Chapter Text
Clearly, he should’ve expected that sleeping late the night before would haunt him this morning, but John found that he didn’t really care as much as he would have before starting this whole ‘superhero’ thing.
Yesterday was fruitful, or at least he thinks it was. Hopefully, Connor won’t try anything like that ever again and even if he did John will stop him again, and again, until he learned his lesson.
By the looks of it, they were only a pack of Mid-tiers causing trouble, getting rid of them wasn’t exactly hard, but John does his best to remind himself that he should be careful— It doesn’t matter how easy it might appear, he has to lay low or else he will get found out pretty easily.
He can’t drive any more attention to himself, and by extension to his dad and his friends.
The authorities already proved they could do whatever they wanted and that there isn’t much any of them can do to oppose them.
Not now, at least.
Still, to make sure, he should probably check back into how Newside is doing in a few couple of days, in case any other set of thugs were going at it again. For now, he’ll wait and see— While also getting through another school day, of course.
The week was barely starting and people got insanely more irritated and easily offended on Mondays. Although John certainly couldn’t blame them, that didn’t make it any less annoying.
His friends didn’t take long to notice that he was slightly sleep deprived, so obviously they asked out of concern, but John dismissed them by saying it’s just the Monday effect. Not even Dylan decided to question his response, so John was pretty sure that they all bought it.
At least things between Blyke and him weren’t so tense like before the redhead apologized for what he did, so John’s morning was quiet and peaceful for once. And speaking of having a more positive interaction with people that once held animosity towards him, the same happened with Seraphina now.
They spoke in-between classes before John left to join his friends, or Evie, depending on who he had shared a lesson with. Since they coincidentally encountered each other at the mall the other day, things were a lot less tense between them.
The girl was still as quiet and reserved as always but John noted how less stressed she looked in comparison to last week, where she had been on the brink of breaking down any passing minute her anguish continued to build up for.
It was a nice change, and despite the fact that everybody noticed her new hairstyle, the comments didn’t appear to bother her as much as they did before.
She was ignoring them, just like they deserved. Just like she should've done from the very beginning. And a glare was enough to shut them up.
Evie noticed that both appeared less annoyed by the other’s presence and of course, commented on it once she caught up to what was going on, “Uhm…John? Did something happen between Seraphina and you? I mean, last week you two didn’t seem very…fond of each other.”
John’s only response was to shrug, not really thinking it was so big of a deal. “We had time to talk because of the assignment we were working on together, and let’s just say she isn’t as bad as I thought she was.”
He’s completely honest with it, because it isn’t like he knows his fellow God-tier any more than that.
They just spoke a handful of times, and like three of those or so were where they, especially Seraphina, still hated each other’s guts.
Evie hums, still holding onto the books she needed for her next class.
Surprisingly, the girl didn’t seem that shocked by this development, that people from the same tier got along was to be expected, right?
And yet, she couldn’t help herself but ask, “Does she know you two are–?”
She stopped herself, looking around just to make sure nobody was listening in, and John found it both funny and endearing, that she would take such precautions to make sure she didn’t accidentally air out his true rank. ‘–from the same tier?’ she mouths instead.
He nods, absently.
The fact that Seraphina knew her real level should upset him, but he noted that it, for some reason, did not. Could it be because she found out on her own and no one really told her?
He couldn’t have foretold that she would be able to figure it out by just watching him fight. But he supposes that if she watched his first fight against Zeke, it’s to be expected she did. Seraphina wasn’t the top student on academics for nothing.
Besides, if Seraphina intended to leak any information she got about his real level and rank, she would have done so by now.
“Doesn’t it bother you?” Evie inquires, quirking up an eyebrow in puzzlement, to which John shakes his head ‘no’. “Oh. Well, that’s good— I don’t think it’s something you should be ashamed of, John.”
For the first time, her words didn’t trigger one of those dark thoughts he got used to always be lurking around in his own mind, nurtured and strengthened by his own hand and actions. They did try but John quickly suppressed them, allowing himself to give his friend an smile, nodding, “No. it isn’t.”
He did good things with his ability so far, so he really shouldn’t be ashamed of it anymore. Rationally, he isn’t, but things can get really complicated when it comes to that subject. He prefers not to dwell much into it, least so it brings any uninvited guests in the form of certain memories and thoughts John wanted to avoid.
It’s a good day, and everything’s fine.
Midday arrived and as such, it was time to have lunch. Evie had a class before it so the rest of the group, meaning Dylan, Roland and him, saved her seat and got her meal for her, in case she didn’t have enough ztime to get in line and do so after her class.
When she finally got there, she seemed out of breath, like she had to run all the way there just to not be late. However, there was another person trailing behind her, although at a more composed pace than hers. The three of them caught onto that fact, sharing a quizzical look, but nevertheless deciding to let Evie explain, as both approached their table.
Evie looked relieved to be there at last, letting go a long sigh when she reached them, “I’m so sorry to be late, guys! But the teacher just wouldn’t let us go.” She apologizes, clasping her hands together in an apologetic bow.
Dylan beams at her, shrugging off her apology, “Don’t worry, Evie! We got your meal beforehand.”
The girl looked extremely grateful, and relieved, “Thank you so much!”
