Running to the roof of the building, my thoughts were trapped in a loop. I could feel blood pulling to my head. And then I saw her, my one and only sister surrounded by wolves. My bones began shaking,
I was weak, thanks to Randy, that was a fact I knew all too well.
But I had to do something!
“Let her go,” I began, my voice low and shaky.
Fear echoed throughout my entire body, but I was her older brother, I was not going to go back home without my sister—even if my life depended on it.
“Finally! This is what I’ve been waiting for! To see those eyes begging for mercy.” Randy sneered. “Did you think you could run away from me?”
“Please! It’s me you want. Don’t do anything to her!” They were clearly ignoring me. my words only fueled their cruelty.
“I’ll report you!” I warned them, for once getting serious
A cold smirk crossed Randy’s face.
“Report me? Wait a minute! What kind of bastards do you think we are? Pervert!”
He laughed with his friends.
“We’re not like you. We’d never force a girl to do anything. I heard your sister is an A student just like you. So, we came here to study together, isn’t that right, sweetheart?” He caressed Angela’s cheek.
A line was crossed!
Everything around me began going dark, and a sharp sound raced in my ear. The rage inside me screamed. Before I knew it, a fist had formed in my hand.
“You bastard! Get your hands away from her!” With a loud scream, I threw a punch at Randy. But before I could touch him, one of his cronies caught me, and before I knew it, I was on the ground getting beaten up.
I felt my bones cracking as they kept kicking my entire body. I wondered about the reason behind my existence. I told myself that I’d protect our family after my brother Kled left home. How? The question haunted my mind. I couldn’t even throw a single punch.
“Please let us go!” Angela begged them. Tears were running down her face.
Seeing my sister crying, begging them to stop hitting me, crushed my soul into pieces. The hopelessness I felt echoed throughout my entire body. It was the first time I had resented myself to such an extreme degree—the point where I wanted to kill them all and then take my own life for being too weak to protect my own sister.
I gathered my strength and knelt down. They stopped kicking me. Fighting them was not going to help me in any way at that moment.
That’s when I dropped my head before Randy. “I am sorry. I won’t run away anymore. From now on, I will come whenever you call me.”
“Oh! You have finally come to your senses. Now that’s a good boy!”
I had made up my mind. My head was down, but my fists were tightening.
“This is how it’s supposed to be!” Randy added. “Today is such a good day that it deserves celebration, wouldn’t you agree?”
Celebration? My nose was breeding out and I was covered in bruises.
“Why don’t you stand up and dance for us before we go.” Randy suggested, to push my dignity even further in mud.
That’s what happens when you put your head down—things don’t get better! But I was biding my time carefully and couldn’t risk them hurting my sister. I stood up and did as Randy instructed. They made me wear a skirt and filmed me as I danced about. I was a puppet. When all my sense of pride was erased, something else emerged: a clear goal, devoid of emotions. After that, I took my sister and we went back home. I promised her that nothing like that would ever happen again—and made her promise not to tell our mother.
Reaching home, I immediately rushed to my father’s lab in the basement. I removed one vial from the hidden bag of ten vials full of purple serum that Number One had instructed me to keep safe. I was no longer going to let Randy and his minions have control over my life. Holding the vial tightly, I made a silent vow to myself and my family: I would become stronger and protect everyone I love.
I opened one of the vials and gulped down the entire content. Immediately after, a heavy sensation coursed through my body. The pain was so intense that I lost consciousness for 30 minutes. When I came to, I felt an unmistakable change within myself. A euphoric feeling unlike any I had ever experienced surged through me. My senses were amplified, and I could feel the energy coursing through my body. Even fear felt distant from my heart. From that moment, I was sure I had gained superpowers. And only one thing was in my heart and mind, Revenge!
Unable to fall asleep, I rose from bed early, did some push-ups, and prepared for the day ahead. I could tell I had gotten stronger, and that my newfound power was going to help me finally destroy my enemy. I felt a surge of confidence.
