Mike charged forward, every ounce of his augmented speed on display. The change from standing to motion was so sudden, he seemed to blur as he rocketed back towards Shin. 'This little shit won't know what hit him this time, I won't hold back at all,' Mike thought, even as his eyes watered slightly in the breeze he had made.
His augmentation and rehab was only completed recently, and he was now able to move at cheetah speed in the blink of an eye. This was achieved from the increase in explosive muscle power in his legs. Unfortunately, it was an early augmentation, and his bone density had not increased enough to compensate for this powerful new ability. It meant that he had to not overuse it or he could break his own legs.
'Here it comes Jr. Ace,' he thought, covering the ground between them in a fraction of a second, both his feet still off the ground. Like a cheetah, he was more jumping than running. Earlier, he had taken many steps, which made him slower but also afforded him the chance to slow down right before throwing his punches. The speed he was moving meant that his arms would likely shatter if he hit something while also accelerating at nearly 90km/h. An elbow though, in a soft spot like the gut, should be fine for him. It might kill Shin, but maybe a nurse would arrive in time.
The ten metre distance was covered in less than half a second. Way too fast for Shin to react as the leading elbow stretched out to spear him in the stomach. Except Shin wasn't there. Mike could only saw the afterglow of Shin's blue eyes. 'Were they blue a minute ago?' he thought. Unbalanced, he almost fell into the ground. He spun, and Shin was right there, his fist connecting with his jaw squarely.
"Arghhh," Mike cried. Caught completely off guard. This kid managed to dodge his attack. No, that wasn't possible. He must have been moving before Mike did, it was a lucky coincidence for the punk. He stumbled back a few steps, and wiped blood from his throbbing lip. "Don't think luck is going to save you again Jr. Ace," as he readied himself for another launch.
Again, he saw a blue flash in the kid's eyes. Their colour didn't change exactly, it was like a blue screen was projecting behind them. 'What the hell does that mean? He is too young to have gone through augmentation, and eveyone would know if a student had a power. I'm just seeing things,' he thought. His legs were getting sore, he didn't usually exert himself so much. 'I need to finish this fast.'
Mike took 3 short, powerful steps that accelerated him from a completely different vector. He was flying at Shin elbow first from his back now, the wind of his passage pulling his mouth open slightly. 'Got you,' he thought in the microsecond before impact.
He saw it this time. Shin wasn't moving fast, it looked painfully slow actually, but he was moving before Mike took his last step. The slow rotation was enough so that Mike's elbow hit air as he jumped towards him. Shin's elbow had turned with his torso and connected with Mike's forehead. The impact was devastating. Mike twisted through the air like a broken arrow, landing in a heap several metres away with blood streaming in the air behind him.
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"I can beat you all day, Jr Ace," Mike said.
Shin stared at this jackass, but he was suddenly very calm. His anger created focus. 'This guy is fast, really fast, but it's all muscle driven. I just need to time it right,' he thought. Shin always had great timing, he was confident.
Breathe. His eyes went wide, his mind went still. He could see the the tension in Mike's legs, like springs compressing. The trajectory was easy, Shin was the target, so he just had to move after Mike committed.
Breathe.
Shin moved as fast and fluidly as he ever had, a diagonal step toward Mike's elbow side. Minimal movement, complete escape. 'Did I just do that? This guy was moving so fast before I could barely see him,' Shin thought.
His timing was more than perfect, practically telepathic. He pivoted to see Mike behind him, off balance. He stepped forward and threw a strong hook at that waiting jawline. The sound was like a meat hitting a skillet, and oh so satisfying to Shin.
Mike was a big senior, but he must have felt that.
"Arghhh," Mike cried. He stumbled back a few steps, and wiped blood from his throbbing lip. "Don't think luck is going to save you again Jr. Ace."
Shin was even more calm. Dodging that first attack gave him confidence, and he sunk deeper into himself. It was almost like meditation. He let go of the anger, he needed to focus on his goal, and that was beating this kid enough that he left Mimi alone. In this trance like state he was able to see more than before. The sweat on Mike's brow, the dirt on his shirt, the pulsing of his veins, the direction of the wind blowing his hair.
As he looked closer, he could almost imagine the moves Mike would make, could see a faint blue shadow of the likeliest steps he'd take, and where the angle of attack would be. In this state, he just accepted the information, and Shin couldn't have said if the blue data points were prediction or calculation. It felt like he had as much time as he needed to consider his moves. Mike was going to hit him from behind, fast, aiming for a kidney strike.
Without really planning anything, Shin started twisting exactly enough to dodge the strike, even as he brought his elbow into position. Mike hadn't moved yet, and half a second was plenty of time to get in position.
Mike's forehead hit Shin's elbow. The explosion of pain knocked him out of his trance, observers would not see the blue backlight in his eyes any longer, it was gone.
"Ahhhhh," escaped Shin's mouth. 'Shit, my arm is very broken,' he managed to think through the pain. It made sense, that guy hit his arm with the force of a truck. Shin wondered if Mike was dead, but he saw him rolling on the ground crying in pain. The forehead is the hardest bone in the body, Shin seemed to think. Shin could hear the whispers of the watching seniors.
"Did that Shimin beat Mike without augmentation?"
"Is he some sort of Master? Was he moving even faster than Mike?"
Despite the pain, Shin was satisfied. He walked over to Mike and said, "Thank you for the lesson Senior. Please remember our deal." Then he picked up his shirt, jacket and sword and walked towards the medical bay. Dr. Grey was not going to be impressed.
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Kronus awoke, alone in the vast empty space of his strong hold. He felt it, that damn power, or the echoes of it at least.
'Has he reawoken? Or is this a cosmic echoe?' He was troubled, and knew that his decision to wipe out the Earth was the prudent choice.