julianne: (thinking: Max?) It wasn''t a very sophisticated dodge. It was, in fact, a rather clumsly one. But the real shocker wasn''t because Max dodged. That could have just as easily been Max almost slipping again. The real shocker... that Ken missed. Rose: Did he... just....!? She turned her eyes to Tiffany and Luke who had their eyes glued to the fight as well. Both of them still asking themselves... How did Max dodge? As for Ken... He calmly fired yet another laser, only for Max to dodge again, and then struggle for a second to regain his balance. Ken: I see. So... that''s how it is. Heh.... Should''ve figured. 175. Master Skater It wasn''t like Ken hadn''t noted Max slowly gaining control. He did. But, he initially imagine that he was simply barely holding on. To imagine that he had control over his balance even in that state. That seemed unbelieveable. Ken: (thinking: Maximillian Hunter. Simply full of surprises.) It seems you have an incredible sense of balance. Max: Yeah... thanks. He was quite surprised himself. Ken: I suppose that means you weren''t joking about being the world''s best skateboarder. Max: Huh!? Ken: That thing you said the day we first met. Max: Huh.... oh... oh yeah.... I did say that. He immediately became quite proud of himself. Max: Yeah, I''m pretty cool. Right? Ken: Hmmmm. Yes, I suppose so. (thinking: Although... this makes this victory a little more complicated.) Back at the scene of those watching the fight... Tiffany: Max is... Luke: Yeah... Rose: He''s sooo coool! They all turned to look at Rose who turned away. Rose: S... sorry. As for Julianne... Julianne: (thinking: Max.... if only he could see you now.) She couldn''t help but feel proud of her son. Julianne: (thinking: He isn''t just strong. He''d grown in a lot more ways than just strength.) And as for Max and Ken.... Max: I think I''ve... almost got the hang of this. Ken: You don''t say... Max: Hmph... Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The pair looked at each other, their competitive spirits boiling, edging each other on... Luke: Those two... Tiffany: Yeah... The fight had gone on for quite a while. But somehow, it was still pretty tense. Ken: Alright then. His eyes lit up once more, and Max simply smirked. Ken: Let''s see just how much of a hang over this you have. And a laser blast was fired. As for Max, he dodged again, just barely. The pair glared at each other once more. Max and Ken: Its on! And so it begun. Ken fired laser blast after laser blast. And Max, dodged each one just by a bit, each time clumsily moving his body while remaining in what was relatively the same place. But Ken wasn''t just firing lasers all willy nilly. Instead, he expected Max to dodge them. And why did he expect that? Because he planned on knocking Max down the easy way. That being... forcing Max to make enough awkward dodges that... And then it happened. Max''s body movements shifted his centre of gravity enough that he started to slip again. And Ken, taking his shot, fired again at an unstable Max. And Max, true to form, regained his balance, and almost paradoxically, slid. Max: W..w... woaaaaahhh.... But this slide wasn''t entirely out of his control. Those who were watching the fight quickly realised it. Luke: He''s... Tiffany: Yeah.... He''s... skating. Kinda. Rose: Wooooooaaah! As for Rose, she was starstruck. As he slid, Max started to change his posture, his movements, his footing... Everything necessary that he was slowly able to start changing direction even as he slid. A feat so impressive that it left Ken too shocked to simply fire at him. Max: (shakily) Woooooooaaaah!!! Ken: (thinking: And even more surprises. Hmph. Is today my birthday?) The sight was even more shocking to those watching it. Tiffany: (thinking: Just.. how is he...?) To Rose, it was impressive enough. But for those more knowledgeable in things such as physics, sports and battle knowhow. One thing was insanely apparent. Max had an insane sense of balance. One so insane that his own mother was left a bit perturbed. Proud, but just a little more shocked than she''d have liked to be. Max slowly started to skid around in circles. First uneven circles. But later, more even circles. In fact, he slowly begun to have some fun skidding in these circles. Max: Woah! Woah! Woah! And the "woahs" slowly turned to "woohs" as the teenage boy begun to control his movmenet. Max: Woooh! This is awesome! Ken''s simply watched him. Both surprised and impressed. Julianne could only smile in pride of her sons abilities. Max: I''m doing it. I''m actually doing it. Ken: Heh... (thinking: Yeah, he is. He turned my own strategy against me. Beating Max... will be even harder than I''d thought.) Max''s eyes turned to Ken. He may have been having fun, but he hadn''t forgotten. How could he? This whole match was his idea. This was his way of gaining dominance in the