Disclaimer: Still don't own Ultimate Muscle, but I'm claiming ownership of the explanation I give for Mars's healing/scarring issues.
Recap: Edward and Amy are stalking Kevin and Mars, each with their own grudges and desires for revenge on the duo, but Kevin and Mars are blissfully unaware of it all as they bask in the glory of being the stars of the DMP.
Chapter 7 – The Academy
Kevin Mask sat on the edge of a rock in the open cave Mars inhabited in the DMP headquarters, slowly exercising his left arm with a fifty kilo dumbbell. As he reached his twentieth rep he paused, his arm fully curled, lifting his head to look across the cave at Mars.
It had been some six weeks since Kevin had joined the DMP, and he had spent most of his time there in Mars's company. Other than frequent and vigorous sexual orgies and random and sporadic practise bouts with his fellow Devil Chojins, Mars never appeared to exercise at all. He certainly ate plenty, enough to maintain his monstrous weight of over 300 pounds; but how he kept that mass as muscle was still a mystery to Kevin.
Kevin slowly lowered his dumbbell to the ground, sitting back to study Mars more fully. Mars was lying flat on his back, his hands acting as a pillow behind his head. His chin was jutted forwards as he was balancing another spliff between his teeth, his cheeks slowly drawing inwards as he drew hard on it, before slowly blowing out the smoke through his nostrils.
Kevin silently stood, squinting through the darkness at Mars. His eyes were closed, and the languid rise and fall of his chest with every slow and deep breath almost suggested that he was actually asleep; but surely he could not still smoke a joint in his sleep?
"What an unusual bloke…" Kevin muttered to himself.
Mars did not so much as bat an eyelid at Kevin's remark, even though it had been just loud enough to be heard if Mars were still conscious. Deciding that Mars was perhaps better – and indeed more tolerable – company when he was stoned and sleepy rather than hyper and horny, Kevin left Mars to do what he wished, making his way over to the mouth of the cave.
The air inside the cave was thick and sickly with the smoke from Mars's idle puffing, and Kevin needed to get some fresh air, especially since his intensive weight training session had left him breathing heavier than usual. Despite Mars's constant reassurances to the contrary, Kevin still believed that being in Mars's vicinity when he smoked marijuana was almost as bad as smoking it for himself.
Kevin marched out onto the hillside, dropping into a defensive crouch on instinct as he heard something move suddenly and with speed above and behind his head. Twisting around without breaking his stance, Kevin nervously scanned the hillside above the mouth of the cave in vain, before spinning around suspiciously as he found himself suddenly sensing something directly behind him.
But still Kevin failed to find a source for the sound. He slowly straightened up again, relaxing out of his position as he tried to dismiss the thought in his mind. Perhaps it had just been a wild animal of some sorts. Or perhaps not. That had not been the first time Kevin had felt the distinct sensation that someone, or indeed something, was close by and watching him.
"Hey Kevin, what cha doin'?" Mars called to him from inside the cave.
"Shh!" Kevin hissed.
"Huh?" Mars grunted. "Yous is all vertical, try chillin' out some more, yeah? Or least just move your ass, you're blockin' out my moonlight over here!"
"There's someone out here!" Kevin hissed.
"Say what?"
Mars sat up, frowning at Kevin. He took one last draw on his homemade cigarette before plucking it from his mouth and flicking it to one side. With a groan of displeasure and annoyance Mars pushed himself to his feet, trudging over to Kevin's side, stretching his arms above his head as he stopped on the ledge outside.
"Huh?" he asked, turning to Kevin.
"What?" Kevin snapped, rounding on him.
"Huh?" Mars repeated, his voice louder.
"What?" Kevin asked, sounding slightly confused.
"Huh?" Mars grunted again.
"What?" Kevin asked. "Why are you saying "huh" at me? I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't?" Mars asked.
"No, I didn't," Kevin assured him.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Oh… I guess I oughta stop smokin' for tonight den, I'm gettin' all suspicious."
"Smoking does that to you?"
"Yeah. It makes you all edgy and suspicious. Just like yous is bein' right now, Kev."
"I heard something moving out here!"
Mars lazily looked up, down and all around himself before shaking his head at Kevin.
"Nah, dere ain't nobody out here," he concluded. "You need to lay offa dat weed, Kev."
"But I haven't had any," Kevin pointed out.
"You haven't?" Mars echoed. "Den how come dere ain't none left?"
"Gee, I don't know, Mars," Kevin sneered sarcastically. "Perhaps because you smoked it all yourself?"