With that I arrived at school with a clear goal. I entered the classroom and scanned for Randy. And there he was in his usual spot. Seeing him napping at his desk with eye patches, I walked straight toward him, attracting everyone's attention with my determined stride. My heart began racing. As a hero about to bring justice, I stood tall and confident.
“Randy!” I called out, my voice surprisingly unyielding even to myself.
Removing his patches, Randy grumbled. “Err! Who dares to disturb my sleep?”
And then his eyes met mine.
“You! I’ll give you three seconds to explain why you woke me up, and then I’m gonna beat you up regardless of your reason.”
Randy’s cronies stood up and surrounded me, waiting for his signal. They were all going to pay for what they did.
“Let’s not do this here! Come outside!” I challenged.
“What!” Randy exclaimed.
“Is he out of his mind?” Justin, one of Randy’s right hand man, asked. They were all shocked to hear me talking back.
“Come on!” I walked outside, and they followed me to the usual spot where they used to bully other students, including myself.
We stood across from each other, staring for a moment.
And then,
“Teach him a lesson!” Randy finally ordered.
“Wait!”
I halted them. “Before we start, I am going to give you a chance to apologize for everything you’ve done to me over the past three years.”
“Did you eat something wrong last night? I told you not to misbehave anymore. Beat him up, show no mercy!”
Justin threw a punch at me. With my heightened senses, I heard his fist moving through the air, so slow to my eyes. I immediately planned a counterattack—to block the punch and twist Justin’s arm. However, I noticed that my speed was still no match for Justin’s. While my sensory and mental processing speeds were enhanced, my motor skills and physical strength remained constant. My push-ups had deceived me. My mind was faster than my body. I kept watching his fist as it moved toward my face, in a moment that seemed to stretch like hours.
I was met with a flurry of one punch after another. And then they all joined in.
As the bullies beat me up, my mind was occupied with something else. Confusion, wondering why I couldn’t land a single blow despite their incredibly slow attacks.
Later that day, I went home and headed straight to my father’s study in the basement to figure out what had gone wrong. I opened another vial and drank the serum. Once again, I felt a heavy weight rushing from my head down to my legs. I nearly passed out but managed to bring myself back to my senses with Randy’s face as my mental reinforcement.
I stretched my muscles and began doing push-ups. It was effortless! I did twenty—my usual maximum—and then continued without fatigue. I reached a hundred, then a thousand. Despite feeling the effort and energy expenditure with each push-up, I was not getting tired.
“Cipher, dinner is ready!” my sister called.
“I’ll eat later!”
I did another thousand push-ups and practiced throwing punches before calling it a day. Even that night, I couldn’t sleep. I thought it was anxiety, but I later figured the insomnia was due to my hypercognitive state. My senses were constantly active.
The following day, I went to school early and everything happened as the day before. We arrived at the usual spot.
For a second time, I stood across from them. “Don’t expect the same thing to happen today, jackass!” I provoked Randy, fully convinced that this time would be different.
“You’ve really gone insane, haven’t you? Let me help you fix that brain of yours,” Randy sneered. Enraged, he told his boys to stand aside as he prepared to beat me.
He was a large, typical school bully known for his mercilessness. But this time he was about to be defeated and embarrassed in front of his friends. That was my promise to him.
He began with an uppercut.
As I predicted, the punch was slow. With the second vial, my speed had increased. I blocked Randy’s punch and pushed him away, but I quickly realized I didn’t know how to fight.
Surprised to see their indestructible boss fail to land a punch, worry washed over their faces.
Randy threw more punches and kicks, but I managed to deflect them. That’s when he suddenly stepped back and took off his jacket. Justin and the others jumped back immediately.
I was confused and wondered what was about to happen.
And then, Randy suddenly went into a frenzy. His speed and force dramatically increased—as if he had suddenly transformed into a beast. Despite outpacing him in sensory perception, I was still miles away from matching his motor speed and accuracy. I blocked some of his punches, but most landed.
The fight continued for twenty minutes until Justin and the others stopped him, ending the battle with Randy exhausted and me beaten on the ground.
I had lost again, but I was now certain of one thing: the vials were working!