One of the men stepped into the girl's path, blocking her escape. "Look, Kate, we know you stole the money. There was no one else present at that time," he said menacingly.
"I don't know what you are talking about" Kate tried turning around and leave but a second guy blocked her way.
"Your cut is already good; do you really want to make enemies of us?" he continued as he inched closer to her.
"My cut is my business, you should back off before you regret it" she said steadily, determined not to budge.
"Are you going to complain to him again?" the last guy said before taking out a gun which seemed to have the effect. Her eyes widened and she backed away slowly until she bumped into the guy standing behind her. He began to say something when Dan interrupted him.
"Leave the girl alone." He tried his best to sound intimidating, but it didn't come out right.
All three guys turned their cold hard stares on him and clenched their eyebrows together.
"If you harm her, you will regret it" Dan tried again with no effect.
"Stay out of other people's business dumbass." the guy with the gun said dismissively. But Dan still shortened the distance and stopped right in front of him.
"Do you know this guy?" the one who had spoken first asked Kate.
"Hmm? no, never seen him before" she said surprised by Dan's apparent lack of caution. Although he expected it, he was taken aback and felt bad for being so invisible in class.
"Look dude, you should run before I am forced to use this." He waved the gun gently before aiming it at Dan's chest. "This isn't a toy."
He saw Dan take a step back and glance at his watch, as if confirming something. He was glad that he wouldn't have to waste bullets on some random stranger when he felt a gust of wind pass him. When he turned in the direction of it, he saw Dan standing there with a gun in his hand. His caution surged and he tried to clutch his own weapon tighter when he noticed something strange. He wasn't holding it anymore.
The other guys and Kate were startled too.
"What the hell...when did he take it out?" one of the guys blurted out. The one who held it before was shocked which kept him motionless and mute, unable to tear his gaze away from his empty hands. He then shifted his focus to the gun, realizing it wasn't Dan's but his own.
"This is heavier than I thought it would be," Dan said, weighing the weapon in his hand.
"How did you...do that?" he stuttered.
"Hey Damon, why the fuck did you put your gun away?" one of the others shouted angrily, finally noticing Damon's empty hands.
"He has it," replied Damon, still staring at the gun in shock.
"What do you mean he has it?"
"He took my fucking gun somehow" Damon couldn't take it anymore and started shouting as well.
Realizing that their situation had suddenly become dire, the other man took Kate hostage by pressing a knife to her throat.
"Look dude, you want her to live right? Throw it here and we'll let it go okay?" His voice quivered as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Dan glanced at his watch once more. Next moment, the guy holding Kate hostage screamed and bent down on one knee with the knife also going missing. One of his knees was shattered by Dan who was behind him now and looked surprised at what he had done.
"Is it because of the strength stat?" he mumbled to himself.
Seeing this, the third guy ran into the bar while the first guy started backing away in terror. Satisfied with the outcome, Dan turned towards Kate with a smile on his face.
"You okay, Kate?"
But she didn't respond, she was rooted in place and was staring at Dan like she was looking at a ghost. He was surprised as he was expecting her to come running to him for safety. Before he could inquire any further, more people came rushing from inside the bar, curious about the commotion.
"Hey, you alright there?" one of the men who had come out inquired, walking towards her. She fumbled and backed away from Dan into the guy's arms.
"Huh?" This wasn't what Dan expected. He was still wrapping his head around the situation when someone else spoke in an authoritative voice.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Another man had arrived; tall and muscular, no doubt capable of overpowering Dan with little effort.
"He is doing something weird...like he is somehow moving fast" stuttered the guy who had run away before pointing at Dan.
"Who is he?" The muscular man inquired of Kate.
"No...no I don't know him," she stammered, taking an uneasy step back away from Dan and closer to her protector. "He just showed up and started beating them up." To Dan's shock even Kate was turning against him.
The man's attention shifted to Dan, who hadn't come to his senses yet.
"Who are you?" He continued, slowly advancing towards Dan "You must be well connected to take on my people - is it
Victor?"
Dan finally focused his attention on him and pointed the gun with shaky hands. But the guy laughed.
"Huh? You haven't ever held a gun before? Who is even employing kids like you?" He finally stopped before Dan towering over him. Dan tried to press the trigger but the guy had easily snatched away the gun from him.
"So, you ready to talk now?"
Dan slowly backed away and activated time dilation couple of times. Then he turned to run away but something unexpected happened. He suddenly felt a powerful force griping his neck. It felt cold like iron claws bearing down hard on him.
"So one of those people finally managed to find someone after all" the guy said menacingly as he spun Dan around and punched him with such ferocity that it sent him flying several meters before crashing into the sidewalk. Dan felt his ribs breaking and blood leaking from his left ear. He stood up slowly, stunned at how easily this person had been able to perceive him during time dilation. His mind raced for solutions but all he had was one power.
The guy advanced closer and sneered, "Come on, that can't be it. You just move a little fast?"
With trembling hands Dan raised his watch, only to be met with despair as it was broken beyond repair. Suddenly he had vision of a massive arm crashing into him and his body reacted immediately, dodging it instinctively.
