Everyone gathered at the centre of the parking lot. The music was put to a temporary halt. Anshu entered the lot. Everyone looked at him.
[Damn it, must they stop the music right when I entered? And what's wrong with these people? Why are they feeling so relieved after turning off the music?]
He was reminded of the first time when he met everyone after being sold by his parents. What changed was their former Jean dress code which became an all-black costume composed of leather jackets, pants and boots. Some of the elders had silver chains stacked around their jackets. Some had them hanging by the side of their pants.
[The recent uniforms of the gang aren't half bad. But the old uniforms had their own charm.]
There was an empty table placed at the centre of the party arena. It was being used as a dais. Soon, a musclehead stepped onto the dais. He had spiky hair and a ducktail beard. Then everyone realised that the man standing before them was none other than Safar, the leader of TeenGang. One of the females spoke, "Oh, look at our leader. He transplanted his hair!"
While the males writhed in laughter, "Phahahahahahah!!!!!!!"
"Boss, we got used to seeing you in your bald style. But, now that you've transplanted, we can't hold back laughter!!!"
"This look doesn't suit you, boss!!!"
[Uncle Safar is trying to blend in with the present generation trends. He isn't half bad. In fact, that spiky haircut and the ducktail beard suit him quite well.]
Safar then looked at Anshu and flinched. He then looked at Waheeda. She gestured with a nod. Anshu didn't understand what they were plotting. However, he knew that something scary is about to happen. Ria looked at him with doubting eyes. She wondered, 'Why did Uncle Safar look at Anshu anxiously? Wait a minute, earlier, Anshu told me that I was going to be dumbfounded and whatnot. Is it related to that?!'
Safar began his speech, "My dear friends, if not family members, as you all know, today is the 25th anniversary of the establishment of our TeenGang. It all began when we elders were teenagers. Therefore, we named it as such. Even after we became elders, the name still remained as TeenGang to raise the younger generations!!!"
[Sigh, Aunt Waheeda and Rithu told us these stories countless times. Why would he bother repeating them during times like these?]
The gang leader then gave off a smile whilst looking at Anshu and his buddies who were standing alongside him. The young man got a bad feeling but remained tranquil. His friend Ria looked at him with doubting eyes. The man continued, "And as you can see, every third-generation kid starting from our dear troublemaker Anshu became a complete adult!"
[Damn it, stop calling me a troublemaker.]
Then Aunt Waheeda walked past the dais and exclaimed, "It's about time they get to know everything. "So, let's spill the beans!!"", whilst smiling at Anshu and his friends. Her second sentence emitted quite an amount of pressure which rendered his buddies motionless. They gasped in anxiety. On the other hand, Anshu remained firm without putting any effort. Ria became puzzled, "A-Anshu... Wh-what is going on? Why can't I move??!"
[I don't feel intimidated since I experienced these things twice. Yesterday night, I went to the roof and experimented with my whole body while jumping, flipping, running and whatnot. What's more, was that I myself felt it quite hard to believe the kind of reflexes I had.]
His aunt, Waheeda began walking forward. He remained silent and headstrong.
<<
At once, her eyes started glowing yellow. Yellow flames usurped from her body. The brightness that was emitted by those flames hurt the eyes of teenagers. However, Anshu looked at them without any effort. Waheeda commented, ""Oh, our dear reflexive kitten adapted to things so quickly!!"", whilst emitting pressure. His uncle, Safar stepped down from the table and looked at the young man whilst writhing in enthusiasm.
<<
Suddenly, an elder with no hair but an anchor beard charged against him with speed. The elder launched his right fist. However, Anshu dodged it and vice-versa. A female elder commented, "Oh, is he a speed-type awakener?!"
[They are into the rubbish talks again. Seriously, what the heck is going on?]
The elder who attacked him with rapid movement continued raining non-stop attacks. He and Anshu ran all over the party area, implying rapid kicks and punches. The boy felt something weird.
[We're totally jumping around the lot. So, why can't I see signs of damage anywhere? Everyone is staring at us like it's no big deal.]
The elder then made a retreat. He exclaimed, "Your speed is this impressive right at the start. I wonder how fast you'll be in the future, kid!"
"Future? But, you people are basically trying to kill me, aren't you?!", Anshu replied. Everyone fell into a burst of laughter, "Hahahahahahahaha...!!!!"
