Running to the roof of the building, my thoughts were trapped in a loop. I could feel blood pulling to my head. And then I saw her, my one and only sister surrounded by wolves. My bones began shaking,
I was weak, thanks to Randy, that was a fact I knew all too well.
But I had to do sothing!
“Let her go,” I began, my voice low and shaky.
Fear echoed throughout my entire body, but I was her older brother, I was not going to go back ho without my sister—even if my life depended on it.
“Finally! This is what I’ve been waiting for! To see those eyes begging for rcy.” Randy sneered. “Did you think you could run away from ?”
“Please! It’s you want. Don’t do anything to her!” They were clearly ignoring . my words only fueled their cruelty.
“I’ll report you!” I warned them, for once getting serious
A cold smirk crossed Randy’s face.
“Report ? Wait a minute! What kind of bastards do you think we are? Pervert!”
He laughed with his friends.
“We’re not like you. We’d never force a girl to do anything. I heard your sister is an A student just like you. So, we ca here to study together, isn’t that right, sweetheart?” He caressed Angela’s cheek.
A line was crossed!
Everything around began going dark, and a sharp sound raced in my ear. The rage inside scread. Before I knew it, a fist had ford in my hand.
“You bastard! Get your hands away from her!” With a loud scream, I threw a punch at Randy. But before I could touch him, one of his cronies caught , and before I knew it, I was on the ground getting beaten up.
I felt my bones cracking as they kept kicking my entire body. I wondered about the reason behind my existence. I told myself that I’d protect our family after my brother Kled left ho. How? The question haunted my mind. I couldn’t even throw a single punch.
“Please let us go!” Angela begged them. Tears were running down her face.
Seeing my sister crying, begging them to stop hitting , crushed my soul into pieces. The hopelessness I felt echoed throughout my entire body. It was the first ti I had resented myself to such an extre degree—the point where I wanted to kill them all and then take my own life for being too weak to protect my own sister.
I gathered my strength and knelt down. They stopped kicking . Fighting them was not going to help in any way at that mont.
That’s when I dropped my head before Randy. “I am sorry. I won’t run away anymore. From now on, I will co whenever you call .”
“Oh! You have finally co to your senses. Now that’s a good boy!”
I had made up my mind. My head was down, but my fists were tightening.
“This is how it’s supposed to be!” Randy added. “Today is such a good day that it deserves celebration, wouldn’t you agree?”
Celebration? My nose was breeding out and I was covered in bruises.
“Why don’t you stand up and dance for us before we go.” Randy suggested, to push my dignity even further in mud.
That’s what happens when you put your head down—things don’t get better! But I was biding my ti carefully and couldn’t risk them hurting my sister. I stood up and did as Randy instructed. They made wear a skirt and fild as I danced about. I was a puppet. When all my sense of pride was erased, sothing else erged: a clear goal, devoid of emotions. After that, I took my sister and we went back ho. I promised her that nothing like that would ever happen again—and made her promise not to tell our mother.
Reaching ho, I imdiately rushed to my father’s lab in the basent. I removed one vial from the hidden bag of ten vials full of purple serum that Number One had instructed to keep safe. I was no longer going to let Randy and his minions have control over my life. Holding the vial tightly, I made a silent vow to myself and my family: I would beco stronger and protect everyone I love.
I opened one of the vials and gulped down the entire content. Imdiately after, a heavy sensation coursed through my body. The pain was so intense that I lost consciousness for 30 minutes. When I ca to, I felt an unmistakable change within myself. A euphoric feeling unlike any I had ever experienced surged through . My senses were amplified, and I could feel the energy coursing through my body. Even fear felt distant from my heart. From that mont, I was sure I had gained superpowers. And only one thing was in my heart and mind, Revenge!
Unable to fall asleep, I rose from bed early, did so push-ups, and prepared for the day ahead. I could tell I had gotten stronger, and that my newfound power was going to help finally destroy my enemy. I felt a surge of confidence.
