Bruce's Pov
BAM!
Pain exploded before my eyes as I felt a heavy blow across my face, the force was enough to send me flying across the white platform, my bare back slamming against the metal wall behind me.
I fell to the ground, face first and groaning in pain. Then it hit me.
"Metal? What the hell is going on?"
I tried to get up but my whole body screamed in pain, my limbs felt heavy, breathing was ragged. I shook my head slight to get rid of the blur.
The background was loud with the sound of people screaming their lung out, each one mouthing words towards me.
With out one look around, I immediately understood the situation.
I was in some sort of a wrestling ring, surrounded by a heavy cage.
"A fighting ring?" I breathed out weakly. "Where? An underground center?"
"It has to be."
The place was dimly lit and packed with crowd. There were shady looking men around with hard faces and even women. Drunk men shouted, laughed too, while some were busy exchanging money, as if they were placing bets.
I spotted some ladies dressed in barely any clothing, serving drinks around. The air was thick with alcohol and the noise was almost deafening.
These people, they were thrilled. Excited even. But how did I get here?
Before I could ponder more on the question, my opponent, a tall bulky man with broad shoulders, dirty brown hair, yanked me up. His eyes locked on me with something akin to blood lust. And in a split second, he punched me in the face.
Once.... Twice.
The last punch hit harder, snapping my head back and making me stagger to the floor again. Blood flowed freely from my mouth and nose, my face burned with pain.
Behind my eyes, something flashed. A scene where someone punched me so hard in the exact same manner.
I blinked, trying to recall, but then I heard a shout. "Come on!"
I heard the frustration in that voice. And then from the sides, some people were murmuring about how off I was today.
"Something is off!"
"Jax isn't playing like he does!"
"What's going on with Jax?!"
"Come on!!"
"I want my money back!"
I gripped my head, and pushed off the floor, my mind spinning. "Jax? Who's that? The bulky man who wants to kill me?" I said softly between breaths.
I looked at my hands and I was stunned. It was rougher than usual, had a few cuts that had already healed, but was gloved.
These aren't my hands. Who is this? Who am I now?
"Get your fucking ass up, Jax!" I heard an angry yell from outside the cage. It was a bald headed man dressed in black. He stared straight at me, like he was my manager or something?
Was I Jax?
I gathered myself up. As soon as I did, my opponent threw another jab and another scene flashed before my eyes.
I dodged, but to the wrong side. His fist still slammed into my cheek, but lost a bit of it force.
I placed a firm foot on the ring and tried to throw a punch back from the scene flashing in my eyes. I was out of range, so it swung wide.
The man wasted no time in retaliating. A solid hit to my nose and then one to my gut, sending me halfway through the air. I fell flat on my back, another scene flashing behind my eyes.
Someone had tried to crash their foot into me but I rolled to the side. I blinked and the bulky man was about to do the same.
I rolled and evaded it, stood up and moved on instinct. My knee crashed into the man's jaw and the crowd went wild.
"Yes!!"
"That's what I'm talking about!"
I almost screamed out in joy, but the pain spike, making me groan and lose focus. The man swung his hand before I could move, and the blow caught me off guard.
My head snapped back and the world tilted for half a second, and I remembered I wasn't used to this body yet.
The way its weight shifted, the precision and speed, it felt new to me. All of it felt different but strangely familiar at the same time.
Aside from that, this Jax, he seems to be good but with me possessing it, he was starting to lose.
I was never a fighter. Never trained to be one or got into such situations. So this much was understandable, but not to his fans.
They looked like they knew Jax and wanted him to meet up to their expectations. I spat to the side, tasting blood on my tongue.
"Not dead yet." I muttered.
Then I decided to get out of this situation by any means necessary and find out what was going on.
My opponent barreled towards me. This time, I ducked under the punch and clipped him with a quick jab on the way out. It wasn't clean, but enough to make him pause, and this made my heart kick harder.
My vision flared white for a second, but I blinked it back.
Focus.
I forced myself to breathe. My ribs hurt with each breath, my arms felt heavier, but I saw it.
He swung a few times, but I dodged, a lot better now. There was a small opening when he overextended his jab, and I was going to take it.
He threw a punch but I moved to the side, swung with his other hand and I dodged. Before he could amble back, I stepped on his left foot to keep him in place.
I swung with my right and caught him in his face, landed a heavy blow in his gut with my left, but I didn't stop there. I went for his jaw with an uppercut and a sharp blow on his face.
The man spluttered blood from his mouth, his eyes barely opening again.
I grabbed his head and yanked him down to meet my knee, then swung hard towards his face again. He stumbled back in a frenzied haze, blood streaming down his nose.
I think I broke it, but it was too late to care.
The crowd went wild with cheers. Some of them weren't too happy with my comeback. The opposing side maybe. Still, I didn't care.
"Finish him!" Someone yelled from the crowd.
My feet moved lightly and quickly. I threw punches and kicks altogether. This was a wild fight and Jax was good at it.
My opponent came in, expecting me to dodge. Instead, I stepped forward, twisted my shoulders, and let my right fist connect with his jaw. It wasn't pretty.
His head jerked back from the force, I turned on my feet and jammed my elbow into his stomach. And with one last hit, he fell with a loud thud.
His eyes were closed and he was completely still.
One.
Two.
Three.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our winner, Jax!"
The crowd roared again, but this time it was sharper, more chaotic. I could feel their excitement and it affected me.
I won.
I stood there, chest heaving, my hands hanging low by my sides. Was this my life now? An underground fighter in a caged ring?
Still, it felt good.
When I stepped out of the cage, the bald headed man came up to me with some guys. They held water up for me, wiped off the sweat on my skin with a towel while I sat on a stool.
"For a moment I thought your ass was gonna be handed out to you," the bald man spoke.
I just smirked in reply. I wasn't sure what to say yet. His phone dinged with a message so he excused himself.
I took the towel and cleaned my face, the pain still unbearable. Right after, a man in a dark suit walked up to me.
His hair was slicked back, face sharp and unreadable. "Not bad," he said, voice low but clear over the noise. "You've got fire in you."
I nodded my head as some sign of acknowledgement. My lungs were still burning.
He dipped his hand into his suit and brought out a small card. He held it towards me.
"You've sparked the interest of someone. Contact that number after you've decided. We'll be waiting."
I collected the card and studied it. Before I could speak, he was already walking away, disappearing into the sea of bodies.
I sighed and started making my way towards the changing area, still trying to catch my breath.
Before I could walk far, I froze.
Near the back of the crowd, half-hidden by shadows, was a man I could never forget.
My stomach churned with dread as memories flooded my head. It was one of them, one of the men from that dark alley.
From my past life.
He was there for the match and was talking to someone, we made eye contact but I was sure he didn't recognize me.
Of course he wouldn't. I don't know what happened but I'm suddenly
different now.
My hands clenched into fists and for the first time since possessing this body, I felt something sharp and familiar cut through the fog of my mind.
Rage.