Kian 6: I take part in a deathmatch

Kian's POV

I found myself in the living room and with a glance at the clock, it was 11 PM.

But that shouldn't be possible, I was in bed by 9:30 PM at least, Dad always made sure to tuck me into bed at a reasonable time. He said that sleeping in a schedule was healthy and made you wake up feeling better

I heard breathing behind me and turned around. To my surprise, my parents were sitting next to each other. Mum was looking at a picture and seemed to be...crying? That was surprising, I never saw her crying at anything. Even if she did, she would only spare a single teardrop.

"Those memories are coming back," Mum said. "Sending him, I don't think that was a good idea."

Dad sighed and looked at Mum. "Does he know what they mean?"

She shook her head. "Blissfully unaware what they mean as of yet. I strengthened the seal so it should be enough to stop it from leaking."

Dad put his hands together and slouched over. "We...can't keep this from him, sooner or later he's going to have to know."

"We aren't, it's just for long enough. They're kids, little tiny adorable kids that shouldn't know this." Mum cried into Dad's shoulders. "I should have been there to protect her, all I could do was to see the aftermath."

"She gave us a chance to move on, choosing to sacrifice herself for him." Dad put a hand on Mum's blonde hair and played with it gently. "I just hope we're strong enough to tell him what happened."

Mum agreed with a 'hmmm' noise. "It feels only so long ago that I held him in my arms, so teeny and so tiny. Remember when he used to put his little arms out so I could lift him. He was such a cute baby!"

Dad agreed. "They grow up sp fast, next thing you'll know, he'll be 18, grown-up and independent.


BEEP BEEP

I opened my eyes to the ringing of my digital alarm. After making sure I was in my bedroom and not anything else like another dream, I looked at the display. A bubbly feeling filled my stomach and it wasn't just because I needed to go to the bathroom.

Start of September 2004

7:30 AM

This was the first day where I would go to Eden Academy, a high school where I would train to be a superhero. Everything I worked for, everything I dreamed for was just about to be accomplished when I go to this high school. After brushing my teeth, eating my breakfast and getting dressed, I just stood just in front of my mum, who was busy fixing my tie.

"Mum that's enough!" I complained as she tightened the tie. "I'm not going to be able to breathe!"

"Sorry," she chuckled. "It's just...I'm only going to get this moment once in my life. Seeing you grow up, that's something every parent loves to see."

"Well can you stop with the tie, I think you've done enough with it," I replied. "Mum, I wanted to ask you something?"

She moved to get my bag, making sure I got everything I was supposed to have. Pencils: check. Rubbers: check. Water bottle: check and double-check. She even loaded it with snacks when I got really hungry sometimes. "What is it?" she asked

"Can you tell me more about your friend?" I asked her

"Oh," she seemed to stop in place before starting again. "Well, she had-has I mean scarlet red hair."

"I like red hair!" I replied with a big smile. "It's so pretty."

Mum laughed and pat my head. " If she met you, she would love playing with you. She likes kids like you, always active and never standing still."

"Where is she?" I asked her. "I would like to meet her!"

Mum hugged me and kissed my forehead. "She's...busy so she can't visit. Sorry, Kian."

"Aw," I complained.

"But I'll tell you what, have a good day at school." Mum placed her chin on my head. "Be polite to everyone and treat everyone with how you want to treat them, okay?"

"I sure will!" I replied. "Bye Mum!"

"Oh, you almost forgot, you have PE today, here take your PE kit bag with you."


A few minutes outside

As I went to the broken and rundown school building called Edgewood Highschool, I was joined by Harry and Violet, both dressed up in the same school uniform as I. But unlike Harry and I, Violet wore a black plaid skirt instead of the trousers.

"So, you excited?" I asked her

She nodded. "I am. It's your dream, right? To be a superhero? I expected you to be more excited!"

"I am, I am!" I replied. "It's just I'm letting it sink in. Besides, I don't know if this is true unless I've been there you know?"

"That's good enough." Harry grinned. "Suppose we did become Superheroes, what would our hero names be?"

"Isn't it a bit early for hero names?" Violet raised an eyebrow

"Come on, it's fun!" Harry chuckled.

Violet sighed. "I'll go first I guess. I would like my name to be...Sunshine."

"Eh?" Harry frowned. "All the names you could choose from and you go with that?"

"Well, a name is supposed to mean something right? My Dad calls me Sunshine so I think I'll go with it." Violet insisted. "So, have you got a cool name, or are you going to pick one that's already out there?"

Harry's brown eyes glinted with glee. "I'm glad you asked. My Hero name is-" he drummed his fingers on his knuckles to create a drumroll "-Pendragon."

"Your last name?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Well it already sounds cool, doesn't it? It means the head of the Dragon in Welsh. With a name like that, I can't let it go to waste!" he chuckled. "So, what about you Kian." He turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "What have you got?"

"To be honest, I don't have one. I can't go with Superman because that's already taken, isn't it? Come back to me when I have one." I said shyly

"Seriously, you don't have one?" Violet asked me. "With how much you liked playing hero, I thought you would have picked out a few."