team. Of proving his mettle. And maybe bolstering his own ego, but where was the harm in that? And so.... Max: (thinking: This fight isn''t over. And Ken might have a few more tricks up his sleeve. And then there''s that healing factor....) As he skated, the pair eyed each other directly. It was obvious. Tha fight was about to continue. And who would win would soon be decided. As for those watching... A gargling sound was heard. It was Luke. Luke: Oh... man..... Rose simply giggled, and Julianne simply turned and smiled while Tiffany did not react. Rose: Someone''s hungry. Luke: (smiling) Yeah... I guess so. He placed his hand on his stomach. Luke: (thinking: The fight is fun and all, but I''m starving.) He sighed, awaiting the end of this match. 176. Mischief Ken''s body healed at a faster pace than that of a normal human being. By how much? Well, enough that a dragged out match would eventually come to Ken''s advantage. Both teens knew this. And both teens knew that the other knew this. And so, as Max slightly clumsily skated in circles on the icy floor, his eyes locked onto Ken, only momentarily leaving this pose to make sure he didn''t end up sliding way too far out of the iced floor, as that would end in a face full of stones. Ken, on the other hand, didn''t move one bit. He remained in place, thinking. His thoughts around one thing. How to hit Max? Ken: (thinking: On the one hand, Max won''t be able to fire electric blasts as easily as before. But on the other hand... I know Max too well to believe he would make that easy.) His thoughts then turned to the beginning of the fight. Ken: (thinking: I knew Max would be tough. But this? Heh. At this point, I might really have to think things through before I land another hit.) As for Max... Max: (thinking: Ok. I think I got the hand of this. So maybe I can.... No, I definitely can.) He raised his right hand, continuing to balance himself with his left hand. Ken took notice. Ken: (thinking: Well... no time to think.) Max? Max turned back to Ken. He knew what that meant. He didn''t have to have it explained to him. Max: Yeah? Ken: Let''s finish this. Max: Hmph. Back with those watching... Rose held her hands together in earnest anticipation. Tiffany waited patiently, her hand ready to end the match at a moment''s notice. Luke, partially intrigued, and also partially waiting for the match to end. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. And as for Max and Ken, Max''s right hand was already charged up. And Ken''s eyes were already red. Ken: Ready? Max: Y..... It was at that point that something just occured to Max. Something that had, as a result of his understanding of balance, suddenly become an option. Said sudden understanding made Max pause, and said pause was not unnoticed by Ken. Ken: (thinking: Did something just... happen?) He looked closer at Max only to see him suddenly smirk cockily. Max: Yeah. Ken: Alright then. (thinking: So he has a plan.) He immediately remembered Max''s bout with Luke. He smiled right before he pulled the wool over his eyes. Ken: (thinking: And as though that wasn''t tough enough, knowing him, its probably something I won''t be able to figure out immediately.) Just in case, Ken thought through what Max might have been thinking of. After all, he knew better than anyone on the team, although perhaps not as well as his own mother, just what mischief that smile could bring. As for those watching... Luke: (thinking: Mmmmmm.... Watch out, Ken. Max is a tricky opponent.) And back at the battle.... Max with his raised hand and Ken with red eyes.... And then suddenly.. Max and Ken: Its on! Ken fired a few weaker laser blasts at Max. One after the other. And Max dodged them all, albeit more narrowly than before. There was a massive difference in the effort needed to dodge lasers when using super speed on solid ground versus while skating and balancing himself on ice. It would be even harder to fire electric bolts. And for Max? Because Ken kept firing lasers, Max couldn''t dodge them all as well as fire bolts back. That would prove too difficult for him. Instead, Max did something far more interesting. He simply didn''t fire electric bolts at him. His hand was raised before, true. However, as more lasers were fired, he soon went back to using it for balancing. This was noted by Ken, who initially thought of it as a good reason to fire even more aggressively. But as this went on, he suddenly realised that something was amiss. By all standards, because Max couldn''t attack, he had the advantage. But then... why did Max smile? That smile. That mischievous smirk. Ken had initially believed that he wasn''t firing electric bolts because he was struggling with keeping his balance to a greater degree than he''d earlier thought. In short, he thoight Max had over estimated himself. But.... no. Of course not. Ken knew this