Jared Wreath
[November 28th]
He had been staring at her for almost ten seconds now, no idea of how he was supposed to react. She was staring back at him, equally as unsure. The two of them sat there, breathing heavily with the recent terror remnant in their brains.
Jared's had to look away from Anny for a moment, just to feel a little less uncomfortable. That was when he finally saw the state of the room that they were sat it. This place was nothing like any building he had been in before, it was certainly nothing like the shimmering metal hallways he had just been wandering through. The walls, floors and roof were all completely white, so white that any and all detail was absorbed into the colour. Even the corners were washed away by the horrifically bright structures. Jared had felt disoriented back inside the maze. At least he could tell how far those walls were away from him. It was impossible for depth perception to work in this place.
There were multiple questions on Jared's mind, all of them fighting for position to be the first asked. He would have asked them straight away, but it appeared he had left his voice behind when he fell backwards through that portal. It took only a moment longer for it to return to him.
"What...?" Was all he could manage to say? "What... what... what...?" Finally his voice came back in full, expelling all of his questions in an explosion of words. "What, where, how and why?!"
"So many questions..." The skinny young woman twisted the hem of her skirt into knots between her tightening fingers. His sudden demand of answers was making her jittery. "I-I came to help." She muttered, her voice squeaking and stuttering with nerves. "A-After you and the others were dragged down here I decided to follow using my portals. Aries and the others couldn't do anything to get you back, but I can."
"Aries and the others..." Jared repeated. "We weren't all taken, then?"
"No. Just you, Vikki, Catherine and that officer. Everyone else is still upstairs."
Jared exhaled in relief. That was the first bit of good news he had received since he was dragged into this hell. He thought he would have to search for every member of his group within that awful maze. At least some of them had avoided being dragged down into the floor by those eerie arms. If Aries and the others were still in the cold storage then they were probably having to fight that frozen criminal.
It took a few seconds for his brain to suddenly pick up on something odd Anny had said.
"Hang on... what do you mean by upstairs?"
Anny looked at him, just as surprised as he was, though it seemed she was surprised for a different reason to him. "We're underground." She explained. "That maze, it was built beneath the city. You didn't know that?"
"No." Jared said, astounded that she had to ask that question. "How do you know that?"
"I followed one of their portals down here." Anny explained, speaking a little louder and a little rapider than she usually did. "I could see that it was connected to another portal half a mile beneath it, so I copied its coordinates and followed after you."
"What?" Jared exclaimed, now thoroughly lost by her explanation.
"All portal Quirks are traceable." Anny continued. "When a portal is opened it leaves residue behind which their creator can use to find them and reopen them. Only another person with a portal Quirk can see this residue, however."
Jared could feel his brain overheating like an exhausted computer. This was far too much baffling information for one person to take in. But within all that mind boggling information she had managed answer three of his questions. She had followed the enemy's portal to reach him, they were half a mile underneath Scarow, and she had come to help him because the others couldn't. Only one of these questions remained.
"What is this place?" He asked finally, after a pause that allowed for his brain to adjust to both the mind numbing explanation and the bright white glare of the room. The moment he looked away from Anny's dark purple dress the intense colourlessness around him caused his eyelids to squint and his pupils to shrink. "Are we still in the maze?" He looked at her with sudden hope. "Is this the centre?"
Anny shook her head, rocking back and forth slowly on her knees. "No." She stated with such astounding casualness. "This is my pocket dimension."
Jared looked back at her. This time he was certain that his brain had overheated. Having to deal with the horrendously blinding room and the bewildering revelations being thrown at him was causing his mind to stutter, slow and grind to a stop. His mouth hung half open for several seconds, because managing to squeak out the words "You have a pocket dimension?"
Anny nodded, a sudden pride brimming behind her nervous expression. "Hang on, I thought your Quirk just allowed you to open portals?"
"That's one part of my Quirk." Anny explained, her cheeks turning pink with pride. "Every portal I open leads back here."
Jared felt the tired cogs in his brain clunk together, trying to analyse everything that was happening to him. It had been a long day, too full of unusual events and revelations. He was still recovering from witnessing one of his classmates being ripped apart from the inside and seeing a villain step out of their remains. One of the quietest members of their class was hiding a power like this? What revelation would come next? Would Ty reveal that he could dissolve matter, or would Catherine reveal she could burn holes through walls? Would John Quincy reveal that his third eye actually allowed him to read minds as well as form invisible barriers?
"So you've always been able to access this place?" He asked, now more curious about the previously uninteresting young woman.
"Always." Anny said, still looking proud, though her nerves were beginning to seep their way back through.
"So, when you were fighting Victoria during the Combat Exam..." Jared asked, "...when you pulled her through your portals by her detachable arm... did you pull her into here?"
"Through here." Anny corrected him. "I had a portal open at each end of the room. Her grappling hand shot through them. I doubt she had enough time to realise that, however.
Jared whistled, impressed. He hadn't realised how capable Anny already was. It made him appreciate the fight more, not that he hadn't already been impressed when he watched it. To think that this quiet, nervous, introverted young woman was so talented. He couldn't help but compare his progress to hers. He had lost his fight during the combat exam, and so far he had done nothing to actually help himself or any of the other students escape this maze. What kind of a hero was he, failing to stop a real villain, find his friends or protect that unfortunate officer? He had to try harder! He had to do better!
"They didn't hurt you, did they?" The nervous girl stated suddenly, interrupting his downward spiralling thoughts.
Jared looked back at her and shook his head. "No. I'm fine." Other than the psychological trauma of seeing someone he knew be torn apart and turned into someone he didn't, he had no wounds to speak of. He would probably have to see a therapist once he got back beyond the wall. He had a feeling that moment would play on repeat in his dreams.
"That creepy guy..." Anny continued. "...he took down the officer. He tricked him into thinking he was Vikki, then he hit him on the head. I would have stopped him, but..." The girl hugged herself and continued to rock back and forth on her knees "...I was afraid!"
Jared was a little taken aback. He had just been marvelling at Anny's hidden powers. Now he was learning that she feared the villains hunting them. He didn't blame her for this. He might have fallen for that shapeshifting villain's trap, but he had been able to suss them out before they could attack. If he hadn't been startled by that disturbing transformation Jared might have tried to fight back, but instead he had let his fear take control and had backed into the trap that had been set for him. He had been terrified at that moment, just like Anny. The difference was she had acted to save him. If it wasn't for her...
Jared's thought process paused suddenly. He had just realised that his hands were empty.
This in itself was not alarming, but he was certain that his right hand had been gripping the handle of his stun gun before he fell through the portal. He sharply glanced down and saw that it was no longer on his person. It was not hanging from his belt, lying on his lap or abandoned on the floor by his feet.
