How To Fight

Something was different. My hands were clammy at the oddest of times and my shoulders tense and stiff at the slightest contact with anyone. I had initially speculated that it was due to hitting a limit on the powers I could steal through killing but that wasn't it. There was a feeling of stuffiness in relation to right by conquest and I could feel I only had one slot left.

That wasn't it, however. I had turned on Devoe's thinker powers and after a little digging found out that I was showing signs associated with mild PTSD. This made no sense though. I had fought before and the battle with Devoe had not been a traumatic experience. So why? Why did I get a heavy feeling in my chest everytime, I saw a flashing light?

Something was wrong with me. I had the intellect of Devoe minus his knowledge but the high intelligence was enough to note those few oddities. I could probably build a full body scanner that would check my body for any abnormalities but that would take a lot of time. First things first, would be continuing with the plan. The plan, to get even more power to better protect myself from the Reverse Flash. I could tell it was just a matter of time before he struck back.

I would also need to secure some more capital for the experiments I would undoubtedly carry out soon. I spent the day cooped up in my apartment, going over some of the blueprints I had stolen from Devoe's lab. The lab had been situated in the basement of his house and luckily he had had the plans laying around.

The plans were incomplete however. I could understand the theory behind folding space through the manipulation of something Devoe called the Gravitonic particulates. The blue prints were for the construction of a pocket dimension. I had grinned in happiness then settled down to comb through Einstein's theory of general relativity. A few hours later, I had an idea on how to proceed.

For instance, scientists had long theorized that it was probable to manipulate space-time through gravitons, effectively creating worm-holes for easier space traversal. The problem had been the math. With my new thinker powers my brain was like several supercomputers stacked upon each other.

A loud alarm blared on my phone and broke my concentration. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. It was 6 am. I had been reading about electrical engineering after getting too caught up in the moment. I hadn't even noticed the time go by. I mentally turned off the thinker powers and immediately noticed a difference. Just like I had theorized, the high IQ suppressed my emotions and turned me into a sort of logic-driven persona.

This and the energy draining were what had caused Devoe to start going off the rail. The persona created by the thinker powers was still me just…standoffish. I had gotten a call from Caitlin some hours back but I hadn't even bothered to pick up the phone. I would need to limit the use of the thinker's powers if I didn't want to turn into a self-serving machine. Just goes to show that nothing comes free.

I called Caitlin back and assured her that I was okay. She had been worried because I had missed a checkup. She also told me that Barry had exhibited signs of waking up which increased my sense of urgency. I needed Barry's blood and soon he would be fast enough to notice me try to take it without permission. I promised her that I would come by and went off to pursue another avenue of strength.

I had been putting off learning how to fight because of my powers but what if my powers were suppressed in some way? Look at Green Arrow. He was just a normal guy but he went up against some of the craziest shit the universe had to offer and more or less came out okay. A quick search had shown me a good dojo in town that taught mixed martial arts.

I didn't need to be the best at fighting. Just good enough for it to be a fallback option when things got dire. When I got there, the place was already open. Boxing rings, punching bags, fighting mats and other typical gym equipments dotted the place. Every person I could see was either exercising or sparring. The whole building was a 3 storey construction and occupied a large area.

You couldn't guess it from the outside, where it was stuck between a chinese restaurant and a supermarket but it was big on the inside too. The whole building was owned by the Fitness and Fists gym. The ground section was the boxing area and gym. The second floor was mixed martial arts and the third floor was for official members. It was probably more of the same.

The receptionist directed me to one of the staff. A burly huge guy by the name of Duke. Duke was ex-military and very blunt.

"Welcome to hell Kid."

I rose an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean? Don't you think that that's exaggerating it a little."

Duke laughed and slapped me on the back.

"Ha! You wish but no. We take people, break them and then build them up stronger, faster and meaner. Champions have bleed inside our rings. If you don't have the commitment to punch back even when your whole body is mangled and bloody then this is the wrong place for you. We're not just a dojo, we are a fucking principal!"

Huh. Never thought that he would be so…dramatic.

"Now, go to the lockers and change newbie. I want you in the ring."

"Wait, in the ring?! I haven't even decided to join yet."

Duke waved it away nonchalantly.

"Trust me kid. You're gonna stay. I know that look in your eyes. You're curious and you want to know what we are actually about. Stop wasting my time and get in the ring in five."