With that I arrived at school with a clear goal. I entered the classroom and scanned for Randy. And there he was in his usual spot. Seeing him napping at his desk with eye patches, I walked straight toward him, attracting everyone's attention with my determined stride. My heart began racing. As a hero about to bring justice, I stood tall and confident.
“Randy!” I called out, my voice surprisingly unyielding even to myself.
Removing his patches, Randy grumbled. “Err! Who dares to disturb my sleep?”
And then his eyes t mine.
“You! I’ll give you three seconds to explain why you woke up, and then I’m gonna beat you up regardless of your reason.”
Randy’s cronies stood up and surrounded , waiting for his signal. They were all going to pay for what they did.
“Let’s not do this here! Co outside!” I challenged.
“What!” Randy exclaid.
“Is he out of his mind?” Justin, one of Randy’s right hand man, asked. They were all shocked to hear talking back.
“Co on!” I walked outside, and they followed to the usual spot where they used to bully other students, including myself.
We stood across from each other, staring for a mont.
And then,
“Teach him a lesson!” Randy finally ordered.
“Wait!”
I halted them. “Before we start, I am going to give you a chance to apologize for everything you’ve done to over the past three years.”
“Did you eat sothing wrong last night? I told you not to misbehave anymore. Beat him up, show no rcy!”
Justin threw a punch at . With my heightened senses, I heard his fist moving through the air, so slow to my eyes. I imdiately planned a counterattack—to block the punch and twist Justin’s arm. However, I noticed that my speed was still no match for Justin’s. While my sensory and ntal processing speeds were enhanced, my motor skills and physical strength remained constant. My push-ups had deceived . My mind was faster than my body. I kept watching his fist as it moved toward my face, in a mont that seed to stretch like hours.
I was t with a flurry of one punch after another. And then they all joined in.
As the bullies beat up, my mind was occupied with sothing else. Confusion, wondering why I couldn’t land a single blow despite their incredibly slow attacks.
Later that day, I went ho and headed straight to my father’s study in the basent to figure out what had gone wrong. I opened another vial and drank the serum. Once again, I felt a heavy weight rushing from my head down to my legs. I nearly passed out but managed to bring myself back to my senses with Randy’s face as my ntal reinforcent.
I stretched my muscles and began doing push-ups. It was effortless! I did twenty—my usual maximum—and then continued without fatigue. I reached a hundred, then a thousand. Despite feeling the effort and energy expenditure with each push-up, I was not getting tired.
“Cipher, dinner is ready!” my sister called.
“I’ll eat later!”
I did another thousand push-ups and practiced throwing punches before calling it a day. Even that night, I couldn’t sleep. I thought it was anxiety, but I later figured the insomnia was due to my hypercognitive state. My senses were constantly active.
The following day, I went to school early and everything happened as the day before. We arrived at the usual spot.
For a second ti, I stood across from them. “Don’t expect the sa thing to happen today, jackass!” I provoked Randy, fully convinced that this ti would be different.
“You’ve really gone insane, haven’t you? Let help you fix that brain of yours,” Randy sneered. Enraged, he told his boys to stand aside as he prepared to beat .
He was a large, typical school bully known for his rcilessness. But this ti he was about to be defeated and embarrassed in front of his friends. That was my promise to him.
He began with an uppercut.
As I predicted, the punch was slow. With the second vial, my speed had increased. I blocked Randy’s punch and pushed him away, but I quickly realized I didn’t know how to fight.
Surprised to see their indestructible boss fail to land a punch, worry washed over their faces.
Randy threw more punches and kicks, but I managed to deflect them. That’s when he suddenly stepped back and took off his jacket. Justin and the others jumped back imdiately.
I was confused and wondered what was about to happen.
And then, Randy suddenly went into a frenzy. His speed and force dramatically increased—as if he had suddenly transford into a beast. Despite outpacing him in sensory perception, I was still miles away from matching his motor speed and accuracy. I blocked so of his punches, but most landed.
The fight continued for twenty minutes until Justin and the others stopped him, ending the battle with Randy exhausted and beaten on the ground.
I had lost again, but I was now certain of one thing: the vials were working!
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