"So, this is the wonder pill?" Sean glanced at the unassuming white pill, handed over by Knuckleback.
"Yep, don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to pay it back. I just wanted to take your worries about any injuries you would sustain during your fights- See it as an investment." Sean glanced at the bright orange of Knuckleback's suit, finding it too attention-seeking, but he wasn't going to comment about it.
Sean thought about it for a moment before shrugging and then popped the pill into his mouth. It had almost already melted away as he swallowed. He wasn't sure if it was taking effect already or if it was just placebo, but his heart seemed to beat quicker. The pain started to lessen almost immediately afterward. Even when he closed his eyes and focused on his ki, he noticed an immediate shift. His ki rapidly grew, using the moment to direct it towards the area where his body hurt most, causing the pain to diminish greatly, and with it, the surging ki diminished as well.
He felt like he should have become stronger, but his ki stayed the same. After a minute or two of this, he opened his eyes and looked at Knuckleback, whose eyes had widened.
"Hm?" A surprised noise came from the corner. Coupé's expression conveyed a similar astonishment. Then, Grrr
His stomach rumbled loudly. Hunger hit him the second after, a similar abyss-like hunger that seemed to overshadow the hunger felt a few days ago after taking over this body.
"I really need to eat something." He slowly started to stand up, making the two unsure of the situation. Looking at them for a moment, "Let me guess, it usually works a bit differently."
Knuckleback nodded with an unsure smile, "It usually takes longer, about half an hour. I'm not sure why it was that quick this time around- I swear I gave you the normal pill, nothing added." He rested his hand on his chest, trying to look sincere.
"Perhaps, I'm more susceptible to it than most."
Knuckleback looked like he wanted to retort, but, in the end, decided against it. "Maybe. So, can I tell Contractor that you're in for Saturday?"
"Sure, and thanks."
"Not a problem… See ya." With that, he hurried out of the room, leaving the two alone. Sean stretched his back before he walked to the door. As he passed Coupé, he spoke up, tilting his head to the exit, "Come on, let's go. I'm starving- oh and thanks for checking in on me."
"..." She remained quiet as she followed. "I'm mainly here to inquire about that sparring session you had mentioned after the last mission. Punch Up is getting impatient… so am I."
"Yeah, sure. I mentioned it briefly to Blonde Blazer during the report. She said she would get back to me about booking some specialized training environments. Apparently, we already have some areas we could use from affiliated partners."
They continued their talk all the way to the cafeteria. It was another building across the street, and usually people only visited during the few hours around lunch, so as they went in, there wasn't much going on. Some individuals were visiting, though. Office workers of nearby businesses, as it was a shared cafeteria, from what he had been told. After the staff heard his name, they started cooking his meals. They had already gotten information about him and his appetite, so he didn't have to fear not getting enough to eat or causing them some sudden stress.
"Do you know how these pills work?" Sean asked as he placed the two trays onto the table, while Coupé sat across him. He directly dug in as she began to answer.
"Apparently, it accelerates the body's natural metabolism. Usually, it won't be given to us without some prior checks or if there isn't a need for one. It's incredibly stressful for the body, though you don't have to worry too much. The only side effects are what you are experiencing. Hunger and some tiredness as well. However, this will pass in another 15 minutes."
Sean nodded as he continued to dig in. There was indeed some fatigue setting in, like he had been awake for quite some time. After demolishing the trays filled with food, he went back to get a refill. They were all incredibly dense food types, like mixes of different nuts, liver, lots of eggs, oily fish, dried fruits, a lot of dairy, and the main side dish fried rice with scambled eggs. Sean was sure that there was some sort of order to eat it as they were separated into plates, but he just ate what looked appetizing.
Saiyans could pretty much utilize all the food they inhaled, so it might have been easier to get calories through fast food, but he wanted to fuel his body with quality stuff and lots of variety. Pumping his body with sugar or greasy stuff wasn't going to be ideal. Of course, he wouldn't miss this opportunity now that he could eat almost whatever he wanted, but it was first the fuel and second the enjoyment.
