Altered Cosmos

Chapter 10; Introductions

It’s been a week since Levi left Asylum Bay for South Africa. He spends those days in Agent Steel’s house, getting used to the environment but most importantly learning how to control his photron energy.

It’s another morning and Levi was in the training hall with Peter who folds his arms and watches as Levi releases his energy more effortlessly before drawing it back to himself to form a thin coat of blue energy around his entire body.

Peter chuckles as Levi turns to him with his eyes glowing with energy. “Well done. I knew you’d pick it up.”

Levi gives a little laugh as he stared his hand, raw blue energy covering his skin. “It’s like a warm jacket all over my body.”

Peter slowly walks towards Levi with a smile on his face. “In that case, you’re ready for the next step.”

Levi drops his arms to his side and locks eyes with Peter as he stops in front of him. “So what’s the next step?”

For a long moment, Peter just stares at Levi before Levi notices his yellow energy radiating from Peter…but before he could get a say in, Peter suddenly throws a punch at him.

“Hey!” Levi shouted out as he leaps back and glares at Peter. “What was that for?”

“You’ve learnt how to control your energy in a relaxed position but…” He points at Levi who notices that his energy was now flowing out uncontrollably so he drew it back in as he stood. “You need to be able to control that power even when you’re on the move and fighting.”

Peter places a hand on his hip and gives Levi a stern look. “If you’re fighting a dral or holon and your control is this sloppy, then you’re a dead man.”

Levi notices how calm Peter’s energy was, despite the fact that he wasn’t visibly straining to control it while Levi continues to focus hard to maintain his calm energy flow.

“I think I get it.” He mumbled and Peter cracks his knuckles.

“Good. So right now, your goal is to maintain a constant energy flow while avoiding my attacks.” Peter suddenly lunges forward, throwing another punch and Levi manages to jump to the side but his energy suddenly decreases in flow. “Come on, kid. Control it.”

Levi grunts as he focuses his energy again, re-establishing his energy coat. “I’m trying. You just keep surprising me.”

He suddenly jumps back as Peter slams his heel down on the ground and Levi’s energy flow releases uncontrollably until Levi calms it back down.

“This is the best way to learn. You need to be able to control your energy in states of shock. Once you can do that, then you’ll get control of your energy on a normal day.” He said before lunging at Levi again. 

He throws punches and kicks in different ways and speeds while Levi continues to dodge and evade but he’s still having difficulty controlling his energy normally.

“Come on, Levi. Focus.” Peter said as he throws another punch which Levi blocks, the force of the blow however sends Levi sliding back across the platform with his flow being distorted again. “You have to able to control your energy as easy as breathing.”

Peter takes another charge forward, gearing for a punch while Levi grunts as he tries to control the energy already going haywire before he barely blocks as Peter gives him another punch that sent him flying back onto the platform with a grunt.

Time flies by with Levi still trying to block, evade or resist all of Peter’s strong attacks. <Come on, Levi.> He thought as he flipped backwards, landing on one knee just as Peter zooms forward and gives him a powerful punch that sent him rolling across the concrete platform before coming to stop with his body faced down. 

As Levi gets into a crouch position, his energy level unconsciously drops and Peter charges at him again, this time a kick coming which Levi manages to sense for a split second…

Levi suddenly steps back, leaving Peter’s kick to hit nothing but air and blue energy radiates from his hand as he suddenly rams his palm into Peter’s jaw.

“Oh sorry.” Levi said with an apologetic expression as Peter rubs his chin with a grunt before suddenly laughing.

“Nice one. What technique was that?” He asked with a grin and Levi rubs his neck as he responds.

“My family’s fighting style, the Viper’s fist.” He chuckled.

Peter shakes his head a little before turning to him completely. “Well, it is certainly effective. And it’s good that you’re throwing in some energy-induced attacks. It’ll help you learn to control your energy even more.” Levi looks a little withdrawn and Peter chuckles. “Relax. You couldn’t even hurt me if you tried.” 

Levi raises a brow and grins. “Really?”

Peter nods as he stands with his arms stretched out beside him, exposing his chiselled abs. “Give me your best shot.” Levi nods as he enters his fighting stance with his right fist drawn back.