However, Roland and he were still caught up on the fact she brought somebody else along, who had been standing there very awkwardly behind Evie. That’s why Roland finally brought it up, focusing on the blond and green-eyed kid, “Hey, Evie?”
The girl’s head snapped up to look in his direction with a puzzled expression, “Who’s your friend?”
Her expression was a poem as she finally realized that she clearly forgot about him for a moment, looking very apologetic and embarrassed as she chuckled nervously, “O-oh, yeah, sorry!” Evie gestures to the boy around her age, John doesn’t really recognize him but he has a feeling he saw him before somewhere throughout the school, or maybe they shared a class? He really can’t say for sure.
“Guys, this is Terrence. We’re in the same class, I was actually wondering if he could sit with us for lunch today?” She introduces, while the aforementioned merely waves in their direction, shyly.
None of them seemed to have any issue with that, so after sharing a collective look, John shrugged, “I don’t see why not. Go ahead, we’ll save an spot.”
Evie brightens at that, while Terrence’s expression remains completely neutral, just nodding thankfully in silence, leaving to get his trail.
The red-haired girl explained to them, seeing their puzzled expressions at the boy’s demeanor as she sat down on her spot next to Dylan, “Don’t worry about it, he’s kinda shy at first.”
John can’t stop himself from raising an eyebrow, that didn’t seem like usual shyness to me— Normally your average low-tier will appear fidgety and nervous, but Terrence seemed quite well-composed. There was something off he couldn’t quite pinpoint but decided not to comment on it, he’s probably just over-analyzing things like he tends to do.
Terrence came back shortly after carrying his own tray of food, sitting down on the remaining seat next to Evie, he clearly felt a lot more comfortable around somebody he knew better, and that was understandable. John would probably act the same.
Their red-haired friend took that opportunity to properly introduce them to the new addition to the group –temporary, or not, it’s up to Terrence– as she turns to the guy with a friendly smile, “Terrence, these are my friends, like I mentioned before–” She points to Roland first, “This is Roland,” then to Dylan sitting beside her, “Dylan, and–” Gestures to him last, “Of course, John.”
“Nice to meet you!” Roland and Dylan said in tandem, while he preferred to acknowledge him in silence instead with a nod sent Terrence’s way.
The aforementioned appeared lightly overwhelmed, which was to be expected if he wasn’t used to…this, “Likewise…” he awkwardly replied, settling the matter for the moment.
Dylan broke the silence after, raising his gaze from his meal to focus on John, “Hey, John,” He addresses with a curious smile, “How is Bart doing?”
Snorting at the name, he shakes his head fondly. Apparently that name stuck to the poor teddy bear, “He’s comfortably sitting on my desk. I haven’t thrown him out.”
Roland and Evie snickered at the mention of that damn stuffed animal, they still can’t believe they got scammed like that. Surely being part of the 2% of the population would warrant a better prize, right? But no, fucking Bart was what that guy came up with.
However, Terrence raises an eyebrow, foreign to their inner jokes, “‘Bart’?” inquires, confused.
The lighter blond is happy to provide him with an explanation, quietly chuckling, “So, we went to the mall the other day and John won a teddy bear from an ability gauging booth, we called it Bart.”
John raised an eyebrow at his friend, “ You named it Bart. Not us.”
Meanwhile lightly playing with his food, Roland sighs loudly in exasperation, “I tried to warn you guys that it was nothing but a scam.”
Dylan rolls his eyes in response to that, “Yeah, well– What’s the fun on that?” Waves a hand around dismissively, “Besides, it only costs ten bucks.” Roland sent him an unimpressed look at the justification, but then shrugged, deciding it wasn’t that relevant.
Deciding to chime in only to pester him, Evie says, “At least now you have something to make you company, John!” Without doubt referring to the fact he had been as a child a fan of stuffed animals.
His reaction, at least at first, was to glare at her to shut up, before an idea crosses his mind and he smirks, “Mention that again, and I’ll make you do five more laps.”
That shut her up, and at Terrence’s clueless expression, Roland explained, “John has been teaching us self-defense.” His smile widens, “At first, I got to admit that I wasn’t a fan of the idea but John happened to be a really good teacher in the end.”
Terrence’s entire expression betrayed how shocked he was at that fact. He blinked in surprise, neutrality and his well-composed facade forgotten for the moment being.
It was like he seriously wasn’t expecting it, and John could understand his reasoning for that; Why would a High-ranker like him teach some Low-tiers how to defend themselves?
Why would he even bother when, in the long run, it won’t make a difference?
However, instead of commenting on it, the green-eyed boy remained quiet, seemingly deep in thought.
John’s first impression of him is that he’s odd.
But if he guides himself by information he has gathered upon first meeting him, then by that logic his group of friends, plus him, are actually the odd ones.
That is something he's certain of.
With that, he re-focused back on his lunch, pretending that he didn't notice a pair of green eyes staring at him from the opposite side of the table.
.
.
.
It seems that once your rank is high enough, people tend to behave around you more than usual, because John hasn’t had to break up any fights throughout the entire day, not even those involved in that certain group of Mid-tiers, bullying the lower-ranks while guided by that dumbass Tanner.