instinctively. There was something he was missing. And as for Max, the circle he was skating around Ken started to grow smaller. This was also noted by Ken. Ken: (thinking: Is he doing that on purpose?) At that point, Ken paused to think. Ken: (thinking: Just what...) His eyes turned to the ground beneath him. It was still unfrozen. He''d half expected Max to fire an electric bolt at him while he thought, but it didnt happen. And then... mere seconds later, it happened. Just as Ken was about to put two and two together. Max wasn''t trying to blast Ken. He was trying to bash into him. And that he did, sending Ken straight into the icy floor.... Max: Take this!? Ken: What the!? ... where he slid straight onto the ground, losing his balance, and falling flat on his back. Max: Gotcha! And those watching the match were equally intrigued. Tiffany: That was... Luke: Yeah. Rose: Go Max! Julianne: (thinking: Yep. That''s ma boy.) 177. Checkmate? Max: Woo hoo! I got you! There were many thoughts running into Ken''s mind at that point. For one, how embarassing! For another, this fight had truly been something. Max skated himself to the solid ground and remained there. Meanwhile, Ken struggled to lift himself from the slippery floor, flopping back into the ground, and then slowly sliding. Ken: Tch... Max: Hah! How''d you like a taste of your own medicine? He was standing quite proudly on the solid ground. Max: Hmph! As for Ken, he looked up to Max, feeling a strange sensation in his heart. It wasn''t anger, bitterness, or even regret. It was... joy. He was oddly happy. Happy that his opponent had been able to give him this much of a thrill. And so... he simply smiled. Ken: Heh... good job. Max: Thanks... An electric current sparked up from Max''s right hand. Max: So... you give up? Back with those watching... Rose: So... has Max won? To Tiffany, the answer was not all that simple. On the one hand, Max had the upper hand. But on the other hand, Ken still hadn''t surrendered. But there was more to it than that. The issue with being an officiator is knowing when to end the match. And for Tiffany, given how she was raised, she knew better than to end a match at this point. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. But she had already decided. This match had gone on long enough. And one may even say that, although they were still holding back, it would have been somewhat naive to claim that these two were still sparring. This match was a sparring match, sure. But at some point, it had ceased to be just that. She, and all the others had noticed it. And so, given this judgement, she would have ended the match immediately. However, she knew intrinsically. In fact, they all knew. This match had to see itself to the end. She knew that fact better than anyone watching the match. Her eyes turned to Luke, and he himself also nodded. They both agreed. What was before them right there and then... even if she did stop it then. They would fight again. But that wasn''t all that was on her mind. The first and foremost thing was Max himself. So far, he''d proven to be an exceptional opponent. Not just for Ken, but for herself, Rose and Luke. Tiffany: (thinking: Quick thinking skills, ingenuity, and to top it all off, his bloodline is monstrous.) Her eyes turned to Max''s mother again. Tiffany: (thinking: Maximillian Hunter.... I was right. You really are something.) Back at the battle... Max: So... give in yet? The end of the fight was near. No one had to say it twice. As for Ken... what could he do? This, for most people, would be checkmate. It didn''t really matter what Ken did. All Max had to do was zap him. Again and again and again, and it would be over. In fact, it would be even easier, seeing how Ken could not even pull himself up. But there was one more thing he could do. Defrost the icy floor. But that would only come to his disadvantage, as Max would retake control of the field using his superspeed. And so... he was trapped. For a moment, he truly believed this fight was over. And then, he slipped again, his eyes turning to the top of the basement. It was white and tiled, just like the rest of the room. A mediocrely large room from which they could fight. What were the odds? And as for the fight.... He''d had his fun. In fact, he''d had a lot of fun. Max could take the win. After all, he''d broken out of every ploy he''d created. So, why fight it? He''d won. But just as his eyes gazed at the top of the room, something occurred to him. Max: Uhhhh.... Ken? Ken: Oh yes, sorry about that. These thoughts ran through Ken for a few moments. Long enough for Max to question as to whether or not he was ok. Ken: Something just occurred to me.... Max: Huh? Ken: And... no. A fiery look came into his eyes. Ken: I won''t be giving up. Not any time soon. Max: Oh yeah? And Max''s eyes only became more fiery. Ken: Hmph! And as for those watching the fight... Luke: Oh boy.... Rose: Those two... Tiffany: Yeah.... The thoughts were unanimous. Those two just get along really well. And as for Julianne, she was just happy to see her son finally have such good friends. 