The fist coming towards Gary was fast, a little too fast, thankfully there was some space between the two of them that allowed him to at least do something. Lifting his arms up in a cross shaped position, the only thing he could do in time was block.
Jayden threw out the punch a bit widely, there was no technique involved, he had just run and thrown a punch out. Hitting Gary, he skidded along the ground for a bit before stopping. His arms were heavy and sore. They were throbbing like a heartbeat and each time the pain would get worse.
[You have been inflicted with a grave injury]
[-15 HP]
[79/100 HP]
[Bones in your arms have been broken]
[Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]
[-10 Energy]
‘Holy f*ck.’ Was Gary’s first thought. A few moments later, he felt a rush of pain in his forearms. ‘I know he’s one of the top 50 Altered fighters, but my Endurance isn’t a joke… what’s more, he hasn’t even transformed yet! You’re telling me a single punch did that much damage?!’
[Emergency healing now in progress]
“Hey, isn’t that guy Jayden Tiger? I swear it looks just like him.” One of the gang members exclaimed.
“Are you crazy? What would someone like him be doing here? Did someone hire him?” Another replied.
Unlike the high schooler, Jayden wasn’t wearing a mask nor hiding his identity in any other way, simply because he wasn’t worried about some gang members recognising him. He would happily deal with anything that was to come after this event. At the same time, there were plenty of people that would happily stay clear of him as well.
‘Wait a minute, something’s wrong?’ Gary thought. ‘If Jayden was really working for them… then wouldn’t they already know who he is? … but then why is he here? And why did he decide to beat me into a pulp?!’
“Hang on, I think there’s a mis-” Unfortunately, the teenager didn’t get a chance to explain himself.
“I told you my instincts were always right.” Jayden smiled. “You are the strongest out of them. It looks like your arms are in pretty good condition still, so let’s do this.”
For whatever reason, the Altered started to take off his sports top and threw it down on the ground, revealing his six-pack abs and his chiselled body. This wasn’t simply the body of an athlete, but one of an Altered. It looked like a person’s body which had been enhanced by performance drugs and then further photoshopped, but it was right here in the flesh.
‘What do I do? How do I get myself out of this one? … and why THE HELL did he take off his shirt?!’ Gary had trouble comprehending the absurdity of the situation. He had come here to save Xin, yet he had somehow ended up fighting one of his idols.
Identifying him as the larger threat, the red colour gang members ignored Gary for the time being and charged forward towards Jayden, yet the Altered didn’t even look away from the masked teenager. He was like a beast who had found its prey, and it wasn’t going to let Gary go.
Once the two members were close enough, the Altered fighter swung his arms, and the next moment the two grown men were already on the ground, knocked out cold. Gary was barely able to see the punches. More so, he had heard the impact on their faces, and he was sure a couple of them had broken noses or missing teeth.
“I’m surprised to find someone like you in a place like this. Why would you work for a gang?” Jayden asked, charging forward again.
“Listen, I’m n-” Once again, the high schooler failed to correct the Altered. It was as if he had already made up his mind about Gary being part of the colour gang, even though his outfit should have been a dead giveaway…
‘Damn it, I’ll use Controlled Transformation, buy enough time for him to notice. I can’t leave now, I have to save Xin… even if that means I have to defeat him first!’
Gary expanded his muscles, and through his shirt he could feel they were now like two small cannonballs. He got into a boxing-like stance and waited for the right time. Instead of joining in the fight, the remaining gang members had decided to run back into the cabin, leaving only the two to duke it out outside.
“See, some loyal gang members you have there!” Jayden shouted to the frustration of the masked high schooler.
Gary threw out a punch, a perfect jab like Kirk had shown him. It was clean and smooth and most importantly it was fast. Unfortunately, the punch was also telegraphed, allowing Jayden to predict his actions from a mile away.
He moved his head down slightly and to the right, avoiding the punch. He could hear the sound of the hit, and could tell it was strong.
“Your body… it’s not normal.” Jayden commented, but surprisingly rather than panic, he could see that the masked guy’s face seemed calm.
‘I never thought my punch was going to hit you in the first place. Besides, I know more than just boxing.’
His hand wrapped around Jayden’s neck, and Gary was ready to perform his favourite move. He had clinched him, holding him tightly, ready to knee him. The only thing was, Jayden’s strength was overwhelming.
Even with a base Strength of 18 as well as the addition from Controlled Transformation, he was finding it hard to hold on to the other’s head. When he lifted his knee up for the attack, instead of aiming at the head, he chose to go for the stomach instead. It was a solid hit, and Gary could feel the impact. With this strength, his opponent should have been down for the count. Alas…
“A strong blow, but I’ve taken thousands of hits to the stomach stronger than this. You’re not bad… but you can’t compare to an Altered!” Jayden shouted, as he lifted his head and broke free from Gary’s grasp, pushing him back. The high schooler lost his balance, and before he had a chance to regain it, the Altered threw a punch deep and to his side, aiming for his liver.
[-16 HP]
‘This attack hurts more than the last time he was holding back!’
Before Gary could recover, a kick was already appearing from the other side. The masked teenager lifted his arm, but it was useless as he was knocked to the side, and now on the ground. The kick was too heavy and strong.
[-8 HP]
‘I can’t beat him, I can’t beat him with just the Controlled Transformation. I’ll either have to use more of it… or use that again.’ Gary thought, but just as he was about to get up the ground and do just that, he was kicked in the face. Flinging his head back and landing spread eagle.
“You have a good body, good power, are fast and can somewhat see my moves. All of that potential, yet you WASTE it, by becoming some gang’s lackey!” Jayden sounded really annoyed as he walked over to the body and lifted him by the scruff of his shirt.
“…Streaker boy?!” Jayden exclaimed in surprise as he let go.
******
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