Weeks have passed since the Professor assumed the role of overseeing the Anomaly Training and the results are fruitful. Some of his students have significantly improved their Anomalies may it be their control over it, the uses of it, combat power etc. Some of the notable improvements are from Pandora, Beast and Reaper. Most of the other students have their own improvements but those three were the ones who greatly leveled up.
Pandora has widened her Anomaly's area of effect and can now hold links to everyone in the mansion. She can now hold and numerous lines of communications at once but she still needs to improve her stamina for longer results. Beast has finally mastered full animal transformation the current down side is that he becomes too exhausted after he comes back to his human form. For Reaper, he can now activate his Anomaly at will by physically touching his target and to add to that, he is now able to cancel his target's Anomaly by just staring at them. But, he can only do this to those who are in his line of sight within a fixed short distance and he can only nullify two targets at a time, three if he really pushes himself, whether it's due to touch or sight. He does need a lot more practice to master his new technique.
"Alright, class is dismissed for the day. We may all take a rest." The Professor announced as he adjourned their class. The students then clamored in joy then started to leave the training room.
"Professor, is it cool if me and my boys stay a little longer?" Glass asked as he pertains to Surge, Beast and Reaper. "We think we need a little more training before calling it a day." He continued saying.
"Are you sure? The entire class already did intensive training regimens. You four might overdo it." The Professor responded.
"We can also stay for a while, Professor." Medusa volunteered as she dragged Pandora with her. "We can like babysit them just to make sure no one will die or even worse."
"Don't be silly, Medusa. I admit that we are crazy but not that crazy." Surge butted in. "Besides, what's worse than dying?"
"Wait. Before you answer that, Medusa. I just to clarify that I'm not crazy like Surge is saying. Right, Reaper? Beast?" Glass commented.
"Yeah. I'm not either." Reaper added.
"Whatever." Beast said.
"Fine. I'm the craziest one here but I'm the strongest one as well." Surge exclaimed.
"That I beg to disagree." Beast firmly stated.
"Surge, my friend, you are mistaken in so many levels." Glass added.
"I may be sure that I'm not the strongest here but I'm not that certain if you're the strongest here, Surge." Reaper also commented.
"Oh yeah? Well, why don't we check it out ourselves? That's why we asked to have additional time to train, right?" Surge responded as he started to get annoyed that no one is acknowledging that he's the strongest among all of them.
"I admire your drive kids so I'll allow you staying a little while longer as long as Medusa and Pandora watch over to keep everything safe." The Professor eventually agreed to their request.
"Sure thing, Professor. We can handle these mutts. Right, Pandora?" Medusa cheerfully said then Pandora nodded in agreement. The Professor waved them goodbye and left the training room.
Medusa turned back to the guys and argued that even if they're guys, it doesn't mean that they automatically the strongest Anomaly in the mansion. She pointed out that if she's in the mood, she can surely take all four of them on even without Pandora's assistance. However, it may sound firm but all of them knew that it's a bluff. She continued stating that one of the strongest would be Lilith. She has the speed, the strength and most importantly the beauty.
"Okay. But, she's not here is she?" Surge countered Medusa's argument.
"She's probably not in the mood as well." Medusa responded reluctantly.
"I will not argue though that she's one of the most capable among us when it comes to combat power. She is definitely strong." Glass commented.
"Are we going to talk all night or what?" Beast said clearly starting to get irritated.
The guys eventually agreed to decide who will spar who. Though reluctant at first, Reaper was eventually persuaded to join the sparring matches. He may not have the highest combat power in terms of his Anomaly but his colleagues acknowledged that his hand-to-hand fighting skills are something else. On their first sparring matches, Surge will be up against Beast and Glass will be up against Reaper. Whoever wins in both matches will face each other in the final sparring match. The first match will be between Surge and Beast.
"Long time no spar, Beast." Surge started trying to annoy Beast.
"Don't be too complacent. I'll end this quick." Beast firmly responded as if he has already a plan in mind to defeat Surge.
"No, you will not! I'm completely charged up and ready to burst out. I will be the one who'll finish this fast." Surge exclaimed.