It wasn't after he sat down that he noticed Coupé had cut open her hand and dripped blood onto her food. Noticing his gaze, her eyes narrowed. "What?" She was daring him to say something.
"…Does it taste better with your blood?" His question took her off-guard. She frowned, waiting for an unsavory comment, but after a moment, she realized he was truly curious.
"Yes, it does." She finally said before digging in. It was obvious that she was expecting judgement, but wouldn't change her habits for other people.
He glanced at his food, then at his hand before shaking his head. Although he figured a cut might factor into a Zenkai, such a small cut wouldn't make the difference worth it. Though he would have to start mutilating his own body to advance to a Super Saiyan soon. There was no way around it. Getting used to self-harm would certainly help him on his journey, but he couldn't bring himself to try it.
"I don't think I will try it." He finally admitted, making her look at him strangely.
"I didn't expect you too."
"I see."
"…"
Sean continued to demolish his tray before getting another one. And another one. Only stopping after he had about 50 thousand calories in. Coupé was looking at him, flabbergasted, having only finished her own meal at the same time.
"Hey, I don't judge you, so don't judge me."
She lifted an eyebrow before nodding. "Touché"
"What do you say, we meet up for our sparring at six o'clock, when our shift finishes? I'll inform Visi about it." Sean suggested after Coupé answered a mission call, assigned to save the residents of a building on fire with Golem.
"Yes." She simply answered as she quickly stood up.
"I'll put the tray back."
She nodded her thanks before heading out.
…
Invisigal entered the medical bay with a bucket of chicken. Having witnessed Jin's immense appetite, she thought he would be hungry after having been blown up.
"What do you mean, he already left?"
"He, Knuckleback, and Coupé had left for the cafeteria a while ago. He is also already cleared, so he might have gone home already." The nurse said unhurriedly.
"What? Urgh, do I always have to search for him?" She could feel her short fuse being lit up. To hear he had been blown up in the only mission, she wasn't there, made her want to rush to Coupé and… and… She wasn't sure, but throwing the bucket of chicken at her head felt appropriate! Maybe gloat to Jin that he fucked up without her help.
She took the elevator up while checking the assigned missions on her phone. Coupé had already been reassigned, while Jin had been benched to recover. "Good." She muttered before frowning, confusedly.
As the doors opened and she passed the waiting people, she caught a glimpse of Jin rounding the corner. Without a second thought, she followed him. She was about to call out to him before she caught a flash of blonde. Instinctively, she turned invisible and followed closely.
Stacy, that bitch, pulled Jin into the storeroom. Invisibitch squeezed into it with them, ducking under Stay's hand, grasping the handle. The storeroom was surprisingly roomy, allowing her to hide behind a shelf in case her invisibility ran out.
"Hey." Stacy-Bitch started awkwardly.
"Hey… any reason you dragged me into the storeroom?"
"I-I just wanted to thank you." She gulped heavily. "I know your life has been difficult." She said, her tone lowering as she started caressing his arm. "A seasoned criminal- former criminal of course. It must have been difficult to integrate back into society." Invisibitch wanted to puke hearing this. Now, it made sense why Stacy, a former teacher, made this change in career. Their dispatcher had a fetish for criminals! Probably thinking that her smutty novels were a documentary!
"Well, you know memory loss has its upsides in that regard." Jin took a step back, his back against the door.
"Indeed, but… not only are you judged for a past, but one you can't even remember-"
"Did someone ever tell you, you look like a blonde Emma Stone?" The question stopped Stacy's arm rubbing.
"Who is that?"
"Eh, right, an actress." Jin fumbled with the doorknob.
"Is she attractive?"
"Y-yes-"
Click
Jin accidentally locked the door before shooting a pleading look in Invisibitch's direction as if he could see her, making her heart skip a beat. Stacy took that moment and hugged him tightly. Jin froze at that action. "Not only are you judged, but you're trying your best to be better and inspire others…" Hearing that, Jin responded by patting her back.