"I did?"
A lazy grin slowly worked its way onto Mars's face as he began to nod his head.
"I guess dat would explain why I'm so damn hungry," he said, patting a hand onto his perfectly flat stomach.
Kevin growled in frustration as he eyed Mars's impeccable abdomen, which he was apparently highly undeserving of.
"Shouldn't we be training?" he demanded irritably.
Mars's smile faded as he eyed Kevin over darkly.
"You know Kevin, I'm beginnin' to think dat you need some help," he said in a low voice. "Cause yous has a got a real problem relaxin', you know what I'm sayin'?"
"Relaxing?" Kevin yelped. "I came here to train hard, to get stronger and to prepare myself to take on those idiots at the IWF!"
"Yeah, me too," Mars agreed. "But all dis talk about action is makin' me hungry, so let's go eat somethin' first, yeah?"
"Alright," Kevin grumbled, following after Mars as he slowly made his way across the cave and back into the bowels of the DMP headquarters.
As the duo disappeared from the cave, Edward dropped down from his hiding place above the mouth of the cave, creeping into Mars's place of refuge, looking wildly around himself. His eyes eventually settled on the dumbbell his brother had been training with, a snort of disgust reverberating through his nostrils as he made his way over to it.
"He thinks he's so tough…" Edward muttered, bending over and grabbing onto the weight with one hand.
Edward started to lift the weight, but promptly dropped it back down again as a searing pain stabbed through his lower back.
"Shit!" he cursed, straightening instantly and reaching a hand to the source of the pain, his actions only worsening his suffering,
Edward hissed in pain, scowling from beneath his mask at the innocent looking dumbbell at his feet.
"Bastard," he muttered, kicking a foot at the weight.
After his action achieved nothing more than stubbing his toe, Edward turned his back on Kevin's training area and started in the direction Mars and Kevin had headed, silently glad that he was wearing steel-toed boots.
Ahead of Edward, Kevin was still following Mars through the endless labyrinth of underground caves and tunnels, growing increasingly impatient as they went. It felt to Kevin as though they were walking round in circles, and given Mars's somewhat less than coherent state, he knew that his assumption was probably not far from the truth. As they passed yet another cave Kevin was certain they had already passed by at least once before, Kevin prepared himself to quiz Mars on exactly where he was going; but before he got the opportunity to do so, Mars stumbled abruptly to a halt in front of him, having almost walked straight into Doomsmane.
"Ah, if it isn't scarface and Robin Mask's boy," the dragon growled, eying them both over. "I was just looking for the two of you. I have a proposition for you, and I…"
Doomsmane's words slowly trailed off into silence, his lips and nostrils wrinkling up his face as he leaned over Mars.
"Hm, I see," he said gruffly, taking a step back from Mars. "It's like that, is it?"
"We was just goin' for some food," Mars frankly told him.
"Oh really?" Doomsmane sneered, a malicious grin spreading over his scaly face. "Well guess what, boys? There's been a slight change of plan. We're enrolling students for the Academy tonight."
"Maybe we don't wanna enrol dis time around," Mars replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"And maybe you don't have a choice in the matter," Doomsmane snarled. "Enrol now, or die."
Doomsmane swiped a hand at Mars's face, causing him to react in a way that shocked Kevin. Mars dodged the attack, as Kevin had half-expected him to do; but he did not stop at dodging Doomsmane's claws. Mars dropped to the ground, curling over and sheltering his head under his arms. Kevin studied Mars in that position, before slowly looking up at Doomsmane, who grinned as their eyes met.
"Registration is this way," Doomsmane said, holding out an arm down a darkened tunnel.
Kevin nodded his understanding, looking down at Mars again, alarmed to find that he had still not moved from his position cowering on the ground.
"Oh, don't worry about him," Doomsmane assured Kevin. "He does that from time to time. Enjoy the silence, it's the only time he ever stops talking."
Kevin glanced down at Mars one last time, a nagging thought in his mind telling him that he really should offer Mars some assistance; but the look on Doomsmane's face combined with his anger at Mars for getting stoned yet again made him step right over Mars's back and walk down the dark tunnel alone.
As he walked, Kevin felt something inside him go cold. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and even before he could make out what lay ahead of him, Kevin knew that this was what the DMP was all about.
As he neared the end of the tunnel, the tunnel around him became illuminated by the warm orange glow from the domain he was heading towards, causing jagged black shadows to leap and dance across the stonewalls around him. Kevin tried to keep his head held high as he walked, despite the fact that a small part of him was screaming the obvious at him: only one thing created heat and moving orange light.
