Vlad awoke the next day and as he took in a deep breath through his nose with his eyes closed, he noticed that there were images being created by his mind of what the scents he picked up represented.
It was not an intentional action, but more like a synthesis between sight and scent, where things he had seen and subconsciously scented, were recognized by scent and then being subconsciously seen. It was fascinating, but it also alerted him to just how advanced his mind and body had become.
He knew as things currently stood he wasn't utilizing his newfound abilities to there fullest potential, but he also knew he had time.
Sure, Ana, his maid, looked pretty much exactly like Ursula Corbero in glasses. Which is pretty much exactly how she looked as Ana in G.I. Joe when she wasn't going by her other name, Baroness.
So, maybe that was a giant red flag. But, just the fact that she had yet to make any play for him in any way told him that even if she was actually Baroness, she wasn't currently interested in him. Therefore, he had time.
Time and opportunity.
Not to mention the most likely scenario being that it was actually his parents that interested her, but that was neither here nor there, seeing as how it was just as likely that the woman who walked while barely making a sound was actually someone loyal to his parents, his parents who looked like two people from a different movie he had seen in his past life.
He sat up in bed and stretched his arms over his head, listening to the satisfying pops and registering the feedback he received in response to the motion on how it affected his body. When he went through the previous day, he spent it blocking out all the information that was being processed by his mind and body and sought to operate as normally as possible outside of his run. It was his way of allowing his mind and body to synchronize. Now, he simply let the feedback flow.
He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom attached to his room and as he walked he steadily adjusted the way his feet landed in response to the amount of noise it produced. He went through his morning routine and quickly made his way outside while noting the location of Ana by the sound of her breathing in another part of the house.
He took off at a run. At first he kept the same pace as yesterday, but he quickly realized that his body had already adjusted to that speed, so he kicked it up a notch, reducing the time it took him to complete the same course as the day before by a few minutes.
He got back inside, showered, dressed, greeted his silent attendant/nanny/unknown, and made his way to his bike in the garage. Once more greeting the machine by rubbing his hands all over the beauty.
He exited the garage and saw that across from him a car was backing out of the LaRusso's driveway. His vision instantly honed in on the curly hair and the eyes that were looking one after the other in all the rearview mirrors.
He had his helmet on so he doubted Sam would know it was him, so he decided to have a little fun.
Just as she fully backed out and put the car into drive preparing to make her way to the school, he revved his bike and launched himself forward, cutting off her advance and forcing her to hit the brakes. Then, he was off, flying down the street at a speed that was definitely above the limit and leaving Sam with a no doubt scrunched up angry face and a slight case of road rage he hoped.
Since he was on time today there were still a lot of teenagers milling about as he pulled up, but he wasn't paying attention to them. Instead he parked his bike and waited for a little until he saw Sam pulling up and parking near him. Only then did he get off his bike, take off his helmet, and laughed as Sam's face went from pinched, when she noticed he seemed to be waiting on her, to shocked when she saw who was beneath the helmet.
He walked up to her car and stood beside the door as it opened, with him helping it swing open so he could lean against the open door as she climbed out of her car.
Sam got out, reached back in and got her bag from the passenger's seat, then turned her slightly bemused face in Vlad's direction. "So, we're neighbors?"
Vlad gave her a broad grin as he pushed her door closed once she was clear of it. "Yep. Excited?" He asked as they began to make their way into the school.
Sam attempted to pretend to be annoyed, but the smile tugging at her lips completely gave the game away. "No, I'm not. You almost made me hit you with my car today. What were you thinking?" She asked and actually managed a very real frown.
Vlad in response just shook his head and looked at her like she was the idiot speeding down the street. "Sam, I live my life a quarter mile at a ti-"
"Shut up!" Sam cut him off with a laugh and a shove. "I've seen fast and the furious, nerd."
Vlad feigned shock as he brought a hand to his chest. "Nerd!? How?"
Sam gave him a side-eye as they walked into the school. "Quoting a movie while trying to sound serious is major nerd behavior."
Vlad appeared to mull that over for a second before hesitatingly nodding his head in agreement. "Okay, I can see how that can be considered nerd-ish. Will you promise not to tell anyone? In exchange, I'll let you take a picture of me so you can look at it when I'm not around."
That earned him another laugh and another shove. It appeared even before Sam got into her bad girl summer phase by kissing boyfriends and brawling in school, she was already quite violent. He approved.
They rounded a corner containing their lockers, only to stop at the turn. Vlad had heard the aggressive tone from far away, but he had yet to be able to facilitate so many voices reaching his brain, while being able to pick up on what each and every one of them was actually saying. No matter how enhanced his mind was, something like that took practice to accomplish. Although, the sound of Miguel's foot meeting Kyler's fat friend's fat stomach, that he didn't even need to discern, because he was looking at it happening from the other end of the hall.
The fight broke out quickly. Miguel vs Kyler and his crew and Miguel was going on the offensive. No doubt embodying his "strike first" creed, as taught by sensei Johnny Lawrence, drunkard extraordinaire. The man could make a boy's legs start functioning with the power of music. Clearly, the man is an enlightened one.
Vlad watched from beside Sam as Miguel ducked under the swing of one of Kyler's crew, while immediately punching a different crew member. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Sam's fists were clenched. No doubt she was thinking about joining the fight.
"No mercy!" He heard a familiar voice yell from somewhere in the crowd at the far end of the hall near the fight. Aisha. His mind supplied. He hadn't yet met the girl, but he had heard her say that exact phrase with that exact voice through a tv screen, so that was good enough.
As Vlad watched, he analyzed. The fight was... not a good one. The group clearly didn't understand how to properly jump someone and Miguel's strikes lacked follow through and power. The problem was, Kyler and his crew couldn't take a hit, so it only made it seem like Miguel's strikes were doing damage. They might give the group pause, but it wouldn't result in any bruises or black eyes, so... it was clear Vlad would have to teach the boy a lesson.
"Should we do something?" Sam asked, her knees slightly bent and her teeth on display. She was obviously ready to throw down. But...
"Why would we do that?" Vlad asked, genuinely curious. Miguel was swinging that book around like it was his job, he clearly didn't need nor want any help. The look on his face showed that he had been waiting all his life for this specific moment.
Sam looked slightly surprised. "Because it's Kyler!" She said, while gesturing towards a downed Kyler. The boy clearly didn't learn his lesson about messing with people. Or, maybe this time Miguel was the aggressor. Vlad was wondering what would happen between the two after he stole Miguel's moment, but this fight, just like Thanos, seemed inevitable.
Vlad turned towards Sam, giving her his full attention, as the fight in the distance wound down. He stared at her, hard in her eyes, and the more seconds that ticked by, the more uncomfortable Sam seemed to become, until he said, "Who the fuck is Kyler." Then, Vlad continued on his way down the hall as the crowd cheered. Were they cheering for him or something else, it didn't matter. All he cared about was the fact that a crowd cheered as he walked away from dropping a dope one-liner, so he was satisfied.
Although, despite being very satisfied with completely dismissing Kyler's insignificant existence, he did have to wonder just what that fight was about. Did Miguel hype himself up overnight and decided to initiate a donny-brook first thing in the morning? Or did Kyler see Miguel, remember he tried to step up the previous day, and say something stupid, unleashing Miguel's lameass karate? Vlad didn't know, but he was curious to find out.
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