Chapter 6

Viktor POV

"Alright listen up. I'm going to explain the rules. This is a Sky High sanctioned sparring match. The match ends when a person states clearly that they yield. No hitting below the belt, eye gouging, or foul play of any kind. Time will be fifteen minutes on the clock. Do you both understand the rules?" We nodded. "Good, now power up." I took a defensive posture. Julius did too, but I noticed that his eyes started to glow. I hadn't noticed before. "Ready...Begin!" Julius punched his fist forward and everything slowed down a little as I noticed the air ripple around his fist and move towards me at what I'm sure was a very alarming speed. I tucked and rolled under it and pushed off using all the muscles in my body to leap high into the air. He dropped to one knee fired two more pulses of shock wave energy from both hands. I twisted quickly in mid-air to avoid them. I landed right behind him as he stood up. So, I dropped and swept his legs out from under him. He fell but got back up as if nothing happened, which is when I went on the offensive.

I charged ducking, spinning and jumping to avoid his shock waves. It was easy since I had given my body over completely to my reflexes. Julius kept backing up and firing off shock waves, but I was getting closer. When I got within arms reach, I lashed out with my foot, but he caught it. So I leaped up and caught him across the face with my heel and back flipped out of his reach. I lunged at him before he had a chance to recover, tackling him to the ground. I jabbed at his face but he caught my fist and smirked. I jabbed with my other with my other fist only earning the same result. Suddenly I was airborne most likely from Julius pushing me off with a powerful shock wave. I tucked my knees into my chest and sprang off a pillar and rolled onto the ground.
I heard the clock sound the five minute alarm and decided that I needed to finish this. Julius and I charged at each other from opposite sides of the gym, when I noticed his hand were vibrating rapidly, which meant one thing. He charges his hands before he fires. Julius jumped and clapped his hands together creating a shock wave about 10 feet wide, no doubt a trick he learned from his father. I ran toward and slid right under the wave and swept his feet from under him again. He started to throw punches. Sloppy right hooks and jabs tried their best to connect but couldn't because I was too fast and his moves were predictable. Even the side kick that would have taken most people by surprise given all the punches he had thrown was futile because I trapped his right leg with my arm I punched as hard as I could in the chest and he went down hard. I was getting ready for another attack when the clock sounded. The match was over, and I had won. I pulled Julius to his feet and he thanked me quietly and hurried off to the locker room to change. I looked around the gym everyone was staring at me. I ignored them and went to the locker room. Julius was gone by the time I got there. I'm pretty sure despite our agreement, he holds resentment from the fact that I beat him with out in sort discernible active power. Typical meta-human heroes believe that only other meta-humans have the skill or power to beat them and when they're proven wrong they take it personally. Well, I would rather find out now how shallow and cowardly Julius is than while in a desperate situation.

I decided to skip the rendezvous with Julius due to the revelation of his character. I ate lunch quickly, and left to begin my reconnaissance of the school's layout. Battle field tactics with Bo have taught me that a good soldier can fight on any terrain, but the best soldier knows all terrains, and surveys all the one's he doesn't before a battle to look for any advantage. After about 45 minutes, the bell rang. I had found 4 secret passages, 2 secret rooms and a ventilation that led to a aircraft hanger. When the bell rang, I hurried to Ethics. Good thing I had studied the night before, because Mr. Proctor had revealed that we would be having a pop quiz on the last few chapters. I'm sure that I aced it.

By the time it was time to go, I was sufficiently ticked off with myself for unknowingly trusting Julius as easy as I did. I was walking to the bus in a darkened mood, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and Julius was standing right there.
"Can I help you?" I asked coldly. He didn't look surprised by my tone. I continued walking and got on the bus. He sat down next to me, much to my annoyance.

"Sorry I couldn't make it today. I got into a fight with Devin and have to serve detention for the next few days during my free period " He said, which was the last thing I expected him to say but it did explain the fact that he didn't show up for our rendezvous, and now that I was really looking at him, he had a slight bruise on his cheek.

"Please tell me you at least got a hit in."please, please.

"Of course, I'd say you should see the other guy, but you might lose your lunch."

I chuckled, "What happened?"

"He got under my skin and so I hit him with a pulse and he didn't take it sitting down. Things just escalated until a teacher came and broke it up."he tried.

"Which teacher?" I asked uncharacteristically curious.

"Mr. Peeks" he looked hopeful.

"Wow, The Peak got involved," he visibly deflated, " Look, I'm not legally qualified to teach you anything." I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote my address on it and handed it to him.

"Be at this address, on Saturday. And i'll see what I can do."

"Alright, i'll be there." We got off the bus and parted ways.

5 minutes later, I was opening the door.

"Mai," I called out.

"Downstairs!" It sounded like she was in the weight room we had in our basement. I walked downstairs and found Mai benching what looked like 160 lbs.

I smiled. "How many is that?" Qiú nǐle, mǔqīn

"About 50 reps."

"Weak."

"Yeah, well I went for a 6 mile run this morning. So forgive me if I'm a little famished." She toweled off and we went upstairs to the my room. I plopped down and laid on the bed while she sat on the edge of it. "So how was school?"

"It was good. I won the fight. The Julius guy has some potential but he gives up easily and he's not very innovative with his powers. Part of that comes from the classic super hero training he got from his father, which with whom he seems to currently has a rocky relationship with, most likely due to a recent event. The fondness with which he spoke of him shows that he loves him, but they seem to have recently disagreed on something emotional enough for him to question not only the dynamic of his relationship but also the extent of his powers, which brings me to a favor I need to ask you."

She stared hard at me, and after several minutes she answered, "What did I tell you about using in depth psychoanalysis in common conversations?"

"Right. To...uh... that I... but I have a really good reason."

"And that would be?"

"Extra training?"

"No," she dead panned.

"Why not?"

"Why should I in the first place?" She countered.

"Because no hero is so good that he can save the world on his own. Right?" I recited.

"Oh, okay...so what's the real reason."

Somehow I knew she'd see right through that.

"One, because he has a good heart and I think it'll make him a better hero. And two because... for once I'd like to have a friend. Not just an ally or another proverbial piece to move on the chess board but a genuine friend." That's when I noticed her resolve crack, so I delivered the knock out punch.

The puppy dog eyes and saying, "Qiú nǐle, mǔqīn."

"Fine, but I do have conditions."

"Thank you, Mai." I leaped forward and hugged her.

Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry I've been out of it for so long but I needed to get my swing back or stroke or which ever applies in this situation. In case you were wondering what the last phrase meant, it's traditional Chinese for "Please, mother." Don't hesitate to click that review button and tell me how you feel about the story. Happy reading. :D