178. Victory Ken: (thinking There''s only one way to win this bout. Or at least, only one way I can think of...) Max pointed his hand at Ken, electricity sparking in it. Ken lifted his head up and placed his hands to his left and right. Ken: (thinking: Here goes nothing...) And then, he looked directly at the ice, his eyes glowing red. Max: What the!? Of course, Max had already figured that Ken was checkmated. However, he''d never thought that Ken would actually go so far as to melt the ice. Back with those watching the battle... Rose: What is Ken doing? Tiffany: I dunno. Luke: Beats me... But to Luke and Tiffany, as they knew Ken quite well, he had something planned. Something interesting. It wasn''t like Ken''s predicament had gone unnoticed by the other three, but rather, that they''d all counted Ken out. However, seeing as he hadn''t given up, there had to be something hidden under his sleeve. Tiffany and Luke. They both knew this about Ken. He wasn''t the kind to act without reason. And as for Max, he knew quite well that he shouldn''t let his guard down. Max: (thinking: What is he planning? Lasering the floor?) However, Ken still did it. He lasered the icy floor, bit by bit, quite rapidly, not even aiming anywhere close to Max, leaving him quite confused. Max: Uhhhh..... As for those watching the fight... Julianne: (thinking: Keep your eyes peeled sweetie. This guy is definitely up to something.) Rose: What is he... But before Rose could finish her sentence, the idea soon came into full formation. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Ken wasn''t trying to melt the ice, he was trying to super heat it. The result? Steam. But as the steam cooled in the air, something of a.... Max: Mist...? Ken: Yes. Mist.. The hot foggy air covered the battlefield, keeping those watching the fight in the dark about what was going on. Max: Jeez Rose: I... I can''t see. Tiffany: Hmph. (thinking: So he did have one trick left up his sleeve. Should''ve known.) Luke: (thinking: So this is what Einstein had planned. Heh. Well, Max. What are you gonna do about it?) Julianne: (thinking: Be careful baby.) For the entirety of the fight, she had been silent. But now, she felt almost as though she should say something. But still, she kept her tongue. No use worrying about her son at a time like this. After all, she would only distract him. Back at the scene of the battle... Max: Ken. What the heck!? Ken: Whaddya think? Neither teen could see the other. Ken: It''s kinda like a smoke bomb, don''t you think? Max: Well... yeah... but. Sheesh... He never would have imagined that Ken would go so far. Max: Isn''t this going overboard? Ken: What!? It''s only the sudden condensation of gaseous water once it meets a cool front. Max: Huh!? Ken: Eh... nevermind.... Back at the scene of the fight.... Rose: What''s going on in there? Tiffany: I dunno. They all remained silent as they watched the steam slowly dissipate. This dissipation was noted also by Ken. He knew once the steam cloud had been made that he didn''t have that much time. The steam reached the top of the room and then, small droplets begun to form on at the top, dropping back to the ground. Small droplets also begun to form on the ground. Ken: (thinking: Gotta make this quick) Max: Well... now the both of us cant see what''s going on. Ken: Not necessarily. Max: Huh!? Ken: You forget. My eyes can scan things. For example... your heat signature. Max: Mmmm.... (thinking: Drat. I should''a known he had something planned) Meanwhile, Ken''s eyes locked onto and targeted Max. Ken: And so, I suggest that you surrender. Max: Well.... I... The fog cloud was slowly dissipating. But Max didn''t have enough time to think of a way out. Max: I won''t quit. He said this, but was genuinely unsure of what to do next. Ken: You sure... Max could hear soft foot prints being made, but couldn''t quite tell form where. Max: Yeah. I''m sure. Ken: Ok then. (thinking: The hard way it is then.) From his left, a pair of red eyes could be seen. And Max instinctively dashed out of the way. However, anticlimactic as it was, Max tripped before he could even move and thereafter fell flat on his back, hitting his head. The culprit? Not ice. Rather, the damp floor that Max had failed to notice. And Ken, not missing a beat, fired two lasers at the right and left of Max''s head. Ken: I win. Max: What the.... but... Ken: Intriguing strategy, dont you think? Max: Mmmm.... And at that point, the fog cleared enough for Tiffany to see what was going on, and she finally raised her hand. Tiffany: Match! Ken! 179. Bitter Defeat It was a hard pill to swallow.... Max: But.... just.... Even