"I lost my stun gun!" He exclaimed suddenly, making Anny jump.
The quiet girl looked at him, a little confused. "That device you're always using?" She asked.
"Maisie made it for me before we joined the academy." He explained, clenching his fists in anger at himself. "I'm an idiot! She's going to be so upset with me."
"It's not here." Anny told him, taking a quick glance around at the floor in case she spotted it. "You must have dropped it when you fell through my portal."
That only made Jared more anxious. If that villain had picked it up then he would either destroy it or hold onto it and use it against them. He had just given the enemy a new weapon to play with.
"I have to go back and get it." He declared.
To his surprise, Anny suddenly looked very concerned, even scared. "No!" She exclaimed, clenching her hands together. "They're still out there! You'll get hurt!"
Jared stared at her in bewilderment. "I don't care. I knew that might happen when I joined the academy."
"You don't understand!" Anny insisted, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her skirt. "These people... they're not normal criminals! You didn't see what happened to Officer Davies!"
"We can't just let them walk away." Jared contended, holding his ground in the argument. "If we don't fight back they'll get away. We have to make stand against them! We have to find the 0thers and stop these people from doing whatever it is they plan to do. I thought that was why you came after us, to help us!"
"I did, but..." Anny was blinking viciously now. She couldn't muster any more words to disagree with him, but it was clear from her face that a struggle was taking place in her mind. "They're too dangerous!" She murmured, her voice a hoarse whisper. "You saw what that man... what he does. He's not the only one of them out there. There are others."
"I wasn't planning to charge them head one." Jared reassured her. "I was hoping the both of us might be able to work together."
To his further surprise, Anny shook her head more vigorously than before.
"No, I'm not fighting them!"
"Why not?" Jared asked. From what he had seen she was quite capable of holding her own in a fight, though she relied very heavily on her portals. Surely those would come in useful during a fight with villains.
"I don't want to risk it." The girl insisted. "I don't really know how to fight in close combat anyway."
"Why not use your portals?" Jared suggested.
"It's not that simple! Teleportation and Matter Relocation is incredibly difficult and dangerous!" Anny protested further, and Jared had to wonder by this point if she was just making up excuses. "I can't just make them appear as I wish. They have to be placed on flat surfaces, and I can't do that without touching them first. Then I have to make sure that the two portals connect before they can be opened. I have to think about gravitational adjustment and the possibility of disorientation, and that's not even mentioning the risk of closing a portal while someone's passing through it-"
"I get it!" Jared interrupted. His exasperation was becoming more apparent. "So you won't help me?"
"No." Anny said.
"Then will you at least let me go after them by myself?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"You're no match for them!" Anny insisted, clenching her fingers into frustrated fists. "You'll never win!"
"I have to try!" Jared shouted at her, hardly able to hold back his anger.
Anny Volksmarcher almost never spoke up; not in class, at lunch, during training or even during social gatherings. Why was it that the one time she decided to talk freely she did so to discourage him from doing the one job he had ever wanted to do? If not for the absence of a portal to escape through, Jared would have already stormed out of her pocket dimension. Unfortunately he was trapped there in her domain, and he would only be allowed out when she let him. He felt like a dog locked in a cage, barking to be allowed out. If only he could convince her that they had to act, that their classmates needed them, that they could do something to stop these awful people who were attacking them. However, looking at her stern yet terrified face, he realised that he was getting nowhere.
Anny shook her head with an expression of stern finality. "No!"
Jared exhaled, exasperated and exhausted. All that arguing and it hadn't changed her mind at all. "So what now?" He asked. "We sit here twiddling our thumbs until someone comes and finds us?"
Anny shrugged, which suggested she had no better ideas.
That only angered Jared more. She really wanted to sit here and do nothing while their class, their friends, were threatened by criminals and villains? She could do that, but he wouldn't. That was not what a real hero would do. A real hero would face the danger, no matter the risk, no matter what might happen to them. It was their duty to protect the innocent. That was what a real hero had to stand for. If they could not do that then why were they a hero at all?
"I'm going to help the others." Jared declared, rising to his feet standing stubbornly before her. "I don't care if you want to help, but I'm going either way. I'll be damned if I sit in here till the danger passes."
Anny was no longer arguing with him, but neither was she opening a portal to allow him out. They appeared to be at an impasse in their argument. Neither could convince the other. Jared was determined to leave and find their missing classmates, while Anny was determined to stay put and avoid the danger lurking in the maze.
"I can take you back up to the surface." Anny suggested after a long pause of silence between them.
Jared stared at her. Did she think that was somehow better than being stuck in her little pocket dimension? Aries and the others probably had everything under control up there, but clearly they had not yet made it down into the maze. It was completely possible that they couldn't get down into the maze. Perhaps they had no idea that the maze even existed. They couldn't help, but Jared could. He had an opportunity to do something, but Anny was standing in his way.
"No way!" He exclaimed, folding his arms petulantly.
Anny sighed. "You'll get yourself hurt if you go after those villains." She insisted, her voice returning back to her quieter and gentler tone. "What good do you think you'll do?"
"I don't know." Jared admitted. "I know that, compared to everyone else in our class, I'm probably the least capable person to fight them..." He straightened his back and raised his head defiantly. "...But that doesn't matter. I have to try. I have to do something, even if that something is small and momentary. I have to... otherwise why am I trying to be a hero?"
Through her long black strands of hair, Anny gave him a pitiful yet empathetic stare. She shook her head, and that same hair swung about like a small shadowy tornado.
"All right."
Her left hand rose up, half closed. Jared jumped as a small popping sound occurred behind him. He turned, and the portal he had fallen through was open again. Through it he could see the metal hallway which he had been cornered in by the villain called Skin-Walker. The officer was still lying there, unconscious, as was what appeared to be a pile of slimy pale skin. He turned back to Anny. She was still looking at him, that same expression on her face.
"I won't try and stop you." She said quietly, her hair sliding across her face to reveal a solemn smile on her narrow lips. "But if you're going after those villains, I'm not going to help you fight them."
Jared was surprised by her decision. He had thought she would hold her ground until he gave up. Had his words moved her that much? In truth he had just said what he always said to himself, the thoughts that motivated him into action whenever he felt like giving up.
"Thank you, Anny." He said, turning halfway to look back out through the open portal. "If I find the others, I need you to come get them and take them back to the surface."
"I'll do that." She answered him.
Jared nodded in gratitude. If she wasn't willing to help him fight these enemies, at least she was prepared to help him rescue their classmates.