He takes in a deep breath and concentrates the flow of energy into his fist before suddenly ramming his fist into Peter’s gut, the force of the impact sends a wild gush of wind between them but Levi grins in shock as Peter doesn’t even flinch from the punch. 

Levi then grunts as he shakes off his hand to handle the little stinging sensation on his knuckles. “Damn, you’re even harder than that holon.”

Peter laughs as Levi continues to blow some air on his knuckles. “That’s because of my ability.” Levi turns to Peter as he explains.

“What makes Trons or drals so strong physically is the ability to use our energy to biologically change and harden our normal body tissues to the point that we can withstand attacks. We can also use our energy to serve as a means to cushion blows and attacks."

"My ability is basically a boosted-version of both of those powers. In other words, …” He grins as he takes a combat stance. “I’m technically a walking punching bag, so don’t you dare hold back.”

Levi laughs as he nods and assumes a combat stance with energy radiating from his body. “Here I go.” He mumbled as he lunged forward, throwing punches and kicks which Peter found difficult to evade and guard against due to the technique’s unique movement sequences.

Levi suddenly spins as using his hand to distract Peter while his right foot comes in contact with Peter, sending him skidding back some metres back. 

Peter grins as he wipes his face while Levi bounces on his feet a little with confidence. “Your fighting style is very hard to get a read on but the good news is you’re controlling your energy better.”

Levi laughs as he reassumes his stance again. “Yeah. Hey, who knows? I might be able to beat even you.”

Peter scoffs at Levi as he steps forward. “Please…” His yellow energy suddenly spikes and before Levi knew it, he finds Peter standing right in front of him with a punch thrown forward.

Levi instinctively blocks and Peter smirks as he stopped his punch short of Levi’s guard but the air wave created, sends Levi spiralling into a wall with a heavy thud.

Peter wipes his nose with a laugh as he spoke. “I’ve been holding back the whole time…and by the way, your energy’s out of control again.” 

“Yeah…Yeah…” Levi grumbled as he slowly got to his feet and he sighs, causing his energy to sink back into his body.

Peter smiles as he folds his arms while Levi turns back to him. “We have just less than two months until the Tron college starts, so we’re going to have to work fast, Levi. Again.” He said as he regains his stance, energy flowing around his body and Levi sighs as slips into his stance…

Then after a quick quiet moment, they lunge for each other, punches, kicks and grapples being exchanged all while Levi tries to simultaneously control his energy……

The energy and combat training weren’t the only things he learnt from his stay with Peter. He also used the access he had as a registered tron to gain information on basically everything relating to trons, the Index, drals and the Web…as well as some other interesting facts. 

For example, he realised that the name ‘Photron energy’ was given due to the fact that every tron’s energy had different bright colours which explained the dark tunnel with different colours of light beams, Levi saw when he used the Spectron and the different colours of eyes the trons would have.

He also read up on the other types of trons and the variations in their abilities. Like how Mastrons aren’t just able to use beats-related powers but some can actually control drals or even holons like puppets.

From his studies as well, he learnt that the Tron College is the place where trons are recruited and trained to become proper functioning agents.

But unlike the Tron Academy, the college is authorized for trons above or equal to the age of 17. This is due to the fact that trons in the Tron College are eligible to carry out real life missions with pro agent supervisors. 

Another difference is that there are only four Tron Colleges in the whole world with each being monitored closely by one of the Index factions unlike the Tron Academies which are numerous in number.

Every year, the new set of trons going to the College have to take an exam that will help classify them and organize them into different classes ranging from S to C. So Levi works hard to prepare himself for this exam as well as get a complete grip on his power.

Right now, it’s been a whole month since Levi left Asylum Bay and he has been able to almost fully master his energy flow while resting or on the move. The Entrance exams are now set to take place a month from now and Levi was having another training session with Peter in the afternoon. 

Levi enters his fighting pose, with his blue energy forming a faint shroud over his body as he inches forward.

Levi shouts out as he zooms forward, leaving behind a whoosh of wind as he throws a kick at Peter who easily blocks with an elbow but the force of Levi’s kick causes the platform beneath his feet to crack.

