26 Chapter 26: Jean Awakens

After a thirty-minute drive from Queens to Manhattan, we finally pulled up to the Stone Fist boxing gym; with Mr. Stacy parking on the side of the street, we all hopped out of the cop car.

"Alright, you three, stay safe, don't hurt each other too much, and one of your parents will come pick you guys up. Now I must return to Queens; my break is almost over." Stated Mr. Stacy seriously as he looked at Pharaoh, Peter, and Gwen before quickly driving off.

"Bye, love you, Dad! Seeya. Bye, Mr. Stacy." Yelled Gwen, Pharaoh, and Peter, respectively, as they watched Mr. Stacy drive off, using his sirens to skip traffic.

Seeing Mr. Stacy drive off while abusing his privileges of being a cop, the three of us entered the gym and headed straight for the locker rooms in the back.

"Ay, be quick this time, Gwen; we don't have all day." Said Pharaoh as he and Peter entered the men's locker room, while Gwen, who ignored his remark, entered the women's locker room.

Finding my locker in the locker room, I opened it and found my boxing attire, such as shorts, boxing gloves, and a mouthpiece; quickly switching clothes, I stuffed my backpack and my normal clothes into the locker and exited the locker room, not bothering to wait for Pete as he takes his sweet time.

Nodding at the people I passed in the gym, I slipped on my gloves and approached a hanging sandbag, using it as a warm-up before getting in the ring with Gwen.

Regarding my skills in boxing, it's, honestly, far better than what I show, better than any boxers I've seen, and it's not because I'm talented when it comes to boxing, or maybe I am, I don't know. It's because of my intelligence, incredible vision, and ability to control nearly every fiber of my very being, allowing me to practically copy people's fighting styles and incorporate them as if they were mine. It was a great discovery, if I do say so myself; however, it's not perfect. I may have the greatest skills in boxing the world may have ever seen, but I've got hardly any experience compared to some of the top boxers; I've only been boxing for about three months. What do you expect?

"Eh, it's not that big of a deal; I'll acquire experience over time, just like everyone else." Muttered Pharaoh as he shadow-boxed against the hanging sandbag.

While warming up, I heard Gwen exit the locker room and head right for me, though I knew she was actually looking to warm up the same as me. Glancing at Gwen in her black shorts and white sports bra, I saw her start hitting the sandbag in a manner similar to mine, and while doing so, I heard Pete finally leave the locker room after taking five extra minutes for no reason.

Unlike Gwen and I, who aren't wearing any upper body clothes, well, except for Gwen's sports bra, but that doesn't really count; Pete was wearing a white shirt; if I had to guess, he probably felt a little insecure about his body. Which I will say isn't nearly as scrawny as before. He's put on some weight in the last few months, not much weight, but enough where it's noticeable, and it's thanks to yours truly; granted, Pete is still skinny, but he no longer looked like he was starving to death.

Speaking of bodies, despite being twelve, I've got a pretty muscular physique, a little ironic since I haven't touched a weight in my life, well, except for all the cars I've picked up. I wouldn't say my physique is anything extraordinary for a twelve-year-old, but it's definitely up there; I suppose bathing in the sun's rays for most of my life will do that; at least for me, everyone else will probably get skin cancer.

Gwen also has a pretty toned physique, considering her only physical activity is boxing, but that may just come down to genetics; Mr. Stacy is big, only slightly smaller than my Dad, and Mrs. Stacy is skinny. She might've gotten the best of both worlds.

With Peter in the corner doing his own little warm-ups, I stopped hitting the sandbag and walked over to Gwen, who was very focused on the sandbag in front of her.

"You good, Gwen? Why do you look like you've got a personal vendetta against this punching bag?" Questioned Tut with a slight smirk as he stood behind the sandbag, keeping it steady while Gwen beat the living hell out of it.

"Ha, I was just imagining it was your face, and I got really into it for some reason." Replied Gwen with a smirk, causing Pharaoh to roll his eyes.

"So, you ready to punch the real thing, or are you too scared to get beat up like last time?" Asked Tut with an eager smile as he cracked his neck.

"Heh, I've been practicing a lot since last time; it won't be the same as before." Replied Gwen with a grin as she eyed Tut before turning around and heading toward the table filled with boxing gear.