Before the two of them headed to the sparring ring, Beast walked to Medusa and Pandora then he seemed to tell them something. As soon as Beast stopped talking, the girls appeared to be in shock of whatever it is they've heard but Pandora got a hold of herself and nodded at him as if she confirmed something. Beast then finally headed to the sparring ring.
"What's that about?" Surge asked as he got intrigued of what they've talked about. "Did you just ask if the infirmary is ready for your unconscious body after this match?" He then proceeded to provoke.
"Something like that but the infirmary isn't for me. It's for you." Beast responded and smirked at surged from the other side of the ring.
Surge was the first one to get to the middle of the ring as Beast was talking to the girls at the time. But, as soon as Beast entered the ring and provoked Surge he suddenly ran towards him making his first move. In Surge point of view, the match has already started and Beast move will be beneficial for him. If Beast strikes him with his gorilla arms, he can store its force and bring it back to him. If it will be Beast's strategy all throughout the fight, the win will definitely be his.
Little did Surge know, Beast surely has something up his sleeve to end this match right away. As he started running towards Surge and seeing him take his fighting stance, he quickly used his Anomaly to transform himself into a falcon and continued to fly towards Surge, this move surprised Surge a little but he wasn't fazed at all. As the falcon Beast is fast approaching his opponent, Surge gestured to strike at him. But before his devastating punch hits, falcon Beast suddenly flew upwards which once again surprised Surge since it was unexpected.
Falcon Beast continued to soar high until he closely reach the training room's high ceiling. At this point since Surge doesn't have a lot of options to do some direct damage to his opponent, started to aim his punches towards the currently soaring falcon Beast hoping that the shockwaves will reach him and damage him in the process. Unfortunately for him, falcon Beast was able to dodge all the shockwaves thrown at him. Additional advantage for Beast is that Surge's stored energy has started to deplete with the shockwaves being shot towards the air making situation easier for him to strike back.
The shockwaves being shot at falcon Beast is becoming weaker and weaker by every blow so Beast decided to the next step on his plan. He transformed himself again to a different kind of animal. This time, it wasn't similar to the one he previously transformed into. To go back to the ground, he decided to transform himself into a humungous elephant which startled not just Surge but everyone else in the training room. Beast then surely started to fall hard to the ground and he seemed to be targeting to fall directly to where Surge is standing.
Surge immediately got a whiff of what elephant Beast is trying to so he concentrated storing huge amount of stored energy to his hands so just before Beast crush him to the ground he will release a powerful punch that will knock him off his fall and eventually knocking him out of commission. Everyone else got the gist of what Surge and Beast will do. This means, it'll be their final attack and whoever will be the last man standing wins.
"This is so nerve-racking! I don't know who will win the fight!" Medusa exclaimed.
"Just remember to not kill each other!" Glass teased them.
"This match has become too intense. We're still in a sparring match, right?" Reaper commented.
"Don't worry. Our match will be more intense than theirs." Glass jokingly responded.
"I'd appreciate if you'll go easy on me. I don't have the most conventional Anomaly there is." Reaper responded.
"Oh, please. I will not fall for that. I saw you fight during and training sessions. You improved significantly. It seemed that you have analyzed everyone's fighting style and you came up with a counter for all of them. That, my friend, is terrifying." Glass explained.
The decisive moment is now a hair away. No one has a concrete idea who will win the match. They're not sure whether it will be Surge by blowing away elephant Beast to his defeat or will Beast be successful in crushing Surge to the ground. It seemed that the intense sight made the entire area be on slow-motion which adding a whole lot of intensity and suspense to the already mindboggling match.
Elephant Beast is closing in and Surge is also about to unleash a punch which he had stored with immense energy. Just before Surge's punch hit elephant Beast, Beast quickly transformed once again. He transformed into a snake which made people shocked. Beast does have a lot under his sleeves for this battle. Snake Beast quickly slithered his way to Surge's arm which his packed punch will be coming from making him avoid that devastating hit but he didn't stop the powerful shock wave to hit the training room's ceiling. With the size of that shockwave, it will surely shatter everything in its way.