A second later, they separated, and Stacy tried to open the door. "Hmm? Why is it locked?" She unlocked it before shooting a smile at Jin and pumped her fist, "We should probably get back to work. We have people to save."
"Right…" The door fell shut before Jin muttered, "What the hell is going on?"
"Right?! I totally thought she was trying to fuck you." Invisigal said as she became visible again.
"Could have made yourself known when we entered." Jin reproached, but Invisigal just shrugged.
"And miss out on a scandalous office affair? No way." She snorted as she leaned against the shelf. "You looked like you were fearing that she actually was trying to fuck you. You gay or something?"
"Nope, just didn't enjoy the idea of having a voyeur around." He rolled his eyes.
"…You actually knew I was here?" The glance he had given her made her guess it, but she rarely encountered anyone who could detect her. In fact, it happened only thrice, and twice of those times were with the same guy who controlled the air.
"My senses are extremely sensitive. I heard you sneak in behind me and breathe." He simply explained, though she had the feeling he wasn't saying something. "Anyway," he began. "I had suggested to Coupé and Punch Up that we would have a sparring session in about… thirty minutes, after they wrap up their current mission."
"A sparring session?" She frowned. Getting beaten wasn't her idea of fun- well, except if it's in a bar, those could be fun, especially if she wasn't on the receiving end or if she only instigated it…
"Yeah, you know us two against them. I figured we would make a great duo. We could use this to learn how to synergize better in future missions. Maybe even switch up teams as well if we beat them too badly." He humorously winked at her, making her eyes narrow at him. "So, you in?" He held up a fist.
She hesitated for a moment before bumping it. "Let's kick their asses."
…
Punch Up cracked his knuckles, seeing Jin warm up. Just seeing him being rather serious about this sparring session made him excited. From what Coupé had told him, Jin might want to make this a regular occurrence. 'Let's see if he is still up for it after tasting his special move.' Punch Up almost smirked at the thought.
"What's the story with all that stuff?" Punch Up pointed at the small heap of things Jin had carried into this gym.
"Just some gadgets for our session." He simply said as he came up from his Cossack squat.
"Hmm." The sensation of his beard was calming, trying to contain his excitement as he glanced over the heap to find two flags, some rope, weights, medicine balls, and what appeared to be a heap of ping-pong-sized stones. The gym itself was a scaled-up paintball arena. The obstacles were a few meters high, but also gave one room to stand and walk on them. It was obvious that the designer expected superhumans to train in it. Lots of corners with some clearings in between, the biggest one in the middle where they were standing currently.
"Didn't even know they had such a place." The obstacles, walls, crates, barrels, or glass windows were bolted down and seemed to be made out of either steel, stone, or something else resilient. It almost felt like a reinforced fortress. There were marks all around, clearly having withstood some punishment from people who could throw a person hard enough to crack concrete.
"Alright, there should be a starting area for both teams on both sides of the gym, giving each team equal distance to the middle."
"Lad, we can just throw hands here." His hands clenched into fists with a crack before he relaxed them again, making Jin nod with a slight smile.
"We could, and I would love to, but not all our powers are equally suited for a straightforward fight and-"
"Fuck that," Invisigal interrupted, stepped forward while cracking her knuckles. "Just because my powers are invisibility doesn't mean I can't fight." She gave Jin a mean look.
"Eh, trouble in paradise?" He teased.
Jin then glanced at Coupé, who responded by pulling out two of her knives, causing him to shrug before stuffing all the gadgets back into the bag he had brought them in and threw it over the walls. A distant Clank sounded out, indicating to Punch Up that the bag probably had reached the far-off wall. It was a casual throw, too.
"Sure, back to opposing walls, and at the signal we start." Jin started walking, and Invisigal followed, looking rather tense and eager.