for those watching the match, it was a confusing end. Rose: Ken... won? She turned to Tiffany to make sure. Luke: Well... that was fast. Tiffany: Yeah... Julianne remained silent. Even harder to swallow was said pill, because Ken was smirking the whole time. Ken: I win. It''s as simple as that. Max remained on the wet floor, completely befuddled by what had just happened. Max: Just... how....? He lifted his now wet hand. Max: Water? Ken: It''s elementary. Max: Huh? Ken: When super heated water is lifted to the air, it often meets a cold front that cools it, turning to a mist. That mist is what we call vapour. Max turned around to look at the white vapour, still dissipating into the air. Ken: And when that vapour reaches a cold surface... He then looked up, and then after, as did Max. There were drops falling on the ground, just as before. Ken: ... it forms water. That very water, that you slipped on. Max remained silent for a moment. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The very shock of losing because of something so simplistic. Water. Plain old water. Max: But.... Ken: To be completely honest with you... Max: Huh? Ken: ... I never would have come up with this plan had I not seen your battle with Tiff. Max: With... Tiffany? His eyes turned back to the others for a moment. Ken: Yes. Tiff. Ken''s eyes also turned to the others. Ken: During your battle with Tiffany, I took note of something. Max: What thing!? Needless to say, Max was curious. From what Ken had said, he''d actually expected Max to trip. In short, this incredibly odd strategy was weirdly all a part of his plan. That in and of itself made no sense to him. Ken: Your reaction to smoke bombs. Max: Huh!? Ken: Unlike most people, when your vision is obscured, rather than remain befuddled, you act. And if I was able to make you think I was about to attack... Max: You could get me to use my super speed and slip. Saying it was one thing. Believing it was anither. To think... Ken actually thought this through. Even more, he could think that many steps ahead. Max: That''s... Ken: Incredible? Unbelievable? Unsurmountable? Perhaps. I suppose you could use those words to describe my intellect. Max: Mmmmm.... Max still couldn''t believe it. He just lost. His chance to beat the entire team had ended. And to make things worse, his mother had seen it. What a shame! He hung himself, somewhat upset at his loss. Ken: But hey, I have to admit. You were a tough opponent. Max: Huh!? Ken: You almost had me. And then, Ken left his hand out to Max to grab it. Ken: No hard feelings, right? Max looked at the hand for a moment and then took it. Max: Yeah. No hard feelings. He had a smile on his face as he said that. It was partially fake, though. True, he wasn''t mad at Ken for beating him. But, as for losing, that was an entirely different board game. He''d placed so many hopes onto that victory. But, he decided to keep it all in. As for those watching them all.... Rose: They''ve been there for a while... Tiffany: Yeah... Rose looked worriedly upon them both. Did something happen? From the great distance between the two combatants and the rest of the team, they couldn''t hear a word they were saying unless it was said particularly loudly. Tiffany sighed. She, too, was concerned. Luke simply waited. Perhaps one could call it a male intuition, however, he wasn''t all that worried. In fact, it would be better to say that he believed that it wasn''t worth worrying about at all. Julianne simply remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself. Tiffany stole a glance at her and then looked away again. One question one could ask would be, why had she been so quiet during this match? Not once, not even once... had she spoken during the match. So... what did she think? And as for Max and Ken... Ken: Let''s head back. Max: Yeah... And the pair walked back to the others, both walking normally. Julianne immediately summoned a computer and caused the pebbles on the ground to entirely dissipate. 180. Parent And Child And when they''d finally made it back to the others, them being a happy Ken and a slightly morose Max.... Rose: You guys were amazing! Tiffany: Agreed. Both of you did exceptionally well. Luke: Hmph. Yeah. Good job. Rose: Uh huh. It was soooo cool. It wasn''t like Rose didn''t want Max to win, nor that she didn''t understand how Max felt. In fact, she''d already noticed Max seeming a little off. So, what she''d said was, in part, an attempt to make him smile. One that did not work, to her sorrow. Ken, on the other hand, was quite proud to receive this praise. Ken: Why, thank you. Thank you all... As for Max... Max: Yeah... sure.... His eyes strayed away from his mother''s. Sure, having lost in front of the rest of the team was one thing, but losing in front of his mother was a whole other beast. The same way a child feels bad after getting a bad