As Surge was distraught by his attack being dodged, snake Beast proceeded to slithered his way to his opponent's neck. He discreetly but swiftly bitten him and as soon as his done doing the last part of his plan, he transformed back to his human form then casually walked in front of Surge as if nothing happened. Surge may have felt the bite but he doesn't anything else soon after.
"Game over, Surge. I win." Beast claimed. Suddenly, Surge fell to the ground and it's evident that he's knocked unconscious. Beast then confirmed that he injected a non-lethal poison to him. He just lost consciousness but he should still be check.
"Congrats to you Beast but what are we going to do with that huge shockwave Surge brought out? It's going to hit the ceiling!" Medusa shrieked in panic. "Professor is going to be so mad!"
"Worry not. I got this." Glass said and swung into action. He quickly created a wide glass shield to block the huge shockwave from hitting the ceiling.
Glass was successful in stopping the enormous shockwave from hitting the training room's ceiling and possibly wrecking it. But, the shockwave was powerful enough to shatter his glass shield into million pieces which surprised him since he is assumed that his shield will be strong enough to withstand the impact. Panic once again ensued since as soon as the glasses he made whether it's glass discs or shields, he totally lose control over them. They do disappear on their own but it takes about a minute or two to completely disintegrate into thin air.
"It's nice for you to stop the shockwave and eventually saving the mansion from being wrecked. But, what are we going to now with those shattered glass?" Medusa once again exclaimed. "We're going to be covered with cuts and bruises!" She added.
"We don't have time to get out of here. Pandora, do you have any ideas?" Beast commented as he carries the unconscious Surge on his shoulders with his gorilla arms. But, Pandora is obviously in shock as well and couldn't think straight.
No one has the idea that Reaper is already contemplating if he can do something about the situation. He's thinking hard if his Anomaly's power is strong enough to cancel out all the falling shattered glass and save everyone in the process. He eventually convinced himself to do something before it's too late. He concentrated and gazed directly at Glass to nullify his Anomaly. Even though Glass doesn't have a direct control over the shattered glasses, it's still technically his Anomaly. If Reaper is successful in canceling out Glass's Anomaly, those shattered glasses will immediately be gone.
"Wait. Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" Medusa suddenly asked. "They're vanishing!"
"What is happening?" Glass is also confused of what's happening.
"At this rate, they won't reach us anymore." Beast commented.
"Reaper!" Pandora exclaimed it's as if something is happening to Reaper.
Pandora immediately rushed to Reaper as she noticed that his nose is bleeding. Then, everyone realizes that the swift vanishing of those millions of shattered glass is his doing. He utilized his Anomaly in way that his not that used to yet that's why it has a slight negative effect on him but it's a good thing that he took the risk since he was able to save all of them. As soon as he's sure that every shattered glass is gone, Reaper stopped using his Anomaly on Glass. Then, he was brought to his knees by a slight headache.
"Are you okay?" Glass asked Reaper. "That was dope by the way." He added.
"Oh my goodness! Thanks for saving us." Medusa exclaimed.
"We should take you the infirmary." Pandora said. "You're bleeding."
"No. I'm fine. It's nothing serious." Reaper responded then he stood up and wiped his nose close as if nothing happened.
The door of the training room suddenly opened wide revealing Sprite from the other side. She said that the Professor is calling them out to stop their extended training already and join the rest of them for dinner. Glass and the rest of the group immediately had the same idea as soon as they saw Sprite. To save time putting Surge and Reaper in the infirmary, Sprite can heal them right there and then.
During their training sessions with the Professor as their overseer, Sprite confirmed to the Professor that she prefers to be a useful addition to this new family of theirs by supporting her colleagues with her Anomaly. Though she has great potential having her Anomaly as an offensive type, she wanted to focus all those potential in improving her healing attributes which the Professor respected and helped her do as such. Now along with improving her relationship with her colleagues, she has definitely improved in healing.
"Hi there, Sprite! Tell the Professor and the others that we're coming. But, before you go can we ask a favor?" Glass asked politely.
"What is it?" Sprite responded.
