CITY PARK – THE SAME BENCH – FIREWORKS – A FEW MONTHS EARLIER
The night was soft. A light breeze made the leaves dance. The sky burst with colors. Fireworks.
Pinky sat on the bench, hands on her knees, back straight. She wore a pale pink dress, her hair loose, floating in the wind. She didn't dare turn her head.
Grann sat beside her. He wore a white shirt, sober, elegant. His hands rested on his thighs. He didn't move.
The silence was heavy.
"Are you hungry?" asked Grann.
"No."
"Are you thirsty?"
"No."
"Do you want to leave?"
"No."
Grann turned to her.
"What do you want, then?"
Pinky clenched her fists. Her face was red. Fireworks exploded behind them, but she didn't see them.
"I want…"
She breathed in.
"…you to kiss me."
Grann blinked. He hadn't expected that. His hands tightened. His Adam's apple moved.
"…Okay."
He leaned in. Slowly. His eyes never left hers. Pinky held her breath.
Their lips touched.
Gently. Shyly.
Behind them, the sky exploded in a thousand colors. Showers of gold, silver, purple. The crowd applauded, shouted, whistled.
Pinky closed her eyes. Her hands landed on Grann's shoulders.
It was perfect.
BAM.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, ASSHOLE?!"
They jumped.
Blue was there. His face was red with anger. His fists trembled. He pointed a finger at Grann.
"YOU'RE TOUCHING MY SISTER NOW?! YOU THINK I'M GONNA LET THAT SLIDE?!"
Grann stood, positioning himself in front of Pinky.
"Blue, calm down."
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!"
He approached, his face close to Grann's.
"YOU STOLE MY TOP 1 SPOT AT MYERS ACADEMY. YOU HUMILIATED MY FATHER. AND NOW YOU'RE TOUCHING MY SISTER?!"
Grann didn't back down.
"It's not what you think."
"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT I THINK!"
Blue stepped back, spread his arms.
"THEN COME ON, GRANN. SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT. RIGHT NOW."
Grann looked at Pinky. She was pale, tears in her eyes.
"Don't do this, Blue."
Blue didn't listen. He charged.
The fight was short. Very short.
Blue struck. Grann dodged. Blue struck again. Grann parried.
Blue screamed, concentrated all his rage into his fist, and attacked.
Grann raised his hand.
"SUBLIMATION: FORCE CANCELLATION." (He sublimates his guard, amplifying it to its maximum, rendering enemy attacks insignificant)
Blue's punch stopped dead, as if hitting an invisible wall. Blue stumbled back, off balance.
Grann advanced.
"SUBLIMATION: IMPACT TRANSFER."
He placed his hand on Blue's chest. Blue was thrown backward, crashing against a tree.
He lay there, groggy, defeated.
Crow arrived a few minutes later, his face closed. He looked at Blue, then at Grann, then at Pinky.
"You're going to the United States."
Blue looked up.
"What?"
"You don't deserve to be here anymore. Go there. Train. Come back when you're worthy of the name."
Blue stood up, limping, his gaze dark.
"I'll come back, Grann. And I'll destroy you."
He left.
Pinky watched him walk away, her heart heavy.
———
BACK TO THE PRESENT – THE SAME BENCH – THE SAME PARK
The sky was gray. The trees were bare. The children played elsewhere.
Blue floated in the air, arms crossed, a nasty smile on his face.
"So, Grann, see what I've become?"
He raised his hand.
"LAW: GRAVITY SUBTRACTS ITSELF FROM ME."
He rose higher. He hovered.
"Since I've been in the United States, I've learned to give orders. To impose laws. Physical laws. In the present."
He pointed to the ground beneath Grann.
"LAW: THE AIR BETWEEN US BECOMES TANGIBLE."
Grann jumped. Sublimation. His leap should have reached him.
CLANG.
His fist hit an invisible wall. The air between them had solidified. A transparent barrier, hard as steel.
Grann fell back, off balance.
Blue smiled.
"LAW: GRANN'S BODY BECOMES HEAVIER."
CRACK.
The ground cracked beneath Grann's feet. His shoulders sagged. His knees buckled. He fell to his knees, crushed by his own weight.
Blue descended slowly, landed in front of him.
"Do you know how hard my life has been because of you?"
He crouched down, looked him straight in the eyes.
"My father sent me to the United States. I trained. I fought. I broke myself."
He stood up.
"And you stayed here. With my sister. With the glory. With everything that should have been mine."
Grann looked up. His eyes shone.
"…Are you done?"
Blue blinked.
"What?"
Grann stood up.
His muscles trembled. Gravity pressed down on him like a mountain. But he stood up.
"I'm not going to lie to you. I'm in pain. But it's nothing compared to what I've endured."
Blue stepped back.
"How… how are you doing this?"
Grann took a deep breath. He remembered Angel's words.
"In single combat, you have to accept that your power isn't perfect. So you have to compensate differently. And the simplest way is physical augmentation."
Grann concentrated his Ether into his muscles. Into his bones. Into his will.
He straightened up completely.
CRACK.
The ground broke beneath his feet. Gravity bent, but didn't break him.