Peter suddenly smacks Levi with his other arm but Levi manages to block it easily, letting the force of his punch throw him back before skidding to a stop on the ground, completely unharmed.

Peter chuckles as he wipes the sweat from his head and cracks his neck. “I’m impressed. Your energy control’s coming along nicely.”

Levi laughs as he glances at his body with the shroud of energy still being maintained despite him barely focusing to control it. “Yeah…” He sighed with a tired expression and he wipes the heavy sweat from his forehead. “And you’re getting used to my attacks.”

Peter proudly smiles and places his hands on his hips. “It’s still a little tricky to figure out but I’m getting used to it.”

Levi breathes heavily as his energy seems to deplete and he places his hands on his knees for support before looking up to Peter who still seemed energized and his energy level had barely reduced. “How are you not tired? We’ve been training for hours…”

He grins as he does some stretches with some audible cracks being heard. “When you’ve trained both your body and energy reserves, you can go on for almost a day without feeling tired.”

Levi raises his brow in shock and continues to breathe heavily which made Peter frown in concern. “We can take a break if you need to.”

“No.” Levi groaned as he pulled himself up and takes some calming breaths. “I can give it one more shot.” He said as he retakes his pose and Peter grins at him.

“Alright then. Give me all you got.” Peter said in a completely calm but ready position as Levi watches him closely……just as Levi lunges forward with a burst of energy.

Peter evades, blocks and deflects Levi’s punches and kicks, each step getting a better read on Levi’s fighting before suddenly changing the tide of combat with Levi now on the defensive.

Peter grunts as he throws punches and kicks with Levi now fighting against it but unlike weeks ago, he was keeping up and successfully blocking/evading the attacks. 

Peter groaned as he throws his fist at Levi’s head but Levi suddenly crouches down, leaving the punch to graze over his hair.

Peter then reacts with another punch coming in but Levi grunts as he suddenly performs a back-flip causing Peter to jump back with Levi’s foot grazing his chin.

The moment Levi’s feet hit the ground, he leaps forward again throwing more punches and kicks with Peter on the defensive again.

Levi then groans he performs a new complicated attack that momentarily disorients Peter before swinging his heel down but Peter manages to jump back with Levi’s foot smashing into the ground and sending some concrete rocks flying into the air. 

“Damn, kid.” Peter chuckled as he lands some distance away and Levi suddenly charges at him again, the ground cracking under his feet as he prepares to throw a punch at Peter who had already gotten his guard up……when Levi suddenly shifts to the side and when Peter turns to follow, he sees some small rocks flying towards his face.

He quickly smacks them aside…just as figure appears behind him with an elbow edged towards Peter’s back. In that short second, Peter senses it and smiles as he leaps with Levi’s elbow hitting only air.

“Damn it.” Levi grunted as he then jumped up with a fist aiming at Peter still mid-air, but Peter grabs his fist so he throws a kick which Peter also blocks it with his leg as well.

With the world moving around them in slow-motion as they still remained mid-air, Peter speaks… “You’re improving but…”

Levi then throws another punch but Peter then twists his body, using Levi’s captured arm to deflect his incoming fist before spinning with a grunt, sending Levi back to the ground.

He hits the ground hard, cracking concrete before rolling across the ground and coming to a stop on the edge of the platform.

Levi groans in pain and rolls onto his back with Peter standing in front of him. “You’re still going to try harder than that to get me.”

Levi chuckles tiredly as he looks up to the ceiling with arms and legs sprawled out on the floor. “I… I…really thought…that’d work.”

Peter chuckles with a hand on his chin. “I’ll admit that using the rocks you created with that kick as distraction was smart. I almost fell for it.”

Levi glances at Peter with an apologetic smile. “Yeah. Sorry about the platform.”

Peter waves a dismissive hand and chuckles. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve done worse things to it in my younger days.” He then notices how hard Levi was panting and how tired he seemed. “Alright, kid. I think that’s enough for now. You okay?”

Levi flashes a quick thumb-up before dropping his tired arm back to the ground. “I’m good. Just…going to pass out here for a while.”

