JUST ANOTHER DAY
I fly through the eff'ing bastard with full intent to smash his rib cage in. But the impact sends me bouncing back about fifty paces instead.
Darn. My arms hurt. What is this guy made of? I stand up and look at him. Surprised that he had already covered half the distance between us. For a tall guy, he sure is fast. And tough. I try to take a step forward and felt a blast of shock waves rip all over my body. I cover my ears instinctively. This guy is tough and fast. Oh, I think I said that already. Did I also say he is strong?
I crumple to the ground, dizzy, wobbly, but still conscious. I try to shake the effects off. I see blood dripping from my face. Darn, I think my nose is bleeding. Wait I have no nose! Not the eyes please, that would be freaking serious. Not the eyes please. I feel hands grab my hair and pull. I see the large bastard grinning. He is wearing a holographic mask that looked so weird it freaks me out. Says the guy without a nose.
"Give up yet, little pink boy?" he asks in a raspy voice, with emphasis on the pink and boy and maybe on the little too. I think he's trying to sound tough. But he doesn't scare me. No he don't. Not even those extra bionic hands he’s got latched on can scare me.
I hear the cheers and jeers all around me. I grin back, I hope I haven't lost some front teeth though. That would look shameful for a man with no nose and pink skin to boot. But enough worries for now. As he held me hanging from the ground, I send ten quick punches across his exposed torso. He laughs it off. My hands sting. His tattooed and tanned transparent skin-like shirt is like hard steel. I see his large metallic fist cover my face and I go flying across the arena once again. I crumple to the ground as the cheers reach another level. That punch would have knocked my head off if I didn’t manage to block it.
"I can't afford to lose this." I mutter to myself as I lay on the dry hard earth, waiting for the dust to settle a bit. "Banj will never let me hear the end of it." I summoned my second wind. I feel my muscles tingle, channeling another wave of energy, culminating as my eyes changed from orange to green. I stand up in one fluid motion and dust off the dirt on my suit. Yes, I am wearing a suit, a black set in fact, complete with a tie! I take a fighting pose and motioned my opponent to come near with my hand. It seemed to stop him momentarily. I take the opportunity to charge in. With refreshed energy in my invigorated form, I deliver another set of quick punches.
I know. Punches again? But this time I laced it with fire. Yep. Fire punches. Flaming fists baby! The punches didn't hurt him. But the fire burned his shirt and skin as expected. My opponent screamed, but more out of surprise. Did I already say he is a tough one?
He collected himself and charged me with a hay-maker. I dodged it by jumping backwards and all he got was dirt. He can't hit me in my new form. I’m faster now. The ground where I stood erupted in a burst of dirt marked with a big hole. Strong. These Simulus guys are always strong. Damn BenJim Enterprises for making them. And those Tippler augmentations doesn’t make it easier. Why is it never easy?
I gather fire on my right palm as I land. Focusing it into a tiny flaming ball, into a really hot ball. I grab my wrist and point my palm in the midst of the settling dust where the Simulus stood and fire away. He tries to dodge it but it hits him squarely on the body, exploding upon impact, sending him flying away a couple of paces back.
"Oh yeah. That's what I'm talking about!" I scream as i pump my fist. The crowd screams in delight and I acknowledge their applause, raising my hands to wave. "Yeah baby!" The screams become louder. These people love a winner indeed. I can almost hear them chant my name now: Jemi, Jemi, Jemi!
I feel a bear hug envelop me from behind nearly crushing my body. I gasp for air and as my head jerks back I see his soot blackened face. He lost his mask and I saw his real eyes for the first time today. Those damned eyes are now gold! I try to break free of his metallic grip but he is now stronger than me, those extra hands locking me into a bear hug of metallic proportions. I can hear Banj ranting now: 'know your enemy's capability first'. Hey! How was I supposed to know he can also change into his very own optimum form.
Before I start to pass out, I immolate my body with fire. I know he can't take the heat. And damn right he couldn't as he released me from his grip. I stumble forward as he backpedaled. I gasped for air as he rolled to the ground to quench the fire on his clothes. After a few moments, we face off again. And the crowd goes wild. These people sure love a good show.