"You see, Surge has slightly overworked himself so he collapsed but we assure that he's fine. Also, Reaper here is kind of tired as well. Can you heal both of them?" Glass requested.
"Fine but please wrap up whatever it is you're still doing. The Professor is and the others are waiting for you." Sprite responded.
Sprite then entered the training room and headed towards her patients. Glass the rest of the group laid both Surge and Reaper on the floor so Sprite can easily tend to them. Sprite kneeled between them and carefully placed her hands on each of Surge's and Reaper's foreheads. Then, plants that are near them started to wriggle their roots and branches towards Surge and Reaper bodies. Since Surge is unconscious, Reaper is the only one feeling the elating feeling this healing makes him feel. It does feel his energy is being replenished.
Not too long after, Sprite finished healing the two making the roots that she used wriggle back to where they came from. Then, she headed out to go back to dinner. Reaper has gone back on his feet already and seemed to be ready for his sparring match with Glass. On the other hand, Surge is still unconscious but the venom Beast put in him has been excreted already so he should gain consciousness anytime soon.
"Guys, we should cancel the between Glass and Reaper. Everything that happened here made me hungry. Am I right, Pandora?" Medusa said then Pandora nodded in agreement.
"There's no way we will be canceling or even postponing the match. After what Reaper did, I became more hyped up to fight him one-on-one." Glass strongly responded.
"I would also want to see what will happen between the two of them. Beside, whoever wins in their match will be facing me." Beast commented.
"What? You're going for a finals match?" Medusa stated in shock. "You guys are sick! Do whatever you want. Pandora and I are going to dinner already. We'll save you seats so don't worry." She added then the two of them left the training room.
"Are you ready to do this, Reaper?" Glass asked as he gets pumped up about him going against Reaper.
"I guess. The sooner we do this, the sooner I'll lose. So, let's spar." Reaper responded still not confident of the outcome of the match.
"Don't you dare pull your punches. Bring it your all, my friend!" Glass encouraged Reaper.
"I'll try my best. Just don't blame me if you embarrass yourself since you wanted me to go all out." Reaper said.
"Whoa!" Glass reacted in shock. Beast was also surprised of what Reaper just mentioned. "That's very out of character of you but I'm loving it! Keep it up."
Reaper was the first one to enter the as Glass opted to do some stretched first. He took this as an additional opportunity to come up with a way to beat him as quickly as he can. Glass isn't wrong that he is the most observant among all of them to the point that he has his own journal to track everyone's progress with their Anomalies. So knowing Glass, he will not hesitate to make the first move as soon as possible to have advantage.
Reaper made a decision to not give Glass any window to make his move. As soon as he step foot in the ring, Reaper plans to nullify Glass' Anomaly right away. He initially wanted to take off Glass' Anomaly even before he enters the ring but that would be unfair so he decided to do his plan once Glass is in the ring. If this goes well, he has a slight confidence that he'll win this match because he has the advantage in terms of hand-to-hand combat.
Glass finally entered the ring as casually as possible as if he also has something against his opponent. Reaper locked his sight towards Glass, briefly concentrated then activated his Anomaly. He has now triggered his Anomaly against his opponent so he shouldn't be able to make glasses out of thin air. He then prepared for hand-to-hand combat. He then started to charge towards Glass but something happened that stopped him from his tracks.
A random glass disc suddenly shot out from the right side of the ring and landing directly in front of Reaper. This made Reaper dumfounded since he's sure that he successfully nullified Glass' Anomaly so he shouldn't be able to create even a small shard of disc unless it was thrown someone else outside the ring. Reaper quickly glanced at where the disc came from and no one was there. Beast is still with now conscious Surge at the bench behind Glass so they shouldn't be able to throw the disc.
"I see that I messed up your supposedly flawless plan to defeat me, didn't I?" Glass mocked Reaper. It may not be obvious but Reaper was surely disappointed at what happened because he needs to come up with a different plan and fast or else it will rain dozens of glass discs inside the ring.
"I'm not sure what just happened but kick each other's butts!" Surge screamed from the sidelines.
"How were you able to avoid my nullification?" Reaper asked which made Glass cackled.
"Simple really. The me you're seeing right now isn't actually me." Glass confirmed.
