Jayden and Penelope turned slowly, their reflections caught in the car's black sheen.
The rich man stormed out with his crew of bodyguard behind him, beefed up, intimidating, with arrogance pouring from their pores.
He pointed straight at Penelope.
"You. You stole my storage ring! You stole my orb!"
Penelope raised a brow, confused. "Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb!" the man growled. "You were the only one who touched me after I got back to the room! I remember clearly. You bumped into me."
Penelope folded her arms across her chest, calm and unshaken. "I apologized for that. It was an accident."
"Don't insult my intelligence," he barked. "You think I wouldn't notice my ring missing?"
"I didn't take anything." she retorted.
"Then prove it," he said, eyes gleaming. "Let one of my men search you… thoroughly."
Penelope's eyes narrowed, she was offended. But before she could speak...
Step.
Jayden moved. Smooth and silent like a shadow stepping into moonlight, his body slid in front of Penelope.
He didn't shout. He just looked up, cold eyes locked onto the man's. "I don't think so."
Penelope blinked. Her lips parted slightly, surprised... and amused. She didn't expect Jayden to act on her behalf... Or maybe she did.
The man blinked. Then scoffed. "This doesn't concern you, boy. So why don't you shut your mouth and let the grown-ups speak."
Jayden's fists clenched tight, knuckles popping. A storm was stirring in his chest, rage flashing like lightning behind calm eyes.
He originally didn't want to get involved. He thought Penolope would deal with the situation quickly... break a few bones and show dominance. But she didn't, and he was getting impatient.
"Quick," the man barked, pointing. "Search her."
Jayden's pupils sharpened. His jaw twitched. "No one lays a finger on her."
His voice was ice. Dead still. Like a predator warning.
Penelope's heart skipped. Her breath hitched. She liked that tone. She was surprised at the way Jayden was protecting her. She was much stronger than him, yet he decided to stand up for her. It made her feel something she hasn't felt in a long time.
The first bodyguard stepped forward, muscles flexing. "Move aside, kid. I don't wanna hurt you. I just wanna search your pretty sugar mummy and be done with it."
"You'll have to go through me first." Jayden said sharply, and then... the air changed. His aura flared like a storm behind glass. The wind swirled around him unnaturally. The lights overhead flickered for a moment.
The man hesitated. Taking a step back.
But the rich man scoffed. "Go on! Don't tell me you're afraid of a kid?!"
Jayden smirked, eyes glowing faintly now "Yeah… come on." he muttered, his voice playful but deadly.
The man swallowed hard. Hearing Jayden's statement only made him more wary... and terrified.
"Fine," Jayden said. "If you won't come to me... "I'll come to you."
And in that instant, time twisted. One moment he stood still… and the next—
He vanished.
BOOM!
He reappeared in front of the man like a ghost out of smoke and slammed a fist into his gut.
The man's eyes bulged as his body launched into the air and collided with a parked car. The steel crumpled. Glass exploded. He crumpled into the wreckage, unmoving.
The rich man's eyes widened. "W-what the hell...?"
The remaining bodyguards froze in shock.
Jayden had just put the man down. With one hit.
They were all stunned. Except Penelope.. who was grinning like a devil in pearls. She was excited by how things were playing out.
Jayden turned slowly, his smirk wicked, predatory. His aura now pulsed in waves—like a beast had woken from slumber.
The rich man's face twitched in fear—then rage. He quickly pointed at the rest.
"Don't just stand there! Take him down and get me my ring!!"
The seven men snapped out of their daze and charged, each one activating their abilities.
"This should be fun." Jayden muttered, cracking his knuckle. Then he moved.
The men saw Jayden disappear from the spot. But before they could act...
BAM!
One of the men reeled back as Jayden appeared, a blur of motion. His punch crushed the man's nose and shattered his jaw... blood sprayed like a crimson mist.
CRACK!
Thud.
He flew backward and crashed against the metal wall of the building, body spasming as he collapsed.
Jayden exhaled and stepped back, fists trembling from excitement.
"Yes... this is the feeling," he thought, grinning like a mad man. "This is what I've been looking for."
Two men charged... one flickered like lightning, with incredible speed. The other vanished into thin air, his entire body going incognito.
Both men rushed Jayden at once... the speedster raising his fist, aiming for Jayden's neck. While the invisible man moved behind undetected and raised his feet to deliver a kick to Jayden's head.
But Jayden didn't panic. He welcomed it. Then just in time, he leapt, gracefully evading the blur of the speedster's punch, and the kick of the invisible man.
And midair, his eyes flashed.
