2025-01-06 01:35:21The past few weeks has been hell for Jacq. Even though he felt it's nice being recognized, he still can't leave his low-key lifestyle so readily.
He had been challenged the best gamer in the neighborhood and had won like it was nothing. They played a 1v1 mode of Call of Duty at first which Jacq won with ease. Followed by racing games like Asphalt Nitro, BMX bike, A multiplayer skaters game... But Jacq made certain he won every single one of them. The gaming centre went up in shouts. Praises and boos alike. Praises for the winner, boos for the loser. Now, he can't go down the street for a walk or for a little shopping without receiving shout outs or hands pointed in his direction from the boys. Of course, the news is all over the street. "A nerd beat Cyrax 100 to nil." That was the talk of the street. Jacq never imagined it to go this viral, but he learned to live with it since there's little he can do about it. It was became a whole wild event in school. Jacq, the nerd became popular. Girls hushed and gawked at him when he passes by. He even saw that one that made fun of him at the park. She had a look of slight look of longing and respect for him. "This one is a bitch. Don't care. Still coming for my revenge." Jacq had thought to himself. Karl on the other hand, enjoyed this new era more than Jacq. "What can your friend do? My own friend floored Cyrax, broke him to pieces, picked the pieces and broke him again..." Karl boasted to a group of boys in the classroom. Jacq had no liking for this little popularity he had gained. He longed for the old days when he was invisible. When he will attend school throughout the week and no one will notice him. Nobody took a cognisance of him and he liked it that way. He is not looking for anybody's attention also. Anybody, but Cassie. Talking about Cassie, Jacq never set his eyes on her since the incident at the lacrosse pitch. He had freaked out at the sight of her luminous blue eyes, which is supposed to be brown according to Karl. He didn't tell Karl of what really happened at the pitch. The event has been a traumatizing one. Everytime he tried to visualize the face of the one girl he has ever liked, he only got the image of two big blue eyes that stared down at him, as response. It was another weekend after a strenuous school week. There has been many class projects carried out through the week, and Jacq have a need for a proper rest. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and wash his face. After he finished, he got a call on his phone... Fucking Deja vu. This shit happened before, I'm sure. He stepped out of the bathroom, hoping to receive his mom's call. But, it was an unknown number. Jacq just stared down at his phone without picking it up. "I obviously don't know you," he thought to himself. "I'm not picking that." His overly private lifestyle took over. The phone stopped ringing. Jacq went on with his chores, getting prepared to do a little shopping down the road. After cleaning up his apartment, he stepped out into the cold morning in his black hood. Few minutes later, he got to the mall and started his shopping. His shopping bag was loaded, all junks and stuffs, and with three shopping bags full, he struggled his way back home. But when he got home, he was shocked at the sight that greeted him. His front door was wide open, and a dark patch of burnt wood was at the door handle. Whoever did that had forced his way through. Jacq dropped the shopping bags, and backed into a corner outside the house. He searched his phone in his pocket, but it wasn't there. He had forgot to pick it beofe going out. Holy days! What have I done to myself? Jacq's assumption was that his recent taste of recognition from the boys have provoked some other gang, probably Cyrax schemed this. Or, maybe The Fire Kindlers deemed it fit to take a little revenge for the shame their friend suffered in Jacq's hand. The Fire Kindlers have been chill with Jacq since the incident, though. They even invited him to the park on a Friday, which he politely declined. They stopped bothering him and some other time, they showed a little trace of respect for him. But, Jacq didn't trust them entirely. They are a gang after all and the one who had suffered the humiliation was their friend. So, they might be up for some revenge. Jacq stood rooted to the spot he was. Nothing has ever prepared him for a situation like this, and he doesn't know what to do. He peeped out from his hiding place to check the door again. Nobody is present and the door is still wide open. Jacq started sweating. After about ten minutes of scouting to see if anyone is in the house, Jacq took his first bold step from his hiding place. Scared as shit, he treaded his way on tiptoes carefully towards the door. He felt like he was in a movie. It always end badly when this happens in movies. What am I doing? Yet unbidden, he got a fair share of courage to take him back to the porch. He stepped into the living room, then rushed to hide behind a sofa facing the direction to his room at the left hand side. His heart was beating fast and he sweated profusely. He took a deep breath and crawled beind the next sofa. He was now close to the door of his room. Well, fuck it. Jacq stood up, caring for nothing. He opened the door to his room and stepped in. His room has been turned into a sort of dump. His wardrobe door has been wedged out and his clothes all lay scattered on the floor. He could find his game console shattered beside a pair of broken game pads. "No. No..." He started panicking. I need to call the police. My phone... He searched his pocket for his phone again. It was not there. Oh, right. The sitting room. With wobbling legs, he found his way to the living room. His phone lay untouched on the table. Shaking hands dialed the emergency number. He was about to press the "call" button when he noticed something... The door is locked. Holy shiitt! Sweat poured down his body like a waterfall. He jumped over the center table and ran for the door. He squeezed the handle hoping it will budge at once, because he thought it's probably damaged when the intruder forced his way in. But, it