Well he had me there. I was curious.

Five minutes later, I was decked in punching gloves and a head guard while facing one of the fighters I had seen on a punching bag. I was in some gym offered clothes. He was African American with a scar on his right temple. A few people were gathered around the ring watching us. Let's hope I don't make a complete fool of myself.

Duke was the referee and had a whistle in his lips.

"Ok, kid. You're probably wondering why you're here on the ring with this scary looking motherfucker."

This garnered a few laughs from the audience.

"You might be thinking it's about some philosophical bullshit lesson about fighting but you'd be wrong. It's all about…evaluation!"

That actually caught me off-guard.

"Fighting is not about who knows how many moves or styles. It's about finding something that fits your body type, using it and then branching out. That's why I need to evaluate you and see for myself what you'd be good at physically and where to go from, after that. You got an impressive body kid. Honed for battle. You just need to learn the dance steps and I might see something fun. Ok then, start!"

My opponent didn't act like I had thought he would. Instead of rushing forward he started circling me instead. I raised my hands up and mimicked a boxer's stance. I had looked at some videos on how to move while fighting before and I knew a little street fighting from my past life so I wasn't completely ignorant.

After seeing I was patiently waiting for him to make the first move, the guy came in close and threw a punch. I dodged it and retaliated only to hit the air. I found myself wheezing on the ground from an unexpectedly fast punch to the belly. This guy was a pro. It wasn't an exaggeration to say I was peak human in terms of my body's parameters. Hell it said it even on the interface. Yet I was getting my ass kicked.

"You alright man?"

He asked and I nodded, getting up.

"I'm good. Let's continue."

This time he didn't circle me. He came in fast and threw a hook to my sides. I went to block but instead of his fist, a kick impacted against my hastily raised knee. He evaded all of my strikes and landed a couple more hits while I hadn't hit him even once.

I know you're wondering why I didn't use Seamless Evasion. Normally that sort of skill as well as my water sense were on a passive effect. Meaning they were always on. I could however toggle off any of my abilities I wanted. This was a minor option that I had gotten after the template system had been dismantled. It was the only reason I had decided to go through with acquiring Devoe's baggage filled powers.

The reason why I didn't use those abilities was because the point of knowing how to properly fight was to still be dangerous in a situation where I didn't have access to them.

We went on trading blows as I learned a little and adjusted my body to block more efficiently and strike better. My opponent had me outclassed in skill but in stamina I was the clear winner. He had a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. I jumped away from a sweeping kick and ducked a round kick. He had gotten me earlier with that same move but I wouldn't be caught off guard again.

I feinted a side kick, drew up short and kicked out again.

"Off!"

Air escaped him as he grimaced in pain. I smiled a small grin of satisfaction. That was another one of his moves.

"Hey you okay?"

I asked.

He stared at me for a while before nodding.

"Good job."

"Thanks. The name's Jin."

"Brian."

He stalked off without another word to his corner after Duke had stopped the spar. Mmh, a man of few words. I could tell I had impressed the others if the chatter around us was any indication.

Duke rounded up to study me. Unusually serious.

"Tell me kid. You ever fought before?"

I didn't see the use of lying so I told him the truth.

"A couple of times."

His response was unexpected.

"Mmh… well your skills are shit."

"What?"

"You got amazing reflexes and body co-ordination, I'll give you that. But for someone with your gifts, you're a brute. When you're not trying to brute force your way through, you're a little thief. You never use skills you've seen your opponent use without training, got that?! That's like pulling the trigger on a gun without knowing if it's loaded or not. You might hurt yourself."

I was surprised to say the least. Mentally I slapped myself. I don't know what I had been thinking while doing that. Probably trying to impress these guys? But Duke was right it hadn't been a wise move.

"That said. Welcome to Fitness and Fists. So long as you pay, I'll make a monster out of you."

I matched his smile with one of mine. Let's get this show on the road.

(Jin's Mind-scape)

The energy that made up the mind-space was no longer dark matter. Therefore it was different. The entire mind-scape was in its way to being different too. What changes would it bring?

Underneath the ground in the mind-scape, dark purple glowing chains encased a man. The resemblance between him and Jin was uncanny to the point of being the same. He had closed eyes. A white bolt streak of lightning rose up from his body to strike at the purple chains but to no avail.