My opponent changes tactics, suddenly becoming two by creating an exact duplicate of himself. Now let's see, he is tough, fast, strong, AND smart. Damn it. I better get this fight over with before he starts becoming better looking than me. I charge in and grab his duplicate's bionic arm. My guess, that the duplicate is not as strong as the original, is proven right as I manage to pull the arm and kick his torso upwards with all my might. That's one down, I mean up, I mean... you know what I mean.
The Simulus seemed taken aback by my action. He quickly opted to deliver one of his hay-makers again with that bionic left arm. Remember that punch? The one that made a hole on the ground? I don't even try dodging it this time. Instead, I meet his left arm with my right arm and start a circular roll, grabbing his wrist with my other hand and finishing my roll by placing my back on his torso and pulling his fist towards my face. At the last minute, I squat down as his momentum pushes his fist towards his own body. All in one fluid action. Boom. How's that feel? Bet ya didn’t expect that!
My opponent stumbles backwards. Hurt but still in the thick of it. Oh right. Steely body and that shirt. Freaking tough guy. The realization made me stumble backwards away from him. Only fire can beat him. I step back. He follows. I'm trying to recharge my fire, but I don't think he will give me the chance. I try to scramble away from him. He probably won't be trying that hay-maker again. But the bear hug or the shock wave attack, that's going to finish me if I don't recharge in time. He slowly, purposely take two steps towards me. He's going to make a choice soon.
"Don't come any closer!" I create a small tiny ball of fire on my right palm with all my remaining charges. It stopped him on his tracks. In the right place at the right time. I raise my hand and shoot the fireball. He covers his face with his arms. My fireball fizzles.
"Hah!" the Simulus exclaimed victoriously.
“Heh." I replied with a grin.
The crowd was screaming so loud that my opponent failed to hear another scream coming from above. His duplicate lands squarely on top of him. Wham! Perfect hit. The ground shook with the impact, flattening my opponent inside a small crater. His duplicate started to disappear, turning into wispy smoke.
The crowd goes wild. I did it!
The announcer was beyond herself as she declared the winner amidst the raucous roar.
I won!
"Winner!" I said to myself as I counted my prize money. More like calculating the debts I need to pay. The small back room in the arena was really tight. But hey, as long as one has a space to dress up, I'm not complaining. Besides, the Tower of Champions is not about glamor. Not for me really. It's about getting the bills paid. I neatly fold my suit. Yes, it’s my signature fighting gear, get over it. As soon as I finished stuffing my other stuff in the bag and safely tucked the money in my purse, I start on my way out.
Down the large hallway, where hundreds of other fighters move to and fro, I stopped by a food stall to get a bite. As the attendant prepared my order, a large shadow hovered behind me. I turned around, half-expecting who it was.
"Hey pink midget." the Simulus said flatly in his raspy voice. A frown etched on his tanned face. His eyes now visible shows one blue and one jade. He is back to his normal form again, just like me.
"Yo handyman." I replied with a grin. "I knew you'd be back in no time flat. Get it? Flat?" I joked.
He grabbed my head with that metallic left hand and rumpled my hair. "Hey, I just combed that." I complained.
"Good fight Jemi." he said in a kind voice. "You got me good this time. But I surprised you with my new fighting form thingy didn’t I." he snickered.
"I always tell you Evhan, the good-looking guy will always win. Besides, what did you expect fighting a Kyiokenjin of my caliber? And mind you, I never thought you would ever manage pulling your optimal fighting potential ever, as in never." I joked.
"Seems like the more desperate guy got lucky and won. And race has nothing to do with the results mind you." he retorted. He raised his metallic hand, palm out towards me. “You better watch out and start some serious training or me and the other boys will soon be kicking your ass more often than you can count.”
“Whatever.” I gave him a high five.
"Give my regards to the wife okay." I said, as the attendant slid my noodles and pie across the table top.
"Will do. You take care now Jemi. No more gambling. And next time, I beat your ass. Pray that you never pick my card again." he laughed as he walked away.
He's right. I was lucky today. Him and the other boys are getting stronger. I better take his advice seriously and start training again. If I want to retain my title as Chamber Champ. But heck, training can wait a couple more of days.
I scoop my noodles and stuff the pie in my hungry mouth. It has been days since I got me some good food.
I wonder if my lucky streak will hold out in the casino later.