In the training center, Adrian was sparring with a muscular man, all replete with protective head gear and boxing gloves.
"Dodge left, keep an eye for the lower hook!" Jimmy Orville's voice echoed through the empty factory. "Improve your footwork, always keep moving!" He screamed.
Adrian imperceptibly nodded as he tried to dodge the muscular man's punches, while trying to anticipate the trajectory of the punches as he was taught, however, he was quickly hit in the jaw after a few misses and fell down, stars in his eyes.
"Okay, take a break!" Jimmy shouted.
"This is harder than I imagined." Adrian mumbled as he took out his gear and splashed water over his face.
Jimmy laughed. "A great man once said that it takes twenty thousand hours of training to become an expert in anything."
"It does sound like a familiar saying. But who said that?" Adrian asked the old man.
Jimmy shrugged. "Who knows?" He said as he began to guffaw. However, the smile on his face disappeared soon enough. "Kid, be careful on the streets."
"What happened old man?" Adrian asked.
"There's a gang that's been on the rise in the streets. They've got powerful ability users among them and they are very violent. Recently they came calling to our training center for patronage. Security fees they said." Jimmy sighed.
"Is it people wearing black jackets with a snake symbol?" Adrian asked.
Jimmy's eyes shined. "Yes, its then. Isn't the security department supposed to handle such messy elements? I see nothing in the news or any warnings by the government. I don't understand what's going on."
Adrian shrugged. "It is beyond us. We can only hope that the government does its thing."
---
In a northern district of the city, a person sat inside a van with a bloodthirsty look on their face. Their breath was arrhythmic, and their eyes flickering. The person gripped the steering wheel of the van as powerfully as they could as they looked on towards the street in anticipation.
An old grandmother was slowly using a crosswalk to visit the opposite side of the street. As she slowly used her walking stick to slowly walk onto the asphalt, the person in the van pressed hard on the accelerator peddle.
The white colored van was surrounded by a milky glow like a blanket as the van accelerated towards the old woman, who just turned her head to look on in horror as the van slammed into her, blowing her into the air. The van rushed away from the street without stopping at all.
"Hey! Accident!"
"Oh my god! Look at that monster!"
"Grandma!"
"What the heck, where did that van run off too?"
The grandma who was flung into the air slammed onto the road, blood seeping out of her head as a result of the collision. She was already dead.
Far away in an underground parking lot, the milky glow on the van disappeared. The irregular breathing of the driver stabilized and there was a smile on their face. Then they burst into a fit of laughter, before they finally stopped. Their eyes turned gloomy as they took out a blunt knife and made a small scar on their palm, self harming themselves as they felt a wave of sadistic pleasure wash through their mind.
---
The next day, Adrian walked into school and found that the atmosphere in the campus was even more tense than was usual. Frowning, he walked towards another student from his grade who had also failed to awaken yet.
"Hey buddy, what's going on? Something doesn't feel right." Adrian asked the quiet mushroom headed guy.
The boy looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention to him, before he quietly whispered.
"Yesterday Cody had a severe battle with Dino. Apparently, Dino passed away yesterday night at the hospital." The boy said quietly.
"Dino... died?" Adrian asked with a chil, to which the boy nodded gloomily.
"What's the school saying about the matter?" Adrian asked in an almost whisper.
"We'll find out today." The mushroom headed boy replied back equally quietly.
In class, Adrian found that everyone was extremely quiet and their faces tense and gloomy. The atmosphere was already heavy but turned heavier when they saw Cody enter the class with a smile on his face.
When Cody tried to talk to others in the class, he was given a cold shoulder. Soon classes began, but the tension in the class was palpable. During a break, the student council members entered the class.
"Cody Briggs, please follow us to the school's conference room." Lear, the Student Council president announced in a serious and somber tome, as his eyes fixed on Cody, who frowned.
"Why should I?" Cody asked defiantly.
"Your presence has been demanded by the school authorities. Calmly follow us to the conference room." Janice said coldly, a sharp difference from her usual listless appearance.
Seeing this different expression on Janice, the vice president, many students in the class gulped air. Even Cody felt a little shiver down his smile. He quietly followed the student council out of the class.
"Damn, Janice is angry!" Someone yelled after the student council left the class with Cody.
"Never seen such a cold look on her before. She looked terrifying!"
"What did you expect? That moron Cody actually killed Dino! He is a danger to our class!" Someone snorted.
---
In the conference room, the student council moved to a corner and sat down on the chairs. Cody stood in front of the round table, which was occupied by various School administrators including the principal as well as three unknown individuals with a brooch of a golden phoenix on their coats.
"Mr. Cody Briggs." The principal began. "These three persons here are from the Reformation Division. They deal with students showing excessively violent tendencies."
Cody's eyes strained into slits. "May I know why I have been called here?" He asked calmly, but with a frown on his face.
"Are you aware that because of your battle yesterday, Dino died after suffering from severe injuries?" The principal asked with cold eyes.
Cody's eyes moved across the room, taking in the expressions of everyone in the room before he nodded. "Yes, I am aware."
"You have had a history of bullying and now your actions are directly responsible for the death of a fellow student. What do you have to say on the matter?" The principal cross questioned.
Cody shrugged his shoulders. "As far as I am aware, I didn't break any rules. If anyone is at fault it is the lax rules the school has enforced." He replied calmly.
The principal's forehead had a vein popping in anger, but he controlled his expression. He looked towards the three individuals from the Reformation Division. "The people from the Reformation Division will conduct a psychological examination to determine if you are a safety threat to students in this school. I hope that you will cooperate in the matter." He said with finality, as if Cody had no choice in the matter.