Glass' statement made Reaper think but he eventually came up with the most possible explanation. After a quick yet careful consideration, Reaper concluded that the one he's currently talking to is a reflection of the original one so he wasn't able to nullify his Anomaly because he's not directly at Glass. Also, he managed to see now that the ring is already surrounded by the seamless glasses Glass uses for his reflections. He can't help himself but to get astonished by his friend's plan to defeat him. But, he knows that there's a crack somewhere along this brilliant plan and he will use that to shatter the entire plan.
"I know you already have an idea what I'm talking about. You really are smart." Glass commented. "But, you will still not defeat me. Also, I'm all for fairness so I'm still inside the ring just in case you're wondering." He added. It turned out that he actually entered from the right side of the ring, created all those glasses, made his reflection to throw off his opponent, shot that seemingly random disc, then carefully changed his location within the ring for some reason.
"I really appreciate you giving me even the slightest hints about your plan. I now know where you are." Reaper confidently responded and ran towards the opposite direction where the disc was originally thrown from.
Reaper is clearly going for the offensive which surprised Glass base on his reflection. His calculations probably are correct since Glass is starting to panic but trying his best to compose himself. Reaper swiftly formulated a new plan to counter Glass. On top of some of the small details he took in consideration, other major points played huge parts in his new plan. He mainly accounted the angle of the light being shone to the ring, the angles of all the seamless glasses, the movement of Glass' reflection etc.
His theory was confirmed as dozens of glass discs formed and being shot at him from the direction he's headed. Thanks to his dedication on his training sessions with the Professor and their mentors, his reflexes and agility significantly improved as well. If it weren't for those intensive training sessions, he'll be covered with cuts already and eventually lose this match. But, he effortlessly dodges all of the glass discs that are coming right at him. There are a few that he failed to avoid causing some minor cuts on his face and limbs but they're manageable.
"You're in a pinch, Glass! You better step it up. Reaper is on frenzy mode!" Surge exclaimed. "For the love of god. How is Reaper able to dodge most of Glass' discs? If I was there, I probably been defeated already." He muttered to himself.
"So this is what his extra training sessions with the mentors are for." Beast commented discreetly.
It turned out that Reaper is personally asking extra lessons from their mentors to improve his physical strength since he knows that his Anomaly is more like a handicap compared to his colleagues' Anomalies. Though their mentors are reluctant at first, he was able to convince them to do so as long as the mentors doesn't have anything else better to do or he helps them with some of their tasks.
Realizing the situation he's in, Glass decided to run around the ring as he continues to shoot discs at his opponent. This is in the hopes of him avoid close combat with Reaper and tiring him out by him continuously avoiding the dozens of discs being thrown at him. But, he couldn't believe that Reaper can still follow as if he can read his mind and predict his next move. In his panic, he added the number of glass discs being shot at Reaper and it's been sped up as well.
Reaper eventually figured out where Glass will be if he continues his track so he prepared himself to finish the match since the plan to tire him out is starting to work. To create an effective diversion, he took his training jacket off and quickly gathered the shattered glasses from the discs that were thrown at him earlier. He then tossed the collected shattered glasses into the air along with his training jacket and surely enough, Glass was thrown off since he started to aim his attacks to the jacket instead to Reaper himself. While Glass is distracted, he slid behind one of the seamless glasses to wait for him in the flesh.
Reaper briefly waited for Glass to show up and when he did, his opponent was so surprised that he stopped in place creating a window for his Anomaly to be nullified since already in his line of sight. Everything is lining up in Reaper's favor from this point on. Reaper was successful in nullifying Glass' Anomaly which resulted to the disappearances of all the glasses he previously created. Then, he ran towards him and did a firm triangle choke restricting any other movements from him.
"End match! You better tap out now, Glass. You'll get seriously injured if you continue to struggle your way out of that triangle choke." Surge announced.
Glass doesn't have any other choice but to accept his defeat. He tapped out as what Surge suggested which means, Reaper won and he will be the one who will be up against Beast in the final sparring match. Beast and Surge joined the other two inside the ring to celebrate the outcome of the match. They couldn't believe that Reaper came through and actually pull off a win. He himself couldn't believe what he just did.
