'I mean.....how hard would it be finding a job around here....'
As Pethant wandered through the street wearing his red tank top with his signature red spiky hair propped up as a sign of youth and spirits, he had been observing those walking and flying beside them. Despite the hidden power contained within the majority of the people walking around in zone six, not many carried a lot of mass on them.
This may be where he comes in.
Instead of going to the nearest neighborhood training facility, Pethant instead looked up the single biggest gym in the entirety of zone six and headed straight there.
It was an entire building compound converted into a training facility. The traditional weightlifting areas are merely five levels of equipment, with combat training facilities forming the entire upper levels. A massive pool and aquatics area locate underneath a cube in the air which caters to the superhuman with flying and other movement-based abilities. Even here, the superhumans are separated based on the type of powers they had.
To his surprise, not many are wearing the same sort of gym attire as him. Rather, people come and go wearing business suits.
'How may I help you?' The receptionist asked as Pethant waddles in, she was a fit-looking trainer taking over the administrative duties. Maintaining a safe and respectable distance between them, Pethant asked inquired about the deal with the memberships. Then, looking at the spending money that he changed over from whatever's left from his last payday in S city, and quickly signed up for it.
He wasn't planning to get a session going right away, less so coming in as a personal trainer. Before truly becoming someone worth noticing in the gym, he needs to get a general vibe of the place he is trying to find work.
Nothing helps that than hitting a chest and arms session.
With a single water bottle, a red tank top, and a body ready for a pump of his life, Pethant stepped into the battlefield between humans and iron.
The gigantic resistance training area spans multiple floors, and Pethant walked slowly from area to area to the rhythm of the music playing in the background. Each of the different sections for different hobbies, training styles, and methods have their own musical themes, creating very specific vibes.
Then, as he waddled around towards the third floor of the main free weights area, he spotted a tall and skinny tattooed man being the only one in the middle of an island of dumbbells. To his surprise, there are no other lifters in his proximity, and no gym trainers to tell him off.
As he dropped down from a set of curls and releasing the iron onto the floor, he gently and quickly stepped in between the gaps, toeing the line between getting to his destination and getting his ankles caught in a gym fail. He certainly moved well, Pethant thought as he sat his water bottle down on the next adjustable bench next to the man.
He glanced over at Pethant and he returned with a light smile before doing some shoulder circles to loosen everything up.
As Pethant is ready to get warmed up by holding a push isometric position, he heard a low grunt from the side before the skinny man picked up the two heaviest dumbbells in the gym, labeled one hundred kilos each, and started repping away. Those aren't small weights, even for superhumans. Turning his head while waiting for blood to be slowly drawn towards his chest and arms while holding perfect 90 degrees at his elbow, Pethant watched as pulses of light traveled up and down the man's body along the paths of his tattoos like blood cells that are visible.
As the set goes on, it was as if the air around him is becoming denser and denser, as Pethant felt his body becoming warmer and warmer by the second. He was shaking after a minute in this position, and in another thirty seconds, he would be more than ready for this workout.
And with all that, all the skinny man got was a mild pump and his veins that looked like centipedes crawling all over his arm.
Dropping the 100-kilo dumbbells onto the shock absorbant mat, the man sat back frustrated and started chugging away at the water.
Suddenly, the air felt light all around him.
Scanning around the gym, he spotted a handful of gym users on the same level but miles away and looking towards the two of them here.
'How...did you get arms like that?' The skinny man asked.
'Train hard, smart, and consistently for a long time.' Pethant cracked a smile and replied before pointing to the dumbbells on the ground, 'I think you should probably also put some of those back. Others might not want to hang out with you at this rate...'
'Oh!' The man covered up his mouth in shock and scrambled to pick it all up. The same quick pulses return to the tattoos on his arms as he wrapped each of his fingers around the heavy dumbbells and returned all of them promptly to the rack, 'do you think people will now come here?'
'Hopefully!' Pethant said before grabbing a pair of twenties in his arm and taking a seat, 'some other tricks I have used it to not activate my superpowers in training. It looked like yours is a sort of enhancement ability, right?'
'Yeah.' Turning to face Pethant properly this time, the skinny man looked up as Pethant performed a set of picture-perfect dumbbell bench press and sat back up with dumbbells resting on his legs.
'By pushing with only your physical capabilities, you not only allow your superpower physiology to rest and rest, you also truly challenge your physical aspects.' Pethant said, 'but that will also need to be coupled with good coaching and a good training program.'
'Are you making a sales pitch?' The skinny man asked, sounding amused.