He took a step forwards and walked through the portal. It was raised a little above the floor of the hallway, so his outstretched foot reached a little too far ahead of its intended destination. Though he managed to avoid falling flat onto his face, he did end up tripping and stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance and standing up straight. He felt a bit awkward about that, but continued onward.
The first thing he did was check the ground around him. The continuous glistening grey shade made it easy to spot anything out of the ordinary. The pile of disused skin was still present, lying where it had been thrown, and the unconscious officer lay near the far end of the passage, apparently untouched. There was no sign, however, of his stun gun. It hadn't been smashed to pieces at least, but he doubted it had been hidden beneath the skin pile or under the officer. That villain must have taken it then. While that meant that Jared had a chance of getting it back, it also meant that now the enemy could use it against him or his classmates. He would have to focus on getting it back.
With no other immediate problems to solve, Jared hurried over to the officer. He was still breathing, and when Jared placed two fingers against his neck he felt a faint yet consistent pulse. At least that villain hadn't decided to kill him after his usefulness was over. That small moral decision didn't outweigh their larger immoral actions.
He glanced back at Anny's portal, which was still open. Anny was watching him curiously through the oval opening. An idea shot though his head. He had already instructed her to take their classmates to the surface, so surely she could do the same for the officer.
There wasn't a moment of second thought. Once this idea was in Jared's head, it stuck. He was careful when lifting the officer. The biggest concern was whether his spine had been damaged. If so, he knew that lifting him would be a very bad idea. Though Jared was not a paramedic and had only learned the very basics of first aid during his studies at BHA, he had a strong feeling that this man's spine had not been damaged in any serious way. For starters the man had fallen on his front, so it was unlikely he had hurt his spine during the fall. There were no protruding bones, lumps or twists in his neck, even when Jared placed his fingers against it he felt nothing unusual. Anny had also clarified that he was stuck on the back of the head, not on the spine or the back of the neck. He had been told, however, that head injuries could result in spinal damage as well, so it was worth doing a full check. The mas wasn't conscious, so he couldn't ask him to move his arms or legs to check whether they felt weak or numb. Lastly the man's breathing wasn't struggled. He was breathing slowly, but his lungs were still able to such air in through his nostrils. It seemed unlikely his spine had been hurt very much at all. Regardless, Jared knew he had to be careful. He unclipped and removed the man's helmet, slid his arms underneath his shoulders and wrapped them around his chest. As he lifted him up he made sure to keep his head resting against his hoodie to stop it lulling around and causing further damage to his neck. It was no easy feat, dragging a fully grown, well-built police officer by himself, but after a minute or two of hauling he managed to bring him back to the portal.
"What are you doing?" Anny asked with curiosity and concern.
"Help me lift him." Jared gasped, too exhausted to explain. He tried to raise the man up with his arms still wrapped around his stomach. Anny reached out through the portal grabbed the officer by the shoulders. She helped Jared drag him through the portal and into her pocket dimension. It took a lot of pulling, but finally, after one hefty push from Jared, the two of them lifted the officer to safety.
Once he was finally moved into the pocket dimension, Jared collapsed to his knees, recovering from the strain of moving twice his size and weight.
"Take... take him back to the surface... make sure he gets seen to immediately... then come back here." He panted these instructions to his classmate.
"Okay." Anny nodded obediently.
Jared exhaled, slowly pushing himself back onto his feet and stretching. He was glad to be rid of the extra weight weighing him down. He would have to shake the stress out of his muscles quickly. He needed to be ready to fight the villains.
He turned to leave again, when Anny stopped him.
"Could I just ask you a quick question before you go?"
Jared looked back at her, a foot away from the portal. "Sure." He answered.
Anny began twisting several strands of hair around a narrow finger. She appeared to be blushing behind that long black visor. "That friend of yours... Maisie..." She said nervously.
"Yeah." Jared said slowly, not sure what she was trying to say.
"Is she... uh..." Anny's blushes were far more evident now, almost beet red in colour. "Is she... single...?"
Jared stared at her. This was definitely not a question he had been expecting. His mouth opened and closed a few times, letting out only an uncertain 'Um...'. Anny was now looking away, hiding her face from sight, in a way that reminded Jared of how his sister Alexis behaved when talking about her favourite male musicians.
Finally he answered her, his face as sympathetic looking as he could manage. "I'm sorry... I don't think she's into women."
It was awful to see the shy, embarrassed smile and the beet colour fade from Anny's face. He hated having to deliver such bad news. It made Jared feel like he had just told a four year old that Father Christmas didn't exist. She now looked down at the ground, rather sullen and disappointed.
"Oh..." She murmured. "I see..."
Anny raised a hand, and the portal closed in an instant. Jared jump. He had been right in front of the portal when it shut. The tip of his nose had almost been sliced off.
He stumbled backwards, exclaiming in surprise. It took him a moment to remember that he was now back in the metal dead end hallway that was part of the endless underground maze. Yet again he was alone and wondering aimlessly, only this time he was missing one of his weapons. His hand reached down to his belt and felt his power glove still clipped there. He no longer had a way of fighting the enemy at range, but he was not completely defenceless yet. He slid the gadget onto his right hand before continuing on towards the end of the passage.
Jared had been dreading this moment for the last few minutes, the moment where he walked back into the maze and got lost in its many winding and identical looking metal passages. It made him feel like a lab rat being tested on its ability to reach the end and earn itself some cheese. How was he meant to find his classmates by himself? Running into Victoria had felt like a miracle when it happened, but that was because they weren't the real Vikki. That villain had probably planned their encounter. He had disguised himself as one of his classmates in order to trick Jared into trusting them... and he had fallen for it. He had been such an idiot to trust them at all. At least he had figured out that they weren't real before they could ambush him.
He turned a corner. Another passage faced him. He walked down that passage, to a turning to the left of him and found himself in a further passage. At the end of that were three passages, each to his left. After randomly picking which to take he followed the middle path, only to end up at a dead and be forced to walk back.
By the time he had found his way through to another passage and been faced with five separate paths to choose from he was furious. This place was trying to drive him mad. Perhaps this maze had been made not just to trap its victims but to make them go insane. If that was the case then it was working perfectly.
"Goddamn it!" Jared roared, kicking the nearest wall. He regretted it instantly, feeling his toes bruise as they struck the hard metal. He hopped backwards, yelping and gripping his now sore foot. "This bloody place! What kind of sick bastard came up with this?"
It took a minute for his foot to feel comfortable enough to stand on again. Until that point he had been forced to lean against the wall with just the one leg balancing him. He ran a hand through his scruffy hair, gripping it between his fingers. The villains wouldn't have to hunt him down in here. They would just have to leave him to starve, or to go insane. Jared wasn't sure which would come first. He was already starting to feel an uncomfortable rumble in his stomach.