grade. That''s how he felt. However.... Julianne: Max, sweetie? Max: Yeah? He weakly turned his head towards her. Perhaps because he was so perturbed, did he not notice his mother starting towards him up until he was right upon him. Julianne: That was incredible! She grabbed him and gave him a big hug, almost knocking off his legs. Max: Huh!? Julianne: I mean, really. I was on my toes the whole time. Max: You were? Julianne: Mm hm. That moment when you got up from the ice and started skating... I couldn''t believe it. Max: Really? Julianne: And when you knocked Ken into the ice. She then made what could only be described as a girlish scream. Not a teenage girlish scream. More of a... "in her thirties" girlish scream. After all, she was a mother. And what mother would not be proud of her son? The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. And why wouldn''t she be? She wasn''t just proud of his powers or of his use of them. Rather.... Flashback.... Just when Max had slipped on the icy floor... Max: I ain''t quittin'' y'' hear... Ken: But you can''t even move... Max: Yeah, .... so!? Ken: Hmm? Max: I said I''m not quitting! Hmph! And also... When Max started skating on the ice. Max: Woah! Woah! And after that... Max: Woo hoo! His ice skating. She was especially proud of two things. Her son''s incredible sense of balance. That was a sign of how strong he was. His own talents and hard work coming to light. But what was more important was her son''s guts. As a woman who had seen muh in her life, she had grown to respect people who refused to surrender even in hopeless situations. After all, that was the man she''d married. And then, right at that point... Max was just like her husband. But perhaps even more importantly, at that point, her son was incredible. One could say that every parent has, at the very least, some idea of who their children will be when they grow up. And, one could say that that ideal comes from intuition. That being, an innate knowledge of their child''s potential. A potential that is not innate, but rather, one that the child must grow into. Whether it was that or the fact that she was simply impressed.. perhaps both. Who was to say? But one thing was for sure. Julianne Hunter was proud of her son. Almost exceptionally so. And as for Max... Like any child receiving praise from his or her parents.... Almost as though the voice of some unknown and foreign judge who, in some sense, has a hold over one''s very own soul. A judge that holds the keys to one''s very own self-worth. One''s very own belief in their growth and progress. That is the voice of a parent. Perhaps, in a sense, it is a symbiotic relationship. Or, maybe, a relationship that exists beyond the realms of a mere 1 dimensional, or maybe even 3 dimensional reality. Child and parent. A relationship that exists beyond reality itself. And so, Max couldn''t help but feel better about the loss. The judge had spoken. It still stung, but he couldn''t help it. Julianne: Your father would be so proud of you. And what is better than one? That would be two. Knowing his father would also be proud was just the frosting and fruit on an already pretty good cake. Max: R... really? Julianne: Absolutely. And then, Julianne held her son even tighter, squeezing him really hard, making another girlish squeal Julianne: My baby boy is so strong. Now, while children, teens, and even adults feel good about receiving praise from their parents, well.. teenagers will be teenagers. And teenage boys will be teenage boys. Max: H.. hey... let me go. And moms will be moms. Julianne: Awww... c''mon, sweetie. Just a little more. Max: Moooooooom! The rest of the team simply watched this occur, Rose simply giggling, and Ken and Luke quietly chuckling. Max: (blushing) Hey mooooooom! At that point, Max was struggling to pull away from her. But she wouldn''t let go. Max: Moooooooom! Julianne: Ok... ok. She finally let go. Max was relieved to be released, only to be further embarrassed by the looks on his friends'' faces. He turned away, hiding his red face, as most teens would. As for Julianne. Julianne: And Ken? Ken: Hmm? Julianne: You did a great job, too. Ken: I did? It wasn''t that he didn''t think he did, but rather that Julianne saying that was one of the last things he''d expected to happen. Julianne: Mmm.. hmm. Your bionics exceeded my expectations. But... enough about that now.. Her eyes turned to the basement door. Julianne: Let''s go eat! Luke: Finally... He suddenly became embarrassed, realising that he''d never intended on saying that out loud. Luke: Uhh.... Julianne simply giggled. Julianne: Looks like someone''s hungry. They were, in fact, all hungry. But none of them would comment on this. Well.... except for one person. Rose: Oh. I''m suuuuper hungry too! Julianne: Alright then. With a bright, warm, and charming smile Julianne: Let''s go eat.