Adrian's fists slammed into a worn-out training dummy inside an abandoned, crumbling building. The walls trembled with each strike.
Adrian: "I think I can go to 7% now."
He leaned forward, sweat dripping from his brow, hands still clenched.
Peter: "Don't push it, Adrian. Your body needs to heal before you can jump into more brutal training."
Adrian: (still panting) "I know that, Peter… but I need to grow faster. I have to."
"And I get that, but pushing past your limit every day isn't going to help if it breaks you. Also… we've got a problem."
Peter's expression darkened as he looked down at his phone.
Peter: "Word on the street is that there's some real shady shit going down. Human trafficking. High-powered weapons. This could be our most dangerous mission yet."
Adrian: (rising slowly, jaw set) "Then we go. Even if we fail, even if we save just one person—it's worth it."
Peter gave a small nod, smiling despite the grim situation.
Peter: "You're a damn idealist, you know that?"
Adrian: "Says the guy who set his grappling hook on fire last week."
Peter groaned.
Peter: "Don't remind me. I told you the flame module wasn't ready. I damn near torched that guy's backyard!"
Flashback: Peter's grappling hook malfunctions, swinging wildly into a window.
Homeowner (from inside): "What the FUCK?!"
Peter (in the past): "Sorry!"
Back in the present—
Adrian: "We need a plan. No screwups this time."
10:00 P.M. – Shipyard
Adrian crouched on top of a container, suited up, eyes scanning the shadows.
Peter (through comms): "Two guards on the west dock. Talking. Not alert."
Adrian nodded, dropping down.
Criminal 1: "Shipment's coming in late again."
Criminal 2: "Boss says we hold the girls here till morning. Whatever."
A blur of movement.
WHAM. CRACK.
Adrian landed hard between them. A spin-kick to one's chest. Elbow to the other's jaw. Both dropped like sacks of Potato.
Adrian: "Clear."
Peter: "You near the main hold? You should see at least eight guards."
Adrian floated up gently using Float, rising above the yard.
Adrian: "It's not eight. It's sixteen. All armed."
Peter: "Can you handle it?"
Adrian: "No choice."
Adrian charged One For All to 6%. His body pulsed with energy. Then he dropped into the chaos.
Adrian launched forward like a missile, fists flying. A guard swung a bat—Adrian ducked under and sent him flying with a right hook. Bullets tore through the air.
He zigzagged between crates, using Smokescreen to block their vision. He tackled two guards through a stack of boxes, twisted, and launched a steel pipe across the dock.
One grunt pulled a knife. Adrian grabbed his wrist, dislocated it with a twist, then kicked him over the edge into the water.
Gunfire erupted. He ducked behind a container, hurling a smoke bomb. He burst through the haze, slamming into two men like a wrecking ball.
Adrian (grunting): "Come on, COME ON!"
Another guard charged him with a stun baton—Adrian phased through him using Permeation, then reappeared behind and kicked him in the spine.
Bruised, bloodied, Adrian stood in the middle of the fallen enemies, panting hard.
Then—
"Hey! Take one more step, and this girl dies!"
Adrian whipped around.
A thug was holding a terrified young girl by the arm. Blood trickled down her face. A pistol pressed to her head.
"Let her go!"
The thug sneered.
"Make me, freak."
I am Not fast enough. I am Not close enough. I can't let her die.
Adrian's muscles screamed as he prepared to lunge.
BANG!
Time slowed.
Adrian's hand shot out.
A swirling, dark vortex tore open in front of him—silent and sudden.
The bullet vanished into the void.
SCREAM.
The thug collapsed—his own bullet in his thigh.
Adrian was already moving.
CRACK.
A 15% punch folded him in half and launched him into a steel crate.
Smoke coiled off Adrian's hand as it trembled.
He dropped to his knees beside the girl.
Adrian: "Are you hurt?"
The girl burst into tears and hugged him tight.
Girl: "I—I thought I was gonna die…"
Adrian (softly): "You're safe now. It's over."
Peter (over comms): "I called the cops. They're on their way."
10 Minutes Later
Adrian stood beside a patrol car, giving his statement.
Officer nodded, taking notes, then waved him off.
As Adrian walked down the dim street, his hand still ached.
He flexed his fingers.
The purple mist was gone… but the feeling lingered.
He didn't understand what he just did.
Didn't know what it meant.
But something had changed.
He looked to the stars.
Somewhere above, a presence stirred.
From a nearby rooftop, a figure watched him.
A wolf-headed helmet caught the moonlight.
"That one… will he be a threat?"
A second voice, hidden in shadow, replied:
"If he is, we'll deal with him."