"I thought I would too but I didn't, nothing I came up with seemed to stick with what I want it to mean." I sighed. "Sorry if I disappointed you."

Instead of getting angry at me, she simply grinned and patted my shoulder. "No, it's fine. I understand. If you don't have a superhero name now, then you can pick one when you're older."

"Yeah, that's right." I smiled back.

I don't know how long the journey to the school was but it was enough that I forget what we talked about on the way. What I do remember was that there were a lot of kids like me, dressed in the same school uniform but with different initials on their blazer. I checked mine seeing K.T stitched on the top left. Violet and Harry's were V.S and H.P respectively.

"Should we walk in?" Harry said. "It looks cloudy behind the gate."

"That's probably to keep up the illusion," Violet explained.

"We should go. Otherwise, we'll be late for our first day." I dashed ahead, going past kids just like us. I knew from the footsteps behind me that my friends were just behind me, all joining me in going through the gate.

As I stepped through, the cloudy, grey and fog ridden view was replaced with that of a sunny and clear blue sky, indicating that we now had been transported to Locus. I stood in the middle of the scene and admired the scene on the new planet.

"Hey, guys you-"

I bumped into someone and I sent said person tumbling into the floor. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, are you okay?!"

"Ow!"

The person who I knocked down was a short girl with blonde hair. She had tears in her eyes as she grabbed her hand. "I think I broke it! Chris help!"

I didn't know who this Chris was but I heard running and I glanced to see a blonde kid running to help her. He glanced between me and her and kneeled down to help her. "What happened?!"

"I-I'm sorry," I began. "I bumped into her and I think I caused her to break her arm."

This Chris person narrowed his eyes and the glanced at the little girl. She nodded slightly and Chris seemed to relax. "Thanks. It's a good reason I got here as soon as I did."

I went to speak but Chris grabbed her bag and pulled out a bandage and quickly wrapped it around the girl's arm. "You feeling better now?"

She wiped her tears away and nodded. "It does, thanks!"

"Sorry to interrupt," I said. "How do you two know each other?"

"I'm his twin brother," Chris explained

"Ah." I nodded. "I'm sorry about this, I didn't mean to hit your sister."

He shook his head. "It's okay, I don't think you hit her on purpose. You don't seem to be the kind of person who would go out of his way to hurt people would you?"

"No, I'm not," I replied proudly. "I'm-"

"Kian!"

I glanced behind me and saw my friends running towards me. "Where were you?" Harry asked me. "I thought we lost you!"

"I bumped into a girl and-" I turned around to introduce them to my friends but like what had happened about a month ago, they disappeared from where they were. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Violet asked. "What happened?"

"Kian?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did you see a pretty girl again?"

"Again?" Violet asked Harry.

"I'm sure they were real," I replied. "I even bumped into them!"

"Well, it doesn't matter if they were real or not. We've got to go!" Harry said urgently. "Come on!"


Assembly Hall

We made our way into a huge assembly hall and like you would expect, it was filled with loads and loads of students. Some were shorter, some were taller but from the atmosphere, I knew that these people were just like me, taking their first steps into this new school.

"How many people do you think are here?" Harry asked me

I shook my head. "I don't know. If I was guessing, maybe 200 kids?"

"That's a lot!" Violet stated.

"Where are you lot from then?"

Turning around annoyingly, there were 3 kids. What set them apart from us were that their initials were stitched on a fancy emblem instead of done normally like us. In fact, thinking about it, there were only a few of them like that around.

"What?" I asked one of them

"What's the name of your superhero family?" the person asked me again. "Your parents were superheroes right?"

"Yeah, they are. They're called Red Devil and Blue Angel. Do you know them?" I asked

"Never heard of them. Must be one of the weak ones, you know the ones that end up as sidekicks?"

"You what?!" I stepped forward. "I'm not going to end up as a sidekick dammit!"

They laughed mockingly. "Only those who have powerful evolutionary abilities end up as superheroes. And those belong to the prestigious families. I myself have the ability to turn my skin to steel, my brother here can control magnetic fields. What do you have that's better than us?"

I went to speak but Violet pulled me back. "He doesn't need to tell you. If you don't mind, mind your business."

"What?" the person scoffed. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Violet Schwartz." Violet smiled politely. "Lucas Schwartz daughter."

The smug look on the person in front me melted sharply. "No way! Lumen's daughter?! I'm sorry we disturbed you!" The two of them then dashed out there faster than I could say what happened

"What was that about?" Harry asked her

"My dad told me that some of them feel better than others simply because of there family. He said if that was to happen to me, just mention his name." Violet stated. "It worked a lot better than I thought it would!"

"They were dicks!" Harry complained. "If he saw what you did on Earth, I think they would change their minds, wouldn't they Kian?"

"I don't think they would change their opinion," I said bitterly. "They remind me of Varahad, if I meet him again, I'm going to punch him in the face."