[Dragon Eye; Thermal imaging]
The world ignited in thermal hues. And he scanned the ground. Almost immediately, he found the heat signature of the invisible attacker.
Jayden smirked. "Gotcha."
His gaze snapped toward a broken shard of glass lying on the ground near the wrecked car. He reached out with a flick of thought and mental will.
The glass lifted into the air, gleaming.
Zzzzt. SPRRRUT!
It flew like a bullet, slicing the air and piercing the invisible man straight through the back.
"AAARGHH!!"
The scream ripped through the space as the man flickered back into visibility, clawing at the bloody shard now jutting through his chest.
And just then, Jayden descended like judgment itself, legs stretched out, and heading straight at the man.
WHAM!
His axe kick slammed into the man's head, cracking the pavement as he crumpled, unconscious.
Jayden landed gracefully. But before he could move...
Whoosh.
The speedster appeared behind him, fist inches from his head.
Jayden felt it... but didn't flinch. Instead his eyes glowed brighter and he smirked.
"You're too slow." he muttered. And instantly he turned.. time slowing down as he did, and caught the man's fist.
His eyes widened in shock, he didn't expect Jayden to catch up to his speed.
The man's eyes widened. He didn't expect Jayden to catch up to his speed. But before he could react...
Jayden's grip tightened.
CRUNCH.
Bones shattered beneath his palm.
"AAAAHHH!!" The man yelled in pain as Jayden let go of the arm. He stumbled back in shock, staring at his crushed fist in dismay.
But Jayden wasn't finished, he stepped forward... his fingers shifting, growing longer and developing claws. And without wasting time...
SWISH.
He slashed once—claws slicing through tendon and muscle. Blood sprayed as the man dropped to his knees, screaming even louder than before.
Jayden's face turned cold as he raised his clawed hand for the finish.
But then...
BOOM.
The earth beneath him erupted, spikes of rock shooting skyward.
Jayden's eyes widened, but he leapt just in time, the tips grazing his legs.
He spun mid-air, landing like a gymnast with a psychic push of air to break his fall. His jacket fluttered. His grin widened.
"Nice try." he muttered.
The assaulter stepped forward... a blonde man, arms raised like an earthbender. Earth coiled around him like armor. Behind him, the injured Speedster was standing again, body trembling but healing.
Jayden smirked. "I'm not done with you." he said to the speedster.
Then instantly, he jumped and pushed forward with a telekinetic wave, his body moving towards the two men with incredible speed.
But the blonde was fast, he raised his hands quickly. And a wall of earth shot up just in time to shield him and the speedster.
Jayden gritted his teeth as his body headed straight for the wall. Using all the energy in his mind, he launched a telekinetic blast sideways, curving his trajectory mid-dash, evading the wall by a hair breath, and landing beside Penelope.
He stood up quickly and dusted off his sleeves like he hadn't just nearly been skewered by the earth itself.
"Jayden, are you okay?" Penelope called, stepping forward, voice strained. "I think you should stop."
But Jayden didn't answer. He just kept smiling. Eyes glowing. Breath heavy. Grinning madly with no intention of stopping.
Penelope's chest tightened. She'd seen this before... That wild, ecstatic hunger for battle. It was something she knew to be common among...
"Oh, God." Her eyes widened in a sudden realization. "He's unlocked his curse."
Penelope's mind reeled in shock, panic, and regret. "Shit! I have to stop this before... before he kills them all."
"Jayden, that's enough," she voiced out quickly. "I'll handle the rest."
But Jayden was already gone.
FWOOSH!
He reappeared directly in front of the speedster, blurring past the blonde. His claws were stretched, ready to strike.
"Didn't I tell you…" he whispered. "I wasn't done with you?"
SLASH.
His claws tore through the man's chest—deep and brutal.
The man didn't even get a chance to scream before Jayden's second hand... a clawed fist slammed into the his skull.
He hit the ground, unmoving. Blood pooling beneath him. But he was still alive.
Jayden turned again, moving to his next target. The blonde earth bender.
But before he could reach him...
ZWWWOOOM!
A water blast slammed into him from the side, sending him flying.
Jayden spun in the air, skidding across the concrete, shoes carving grooves into the ground. He rose, smirking.
And then he saw the assaulter—
A massive man. Towering. Built like stone and storm. His aura raged like a tidal wave. He was the leader of the bodyguards. And the strongest.
He stepped forward, water swirling around his arm like a serpentine whip.
"That's enough," he growled. "Submit… or die."
Jayden's hair fluttered from the wind. A thin trail of blood dripped from his lip.
He laughed.
"Finally… just the person I wanted to fight. I was wondering when you were gonna step up."