"So... what should I do?" asked Max, making Tobias blink.
Suddenly, he felt like a fool who didn't know what to do. Max waited for the tattooed man to impart some new knowledge that would change his life for the better. Tobias could see Max's eyes light up, waiting for his amazing words. Just as Tobias was about to say something, there was a sudden sound of footsteps coming towards them. Immediately, Tobias and Max turned their heads to where the sound was coming from.
"I told you that sucker would still be here," said the burly man who this time came with a group of fierce-looking men.
"What do you want, Jon!" shouted an angry Max who stood up quickly.
Tobias said nothing. He could see that Max wasn't the cowardly type, it was just that the young man had no fighting skills and was physically weak.
"Make us an Oto-fly like Jon's. Refuse, you'll end up in a cemetery. Hahaha!" laughed a man in a hat.
Max's breath caught. His hands clenched into fists. Tobias knew that the skinny man wouldn't do it.
"You took what wasn't yours, Jon. Give it back!" shouted Max, who was in a boxing stance this time.
"Hahaha! He challenged you, Jon!" exclaimed a man with a hairstyle of a mohawk as he punched him on the shoulder.
"Damn bastard! You really want to die, huh!"
Jon ran angrily over to Max, who was still battered. Max panicked and quickly backed away.
"Fight him! Don't be a coward. Keep your position and put all your energy into your fists and legs! Do it!" Tobias shouted loudly.
Immediately Max's eyes widened. He could see Tobias' figure reflected in the black glass, moving like a boxer. Tobias' face was serious, as if he was ready to fight and looked dashing.
"Do it! Listen to me!"
Max took a deep breath and followed Tobias' movements. Sure enough, a punch flew towards Max's face.
"Get down!"
Quickly, Max bent down.
"Hit him in the stomach with your right hand!"
"Ugh!"
Everyone was stunned, including Max, who hadn't expected to hit a Jon who was known to be good at fighting. Max smiled with satisfaction.
"Don't get excited yet! He'll come again! His attack will be stronger!"
That's right. Tobias' words were like a fortune-teller. Max could see the anger in Jon's face and gestures as he started his attack again.
"Step to the left!"
Like a remote control car, Max was controlled by Tobias. His body quickly responded to the tattooed man's words. Jon is stunned that Max can dodge his attacks. Max looked wary that Jon's attack would continue.
"Damn you, Max!"
"Argh!"
Max whimpered as his neck was suddenly grabbed by Jon's big hands. His body was lifted high, leaving his feet off the ground. Tobias was breathing hard. He was angry. Not because of Jon's behavior towards Max, but because Max was so bad at not being able to fight back.
"Shame on you!" Tobias shouted angrily and flew at Jon.
"Ugh!"
Max was startled and fell hard when Jon suddenly released his chokehold. Jon's friends were stunned to see the burly man seemingly attacked by an insect.
"Argh, damn moths!" Jon shouted angrily, flailing his arms around his head to shoo away the bugs that were bothering him.
"Don't just stand there, you idiot! Grab one of his legs and drop him!"
Max immediately stood up and grabbed one of Jon's legs. Jon was stunned. Just as he was about to grab Max's body and hold on to his leg, Tobias accidentally landed on his eyes and peed on the man.
"Argh! Argh!"
"Jon!" the man in the hat shouted as he saw Jon fall onto his back after Max managed to lift one of his legs and push hard. Jon groaned in pain and held one of his eyes.
"Hahaha! Feel the pain!" shouted Tobias happily, which was met with laughter by Max.
"You're finished, Max!" shouted the Mohawk-haired man, who walked furiously towards him.
"Run! Run!" shouted Tobias which made Max run for his life.
Tobias flew after Max and landed on his head.
"Run faster! You're worse than an old lady with osteoporosis!"
Max ran as hard as he could even though he had to endure the pain all over his body due to the wounds from the previous fight. Max entered a hallway and opened the metal door with his fingerprints. The thin man went inside quickly and closed the door.
"Your headquarters?" asked Tobias guessing because the room looked like a control room.
There were many old computers, scattered cables and machines in some corners of the room. There was a mattress and some furniture near the wall. A bathroom and toilet were at the end of the room which was estimated to be 10 x 10 meters.
"Do you live here?" asked Tobias again, who felt that the place seemed neglected. However, Max seemed to ignore him. "Hey, you heard me not!"
"I'm tired," he replied listlessly and washed his face with water.
"You're really embarrassing. You suck."
"Shut up!"
"You shut up!" Tobias yelled back.
Max was annoyed and grabbed Tobias' cockroach body. Just as he was about to toss it, Tobias nimbly slipped between his fingers and moved swiftly over Max's arm. Max's eyes bulged as Tobias flew into his face.
"Ugh!"
"Dare to challenge me, ha! You're as good as dead!" shouted an angry Tobias who this time vented his frustration by beating Max with all six legs.
Max was stunned because he didn't expect Tobias to be so strong despite his small body. Tobias grabbed Max's hair and slammed his face into the wall. Max was dazed and collapsed. The man lay unconscious.
"Totally useless. Loser," Tobias railed and flew away from Max Gordon.
Max was unconscious for quite some time until the young man finally opened his eyes. He was shocked to realize that he was lying on the floor. He felt his head spin, and his body ached all over. When he tried to get up, he was surprised to see that there were three Tobias figures because there were several mirrors on three sides leaning against the wall next to the bed.
"Even though you suck, your response is pretty good. One plus point for you," Tobias praised while enjoying a plate of bread on the table.
"Hey, this is my last meal!" Max yelled angrily. He stumbled over to the bed and picked up a stack of bread made into a sandwich.
Max devoured it greedily. But Tobias burst out laughing. Max's brow furrowed.
"Hahaha! I peed on your bread!"
"Huekk!"
Max spontaneously spit out the bread he'd almost swallowed. However, Tobias' laughter only intensified. Max gave Tobias a sharp look.
"You're naive and stupid. You're so easily fooled. You might be smart because you can fix things, but you're too innocent. Let me guess. You've been alone since you were a child. Your parents left you and never came back. You struggled on your own until you found this place and made it your home."
"You're wrong. They're dead," Max replied curtly and turned away.
But Tobias doesn't feel sorry or guilty of what he just said. He just nods in understanding, even though his guess was wrong.
"You can fix things. You're a technician. Did you learn from someone?" asked a curious Tobias.
But Max didn't answer. He just pointed to a pile of old books on a metal table where Tobias had found bread. Tobias finally realized that Max wasn't as stupid as he thought, because the young man could learn things without a teacher. Tobias grinned.
"All right, Max. Let's start making changes in your life. Right now," Tobias said, making Max look at him with a furrowed brow.