Powers Ch. 05

I really struggled with this part and I wasn't happy with it but I want to give a big shout out to my Beta readers for helping me over the hump. A special thanks to Hentaikitten, who rewrote parts of the story that I couldn't make fit together.

As always Valphund edited this story. His help is invaluable in getting this out into the world in a readable form. This isn't the version he worked on though. I'm a chronic rewriter and things have changed since he saw it. All faults in this story are mine and mine alone.

I got a comment that on the last story with a question:

"The question is since it is possible for a white to display the other colours that make up white, are they only using say a third of their power when they do? Being only a third as strong?"

I have tried to explain it with traits in this story but what's obvious to me isn't to everyone else. I'm sorry, I'll add another lesson somewhere in the earlier chapters when I rewrite this story.

It's more like 80%. Each color have their own strength and when combining them they lose most of that Power. The big strength of being a White is control. If you're pure Red you're prone to over aggression. Pure Yellows are hurt by sloppiness. Pure Blues usually give up easily. When you combine you get control and a good fighter. Hope that cleared it up. If you got any other questions I'll answer them in the comments of this chapter.

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There had been an update to the Hansson rule to 200/400 points and it made the rule mostly irrelevant. It stopped my blatant ¨abuse¨, but no team was hit anymore and only a handful of duos. That didn't stop the hate and now they had something real to complain about. I was a backstabber and they knew about the chink in my armor, my dead family.

It was painfully obvious when I got home and my mail box was littered with notes from different people. Most were some type of version of backstabber. Jenny seemed popular on campus, and the way I knocked her out wasn't nice. Some notes were pictures of different porn stars with my mother's face cut in. Even fewer still were notes telling me how their fathers fucked my mom.

The worst one was a normal envelope that said, 'Bro'. For a second my heart skipped a beat, but it wasn't the right paper. What a bunch of fucking idiots. I opened it up and there was a computer printed letter inside.

'Don't become a Ranker.'

'Love, Eve.'

The rage boiled over. These fuckers tried to get in my head! Yeah, right, like that's going to happen. I'll fucking show the lot of them! It was more fuel on the rage pyre. Let them try to stop me. I'm a born Ranker!

***

The first day back students changed direction when they saw me. The hateful whispers followed me everywhere. No one was dumb enough to tell me to my face though. Until the second day.

A small buzz cut guy walked up to me, one of team Kendolls. His current rise to fame from the first Rank must have gotten to his head. He walked up to me and said straight to my face, "Your mamma was a whore!"

I felt my control snap and the rage I had worked hard to keep down bubbled up. The energy ignited and my shield went up.

A split second later so did his.

There were sparks flying everywhere as I planted my hands in his chest and pushed him away from me.

"Don't talk about my family -- you won't like the consequences." My voice was filled with all the cold hate I could muster and I had a lot.

This little piss ant of a moron stepped right back and tried to repeat the same fucking line. "Your mother..."

My hands grabbed the back of his head, pulling him closer. He wasn't ready for the clinch. My head smashed into his, sending sparks out everywhere.

Pain spread through my chest as his glove came crushing into my chest. The anger coursed through my stomach. A second grade fighter had the balls to come up to me and talk smack?

My right hand pushed as my left pulled, bringing him off balance, leaving him totally open for a leg sweep.

His shoulder hit the ground hard. He groaned and then screamed with pain when I landed on his stomach knees first.

My elbow crushed into his shield and there was a loud Popp. He got his guard up but I kept pummeling him. It was hard to get the satisfying punches in with his protective gear on but I tried. I got a satisfying crunch when my glove flattened his nose and blood started to seep out of the suit. I kept punching, but I couldn't get another satisfying hit in before an angry mass of redhead tackled me to the ground. I tried to struggle free.

"ENOUGH!" Screamed a voice into my ear. Luke.

***

The scene felt like a déjà vu, but instead of a dusty old British principal it was the piece of shit in the Suit. His whole posture screamed 'bored.' This was the last place on earth he wanted to be.

"A broken nose, two broken ribs and a broken arm. Not to mention the extensive internal bleeding and a major concussion."

"Accidents happen in spars."

"Spar? You're trying to spin it as a spar? Not a rage monster and his next victim?"