Kevin slowed as the tunnel opened up around him, his eyes being naturally drawn upwards as the walls of the interior of the mountain stretched away from him in every direction. He was in a large hollow, deep within the heart of the mountain. All around him, the ground was littered with jagged rock formations that stretched up to dizzying heights and deep dark crevices that fell away into infinity. Hanging from the walls and rocks were racks of tools of torture, most of which were broken and blood-stained. Near the centre of the large hollow, a standard DMP training ring had been erected, complete with barbed wire ropes and steel wool ring mat.
Next to the ring the ground fell away in a large circular shape, across which someone had placed a thick log embedded with deadly spikes. From the depths of the crevasse rose curling streams of grey smoke and the occasional spurt of steam, which rose sharply after each of the hissing and popping sounds from below. Kevin did not need to move any closer to the ravine to know that a pool of lava fermented at the bottom of it.
Between the fiery pool of lava, the tools of torture, the harsh terrain, the vicious wrestling ring and the stench of pain and death, what lay before Kevin looked to be the epitome of hell itself. It looked liked the home of devils and demons, and indeed it was, only not of the variety Kevin had been taught about at school or read about in biblical texts. This awful place was the home to the Devil Chojins of the DMP. This awful place was the most talked of and most feared place in the known universe.
This awful place was The Academy.
"Hey Kev."
Kevin turned to his side, frowning as he saw Mars standing clutching his stomach, his shoulders hunched over.
"Mars," he greeted him.
"You know, Doomsmane is just a bastard," Mars replied, lifting his head to survey his surroundings.
Kevin paused, his frown deepening as he saw that Mars's complexion had paled, making his dilated pupils look all the more vivid by contrast. As he looked around himself, the orange glow of the flame torches on the walls caused the shadows of Mars's features to jerk and shudder over his face, making him look positively mad.
"Mars, are you going to throw up?" Kevin bluntly asked him. "Because if you are, please make sure you turn away from me before you do it this time, alright?"
"I hate him…" Mars muttered, his eyes narrowing.
"Doomsmane?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, what are you two waiting for?" Doomsmane snapped, marching up behind Kevin and Mars. "Get on with it, I don't have all day!"
"Right," Kevin agreed, unsure of exactly what it was that he was meant to be doing.
Doomsmane shoved roughly past Mars, marching onwards towards the ring. Kevin turned to Mars for an explanation, but Mars was clutching his shoulder where Doomsmane had crashed into him, and baring his teeth at the dragon's back.
"I hate it when dey call me scarface," he mumbled.
Kevin really was not terribly interested in just why Mars hated being called scarface, but he rather suspected that Mars wished to be quizzed upon the matter. Kevin had assumed that Mars disliked the name because it drew attention to the fact that Mars's face was less than perfect, and his arrogance dictated that he was a perfect man in every way.
"Why?" Kevin asked, trying his best to sound genuinely interested in Mars's plight.
"Huh?" Mars asked, his eyes still fixed on Doomsmane.
"Why do you hate it when people call you scarface?" Kevin asked.
"Because it's what he made me," Mars darkly replied.
"Because it's what he made you, right…"
"When I came to join da DMP, dat dragon fuck did dis to me."
Kevin watched Mars as he drew the index finger of one hand down each of the scars under his eyes in turn.
"Doomsmane did that to you?" Kevin asked.
"Dat's right," Mars agreed, nodding his head.
"And why would he do that?"
"Because it was da only to keep me here."
Kevin began to nod his head, but quickly stopped himself. Why was he even pretending to understand what Mars was talking about? Was this something genuine, or was this just another of Mars's drug-induced orations, the result of which would inevitably be Mars on his back on the ground laughing hysterically at Kevin's naivety? Or was this a genuine glimpse into Mars's soul?
"I'll explain outside," Mars whispered. "But first we gotta go register for Da Academy."
Mars started towards the ring, leaving a dazed Kevin standing alone behind him. Kevin hurriedly shook his head, trying to shake his thoughts into some sort of logical semblance, before hurrying after Mars.
"You know the score, scarface," Doomsmane said through a yawn as they stopped in front of the DMP Legend. "And I'm sure you can fill your friend in."
Mars solemnly nodded his head, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
"Follow me, Kev," he said quietly, walking around the rock Doomsmane had sat down onto.
Kevin obediently followed Mars to the ring, climbing in behind him. Kevin looked around himself, scratching at the back of his iron helmet in confusion. Was he meant to fight Mars to earn himself a place in The Academy?
