Chapter 154: Jack and Cindy!

"Jack," Cindy pressed Jack against the wall, her grip firm and unyielding. "Explain yourself," she demanded.

Right now, Cindy managed to corner Jack in the school hallway. Students passed by whistling and cheering as if they were a couple doing couple things, but Cindy wasn't affected by it in the slightest. Her bright green eyes focused in on Jack's. There was only one thing on her mind, and it was finding out what the hell has he been doing and why did he need extra lessons?

Was he paying extra to get personal lessons from Miss Devil? There was no way that was true. Cindy's mom would've already signed her up first if that was an option. Jack also didn't dress like his family had money. But there was an issue with that line of thinking.

Cindy stared at Jack's Platinum Elite X phone, the painful-looking scars across his arms that weren't always there, and the way he carried himself nowadays. Kids didn't look twice in his direction. They say he beat up his entire class or something crazy like that. Cindy didn't believe the rumors entirely, but they had to be based in some sort of truth.

"W-What do you mean, Cindy?" Jack stuttered as she was very much in his personal space.

"Don't act dumb," Cindy shot back, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to extract information. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I-I really don't," Jack stammered, attempting to brush off the situation. "Can you please explain why you've cornered me like this? I have to get to class..."

"Jack," Cindy's voice took on an authoritative tone. "I'm giving you two options. Tell me what you're hiding, or I'll find out for myself. I won't rest until I hear the truth. It's better if you come clean. We both know you're not good at keeping secrets." Cindy stepped back, placing her hands on her hips, waiting for Jack's explanation.

"I'll tell you," Jack finally relented. "But please, promise not to—" Before he could finish his sentence, Jack bolted down the hall.

"Jack Thomas! You'll regret this!" Cindy shouted, clenching her fist in frustration.

She vowed to uncover what Jack was involved in and why he received special training from Miss Devil. If Cindy wanted to become the world's strongest fighter, she couldn't afford to train at the same pace as everyone else. She needed that extra training. Determined, she decided to follow Jack home to find the truth.

…

"Have you heard about Glutton?" a soon-to-be sixth grader asked his friend.

"Glutton? Who the heck is that?" The friend responded, clearly confused.

"Haven't you seen the videos?! He's all anyone is talking about right now!" The Glutton's Fan shook his friend with excitement.

"Nope. Is that some guy from a cartoon?" Clueless Friend shrugged.

"He's a real-life freaking superhero!" Glutton's Fan exclaimed, shaking his friend even harder.

"Get off me, little bro. Calm down." Clueless Friend pushed Glutton's Fan off of him.

"He beat up gangsters, he stops criminals, and helps the innocent! Just like Cosmic Man!" Glutton's Fan excitedly explained.

"Can he shoot laser beams or something?" Clueless Kid joked.

"No! He's a superhero and a kid like us, but he can beat up gangsters with weapons!" Glutton's Fan explained animatedly, pulling out his phone. "Watch!"

A third person appeared behind the two as they watched the video in class. On the video, there was someone recording a mugging in progress. A woman was panicking as a larger man pointed a gun at her in a dark alleyway. Just as the woman was handing over her purse, a large shadow appeared from above. They parkoured their way down from the roof and landed on top of the mugger with their big body. The man yelled in pain before being quieted with a punch to the jaw from the costumed vigilante that knocked him unconscious.

The video ended as the hero returned the woman her purse and politely asked her to stick around so that the police could send the criminal off to jail. The third viewer, who was secretly watching the video, recognized the voice of the hero, their familiar figure, and that punch. It was a punch her idol taught her if she ever managed to get a mount over an opponent. A punch that only twelve people knew, including herself. By body shape alone, she could eliminate eleven people already.

______________________________________________

After school, Jack made his way to somewhere with as few eyes around as possible. Theo and Pitil still hadn't said anything about targeting Tear's gang, and Jack was getting a little anxious. It's been so long, but it still wasn't time to strike them? To help enforce justice and protect the weak, Jack felt he had no choice but to patrol around as his alter-ego Glutton. Theo would send him locations on his phone where possible crimes are being committed, and he would head there to stop them.

The reason he was heading somewhere secluded was to find a suitable place to become Glutton. Jack climbed up the fire escape stairs until he was on a rooftop. It was the perfect place to switch in and out of his costume. Normal people just don't look up when going about their day. Jack could squad over the edge of a building watching over people down below, and very rarely would anyone look up and see him.

Just as Jack sent Theo a message on where he should patrol today, he heard the sound of someone on the fire escape. By this point, Jack had already changed into his outfit and become Glutton. He wasn't afraid of anyone recognizing him, but a sense of panic did rise within his body. Why would anyone be climbing the fire escape right now? Glutton didn't smell any smoke, so there was no way someone was using it to escape a fire. At the same time, they would be climbing down the fire escape, not up!

From the sound of their groans and grunts, it was a girl climbing up. Jack understood it was none of his business, and he had innocents to protect. What this girl's purpose in climbing a fire escape to get on top of a rooftop wasn't any of his business. He began to run to gain enough momentum to jump over to the next building, only for that girl's voice to yell something very frightening and kind of annoying.

"Jack Thomas, I know you're up there!" The command froze Jack in his tracks just as he was about to leap.

His head slowly turned to see Cindy Armani staring at him as Glutton. Her breathing as calm as she stared at him with that same fierce look she gave everyone in her way. Jack vaulted over the ledge, hastily making his way down the roof. Cindy pursued him, closing in on his location. Landing on a pile of trash, Jack braced himself as Cindy peered over the edge, her determined eyes fixed on him.

"You won't escape me!" The determined girl exclaimed, leaping over the edge and using a pole to slide down.

Jack's fear intensified as he watched the girl, who seemed to be missing a few screws, descend with astonishing agility, ignoring the searing pain from the friction. She blew on her hand as if it were a minor inconvenience before relentlessly chasing after him. Realizing that running was futile if she was willing to go to such lengths, Jack raised his hands in surrender as Cindy tackled him to the ground, executing a perfectly timed double-leg takedown they had recently learned. Jack groaned as he made sure to fall safely without banging his head on the concrete.

"You win, alright," Jack admitted, groaning as he made sure to fall without banging his head on the concrete. "What do you want?" he asked, resigned.

"Does Miss Devil know you're out doing this?! Is that why you get extra training, and the rest of us don't?" Cindy got straight to the matter at hand.

"I don't know, and I don't know," Jack responded honestly.

Jack never told Miss Devil upfront about being a superhero. He came into contact with Theo and Pitil by chance when executing his brand of justice. Maybe she knew something about it because of the scars over his body. She did look at him strangely every time he came in with a new visible injury. And with that strange look, he would receive harder training than anyone else in class.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Cindy wouldn't accept such a flimsy answer.

"I never told her that I'm doing this, but I think she suspects it or something else," Jack replied.

Cindy got off of him and went silent. She tapped her foot repeatedly, obviously agitated. "What a waste of my time." She suddenly realized. "I should just ask for extra training and bring up the fact that you get extra training. If Miss Devil wants to be fair, there's no way that she would say no to me."

Jack's phone suddenly rang with a notification from Theo. "It's time." The message read. Jack didn't understand what time it was until a car pulled up at the end of the alleyway. Multiple people came out of the car wielding weapons in their hands. At the recognition of the deadly weapons, Jack pulled Cindy behind a dumpster as the men began searching the area.