What Is Normal

The bright light from before is seen again but this time it seems to be acting very differently from the last time.

This light is just sitting there, motionless with the exception that it looks like it's just pulsating at a rather slow and calm pace, like it's trying to think.

While this light is still a mystery, it decides to speak again….

"I wonder if he's ready to die….only to be reborn again.", said the light, then just like before….complete darkness.

The hooded man is seen laying down on what seems to be the backseat of a car, unconscious.

Soon he begins to wake up as he squints his eyes and blinks repeatedly so that his vision clears up, then rubs his eyes for a moment while trying to figure out what has happened.

"Where the hell am I?", asked the hooded man to himself just as his vision finally clears up and begins to look around only to question his surroundings.

"Eh, is this the back of a cop car?", said the hooded man as he sees a metal barricade in front of him, then looks down at his wrists and notices the handcuffs.

"How'd this happen?", asked the hooded man hysterically as he tries to remember what he was doing before waking up in the back of a police car.

Then it hit him, figuratively and physically, that he was trying to rob some kid and remembers getting kicked in the face.

He looks out the window next to him and sees the kid that he was trying to rob as he puts two and two together, but by then fear had taken over and soon begins to panic.

He quickly moves away from the window by cowering on the other side of the car trying his best to look away but notices how the kid is just smiling and waving at him as if this is all a joke to him.

On the other hand, that kid that the hooded man was so afraid of was none other than Mac as he begins to laugh at how fearful the hooded man had become.

Mac then taps on the window to get the hooded man's attention….

"Next time don't judge a book by its cover.", shouts Mac through the window for the hooded man to hear.

Mac is hardly surprised that a lot of people seem to underestimate him, especially since he's only 17 and still in high school but of course no one ever really knows that.

"Jeez Mac, what does this make like the 30th one since you moved into the area?", asked the police officer who had arrived earlier to take the hooded man into custody.

This officer is pretty familiar with Mac and all of his encounters that he's had with so many muggers that tried to rob him, only to fail miserably just like the hooded man from tonight.

"I didn't know we were keeping count.", said Mac after he stopped laughing and responded to the officer's comment.

"I lost track after the first few that tried and failed, but do they ever learn?", said Mac as he tries to recount all the other times that random muggers tried to rob him.

"Well, all I can say is that you're keeping everyone at the station busy with all of these criminals that you keep knocking out.", said the officer as Mac thinks that the officer is trying to get a point across, but just decides to shrug it off.

"I mean it's not my fault that these guys just keep coming out of the woodworks trying to rob me just because I live in a nice area.", stated Mac, then notices that the officer just shakes his head in disbelief.

"Well either way you know the process by now, still going to need a statement from you for the record.", said the officer which Mac knows all too well since it's happened so many times before.

"Also can't forget to mention that because you're still a minor I'm going to have to call your parents and tell them what has happened.", said the officer which Mac just acknowledges with a nod and gives a heavy sigh too.

So Mac begins to give his statement to the officer, but during the conversation the officer thinks back to all of the attempted muggings from before and makes a slight revelation….

"Hey Mac, I was just wondering but have any of the other muggers ever pulled a gun on you?", asked the officer, then Mac takes a moment to think back and tries to remember if a gun was ever used.

"Hmm, I don't think so.", said Mac as he can't recall anyone ever pulling a gun on him.

"Either way, it's not so much different disarming someone with a gun than one with a knife to be honest with you.", Mac said casually only for the officer to become shocked by what he just said.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by that?", asked the officer as he's just utterly confused by the fact that he can just disarm someone even if they used a gun.

"Well let's just say that I've been doing some training for quite some time now and disarming someone with a weapon is not too difficult for me.", Mac said to the officer.

The officer continues to be dumbfounded and wonders what kind of training he was referring to but just doesn't want to continue asking Mac too many unnecessary questions.

Not long after, the officer finishes up with Mac's statement and gives him one more friendly reminder that he'll be calling his parents to let them know what has happened.

Then he soon departs with the hooded man in tow and Mac finally gets back to his apartment to crash for the night.