"Everybody into the ring!" Doomsmane yelled. "The last twelve standing can proceed to tomorrow morning's lessons."
Kevin watched as a hoard of DMP recruits emerged from the shadows of the cave, advancing towards the ring.
"It's okay, Kev," Mars assured him. "It ain't like we ain't never beat dose guys before."
"I guess so…" Kevin muttered warily. "I suppose all we have to do is just fight it out."
Amy gathered up her notebook and pens, before stretching her arms above her head. The horizon was glowing to the East, indicating that the sun would soon begin to rise. Deciding that this was a good sign that she had stayed outside the DMP headquarters for far too long that night, Amy got to her feet and started to leave.
However Amy came to an abrupt halt after just a few steps as she sighted Mars running up the side of the hill almost directly towards her. She froze, panicking that he was coming for her; but he appeared to be looking down at the ground rather than at her, and so she quickly dove down behind a large boulder, tucking herself down low to the ground to avoid being seen.
Mars ran right past her hiding place, stopping a short way beyond it. He paused there, before spinning around, his eyes narrowed. Amy held her breath, the angered and intense look on his face sending a fresh wave of fear through her. Confronting Mars back in the city was one thing, but confronting him at the DMP headquarters, where he was surrounded by his evil brethren was quite another thing altogether.
"What do you want?" Mars demanded.
Amy stiffened; was he talking to her?
"You won the challenge, what is wrong with you?" a voice shouted back.
Amy turned to see Kevin Mask walking up the hillside towards Mars.
"I don't wanna be nowhere near Doomsmane right now, capisce?" Mars snapped.
"Yes, I know, you don't like Doomsmane, you've told me that already, many, many time and–"
"I hate Doomsmane! And oneday, Im'a kill dat son of a bitch!"
Mars shot a fist at a nearby tree, snapping it in half.
"He is very irritating," Kevin conceded as he neared Mars.
"He took my life from me, I gotta return da favour," Mars muttered.
"Yes, you said something about that earlier," Kevin replied. "You said he was the one who marked your face?"
"Dat's right."
Mars turned to face Kevin, slowly walking up to him.
"And he scarred me, see?" Mars added, pointing at the scars on his face.
"Yes, I can see that," Kevin agreed.
"Cause I ain't got no other scars, Kevin," Mars insisted.
"I'm sure you don't."
"I don't. I ain't never done nothing dishonourable before den, and I ain't never done nothing dishonourable since den, neither."
"Dishonourable?"
"Yeah."
Kevin slowly nodded his head.
"You understand?" Mars asked him.
Kevin hesitated to respond, before slowly shaking his head.
"No," he confessed. "I'm rather afraid I don't understand, Mars."
"Well, see, I got super fast healin' abilities, yeah?" Mars began. "Anybody can do anything to me, and I can recover. You could cut me wid a knife, and by tomorrow, nobody would know what you did."
"Okay, I'm with you," Kevin said, nodding his head.
"I always heal, and I ain't never left wid no scars," Mars continued.
"Alright."
"But dere's a catch."
"I thought there must be."
"My healing powers are a gift from my people. It's kinda more like a curse dan a gift, if you ask me, cause it ain't a perfect ability. I can only heal wounds dat I suffered honourably. Any wounds I suffered dishonourably can't never be healed."
"I see."
"When I first came here, I was just a kid. I wanted to be in da DMP cause it sounded so cool to be one of da bad boys. But Doomsmane said I was just lookin' for some fun, and he didn't trust me not to leave when I got bored. So he said he had to do somethin' to make sure I didn't never go back home. He said if I wanted to join da DMP, I had to let him do it. And I did. I wanted to be one of da bad boys, which is dishonourable, and he ripped his claws down my face to induct me into da DMP. I hate what he did to me, cause he was right. I didn't wanna stay here. I wanna go home. But I can't. My scars say I did somethin' dishonourable, and cause dey're on my face, I can't even hide what I did."
"And now he calls you scarface."
"Dat's right, da sick, fuckin' bastard."
"That's awful. Where is home for you?"
"I don't wanna talk about dis shit no more. I need food. Now."
Mars marched off, heading up the hill. Kevin tilted his head as he watched Mars leave obviously thinking the same thing as Amy; where did Mars expect to find food at the top of the desolate mountain?
Next Chapter: Mars and Kevin Mask commence their training at The Academy, where their relationship takes a downward spiral thanks to the interference of a bitter and vengeful younger brother and an angry and righteous young woman. Chapter 8 – The Betrayal.
