Badass Ch. 02

"Wait!" Miss bubbly called for him and ran up to him. This caused everyone to look in their direction. Although they couldn't hear what was being said, they carried on looking.

"What is it? Wasn't the tip large enough?"

"No no, it was very generous, thank you. I...I um...I just wanted to say that...um" she looked away, and stared to the side, her eyes not really focusing on anything, and was fiddling with her hands "You shouldn't hide you face behind you hair. You eyes are...really...n-n-nice..." The last part was a barely audible whisper. Her cheeks turned crimson, as her head darted around, desperate for Zdenek not to see her blushing. When she finally looked up to see his reaction, he was already opening the door. He could feel EVERY SINGLE SET OF MALE (and surprisingly, a few female) eyes, all staring at him with immense heat. If looks could kill, Zdenek would be in his coffin, with worms eating him. He could understand why though. Here he was, the new, weird looking guy, with pale skin and silver hair that hid his face, and he had made their favourite waitress not only join him during his meal, but also made her blush thrice. He wondered how many people had tried to do both of those things, and failed. As he was half way out the door;

"Wait!" said a slightly hurt, and disappointed voice, He hadn't even looked at her."What's your n—"

"Zdenek." He said turning back to look at her. Then after a slight nod, turned around and left.

"Zdenek..." she repeated to herself, and then went back to work.

Part 2

Zdeneks' music was blaring in his ears, as he continued with his personal orientation, acquainting himself with him surroundings as he walked. He had walked around everywhere, and had been to the upmarket campus city houses, and couldn't believe it. These were upmarket houses! Many people wouldn't be able to live in houses like, even after saving for their entire adult lives, while here were rich students; teens, living in them, driving fancy cars, and doing as they pleased. He also went to the more slum areas, and laughed.

"How the fuck can there be slums, in a campus city?"

He checked his watch for the time, and realised it was getting pretty late. He decided to head back to his apartment, and pick something up for dinner. He really had to go grocery shopping tomorrow.

He was making his way over to a fast food place, and bought a bucket with 12 pieces of fried chicken, 4 large fries, and 6 mash and gravies, with like 10 dinner rolls, and two 2 litre bottles of coke. With his dinner, and light breakfast in his hands, he started the walk back to his apartment. He was in a rush, and could either call a taxi cab, and waste money, or use his other means of transportation, however decided against it, as there were still plenty of people walking about. Cars packed with college kids drove past, blaring music, which fit their social stereotypes. Goths blared death metal. Surfer guys blared punk. Gangsta wannabes blared gangsta rap, while the stoners blared underground hip hop. What really got to him though is how so many cars drove past him, and no one offered him a lift! Gritting his teeth at the thought, he laughed to himself, and suddenly found himself in front of his apartment building, and then he made his way inside.

One inside, he took his coat off, his head no longer covered by the hood for the first time in hours, and shook his hair away from his face. He also took off his shoes and gloves, remaining in his tee, jeans and socks. He didn't even bother with plates; he just washed his hands, and started destroying the food that was in front of him. The sounds coming from his apartment were those akin to those made by starving lions feeding. When only 2 pieces of chicken, half a pack of chips, 1 mash and gravy and 1 roll were left, along with a ¼ bottle of coke, he was done. He burped a burp of satisfaction, and checked the time.

"Hmmm... it's not even midnight yet."

He then got suited up again, but left the hood down, and went up to the roof of his 10 story apartment building. Once he confirmed he was alone up there, he went to the ledge, leant his arms on the railing, and watched the world below. He could hear the music playing in the night clubs that were nearby.