The rest of the school week goes by without a hitch for the trio, with the exception that Mac had to play a version of dodgeball when it came to dodging all of the fangirls that continued to chase him.

Then Friday is upon the trio as the final school bell rings to indicate that classes are done for the day as all the girls rush out and begin their hunt for Mac, but little do they know that he has finally learned their pattern and is able to avoid them entirely.

Earlier in the week, Mac had asked JR and Lucky to text him after the coast was clear, just so he could head outside the building and catch up to them out there.

Mac had gotten the all clear from the both them and soon after left his hiding spot, which was none other than the boy's restroom that was located near the school's main entrance as he hoped that that was a boundary the girls will never cross.

Mac finally leaves the school building and catches up with Lucky & JR as they were waiting for him just outside sitting on a bench nearby and approaches them just as JR begins to stretch out his arms….

"TGIF! The weekend is finally here.", said JR who was just relieved to be done with the first week of school.

With his arms still stretched out, JR feels that something slaps one of his hands so he takes a look and sees that Mac has finally arrived.

"I hear ya, now I can finally get back into rhythm with my training.", said Mac as he goes to sit down on the other side of the bench next to Lucky.

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying something about that just before school started.", said Lucky as she recalls to the week before when she was hanging out with Mac and JR at JR's house.

"You said that you were going to take a break from training just so you could prepare for school?" asked Lucky.

"Yep, even though Mr. Lou didn't like it I told him that school was just as important to me as my training, so I was able to make him see reason.", said Mac with an eager expression since he can't wait to continue his training.

"Anyways, got any plans for the weekend?", asked JR, then Lucky and Mac take a moment to think.

"All I want to do is visit my folks at the office tomorrow, but that's about it.", Mac responds to JR's question.

"I'm all good as long as my parents don't lock me down….which I hope they don't.", says Lucky as the boys remember that her parents, mainly her father, can be really strict with her from time to time.

"So, y'all want to hang out at some point?", asked Mac.

"Gotta check with my old man first and see if he doesn't want to hang out or something. I swear, he can be so cliché sometimes.", said JR with a slight chuckle.

While both Mac & Lucky know that JR's father can be strict when it comes to school and his grades, he still has a soft spot for JR when it comes to spending time together, especially after his mother passed away not too long ago.

"Makes sense, since your m….", Mac started to say, but was immediately interrupted by JR.

"Please dude don't remind me, I still rather not talk about it.", said JR as it's still a tough subject for him to talk about, even though she passed away 4 years ago in a car accident that neither JR nor his father had any control of.

Mac notices how hard the subject of his mother is hitting him so he tries to lighten the mood….

"Anywho, y'all want to hang out for a bit before I go train?", asked Mac which they both agree to.

As the trio begins to head on out, Mac is stopped by a very familiar voice that is calling out to him.

"Chandler!", shouts a woman from the school's student pickup area, the same area where he kept seeing the same black luxury car and bodyguard waiting for him every single day after school.

"Why am I not surprised that she would show up sooner or later.", said Mac as he groans and puts his hand on his face.

"Well guys looks like we're going to have to hang out another day, this might take some time and y'all know how she gets.", said Mac as JR and Lucky look over Mac's shoulder and noticed who it was.

They recognized the woman who was calling out to Mac by his real name, so Lucky made the executive decision to leave with JR in tow.

"Oh….yeah, well we'll just leave you to it. C'mon JR, let's go.", said Lucky as she grabs JR by the collar and begins to drag him away.

"Yeah thanks, it's not like I need a rescue or anything.", said Mac sarcastically as he notices JR struggling to get free from Lucky's grasp.

"Hey Lucky, hold on….let me go….stop dragging me….Mac, we'll catch up later….", JR shouted as Lucky continued to drag him with her.

Not long after they were both gone Mac gave a heavy sigh and headed towards the woman that was calling out to him.

"You know, a simple phone call or text would have sufficed instead of you having to come all the way out here.", said Mac to the woman as he notices the smile that was across her face.

"Oh dear, I know you too well Chandler. When have you ever answered any of my calls or texts lately?", asked the woman as she notices the annoyed expression that Mac was giving her.