would not open. He squeezed and kicked the door like his life depended on it. Well, his life depended on it. When he realized he can't open or kick the door down, he reached for his phone once again to call the police. Just then, he heard voices and footsteps from below... The basement... And another voice right behind his ears. "This one is a frightened kid." It was a whisper. He yelled and turned at once but before he could see the one who whispered, a very sharp and sickening scent caught his nose, and immediately, he collapsed on his back. The world became blurry. "Seize him..." That soft voice sounded again. Everything became darker and darker. He fought to stay awake but his eyes betrayed him. His whole body failed him. He became as weak as a candle flame in a rainstorm. He fought for dear life. His misty eyes blinked one last time... There right above him, was two big blue bulbs shining down at him. Oh no... The world went dark. Cassie...
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...They made their way out into the long corridors from earlier, running and panting at the same time.Cassie being a superhuman ran at a faster pace while Jacq tagged along behind her, slowing them down.They needed to reach the spot where the portal transported them to when they arrived. The portal can only be activated at that spot, but it's still a long way before they will get there. Not with Jacq's slow human pace.Yes, they had blinded her father so he wouldn't know where they went. But, it is only a matter of time before the soldiers begin the chase. They are probably on the chase now.Cassie clicked a button on her wrist as she ran. A hologram popped out showing the building plan of the lair and the best possible route to take to reach the portal on time. Cassie spotted a shortcut a minutes run to her left."Hurry up, Jacq! The next turning by the left! Be quick," she shouted while running without gasping much for breath.Jacq managed to quicken his pace a little at the expe
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************************************Cassie understood.Greg and Callum understood later. The three of them had just been bested in combat against Jacq. It came as a huge blow to them. They had never lost before.Well, Greg and Callum had lost multiple fights against Cassie, their commander but that was mostly because she had been mutated with special attention and she even has a special skill since she was a commander. She is a great fighter, and it is understandable losing to her.But, bring trashed hands down against a boy they had tied up and laughed at in their lab some hours ago, was unfathomable. It hurts their pride. Especially the silent blond boy, Callum's.They started coming to terms with Jacq's strange movements and attitudes, but what was even stranger was the way he ran away down the hall after he had whooped their asses.Has he run insane? These thoughts bothered Cassie.She spread the team out in different directions to look for Jacq. She scanned the entire lair with
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[The tunnel is free. Enjoy your stroll] a notification popped.Jacq gave a soft chuckle that attracted a raised eyebrow from the kid. He looked down at the boy, his smile getting broader and he managed a wink. Then Jacq remembered that he didn't know the boy's name. Olatunde never told him."Hey, what is your name?" Jacq asked.Of course, the boy remained silent.[Scanning...][Name: Tade Adeola][Age: 12][Form: Mutant][Skill: Spy]Jacq was instantly amazed at this new development he's experiencing. He never knew the system could do something like this. Now, he doesn't have to ask for people's name and status before he knows them. The system can do any research work for him anytime.A tiny voice said in his head, [you will need to settle down to discover all I can do]Ugh, if only this system can send notifications alone and stop speaking in my head... Jacq thought.[I can do that too, if you want]Yes, I will love that...[System set to mute mode][Notifications only...][Completed
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Jacq caught up with the boy in few seconds, cursing silently after him. Either the boy did not hear or he chose not to bother, he kept on along a small patch of bare land amidst the sea of grass before jumping suddenly, diagonally to his left. Jacq followed suit, lifting his body weightlessly and jumping silently a few inches from the kid.The going was slow as the boy looked back continuously to make sure Jacq never missed a step. Then, the hop became more frequent, left to right, to right, to left, forward... They went on jumping the invisible landmines, apparently visible only to the boy.Then, as if he remembered something, the black boy looked back one last time, with one eyebrow raised meaningfully at Jacq, before running two steps forward and stepping sideways to his right, the last of him concealed by the thick dry bushes.Alarmed, Jacq followed at once, running two steps and jumping to his right just as he did. He got behind the thick set of bushes and saw the black figure of
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Cassie walked up silently to a raised platform inside the suiting lab. As she walked, murmurings were heard among the onlookers of the lab. Cassie bowed her head shyly as she made to speak. She was not built for this. She had always shied away from public speaking but right now, she has no choice... These are her people now. She is their commander and she wasn't about to let go of that position based on fear. More than half of the people here will jump at her post at any given opportunity.She raised her head and breathed deep one last time. The crowd before her gave her a little scare. She could see the glum face above his shuby blue suit, Greg's face plastered with a wide smile like a proud kid cheering his parents on, she could see Olatunde the Nigerian boy's eager face, like be was about to jump a playmate on a ring. She could see a whole lot of familiar faces that she hasn't seen together at once... Mutants created by her father, mutants bit recognized by the American government.