Looking at Coupé, she looked equally eager. The sharp focus that usually came when confronted with a challenging opposition could be seen in her eyes. Obviously, Jin acted differently. That much was obvious during their encounter this morning and then throughout the day's interactions, as heard through their team channel. Only a single mission made Coupé speak about his strength and efficiency, something she would only preserve for those who could be said to be 'professional'.
Punch Up thought he would just make Jin remember his punches, but perhaps this would truly turn into more.
"Ready?" Jin asked as they got into position. There was an open container to his right, giving some cover if needed, a concrete pillar that connected to the 20-meter-high ceiling right in the middle, but besides that, it was an open round field that was probably 25 or even 30 meters across.
"Ready as it gets!" He shouted back, palming his fist. Jin showed off one of the stones in his hand.
"It starts as soon as it hits the ground." He announced before throwing it in the air. Only Jin seemed to look at the stone, while the others just relied on their hearing and focused on their opponents. They hadn't exchanged any attack plans, but there was a silent agreement. Punch up would take on Jin, and Coupé would focus on Invisigal.
Punch Up's legs tensed, ready to launch himself at the Wereape. Jin moved before he did.
Blip
His legs pushed him forward. Strength didn't equal speed. However, speed necessitates strength. Without some speed powers, strength was what propelled your body forward. In a single line, Punch Up's speed equaled his strength.
For normal people, he might have turned into a blur. His fist cut through the air, meeting Jin halfway. He reached out, grabbing his arm and guiding it aside.
'He is trained.' The thought popped up immediately. "Dang-" Punch up barely guarded with his arm before the retaliating kick landed. Using the momentum, he flipped back. His boots screeched across the gym floor. Jin, already following, was forced to stop and lean back. A knife flew past him. Punch Up didn't waste the assist. His previous fast speed doubled again.
His fist crashed against an elbow. For the briefest moment, the guard held before it was pushed back. Punch Up followed with a kick. The disadvantage of having shorter limbs, he only clipped Jin's ribs as the other jumped back.
Jin's eyes were wide, obviously surprised that his fist suddenly felt heavier on impact. A smirk appeared on Jin's face, and there was a glint in his eyes. Punch Up had guessed it when he suggested this spar in the morning. A kindred spirit.
'He can take more.' The floor cracked as he pushed off. Speed could only increase if the ground allowed it, and it was difficult to stay low, so his favorite technique would have to wait for an opportunity to show itself.
His fist lashed out, crashing into Jin's. Their strength was almost equal, but his fist was denser. The clash resounded in a THOOOM.
'He never intended for a straightforward clash.' Punch Up immediately realized. Jin pulled back with force, using the momentum to turn. Punch Up was an experienced fighter. He knew what was coming would be uncomfortable.
BAM!
His jaw shifted. BANG His shoulder moved. Crackling and then the rain of brittle stones sounded out. His body bounced across the floor before being stopped by another wall.
There was barely any pain due to his tolerance. And thankfully, his regeneration was fast, so the feeling of sore bones didn't last long.
SWISH SWISH Knives headed for Jin. A sidestep, a lean, and a backstep were all he needed to evade them all. It was obvious that he didn't just have strength. Reaction time and obvious years of martial arts experience. That roundhouse kick wasn't something anyone could utilize the way he did it.
"Don't forget about me!" Invisigal's voice sounded out before smacking Coupé across the face. Coupé retaliated with a slash, avoided by her opponent as she disappeared again.
"Huh?" Punch Up's body suddenly rose. He was being picked up. "Hehe, shouldn't have done that, lad!" His hands clenched around Jin's wrist. His head reared back. Jin leaned back as well, but to throw him. His body suddenly turned denser, slowing the throwing motion.
Enough for, DING
"Argh."
"Hehe." Most of the time, being immune to pain was a blessing! "Though props to ya!" Punch Up shouted as he was launched overhead, having been thrown despite crashing noggings against his.