If these people truly wanted to drive him mad it was definitely working. He was certain that he could hear someone calling his name from far off.
"Jared!?"
He looked up sharply. That wasn't in his head. The voice was calling for him from the tunnel opposite. As he looked down yet another endless passage no different to the countless others he had always walked, he saw a faint glimmer of purple against one of the walls. Immediately his hopes rose. He recognised that glimmer.
Sure enough, as he walked towards the glimmer, he saw upon the purple outline of one of Anny's portals. She had chosen to follow him after all. As he was wondering why she was there, and poked her head out, looked left and right, and smiled as she saw him.
"There you are." She exclaimed.
"Why are you here?" Jared asked, approaching the edge of the portal, a little cautious in case it closed suddenly again.
"I delivered Officer Davies to Aries and Silver Streak." She explained.
Jared blinked sharply. "Wait, Silver Streak is here?" He said.
"He and his group heard we were in trouble and came to help." Anny explained quickly. "They told me to find you and the others and bring you back to the surface."
"Tell them I'm not going back yet." Jared instructed her stubbornly. "I'm not going back up until we've found and rescued everyone."
"I already told them that." Anny said, leaning a little further out of the portal as she rocked on her knees. "So, they told me to come back and help you, and that's what I'm going to do. I won't fight these people, but I will help you rescue the others."
Jared was all at one surprised, relieved and grateful. She had been so set upon fleeing when they spoke last, and that had been barely fifteen minutes ago. It appeared that all she needed to change her mind was instructions from their teachers. It did make him feel a little annoyed that she didn't value his decision making as much as theirs, but he didn't allow himself to focus on something so petty right now.
"Okay." He stated, folding his arms across his chest. "So, we need to find the others and get out of here. How do we do that? I've been wondering around this maze for the last ten minutes and I haven't seen any sign of anyone."
"I told you I can reopen their portals." Anny reminded him. "Well, I sensed that one of them had been opened just here." She pointed at the wall ahead of her. Jared turned to follow her finger. There was nothing unusual about the wall. It looked just the same as all the others in this awful place. Yet Anny appeared to be certain that the enemy had a portal there.
"How can you tell?" He asked.
"There's a faint black trace on it." She told him. "Portal residue." She suddenly hopped out of her portal, and it closed sharply behind her. Jared jumped again, fortunately not close enough this time to risk losing a body part. "I should be able to sense where it leads to if I touch it."
Jared had no idea how her sense was supposed to work, but if she was claiming that any of this was possible he had little choice to believe her. He already knew just how bizarre Quirks could be, and he had learned long ago not to question their working too much. "Is that safe?" He asked her.
"Should be." She explained. "So long as the user doesn't reopen it while I'm touching it."
Jared had a general idea of what might happen to her hand if they did reopen it at that moment, and he tried to block that image out of his mind. He watched as she walked towards the seemingly unexceptional wall and place her hand upon the metal at chest level. She appeared to be focusing, scrunching up her face in strain, though it was tough to tell from behind her hair. She stood there with her fingers pressing hard against the metal for a few seconds, and Jared watched her, thoroughly perplexed.
Finally she stepped backwards, her hand dropping back to her side. Her fingers looked a little paler than they already had been, having sucked the cold from the metal wall.
"This portal leads to another that opened seven-hundred-and-sixty-three metres westward two minutes ago." She stated robotically.
Jared's mouth opened slightly. "How... how can you tell that?" he asked quietly. He wasn't sure if he believed her. Rightful he was paranoid about trusting his classmates still, having been attacked by someone pretending to be one of them not too long ago.
"That is where the portal's creator was aiming to reach when he opened it." She explained. "The residue keeps a record of where a portal is connected. You cannot open a portal if there isn't another one for it to connect to."
Her explanation went straight of Jared's head. He nodded as if he understood, but in truth he felt more confused than he ever had during any of his secondary school classes. Right now it was easier to just accept what she was saying than to argue or try to disprove her. He couldn't even see the stuff she was talking about, so how was he supposed to disagree?
Anny placed her other hand upon the wall, and a moment later one of her portals had snapped open, spreading outward from the centre of her palm. When Jared looked through he didn't see the interior of her pocket dimension this time. Instead he saw another hallway and another metal wall ahead of them.
"This is where their portal was leading." She explained.
"It looks just like any other path." Jared muttered. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
"I said that this is where their portal leads." Anny said with narrowed eyes. "I didn't say that it would lead anywhere we want to go."
"So, if these villains went through here, is it likely they'll be nearby?" He wondered aloud.
"They opened their portal a few minutes ago, so it's possible." Anny said.
Jared's teeth clenched. If the enemy had gone through this portal then it was possible he and Anny would run into them. He wasn't completely sure if he was ready to fight them. That wouldn't stop him, however. Being incapable of winning had not discouraged him before and it wouldn't do so now, not when his classmates were in danger. Even if he couldn't win in a fight against these villains, he would do everything he could to get the others out of this maze... he would even put his life on the line.
"Do you want to go through?" Anny asked, seeing the uncertainty on his face.
He glanced at her, seeing that she was equally as unsure of what might happen if they went through the portal. Unlike her, however, Jared wasn't going to let his fear and uncertainty stop him from doing what needed to be done.
"Yeah." He growled quietly. He steeled himself for what might happen next... and stepped through the portal.
Jared was starting to learn that using portals as transportation could be very disorienting. When he had been dragged through the villain's portal he had been knocked about inside a dark abyss for a few seconds before falling out again. With Anny's portals, however, there was absolutely no transition from one point to another. When he stepped through her portal he was suddenly stepping out into a hallway that looked exactly the same as the last one. For a moment he didn't even realise he had moved across space. He looked back and saw the open portal behind him. Anny was looking back at him, stepping towards the portal in order to follow.
"Any sign of those villains?" She asked as she reached him. Her voice moved through the portal without any distortion, which only made the experience feel less real. Jared was sure there should have been some delay or reverb in her words. The experience ultimately felt no different to squeezing through an open window or walking through a doorway.
He looked right and left, glancing at each end of this new hallway for signs of an approaching or present danger.
"All clear." He declared, though he kept his voice low in volume in case he was wrong and one of their enemies heard them.
"Which way?" Anny asked, also taking a quick look at each end of the hall.
Jared wasn't sure. This path looked no different to any of the others. How was he supposed to know which way their enemy or their classmates had gone? He wasn't keen on splitting up, as it was very likely the two of them would get lost and be unable to find each other again.
