— Darius Johnson (Several Months Later) —

"You can do it, Darius!" Mark shouted from the stands as I looked at my opponent. A tall blonde kid, likely in high school, walked over to the center of the mat and grinned at me. After winning the Sectional and State Tournaments, I'm among the highest-ranking kids in this tournament. More than that, I've pushed myself to go undefeated on the first day of this two-day tournament. Then, today, the second day, I continued my undefeated streak until now, the tournament finals.

"Let's have a clean match." The ref said between us. I nodded and looked back at the stands.

"Let's go, Darius, kick his butt!" Eve cheered. Mark's family, my family, Eve's biological mother, and Dr. Brandyworth had all come to watch me fight in the National Youth MMA Tournament, and I'd be damned if I lost now!

I dropped into my stance and focused on my opponent.

*WHISTLE*

I checked my opponent's attempt at a quick leg sweep and closed the distance between us, shooting at his legs and grabbing both of them. He sprawled on top of me and tried to push my head into the mat, but I spun my head around and drove my feet the opposite way, using his weight to get behind him.

"Yes!" "Wooo, Let's go, Darius!"

I grabbed his ankle with one hand and held his stomach with his other while behind him to break him down to his stomach. He attempted to build back up to his knees, but that's exactly what I wanted. As he got back to his knees, I placed my chest on his back and spun around to his front side, wrapping my arm over his head and cupping his chin with one hand while getting under his arm and dragging it up to his back with the other. I twisted hard, forcing him onto his back and pinning him there, all while choking him out.

He attempted to fight out of my grip for nearly half a minute before I finally felt his hands begin tapping on my back frantically.

*WHISTLE*

The entire crowd erupted in cheers, and I shot up from my place on top of him and began celebrating wildly. I had put years into this, working hard daily, all in preparation for this moment, and finally, I had won!

"That's my baby!" I heard my mother shout through the chorus of cheers. I walked back up to the middle of the mat where the match had started and shook my opponent's hand. The ref raised my hand, and the cheers grew in intensity.

"[Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you your Middleweight Youth Champion, from Chicago Illinois and representing All-Paths Mixed Martial Arts Club, Darius Johnson!]"

I grinned widely before the ref put my hand down. He quietly congratulated me, and I thanked him before making my way over to my coach.

"You did good, kid." He grinned, placing a hand on my shoulder, but I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. He didn't hesitate to return the embrace, and we stayed like that for several moments before separating. Immediately, though, I was pulled into another embrace, this time by my mother.

"I knew you could do it, baby! I'm so proud of you!"

I returned her hug, wrapping my arms around her tightly. Only when she felt satisfied did she let go of me.

"That was amazing, you beat that guy in less than two minutes!" Mark grinned at me, and I returned his grin.

"Damn, so I didn't beat that other guy's time."

"Dude, let's be honest, you weren't gonna beat that. He beat his opponent in less than thirty seconds. Damn skinny fast guys, am I right?" Mark nudged me and I nodded.

"That was amazing, Darius." Eve smiled at me, pulling me in for a quick hug before separating just as fast. "You destroyed that guy."

"Indeed." I turned around to see my father standing there with his arms crossed. "You did good, son.

"Thanks…Eve, Dad."

We stayed within the building for a while longer to watch the following matches, but mainly because if I left now, I wouldn't get to have my picture on the podium taken.

Eventually, the time came, and my name was called to hop onto the podium. I walked over to the table where the people who hosted the tournament gifted us our medals and the bracket we got to keep. I grabbed both and climbed the podium, showing off both achievements with a bright smile on my face.

Everyone who came to support me took pictures, and finally, we could leave.

As I hopped into the backseat of Dr. Brandyworth's SUV, along with Mark and Eve, I couldn't help but bask in my achievement now that it was all said and done.

I had done it. I had proven myself to be an elite at the highest level in the nation, at least at my weight class. I couldn't wait to get my Viltrumite powers now, because I knew for a fact: There isn't a Viltrumite alive that is more talented, or skilled than me in combat. Stronger? Sure. More experienced? Definitely. But skilled? Not in the entire Universe.

And that thought brought the biggest smile to my face.

— Days Later —

I sat on my couch, watching my little brother as he stood up and started watching the tv while standing in place. His legs were getting strong, and any day now he'd be able to walk. A bit of a late bloomer, but that's not too unusual.

The hype of winning the National Tournament had more or less died down in my mind, but my pride was still very much there. If I was never going to unlock my powers, I would definitely go on to be one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, but alas, such a job is insignificant in comparison to what I'm destined to be.

So, now I'm just keeping up with my training until I awaken my powers.

I heard the front door open and looked toward the entrance to the living room. After a couple of seconds, my mother came in with an excited smile.

"Hey, Mom, what has you so excited?" I asked. My mother walked over and kissed me on the forehead before sitting beside me.

"We're going on a vacation!" She cheered.

"We as in all of us, or we as in you and dad?" I asked genuinely.

"We, as in all of us, the Graysons, and even Polly, Eve, and Elias, if they wish to come as well."

Oh…well, that was surprising.

"Cool." I smiled, picking up Omar, who crawled his way over to me. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere we want." My mom grinned knowingly.

"Elaborate?"

"Cecil got us a multi-million dollar yacht that we can use for a couple of weeks." She threw her hands up excitedly and beamed me a smile. She outstretched her hands, and Omar climbed into her embrace. "We get to cruise on the ocean for as long as we want! Isn't that great, dear?!"

I was surprised to hear Cecil was so willing to offer us a vacation. I know he recently got promoted from Vice-Director of the GDA to Director, but it was unlike him to do something so kind without reason. Even when it came to healing Polly, he knew it would secure some semblance of loyalty from Eve. Plus Debbie and my mom both dislike the guy because of his twisted way.

Which means he wants or needs something from Lucan and Nolan but knows they'll likely decline. That or he suspects they may be a bit unhinged and wants to reel them back in.

Meh, either way, I don't really give a fuck.

"Aren't you excited, dear?! Your birthday is coming up soon, don't you want to celebrate it on a cruise ship?" My mom asked, the wide smile drooping off of her face.

"Oh, I am!" I waved my hands frantically, trying to cheer her back up. "Going on a cruise with all of us will be so much fun! I was just wondering why Cecil is being so…"

"Kind?" My mom asked, earning a shallow nod from me. "I don't get it either, but knowing the snake, he probably wants something."

I frowned at her disrespect of Cecil. Knowing the guy, he most likely already had our entire house wiretapped just because he could.

"Well, whatever, just know I'm looking forward to it." I rubbed the back of my head before looking at Omar and placing a hand on his. "And I'm sure Omar is as well."

"Bah!" Omar giggled from my touch, making both my mom and I smile.

We sat on the couch and watched TV, but I wasn't focused on it.

Honestly, a cruise sounded really nice, and more than that, both Mark and Eve were coming as well, along with their biological parents. The years were growing closer and closer to the tragedies that were destined to occur, and these were some of the last chances we had to live a life we could enjoy, at least until we dealt with the threat of Viltrum.

So I was going to do just that and chill out.

— Chapter End —

Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1