"He walked up to me, dressed in a protective suit and wanted to fight, of course it was a spar."

"Umhum." Not this guy too. What was with this school and people humming condescendingly? Was it an obligatory course? Was the principal American Five? "You just admitted to fighting in a spar without your protective suit. That will cost you 200 points, one week expulsion and 100 rating. I will get to the bottom of this, and if you're lying to me I'll add to that sentence. Now I'd rather not look at your face anymore."

***

I walked out and there was a woman waiting for me, for a split second she had red hair and freckles, but she didn't. My eyes tricked me into seeing what I wanted to see.

Jeong smiled, but the light didn't reach her cold eyes.

I wanted her to scream, 'What were you thinking?' Or just, 'Asshole!' But she wasn't Em.

"We took care of it, the beef is squashed." She closed in and hugged me. The citrus smell from her hair assaulted my nose. It was strong, but good, and got me thinking of lemon pies. My stomach took the cue and rumbled.

Jeong pulled back. "Let's get some food in you, but first -- You owe us. You understand that, right? You'll pay us back."

What was this? A mob deal? I had no choice though, and nodded my head. It would cost, but that was a later problem.

***

Without school I could train until I dropped that week. If I couldn't think my loneliness couldn't hurt me. Jeong kept me company some of the time, and we worked on becoming a real duo.

The next Friday was a fight day. I got the ten free wins, but so did all the most Powerful. The former Rankers turned the bracket into a minefield.

I dodged the bullet my first and second fight, but round three had me in the ring against the older Kendoll himself, the former first Ranker. Chatter came from all around, this was a fight people wanted to see, and the crowd gathered around the cage.

When I walked into the ring Kendoll already stood at his mark. I flashed my clear Red glove and he flashed a White so pure it was almost translucent.

I walked up to my mark and he shot out. He took three lighting fast steps and then his hand smashed into my face.

It was second nature to punch back and I hit nothing but air.

The moment after my head snapped back from another fist in my face, my punch hit air again.

I took a breath. It made no sense. I was taller than him. My reach should be longer. I was also more powerful, so I should be faster. Why was he dancing around me? It didn't make sense.

Slow down. Breathe. Think. What's his trick?

Two more jabs hit my shield. He wasn't going to let me slow down and wait. I castled up and focused on closing in while waving away his punches.

His step in was sharp, his punch flew out straight and he was quick on the rebound, but so was everyone. He wasn't any faster than Em. So why couldn't I hit him?

He hid the small movements of preparation for his jabs in the larger movements of constantly shifting. That's standard for a boxer. I shouldn't have a problem with it.

Why hadn't I prepped for this guy? Once again I had been thoughtless and now I was paying the price. I should've watched some match tapes. He always just danced around his opponent and I had never thought of why. He's not fast enough to dance around me like this.

Oh, right, he's a Manipulator. So where's his energy? That must have something to do with it.

I kept my head low and focused on his feet. Then I punched out and was greeted by another fist to the face. Something wasn't right. I did another one two against where he should be and his fucking feet shifted. Without taking a step he glided closer and then away again.

How the fuck did he do that? How in the name of all that was holy did he shift his feet without taking a step. That's why he's the number one. His footwork was so ridiculously overpowered it could only be described as cheating. FUCK!

Fuckity fuck-fuck. How do I deal with it?

He kept peppering me with jabs while I tried to figure it out.

My head got heavier. No single punch hurt but together they wore me down. My sight turned glossy and my arms grew heavy. My knees bent low. I had been pulled into his tempo and there was nothing I could do. He was able to move without taking a step. That's cheating. There was never a middle of a step moment to take an advantage of, and every time I did he was ready to punish.

I tried to close in, but he danced away and kept pestering me with light hits.

I had to do something. This wasn't working out.

I sunk low and I prepared to charge, just to be faced with an uppercut to the face before I even had time to start.

It was like all my muscles decided to give up at once. My face hurt and a loud smack hurt my ears before the huge roar from the audience.

There were 3 bars of metal in the ceiling. Why were there metal bars in the ceiling? Where was I? There were pretty lights up high. Oh, I remember those lights. I'm a Ranker. No, wait. That's not right. Fuck!

