Swinging #26

Name: Grayson Whitlock

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Class: [Thief (level 10 MAX)] [Fighter (level MAX)] [Acrobat (Level 2)]

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Stats:

Body: 40

Mind: 40

Spirit: Locked

Stat Points: 30

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Skills:

[Brawling (level 20)] [Crime (level 25)]

[Acrobatics (level 1): the favored skill of cheerleaders and circus performers, the ability to perform tumbles, somersaults, and other such maneuvers; You can use it to dodge attacks, climb obstacles, and achieve similar feats of agility. Acrobatics can replace Crime when trying to move silently (use the higher of the two skills when attempting to sneak around)]

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Perks:

[Dormant Metahuman] [Silent Step] [Eidetic Kinesthesia] [Superhuman Stamina]

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'Do I really have to do this...?' I took a deep breath as I alternated my gaze between my Acrobatics skill and the ledge of the roof I was standing on as I held on to my steel wire.

My Brawling skill only increased by two levels in the past couple of days, and when I asked Richard why I was progressing more slowly, he told me I just needed to experience a real fight and apply what I've learned to digest it and keep improving.

My wounds have already mostly healed, and I'll have to start fighting more often anyway, so I didn't let it bother me.

I'd also spent every minute of my free time watching parkour and acrobatics videos on the internet for the past two days, memorizing every move I could find with my Photographic Reflexes.

And yes, I was still having trouble pronouncing the original word. I hated that damned word with a passion, not as much as guns, but still close enough for me to despise it.

But you're probably wondering what I was doing, standing on a roof's ledge, questioning my own decision. The answer is simple; I got bored watching videos and decided to break the one rule on every parkour and acrobatics video on the internet.

I was going to try it at home, well, not really at home since I was on a roof in the middle of Gotham's Midtown, but you get the idea.

'This is probably the dumbest thing I ever did since coming to this world...' I bitterly mused as I looked at the ground, which didn't help my nerve since it was six stories away.

'Come on, Gray... you can do this... it's dumb, but the payoff will be huge...!' I psyched myself up as I jumped in place, decisively turning away from the ground below.

'Just don't look down...' I turned around and let my back face the ledge, trying to relax my tense body. 'Whatever you do, don't look down...' I exhaled the breath I was holding and relaxed my body, allowing myself to fall back.

I instantly regretted it when I felt my hood and trench coat stick to my body thanks to the intense breeze and gritted my teeth as I held to my steel wire and sent it towards a metal pole sticking out of the building.

I felt my hand jerk up along the rest of my body as the steel wire wrapped around the metallic pole, killing my momentum.

'Ok... I didn't fall and get turned into a bloody smear on the ground... that's a good start, right?' I mused, taking another breath as I broke yet another golden rule and looked down, seeing the faraway ground.

'I'm already here... no point in turning back now...' I sighed as I adjusted my posture, planting my feet against the building's wall. I inspected the area and spotted another pole I could latch on to with my wire.

I started running along the wall, Prince Of Persia style, and released the wire when I got enough distance and momentum to swing across the street into the other pole on the neighboring building.

I extended my hand toward the pole and sent the wire. Thankfully, I didn't miscalculate the distance because of my enhanced brain and managed to swing into the next building after a bit of wall running.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed at the top of my lungs as I got used to swinging across the buildings, feeling a rush of adrenaline the likes of which I'd never felt before, sending the blood pumping into my intensely beating heart.

I swung across the street, did a flip in the air for absolutely no reason, and landed on the nearest roof with a roll on the ground. My smile widened, and I took a deep breath and collapsed on the floor face up, staring into the sky and breathing heavily.

[+1 level to the Acrobatics skill]

"That was some Spiderman shit I just pulled off..." I muttered, putting a hand on my chest and feeling my loud heartbeat as I let out a chuckle of pure joy. It almost made dying and coming to this shitty world worth it, and I emphasize the almost part.

'It's a good thing I got that Pigeon Drone or I'd never do something so stupid if I thought someone could see me or sneak up on me...' I mused as I pushed myself off the floor and turned to the pigeon flying above my head, feeding what it saw directly into my brain.

I have been using it since I got it, and although it was disorienting to process the bird's-eye view it sent me, I got used to it after using it for a couple of days, and now I never go out without it hanging overhead.

'Whelp... I'm glad I got that out of my system...' I sighed, still smiling under my mask as I took out my phone to see the time.

'I still have some time before I need to go home...' I mused as I looked at the time, debating whether to go on a pickpocket walk or go for a ride on my bike.

However, a scream interrupted my thinking, and I diverted my attention to the Pigeon Drone's footage to find the source. I immediately saw a guy in punk clothing pinning a woman on the wall in an alleyway not far from the building I was on right now.

It only took me a couple of seconds of hesitation before I decided to do something about it as I released my Steel Wire and made my way there at my fastest speed.

I wasn't trying to be a hero. I wasn't selfless enough to keep a constant lookout for everything and everyone to protect people I didn't know or care about, but I couldn't walk away knowing that a woman was about to be rap*ed, either.

Richard did say I needed to get into more fights to properly digest what I've learned so far, so it's two birds with one stone.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, getting the guy's attention before he could get handsy with the woman (Well, more handsy) as I landed in the alleyway on my feet. There was no way I'd be rolling in that toxic waste dumb excuse of an alleyway.

The man only took one look at me and my mask before whipping out a gun from his side, fumbling to aim at me clumsily.

"Does everyone have a gun in this fucking city?!" I snapped as I whipped the gun away from his hand with my metal wire and quickly closed the distance, pinning the man against the wall.

I cocked my head back and head-butted him into the wall, instantly knocking him out. He bonelessly fell to the ground as I let him go and turned to the shivering woman.

"Hey! You should call the police and get out of here," I said, snapping my fingers in front of her face to get her out of her daze, which seemed to work, but not the way I'd hoped.

She looked at my mask and screamed, then immediately started running toward the street in a panic, causing me to scratch my head as I awkwardly watched her leave.

"Whelp, looks like the police won't be showing up. It must be your lucky day..." I said as I turned to the guy I'd just knocked out a moment ago, taking a step back. "Or is it?" I added, grinning under my mask as I kicked the man in the balls hard enough to bring him back to conscience.

"Looks like you learned your lesson, so I'll let you be for now..." I blankly said, nodding as I looked down at the guy while he squirmed in pain with tears and snot running all over his face.

"Don't do this again, or I'll cut it off next time I see you," I warned, making a scissor gesture with my right as I turned to leave, releasing my steel wire and swinging away after seeing him fervently nod his head.

...

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