"Sorry, I didn't mean to break your ribs!" Rushon apologized over and over again.
I just chuckled and waved him off.
"Don't worry about it, really. I appreciate you not holding back." I glanced down at the ice that was healing my side. "Besides, Jack can fix me no problem."
"Yeah, what the hell was that at the beginning of the match!? You threw out that shy guy routine real quick!"
"I apologize, I let my emotions get the best of me," Rushon mumbled.
"Don't apologize Rushon, trash needs to be taken out every once in a while. Well, the trash and Stryder." Jack snickered.
"Who you calling Trash!?" Zack roared.
"The guy who lost the match in the first thirty seconds," Jack replied.
"Or better yet, the guy who tried to use wind defenses against a wind bender," I added in.
"Hey! Whose side are you on anyway!?"
"Not yours."
"What, do you two need couples therapy?" Jack asked.
Zack and I simultaneously growled. Which only made Jack laugh.
"That has to be cheating! You're freaking overpowered! I got nothing to fight against you!" Zack complained.
"That's not it at all, he won because he worked harder than the both of you combined," Jack snapped.
"This is just your fault then! Because you have favorites! Clearly, you actually trained him!"
And for once, I didn't disagree with Zack. It was painfully obvious he trained with him more.
"What? You get some easy money and you suddenly think everything should be handed to you?" Jack scoffed.
"No! It's just not fair that-"
"I'm not gonna beg you both to train ya know? I'm not that type of guy who plans things out. If you want to train, you can tell me and we will. Last time I checked, you two only ever ask for heals and rides. Which is fine, I don't care what you do. But don't go insulting someone's hard work because you're too lazy to work for it like he did." Jack pointed to Rushon. "Show'em the scars."
"W-what? Do I have to?" Rushon stammered.
"Just do it." Jack huffed.
Scars? Did Jack give him scars?
Rushon took a moment and removed his shirt. Then walked over to us. I was at a loss for words as I scanned his body. He was fit, but his body was a canvas of war. Scars of all shapes and sizes riddled his body. I never even noticed the scars on his neck.
"How did this happen..?" I mumbled
"It's nothing really I-"
"Didn't you notice he never used a wind attack that sliced you? Even the tornado that surrounded you both only pulled up debris. It's because he can't make a tornado that size that's strong enough to do anything like that. However, he can make small ones that are close to his body." Jack said.
"And you hurt yourself while doing it?" I asked.
"A curse from the goddess." Rushon mumbled." That's why I usually only wear metal boots. When I do a tornado kick that shreds, it protects my feet."
"His ability to increase his speed, the wavy thing. He can't breathe while he does that, which means it has a pretty short time of effect." Jack added in.
"It only expels wind resistance on me, it doesn't really do a whole lot. I have to use that while simultaneously creating more wind resistance for the opponent. Then push myself forward with selective gusts of wind."
"I think you get the idea, his powers are incredibly underpowered and restrictive. Objectively speaking, your powers are leagues above him. It wasn't because he was born lucky that he won, he won because he worked hard every day to get to where he is. He asked me constantly to train. He'd even pass out because he'd skip meals to get stronger." Jack looked over to us and glared. "So I don't want to hear you crying about being weak again."
A wave of guilt washed over me. I may not have said anything, but I was definitely undermining him.
"I apologize Rushon, for undermining your work." I looked up for his face, but he was staring at the ground.
"I figured from that look you had, you thought so too." Rushon chuckled and quickly moved to put his shirt back on. "It's no problem really, in all honesty, it makes me kind of happy. To have someone as powerful as you think I'm strong."
"Ha! You just told me your weaknesses! You're definitely going down next time!" Zack cheered.
"Really? That's all you gotta say?" I asked.
"The mighty destroyer of worlds must rise like a Phoenix. Mark my words bird poop! Next time we fight, I'm gonna turn you into chicken nuggets!"
"I highly doubt that." Jack sighed.
"I'll be waiting, Wizard of the Alley." Rushon hummed. Then he turned toward Jack. "Hey, since my break is over, can I go back out and do some more claims?"
Jack groaned.
"Kid, don't you know what a break is?"
"Aren't you the one who just forced me to fight?"
"It felt good though right?" Jack teased.
Rushon put his hands in his pocket and looked away.
"No comment." He mumbled.
Jack started to laugh.
"Awe look at that, my little psychopath is learning to enjoy fights." Jack chuckled and ruffled Rushons head.
"Are you trying to make heroes or murderers?" Rushon grumbled.
"Whatever gets me paid faster." Jack snickered.
"Hey umm, what are claims exactly?" I asked.
Jack looked down to Rushon, and then back to me.
"Well go on, brag about yourself a little." Jack encouraged and shoved Rushon forward.
Rushon sighed and attempted to look at me, but opted out and stared at my shoulder instead.
"Since Arthur started funding me, I use my money to help fix destroyed stuff in battles. I know it can be hard when people lose stuff like their cars or homes. So I try to take note of who and where I am, so I can come back later and repay them for the damages."
Zack looked over to me and shivered.
"Eww, it's like having two of you..."
I can't believe I never thought about that before. I've spent all my money on such frivolous stuff. Yet I never considered what I could do to give back to the everyman. This guy, at every corner. I just learn to admire him so much more.
