Round 2: FIGHT!

“Oh. Good. I was thinking that life was feeling too fun and free and happy. Glad you returned to remind me that it can suck too.”

Frank gave a proud smile, though it was also trying to be a sneer at the same time. John recognized Lyndon was standing right next to Frank’s side trying to look tough, although Frank’s other friend from the bus was strangely absent. Instead there was another member of the football team standing next to that blonde-haired baboon that also looked ready to knock John’s lights out. John threw out an Observe, just to see who this was.

-

Daniel Whitmire

Class: Half-back

Level: 5

Rp: -54

-

Well at least this one hated John less than the others. Sure, he still hated him, but it was something at the very least.

“So where’s backup dancer number 3?” John asked, putting his arms in front of both Cho and Alex. “Wasn’t his name… Harvey or something?”

“Pssh, that loser?” Lyndon said, kicking a can towards the trio. “Fuckin’ bailed on us. Guess he’s too chickenshit to kick a few nerd’s asses anymore.”

“John, we don’t have a fuckin’ chance here,” Cho whispered. “What should we do?”

“Awww, what a shame? He’ll have to miss the show of me kicking your asses,” John said loudly before whispering, “When I give the signal, you two run like hell back towards the mall.”

“John, these are football players. We can’t outrun them for shit,” Alex muttered.

“Just trust me. You guys run and don’t stop running till you get to safety.”

Cho grabbed John’s shoulder. “This seems like you’re about to do something very stupid.”

John smirked at him. “Just get ready.”

“Hey, what the hell are you dorks whispering?” Frank and his cronies had walked closer, each of them cracking knuckles or popping their necks. “Trying to find a sacrifice of who gets their ass kicked first? Or maybe trying to cast some stupid magic spell. ‘“Oh, look at me! I’m Cho ChingChong and I cast thunderbolt!’”

“Oh good, so you’re stupid, ugly, AND racist!” John said with a scowl. “Kicking your ass is going to be extra satisfying now.”

“Hey, shit for brains,” Daniel said, walking a bit ahead of Frank. “News flash: We’ve got like 300 pounds of muscle more than all three of you combined. You ain’t doing anything, Newman.”

“John, this seems really bad,” Alex whispered, gripping his arm for dear life.

John took in a deep breath, letting it out as he began to focus. He pulled his arms away from his friends, bringing them in front of his body just like Erik and Moira had taught him. He could feel his body getting ready, his newly acquired muscle mass itching with a need to be used. These fucks were going to continue to harass him and his friends for the rest of their lives if John didn’t do something here and now. And worse, if he didn’t do something, they would hurt Cho and Alex.

And John would be damned if he let Frank or any of his cronies touch even a hair on Cho or Alex’s head.

Counterpuncher Activated!

Lock The Fuck In Activated!

“Bring it,” John said with a smile.

Lyndon grinned, rushing forward with a fist held low and ready to punch John square in the jaw. But before his fist could make contact, John yelled, “NOW!” and sidestepped the punch. John easily evaded it, and brought forth an elbow into Lyndon’s nose. He could hear a small crack as he did so, and feel Lyndon’s nose be crushed under his ****.

Critical Hit! 24 Dmg!

Now THOSE were some numbers to be proud of! Lyndon staggered backwards, yelling swears that would make even a sailor blush. But John had no time to focus on his victory, as he still had two other meatheads to deal with. He could hear the fading noises of steps behind him, and gave a silent thanks to Gaia that they would get out of this okay. John pulled back, resetting his posture and preparing for the next guy.

Daniel, unlike Lyndon, at least seemed to be handling John in a semi smart manner. Rather than charging in for an easy cheap shot, he stayed back and threw punch after punch towards John. John focused on dodging each blow, and thank goodness he had math on his side. While training with Erik he had figured out that, with his current stats, he had about a 60% chance to automatically dodge an attack that was thrown at him. That did mean he had to be in his only fighting stance and use Lock The Fuck In, but dodging every 3 out of 5 attacks automatically wasn’t too bad. Plus, that was just his autododge. If he saw the attack coming and reacted on his own, it didn’t matter how much bonus stats he had! He was just dodging with his own skill without magic.

Course this guy was throwing a lot of punches. And John could only dance around so much.

-10 HP!

-5 HP!

-7 HP!

John gave a grunt as Daniel managed to get a few clean hits in his little barrage of hits. Still, not that much damage and he was doing okay. John stepped back, wiping a bit of spit from the corner of his mouth before bouncing ever so slightly to get back into the rhythm of the fight.