Everything hurts and I can't move. I've been Popped. Fucking fuck.

Kendoll stepped into my view, his face looked worried. Had I been fighting him?

"Just because I like to win on points doesn't mean I can't put you in the dirt. It's about respecting your opponent, something you'll have to learn. I don't hurt newbies."

His big brown eyes closed in on me.

"You still there? Good. Listen up. I was a lot like you three years ago, young, cocky and reckless. My seniors taught me humility, like I'm teaching you, like you'll have to take care of your juniors. It's time to grow up, stop hurting people and help them grow instead. If you hurt another student then I'm coming for you. Team Asia protection be damned."

The EMT took me away moments after. Memories kept coming back. His footwork was cheating. I had to overcome that if I wanted to become the best.

***

Her long beautiful legs stretched out where she stood leaning against the wall. One foot was nonchalantly pressed against the wall in the height of her knee. I cautiously walked forward and her leg snapped out to the other side, blocking my path outside.

She did a movie flip of her blonde hair and there were deep shadows under her eyes. She looked like a walking corpse.

"Hi, Jenny, can I get through?"

"That depends. Backstabbed anyone?"

"Okay, I deserve that. I'm sorry, all right? I shouldn't have done it, I should have saved you but that would have put me in the same position, and you're good enough to beat me. By taking care of you I made sure to win."

"You're so scared of little old me that you have to backstab your way to victory? I call bullshit! If that was true Em wouldn't be mad at you. If that was true I wouldn't be here. If that was true you wouldn't be the 2-0 man."

"It's true. I saw you standing there and I thought: I could lose if I don't Popp her."

"BULLSHIT! The only way I would beat you was if Em had my back! If she picked me over you, and that's why we're so fucking pissed off at you, you slimy piece of shit!"

She stomped her feet, took a deep breath and the red shine from her glove toned down.

"Em loves you, she has always loved you, but you're either too stupid to see it or too mean to let her down easy. Either way you're a despicable human being!"

Jenny stormed away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Em loved me? Nah, that's not right. Right? Em set me up with other girls. She wouldn't do that if she loved me? But Jenny seemed so sure? And she's Em's best friend. She would know but it's not right? Right?

***

Jeong came and got me for the duo, and we crushed our way straight to the top. Several times she smacked me for being distracted, but she was good enough to carry me. Once again I was a Ranker. What did that give me? I was still the same screw up. It didn't fix my problems.

***

Luckily it was Sunday, and Em was predictable. I walked to church and the sermon was confusing, I hadn't thought about how much Em usually helped me understand these kind of things. When the sermon was over and the last hymn sung she came by.

"I thought you were an atheist?"

"I hoped we could talk."

"Talk? What's there to talk about?"

"I'm sorry, Em. I fucked up. It was a split-second decision."

"So, a mistake? That's it? Well, fuck you! You fucked up a thousand times, but I looked the other way because I liked you. But this? You're a bully, nothing more, nothing less! You don't care who you hurt, you just do anything to get your way, and I'm done! I'm done making excuses, I'm done covering! I'm just done."

I could see by the look in her eyes she meant it. I had to do something, but what?

"Em, I'm really, really sorry."

"For what, huh? You don't even understand your actions, you're so stupid it must hurt being you!"

"Okay, sure. Great seeing you Em." I couldn't let her see how it hurt. I rose to leave. Maybe I could talk to her later, but her next words stopped me in my tracks.

"Yeah! That's what you do, isn't it? RUN, like the coward you are. Life gets tough and you don't care about the people you leave behind. You just run away. At least that's better than turning into a rage monster! You sure you just want to run? Maybe you'd rather crush me instead!"

"What? Em! You know I'd never hurt you! But if I'm not up to the image you have of me, well, then fuck you!"

"No, fuck you, you selfish, ungrateful piece of shit. Have you talked to Jack lately? Maybe reached out to Millie? How about Amber? Talked to her? Or any of your students? Of course you haven't, because you don't care about other people!"

"My students stabbed me in the back, Amber doesn't want to talk to me. And who the fuck is Millie?"

"Frenchy! You're so damned selfish you haven't even learned her real name! What did I expect, you only care about yourself."