A knife passed by his side and shot at Jin's calf. Avoided by turning his throw into a backflip. Another knife, Jin turned his body into an opposite C. Punch Up collided with Coupé. Having already guessed where he had been thrown, his decreased density made the collision less severe.
At the same time, Jin's feet found ground. His fist cocked by his side. He turned with sharpness as he glared in their direction. Punch Up's instincts flared up, and Coupè agreed, throwing him to the side as she jumped.
It was hard to describe it, but an invisible force passed their prior position.
WVOOM-BANG
Something punched a hole into the container wall behind them.
"Aren't ya takin' this a bit too serious, lad?" Punch Up asked as his hand ran across the jagged edges of the hole. Jin scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, felt a bit overwhelmed and just wanted to retalia- Woah" Jin jumped away, landing on a wall. The container, ripped from the bolted ground, crashed against the cement wall, stirring up dust. Jin looked shocked at the cloud of dust.
"Don' get distracted, boy!" Punch Up's fist missed by a hair. Jin leaned back, almost falling from the edge. SWIIISH Knives arrived perfectly timed. Jin tilted his head, barely escaping, losing a few hair strands. His hero suit was cut, but no blood.
The most difficult thing when fighting against others with superpowers was determining how much the other could take without dying. Seeing him even avoid their perfectly timed attacks, they knew they could take the fight a notch up. Punch Up had to admit that they would have to put in some serious effort to win this.
His jump cracked the concrete wall. He was onto Jin. A fury of fists was deflected away. Even changing his density at random left Jin increasingly unbothered. Their fists clashed, neutralizing the force, or his fist was deflected away. Jin's body suddenly accelerated a step to the side.
'Freakin' speedsters, ' the thought popped up as he saw the roundhouse coming. Punch Up followed Jin's body, knowing Coupé would make him retreat. Unfortunately, the knives never came.
"Oof, Couuupé!" He shouted as he was kicked away. His body pulverized a concrete barricade before bouncing and shattering a wooden crate.
His healing kicked in, and with his high pain tolerance, there was barely any delay for him to stand up again. "Need some help, Punch Up!" Coupé shouted as she was accosted by Jin. An uppercut against her wing sent her into the ceiling. "Arrrgh!"
"Oh, she sounds angry." Punch Up chuckled as he watched as she dropped into a glide directly on a collision course with Jin. "Can't have you get all the fun." Another jump. They would arrive at the same time. Jin obviously noticed them both.
"Take Punch Up!" Invisigal suddenly shouted as she appeared before him with a chair, throwing it directly at Coupé before disappearing. Coupé sliced through it with her wing before having to block another strike with a bat.
In the meantime, Jin had turned to him. His fist cocked to the side. For a moment, Punch Up feared the invisible attack from before, but Jin waited until he arrived. Their fists clashed, cancelling out. Then his feet dug into the ground, using it to generate more power. Punching up at Jin, clashing against a raised knee, saving his nuts. He easily avoided an elbow with a step back. It was obvious Jin had little experience fighting against someone small.
Jin moved forward. His leg whipped at his head. Punch Up blocked high, obscuring his view. Jin's body moved unnaturally quickly. Using the block to gain momentum in the opposite direction. A spinning sweep and Punch Up was airborne. Another rotation and a kick to the stomach.
"Uuff." That one he felt. His back crashed through several walls before he slid across the ground to a stop. "Pfui pa!" He spat out pieces of concrete. Shaking his head caused the dust on his body to stir up. Cough Cough
He slowly stood up, looking back at the destruction his path had caused. With a jump up, he cleared several walls. In the air, he saw Coupé holding Invisigal hostage with a knife's tip pressed against her throat.
It was only when he closed in that he heard what they were saying. "…move that fucking knife away!" Invisigal shouted with her hands raised. Coupé looked battered, obviously having taken some hits.
The moment she moved the knife away, Invisigal ripped herself free. "We should have discussed some ground rules, especially when someone is considered out," Jin noted a bit too late. They glanced around the field that now looked like a tornado had swept through the place after it had been bombed.