I was going to go on and on about how I would beat my ex-primary school bully but I was interrupted by mic feedback. I turned to the front and in the middle of the stage was Noriel. He was dressed up in his green costume but he had given up his cape and held a microphone instead of that long piece of cloth.

"Good Morning everyone!" Noriel smiled proudly at us

All around us, the quiet whispering and talking stopped. They stared at him with respect and awe, like what would happen if you happened to bump into a football player of your favourite club.

"Now, first I have to congratulate you on getting here. It's something to be very proud off, earning the chance to attend a prestigious academy where heroes proudly call their alma matter." Noriel stated. "Many heroes have been in your steps, just about to begin their journey into their career as a superhero."

He then got serious. "But don't take this lightly. Just because you earned the chance to attend here, doesn't mean it will be easy. The challenges you will face are immense, you will have to sacrifice heavily to get where you want to. Being a superhero isn't easy and some of you might not make it through the intense challenges."

There was an atmosphere of tension in the assembly hall. All those hopeful faces (including mine) was now filled with a sliver of anxiety at what he just told us. I knew being a hero was tough but Noriel made it seem like it was harder.

"That being said." Noriel restarted his speech. "I believe despite the challenges you will face, you will all become strong in your own right. If we are to prevent further catastrophes, colossal loss of life like the disaster of 6 years ago, we must learn from our mistakes and become even stronger to prevent that. That being said, you can't become superheroes if you don't enjoy what you do. These years are some of your best, so enjoy it while it lasts. Welcome to Eden!"

A small round of applause started in the corner before it ended up with the whole room doing it. Noriel bowed and handed the mic to someone who went on and on about class allocations. I forgot it and instead turned to my friends.

"He doesn't sugarcoat things does he?" Harry asked me.

"Yeah, Dad always told me that being a superhero is hard work. I don't think that was just because he wanted me not to be one." I explained. "What do you think Violet?"

Violet nodded. "We're here until we're 18 so we better make some friends. Don't really want to spend the next 6 years just talking to you two."

"Hey!" Harry frowned. "What's wrong with us?!"

"Yeah!" I agreed.

Violet chuckled but she didn't get to say why she said that. Instead, she was interrupted by someone we didn't expect to see. "Hey," Rennan greeted us taking all three of us by surprise.

"Rennan what are you doing here?!" I asked him

"I'm a teacher. I teach." Rennan deadpanned. "What did you think I was a primary school teacher for?"

"Huh, that does make sense." Harry agreed. "What about the school? Don't you miss it?"

"Not really. After the fight, most of the school was destroyed. It's going to take a lot more money to rebuild it so they're going to demolish it." Rennan explained.

"Wait, really?" I asked him. "Can they do that?"

"They can. Cheer up, Kian. All those bad memories are gone now." Rennan pat my head. "You'll never visit that school again."

"I m-mean yeah it is," I replied. "I still spent 7 years there and it's all going to be taken down."

"Say goodbye to those bad memories," Violet said. "You can make good ones here."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, I will!"

"Did you get your class allocations?" Rennan asked the three of us.

"Yeah, all three of us were A-25?" I replied. "What about it?"

Rennan chuckled. "I'm the homeroom teacher for that class. I'll be seeing you for the next 6 years!" he beamed at us, proud that he would be our class teacher for the next 6 years.

"Really?!" I asked him. "T-That's amazing!"

"Get in!" Harry exclaimed. "We get our favourite teacher back!"

"Making friends is going to be easier when we have you to ask for help," Violet stated.

"So, err," I said. "Where's the class?"

"Oh right." Rennan snapped upright. "I came to get the last 3 from my class. The rest of my class is already there, they're very eager to meet you three actually. They don't know anything about me so they want to meet the ones who do know me." he chuckled and lead the way.


Class A-25

Rennan opened the door and after him I followed, walking into his class for the first time in months. The classroom was very spacious, in fact, the ceiling was probably 5 meters tall which I assumed was because there might be an alien who was very tall. The windows were also pretty big, letting the sunlight wash over the classroom and the other students.

"Are these the ones you taught on Earth?" someone asked Rennan. "Are they, are they, are they?"

"Yes, they are!" Rennan said. "You can ask your questions later, they just got here. Please make them feel welcome."

"Who are these guys?" I asked, hiding behind Rennan slightly

"These are your classmates," Rennan said proudly.

"Uh, hi!" I said nervously. "I'm Kian."

The boy who had asked Rennan the question smiled at me. He had hair so bright that it looked like it would burst into flames any second. "Hello Kian, I'm Leopold but most people call me Leo for short!"

"He seems like a happy guy." Harry deadpanned.

"You!"

I snapped my head to a blonde girl. I had to resist the shock at who it was because it was someone I had met before. "You're in my class?!"

"Um?" Harry asked me. "What's going on?"

I turned to Harry. "That was the girl I bumped into earlier, the one I told you about. I caused her arm to get hurt too. I'm still sorry about that."

"I understand it was an accident. Don't keep apologising."