"Well, then what the fuck am I doing here? You're the one I actually care about. Not me, if it was me, I would have ended it a long ago. I don't want to live with all this pain, but I do. I don't want to be the source of new pain, especially not for you."

"Oh, you care about me? I'm constantly trapped in the middle! This feud you have with Jenny is ridiculous! Jenny was never the problem, it's all you! You have to decide whether your hurt feelings are more important than me or not."

"That's not a choice. It's always you."

"Then grow the fuck up! Stop behaving like a five year old child waving around a big stick. Your thoughtlessness hurt people. You have so much potential, you can be such a sweet person when you're open, vulnerable and caring, but at the first sign of trouble you turn into a big bully. It's infuriating to watch."

That's what she wanted? My pain?

I reached out and let the rage go and the sadness was there, always bubbling below the surface.

One hand touched her and my energy shot out. For once the energy wasn't the deep red of my glove, but a soft, glowing blue. Em's face shifted from angry to sad as she absorbed the energy. Little blue sparks sparkled around us like tiny falling stars.

"See? When you can be honest and show your hurt it feels like the real you, but then you lose it all when one little brat gets in your face. Stop hiding behind the anger and think about what you're doing or you're going to die."

"I'm sorry. Okay? I'm really sorry, and I feel terrible. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"Why are you telling me? Sure, I was angry but the one you really screwed over is Jenny. Have you even understood why there are Rankers? They act as a wall and challengers run headfirst into that wall. It inspires people to try harder, train more, and find new ways to fight. You're supposed to be that wall. You robbed Jenny of a chance to grow, but that's not the worst of it. Every first year looked up to you as our champion, the one we could aspire to be, but you fucked it up. At the first setback you turned into a big bully. No one looks up to a bully! You were supposed to turn the other cheek. You were supposed to be better. You were supposed to inspire greatness."

"But I'm not -- great. I'm not inspiring. I'm just me."

"So? You grow, you become better. That's even more inspiring."

"How?"

"That's a hard question, and you got work to do, but if I were you, I would start by apologizing to Jenny."

"I don't know..."

"Yeah, of course, I see that now, the mighty Ranker doesn't fucking know how to apologize. All you know is how to say you're sorry ten thousand times. Your life has been too blessed."

"Hey! It's damned hard to walk up to the prettiest girl in school and talk about what a fuck-up you are. You're not a guy, so you wouldn't know."

"Really? You're gonna play the inexperienced guy card? Sure, Mr. four girls in as many months. I'll totally buy that."

"I didn't do squat, you're the one that set me up."

"Well -- Ok then -- Apologizing 101: First you grovel, and I mean real self-deprecation all the way until they feel so bad they stop you. For you, that might take a while. Then, give your explanation, and finally, promise to never do it again and follow through on that promise. It's easy."

"Ok, Em. I'm a total moron and a giant loser. I'm too stupid to think before I act and I'm an eternal screw up."

"That's a good start, but why are you telling me? Go tell Jenny."

"What does Jenny have to do with it? I was trying to apologize to the most beautiful girl in school. Now, are you going to keep interrupting me or should I go on?"

Em's smirk spread over her face before she giggled out, "Go on."

"Let's see...I'm a piece of pond scum in this cesspool of a school. No, wait; I'm just some vile bacterium living on a piece of pond scum. I should have been aborted before birth so that I wouldn't cause so much pain to others around me..."

"I think that's enough."

Ok, next was to explain. I took a deep breath.

"I felt like I had to win to secure my place here. With the new rule, everyone hated me and, like you said, people respect strength, but I went too far and I'm sorry. I will try to think first next time. I can never do enough to show you how sorry I am, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. You're the only good thing I have, and I really can't stand the thought of losing you."

"I forgive you. The thing is, people here don't just hate you because of the rule. Sure, it was the spark, but anger was brewing long before that. You're cocky, selfish and you have personally put more fighters in the hospital than the rest of the school combined. There are good reasons to hate you, and you can't change until you understand them. You need to stop living in your own bubble. Talk to your former students, try to reconnect with your friends, show the school that you care about anyone but yourself, that you're more than an overpowered freak who stomps on anyone who gets in the way. Try acting like a real friend and I'll believe you're able to change."