He walked toward Blue.
One step. The ground cracked.
Two steps. Gravity gave way.
Three steps.
Blue stepped back, panicked.
"No… NO!"
"LAW: GRANN'S BODY BECOMES…"
Grann's fist struck Blue square in the chest.
Blue flew backward, through a tree, crashing against a bench.
He lay there, groggy, defeated.
Just like last time.
Grann lowered his fist.
"…You're lucky I'm in a good mood."
———
Nagato arrived, crossing the park with heavy steps. He looked at Blue, then at Grann, then at Pinky.
"We're going home."
Pinky stood, her legs trembling.
"Nagato…"
"We're going home, ma'am."
She got into the car without looking back.
Inside the car, the silence was heavy.
Pinky looked at Nagato in the rearview mirror.
"Nagato… your training offer, is it still open?"
Nagato nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then when do we start?"
"Tomorrow. At dawn."
Pinky smiled. A real smile.
"I'm counting on you."
Nagato didn't answer. But his eyes, in the rearview mirror, were soft.
———
GAMBLING AGENCY HEADQUARTERS – MIDAS'S OFFICE
Sharky leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"Midas, do you think Masajo can get the info on his own?"
Midas sat behind his desk, fingers steepled.
"He's not alone."
Sharky raised an eyebrow.
"Who else?"
"A man came to see me. A black man. He's offering his team's help."
Sharky approached.
"And you trusted him?"
Midas smiled.
"There's no trust. There are interests. His align with ours. For now."
Sharky nodded.
"And how's the plan going?"
Midas turned on a screen. Masajo appeared, live, crawling through ventilation ducts.
"With his blade, he can make himself undetectable. No one sees him anymore. No sensor detects him. He'll pass through all security without being seen."
Masajo came out of a grate, landing softly on the floor. Guards passed in front of him without seeing him.
He walked down the corridor.
"Once inside the vault room, he'll open everything without issue."
Masajo arrived at a reinforced door. He placed his hand on it. The door slid open.
"Then he'll take the USB key."
Masajo entered the room. The vaults were lined up against the walls. Hundreds of security boxes. He approached the right one.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.
An alarm went off.
Masajo froze.
Robots emerged from the walls. Red eyes. Cannons.
They stared at him.
"INTRUDER DETECTED. NEUTRALIZATION."
The robots fired.
Masajo ran.
Bullets whistled around him. He dove, rolled, got up. He crossed a corridor, a room, another corridor.
Behind him, the robots advanced.
———
ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY – A YOUNG BOY'S ROOM
A teenager sat at his desk, a math notebook open in front of him. His name was Henry.
He was sixteen. Brown hair, glasses, a hero t-shirt. On his watch, an alert blinked.
Henry sighed.
"Ah, shit."
He saved his homework. "See you later."
He pulled on his mask. No time to put on the pants and top. He opened the window.
"BLACK MONKEY!"
He swung out onto the rooftops.
———
THOMPSON FAMILY HOME – DINNER TIME
The family gathered around the table. Hands clasped. Eyes closed.
The mother prayed.
"Thank you, Lord, for this meal we are about to…"
BOOM.
Black Monkey landed right in the middle of the table. A plate shattered. A fork flew.
He was in his boxers, the black mask on his face, his costume in a bag.
The mother opened her eyes.
"WHAT THE…"
Henry raised his hand.
"Mom, look, it's Black Monkey!"
The mother looked at him.
"Henry, stop interrupting the prayer."
"Mom, I swear, look!"
Black Monkey pulled on his costume pants. Then his top. Then his boots.
He bowed to the family.
"Sorry for the intrusion."
He walked out the door.
Henry watched him leave, eyes shining.
———
ON THE ROOFTOPS
Masajo was still running. He had gained ground. Ahead of him, a glass window.
He charged, shattered it with his shoulder, and leaped into the void.
Black Monkey, passing by on his swing, collided with him mid-air.
The two crashed onto a building.
Black Monkey stood up, groggy.
"Give back what you stole."
Masajo spat a little blood.
"Hey, calm down. You're an S-Class, right? We can work something out."
Black Monkey attacked.
His fist split the air. Masajo dodged, rolled, got up. He struck the ground. The asphalt cracked.
He was about to counterattack when Black Monkey suddenly stepped back.
His senses screamed.
Step back.
He obeyed.
BAM.
A metal fist sank into the ground where he had stood a second earlier.
A black man stood up. Dreadlocks. Arms covered in metal gauntlets. His eyes gleamed.
Behind him, another man appeared. Pale skin. Long blond hair. Deep bags under his eyes. A noble's suit. A fencing sword in his hand.
He suddenly attacked Black Monkey from behind.
But Black Monkey dodged the sword strike with extraordinary agility, placed his palm on the attacker's head, and jumped behind him.
"Good reflexes," said the blond. "I could have sworn I touched you."
Black Monkey stepped back.
"Who are you?"
The blond smiled.
"People who are going to cause you a lot of problems."
The three enemies approached.
Black Monkey clenched his fists.
Three against one. This is gonna be tough.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…