"You too?" I asked the blonde boy sat next to the blonde girl. "You're in my class as well?"

He chuckled. "Talk about a coincidence."

"You weren't lying about that, were you Kian?" Harry chuckled. "Well, apart from that one person you met in the station. She's still missing. I guess 2 out of 3 ain't that bad is it?"

"Think again."

"You!" I pointed my finger at the girl who just spoke. She sat on her table, her arms crossed and looking directly at me. "You just talked to me and vanished!"

"I had something to do," she replied. "So you know Rebellion."

"No way!" Harry looked at me. "You were telling the truth!"

"I always tell the truth!" I protested.

"Kian, Harry that's enough," Rennan waved a hand. "Go and find a seat, I need to take a class register and then I can take you all to your first class."

"Um, why?" Harry asked Rennan

"I have to. I can't have a bunch of first years going about Eden lost and not getting on to class on time. I'm only going to be doing this for the first week so you know when and where to go. Is that good enough?" Rennan explained

"That sounds like a good method actually. Why didn't they do this in our primary school?" Harry remarked

"Just sit down Harry, I need to take the register," Rennan commanded. "Find a place to sit and we'll start our day together. Understand?"

I nodded and the three of us took our seats, all of us decently close to each other. I took the seat by the window since I liked the sunlight, I always did since I was a child. It's probably why my skin became tanned, spend too much time out playing. Looking around the class, there were a lot of faces that I didn't recognise. They all looked human enough so it was like I didn't even step out of Earth.

"Marcel Lysander?" Rennan called out a name

~"I'm going to win, Kian!"~

~"Not if I do it first!"~

Again, a few images flashed in my head and I had to put my head on the table to try and figure out what happened. There was a kid, he had I think...red eyes and had a confident smile on his face. I didn't know who this kid was but I glanced at the person whose name was called.

"I'm here, Teach." He had one foot on the table and wore a very confident smile on his face like he was excited to be here. His tie was slightly messy and his black hair was streaked over his forehead, just about allowing his crimson red eyes to peer through them.

"Marcel put your feet down. You're not at home." Rennan said without batting an eye.

"Come on teach, why can't I do that," Marcel complained.

"Just because you have one of the highest test scores doesn't mean you can act like you own the place," Rennan replied. "Take your feet off the table before I have to make you do it. I don't want to be harsh on the first day."

Marcel grumbled and put his feet down. While he did though, the rest of the class started whispering about the test scores. The written part of the exam and physical part of the exam was both out of 100 so the total score was 200. In order to get in, you needed to score a total of at least 80

"What kind of score did you think he got?" Harry asked me. "I remember I got 140 out of 200. What did you get Violet?"

"145 out of 200," Violet explained. "Full marks on the written test."

"Same here," Harry replied. "Do you know your score?"

"Rennan just told me I passed so I guess I got above 80," I replied. "But I don't think I scored higher than you guys, I mean with my ADHD, I don't think I did well."

But before anyone could say anything, Rennan coughed and addressed the whole class. "I know you're discussing your test scores and some of you do know, some of you don't."

I shrank in my seat. I never liked it when test scores were readout. I always used to get called out by everyone in primary school because I was the one with ADHD. I still remember the looks that they gave me, me getting higher than them despite my learning disability. Even though I knew that I would never meet them again, it still lingered on the back of my mind.

"I'm going to tell you the scores of everyone present because I want you to know where you stand. Even if you have the highest score, you still have to work hard for what you want. That being said. Here are the scores." Rennan said

I was too anxious to pay attention, the scores ranged from 120 being the lowest to 145 which Violet had scored.

"Marcel, you scored 183," Rennan told us

"183?!" the whole class asked.

"That's right!" Marcel stood up proudly and laughed. "No offence to any of you but I'm going to be a better hero than all of you. Suck it!"

"Calm down, Marcel," Jazmine rolled her eyes. "Don't speak so soon. Rennan what's my score?"

"185," Rennan announced.

"How did you get that?!" I asked her

She glanced over to me but didn't answer my question. She returned her quick towards Marcel. "Don't treat your classmates as sidekicks, Marcel, then you won't have any friends will you?"

"Shut up!" Marcel complained. Even though he was trying to defend his point, his pale cheeks were starting to tinge with red. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have plenty of friends!"

"Ahem." Rennan coughed to stop this argument and turned to me. "Kian, your score is...180."

"What?!" I asked him. "Is that true?"

Rennan nodded and showed me the test scorecard that he pulled out of his pocket. "I have everyone's test scorecard. Kian you got 90 on both tests, I wanted to surprise you."

I sat in my seat gobsmacked. But some part of me scanned the faces of everyone present and expected them to look at me with disgust. 'How dare a disabled kid get higher than us?!' I was used to hearing.

But to my surprise, they instead looked at me with awe and wonder. "How did you get so high?!" Leo asked me, his hair so bright that it blinded me for a second. "People usually don't get more than 50 on both tests. That's amazing!"