"I think we should just wonder for a while." He suggested after a moment of thought. "Let's keep our eyes open and our ears keen, in case we see or hear anything important."
"Okay." Anny said.
They walked towards the left end of the passage. Like all the others, it split of into yet another passage.
"How big is this damn place!?" Jared murmured, annoyed to be back in this situation yet again.
"They have been creating portals all over the place." Anny told him, her voice becoming a less audible whisper now that they were both in unknown territory. "Some of them had several miles distance between each other. This maze could easily cover the entirety of Scarow."
That idea made Jared shudder. An underground labyrinth the size of a large city. If he hadn't found Anny he might have wondered through this place for months, perhaps even years, without coming across anyone.
"How are they finding their way around then?" He pondered.
"They must have known about this place before dragging you and the others down here." Anny suggested. "They probably scouted it out before-"
There was a sudden, loud clatter from the passage just ahead of them. Anny squeaked and jumped, her body rigid in fear. Though Jared had also been surprised, he hadn't been frozen to the spot like her, and he continued to walk towards the sound's origin, though he did so a bit more cautiously now. Anny stayed put, apparently ready to retreat into one of her portals the moment a threat showed itself.
As Jared approached the end of the passage he could hear a voice coming from a new passage that branched off to his right. Whoever was speaking was not trying to hide, in fact they spoke with a volume that demanded attention.
"Come on out, little rat!" They bellowed, their voice echoing off the walls. "Stop playing hide and seek! This game is getting old!"
He recognised that voice. He felt his hairs stand on end as he heard it. The shape-shifting villain was down that hallway. Jared pressed himself against the wall, his ear almost protruding round the corner as he strained to listen.
"Stop yelling! You're scaring them off! How can you expect them to come out when you're acting like that?"
This voice was new. It was clearly a woman's, though their voice was impressively deep and guttural. It made Jared imagine a female bodybuilder. He was certain that if he peeked around that was what he would see.
"Can't I have a bit of fun in this lousy job?" The shape-shifting villain asked his female companion.
"So long as you actually get the job done." The woman snapped back. "How many of them have we gotten so far?"
"I managed to take down that police officer." The shape-shifter stated in a sulky voice. "And I was able to use him to trick that one boy. I had him cornered, too, but then he disappeared into a portal."
"You let him escape?" The woman said, disappointed.
"He said he was Quirkless. How was I supposed to know he was lying?"
Jared's concentration broke for a moment. They thought he had opened that portal? It was a strange conclusion to come to, but one that might end up benefiting him in the long run. If they thought he was capable of creating portals then they might focus their attention purely on him, allowing Anny, the real portal maker, to find and rescue the others. He would have to distract them first to give her that opportunity.
"You believed him?" The woman was now scolding her companion.
The man didn't say anything, but Jared got the impression that he had responded with a shrug or an uncertain hand gesture, because the woman let out a fed up sigh.
"Unbelievable!" She grumbled.
"Okay then, what happened to the two you were hunting?"
"They managed to slip away from me." The woman complained, though in a quieter voice that tried to hide her shame. "I had one of them literally in my grasp, and she managed to slide herself free."
"She kicked you in the shin." The man said with disappointment. "Of all places, that's your Achilles heel?"
"Shut up." The woman snapped.
"Why are we even bothering with these kids?" The man complained. "This place goes on forever. Why not just leave them here? They'll never find the exits by themselves."
"Al said we have to make sure any intruders are dealt with." The woman reminded him. "No one must know of our plan."
"Yeah, but Al's being paranoid." The man complained. "What are a couple of kids going to be able to do to stop us?"
"They're trainee heroes." The woman said.
"Yeah, but they're not real heroes, are they. Let's just leave them here to starve and get back to the others."
There was a deep tutting sounds, apparently coming from the woman. "Working with you, Geoffrey, is like trying to herd cats." She complained.
"It's not easy for me, either?" The male villain, who Jared now knew was called Geoffrey, grumbled back at her. "All you want to do, Jael, is punch someone... usually me."
"You keep making me angry!" The woman, whose name was apparently Jael, exclaimed. There was another clattering sound. It appeared she had thrown something at one of the walls.
"Don't do that!" The male villain exclaimed in panic. "You don't know how lucky I was that he dropped it. It could be real useful."
"It's a children's toy!" The female villain retorted. "It looks like it could barely fire a foam dart."
Jared felt his stomach plummet. He had just realised what they were throwing around. His suspicion that they had taken his stun gun had indeed been correct, except instead of using it as a weapon against him and his classmates they were instead throwing it around like a rubber ball for some light entertainment. The thing had probably been damaged beyond repair now, useless to both them and him.
"Give it here!" There was the sound of a petty struggle, before the man exclaimed in triumph. "I guess all those muscles are just for show if you can't stop my skinny as from taking your toy." He mocked.
There was a loud growl in response, which Jared could only assume had come from the woman.
"Hey, easy, I was just joking!" The man suddenly stated, sounding terrified. "Don't you let lose your roid rage on me!" The growling quietened down a moment later, and the man sounded quite relieved for this. "This is why you can't find a man, you know." He commented.
"Shut up!" The woman growled.
"I'm just saying." The man continued. "I could give you some tips if you like. I've got plenty of experience in that area. For starters you could try smiling every-so-often. Men like it when women smile at them. Also, do more to show off your cleavage. I know that most of what you've got around there is just muscle now, but-"
"Geoff, I swear if you don't shut up I'll shove all three of my fists up your skinny arse!"
"Hey, don't tempt me with a good time! I hear they call you Tritan for a reason!"
"Geoff!"
"All right, all right..." The man trailed off, having gotten the obvious message.
As much as this had been a very interesting conversation to overhead, it hadn't revealed much that would be of use to Jared. It had given him a few things to work with, however. These two clearly didn't like each other, and they probably weren't working together because they wanted to. Perhaps he could do something to make them turn on each other. It was also very clear that the man, Geoff, was intimidated by his companion, Jael. She appeared to be much larger and stronger than he was. That could also play to Jared's advantage. He suspected that fighting her would me a much tougher ordeal. If they still had his stun gun in a working condition, however, they might not have to bother with fighting him. The shape-shifting villain could just stun him and take him down with little effort. Almost certainly the two would work together to fight him, so he would have to come up with some kind of plan to keep the fight going for a while, so that Anny could find the others and escape.
"What's happening?" A voice whispered in his ear.
Jared almost screamed. He jumped and spun around on the spot. Anny also jumped, launching herself half a metre backwards. She had been so close to the side of his head that Jared had almost headbutted her as he spun around.