If it had been some other day, he would have been pleased by this development, but instead, it rubbed him the wrong way— This isn’t something he wanted to achieve, primarily due to the way they are only leaving those poor Low-tiers alone not out of their own volition, but just because John had interfered in the past every time they as much attempted to bully somebody near him.
No one in their right mind would want to face the wrath of a High-ranker.
Which is stupid, if he has to say something about it. It’s not like John sent any of the bullies to the infirmary the times they were caught by him. They have literally no reason to fear him so much.
However, he has got to admit that it’s rather peaceful, now that they actively make sure not to pester him anymore.
Ever since he got to Wellston, John hasn’t had a single peaceful day, so for him to have one now...It feels almost suspicious— It’s probably his paranoid ass speaking, though, but he can’t deny it does feel strange, like he’s weirdly out of place. Like a storm is silently brewing on the distance without him being aware about it.
As he was walking to his next class, taking all his sweet time since he still had a few minutes to stall, somebody called from behind him, “John!”
Almost instantly, he turns around to catch a glimpse of Remi running down the hall, carrying her stuff for her next class, putting some effort to catch up with him, even though John had stopped walking to wait for her.
The pink-haired girl had a big smile on her face, which did nothing but widen once she was standing by his side, “Hey!” she greets happily, “Do you have History next?”
He nods, reciprocating her smile with, although smaller, one of his own, “Yeah. Wanna walk there together?”
Remi nods eagerly, and they resume their walk. This is the first time John has seen her be early to class for once, which normally would be something he would use to tease somebody with, only if it wasn’t Remi the one walking beside her— While they certainly are on good- Nearly friendly, terms that doesn’t mean they’re close or friends to begin with, John doesn’t want to accidentally overstep her boundaries when she has tried so hard to respect his.
He finds that he wouldn’t mind, though, if their casual acquianteinship develops into a friendship. Although her status as a Royal and a High-tier, Remi is nice, and she has treated his friends kindly the last time they met, which certainly earned her a few points with John in that regard. For her to overlook levels and the hierarchy in order to acknowledge their presence and treat them like actual people…This is the first time John has ever met a High-tier like that.
John certainly didn’t expect to meet someone like this here at Wellston, but regardless of how odd it might be, he’s happy.
The silence they have both fallen under feels like it’s starting to drag a second too long, and it certainly became unbearable for the girl walking beside him, because she spoke, “So, John…” She begins, although slightly hesitant, “Have you gotten used to Wellston already?”
John finds the question amusing, but he doesn’t show it on his face. Remi has no way of knowing just how many people in this school have gotten under his skin ever since he first stepped foot here, so it would be unfair to dump that on her.
That's why he won't, instead, “I’m managing, it isn’t too different from what I’m used to– Only the exigency is higher.” He gives her the same response he has given his dad before when he asked the same question. John shrugs, “How long have you been here for? You seem very comfortable around.”
Remi nods, adjusting her stuff so that it was easier to walk, “ This is my second year here!” Her smile is almost blinding, “Also, my family and I have lived here for a long while, and my brother graduated from here a couple of years ago. ” Her gaze turns fond at the mention of her brother, “So yeah, I know Wellston well enough. What about you?”
Deciding that avoiding the question would be stupid, he nonchalantly replies, “I’m from New Bostin– Born and raised there, living with my dad.” Then, he adds, “We moved here recently, though.”
She gapes, surprised, “Oh. It mustn’t have been easy...To leave behind everything you’ve ever known– I hope your dad and you got used to this city since then.” She offers a kind smile, clearly meaning what she said. John can tell she’s being genuine, it’s refreshing to meet someone close to his rank that doesn’t act so self-serving all the damn time.
“Have you got any siblings, or is it only your dad and you?”
At the question, he shakes his head ‘no’, hands shoved into his pockets nonchalantly, “Nah, dad had is plate full enough with me as it is.”
He still finds odd that the man never showed any interest to go out and meet somebody new in all these years, even though he would be in his right to do so– Mom left, why wouldn’t he move on? Perhaps he’s satisfied with how things are…
“But I’ve got a childhood friend who...We’ve known each other since babies, practically. He has always been there.”
This is the first time he hasn’t felt sourful when mentioning Adrion. Ever since they made amends, John feels lighter and talking about him became easier. It certainly is nice…
Remi nods along solemnly, like she clearly knows what he’s talking about, “Yeah, it’s the same with my big brother!” Smiles sheepishly, “I don’t know what life is like without him around, we’ve always been close– He was the King before he graduated and Arlo took over. Not even when the stakes were against him, he ever abandoned his morals,” She casually offers that information, “I hope I can be just like him someday—” Wincing, she puffs up her cheeks, “If he hears me say that, he won’t ever let me live it down.”
John can’t help but raise an eyebrow at what she just revealed to him– The King before Arlo? So they knew each other? If Remi’s brother is anything like her, then he can guess their personalities clashed a lot back in the day. That’s an entertaining thought.
Anything that annoys his royal jerk-iness, earns a couple of points in John’s book.
Speaking of which...Judging by the lack of Arlo altogether, is it safe to say that the King backed off after their last… ’conversation’? John expected him to be a lot more insistant regarding the whole inforcing hierarchy thing, but apparently...That wasn’t the case. Not that he wants to see any more of his fellow God-tier, the less the two of them clash, the better– But it’s still odd.