Another elder stepped forward. He was tall and well-built with shredded muscles. Anshu attempted, "Uncle Riyaz, don't tell me you too are one of the plotters!!!"
The elder responded, "Kuhahahahaha, you're very funny, kid!!!"
Anshu thought of running away. He turned around and implied a flicked movement only to plant his face against an invisible barrier.
<<
He didn't know what happened. He tried to run again but ended up hitting himself against the invisible barrier. He tried to break the barrier and failed to do so. The elder before him exclaimed, "You're now inside an isolated space, kid. Neither you nor I can escape from this place unless you subdue the caster. You can also try smashing the barrier if you're strong enough!!"
The boy sighed and closed his eyes. He remembered what happened last night. The previous night, on the roof where no one was present, he started implying parkour and dance moves while watching videos from a phone that was placed a few metres away from him. He then began using his agility. And at last, he still felt that he had more than half of his energy in reserve. He then looked behind. There was a green couch near the entrance. He kept on looking at it for a few minutes. He mumbled, "Phew, why do I feel like wanting to lift it so bad?!"
He then went near the couch and tried lifting it. When he raised his hands, an unbelievable event took place. The scene changed back to the fight against the elder. Anshu opened his eyes.
[Judging by his build, he could've lifted that couch with a single hand.]
"Argh!!!", the elder charged forward. Safar asked Waheeda, "Honey, how do you think will he dodge this attack?!"
Waheeda answered, "It doesn't seem like he's trying to dodge it!"
Safar became puzzled. He looked at the young man's stance. The boy remained firm and serious. One of the elders commented, "Wait, is that speed-type awakener trying to confront a strength-type?!"
The elder who fought him earlier commented, "That boy isn't a speed-type, you fools!"
"???", everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions.
<<
They then turned around. Anshu and his opponent clashed with their elbows. What's more, was that Anshu remained on his spot and took a head-on strike from the musclehead. Everyone became spellbound. Waheeda attempted, "Reflexes are all part of speed and agility, right?!"
"Haagh!!!!", Anshu cried in an effort to push his opponent. The latter was followed by the musclehead elder getting pushed back by a few metres.
The elder charged forward. So did Anshu. The two of them were exchanging fists and kicks. Smacking sounds resonated throughout everyone's ears. The ones who were watching had no choice but to remain spellbound. The bald man said, "Believe me, earlier, his speed and agility weren't as proficient as mine. However, when I punched and kicked him a few times, he received no damage. Instead, it was my knuckles that felt pain!!"
Safar commented in utter disbelief, "He's not a speed-type. Then what about the event that took place, 15 years ago?!", whilst shaking non-stop. He remembered a scenario where there were many dead bodies in the middle of a highway. Standing between those corpses was a boy covered in blood all over his body. The boy was but a four-year-old kid. And, at that time, he was none other than Anshu's past image. Even Waheeda and the remaining elders felt chills running down their spine as they too remembered it. Anshu looked at the elders while fighting.
[What the heck is going on? Why am I getting a weird sensation from them? It's neither excitement nor anger... But fear?]
At that time, the look on everyone's face depicted anxiety. Anshu was reminded of his childhood days when everyone from his class gazed at him in despair. At once,
<<
his heartbeat gave off a strong vibration. His movements came to a halt and his mind entered into a state of trance. Taking advantage of the situation, his opponent punched him right in the nose. The boy was sent flying, henceforth crashing against the invisible barrier and collapsing to the floor. Everyone looked at his collapse. They then felt relieved. The one who punched him exclaimed, "He almost went into the trance. If I was a bit more late, god knows what might've happened to us!!"
Safar exclaimed, "I hate to say this, but your decision was wise, Veer!!"
Safar then looked at his wife. Her anxious gaze didn't vanquish. It was still locked onto Anshu who was lying in a corner. The leader attempted, "What's the matter, dear?!"
She jolted and then said out loud, "Gasp, careful. He's still in the trance!!!!"
Veer tried to look around. But, before even turning his face,
<<
his jaw got smashed by Anshu with a wave of his right hand. No one was able to see what happened. From lying on the ground to getting back up and then smashing the opponent, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Anshu's eyes became white but were radiating in blue. He stood like a zombie. Once again, everyone was reminded about the event that took place when Anshu was only 4.