'I...I am new to the city, mate.' Pethant sat, lying down for another set, this time with the movements much quicker and snappier as more blood began to fill his arms and chest with his nipple finally escaping the cover of the singlet halfway through the set, 'so I am looking for a training job.'
'Ah...' The man said, looking down onto the ground, 'I don't have too much money right now, but how about this...If I teach you how to fight better, you teach me how to get big?'
Sitting up quickly with his eyes widened and sweats flooding down his forehead, Pethant reached out with his hand, 'I am Pethant Ouph, retired pro.'
'I am Bones.' The skinny man replied as he quickly fixed his hair up before reaching out with his hand, 'nice to meet you.'
'You said you will teach me how to fight.....are you a pro?' Pethant asked, returning the dumbbells to the rack before picking up a heavier pair.
'Well.....I work as a freelancer detective...' Bones replied, scratching his head and scanning the rest of them with his eyes before returning to see Pethant perform his next set, 'and I deal with some part-time stuff...after that.'
'Do you...fight a lot in that profession?' Pethant asked, and Bones didn't say anything except for an awkward channel.
'We are not supposed to...but...you see, we do get into trouble. Like the really bad ones...'
'Noted.' Pethant said, 'let's go for a few rounds in the ring then! Let's see what you got.'
'And can we do a lifting session after?'
'Deal!'
With a few warm-up sets done and dusted, both Pethant's physical performance and confidence level are at an all-time high. So when he and Bones stepped into the ring, he was prepared to unleash his powers and impress his first client at the gym.
To his surprise, this fight garners a small crowd also. As the crowd points to the muscular man with red hair and red singlet and filled the air with murmur, Pethant's attention was brought back to Bones when he clapped his hand together and performed a martial artist's bow.
Pethant returned the gesture before channeling his own powers.
His muscles began to bulge up even further as paths of air currents flowed along the valleys in between Pethant's muscles, enhancing his movements and attack.
'I am supposed to be the teacher.....so...please attack first...' Bones said, though his quiet voice and awkward body posture isn't being helped by the sheer size of the fighting ring they are in. Pethant got the ideas though, and he charged forward.
The air currents surrounding his lower legs were pressed down into the ground before they exploded and pushed Pethant forward like rocket boosters. His image was compressed by how fast he is moving, and he even surprised himself with how explosively he is moving. The distance between the two is swallowed up in an instant as Pethant cuts through the air currents with his fist, intending to show Bones what he has got.
Bones moved, though compared to the overwhelming speed displayed by Jon and Ally when they disappeared from his visual field, Bones only pivoted around his left leg, tilting his torso to the side just a touch to avoid both Pethant's fist and the air currents that made the area of attack much bigger.
However, that was not it! Parts of Pethant's signature powers are the after-effects of his wind, though Bones sharp eyes caught the quick gusts as he raised one hand to block it, his tattoos flashing once upon impact.
'This was not it!' Carrying on his momentum, Pethant spun around and prepared a round back kick with his heels as a small whirlpool of wind formed around his feet, 'KICK OF THE TORNADO!'
The version at escalation 1 is much smaller than what he can create at escalation 2, and he has been slowly pushing the boundaries in-between stages of his power. Now, his escalation 1 is much more than the basic physical enhancements, but rather like a miniature version of his escalation 2 with the air currents around his body.
In E2, the radius, forces, and speed of his attacks are all much higher, and Pethant is prepared to use it if Bones is that good, though he questions the strength of those that hang around the free weights area of a gym in zone six.
He had no idea.
Reaching out with his long hands and even longer fingers, Bones formed a fist before flicking it over rapidly and expanding out his finger. That simple rotational movements already countered out the tornado created with Pethant's full-body attack, and that was not it as he landed hits simultaneously along Pethant's feet, calf, hamstring and quad, core, back, shoulder blade and his neck.
Each hit was solid and rapid, and yet Pethant easily felt that Bones was holding back his strength. That was not only a display of ridiculous speed and power but also that of accuracy!
Knowing that he will lose right away if he didn't go into escalation 2 right away, Pethant tried to channel his power before Bones spun around him, elbowing him through the spine before catching him as he was about to fall.
Then, with two fingers separated, Bones halted his attack right before permanently blinding Pethant as he also held onto the back of Pethant's singlet.
'I give up.'
Pethant knows when a fight is a losing one, and this is one of them.
Bones had counters for each and every move that Pethant is going to make, and he had counters for his counters too.
It was as if he is facing off against the repeated rising tides of a boundless ocean. He may hold on for a movie or two, but what about ten moves later. One hundred? One thousand?
Tucking his fingers and turning it into a friendly palm, Bones helped Pethant up.
'...So...?' Bones asked, returning to his shy and awkward state from before, 'was I okay?'