For now, John will bask under the peacefulness. Enjoy it while it lasts.
His chat with Remi was cut short since they made it to their class just in time for it to start a couple of minutes after, and both of them settled on their respective seats before it did.
The rest of the day is just as monotone, which is such a occurence for John that he feels out of place for most of it.
The feeling lingers even as his group of friends and him make it out of school and head over to the dorms.
John pushes through the feeling, however, since he’s supposed to focus on supervising these three training today.
Dylan and Evie are buzzing with excitement as they walk beside them, the former inquiring on his side, John can practically see the stars in his eyes, “So what do you have got in store for today, John? Any new moves?”
Roland seemingly agrees with that hope, because he interjects from behind, “Yeah, we have been stuck on reps for a while now.”
He rolls his eyes at the nagging, not taking the complaints seriously because he remembers himself doing the same back when he was starting to learn from his dad everything he knows, “You guys needed to build up some stamina and strength first before starting with the real stuff.” Shoves his hands into his pockets, “But if you’re so eager to get started on some new stuff, I guess I can teach you some of it.”
The three of them cheer, Dylan a lot louder than the other two. John can’t help the smile that makes its way across his face, knowing they won’t think the same once the real training begins, because his own excitement was cut short back in the day too.
And dad is still so much more talented than him too, the occasions John has managed to beat him in a fair fight could be counted with the fingers of his hands.
After some research, they found that there’s a gym not so far from here they could use to train, since the stuff John has planned to teach today isn’t something they can do without the proper preparations– They could go to his house to do so, but John would rather spare himself the embarrassment his dad meeting Evie and Roland would bring right now. So the gym it is.
They got changed before then, walking off to their respective dorms to get ready.
John hates to admit it, but his skills have been getting a bit rusty, he needs to nurture them least so they go to waste otherwise.
He can’t depend on always having the perfect ability available to defend himself with, not with the kind of ‘shady activities’ –like the news have been calling it lately– he’s doing at night.
If only he could retain the abilities he copies…But that has never been something he thought about before. Now, John will have to leave the possibilities for later.
Who knows if it is even possible in the first place? If only he had somebody to ask…Maybe the school’s library has a lot more information on abilities than the local one did back at his hometown? He should drop by sometime.
However, it isn’t a priority for the moment being. He’s strong enough to deal with a couple of Mid-tiers without breaking a sweat, but if he runs into some trouble he might want to rethink the idea.
Their training took about three hours, in which John made sure none of them slacked but had small breaks in between. Exercising to the point of exhausting yourself isn’t an effective method to train, so taking breaks every now and then is highly necessary.
Needless to say, they are still quite tired after as they get back to the dorms.
John bids his friends goodbye and goes back to his own room to prepare for tonight’s run.
.
.
.
Fortunately, for them at least, John showed these criminals a bit of mercy this time around. A group of about four Mid-tiers were terrorizing a small neighborhood, stealing their goods and collecting loans like they owned the place— The whole thing is pretty similar to his first night at the job, the only difference being that this group weren’t invaders and they actually live there.
The people from the neighborhood had been trying to kick them out for a long while, tired of being bossed around like that by them. However, none of them were strong enough so fighting them off became almost impossible.
That didn’t stop them from trying, though. So the small neighborhood became quite hostile and chaotic because of the constant fighting, most people had moved away to avoid getting caught in between and others closed their businesses to avoid their livelihood getting thrashed by both the opposing group and the self-called landlords.
It wasn’t a surprise for John, that when he got there, the tension had once more built up enough for the two groups to collide again.
He could already tell it was going to be a troublesome situation.
That districts like these have been self-governing for a while now, the authorities never setting a foot in districts full with low-rankers unless a Elite or higher-ranker were involved, doesn’t exactly help, at all.
John has never been particularly good at playing mediator, but he did his best. After beating their asses, they finally agreed on at least a ceasefire for the time being. They weren’t happy at a High-ranker getting involved but it isn’t like they had any say in the matter.
In the end, those criminals were meant to return every cent they have taken from these people and at least move somewhere else for the time being –because John can tell the tension between these people won’t just disappear from one day to another– and apologize for the trouble caused.
John made the opposing group apologize to the other residents too, because, while he could understand their motives and frustration, the constant fighting was troubling everybody, that includes the families and elderly who have nothing to do with this and have to endure not being able of walking through their own neighborhood without fearing getting in the middle of one of those fights— Some even desisted from sending their children to school, afraid of them getting hurt.
The situation had escalated to such a point that their home wasn’t safe anymore, but most couldn’t afford to leave.
This was, by far, the most tiring thing he has had to get himself involved in. Honestly, John prefers having to fight somebody than negotiate, it isn’t his fort. But he made an effort and it seems that one thing got solved, for now at least.
He made a mental note of checking in some other day to see if the agreement was being respected by both parts.
See, he could be merciful when he intended to be.
Like this, John established a routine for his weekdays; During the day, he goes to school, pays attention to his classes like any other student, does homework and spends time with his friends. During the night, he goes out to ‘fight crime’, as foolish as it might sound.
This also means he isn’t getting much sleep during the nights but it’s worth it when he reads that what he has been trying to do, helped these people in some way.
That is, certainly, one of the reasons he’s keeping this up. It’s dangerous and risky, he’s well-aware of that, but also gratifying in some way, to know he’s finally offering something valuable to the world.