"Oh? So, you can move even faster?" The guy had moved so swiftly that Dan could barely see it, foresight had saved him this time or else he would have been lethally injured. He desperately racked his brain for a way out of the situation, but the guy kept pressing his advantage. Dan's body acted on instinct alone, dodging each attack with split-second timing. Dan noticed that he could see a faint blur of incoming attack before it reached him. He was finally able to activate foresight, but it wouldn't be enough. He needed to use time dilation to the limit if he was to survive. He was getting tired and soon even this would stop working. Gathering all his concentration, he imagined a massive clock towering over the world and controlling the flow of all objects. He was completely drenched in sweat and his legs were screaming in pain, he could also feel his right ankle being twisted but he ignored everything. After imagining time being cut in half again and again, it finally happened.
He felt the same chill that he felt the first time with the same blue hue, the man had been slowed down significantly, though not entirely. Seizing this opportunity, Dan bolted in the opposite direction without looking back. At first, he ran awkwardly due to fatigue and soreness, but quickly gained speed and distance. After running for a while, he started taking random turns in order to throw out potential pursuers. Only after five minutes had passed in dilated time, he deactivated it and allowed himself to take a breather.
He slumped against the side of a building, extremely tired as the effects of intense time dilation violently coursed through his body. Taking in deep breaths he gradually calmed down and lowered his head into his hands, only to feel the warm liquid seeping between his fingers. He saw the blood and took a notice of the state he was in. His shirt was torn, blood oozing from deep scratches that covered every inch of his body. He looked like he had rolled around in dirt – which he actually had – during the harrowing fight for survival. He had barely made it out alive but the effects of the fight still lingered on in his mind. But there was one thing that bothered him more than anything; why had Kate turned on him? Even if she didn't recognize him, why would she throw a total stranger under the bus?
'Did you really think you would be some kind of hero?'
He felt a chill down his spine as he heard a voice behind him, and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he whirled around to find someone standing there who looked exactly like him. He quickly ran his hands over his head trying to check for any injuries that might be causing this.
'No, you aren't hurt badly enough to hallucinate' the stranger was leaning onto the wall beside him.
"What the hell is going on? who are you?" Dan gasped, taken aback by how quickly the stranger had managed to catch up with him.
'Do you really not remember the person whose abilities you are using?' (A/N: As I can't use italics yet, I will be using this to represent stranger's thoughts)
After scrutinizing him closely, Dan realized that it was man in the reflection who now somehow resembled him, like a sibling. "What? you...are the ghost? Why do look so much like me?"
'Hmm, maybe it's the effect of assimilation. You did use those powers quite heavily'
"Wait, you...you tried to kill me" Dan accused him as he suddenly remembered the incident from the previous night.
The stranger shrugged nonchalantly. 'I was just showing you how to use foresight'
Before Dan could respond, he continued, 'I won't kill you as I am a part of you now'
Dan breathed a sigh of relief as his shoulders visibly relaxed.
'But I might change my decision if you don't stop making stupid mistakes'
"What?"
'What could possibly be the reason for you to get into danger for some random girl?'
"Random? But she is my classmate" Dan protested.
'She doesn't even recognize you and you have never even talked before, that's essentially being a stranger'
Dan sighed. "But still, shouldn't you help even a stranger in need?"
'Is that why you did it?'
Dan fell silent as he thought about the moment when he decided to interfere.
'You thought if you save her, she would run into your arms, didn't you?'
Dan couldn't answer that question either.
'Even if your motives were normal, are you sure she was some innocent girl who needed help?'
"But…"
'You thought now that you have the powers, you could get everything you were always denied' he continued without letting Dan get a word in.
'Now you are surprised that instead of thanking you, she jumped into the arms of someone else'
Dan looked away in shame and confusion. "But why did she do that?" he asked in a meek voice.
'Because to her, you were a scary weirdo who had just acted violently and he was a helpful person who had come to save her. The ability to beat people up makes you a good bodyguard, not a boyfriend.'
Dan slowly sat down again "So what should I do? Just live like I used to before?"
'Get your priorities straight. You need to get better with your abilities if you hope to beat opponents like that guy, especially now that he is going to be searching for you.'
His words hit Dan hard, making him slump down in realization of how he'd invited danger upon himself when he shouldn't have been involved at all.
"How was he able to catch me in time dilation?" Dan asked recalling how the fight had gone down just minutes ago.
'His reflexes must be faster,' the stranger responded, 'Still he isn't invincible. If you can use your powers effectively, he shouldn't be a tough opponent'
"Wait, how many people are there? And... what are these powers?" Dan asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.
'There should be lot more people. But if they are already preparing the variables then it would start soon.'
"What do you mean?"
'They are...'
As soon the stranger started saying something, an intense pain surged through Dan's head. He screamed and grabbed his head in agony as tears streaked down his cheeks.
'System pro...me as...mal...It's try...purge...' the stranger seemed to be saying something but Dan was in no condition to pay attention. He screamed as the pain consumed him and only after he had felt agony for almost a minute did it stop. When he opened his eyes and looked around, the stranger had disappeared.
"Am I going insane?" he slowly stood up and started walking towards his home. After taking a bus, he trudged into his room and fell into the bed without even bothering to change out of his dirty clothes.