Marcel grumbled. "I guess I know I'm not the only one with a good score." he then turned to me. "Work with me and we'll leave everyone here in the dust!"

"Er?" I muttered.

"Marcel," Jazmine said. "Just because he got around the same score as you, don't just change your opinion." she smiled to herself. "Is it because you feel lonely? Are you happy that you have a friend now?"

"Shut up!" Marcel shouted at her, red in the face. "Stop making fun of me!"

Jazmine smirked to herself and crossed her arms. She wore a blazer like mine but instead of a skirt like the blonde girl wore or Violet, she wore a pair of black trousers and let her auburn red hair loose and over her shoulders, just brushing past her lightning bolt earrings which I thought was cool.

"So, now that's all finished." Rennan put the register down. "Grab your PE kits, we have PE first thing!"


Sports Hall

We changed into our PE kits and met in the Sports Hall that was built for us. It was colossal, walls of at least 60m and wide enough to fit 10 large monster trucks. The walls and the roof were padded out with what looked like soft material.

"You know, we never exchanged names."

I turned around to see the tall blonde kid talk to me. "Oh, I think I know it already. It's Chris right?"

He nodded. "I am." He turned to his right and I could see his little sister peering behind him. "Do you want to say hello?"

She stepped out and I could see that she was really shy. I was like that when I was little but I had grown out of it but it didn't seem like she hadn't as of yet. "I'm M-Milena but call me Mia, please."

"Hi Mia, I'm Kian," I said as friendly as I could. "Nice to meet you."

She hid behind her brother's leg to my dismay. "Does she not like me?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Chris explained. "She's really shy, that's all. I've always been taking care of her ever since she was little. She has a rare condition in which her bones are as brittle as glass."

"Really?!" I asked horrified at this.

"She's had this since she was born. If she hits her arm too hard, it ends up breaking." Chris continued. "That's why I was worried for her when you bumped into her."

"Oh my god. Is she okay now?"

"Thankfully, it was just a bruise so it's fine. I want her to make friends here, I don't want to act like her older brother 24/7. Back where we came from, she didn't get the chance to make them, they would never play with her."

That struck a chord in me. I wanted to say that it happened to me, that I was treated like trash because of my disability. I was tormented throughout my childhood because I wanted to be a superhero and I wanted to tell her that she could trust me but unfortunately, I didn't get the chance.

"A-25. Welcome to PE!"

I turned to see someone new this time. This person looked about 20, maybe younger but he carried himself with authority and confidence. His steel-grey eyes glinted in the orange light.

"I'm Phoneix. At least, that's my hero name." he smiled at us. "So, are you ready to train?"

All of us stood there, hesitant to speak first. Rennan instead did it for us. "You're supposed to talk more, Phoneix," he grumbled at him. "Anyway," he faced at us. "Phoenix here is a superhero and also a teacher here. He's going to be the one behind the lesson for today."

Phoenix nervously chuckled. "That's what I was supposed to say! So let's start!"


Sometime later...

We had done a few laps, few circuit workouts and did some sprints. But after that, we were allowed to show our evolutionary ability off. Harry hadn't brought his suit so he didn't take part but he still wanted to watch what the others did.

We went in reverse order of test score and we had set up a bunch of test dummies so we can display our ability for the others to see it. There was a short Asian kid who electrocuted a test dummy, an Asian girl who screamed at one so it went flying into a wall, a tall dark-skinned guy who mimicked the property of steel by touching a bar and punching clean through the face of one.

"Leopold, show us what you got!" Rennan asked him

He excitedly dashed over and faced the test dummy. Within moments, the air started to cool and he thrust his arm out, shooting out an ice spike, impaling the test dummy in the stomach. "How was that?!" he asked Rennan

"Good. Chris?" Rennan asked as he wrote down something on his board.

"It's just what Nigel did." Chris rubbed his head. "I just have super strength so it's just going to be me punching through one."

"Okay, that's fine. What about you Mia?" Rennan asked her. "Do you want to have a go?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't."

"I see." Rennan sighed. "Well since Violet's power is non-offensive and Harry didn't bring his suit, Marcel show us what you got."

A wide smile formed on Marcel's face, so wide I thought he might end up cackling like the Joker. Instead, he excitedly dashed over and thrust his arm out. "This is why I'll be the best!"

He breathed in and out and in his right arm, and a few of purple-red spheres appeared. He brought his arm back and with a smirk, threw them against the set of dummies. As soon as it hit, small explosions went off and after the cloud of black smoke vanished, the dummies were covered in soot and parts of it were blown away.

"Everyone shows off and we have to pay for the damages!" Phoenix complained. "Well that's enough dummies for today, we've destroyed nearly-no wait, all of them!"

"That's a shame," Harry leaned his arm on mine. "Kian couldn't get to show off his powers."

"Wait, powers?" Marcel asked me. "You have more than one?"

"Yeah, what's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It's just having more than one power is considered a rarity."

"Has everyone had a go?" Phoenix asked us.

"I haven't." Jazmine raised her hand.