Seeing Gwen getting ready, I walked over to the ring in the middle of the gym; though I didn't enter it, I first found Jimmy, the manager of the place and the one who oversees any matches inside the ring.

"Yo, Jimmy, Gwen, and I are trying to get a sparring match in; is the ring free?" Asked Tut as he approached Jimmy, a middle-aged man smoking while leaning against the boxing ring.

"Yeah, it's empty." Replied Jimmy as he blew a puff of smoke and looked at Tut, who smirked in response before immediately entering the boxing ring by sliding underneath the ropes.

"No headgear again?" Asked Jimmy as he snuffed out his cigarette and climbed onto the edge of the ring.

"Nope, I prefer fighting without it. Besides, it's not like I can feel any of her punches." Said Pharaoh while shaking his head, quietly muttering the last part to himself.

Seeing Gwen finish putting on the headgear, she wasted no time and quickly entered the ring, causing me to smirk at her eagerness as the two of us approached each other and touched gloves.

"Hmph, I'm going to win." Declared Gwen seriously as she glared at Tut, who stood about six inches taller than her and weighed at least forty pounds more than her

"Then good luck; you'll need it." Replied Tut with a smirk, while Gwen hardly reacted as the two returned to their corners.

"Alright, you two, you know the rules." Stated Jimmy as he reached down and grabbed a bell.

"FIGHT!" Yelled Jimmy while hitting the bell, causing a ding to ring throughout the gym, catching the attention of everyone, though only a few bothered to stop what they were doing and watch the match.

With the start of the match signaling out, Gwen instantly put her arms up and slowly approached me, eyeing me like I was her prey; smirking, I also approached her, though I wasn't guarding like she was.

"C'mon, Gwen, get you one." Said Tut with a smirk as he leaned forward and tapped his cheek, prompting Gwen to punch him in the face with all her might.

Feeling Gwen's powerful punch, I looked up at her, only to see she'd backed away, causing me to smirk as I finally put up my guard. I wasn't Gwen, who liked to analyze her opponents first, so I rapidly approached her and gave her two light jabs, which she blocked and reciprocated with a jab of her own. I made sure to keep my strength in check; otherwise, it wouldn't be fair or fun for either of us, so I couldn't dodge the jab, but it was fine since I was blocking.

Jabbing her face again, I used a left hook and punched her in the stomach, causing her to wince slightly, but she didn't move her arms, which was good since I would've used that as a chance to punch her in the face. After getting punched, she backed away, or at least tried to, as I followed right after her, but that was my mistake as she used that against me and punched me in the side of the face.

'Alright, Gwen, I see you; you've been learning. I like this!' Thought Tut with a smirk as he backed away after taking a nasty haymaker to the face.

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While Pharaoh and Gwen were enjoying their sparring match back in Queens, specifically at the mall, Jeans and Lily were leaving early after finding what they came to look for.

"You good Lily, you seem kinda down?" Asked Jean curiously, leaving the mall alongside Lily while carrying a bag with a green dress.

"Yeah, I'm fine; I just hoped Pharaoh would come." Replied Lily with a slight smile as she looked at Jean.

"Well, I tried Lily, but he didn't want to join us; it seemed like today was a bad day anyway; he had boxing classes with Peter and Gwen." Said Jean with a sigh as she looked at Lily, the two walking down the sidewalk.

"Eh, I know; I'm not disappointed in you or anything, Jean. it's just…" Muttered Lily as she shook her head and hung her head down.

"It's just you wanted to spend time with Pharaoh and do naughty things with him; I'm right, aren't I, Lily?" Asked Jean with a mischievous grin as she leaned closer to Lily, who deeply blushed in embarrassment.

"Hmph, I-I don't k-know w-what you're t-talking about Jean; I-I don't h-have a naughty m-mind like you!" Yelled Lily in embarrassment as she ran away from Jean, running off into the street towards Mr. Grey's parked car.

"I don't have a naughty mi- LILY!!" Yelled Jean with a smile that quickly turned into a horrified expression as she ran after Lily, who lay sprawled on the ground with her mangled body.

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Lo and behold, what y'all have finally been waiting for has arrived! Hahaha!