"Well it's not like I don't want to, you and dad are always busy and neither one of y'all ever call or text me unless it's for something important.", said Mac.

"Yeah, yeah….come here and give your mother a hug now would you.", said the woman who is revealed to be Mac's own mother….and her name is Samantha McCullen.

Mac does what she asks for and gives her a quick hug, but soon let's go.

"So, besides trying to put me in the spotlight again, what's up?", asked Mac as she is annoyed by what he just said.

"You know I don't do it on purpose, I can't help it since I'm so famous.", said Samantha sarcastically only for Mac to quickly retort.

"Alright, no need to be sarcastic you've made your point.", said Mac as he's reminded about where he gets the sarcasm from his family.

Then Mac looks at the car and bodyguard that was waiting for him throughout the week, which gives him the idea as to why she's here today.

"So, something tells me that you're here because I haven't been using the car that you kept sending all week, right?", asked Mac as he notices a slight sigh come from his mother who also looks concerned.

"Listen Chandler, I know that you want to have a normal life but you know that your father and I are just looking out for you.", said Samantha who is just worried for the safety of her own son.

"I know that y'all are but both you and dad know that I can protect myself, so you shouldn't have to worry as much.", said Mac, then he notices how that comment brought out her comedic side which he still finds weird that his own mother likes to turn things into some sort of comedy act.

"Listen here young man, it's my job as a parent to worry about you all the time no matter what you say….now get in the car, we need to talk.", said Samantha as she storms off and gets in the car dramatically which the bodyguard had the door ready and opened for her.

Just before the bodyguard could close the door, Mac approaches her and stops the bodyguard from doing so….

"Hey mom, can I get dropped off at the studio?", asks Mac since he will be going with his mother in the car.

"Yeah, that's fine.", said Samantha.

"Cool, thanks mom.", said Mac.

"You remember where it is?", Mac asks the bodyguard who just nods his head in acknowledgement.

Mac gives the bodyguard a thumbs up and goes back to the other side of the car and gets in, then they soon depart from the school grounds.

While the studio that Mac wanted to go to was along the route that would also take Samantha back to the office, it wasn't too far away so Samantha had very little time to talk with Mac before having to drop him off.

"So how was your first week of school?", asked Samantha, but then she notices the look on Mac's face pretty much says it all as he didn't want to talk about it.

"We'll talk about that later, but on the other hand how's dad been doing lately?", asked Mac just so he could avoid her question for now, but Mac isn't surprised to see that she became annoyed by that.

"Has work been keeping y'all busy lately? I hardly ever hear from either you or dad?", asked Mac as he tries not to sound too sarcastic about not seeing his parents very often, since the work they do always keeps them extremely busy at every hour of the day.

"Well if you at least tried to call us from time to time then you would know,", said Samantha sarcastically, then quickly changes her tone.

"But I've told you before that no matter how busy we are, we'll always make the time for you because you're our priority.", said Samantha as she reminds Mac that their work will never interfere with spending time with him.

"Mom I know that, you don't have to keep reminding me all the time.", said Mac as he reassures his mother.

"But I do keep up with current events and news, so I don't want to interfere with anything important.", said Mac as he looks at his mother with a smile on his face because he knows that the work that they do is very important.

Samantha is glad to see Mac smile and gives him a smile back, but deep inside her she only worries even more because of what is to come for Mac and his future.

"Anyways, I'm guessing that you and dad will be at the office tomorrow?", asks Mac as his mother responds with a slight sigh.

"Yep, we are….like you said, with everything that is going on in the world we have a lot of projects and people to help nowadays that we hardly ever catch a break and I mean that literally and physically.", Samantha states as she pretty much confirms what Mac was just saying about current events.

"Either way, why do you ask?", said Samantha.

"Well I'm wanting to stop by and spend some time with you and dad, even though y'all will probably be working.", said Mac while noticing the smile on his mother's face as she's glad to hear that he wants to visit them.

"And when I stop by, I'll tell you and dad about how my first week of school went, okay?", said Mac which Samantha now understands why he didn't answer her question from earlier.