The fact that he’s also proving how useless the Bureau actually is, is a plus and a huge boost to his mood. Hopefully, more people will begin to notice this.
Which, as superheroes gain a lot more attention in opposition to the erasure they get from the local news stations, is starting to happen, kinda. John hears a lot more people make passing comments on these ‘vigilantes’ around througout the school recently compared to before.
This includes his friends, meaning he has to pretend he knows absolutely nothing about it and like he doesn’t go out every night to do the same thing these people they’re talking about are doing.
It’s funny, in a way. But also highly irritating, despite knowing how the less people that know about him, the better.
What is starting to be curious for John, is how he has yet to run into another ‘vigilante’. It’s like they’re unconsciously avoiding each other.
For now, at least. He knows he will eventually run into one the more he goes out.
After doing some research on his next target, for the new week. He went through a few neighborhoods and districts here and there, making sure not to develop a pattern that can be followed –he’s paranoid like that, yes– but if there’s one he hasn’t touched yet, that is Branish, simply because from what he researched, the situation there was a lot more complex than the others.
The similarities with the other cases he’s gone through are there, that’s for certain; The Low-tiers in Branish have been, like in every other place he’s been to lately, self-governing for years now, but they haven’t had an issue of this magnitude in a long while, and that is what makes this one more complex. There isn’t much information, but from what he could find in reports made, this has been going on for almost half a year now.
That, is what had John hesitant to get involved in the first place. At the beginning, he didn’t feel confident getting wrapped into these situations so much, but now that he has a bit more of experience, it doesn’t sound that big of a deal.
On insight, it’s pretty simple; Go in, find the source of the chaos going on in that district and get it over with.
His target appears to be a man named Waldo, his ability isn’t anything special nor something John hasn’t seen before. At first sight, the guy is just a small fly compared to others he has encountered, a Mid-tier with a reported level of 2.8. Nothing special, really— However, that is exactly what had John raising an eyebrow.
Even if he’s stronger than everybody else in Branish, he shouldn’t have been able to take control of the entire district on his own. His ability isn’t something useful close-up, and any mid-ranged ability should have been enough to take him down.
It has John wondering if the level he read was actually the man’s real one.
Regardless, it should be an easy one to deal with.
At first glance, though.
Getting there wasn’t an issue, like always. But you could tell something was wrong with the place upon just setting a foot in the area.
Everything was so eerily quiet, not a single soul outside, most lights across the residential apartments were turned off and the curtains of every window drawn.
Despite the bad feeling he had about this, John decided to brush it off and continue exploring, trying to see if he could figure out what was going on.
That’s when he heard lots of ruckus a couple of streets away, which immediately caught his attention and he decided to check it out.
As expected, finding these ‘troublemakers’ wasn’t so hard. It never is, it’s almost like John attracts chaos whenever he goes. He stopped by an alleyway, primarily to observe the situation.
What he saw was a long, yellow-haired guy repeatedly banging on a door. He was very insistent and loud, enough that it was starting to get on John’s nerves, but he reigned it down to focus on what is going on exactly.
The annoying little shit is yelling something about evicting the people living there if they weren’t going to pay the part or pull their weight around there, nonsense, of course, and one John has heard so many times before it was starting to get old– Really, who the hell does this guy think he is?
“Pretending to not be home won’t spare you!” He threateningly warned, after not getting any response from inside the apartment. It seems his patience is running out, because his eyes started to glow and John felt his passive flare up in response to the active aura nearby, unconsciously focusing on it.
He couldn’t help but scoff at the ability, just some mild-strength enhancement. However, for something so small and useless, the guy has a decent level, his level hovering around a two and perhaps higher than that, it’s no wonder he believes himself some big shot.
Well, not that it matters, since it’s going to change very soon.
“Open up, or I’ll kick this door down!” The guy shouts, still no response. And John couldn’t blame whoever is inside for not answering the door. Things would end badly for them either way, even if they do answer.
Tired of all the yelling already, John pushes himself off the wall to approach the guy from behind, making sure he wouldn’t be able to tell he’s there for now at least.
Sneaking up on him isn’t hard, preparing the slightly amped version of the ability he just copied to when he’s standing right behind him.
Just as the guy was about to raise his leg to kick the door, having taken a few steps back, John’s hand shot up and latched abruptly on the collar of the man’s shirt.
Before the other could even process what’s happening, John pulls.
The man only manages to let go a choked-up yelp as he’s yanked backwards by his own shirt and sent sprawling onto the cold pavement once what was holding him let go of him.
John was beginning to enjoy the newly-restored quietness, as he approached the guy on the floor that was just starting to recover from whatever just happened from his perspective, raising his head to look at him, “Who- Who the fuck are you?!” He snarls, getting up from his position even if it took him a few seconds.
He just stares down at him, unanswering. John isn’t going to waste saliva with a mere lapdog unless it is to get information on where the hell Waldo is.
The guy is annoyed at the lack of response, gritting his teeth, “Nevermind, other than a clown the only people that would dress up like that are those crazy children going around getting their noses in other people’s business! We don’t want your kind around here, kid. Go away before I beat your ass.”