"No shit, Sherlock!" Invisigal shouted.
"Man, that was fun!" Punch Up couldn't help but laugh. "You have a mean kick, Jin!" Although a high pain tolerance and fast regeneration made it difficult to knock him down, he wasn't invincible. Jin's combination of speed, strength, and agility made him a menace to most people. Not to mention that hidden move he had up his sleeve.
"And your punch is some wild stuff." Jin complimented with a smile.
"Oh, you don' know the half of it." Finishing that sentence, his fist met the taller, unsuspecting man's nuts.
"Ourgh."
"He goes down with one punch!" He held up his winning fist. "And the winners are Coupé and Punch Up." Coupé snorted at that, while Jin huffed.
"Fff-uck… cheap…shot." Managed to say as he curled into a ball.
"What the fuck?" Invisigal looked exasperated. "You guys are insane."
"Hahaha, welcome to the club, lass." His words made her narrow her eyes at him. The girl seemed in a foul mood, so he did what men do best. "Ehm, do we have to clean this up?" He pointed at the absolute mess they had caused.
"O-obviously." Jin finally stood up again, but there was something in his voice that made Punch Up watch him more closely.
"Y-your eyes are lookin' a tee bit scary, ya know?" Punch Up took a step back as Jin cracked his knuckles.
…
"There will be plenty of opportunities to win in the future," Jin said suddenly as he wrote something on a note, then placed it in a box. They had already finished cleaning up, or at least they had put the largest broken pieces into a square section outside the training area.
Punch Up and Coupé had already left, while Invisigal decided to stay.
"I don't care that we lost!" She said it a bit more heated than intended.
"You don't?" He looked genuinely surprised, like he couldn't understand the possibility of her lying, which made her deflate a bit before she riled herself up again.
"Argh! I'm sorry, okay! If this hadn't been a straightforward spar, we might have won! Those assholes barely saw me as a threat! If only I didn't have such stupid power that's useless in combat." That point irked her the most. Despite Coupé fighting her most of the time, she even assisted Punch Up as if she couldn't possibly harm her. The two mostly focused on Jin, and she could understand why. His powers made him the main threat and fucking great for him, but it pissed her off!
"Useless in combat?" He looked at her like she had said the most outrageous thing.
"Against you guys?! You or Punch Up throw a punch, and boulders shatter! Coupé can fucking control flying knives! What am I supposed to do? I threw a chair against someone with knives for wings. She sliced through that motherfucke-"
"Visi-" He interrupted, almost sounding reprimanding. "Everything you hold turns invisible as well." He finished like this answered anything.
"So? What has that to do with anything?"
"Just use any weapon, and it completely offsets your 'power problem'. You can shoot someone without them knowing you were there! Hell, take up the bow and arrow, and you could clear entire gangs by your lonesome, maybe even before they realize that something is wrong. You could be a stealth archer, one of the most overpowered archetypes there is! Even if you just box, most people can't handle you. Take up some brass knuckles or a simple knife, and nobody would want to mess with you."
"Stealth archer?" She crossed her arms, "You think we are in a video game?"
"You can turn invisible, learn to use a silent weapon, and you'd become the greatest ninja that has walked the earth. Besides, you're not the reason we lost. If we had focused on Coupé from the beginning, taken her out, Punch Up would have been easier to handle with the two of us."
She opened her mouth to retort, "…You know what? You fucking suck!" She turned invisible and walked away, not wanting to deal with Jin anymore. She liked his new positive, stuck-up attitude, but hearing his words felt too much for her at that point. Just for a moment, she needed some time for herself.
"If you need some ideas, we can brainstorm tomorrow." He added, shouting, as she left. Handling her frustration would have been easier if Jin were a fucking asshole, a sore loser, or had placed the blame on her! She could be the greatest ninja… why the hell would he say that? Now she felt like she had disappointed him…