"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed, both startled and fearful that the villains might have heard them.
"You were sat here for a while, just listening." She complained, placing one of her small hands upon her chest and feeling her heart thud. "What can you hear?"
Jared gave himself a moment to relax his breathing and slow his heartbeat before answering her. "Two of the villains are arguing." He explained. "I overheard them. It sounds like they haven't found any of the others yet, but they're still looking."
"What should we do, then?" Anny asked, expecting Jared to have a plan.
The truth was, Jared didn't have a plan. During the Criminal Apprehension Exam he had been able to come up with a strategy to defeat the Bomber, but the situation then had been very different to this one. Firstly he had been working with six other students, and he'd had all of their quirks and talents to work with. Right now it was just him and Anny, and he knew that she wasn't going to help him during any fight. Secondly there had been no direct threat on his or anyone's life. Even though he had believed at the time that the Bomber was a real villain, he had known subconsciously that none of the academy's teachers would allow any of the students to be seriously hurt or killed. These villains, however, were the real deal. If given the opportunity, they would kill him and any of the others. Thirdly he'd had support from his friends and teammates. Though not all of them had been helpful, he had received a lot of assistant from Aaren, Elijah and, eventually, Jason. They had played a part just as big as his, perhaps bigger in some cases. Finally, there was one big detail that made the situation different. His plan didn't work. He had been able to track down their target, but when it came to confronting him the faux-villain had been able to not only defend himself effectively but perform a counter attack. If not for Jason's sudden change of heart their group might have failed the exam.
He felt like a mountain of pressure was rising upon his back, pushing through his spine and weighing his entire body down. He had to find his classmates and rescue them as soon as possible, but so long as these villains were looking for them they would be in danger. He didn't know how to find the others. He didn't know how to get them out of this place. He didn't know if he could beat these villains in a fight. There was one thing he did know, though.
He knew he could distract them.
"I don't know where the others are..." Jared declared, turning back to Anny, "...but you need to find them and get them back to Aries and the others. I'll do everything I can to keep these villains focused on me. Use that time to get them to safety."
Anny actually looked concerned for him now. "But... you can't fight them alone. They'll... they'll kill you..."
"I don't care." Jared told her. He put on the bravest face he could manage, but even as he did so he felt that façade slip a little. He was afraid for his life, but that fear was nothing compared to the guilt he would feel if he did nothing. If the others died because he chose to be a coward he would never be able to live with himself. It would be better to die and give them a fighting chance than live and know that they had never escaped this maze.
Anny looked at him solemnly. She appeared to have given up on arguing. She stepped back and turned towards the wall, placing her hand upon its cold surface. "I'll come back for you once they're safe." She said.
Jared nodded. He wouldn't mind that so long as they were rescued first. He doubted she would get to him in time, though. This place was apparently massive, and one person could only search it so quickly.
A portal opened, and Anny stepped through. She gave him a momentary glance and a nod of good luck before disappearing into it. When the portal closed, Jared yet again felt that he was alone. This time, however, it was not a fearful loneliness. Instead it was a brave loneliness, the kind that the last surviving warrior in an army might feel as he faces down the enemy horde, knowing that he is all that stands between those he loves and those he hates.
Squashing down any fear that still resided in him, Jared stepped around the corner.
He had momentarily expected an immediate reaction from the villains. He had thought they were facing towards his end of the passage. However, as he turned the corner he realised that they were both walking towards the other end, their back to him and apparently still bickering. He could see the woman now, and he realised that she was indeed covered in bulky muscles. Her most unusual feature, however, was the third arm that extended out of the right side of her navel, stretching out bellow the ripped rim of a white tank top and above the sliding waistband of a pair of beige boxing shorts. Her clothing was similar to the kind Aaren usually wore, except Aaren's clothes fitted her. This woman looked ready to split her shirt in half with a simple flex of her pecks.
A few seconds later and they still hadn't noticed him, too wrapped up in their continuing argument about what they should be doing, why they should be doing it and who was more capable at their job. Jared hated to admit it to himself, but he was a little annoyed. He needed them to focus on him. He had been expecting them to do so the moment he stood out in the open. Instead it seemed he would have to force their attention onto him.
He inhaled a lungful of air, counted to three, and then bellowed at the top of his voice "HEY!"
The two villains jumped in surprise. Jared heard the thud of the muscular woman's feet as they struck the hard metal floor. They both spun around on the spot, and finally they noticed him.
"Oh, look who it is!" The man declared, put on the sinister hissing voice he had used when Jared had been ambushed by him. It didn't work this time. Jared now knew how cowardly and pathetic this man really was. Behind that creepy behaviour and that disturbing transformation was a man who lacked motivation, courage and any actual menace. He seemed to prefer complaining over getting any actual work done. How could Jared feel intimidated by him anymore?
"Is this the kid that escaped you?" The muscular woman asked, her three hands clenching into readied fists.
"It certainly is." The shape-shifting man answered.
Jared wasn't completely sure on what to do next, but he knew he had to keep their attention. Instead of beating around the bush and trading quips and taunts, he instead chose to jump straight to the action.
"Fight me!" He declared, readying himself into his fighting stance.
"Oh-ho! No foreplay, straight to the good stuff?" The man declared in excitement. He rolled his shoulders and flexed his arms in a pathetic display. "Alright, have it your way."
He raised Jared's stun gun, but to both their surprise the woman held a hand out and stopped him from firing.
"No. Let's do this the usual way first." She stated.
Though the male villain was at first annoyed by her interruption, that opinion quickly changed to excitement.
"Yeah." He agreed, his hiss now present in his voice again. "Let's leave the toys to the end, shall we.
Jared looked at the both of them, studying their stances, their movements, the feet they preferred, the hand movements they made. Two against one did not provide promising odds, but Jared had fought more opponents at once. The difference this time was that those opponents had been bullies in the schoolyard. They could only go so far with their aggression. These people were criminals, wanted fugitives. Almost certainly they had experience in fighting with heroes and law figures, and it appeared they had pretty good control over their Quirks. Fighting the Anderson twins had been tricky, and he had lost that fight. He would have to push himself even harder if he wanted to hold his own long enough for the others to escape. A doubting sensation at the back of his head insisted that he didn't stand a chance. At one point in his life he might have listened to that doubt. That time had passed. His classmates were still lost in this place, in danger of being attacked by these people. He would not abandon them just to save his own skin. If there was even a slight chance that he could win this fight he would strive for it with all his might. He slipped his right hand into his power glove and readied for a fight.
The woman moved first
She charged towards him, head lowered and all three of her arms raised. He could hear her heels squeak upon the floor as she pushed off. The man began moving a moment later, though his approach was much slower, barely a fast walking pace. Jared focused his attention on the woman.