"So that's where all those cars were headed." He thought of the cars that didn't give him a lift home, as the respective genres he heard in the cars, he heard at various locations as well. He looked to the nearby park, looking for any possible threats to his neighbourhood, but it was too dark for him to see anything. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his amber pupils were glowing, and there was a slight purple hue in the whites of his eyes, as he used this enhanced vision to scope out the area, just to make sure no one in his neighbourhood was in trouble. When he confirmed that it was relatively safe he started heading for the door until he heard a huge crash, in a north westerly direction. He ran back to the ledge, and looked towards that direction. He activated his enhanced vision once again, but couldn't see what was going on, which meant his area was safe. He deactivated the power, but something told him to keep looking in that direction. He heard the sounds of walls being busted up and bricks flying. Explosions and mini earth quakes; frequently disturbing the peace. What he was hearing, were the sounds of battle, and as it dragged on, the more violent the battle became, and more and more of the surrounding areas were getting trashed. Zdenek wasn't sure who was fighting, but he was sure he didn't want to get involved, as he was feeling bloated from all that food, and he needed to take a piss. He turned around to leave, but something made him freeze right on the spot. He was confused as to what it was, and his senses working on overdrive, he was looking around like crazy, listening, trying to feel or sense or see what had rooted him to the spot. He mentally blocked out the sounds of battle, the sounds of the nightclubs, the sounds of cars driving and hooting, the sound of the wind howling, the sound of his breathing, and the sound of his heartbeat. He cut out everything, until he was surrounded by complete silence.

"Help me..."

His eyes shot open, but he forcefully calmed himself, otherwise he would not hear the voice again. It was so faint, he wasn't sure if he heard it correctly, thus closed his eyes again, and listened.

"Fuck... Please; someone help me..."

Zdenek definitely heard it this time. He heard the voice, loud and clear. It was strained, obviously not used to asking for help. He could sense the pride in the voice and hurt in the voice. At that precise moment, Zdenek leapt to action. He decided that there was not going to be a 3rd cry for help, as he would not allow it to be made.

Zdenek ran towards the North West, where the battle was taking place, and he jumped. He jumped off the roof of the building, land on the roof of a smaller building, and began to move with immense speed. He jerked his torso forwards, pulled his arms behind him, straight, although slightly limp, and he ran. Jumping from building to building; quick like a Cheetah AE user, but agile and flexible like a Monkey AE user. Jumping over this, ducking and sliding under that, side stepping this, leaping between buildings. If he wasn't moving so fast, it would've been quite the sight. However, he was moving too fast for an untrained eye to pick up.

As he neared the location of the ongoing battle, he noticed that it had calmed down significantly which meant that either they were tiring out or someone had lost the fight. He picked up his speed, but then slowed down, hearing a loud booming voice.

"You were careless, you stupid Gorilla bitch. Assuming that every drink that was given to you was only handled by the members of your 'Hand', stupid whore."

"Hand?" Zdenek said to himself, practically at his destination now.

"That carelessness has led you to the situation you are now facing. Your drink was spiked, greatly reducing not only your current strength, but also how much of your AE power you are able to draw out, and also restricting your use of you element, making you an incredibly easy target."

Zdenek heard footsteps, and assumed the guy who was talking, was now approaching the one he called "Gorilla Bitch".

"I don't care who your father is, or how strong you are. It is NOT a womans' place to be an Alpha, and I am going to prove this by completely destroying you bitch. Now prepare to be---GRORRF"

The man went flying, as a boot hit him square on the nose, and sent him flying into the wall that was across the street. Zdenek stretched to his full height, and looked back, only to be shocked to realise his suspicions were correct. He had thought that when that guy talking about "The Hand", it had to be her. The Alpha of Aegis; the 3rd most powerful power AE group in the power territory: Erykah McMillan. She had thick black hair down her cheeks and her arms were longer and lager, completely covered with thick black hair. She kind of looked like a Gorilla, but there was no mistaking it. This Gorilla AE user was Erykah McMillan, and even though her face showed signs of being beaten pretty badly and was swollen, good God did she make an attractive Gorilla, Zdenek thought. But she was in trouble right now, and he was there to help. He looked back at her.

"At your current strength level, there are two ways for you to defeat the power AE user you have been fighting."

The guy emerged from the wall, flying across the street towards Zdenek, with his right arm cocked back, ready to unleash a powerful blow.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The guy asked as he approached Zdenek.