"Sure, I don't see why not. Your father will be happy to see you.", said Samantha.

Then she notices that the car began to slow down and looks out the window to see that they have finally arrived at the studio that Mac wanted to go to.

At first glance, you can't really tell what kind of studio it is because it looks like any normal building but when Mac looks out the window towards the entrance, a sign can be seen next to the doors with what appears to be the name of the studio….Mr. Lou's Martial Arts Studio.

"Oh damn, we're here already….I always forget how close it is to the school.", said Samantha as she's disappointed that they couldn't talk for a bit longer.

As soon as the car stopped, Mac opened the door to exit the car but is stopped by his mother just before exiting….

"Hey we still need to talk about the mugging that happened the other day, but we'll leave it for tomorrow so please be careful….okay?", said Samantha as Mac recalls the events that took place that night with the hooded man, which only seems to make him laugh for a bit.

"What's so funny?", asked Samantha as she's confused.

"Oh nothing I'll tell you tomorrow, you're gonna love it. Anyways love you mom, I'll see y'all later.", said Mac as he exits the car.

"Love you too, hey don't forget to call me when you're on the way to the office.", said Samantha just before Mac closed the car door.

"Yeah, will do.", responded Mac as he closes the car door and heads to the studio entrance then the car departs to take Mac's mother back to the office.

As Mac enters the studio, not much can be said about how it looks on the inside.

It's a very wide-open room meant to train people in the different styles of martial arts that is provided by the owner, or sensei, of the studio.

One thing that Mac always seems to remember about the inside is that there is a decent sized office located on an elevated second level that only covers a portion of the studio, but Mac always thinks that the office is more or less of a living space for the sensei because he's always seen him there at all hours of the day.

Mac then notices an older gentleman who is just standing in the middle of the studio, motionless as he seems to be meditating.

This gentleman looks to be in very peak condition, especially for his age as Mac always tries to guess if he's in his late 50's or early 60's but can never seem to get an answer out of him.

"Looks like he's meditating but wasn't distracted by the door. You never cease to amaze me, old man.", Mac thinks to himself as he's seen to be cracking a smile.

"I'm gonna get you this time.", whispers Mac as he quietly takes of his shoes without so much as making a peep, then he begins to quietly approach the old man from behind.

Mac gets closer and closer to the old man but just before he could launch a surprise attack on him, the old man disappears from in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"What the….damn, where'd he go?", said Mac as he begins to scan the room looking for the old man.

While the studio was very spacious, it still had pillars on the inside that are used for combat training but could easily be used to hide behind as well.

As Mac continues to look around the studio for the old man, he kept hearing what can only be described as wisps of air going past him in all direction which only made him panic a bit more until ultimately dropping his guard which gave the old man a perfect opening.

Without warning the next thing Mac noticed was how the old man quickly appeared behind him just as he caught a glimpse of the old man's presence but was too slow to react.

Then the old man struck Mac in the back using a powerful strike with the palm of his hand which launches Mac in the air and sends him 2 feet in the air.

The strike however seems to have joggled a memory from Mac's past, a memory that he had long forgotten….

5 years ago….

Mac, who was barely 12 years old at the time is seen at the local park getting beat up by bullies that were a lot older than him while next to them stood 12-year-old Lucky & JR as they were helpless to do anything for Mac.

Then an old man who was just walking by notices that a young boy was getting beat up and without hesitation he quickly intervenes.

"Don't you boys have anything better to do than beat on someone who's half your size?!", the old man asked the older boys with a strict tone, which only startles them because they never heard him come up from behind.

"What's it matter to you, old man?!", as one of the bully's yells at him.

"Yeah why don't you mind your own business and get out of here!", shouts another one of the bullies, but the old man doesn't budge and instead he just stares at them which seemed to be normal by all accounts.

Except whatever the bullies saw from that stare put the fear of god in them and they soon began to cower.

"Run along now and I better not see you at this park again or the next time you'll be seeing the inside of an ambulance.", said the old man in a very calm, strict tone which sends shivers down the bullies' spines as they ran out of the park in total fear.