John merely stares, raising an eyebrow behind his mask. He’s vastly unimpressed by his words, yet amused regardless. Normally, he would have laughed but now, this guy is getting the silent treatment.
Merely because he knows how frustrated these people get when he lets the silence drag on on purpose.
And this man isn’t an exception to that unspoken rule, because John could see a vein beginning to pulse on his forehead in irritation, “No response, huh? Whatever, it’s your fucking loss, brat! I gave you the opportunity to apologize and go away!” he raises his fists, getting in position to fight, “Now, we’ll do things the hard way!”
John lets him attack first, uninterested in this small fry to put much effort into it. The guy swung his clenched fist at his head, he could see the way his hand and wrist were powered by aura.
Unfortunately, the rest of his arm and body are left defenseless.
He merely tilts his head to the side to dodge the punch last minute, he parries the strike and guides the arm to the side, latching onto his wrist and upper arm with aura-enhanced strength, using it as support point to balance his weight to his other leg and kick the guy’s side with almost all his might.
The guy tried to cover himself from the strike, but it didn’t work, getting sent flying to the side a few meters away. John shrugs off the strain on his arm, not giving the guy enough room to recover so that the ‘fight’ wouldn’t drag on.
Needless to say, he’s reduced very quickly to a mess of tears and snot of pain when John was done with him, lying on the floor clutching his stomach. John let’s go an inaudible sigh as he looms over the guy, kneeling down to grab him by his shirt and lift him up enough they’re seeing eye-to-eye.
“What the fuck do you want from me?” the guy demanded, wincing at forced movement of his bruised body, the glow from his eyes had vanished after the fight was over, so John was pretty much going to spare him soon.
This is the only time he says to him, “I’m looking for Waldo.” his voice comes out muffled by the mask, “Where is he?”
Yellow-haired guy stubbornly scoffs, “Like hell I’m going to tell you shit!” He’s certainly not taking John that seriously just yet, because he spat blood to the side of the road, before refocusing on him, “What’s a goody-goody like you going to do about it if I don’t tell you, huh?” Chuckles, “Torture me?”
John’s hold on him tightens, as his voice tone lowers, causing the guy to stiffen, “Tempting.”
He’s not going to lie, the idea is a bit tempting, but before he could even meditate on his options, noise comes out of the guy’s pocket, like a radio.
Seems he has got a way of calling his partners, which is certainly convenient for him.
The aforementioned, are calling for this guy here, he presumes, through the radio “Bimel to Elbert– Where the fuck are you, dumbass? Have you collected the fee?” The guy from the other side spoke, his annoyed tone coming off easily noticeable, “I swear to god, if you’re sleeping on the job again it’ll be your head Waldo’s gonna go for!”
John returns his attention to the guy- Elbert, finding the whole situation kinda amusing from his perspective, as he gestures to the radio, “Go on, answer your friends.” Encouraged, tone kept low and threatening, not giving much room to argue back, “Tell them the situation has gotten off hand and that you need help.”
Elbert does a double-take, scoffing in disbelief, although he's clearly trying to hide his nervousness. “ Please, what are you going to do?” Unimpressed, raises an eyebrow, “Are you planning on taking them all by yourself? Are you fucking nuts–”
Already tired of hearing his annoying voice, John’s hold passes from his shirt to wrap around his throat and lightly squeeze, “Keep talking, and I’ll snap your neck in two.” It comes off as a warning rather than a threat, because he’s very much going to do so if he keeps with all that nagging.
It at least helped the guy take him a bit more seriously because he could feel how he nervously passed down saliva, “Do as I say, and I’ll let you go.”
Not having much room to resist, the man nods and shakily reaches for his radio, taking it out of his pocket and raising it to his mouth.
As he was about to press the button and open his mouth to say something, John whispered a last warning, “Say anything about me and you’ll be eating from a straw for the rest of your pitiful life, got it?”
He furiously nods, seemingly scared at the serious threat, because John isn’t one to fool around with the threats he makes. Like he said…he’s good at intimidating people.
“H-here, Elbert–” the man finally presses the button and spokes into the radio in response to the other guy, doing his best to keep the nervousness off his tone, “Things have gotten off-hand–” He repeats what John told him to say as naturally as he can, under the pressure of John’s glaring that he could feel even with the mask in the way. “I need reinforcements. Over.”
He let go of the button he was pressing to allow ‘Bimel’ to reply, a frustrated sigh came shortly after, “Again?!” Bimel snarls into the radio, “You had one job! Ugh, whatever. Stay where you are, Keesh and I are going.”
Elbert presses the button again, only hesitating a bit, as he made ‘eye-contact’ with the kid– No, the devil in front of him, “R-Roger that.”
He lowers the radio, which has gone silent since both parts have deemed the conversation as finished.
John lets go of the guy, who seems relieved at not being threatened anymore, “W-what are you going to do now?” He inquires, his curiosity getting the best of him, “Even if they do lead you to Waldo, no matter how strong you are, he’ll beat your ass like every other person before you. You’re not going to win.”
John doesn’t reply, rising from his crouched position to spare his surroundings a glance. He’ll hide in the alley and wait for these people to show up. Hopefully they’ll have an useful set of abilities for him to use–
His passive flares up in response to an incoming attack that never landed with his quick reflexes, he grabs the arm of the person that was attacking him and swiftly inverts the situation to his favor, throwing the guy off back to the floor.