"The first; although you failed at it dismally, it to hit him, without getting hit" he said, completely ignoring the guy flying towards him. He finally turned his head to look at his opponent. The guy pumped his right fist forward, but Zdenek just tilted his about 5 cm to the right, as the fist flew past his cheek, which was being tickled by the fur on the arm. Zdenek then slid to the right, swivelling, using his right foot as a base, and his left sliding on the pavement, turning with the rest of his body. He then struck up a fighting pose. The guy then charged at Zdenek, and started throwing wild punches. Zdeneks' guards up, he just moved in his head from side to side, occasionally swivelling his torso to avoid body punches, jumping back each time after the guy had thrown 25 or so punches, causing the guy to dash in towards him. He continued to throw punches that didn't connect, and as Zdenek looked as though he was about to jump back, he dashed instantly at him. Zdenek, waiting for this, was still on the balls of his feet. This was just a feint, and he actually jumped forward, crashing his right fist onto the guys' face, causing him to take a few steps back and lose his balance. The guy then saw Zdenek moving forward, leading with his left arm, and his right back in defence. He formed a cross armed block, anticipating a blow, but it never came. He peered from behind his guard to see Zdenek with both arms by his sides, no longer in a fighting pose, looking down at him, with a condescending look in his eyes.

This caused the AE user to howl in rage, and charge Zdenek again, and they fell back into the regular pattern on Zdenek dodging all his blows, but only jabbing him once or twice, then jumping back again. It was like watching a boxing match between an in fighter, who with what he lacked in skill, made up for with endeavour and effort, fighting against an out boxer, who was just far too skilled and quick for him, however, not as strong. Eventually, this pissed the guy off, and he tapped into his AE power even. He let out a wail, as his arms grew even more muscled and a lot more fur. Plates of some kind of hard substance grew on his fingers that almost covered then in a sort of armour. When he balled his fists, it was clear that they looked like hooves. He grew two horns, which came out of his forehead, and curved like a Buffalos. His Mouth from the nose down also morphed into that of a Buffalo, and he let out a Buffalo like cry, that caused a shockwave to spread out, hurling broken bricks and bits of shrapnel around everywhere. This guy, was a lower C class power AE user, but was still strong. Zdenek looked back over at Erykah, whose eyes were massive, and mouth gaped open.

"What I just demonstrated was the first way to beat him. The second way is—"

Zdenek bent his knees, bent his arms up, so his fists were at chin height, and started letting out a low scream. All of a sudden, the ground beneath his feet cracked and dipped, as the force of that caused a gust of wind to blow in all directions his ears suddenly started to grow, and become longer and longer. Eventually, they stopped, and became sharp and pointy. His canines; both top and bottom, grew as well, and became long and pointed; they became fangs. His hands grew slightly larger, ripping his gloves to shreds, and his finger nails became long and black; sharp and pointy as well. They became claws. As his coat was flailing about, due to the wind Zdenek was causing, Erykah noticed something long and thin coming out from the back of his jeans. It was a tail. A tail came out, and it was covered in blue fur, and had a extremely bushy tip. It also flailed about in the wind. Zdenek let out a final hiss, and a purple fireball came out of his mouth, but disappeared as quickly as it formed. The wind died down, and he straightened to his full height, looking at Erykah

"The second way; is to completely outclass him, and overpower him."

With that, Zdenek disappeared from her sight, for just one second. By the time she realised where he was, the Buffalo AE user had already crashed through a couple of buildings, and Zdenek stood where the Buffalo guy was supposed to be standing. To his credit though, the Buffalo guy came flying out from the cloud of dust, and was instantly in front of Zdenek. He let out a cry and swung. His hoof/fist came into contact with Zdeneks' cheek, and he smiled. The first punch he had thrown, that had come into contact with Zdeneks' face, and this made him start laughing. This minor victory though, was short lived, as he finally noticed, Zdeneks' head hadn't moved even 1 mm to the right. His neck was still stiff and rigid, and his eyes just looked down at him. It was as if Zdenek didn't even feel the blow. It hadn't registered that he had been hit, and he gave him that same condescending look he had been giving him the whole time. This angered Buffalo guy more than you can believe, and he just started swinging; throwing punch after punch and kick after kick that connected with Zdenek. Whether his face or his body, it made no difference, and caused no reaction to come from Zdenek. The blows were so fast and ferocious, that dust started to lift and enveloped them in a cloud. After the last kick landed on the side of Zdeneks face, the dust settled, only for Buffalo guy to see Zdenek still looking at him.