Peter chuckles as he shrugs and walks away. “I’ll go do some more workout.” He said as he goes over to the weight section of the gym and Levi closes his eyes as he relaxes on the platform.

An hour passes and Levi was alone in the gym still napping on the ground……when he heard the sound of a door opening and his eyes slowly opened.

He looks around, his vison still blurry as he realises that Peter must have left and he closes his eyes again……

“Um, hello?” Levi opens his eyes to the sound of a more feminine voice and he leans his head back to find a young lady standing behind him. She bends over a little to get a good look of his face. “Can I help you?”

Levi suddenly gets up when he actually processes what’s happening and he turns to the girl staring at him with a confused look.

She was a short white-skinned pretty girl at the same age of 17 as Levi with an average sized body. She had silky brown hair, some freckles, and was wearing a white shirt with a bright black knee-length shorts and grey sneakers.

But what really stood out about her was her bright yellow iris and the Index band on her left wrist, meaning she’s also a Tron.

“What are you doing here?” Levi asked as he took a confused step back and the girl raises a brow at him.

“Uh…I live here?” She said with a little chuckle and Levi stares at her in shock and confusion……just as the door leading to the showers opened and they both turned as Peter steps out with his shirt over his shoulder.

“Welcome back, baby girl!” He shouted out once he sees the girl who grins as she rushes over to him.

“Hey, dad.” She said as she gives him a hug and Peter laughs as he hugs her back.

“How’s your aunty Karen?” He asked as she pulls away.

“She’s good. Said you should give her a call once a while though.” She said with folded arms and Peter chuckles before noticing Levi who was looking between them in confusion.

“Sorry, kid.” He said as he throws an arm over the girl and turns to the confused Levi. “This is my daughter, Mary-Jane.”

She turns to Levi with a wide grin as she escapes her father’s hold and gives Levi a friendly handshake. “You can just call me MJ.” She then started to walk around him, checking out his features with her yellow eyes. “So you’re the anonymous tron dad talked about.”

“I’m Levi. Nice to meet you.” Levi said as MJ stops in front of him with a smile.

“Same. Love the hair.” She said, pointing to Levi’s white hair and he lets out a laugh.

“Thanks.” Levi chuckled before turning to Peter with a questioning look. “I didn’t know you were married.” When he said that, he suddenly senses a tension between them as their faces quickly fell. “Oh. Your wife…is she…”

Peter nods sadly and lets out a weary smile. “She passed away when MJ was 6…” He glances at MJ who was now facing the ground and Levi shifts uncomfortably.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” He mumbled with a saddened stare and Peter forces a little laugh.

“It’s not your fault. I’m the one not wearing a ring.” He said, dangling his fingers before dropping them with a more saddened stare. “It’s just that, it reminds me too much of her… I loved Evelyn with all my heart.” He suddenly sniffs as tears formed in his eyes when MJ suddenly gives his hand a squeeze and he smiles at her.

“But it’s alright. I’ve moved on so don’t worry about it.” He said with a forced smile but notices MJ still remains speechless with Levi also silent before he decides to change the subject. “I hope you’ve been training regularly, baby.”

MJ wipes the tears from her eyes before going back to her cheerful self. “Of course, dad.”

Peter turns back to Levi with a grin. “MJ here, is going to take the entrance with you, so I hope you guys get along.”

Levi and MJ then shared a smile before MJ turned to her father. “By the way, dad. Are you up for a session? I’m itching to kick your butt again.”

Peter chuckles as he inches away. “As fun as that sounds, I’m not really feeling it now but…” He suddenly gives Levi a little smile. “Maybe Levi here can help you out with that.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Levi mumbled in shock and Peter raises a brow at him.

“You got an hour of rest and it will for both of you to train with trons your age. Or are you too tired to go again?”

MJ and Peter gave Levi questioning stares and Levi felt a little pressured as he answers. “I can go a round or two but I’m a little hungry so-”

“Great!” Peter said with a clap, cutting Levi off and turning to MJ. “Go easy on him, sweetie.”

“I will.” She chuckled as she cracked her knuckles with an evil smile and Levi sighs in defeat as they moved to the fighting platform to get ready.