“Not bad. You certainly hit better than pencil dick back there,” John said loud enough for Frank to hear.

Fighting Words Activated! 10%!

“You’re pretty scrappy for a worthless nerd,” Daniel said with a genuine smile on his face. “Too bad you’re surrounded.”

John turned and, yep, Frank had walked around the two of them. The lug was grinning like an idiot, pounding his fist into his open palm as he walked closer to John. “You’re fucking dead, Newman. I’m gonna crush you so hard that you’re gonna WISH I just beat you up last week instead.”

John swore internally. This was not good. Sure, Erik had been teaching him how to fight between some of the workouts, but this was really bad. He was surrounded by guys way bigger and way stronger than him, and he didn’t exactly have a perfect fighting style to whip out and use on these guys. He was a dodger currently, not a puncher. He tried to back up, keeping both of them at least in the corner of his vision. Lyndon was still dealing with his nose, so at least that was in his advantage. But still, two guys beating up one nerd in an alleyway was not how John wanted to go out, but he didn’t have a lot of options to deal with. Other than just… fighting it out.

John brought his fists back up, tempting Frank to come at him. But just to make sure…

“You know, Frank, I’ve been expecting this for a few days now,” John said with a smirk. “I’m just surprised that it took you this long. I figured you would have come after me the second you found out.”

“Found out about what?” Frank asked with a growl.

“Oh, about me and Vanessa.”

For a brief moment, you could have heard a pin drop in the alley. Frank froze. Daniel looked at the two of them confused. John smirked devilishly. “What the fuck are you talking about, Newman?”

John faked surprise. “Oh, you… She didn’t tell you? I figured you would have known being her ex and a-”

“SPIT IT OUT, NEWMAN!”

John smiled again. “Well, after our little fight, turns out I was real popular with the student body. And Vanessa, well, both you and I know how power and popularity is a turn- on for her. So when I became popular with the student body, she let me get with her body as well. Haven’t you wondered what she’s been up to since you two… broke up?”

Fighting Words Activated! Crit! 30%!!!

John was, of course, lying through his teeth. He hadn’t talked with Vanessa since that day she’d accosted him. But he knew for a fact through the rumor mill that Frank and Vanessa weren’t a thing at the moment. And that Frank was probably seething about that fact.

Sure enough, if looks could kill, Frank would be serving life in prison with the glare he was giving John. He was huffing like an angry bull, his skin was turning red like a tomato, and John swore the man was about to pop a blood vessel. John just turned to him, and did a mock bow. “My apologies for breaking the news to you, Frankie! But to be fair, I was at least kind enough to not mention how her first orgasm was just from me sticking it in. Reached depths you managed to never get to, at least according to her.”

Fighting Words Activated! Crit! 30%!!!

“I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING THROAT OUT, NEWMAN!” Frank yelled at the top of his lungs before charging straight at John. John, of course, had anticipated this and quickly leapt back, letting Frank crash straight into Daniel at full speed. Well, he tried to dodge perfectly, but Frank’s hand did manage to grab onto John’s shirt as he went down. John stood his ground, and the ratty t-shirt he had brought to the game with his friends tore away. After that, though, Daniel and Frank collapsed into the trash cans of the alleyway, the loud crash echoing for all to hear. John couldn’t help but laugh. And give a swift kick to Frank while he was down.

6 Dmg!

At this point, though, Lyndon had gotten over his nose problems and was charging back in to fight with John. Unfortunately he had not learned his lesson and tried to focus it all on one big sucker punch to John’s head. John’s natural dodge activated, letting the fist fly by him so that he could get a nice uppercut right into Lyndon’s jaw

Critical Hit! 24 Dmg!

John watched as Lyndon staggered back, wobbling on his feet before collapsing onto his butt. “Oh, fuck…” the bully muttered, holding his head. “That’s… oof.”

“Stay down, Lyndon. I won't ask again,” John said, before turning back to face Daniel and Frank. Or rather, just Frank. Daniel was clearly out for the count, collapsed in a heap between a couple of garbage cans. Frank was clearly running on adrenaline, as while the man had gotten a nasty looking cut on his forehead, he seemed to not care and only had rage in his eyes.