"Well, let me come with you. We can get a lot done together. After all, it was me and Zack who wrecked the city."
"Well, actually before any of that. Let's have a developer update talk." Jack said.
"A what?" Zack asked.
"He means talk about recent, and future events." Leo took a bite of his sub. "Idiot."
"Uuuuugh!" Zack whined."Can't we talk about anything else!?"
"Just shut up," I sighed.
"What!? Is it hate Zack day or something!?" He grumbled.
"For one, Icarus has a theory here that somebody with powers was the cause for all the electricity to go out," Jack said.
"And you completely ignore me..." Zack mumbled.
"Wait what?" I asked.
"It's suspicious how sudden the electricity came back on, not to mention EMPs usually have permanent damage. But my partner says all the electronics in the area seemed to just be turned off like someone hit a button." Rushon said.
"Considering how this death game works, it could be anyone." Jack sighed. "But the techno swordsman is technically an option."
"It would make sense, it would've been a good opportunity to see me in action," I added in.
"You should contact Lizbeth, see if she has any more info on them. I'll call my info broker and see if he has any leads." Jack replied.
"We should also check the gifted board app. We can search for all the higher rank tech users." Zack suggested.
"Right! I haven't even used that yet!" I groaned. "My minds been all over the place.."
"Don't worry about it, life has been intense lately. Just focus on the now." Rushon replied. "Next thing on the agenda is Alexis's father."
"Alexis' father?" Zack asked.
"Her father was the one who manipulated her into working for us," Vergil spoke up. "That guy you burned when you saved her, that was her father."
"Errat Luceat is his name. I did a little research and found out he has an intense criminal record. It seems like he was under some child endangerment laws recently too. To be more specific, around the same time we all got our gifts from the witches." Rushon said.
"What are you trying to say?" Zack grumbled as he balled his fists.
"Her powers are of that of a succubus, and the file shows that she was involved in his criminal activities only recently. So, it sounds to me like she suddenly became useful to him. A.K.A he forced her to use her powers so he could continue his crimes."
Zack growled.
"I'll roast that son of-"
"Easy tiger, none of us like him. But he's gone M.I.A. So we need to focus on locating him." Jack added. "So we need to keep a lookout."
A pit started to form in my stomach. Alexis must be dealing with a lot right now. Her own dad roped her into all of this. No wonder she didn't want to talk about it.
"Yo kid, you know anything!?" Zack yelled over to Vergil.
Vergil looked away from Zack, who started to stomp over to him. I immediately grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back over to me.
"Calm down Zack, I'm sure Rushon has already questioned him enough."
"Nah man! He punched me into concrete!" He roared.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
"Zack that's in the past, we need to look-"
"Does anyone really love me?" Zack sniffled.
I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. Zack had tears streaming down his face and his hair was a lot more wild than usual.
"Well you gonna apologize to the destroyer of worlds!?" I heard Zack yell, but he yelled from somewhere else.
I looked over to them and my jaw dropped. Zack was there, yelling at Vergil. While also crying in my hand.
"W-what the heck is-"
"Why does everything always blow up in my face! I try so hard, Stryder!" The crying Zack wailed.
"What's happening!?" I yelled over to Rushon.
"If I had to guess, maybe Zack's new spells involve cloning? Judging by its mentality, maybe it's different parts of Zack? Or maybe the clones all have one hard arched type they embody?"
"I'm sorry for what I've done," Vergil mumbled out.
"Sorry's not gonna cut it."
"Zack relax!" I called out.
"But if I relax too much I'll become a bum! And then my wife's not gonna love me anymore!"
"Wait no, not you Zack, the other-"
"Then I'll get fat and eat Reese's all day! And then my kids will hate me! And I'll be just like my dad!"
That was really specific…
Leo stood up to face Zack, but Zack had already made his move. He reached down and pinched Vergil's arm.
"Ow!" Vergil squeaked.
"Alright, now we're even." Zack snickered.
Leo's eyes grew wide, and he sprouted a genuine smile.
"You really are stupid, aren't you?" He chuckled.
Zack held out his hands and an emerald flame erupted in his palms.
"You know, I'm getting real tired of you all roasting me!"
"Do people only like me because I'm a clown? Am I just a joke to you?" Zacks clone whined.
"Hey, hey easy now. You're not a joke buddy." I assured the clone and gently patted his head.
Then he hugged me and buried his face into my chest.
"Wow, something more pathetic than you," Leo mumbled.
Zack shut his fire off and clapped his hands, then the clone vanished.
"Stryder gets a freaking lightsaber, and I wind up with a clone who needs a therapist!? Why did I even wake up today.."
"Uh oh, you better be careful. Starting to sound a lot like that clone of yours." Leo teased.
"You wanna fight Charmander!"
Then Leo and Zack started to argue, I ignored the yelling and walked over to Vergil. He seemed really uncomfortable. I kneeled down to him and looked him in the eye, and he immediately averted his gaze.
"So Vergil, I think I remember our first conversation at the dance. You said it was nice to see everyone being so carefree. To me, that sounds like someone who wants to see people happy."
"So what, I was too scared to do anything about it.."
"You were too scared, you've faced your fears now though. So I wanted to ask, did you want to join the Alley of justice?"