"Are you done now? I really need a fucking piss." Zdenek spoke, and it sounded like he had two voices. His normal regular voice and then a deeper; more evil sounding voice.

This completely stunned Buffalo guy who staggered back, but recovered quickly enough, to jump back a few meters, and get into position. He took a crouching start, and started to power up. He caused a small tremor, as he summoned up all of AE power, letting out a loud scream, before pushing off from his position, and heading towards Zdenek, with his horns pointed directly at him. He was aiming to kill Zdenek, simple as that.

Zdenek saw this guy coming straight at him with the intent to kill. He then shifted his feet, so they were shoulder length apart, and set himself. The Buffalo guy was flying horns first, and Zdenek leant forward slightly, and his head came into contact with Buffalo guys', forehead to horns, and there was a loud crack, which echoed around for a bit. With the coming together of their heads, the dust picked up again, and enveloped them it another cloud. When the dust settled, they were still standing, forehead to forehead. Suddenly, Buffalo guys' horns started to crack, and the tips shattered into dust, leaving him with damaged horns. He staggered back, but refused to fall, and looked Zdenek in the eyes. Zdenek acknowledged his pride, and gave him a grunt and a small nod. He brought his feet together, and stood straight, his head bowed down. His left arm down at his side, he turned the right side of his torso forward, as he raised his right arm, bent, with his fist facing downwards. Eventually his arm stopped, when it was shoulder height, however his elbow kept straightening out until it was straight. At that moment, he turned his wrist over and his fingers faced the sky. He then brought his head up. He then said something, slowly, and at such a low volume, that it was barely audible.

"Corruption" he slowly opened his eyes, revealing bright glowing amber pupils, glowing through his hair.

"Blast" and he clicked his fingers as they faced the sky. With the click, a small trail of flames flickered for a bit then disappeared.

The next second, a giant purple fireball, came from his hand and smacked into Buffalo guy, and launched him backwards, flying through the air. As the ball got smaller, it was already corrupting and making Buffalo guy wilt. His horns shattered, and turned to dust. The fur on his arms withered away revealing skin. His hooved hands disintegrated, leaving bare fingers. His mouth slowly went back to normal. When he came into contact with a wall, almost a kilometre away, the Corruption Blast had melted his clothes away, and he lay there, almost naked, and struggling for oxygen.

Without turning to Erykah, Zdenek asked.

"Are you okay? Can you get back to your place yourself?"

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? Of course I can make it back. If I hadn't been drugged, then—"

"Alright, that's good." He cut her off.

"W-what about that guy. Is he dead?"

"No, he's not. I held back as much as I possibly could."

"Why did you come here? Who are you? What the fuck is your AE power? Why—"

Zdenek could sense The Hand approaching.

"Your squad is about to arrive."

"Wha—"

"I heard you. You might not have heard yourself, but I heard you; loud and clear. That's why I came."

Erykah didn't even have the chance to reply, as Zdenek took off. He leapt with such force that the ground where leapt from shattered, and he disappeared into the night. The hand had finally found her, having beaten the guys who were meant to be holding them up, and found their Alpha, sitting on the ground, against a wall. Amy walked right up to her, and knelt beside her.

"Damn... you got FUCKED up!" and she started helping Erykah up. Erykah gave her an angry growl, and leant on her for support, as they headed back to Erykahs' place.

Zdenek was flying from building to building, approaching his own place. He swiftly got there, and deactivated his power. He looked at his hands.

"Fuck, now I have to get new gloves."

He walked through the door, down the stairs, and into his apartment, where he made a beeline for the toilet. After the longest piss ever recorded in history, he took a shower, put on fresh boxers, and went to his room. He sat there, thinking back to the nights events. Then he realised something.

"Oh shit! I never did put my hood up! She saw my face. But hey, it was dark, so maybe she didn't."

His thoughts carried him into his death like state that he would call sleep, but most would call a coma, and settled down for the night.

*

So, that was Chapter 2 in my Badass series. Hope you liked it. Lemme know how you feel about it in the comments section.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate you doing so, as it took longer than 3 hours to type this time lol.