Elbert coughs as every bit of air is pushed out of his lungs as his back hits the pavement. John stares at him, unimpressed. He can’t believe he decided to try that out as if it was going to work.
It seems he’s too annoying to be left on his expenses, so John swiftly knocks him out, his body going limp.
He let out a relieved sigh. Finally, some silence.
Since his plan would work better this way, he lets the guy there, and backs away into the alley he came from. He couldn’t feel anybody nearby for now, so it’s safe to say they don’t have anyone with a sensing ability, which is certainly a relief.
John backs away, hiding in the same alley from moments prior. It’s the best place to wait and see who shows up, keeping a hold of this ability, regardless of how useless it might turn out to be— Who knows? Maybe he can pair it up with something else more useful soon.
With that thought, he waits.
.
.
.
It didn’t take too long, for John to hear a set of footsteps approaching the place, and three presences coming along– Wait, three? He thought only two would be coming here, but oh well, not that it will matter. However many they bring, John will still fuck them all up.
It doesn’t take too long for those three to find the unconscious figure of their colleague lying on the cold pavement. John hears how their pace came to an abrupt halt, taken aback, followed by the chorus of hurried feet approaching Elbert.
“Elbert?!” The voice of a man exclaims, surprise imprinted on his tone. This clearly was the last thing they expected to find when they got here. Another set of footsteps follows, clearly belonging to the other two who came to stand beside him.
“What the hell happened to him?” A woman inquires this time along.
The first man replies soon after, “I don’t know- He’s out cold.” Some ruffling of clothes next and John perks up at what he said next, “We should report this—”
Their heads all shot up in the direction of the alley next to them when the noise of footsteps that didn’t belong to neither of them echoed in the almost empty space. The man’s hand holding the radio stilled immediately, demanding, “Who’s there? Come out now!”
John’s passive flares up familiarly, focusing on the three different now active abilities in front of him within his sensory range. Reading their aura, he huffs to himself— Nothing useful here.
To the other’s, whom he will assume is the aforementioned Bimel that spoke on the radio a bit ago, demand John obliges, stepping out of the shadows casted over the alleyway. The three– Two men, a light orange, curly haired one with an Augmentation-type ability, the other with light blue hair with what John supposes must be either a projectile-related one or some other kind of Construct if the way his aura mainly focused on his fists was anything to give by, and a woman with purple hair whose aura surprisingly enough is concentrating on her upper body— What kind of ability could she have?
Regardless of what kind of generic abilities they have, John can tell they’re nothing but small fries; The strongest amongst them is that woman, whose name he will suppose it’s Keesh, and her level was barely lingering on high Mid-tier, but lower than 3.0 which would mean none of them are anything special.
He’s broken out of his thoughts by Keesh, who is doubling up their efforts on getting information out of him by ordering, “Was it you who did this to Elbert?!”
Amused, John stops walking, keeping up a relaxed posture as he nonchalantly shot back, “And what if I was?”
Just like he expected, that riled them up, because the woman’s hair started to unnaturally move upwards, as if it were floating. “Who do you think you are?!”
Before she could strike, the blue-haired guy stopped her just in time, and they seem apprehensive, while Bimel scoffs, “Dressed like that…You must be one of those pesky brats playing hero—” Something begins to form on his arms, sprouting out like some sort of gauntlet. Is that rock? “Playtime’s over, kid. Go home, or we will make you!”
The woman agrees with her colleague, gritting out, “Get out of our town! We dont want your kind around here!”
Behind his mask, John raises an eyebrow. He already lost count of how many times they have said something like that, and he still has no idea what they meant— Surely, they are referring to him being a High-ranker, right? It’s the only thing he can think of that makes sense.
Either way, he’s not impressed, remaining in his position. Unmoving. “I’m looking for Waldo– Have got a bone to pick with him. Where is he?”
His reflexes acted up then at the feeling of active aura flying towards him at a rapid speed, and John moved his head to the side, dodging some kind of mass that came out of blue-haired guy’s fists after he punched the air in his direction. Huh. How useless.
“We said get the fuck out-!” Bimel shouted before lounging forward, his rock-made fists aimed towards him. Just like he predicted he would do after that attempt of getting his attention away from their melee fighter.
The man jumps and attempts to punch him mid-air, but John merely steps out of the way, still holding onto Elbert’s ability from moments prior, the man’s attack is met by the pavement, going through it as if it was made of butter. It would have been annoying if that landed.
None of these abilities would be useful for him, neither have any interesting stats, and right now John is mostly interested on getting some Speed to match with the Stength-augmentation he copied.
Annoyed at the lack of anything useful he can exploit, he clicks his tongue behind the mask— This will be an annoying fight. He needs to take out the Melee first–
As he was just about to do that, focusing aura in his hands and wrists for a contundent punch, his passive warns him about the incoming attack and he has no other option but to jump out of the way.
His attention momentarily shifts to the guy on the right, the blue haired one. His ability has a decent range which is starting to get more and more annoying by the minute, John should deal with him first, considering how quick he charges.
Noise from the left distracts him, so his eyes are met by the sight of Rock-arm guy coming at him for a punch, which he avoids and returns faster than he could see. He’s sent to the floor the moment after John’s aura-imbued fist collided with his cheek.