She started by swinging a right hook punch. He ducked underneath it, sliding past her and moving around her back. He now had the two villains placed on either side of him. In this cramped hallway this was no exactly beneficial, but he couldn't allow them to both attack him from the same direction at one. If they did that they could overwhelm him.
The woman spun around, swinging at him with an outstretched arm. Jared raised his arms to block, but as her arm approached he saw the skin on her elbow ripple. Another arm suddenly sprouted from it, the hand clenched into a fist. Jared hadn't noticed that the arm sprouting from the woman's stomach was now gone, having shrunk back into her body. This was her Quirk then?
The newly formed fist struck him in the face. Blood flew upwards across his vision. He was certain she had damaged his teeth, but this didn't bother him for long. He recovered by ducking as another punch from the left followed after and scooting backwards, realising just how much distance he would need to avoid this muscular woman's unusual Quirk.
Only now he was moving closer to the skin-shedding villain, and his back was open to attack. At least he had an idea of how his Quirk worked. It wouldn't have much use in combat, unless he could manipulate the skin he shed.
The villain named Skin-walker swung his balled fist downwards with unnecessary grace and flamboyance. This ended up benefiting Jared as it made his attack very easy to predict. He simply dodged sideways out of reach, sliding around the side of the man, trying to place both his opponent in front of him.
"Oh no you don't!" The skin-shedding villain roared as he swung his left arm upwards. Jared leaned backwards quickly as the punch narrowly avoided his chin, instead sailing upwards and hitting only the vacant air above them.
His opponent had been stupid enough to warn him before attacking. Now that his attack had missed he was left open. Jared followed up with a roundhouse kick, striking the fully grown man in the side of the head with the edge of his shoe. He left a harsh red mark upon impact. The villain stumbled backwards, stunned. Jared now had a chance to press the attack, to overpower and quickly defeat one of his two opponents. He took it without a second thought.
The male villain had manged to recover by the time Jared's next attack landed. Another kick, aimed yet again at his head, except this time Jared was turning his whole body around with the movement. The moment his first kick had landed he would leap up to perform a second. Aaren had done something similar once during one of their sparring lessons.
However, there was one thing he had forgotten to account for. The villain had one of his hands to his cheek, nursing the bruise he had just received. Jared failed to notice this before swinging his leg up. By that point it was too late to avoid it. The villain lashed out with that hand and grabbed Jared by the ankle, pulling hard upon his leg and unbalancing him. A moment later and he was falling backwards, leg raising higher into the air. He tried to follow through with a second kick, but it missed his opponent's face and ended up caught in his other hand.
"Got ya legs!" The villain taunted, hanging the young man a foot above the ground.
Jared struggled, kicking violently. His hoodie was sliding down his face, blocking his vision behind blue fabric.
"Stop playing around and finish him!" The woman bellowed, having now reached the two scuffling boys. Her third arm had returned to its position upon her navel, and all three sets of knuckles were pounding together threateningly.
The villains had him caught like a trout upon a fishing hook, and if he didn't immediately do something to escape they would be able to use him as their punching bag.
As he kicked and struggled his legs became caught around his capturer's arms. This was exactly what he needed. With a sharp twist of his entire body, he pulled the villain's arms around his legs, and in turn forced them to push against each other. With the sudden pressure and sharp movement, the villain let go of him, and Jared dropped to the ground, landing on his outstretched arms. He felt a sharp pain in his wrists but paid no attention to it. Instead he quickly manoeuvred himself onto the tips of his feet and pushed himself of the ground like and Olympic sprinted.
He used this sudden propulsion to charge at the woman this time. He rammed his shoulders into her stomach, performing a rugby tackle in an effort to bring her down. Sadly it didn't end up doing much. Though she was winded by the attack, the female villain barely budged. Now she had an opportunity to grab Jared with her extra arm.
Jared, however, had been expecting this, and as he saw her arm swing towards him he dropped to the ground, releasing his grip around the woman's muscular chest. He narrowly avoided being scalped by her clenching hand as it passed over his untidy hair. Now that he was lying prone, he chose to act by sliding himself across the ground and through the woman's open legs. He kept his face looking downward, not wanting to stare up into whatever lied within those boxing shorts. The woman exclaimed in awkward surprise, but by the time she reached down to grab him Jared had already gotten back to his feet behind her. With her defences lowered and her back open for attack, Jared struck her in the spine with his right fist. His power glove extended its ram into her flesh, increasing the physical force behind the strike.
The female villain yelled in pain, stumbling forwards, her back hunched and her shoulders tense. She turned and glared at him, her third arm moving from her stomach to her neck so it could soothe the bruise.
"That's not fair, if he's using his gadgets!" The shape-shifting villain complained.
"Shut up and help me!" The woman growled, her anger rising. Jared was starting to see why the shape-shifting villain was afraid of her. The hatred that now resided in her voice and her eyes was animalistic.
It was that rage that now encouraged the skinnier, smaller man to help more efficiently. He took centre position in the fight, standing in front of his companion and holding his clenched fists in front of his face. Jared already knew that he would be the least troublesome of his two opponents. He doubted he could bring the muscular woman down, but he had a chance with this guy.
The fight continued. Jared focused upon avoiding their attacks instead of landing his own. He didn't need to outright beat them in this fight, all he needed to do was distract them. He might have to do this for a while, but he had plenty of energy and adrenaline rushing through his body, and he felt confident he could hold his own for at least a few minutes. Would that be long enough for Anny to find and rescue the others? He had to hope so. He couldn't expect her to come back for him. If things went south, he might have to run and hope that they chase after him. If not, he would stand a fight.
He ducked under another swinging fist from the muscular woman. Though she was evidently very strong, she lacked speed. Her normal attacks could be easily read. The danger came with her ability to relocate her third arm. Several times Jared had narrowly missed a sudden incoming punch from a body part that was normally of no danger to anyone. It appeared to take a few seconds for the arm to move, however. It had to travel across her body, it couldn't just appear wherever it wanted. After a few tests he noticed that it took about three seconds for the arm to move from her front to her back. Now that he knew this he used it to his advantage. He continued to evade around her, sliding underneath her punches and dancing around her kicks, luring that third arm all across her body until it could no longer keep up with him. Once that happened, he attacked, striking her in her most vulnerable spots.
"Ghaa!" The female villain gasped as Jared's fist struck her in the stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. "G-Geoff-!" She almost retched as she called her companion's name.
