Fighting Chance Vol 2 #18 [Finale] (Patreon)

“Nggg-hhh…” Zain blinked his eyes slowly, then all at once; a switch flipping in his brain as all of last night rushed back into his thoughts. How mouth fell open as he realized everything he’d felt, every moment of pain and screaming, and lava was… 

Gone?He stared down at his bloody clothes and skin, blue hoodie torn to shit and once-white cargo pants now almost completely dark all over. 

No more burning, just cold.

Cold concrete on his back, the smell of old dust and mold in his nose, and... nothing else. It was crazy enough that he wasn’t dying anymore, but… I was screaming.

Last thing he remembered was screaming out loud, his throat raw as his veins were on fire. It was vivid as hell, everything coming out of his… his…

His left arm was there, in front of his eyes.

Lying across his chest, palm up, and fingers flexed.

“...huh?” Zain sat up, fast; no dizziness, no gray spots as he stared at it, one hand holding the other. Right hand around his left wrist, the warmth and strength of his pulse under his hand as he stared down at it.

His fingers flexed, moving like they hadn’t been removed hours ago.

They actually moved.

The fourteen-year-old scrambled back, kicking away and pushing hard with his new arm, doing his best to move away from the... the puddle of his dried black… Ugh.

Zain bit down a shudder as he looked back down at his arm again, eyes tracing it up and down, the limb untouched beneath the scrap of his torn hoodie sleeve. No scar?

Fuck no scar, there was no line, no nothing. Just his arm, maybe a bit thicker and a little paler than he remembered it, but still just his arm. I'm... I'm cooked. I'm... I'm dreaming.

His eyes went back to the puddle, still not fully believing what he was seeing right now. Next to the dried blood, darkened to black on the dusty floor of this moldy forgotten building, he could make it out through the scraps of light peeking in through the broken-open door and boarded-up windows.

An empty syringe; green droplets still leaking from the tip of it. Hojiku-Zai.

Eyes slid to his other side and spotted a metal container holding two more of the same, filled with that constantly bubbling green liquid. But where’d it come from, though.

Zain looked around the abandoned room again, head on a swivel. All he saw was dust, a swarm of motes hanging in the one beam of pre-dawn light. Did... did Stick...

He held the thought for a split-second, frown forcing itself on his face. Nah, definitely not that old man... Expendable was the word he used and it was the same word Zain wouldn’t forget any time soon. Stick didn’t give a shit about using him for anything but a weapon; a missile aimed at the Hand.

Fire and forget. Both hands clenched tight into fists. So, if not him, then…

Thinking about it didn’t bring any more answers, no matter how much he squeezed his brain to make it make sense. Zain let out a sigh as that realization hit him, voice a lot less raw than he would have expected with all the goddamn screaming he remembered doing too.

He sighed again, scooping up the weird green syringes and frowning at how crazy his life had gotten since waking up a hundred feet above the skyline. This shit worked? It had to, considering he was sitting here and not a meal for the fuckin’ rats. But how’s it grow a whole arm? That’s OD.

Zain rolled his eyes a full second later, biting back a grunt that was halfway to a laugh. Where the fuck you think you are, bro? They got serums that could do all sorts of shit here. That much was true, everything from the Super Soldier serum to the Hulk injections to the OZ formula that made Green Goblin and everything else.

No point in wondering how it worked. It just does, I guess.

Shaking his head, Zain finally pulled himself up to his feet, eyes going wide as- Whoa.

He didn't just stand. He went from sitting to standing all of a sudden, perfectly balanced and solid; sturdy, even. 

Hell, he felt downright dense.

One shoulder rolled back, he blinked down at his arms again. Yeah, I knew I wasn’t buggin’. 

Like he thought before, his arms looked a bit thicker than he remembered them, but it wasn’t just his arms, really. No, his whole body felt coiled, like… almost like he was packed tighter than he had before, more muscle in the exact same body.

He rolled his other shoulder, still getting a feel for what that green stuff had done to him. 

No stiffness.

No pain.

Nothing.

He... felt...

He felt good.

Hell, fuck just good, he felt strong as hell.

Pocketing the syringes in his hoodie, Zain blinked as he stepped outside the room, the early morning sun not even over the skyline and the sky still gray-orange for it. A'ight...

He looked at the wall, brick older than him by a long shot, and flexed his freshly grown fist one more time. Let’s see it. He had an idea; more than an idea, really, it was a gut feeling and he knew he had to make sure he wasn’t even crazier than he thought.

There was no powering up this time, not the way he had when he first showed off to Sensei Collie. No Ki, no blue light, just his hand in one tight fist.

That fist went out, a tight jab; maybe half his strength in a careless swing.

A chunk of brick disappeared, the sound like a gunshot as a cloud of red dust blew back right in his face.

“W-what the…” Coughing loud, Zain waved his hand in front of his face as he stared at the hole in the wall, blinking red powder out of his watery eyes. “...the fuck?"

...I... I did that?

With... with a jab? Hell, he'd... he'd seen Elvin do that, out of his big Hulk Jr transformation or whatever. He’d seen his bro just powder brick that way. Being real, he did way more damage than what he just did, but even still. ...what was that green shit?

He blinked down at his hoodie pocket, the black-stained fabric staring back up at him. Doesn’t make sense, though. The stuff heals you, right? Which was something he still wasn’t sure how he even knew. How’s it make me into mini-Cap?

Zain bit down another groan, too many questions and too little answers in front of him. I guess, it’s whatever, right? Letting it go with a soundless sigh, Zain flexed his arms finally, both of them as he felt the thickness again, his hoodie a bit tighter across his shoulders than he remembered it be and it wasn’t just the blood drying it up.

Brown eyes glanced around the quiet alley as cars honked just outside it; purple-gray sky going orange as the sun rose higher and higher. Okay, so ninja are still after me, old men are crazy creepy cultist muthafuckas, and I’m a super soldier now…

He nodded slowly, tapping the chain still wrapped around his waist for comfort. Bet.

Which meant that there was only one thing left to do.

Zain pulled something free from his once-white cargos, only to immediately let out that groan he’d been holding back as he stared at the shattered screen of his smartphone. 

“...well, fuck.” Nothing else to say, he tapped the screen and hoped for the best.

It lit up almost immediately, Zain’s face lighting up to match it as he wiped his free hand on his pants before he could get more dried blood stuck in it.

It only took a few seconds more for him to tap out the number he memorized long ago and put the phone to his ear.

"...Zain?"

The fourteen-year-old smiled through tired eyes. "...Hey, Sensei."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Idle Hands (100 DP)

Earn enmity with the Hand

In the name of the Moon (0 DP) [Rolled a D20 for this one. Got a critical fail.]

Earn Khonshu’s interest

ROLL: E (-100 CP) [Solo Leveling] {Source}: These are the weakest of Hunters, having barely above the minimum prerequisites to fight monsters. You got some above top human-level strength and regeneration, but besides that your abilities are not superior to that of other humans.

Generally, Hunters of this level would hardly participate in dungeons, for most Guilds and teams will refuse to have them in a dungeon where their weakness could endanger the entire party, unless they are cleaning the really low-level dungeons or working as part of larger teams as miners.                                                                   ROLL: Kei Teacher (400 CP) [Chrome Shelled Regios] {Talent}: You can awaken the Kei Vein in others, by infusing someone with Kei they will start the process to grow the organ that produces Kei. After someone has their Kei Vein awakened you can teach them any perk with Kei in its name that you have taken, except for this perk. In order to help you speed up the process you are better at teaching pupils anything related to Kei that you know.

This can also be used for any similar energy

Dojo Points: 200