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It's finally happening. I didn't know it will be this fast...Right... Ugh...Jacq pressed hard on the Power Off button of the TV remote angrily that he almost broke it. It took all level of self control to stop him from smashing it down in the tiled floor. It is here... It is finally here, the reason for this system. The reason for building these technologies.Professor Lambert had carried out these measures just for the sake of America. His personal gain was not thought about when he embarked on developing the system from the already created blue orb. The owner of the system holds the power to lead the war and is essential if there was any chance of this war being won. And the owner of the system is me? Me? The more I think of it, the crazier it becomes... How..?"I can just stay hidden, can't I?" Jacq asked hoping for a reply from Stranger. There was only silence. He went on..."After all, the country is not aware of the existence of the orb anymore. They were convinced it wa
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The first crow of the day sounded down a deserted alley. In the gloom of the midnight, dark buildings rose high down the street with the moonlight making a silhouette of them. It had just rained and the ground was all muddy and slippery to walk on. Down a corner a little distance from the beginning of the street, a stray cat leapt over a gutter running from a stone thrown lamely at it. There were whispered sounds coming from cloaked men behind a dirty bakery."Munoz, listen to me. You only have three days to find the boy. After that, I won't defend you this time around." A dirty old man in his late sixties addressed his mate. He was dressed in black coat and a dark hat that concealed half his face. His foul breath mixed with the scent of the cigarette hanging from his mouth, giving a more offensive odour.Munoz stood opposite him in similar dress code, black on black. A middle aged man with a slightly tanned skin and a hooked nose. Coarse strands of hair scattered all over his sharp j
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Stranger, I think I should join them, Jacq thought in his mind.[Don't.]Jacq whispered a "why?" But he wasn't expecting an answer. He was engrossed in the insane combat between these two – Cassie and Olatunde.His sharp senses made him capture every movement they made, no matter how fast. The speed of the fight would have made everything look like a blur if observed by a normal human eye.After a short while, the two foes stopped to dialogue a little. From where Jacq hid, he could understand that Olatunde was proposing peace in exchange for something. That something though, he had no idea. Cassie showed a defiant reaction with an angry face, and in no time, Olatunde pounced on her again ready for another battle.Ugh, she's stubborn as always. But, Olatunde... How did he come about this power? He claimed this is his first time in this country.[Are you asking me or you're thinking to yourself?]"Both," Jacq whispered. "I mean, the orb is the only object responsible for..." He broke of
Sweats and Threats
Jacq's head was bent in thought as he treaded the lonely path on the way to school. He has a lot on his mind. Lots he couldn't even tell his best friend, Karl.Jacq wasn't convinced of the peace that has been happening in his life lately. He knew what is there waiting for him. The system of the greatest human weapon in the history of mankind that he had encountered can never be one to give him so much peace, he knew.As of late, he has been living in perfect harmony with the system. He had even given it a name – Stranger. The system had reacted rashly against the name but Jacq would have none of it. At the moment, all these are all a form of amusement to him. On his free evenings, he goes out down to the most deserted location in the area, just to test his speed and reflexes. He once ran a kilometer, amused by how the distance was less strenuous and how he hardly broke a sweat. Life was smiling at him at the moment, and he is enjoying every bit of it.But there was always that uneasy
