[Narrator]:
"Hello, readers, it's me again your favorite narrator. Let's have a quick recap of the last chapter. In the previous part, we were lectured by Johnathan about the situation in the city and the plans to be taken. Then, we were supposed to see a brawl, but it happened off-screen. After that, we moved on and met the guy with daddy issues. So, that's the recap. Now we face the present."
[Narrator]:
"Today, May 23, 11:16 a.m. What a sunny morning in Ultra City. The civilians moving about their day in their own respective ways, while the eighty-story building of the Hero Association—standing tall at the city's center—began its own daily activities. This is where we kick off our chapter."
"Are you ready?" Timothy asked with a small grin.
He was holding a forty-centimeter steel rod in his right hand.
Not too far from him stood Raymond, focused and ready for what was to come. He smirked, then cracked his neck.
They were in an enclosed room filled with gym equipment. They weren't the only ones there—Commander Layla, Johnathan, and a few other officials sat above, watching from the viewing deck, while the two men squared off on the steel floor below.
Johnathan leaned closer to Layla and whispered, "How long are they gonna keep this up? They've already missed patrol."
"He's keeping himself entertained," Layla replied.
"Who? Timothy?" Johnathan asked.
"Yeah," she said. "He's using this as a way to cure boredom. And the other guy doesn't seem bothered either."
Johnathan sighed and shook his head. "Okay then… who do you think will win this round?"
"It's starting to look tricky," she admitted. "Timothy has been winning most of the time, but Raymond is giving him a run for his money. Even so, I haven't seen anyone besides him who can rival Timothy in a one-on-one knockout."
Before speaking again, Johnathan dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief. "This round may be different."
"Maybe," Layla replied softly.
Both men stood ready... but neither made the first move.
Raymond hands were flinching, he was in thoughts.
"Shit, this guy is a beast no wonder they say his better than most field agents I even doubted it but now I've fought him I can say he is no joke. He doesn't even have abilities other than been an amped up human."
On the other side, Timothy just watched Raymond and tilted his head to the left before speaking.
"If you won't come to me, then I will come to you."
Without any further warning, Timothy launched forward. He leapt high into the air and swung his right arm, gripping the steel rod with a strong, firm hold. Raymond instinctively blew out cold air through his mouth, forming an ice barricade, but the force Timothy came with shattered it instantly.
Raymond took a few steps back, his eyes wide at what had just happened.
"It's like you're trying to kill me."
Timothy replied, "If you think this is bad, wait till you face the rebels."
"In that case, I'll come with the same intent," Raymond said.
With a wicked grin on his face, Timothy said, "Now that's more like it."
[Narrator]:
"These guys are monsters. Don't kill yourselves—the other guys haven't even joined the story yet. My fellas they seem to have gone nuts. Now, I want you to imagine my voice in the SpongeBob narrator tone...
Two hours later."
The room was damaged, gym materials scattered everywhere, blood stains on the steel floor. Both men were laying on the floor, breathing heavily, sweat and bruises on their bodies.
"You know we both didn't say the word surrender," Timothy said.
Raymond replied, "You're kidding, right? Don't tell me you still have strength to go on, 'cause if it's that, I surrender."
Timothy responded as he tried catching his breath, "Alright, I take the win then, which means it's six victories to me and one fluke win to you."
Raymond laughed before speaking. "A fluke win, huh? A win is a win, my bro."
"I know, I'm just joking." Timothy got up and walked towards Raymond, then stretched his arm.
Raymond received the helping hand and was pulled up by Timothy.
"Let's go freshen up," Timothy told Raymond.
"Yeah, let's go," replied Raymond.
They walked towards the exit. The first to go out was Raymond; following closely was Timothy. But before he left the room, he raised his right arm up, gesturing a thumbs-up to Layla. She understood what it meant, and a smile carved on her face. The man seated beside her didn't understand and asked her,
"Thumbs-up is for what, ma'am?"
She turned and answered Johnathan, "It means Raymond is good to go."
"Oh, both of you understand yourselves so well," Johnathan said.
She replied to him, "Sure we do, I've known him like forever."
***
Moments later, in the surveillance room of the association building, the alarm blared.
"Sir, we picked up something at Atkinson Drive," a cadet shouted.
"Alert the Commander quickly," the head of the team said.
The commander arrived with Johnathan.
"Ma'am, this is what is happening," the team lead said.
Layla saw what was happening: there was a man in a building bowing down, radiation on his body.
"He's awakening his powers." She turned back, and coming in were Raymond and Timothy.
She said to them, "Good, you're here. Seems like you have your first mission. Head to Atkinson Drive."
"Understood," Timothy replied.
The two guys went back to get suited up, and they headed out for the mission.
***
Elsewhere, moments before the mission. Deep inside a forest at the back of Ultra City, in a warehouse—
"What are you doing, Larry? You've been in there for two days, come out already," a lady called out.
"I've told you, Ivy, I'm fixing the suit. Since it's mine now, I want it to work for me and only me. I need to get the scrubby works of Dad's company out of it, so chill the fuck out," Larry replied.
Ivy muttered, "Scrubby work, my foot."
The doors of the workshop opened, and Larry got up from his seat and stretched his body, which made cracking noises.
He was in singlets and shorts. His dark hair was messy.
"Where is it?" asked Ivy.
"On my wrist," Larry replied.
She looked at his wrist, and it was a black touchscreen watch. She looked surprised.
"You turned it into a watch? That's smart."
"Yeah, it's much better this way than the suitcase they made it into," Larry said as he wiped the sweat from his face.
"So, what's next?" Ivy asked.
"Still asking? Next is testing this baby out," he replied.
He tapped the watch, and nanites quickly covered his body. It was sleek black and silver with neon blue tracers, giving it its futuristic edge.
A voice called in from the suit,
"Good day, sir. My name is Riri. How can I be of help to you?"
"Hold on. I'm heading out, Ivy, see ya," Larry said.
He took off. Ivy raised her eyebrows and shook her head.
***
Up in the air.
"So, Riri, how about we dash into Ultra City?"
The robotic voice replied, "How fast should we go, sir? Should we go fast, or supersonic fast?"
"Let's just go fast for now," Larry told it.
"Alright then," it answered.
In a flash, they dashed into the city with such speed that it made Larry cry out,
"Riri, I thought I said just fast, not super fast!"
"Yes, sir, we are going just fast. It's just at one-eighty miles per hour, sir," it said.
"That's pretty fast, but okay, let's goooo!" Larry yelled.
They flew around the city, and then a loud BOOM was heard.
***
(Present time, during the start of the mission).
Larry stopped as he heard the sound.
He said, "What the hell just happened?"