Once the bullies were gone, the old man picks up Mac off the ground and lays him down on a bench nearby then looks over to Lucky & JR and waves at them to come over.

"Tell me you two, what happened here exactly?", asked the old man.

"Those bullies were picking on me and Lucky as we were waiting for Mac, then when he showed up he tried to stop them but it didn't go so well.", as a young and terrified JR tries to explain what went on.

The old man nods his head and understands what happened, Mac wanted to protect his friends but was unable to which only saddens the old man.

"Are you guys okay?", said a weakened Mac as he wakes up from his unconsciousness state which surprises the old man as he was about to take him to the nearest hospital.

"Are you okay, boy?", asked the old man as Mac slowly gets up and sits on the bench and nods his head.

"Yeah, it's nothing I can't handle.", said Mac as he cracks a big smile on his face even though he was still in pain.

"Hmm, where are your parents at?", asked the old man.

"At work, like always.", said Mac with a disappointed look on his face.

"Had to ditch my bodyguard just so I could come and play with JR & Lucky, but then that's when I saw the bullies bugging them.", Mac explained to the old man, who is surprised to hear that he has a bodyguard.

Then shortly after, a tall man in a suit is seen running up to Mac and the others….

"Mr. McCullen, are you alright? Who hurt you?", the bodyguard desperately asks Mac as he can see that he's all bruised and beaten.

The old man is shocked to hear the name that the bodyguard called the young boy.

"McCullen…is that your name boy?", asked the old man.

"That's my last name, yes….but everyone calls me Mac, well except for my parents.", said Mac.

"Excuse me sir, did you see what happened here?", the bodyguard asks the old man.

"Just some older boys that were picking on young Mac here, but I dealt with them and they will no longer be a problem.", said the old man as he looks over at Mac and sees the look on his face, one he hasn't seen in a very long time.

"Anyways let me help you carry him to his parents' house, I believe it's close by?", asked the old man since Mac can hardly walk as it is.

"I'm sorry sir but I can't let you do that since it's my responsibility to take care of him and his parents can be very strict about strangers, even though you did help him out.", the bodyguard tells the old man.

"Yes I know, I'm an old friend of the McCullen's so they know me pretty well.", said the old man which confuses the bodyguard as to how he knows who the McCullen's are.

"May I ask what your name is, sir?", asks the bodyguard.

"My name is Luis Marcianos, but you can just call me Mr. Lou.", said the old man.

That was the day when Mac first met Mr. Lou, the man who would eventually train him on how to defend himself.

After that day, Mac was determined to find a way to protect himself and others, luckily he found the answer with Mr. Lou when Mac later learned that he was an expert in martial arts.

Not just in one style, but in multiple styles that he learned throughout his life and from different places around the world.

Present Day….

Mac realizes the situation that he's in as he notices how high up he was from the ground, so his training finally kicks into gear as he does a 180 front flip to regain his momentum so that he could land safely on his feet.

Even though he managed to land on his feet, it still took a bit more effort as he continued to slide across the floor for at least another foot or so.

"Nicely done boy, I see that your training is beginning to pay off at least.", said Mr. Lou as he's glad to see how Mac handled himself while in midair.

"Damn old man, why don't you just send me flying through the roof next time!", shouts Mac while regaining his composure after he flew through the air like some superhero.

"Now calm down, I did that because I believed you had the ability to handle yourself in a situation like that, or was I wrong?", said Mr. Lou, then he notices a slight grin on his face.

Mac was glad to hear that Mr. Lou finally believed in his training which only made him eager to train more.

"Alright Mr. Lou if you believe in my training, then I hope you're ready for me to have the ability kick your ass old man.", said Mac with a cocky tone in his voice although he still knew that he was no match for Mr. Lou since he has a lot more experience.

"Oh boy don't you get cocky with me….show me what you got!", said Mr. Lou as he accepts Mac's challenge to spar, then the student and master dash towards each other with the anticipation of who was going to make the first move but just when the first strike was about to land….darkness.

To Be Continued....