"Ah," Phoenix blinked. "You two haven't gotten a go to have you?"

"No, we didn't," I confirmed.

Phoenix looked around and something seemed to come up in his head. "Why don't you two spar with each other?" he told us. "I wanted to give you kids a chance to practise fighting against each other and now since we've run out of dummies, we can start with this."

"You can't be serious?!" Jazmine protested. "I don't want to fight him!"

"What?" Marcel chuckled. "Don't tell me that Jazmine Garcia is scared of fighting? Especially given that your f-"

"Shut up Marcel!" Jazmine barked at him, shutting him up in an instant. "It's not that. Don't you need some kind of qualifications to hold sparring matches?"

"You do and I have them," Phoenix replied. "If your teacher allows it, then you two can spar." He turned to Rennan who after a while of what looked like staring into thin air, nodded.

"You can but remember it is a spar, not a deathmatch. Everyone who is not Kian or Jazmine sit away from the fight, I'll get these two paddings."


While I was getting padded up, Harry and Violet came to support me like the good friends I knew they were. "You better show them what you can do, Kian. We all saw what you did to that monster back on Earth." Violet stated. "You better not take it easy since she's a girl."

I chuckled. "Are you kidding me, Mum told me to try my best regardless of gender. Trust me, I won't hold back in this spar." I tightened up my right glove.

"So what are you going to do?" Harry asked me.

"Well, I don't know what she can do. So I'm going to sit back and let me come towards me, that's my plan." I explained

I heard chuckling behind me and turned to see Marcel responsible. "That's not going to work as well as you think, Kian."

"Why not?" I asked

"I know what her ability is," he explained. "See, she and I sort of knew each other, ever since we were little actually."

~"You can't catch me Kian!"~

~"Yes I will!"~

~"Wait for me!"~

I rubbed my templed and again more images flashed into my head. There were streaks of bright orange and I could smell the fragrance of nature. I looked up at Marcel to see he was doing the same.

"Where was I?" he stared at me blankly before getting his sights on me. "Her power is something I call Speed Dash. It allows her to dash forward for a split second." Marcel went on. "If you try to let her come at you, you'll end up being punched or actually kicked around."

"Uh, thanks," I said. "But why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be supporting her? You guys are close right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Marcel laughed. "She's always so cool and confident in her abilities that when I see her lose, it that much funnier. Good luck, Kian." he patted my back and left to join the others.

"So," Harry left him to leave. "He's interesting."

"You can say that again!" Violet exclaimed. "Even if she asks me what your power is, I won't tell her about it."

"Me neither!" Harry proclaimed. "What kind of friends would we be if we betrayed each other?"

I smiled at them. "Thanks, guys."

"You ready?" I heard Renann's voice ask me.

I nodded. "I am."

"Good," Rennan nodded. "You better get on the mat."

I heeded his advice and went to the mat in the middle of the hall, my new classmates looked at the both of us with wonder and awe and I was starting to feel a little nervous at this. My dad used to teach me how to defend myself but I never had sparred someone in an actual match before. I had no time to think as I soon faced her

"You can back out if you want, I won't blame you."

Her pretty auburn red hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore green gloves and green shin pads. Given her dark blue PE kit, it complimented it perfectly. Her lightning bolt earrings were not with her this time.

"Why would I? You don't know what I can do!" I chuckled.

"You don't know what I can do either," she quipped. "There was a reason I got a high score. Hmm, I wonder, how did you even get a score like that. You don't seem the kind of person to be very powerful."

"Hey!" I protested. "I'm very powerful!"

She chuckled. "You better prove it to me then, Kian," she said my name like she was almost angry at me for being named that. When I was little, I asked why my parents decided to name me Kian. They explained it meant something along the lines of "wise king" so I was proud to have that, until of course Varahard somehow decided it was a girl's name, at least my full name of Kiannan that is. I had no idea why Jazmine didn't seem to like the name and I wasn't going to ask her either.

"Okay, listen up." I glanced to see Phoenix walk in front of us. "I'll act as the match referee. Standard rules, no biting, no kicking in the uh-sensitive areas and no eye-gouging. You aren't trying to kill each other so behave properly."

"Understood," Jazmine replied.

"Me too," I replied

"Okay, touch gloves and begin. You win the spar if you make them surrender or you manage to make them lose the will to fight. You can use your powers." Phoenix stated.

"How do you do that?" I asked Phoneix

"He means a dangerous position," Jazmine explained. "Let's say I managed to take you down and put my hand on your neck, you have no choice to surrender because I would just crush your neck. That sort of thing."

I nodded. "You won't be doing that to me!" I said proudly. "I'll show you just how good I am!"

"Ew, why would I put my hands on your dirty neck," Jazmine recoiled.

"Hey!" She was starting to get under my nerves now. It was one thing to appear out of random and then vanish making me look like a right old fool in front of Harry. Now, she called me weak and here she was calling me dirty! I made sure to take a shower every two days because I wanted to look my best all the time. She was going to get it now!

