Flexing

At the start of the new day, Carlos woke up in an unfamiliar city. Slowly, he stood up and got out of bed, still unsure of where he was or how he'd ended up there. Confused, he left the room and started looking around until he spotted Rex and made his way over to him.

"Brother, how did we end up here? I don't remember anything from last night."

"Mmm? You don't remember?" Rex replied with a straight face. "Well, yesterday we went to a bar to wait for the credits from the job, got drunk, and then a Marse guy started flirting with you. And, well, you flirted back."

"Wait, hold on... are you saying I came to the hotel with a Marse?"

Rex put a hand on Carlos' arm. "Bro, I told you to stop, but you kept ignoring me. Then you went into the room... with the Marse."

Carlos went pale. A Marse? They were known for their beauty; the females and males looked almost alike, and their males had two big reproductive organs.

"Ha... ha... ha... pfff... HAHAHAHA!" Rex couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. Carlos looked like he was about to die from the realization of what he thought had happened.

Finally catching on, Carlos shoved Rex. "Oh, screw you, Rex." But at least he felt a little more at ease now.

"Haha, come on, bro. I'll treat you to a feast; let's go get some food and forget about last night." Rex led the way out of the hotel, Carlos following closely behind.

"Cleo, you there?"

"Yes, I am. Do you need something?"

"Yeah, can you search for restaurants nearby? Preferably not too expensive, maybe around 10,000 credits."

[Scanning. Task complete.]

"Here's a list of nearby restaurants within that range."

"Thanks, hon. We'll talk later when we get those items you needed." Rex filtered through the list and found a spot nearby.

"Come on, Carlos, let's go." Rex gave Carlos a light pat on the back.

They left the hotel and caught a taxi to the restaurant. When they arrived, the place looked way more luxurious than anything they had expected.

"Welcome, gentlemen. Do you have a reservation?" a waiter asked as he approached them.

"No, but we'd like a VIP room. Do you have any available?" Rex asked confidently.

The waiter looked them over from head to toe, then tapped on a tablet. "Let me check availability."

After a moment, the waiter nodded. "Yes, there's one VIP room available. Please wait here for a moment; my colleague will escort you shortly."

As the waiter walked off, Carlos leaned in. "Rex, pretty sure that guy was looking at us like we don't belong here."

"Yeah, he probably was. But who cares? We're here to eat, not show off. Let's just relax."

After about 30 minutes, a waitress finally came to escort them to their table.

"Welcome, dear customers. My name is Emilia, and I'll be your waitress today." The girl had blue skin, was small in stature, and had a baby-like face with striking blue eyes. Carlos seemed to be completely smitten by her.

"Oh sure, lead the way... Carlos, close your mouth." Rex smirked.

The waitress guided them to the second floor of the restaurant, where a freshly cleaned VIP room awaited. After they sat down, Emilia handed them the menus.

"Once you're ready to order, just press the button on this box, and I'll come right away," she said with a small bow before leaving the room.

"Pff, hahaha, next time, wipe the drool off your face, Carlos. You were so obvious. Are you that hungry, or...?"

"Oh, shut up, Rex. I'm just saying my kid needs a mom, alright? He's still young, you know?"

"Your kid's already five. Pretty sure he doesn't need a mom anymore."

"Oh, stop it. Let's just order food; I'm starving." Carlos was quick to change the subject.

Rex pressed the button, and soon after, Emilia returned to take their order. An hour later, she came back, followed by a small serving drone that carried their food. She placed several dishes on the table and was about to leave.

"Hey, Emilia, wait a second, come join us!" Rex pointed to the seat next to Carlos.

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly do that. It would be disrespectful for someone like me to sit with VIP guests," she said, waving her hands in protest.

"Don't worry about it. My friend here is the one inviting you. You can just say you're 'serving' us, and no one will care," Rex added with a wink.

Emilia blushed slightly but hesitated only for a moment before sitting down next to Carlos. He immediately started offering her some food, clearly trying to impress her. Rex just smiled and began eating too. They were enjoying their meal when they heard some commotion just outside the room.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and the waiter who had greeted them earlier barged in. "Sirs, I need you to leave immediately. A VIP customer has arrived, and people like you, with little money, should make way."

His eyes fell on Emilia, and his gaze turned cold.

Rex sighed, not even looking up from his plate. "Hey, bootlicker, beat it. We're eating, and we don't want to be disturbed."

The waiter stormed out, but Rex saw him pull out a communicator. A few minutes later, the restaurant's security guards arrived.

"Sirs, please leave the premises, or we'll have to use force," one of the guards warned.

Rex stood up slowly, holding up his hand to stop them. He casually grabbed his glass of water and finished it before speaking. "Carlos, remember how I said we weren't here to flex?"

Carlos, still munching on his food, nodded. "Yes, you did. So what?"

"Well, I'm about to flex. Because if there's one thing I can't stand, it's being threatened."

Without warning, Rex activated his Overdrive Mode. The pressure in the room skyrocketed as a white aura began to radiate from him. His massive wings folded in front of him, and with one swift motion, he sent the guards flying off the second floor, crashing through tables on the first.

"Cleo, give me a little help with flying; I'm about to put on a show."

Rex floated down from the second floor into the main dining area. The restaurant had an open layout, so everyone on the first floor could easily see him descending, his aura glowing as he did.

All the customers watching the scene had a mix of expressions on their faces: fear, awe, and horror. Every possible reaction was on display, but the ugliest looks were on the faces of the waiter and the guards who had first tried to make Rex and Carlos leave.

Rex landed on the first floor, his wings still glowing and extended. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being threatened or interrupted while I'm eating. Now, let's see what I'm going to do with all of you."

He walked toward the waiter, who stood frozen in fear. It wasn't just the way Rex looked with that glowing aura since it was the occasional greenish shimmer that gave him away. The glow was a clear sign of bionics, and only nobles had access to that kind of tech.

When Rex was close enough, he grabbed the waiter by the neck, lifting him off the ground. Rex floated slightly as he tightened his grip. "Mmm, how about paying with your life for what you just did?"

The waiter gasped, trying to speak, but Rex's hold on his neck was too tight. He wasn't planning on killing the guy, just making him faint, but when he was about to do it, something else caught his attention.

From one of the second-floor balconies, a woman with dark red skin and piercing yellow eyes spoke up. "Dear noble, why don't we take a step back?"

Rex was momentarily taken aback. No one usually dared talk back to a noble unless they were either another noble or someone incredibly foolish. Now he had to figure out which category this new person fell into.

He glanced up at the woman and noticed she was already armed, her pair of vibroblades out and ready for action. Rex loosened his grip on the waiter, letting him drop to the floor, gasping desperately for air.

Rex then floated up toward the woman, but as he approached, he saw others stepping out from the shadows, pointing guns at him. The woman spoke again, "You see, a noble like you, showing up at a restaurant my group protects and then trashing the place...it doesn't exactly help our reputation, does it?"

Rex let out a smug laugh. "Hahaha, isn't it common courtesy to introduce yourself before you speak to a noble like me?" The woman just chuckled, ignoring his question.

"You might be a noble," she continued, "but we outnumber you. You're just one man. It wouldn't be hard for us to get rid of you quietly, and no one would ever know. After all, to you nobles, we're nobodies."

Rex's laugh grew louder. "Hahaha, too bad for you, little girl! I already know who you are. Should I call you—"