.The desert stretched endlessly beneath the blazing sun, its golden dunes shifting with every gust of hot wind. Heat shimmered in the distance, bending the horizon, while the cracked earth beneath Johnson's boots hummed faintly with the electricity dancing off his body. Sparks of blue lightning traced his form, flickering across the multicolored patterns of his suit as though his very aura was bursting free, untamed.
Joyce stood a few paces away, the desert wind tugging at her crimson suit and her long red ponytail. Her glasses glinted under the harsh light as she gripped her massive hammer. It was oversized, almost cartoonish like a carnival mallet, yet it radiated a frightening destructive power. The head of the weapon pulsed faintly, glowing as though it were drinking the very air itself.
"Good," she said, her voice steady and stern, though a hint of amusement tugged at her lips. "Faster, Johnson. Do not just run—become your speed. Let the desert see you from all angles at once."
Johnson inhaled deeply, the mystical watch on his wrist pulsing with multicolored light as it fed power into his veins. In the next instant, his body blurred, splitting into five... then ten speed mirages. They darted across the sand dunes like streaks of lightning, weaving circles around Joyce. Their velocity carved faint, glowing scars into the desert floor, as though reality itself trembled beneath his movement.
For a moment, it was as if an army of Johnsons had surrounded her, each one poised to strike from a different direction. One lunged high, another swept low, a third came from her flank. Yet Joyce did not flinch.
Her grip tightened on the hammer. With a subtle pull of her will, she began to absorb. Crimson energy spiraled around the weapon, threads of heat and vitality streaming directly from the air. Even the stray sparks of Johnson's aura...the fragments he could not yet control...were dragged into the hammer's head, feeding its glow until it blazed like a miniature sun.
"You feel that?" Joyce's voice rang clear, unwavering in the chaos. "Every time you move, every time your aura leaks, I take it. Energy isn't just yours to spend...it is mine to claim if you are careless. That is why you must learn to command it. Otherwise, your own enemies will turn your strength against you."
Johnson skidded to a halt in front of her, panting, his chest rising and falling. His blue eyes gleamed with fierce determination as the mirages collapsed into sparks and dust.
"So… you're saying," he muttered between breaths, "that I have to control my aura, not just unleash it. That every drop I waste is power I'm handing away?"
Joyce raised her hammer, red sparks scattering from its blazing head as the desert wind whipped around her. "Exactly. Energy is everywhere, Johnson. In the air we breathe, in the ground beneath us, in your very willpower. Learn to keep it close, to mold it, and no one,not even me can steal it from you."
Her hammer hummed as she swung it lazily, arcs of crimson lightning carving scars across the clear desert sky. The sight was terrifying, yet mesmerizing… the embodiment of discipline fused with raw destruction.
Johnson clenched his fists, sparks dancing between his fingers. His jaw tightened as his eyes burned with resolve. He was no longer just fighting...he was learning. Every spark, every mistake, every mirage was becoming fuel for the power he sought to claim as his own.
Joyce, her glasses catching the desert's glare, watched him sharply. Behind that cold glint lay something unspoken, as though she was testing more than just his strength. He was no longer simply chasing speed. He was beginning to shape it.
"I see…" Joyce's voice carried a note of finality. "I have taught you well. Then now, for your final lesson."
She raised her hammer high into the sky. It drank in Johnson's lightning, siphoning his power as she redirected it with merciless precision.
"Never let your enemies know your next move. Never let them learn your abilities. And above all—never stop fighting!"
Her shout cracked across the desert as she swung her hammer down. "Crimson Hammer!"
The explosion that followed obliterated everything. Sand, rocks, water, half the desert itself was consumed in the blinding scarlet blast. The shockwave was so violent it hurled Joyce backward, blasting her body into the air like a broken doll.
"Joyce!" Johnson's cry ripped from his throat as he surged forward, lightning exploding across his frame. He caught her mid-air, scooping her into his arms as he bolted at light speed across the desert. The shockwave consumed everything behind them, but Johnson ran through it, screaming against the storm, "Aghhhh!"
Hours later, silence reigned.
Inside a cave, the warmth of burning sticks lit the darkness, their flames dancing softly against the stone walls. A small stream flowed quietly through the cavern, its waters reflecting the firelight. Johnson sat by Joyce's side, rinsing his hair and clothes in the stream before carefully patting her forehead with a cloth.
"Idiot," he murmured, worry heavy in his voice. "You didn't need to blast half a desert just to defeat me. You always overdo things... fighting like your life depends on it, pushing beyond your limits because of me. I'm sorry, Joyce. I pushed you too far." His voice cracked, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
"How is she? Can you use Revide?" Johnson asked desperately.
Jake's voice came from the watch, calm but firm. "She's getting better. I do not think Revide is necessary. You too need to rest, Master Johnson."
"No… I'm not worth resting anyway…" Johnson whispered. His eyelids grew heavy, exhaustion claiming him.
"Activating sleep mode," Jake announced as the suit retracted into the watch. Johnson slumped, asleep in an instant.
Joyce's POV
I don't know what had come over me… nor what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I released my full power. It always drains me for days, and so I became unconscious immediately. But as my mind faded, I felt strong arms carrying me through the explosion, lightning covering him. That's all I remember. When I next opened my eyes, I found myself in a cave… naked. My breasts were bare. I gasped, my face heating in embarrassment. But then I saw Johnson, sleeping soundly beside me.
"Damn it…" I cursed under my breath, clutching the small cloth wrapped around me.
I used it to fashion simple clothes, covering myself. My body was too weak to teleport us out, let alone carry Johnson with me, so I sank back against the wall with a sigh. My gaze drifted to him, his face calm and childlike in sleep, yet carved with the strength of a warrior.
"Why did you save me? I was clearly attacking you," I whispered rhetorically.
Almost without realizing it, my hand traced over his broad chest, lingering at the contours of muscle. My fingertips brushed against his face, handsome even in slumber. There was a mask fitted tightly against his features, perfectly arranged so no one could glimpse the real him. I tugged at it, but it refused to budge, as if his very will sealed it in place.
"Hmph… I'll ask him about this," I muttered softly.
Still, my lips curled into a smile as I studied his face. Too cute… far too cute. My heart fluttered as Lucian Stark's words echoed in my mind.
The memory shifted. A flashback, 36 hours before the training, when Lucian had spoken to me in the lab.
To be continued.