"You bastard! I didn't know you're such a badass." Surge complimented Reaper.
"I told you his something else. You should pay more attention." Glass responded. " The quiet ones are always the deadliest." He added.
"When are we doing the final sparring match?" Beast asked. He might not look like it but he has become more eager to fight Reaper after what they have just witnessed earlier.
"I think we need to postpone your match. Both of you should be on your best condition for the fight." Glass suggested.
"I agree. Well, Beast is fine since he beat me just like in a snap of a finger which is very depressing by the way. But, Reaper here is covered in cuts." Surge commented.
The four continued with their discussion when Reaper suddenly remembered that the Professor and the others are waiting for them for dinner. As soon as they realized this, they all agreed that they should postpone the finals match. They also decided to just come up with an excuse as to why is Reaper covered in cuts but they didn't expect that at that time, the door of the training room swung open violently. The atmosphere was immediately filled with a sinister aura.
"What in the world are you all still doing here?" Zythandra shrieked. It turned out that she was the one who violently kicked the door open. "Do you guys want to skip dinner tonight? That's no problem by me just say it!"
"Sorry for taking us too long but we just finished. We're actually on our way now." Glass responded with an obvious fear in his tone.
"You're on your way but you're still lying about the ring? Are you messing with me right now?" Zythandra screamed.
"Reaper, you're her favorite student. Do something." Surge whispered.
"Yeah, calm her down at least." Glass commented.
"Whatever happens, I'm ready to bail out." Beast said which Glass and Surge agreed to.
The three of them is planning to flee and leave Reaper behind to have him as sacrifice to the upcoming storm which is their mentor Zythandra. They discreetly prepare themselves for the perfect time for their escape and Reaper is increasingly becoming scared since he doesn't know what beating he'll get if he will be the only one left. It's obvious that the three of them will utilize their Anomalies to have more chance of successfully leaving the place.
"So? Are you guys really testing my patience? Don't let me catch or I'll personally beat some sense into you!" Zythandra strongly stated then started to walk towards them. This only meant one thing and that is they'll get it once she got to them.
Beast, Surge and Glass quickly stood up and did their own thing to prepare with their escape shenanigans all at the same time. Glass created a glass board that he can stand on and hover away. Though he's not used to using his glass as transport, he's willing to take risk just to get away from Zythandra. Surge on the other hand started to take a stance and store some energy into his feet. He is planning to shoot out shockwave from his feet just strong enough to propel him away. Finally, Beast transformed to his falcon form to fly away.
"Scatter!" Glass announced then the three of them immediately took off.
Even before the three could make their way to the door, it suddenly shut close revealing another familiar figure next to the doorway. Calcipher happened to walked in training room as well and he figured that this would happen so he tailed Zythandra . Before Beast, Surge and Glass could react even further, they suddenly dropped like flies and crashed hard in front of Zythandra it's as if their Anomalies cease to work.
"Whoa! What's up with you three?" Calcipher said in shock.
It so appears that Reaper took of their Anomalies due to extreme panic. He subconsciously activated his Anomaly resulting to spoiling his friends' escape. His nose bled in the process but he discreetly wiped it off clean. This created a window for Zythandra to get a hold of those three since they just coincidentally fell in front of her. Calcipher's expression lightened up because he's looking forward to how will Zythandra beat them up. That's probably the only reason he dropped by.
"Cal, toss me the broom!" Zythandra exclaimed.
"Some strong motherly love. That's interesting." Calcipher responded.
"Cal!" Zythandra shrieked. Calcipher then threw her the nearby broom.
"Wait, wait! We can talk about this." Glass said in panic.
"Yeah, we can definitely talk this out. We should all calm down." Surge butted in.
"Thanks a lot, Reaper." Beast muttered to himself.
"Don't you dare celebrate, Reaper. You better get sorry face here!" Zythandra called out.
"I so pity you four right now. Wait, I better get some popcorn." Calcipher commented. "On second thought, maybe not. I might miss some awesome scenes." He added then chuckled.