“So is it just me, or does it look more like the trash cans won that ro-”

“SHUT UP, NEWMAN!” Frank yelled, charging at John again swinging his fist wildly. John stepped back, the punch coming up short. But it was fast, and John knew if he hadn’t moved that hit would have put him out for the count. Frank then followed up with another attempt, to which John kept backing up and letting Frank tire himself out. Each hit was easily telegraphed, and even when one wasn't, John's dodge would often take over and let it miss. One after the other, miss after miss, John didn’t even bother to punch back. He just let the man tire himself out and soon John would-

John felt the brick of the wall hit his back. He ran out of room to walk.

“YOU’RE DEAD!” Frank yelled, sending a huge punch straight for John’s face. John couldn’t dodge this. He wouldn’t be fast enough. So instead he put up his arms in a cross in front of his face, and steadied himself as best he could.

-20 HP!

John gave a grunt of exertion. While his passives did keep him from actually getting injured, it felt more like a freight train slammed into him than his bully’s fists. But Frank was clearly expecting to hit something softer than John’s magically enhanced body, and thus the hit staggered him back a bit, giving John a moment to capitalize. A moment which John did not waste, quickly breaking his own block and rushing forward to lay hit after hit into Frank. He did not let up, did not give Frank a moment’s respite as he just laid hits into him. Erik had taught him how to throw a punch properly, and his own magic ensured he would be able to do a bit better than someone of his caliber should. And he would be damned if he let this opportunity pass him by. So John hit Frank. Again. And again. And again.

6 Dmg!

8 Dmg!

5 Dmg!

8 Dmg!

5 Dmg!

10 Dmg!

7 Dmg!

10 Dmg!

5 Dmg!

7 Dmg!

John pulled his fist back, sweat pouring off him. His muscles and fists were burning, and he wished that Frank hadn’t accidentally ripped his shirt off him. But while John was feeling a bit exerted, Frank was looking like absolute shit. He was woozy on his feet, the clear starts of bruises forming on him. Then, like Goliath facing off against Daniel, Frank fell back, slamming against the ground with a meaty thud. Frank groaned, and John figured this was as good a time as any to finally get through to the hulking landmass of a bully. So he walked up to Frank and put one foot on Frank’s chest, leaning over him and looking him dead in the eyes.

“Okay, Frank. Let's get one thing perfectly clear,” John said, trying to summon up as much badassery as he could. “This shit is getting real old. You bullied me in all of middle school and high school, and I don’t want my time in Ashcroft or in adulthood to be the same. And I really don’t want you moving along to some other target. So here is what we are going to do.” John leaned in, putting more pressure on Frank’s chest and earning another groan of pain from him. “You are going to stop bullying anyone. And I do mean anyone. If I hear even a whisper of you stealing someone’s lunch money or threatening to beat them up, I will find you and we will do this all again. Only next time, I won’t stop when you fall over. Got it?”

“Mmm… Urgg… Mmmhmmm.”

John smiled. “Good. Now, I gotta go back and get a new shirt. I’d send you a bill for my old one, but frankly I think you’re gonna be out of commission for a few days. With your new broken nose and everything.”

“You… stupid… you didn’t break my nose.”

John gave Frank a soft smile of understanding before pulling back his fist and slamming it into Frank’s nose.

Critical Hit! 24 Dmg!

John felt the familiar feeling of Frank’s nose breaking underneath his fist. “THAT’S for threatening my friends. Everything else was for messing with me and others like me.” John knew he was being brutal, but he was sick to **** of Frank and just wanted to move on. “Remember what we talked about. Oh, and I’ll let Vanessa know how you’re doing. Bye, Frank.”

John then walked away from Frank, pausing for a moment to get the scraps of his shirt from the trashbins. Daniel had, at this point, gotten up but seemed quite keen on not fighting John. He instead just looked at Frank before looking back at John. “Hm. Not bad, Newman,” he said, and gave John a nod of approval. John returned the nod before walking back towards the mall. As the adrenaline wore off, John could feel the soreness in his fists grow a bit more with each passing step. But it felt good, the same way that his body felt sore after a proper workout. Oh, he should probably text Cho and Alex and-

“What. The. Fuck,” Cho said, and John sighed. He turned, and sure enough, there were his friends, at a spot where they could easily see his fight with Frank and watch the whole thing go down. Cho had his jaw to the ground, as well as his phone out to record what he had been witnessing. Alex… was also looking at John, but not in his eyes. Her gaze was about half a foot or so lower.

John gave a small wave to his friends, the scraps of his shirt in his waving hand.