Jared turned. Last time he had checked the shape-shifting villain had pulled back, afraid to keep fighting him. He had witnessed the games Jared was playing with the stronger of his two opponents, and apparently he had decided not to take part. That meant that Jared could focus his attention on her. Perhaps he did have a chance at defeating them both. They weren't nearly as tough as he had first thought-
A sudden jolt of electricity shot through his body. Jared felt every one of his muscles clench and every single nerve in his body sparked up and screamed in pain. He was hardly conscious of the yell that escaped his mouth, nor was he conscious of the fact that he had suddenly fallen to his knees. His body writhed, out of his control, shuddering and flailing under the instruction of an electrical current.
"Play dirty with us, will ya!" The shape-shifting villain exclaimed. "How d'ya like a taste of your own medicine?"
Jared was just about able to turn his head. His stun gun was held in the villain's hand. The prongs had been fired, and he could see the copper leads stretching from the weapon and towards his back. They had used his own tools against him. He had suspected they would do so, but he had been so caught up in the fight that he hadn't even noticed him draw it.
The female villain straightened up again, a horrible grin that revealed many yellow teeth spreading across her face.
Unlike her companion, she didn't say anything witty. She simply pulled back one of her normal arms and punched him right in the face.
Jared fell backwards, not quite feeling the pain of the impact behind the pain of being tased. He hit the ground, stiff as a board yet shuddering in continuous pain. Was this how the Bomber had felt when Jared had used the stun gun on him? Now that he was on the receiving end of such a weapon he was starting to feel less proud of its presence in his life. It might not be able to kill anyone, but inducing such debilitating pain was surely no better.
"You shouldn't have gotten cocky, kid." The man said, looming over him. The dull lights of the maze spread his shadow across Jared's face.
The electrical sensation stopped a moment later, but Jared no longer felt capable of standing up. Every muscle in his body ached and shuddered. His arms and legs could not muster the strength to push him up. He could barely move his fingers, in fact he could barely feel his fingers.
"I said before, that was a good move..." The man shook his head, and Jared wasn't sure if he was genuinely disappointed or if he was mocking him. "...But it wasn't good enough."
Jared tried to roll over. It was a struggle, but he managed to move himself onto his left side. He ended up lying on top of his left arm, his hand extending limply across the ground.
"Screw you!" He spat, a hot anger rising inside him. He had not expected to win this fight, but now that he had lost he felt the same frustration and disappointment that usually accompanied his failures. He could barely move anymore. He was at the mercy of these villains. That wouldn't stop him from trying to fight, though. "You bastards..."
The man laughed, this time definitely mocking him. "I think he has something to say." He said to his companion. The both of the laughed at him, looking down at his defeated body.
"You bastards... are nothing...!" Jared gasped. He tried to move again, but still he could not rise. He was not going to give up yet, no matter what they did to him. He had to keep fighting. He had to keep them distracted. "You... don't know... half the shit... I've... put up with...!" He grunted. He managed to roll onto his front now, stretching out with his left arm. His fingers almost grabbed the female villain's foot.
"Really? What's a little sprog like you had to put up with, hey?" Skin-Walker asked.
Jared spat blood onto the ground, coughing as he tried to push himself up. "I've... had... worse beatings... than this...!" He growled. "From... worse people... than you...! People... with worse Quirks... than yours...! I fought them... all by myself... and I did it... without a Quirk!"
"So you really are Quirkless?" The man mused. "I was wondering why he wasn't utilizing his portals." He said to the other villain. "That means another one of them did that. That'll be a problem."
"I... won't... let you... hurt... anyone else!" Jared gasped. He was getting his strength back little by little. If he could keep them talking he could regain his strength, just enough to get back onto his feet and keep fighting.
"Come on, kid. Look at yourself. You can't even stand up anymore." Skin-Walker mocked, gesturing at Jared's body with his skinny arms. "You didn't stand a chance against us."
"I don't care...!" Jared wheezed. "It doesn't matter... if I can win or not." He tested his weight, and found that he was able to lift himself half an inch of the ground. His arms and legs were regaining their strength. Just a bit longer... "I won't... let you... hurt anyone...! I won't... because that's what a hero would do!"
"A hero." The two villains laughed at him, a deep, guttural laugh that Jared had heard from so many mouths before. "You're no hero, kid. You're just a little rat who hasn't realised how small he actually is!"
The female villain raised her foot and brought it down upon Jared's left arm. Her heel connected with his wrist.
He felt a crunch, and a second later he was screaming. An uncontrollable yell escaped his mouth, sharp pain shot up his arm and searing tears fell down his cheek. He could no longer feel his hand. All of the strength that his body had been regaining was immediately lost again. He gripped his shattered wrist with his one good hand and screamed until his throat felt raw.
"You see?" Skin-Walker hissed. "What kind of hero cries after breaking their hand?"
He kicked Jared in the ribs, and the already injured and defeated teenager flinched, holding his broken hand to his chest.
"We're done here." The muscular woman declared. "Stop messing with him and let's get this job done.
Jared felt a foot press against the side of his head. Its weight pushed his skull hard against the cold metal floor. He hadn't even noticed how cold it was lying there until now. He had been such a fool to think he could win a fight against these villains. What madness had taken him over? He was no hero. He was just a foolish, arrogant, Quirkless-
No..!
No he wasn't!
He reminded himself of why he had done this. He had willingly used himself as bait so that Anny and the other members of his class might escape with their lives. He had made a stand against impossible odds and stood his ground I the face of danger and failure. If he died to protect someone else then it would not be in vein. He would be a real hero, for the first time in his life. In these last moments of his life he would prove that everyone who had ever doubted him was wrong.
He could only hope that he had given them enough time to escape.
"One rat down." Skin-Walker declared with a satisfied hiss. "Now, to uproot the rest!"
And the foot pressed down.
I don't have a question for you this time. I just want to quickly apologise for the long delay in this chapter. I have been feeling less motivated recently, and I'm sure that's been showing in my previous chapters too. I'm sorry if there has been a drop in quality because of this. I'll do the best I can to improve my output speed and writing quality from here on.
Also, one small request. I usually ask for people to give me feedback, but because of my current lack of motivation I've been rereading my already released works and trying to improve them in any way I can. Since you guys are reading these chapters as I release them, and your perspective on this story with certainly be different to mine, could you suggest any improvements or adjustments that might improve its quality. I won't demand you do this, of course, but if you can and want to suggest anything I will be open to it. I've gotten really useful feedback in the past and because a lot of you apparently enjoy this story I want to make sure that that continued. After all, I could write this story just for myself, but that wouldn't make me feel anywhere near as good as writing it for someone else to enjoy to.
Sorry for the long wait. Thank you for your patience.