"Touch gloves and start," Phoneix stated

I put my hand out like he asked and waited for Jazmine to do the same. "What?" I asked her. "Do I need to take a bath before I fight you? Do you want me to not sweat when I move?"

She met my fist with hers. "No, it's fine. Let's go."

"Begin!" Phoenix backed off and that started the fight between me and her.

I started with a series of jabs, all attempting to get her right in the face. She dodged those attempts and launched a punch of her own which just brushed past my cheek. Deciding it wasn't working, I readied my right leg and kicked her right in the side and the impact made a satisfying noise.

"Not bad."

She had blocked the kick and before I knew it, she spun on the spot, attempting to sweep me off my standing leg. I lifted my left leg up barely and just managed to avoid getting swept. I tried to launch an attack of my own but before I could, Jazmine in a split second, appeared in my sight and she punched me right in the stomach

"Argh!" I doubled over and hugged my stomach, attempting to suppress the feeling of wanting to throw up my breakfast over the mat in front of my new classmates.

"Kian!" I heard Violet shout

"I'm fine!" I shouted back and stood up-albeit very weakly. I stared at Jazmine who looked none the different at what just happened. Some part of me thought that she used to punch boys in the stomach on the daily

"I'm impressed, Kian." Jazmine began. "No one takes a punch to the gut and stands up so easily."

"Yeah, well," I raised my arms up, pushing down that nauseating feeling. "I'm tougher than I look."

She grit her teeth and put her arms up again and she advanced. I readied my stance and paid attention to what she was trying to do. Jazmine spun around again and launched a kick towards my head. Seeing this coming, I ducked underneath it and while her back was left unguarded, launched a kick of my own to take her down

But I was not able to connect. I was sucker-punched in the face and sent reeling backwards. My left cheek was stinging and I felt a little dizzy as I tried to figure out what just happened.

"Kian!" I heard Marcel scream out. "That's her ability I told you about!"

Now it made sense! The puzzle pieces began to fall in place. "You used your speed dash ability to increase your reaction time, didn't you? That's how you managed to surprise me, isn't it, Jazmine?"

"Did it take you that long to figure it out?" she asked me. "Well now you know it, I guess I don't have to hide it!"

She crouched down like a sprinter and she narrowed her eyes at me. She clenched her hands, almost ripping the padding below her and before I knew it, an aura of orange sparks started to crackle around her. "You shouldn't have come here, Kian. Now stay down!"

She exploded from her starting position and rammed into me with what felt like the weight of a train. All the air in my lungs left sharply and I was sent tumbling through the room and hit the wall behind me. If there wasn't any padding behind me, I would have taken a very long nap.

She stopped just where I was launched and looked at me with pity and disappointment. "Just as I thought, you're weak. Do us all a favour and quit. We don't need weaklings like you. Kian."

My vision was blurry and it was getting hard to figure out how to beat her. It didn't help that my ears were ringing and I didn't know what Violet and Harry were thinking about this. I guessed that they would be concerned with the state I was in, I mean, you would too if your friend was sent crashing into a wall.

"Kian?!" I heard a voice. "Can you still stand?"

"If he has any common sense he'll forfeit," Jazmine said smugly. "Do you Kian? Now, do you see why I got the highest mark in the class? You're not cut out to be a superhero like this."

I had those heard those words before, from my peers at primary school to the monster that tried to hurt everyone on Earth. Being a superhero is what I wanted to do, being a superhero is what I wanted to become and I wasn't going to give up until I became one.

With all my effort, I got up. I was in bad shape and I had to take a few deep breaths to replace the lost air in my lungs. "I'm n-not giving up." I managed to mutter. "You think your the first person to call me weak, all my life I've been told that I won't be a superhero. They didn't stop me, and you won't either!"

Jazmine stared at me with surprise before she got in a fighting stance again. "Don't forget that I warned you."

She started to crouch and do the running thing again but I was ready to counter it. I dug deep and started to get fired up. I started to gather the rage I felt when she told I was weak, that I wasn't going to be a superhero. Within moments, a blazing warmth enveloped my body and I knew my body was reinforced with dad's energy, like the last two times.

She charged at me again, trying to send me into a wall again. I was ready to counter this time. Now that I was reinforced, I could now react faster and just as she was about to hit me, I punched her right in the stomach, sending her flying towards the padded wall.

My arm stung and vibrated because of the punch. Deciding to ignore it, I stood proudly in front of her. "You see what I can do, Jazmine?" I yelled. "Tell me who's weak now?!"

Her back was against the wall and her ponytail had come undone in the impact. Her now orange eyes now darkened to amber while she furrowed her brow towards me. Getting up, she almost growled at me like me standing up wasn't in the script. "How?!" she yelled at me. "Why did you not stay down?!"

"That's enough!" Phoneix announced. "Any more and you'll hurt yourself!"

"Shut up and let me kill him!" Jazmine stared at me with a sinister smile. "People like you shouldn't be a superhero, those who never give up ends up dead!"