“Damn brat! You will pay for that!” The woman screams, and to John’s shock, about five different hair locks are sent in his direction, edges pressed together forming some sort of spikes that collided against the floor where he was standing before moving out of the way just in time, eyes wide.
Out of all things, he wasn’t expecting to be attacked by hair.
Interesting ability– He observes in his head as the hair tendrils follow him around until he seems to be out of the range they can reach — But not at all useful.
A source of aura approaches him again and he bents his back on an uncomfortable angle to avoid the strike. His gaze is met by blue-haired guy’s and John can’t help but grit his teeth. You are starting to get on my nerves.
However, with that woman and her weird-ass hair protecting him, John can’t get close. But he knows very well they are only stalling for their friend to recover and re-join the fight.
Urgently, John needs a Speed-focused ability and fast because this fight is dragging on way too much, to his annoyance. Rock guy returns shortly after and now John has to constantly shift his attention from dodging his punches, to avoid being hit by the blue projectiles and that woman’s hair spikes.
One graces his leg and John’s expression contorts in anger as he kicks away Rock guy, hoping he won’t be getting up anytime soon. He can’t believe these weaklings are making him lose this much time.
His patience running out, John grabs onto Bimel’s shirt and joustled him up, and using all of his amplified Strength, throws him at his friend. Blue-haired guy is too slow to even attempt to get out of the way in time before his partner collided against him, sending both of them to the ground, harsh.
Next, he copies blue-haired guy’s ability to send a projectile in the woman’s direction, hitting her right onto the chest.
Since there’s no way he’s getting any info from them, John wastes no time to finish the two on the floor off before they can’t even begin to recover. He lifts his leg, ready to stomp on them, but he feels something latch around his other leg.
He had felt it slid towards him but these damn abilities aren’t any good and he wasn’t quick enough to dodge it, the purple hair wraps itself around his ankle and the woman pulls. John doesn’t have much time to react before he’s suspended on the air, held by multiple other hair strands enclosing on his limbs and upper body.
“I’m going to rip you apart, brat! Then, Waldo can think of what to do with you himself!” Her expression is contorted by anger, but she seems to be still in pain from moments prior, not recovered at all. It’s good to see how little her Recovery is, in spite of her Speed and Trick stats.
He sighs to himself. He could easily break out of this, but John is meditating on letting himself get captured just that he can get this over with and have them bring him to Waldo themselves. However, the idea of getting hurt, and as such, slowed down, doesn’t sound enticing right now.
Thanks to his amped Defense, what she’s trying to do barely has any effect, so it gives him more time to think. The lack of a decent Speed stat he can get his hands on is certainly something he will need to prepare for in the future, clearly assuming everywhere he goes there will be something like that available was a mistake on his part.
Just as he was about to copy Rock-arms guy’s ability, John’s passive flared up as something he couldn’t quite discern cut the air inside his sensory range in their direction, and for a split second John panicked– Do they have snipers?!
However, to his bewilderment, whatever that was shot right through the woman’s aura-imbued hair, cutting it short and freeing John from her grasp. Keesh stumbles back a bit, as John regains his composure, taking in a defensive just in case.
There’s two unfamiliar aura signatures nearby and getting closer, who are they? Clearly, not Waldo’s allies if the way they aimed specifically for Keesh instead of attacking him.
The woman growls in a mix of frustration and anger as she tries to see who the hell did that to her, only to be met by something fiercely piercing through and landing on her shoulder and leg. She lost her footing because of the pain shooting up her leg, and she collapses to her knees with a agonized yelp as she bites her lip.
When her hand shots up to the wound on her shoulder, John’s focus shifts to what exactly caused it; A blade, made of bluish aura.
He narrows his eyes, feeling himself stiffen. That’s not a common ability.
Keesh grits out through the pain, “Who the fuck is it now?!”
The owners of the two new aura signatures finally made themselves known, one being nothing but a blur as the air crackled around him and he made it to the woman’s side at a dizzying speed, to the point John’s eyes having trouble keeping up with his speed, leaving sparks on his wake.
The man, seemingly older than John, placed a hand on the woman’s other shoulder, and her whole body shook as electricity flowed through her, posture tensing up and face contorted in pure pain until she passed out from the literal shock.
That’s when he managed to get a good look of them, and his ability. Teal-green hair and eyes glowing a bright amber, while his body was surrounded by what seemed electricity. John could feel it spiking up the air around them, and hear the faint crackling sounds it made from time to time resembling a storm. The other one, a blue haired guy with a long ponytail and what seemed like a sword made of aura held tightly in his hand.
By their clothes, John guesses they are here for the same reasons he is; Vigilantism.
The teal-haired man let’s go a sigh of relief, turning to him with his eyes crinkling up because of what he assumed was a smile under the mask covering half of his face, “Phew… Seems we got here just in time– You alright, kid?” He asked with what he heard was nothing but honeyed confidence that only had John frowning. Such confidence...Who are they?
Taking a moment to read their aura, he asseses their stats and levels- These two…They’re really strong, his gaze falls onto the one that spoke to him, especially him. And with bloodline-unique abilities too.
To either his fortune or disgrace, he finally met his first set of vigilantes.