I should have hot said anything but I couldn't just help it. "What?" I smirked at her. "Did your mum not teach you to play fair? Not happy that I can fight you now?"

She was speechless at what I said, that was for about a couple of seconds. Her eyes seemed to twitch. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I'll KILL YOU!" she roared. The orange sparks now intensified and her amber-orange eyes glowed brightly. "Take that back, Kian!"

"Make me!" I yelled back. "Don't ever call me weak! You have no idea what I've gone through, what I had to suffer through. I will be a superhero! Remember that, I won't just give up because you're stronger than me!"

She charged at me, leaving a huge gust of wind in her wake. With her sadistic glare, I knew she was trying to make sure that with the next hit, I wasn't going to get back up in one piece. I couldn't let her do that to me, now when she just insulted what my life goal was. Digging deeper again, I pushed the ability to reinforce my body and I felt the fire in me roar with furious power

She noticed this and as she started to dash towards me, she zig-zagged trying to throw me off her trajectory. It was clever but I came up with something on the spot to counter it. Instead of just waiting to be hit, I ran towards her with the strength I gained from my reinforcement. It took her by surprise and before she could react, I punched her in the face sending her stumbling back.

I didn't stop at that and started a relentless barrage, trying to make sure she forfeited the match. She blocked my punch and started to counter me. Both of us traded blows against each other, dodging and or counterattacking each other's attacks before we were at a standstill again. Neither one of us were able to make the other give up.

Jazmine was breathing hard and her face was now starting to sweat. "Take what you said about my Mum back!" she punched me right in the face. I tried my best to ignore the pain and kicked her in the chest, winding her in the process.

"Take what you said back!" I dodged a wild kick to my head and punched her in the stomach.

This went on for a while until I realised that this wasn't doing anything. I wanted to finish this with a special move and I thought of what happened a month ago, with what happened with a guy with the big arm. I shoved Jazmine away and managed to get a bit of distance on her

"What?!" she demanded. "Running away. You know I can catch you!"

"I'm counting on that!" I said through a cut lip. I wanted her to charge at me so that during the last second, I could push that ball of blue light into her and beat her, Naruto style. I breathed in and out and discreetly readied my right arm. I concentrated on a ball shape and started to feel the calmer fire fill my body again.

Jazmine cackled. "I'll make sure to hit your mouth, that way you can shut up!"

She readied herself to charge and I readied myself to ram a Rasengan into her chest before I felt a pair of hands go across my neck. "Kian, That's enough!" I turned around to see Rennan holding me back

"Wha-" I glanced back at Jazmine who now had 3 people on her. Marcel being one of them

"Jaz, that's enough!" Marcel struggled to hold her back.

"Get off me!" Jazmine elbowed him in the face. "Let me at him and kick his fu-" she was cut off when Violet put her hands over his nose and it seemed to glow with bright white light.

"Go to sleep," Violet commanded. "You've hurt Kian enough."

Her eyelids seem to get heavier and she closed them before she relaxed and fell on the mats. Phoenix had managed to hold her by the stomach, Marcel her legs and Violet managed to clamp her hands on her mouth and nose.

I breathed heavily and I felt a sharp flash of pain in my chest, probably just a bruise but I put my hand on it. "G-guys, whats going on?"

"We saved your life, that's what happened." Marcel wiped his cheek. "One hell of an elbow."

Violet glanced at me and ran towards me, grabbing my face as she looked at me. "Kian, are you okay? Did she hurt you, do you feel fine?"

"My ribs hurt." I coughed out.

While Violet helped me take off my sparring gear, I noticed that I had a lot more bruises on my body and it felt incredibly sore. I sat down, breathing heavily like I had run a marathon.

"Phoenix, next time you want my children to spar, do it on your own." Rennan scolded him. "That's the last time I'm allowing something like that!"

"I'm sorry too. I didn't know it was going to turn out like this." Phoenix replied sadly. "What do you want me to do now?"

"I'll sort out the mess. You take her to her father, I'll talk to Kian." Rennan stated and came over to me.

"Look I'm sorry-OW!" Rennan pulled on my ear.

"At what point did I ask you to treat this as a deathmatch?!" Rennan scolded me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I tried to get his hand away from my ear. "I just got too excited!"

Rennan stared at me with his amber-gold eyes before he let go. "Just promise me you won't get into deathmatches with your classmates. I don't think your mum wants to know that you got injured in a PE lesson would she?"

"I guess," I shrugged. "What about Jazmine?"

"She's fine. She's sedated but she'll be fine." Rennan explained. "If you two didn't treat this as a deathmatch, then you would have done well."

"Rennan," Violet said. "I don't have enough energy to heal all of his injuries."

"Take him to Lucas," Rennan explained. "He should be able to heal Kian."

Violet nodded and propped me on her shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll be okay." she beamed at me. "I won't let her hurt you."

"Thanks," I replied. "I don't know what I could have done without you."

That was the last thing we said to each other before she took me to see this Lucas guy.