Max walks circles in front of Lloyd's and Percy's bed, explaining with wild gestures how the fight between Teon and Nova went.

  "You should've been there. After he got his ass whooped the first few moments, he tricked her and won!"

  She stops in her tracks and turns towards the two, grinning cockily.

  "I bet he could even beat the two of you."

  "Shut up. You said it yourself, she underestimated him and didn't go all out."

  Lloyd nods at Percy's comment.

  "I say I still beat him."

  "Then let's spar as soon as you are able to train again."

  "Teon says" as he comes out of the bathroom, his hair still wet and dripping slightly down on his black shirt.

  "Want to bet on it?"

  "Sounds like an idea. I bet on you, Teon."

  Max says quickly without losing her cocky grin.

  "Then I'll bet on Lloyd."

  Percy looks over at Kaia, who sits on her bed, legs crossed, hands in her lap, holding her phone.

  "What about you, Kaia? Want to bet too?"

  She looks up, and after a moment of thinking, she just shakes her head.

  A few days later Percy and Lloyd are back on their feet and able to train again. Lloyd and Teon stand, facing each other on the field. Kaia stands between taking on the role of referee.

  "Ready, guys. One, two... fight!"

  After the starting signal is given, Lloyd cries out. Bones ripping through his skin, forming armor over his body, a mask with sharp teeth covering his face, and a big scythe on his right arm.

  "So much protection... Are you that scared of me?"

  Teon asks mockingly before taking on a defensive stance.

  "Not a single bit!"

  Lloyd starts to slowly move towards Teon, dragging the scythe over the ground, leaving scratch marks. Suddenly, in less than a blink of an eye, Teon stands right in front of him, aiming for Lloyd's face. Lloyd ducks under the attack and swings his scythe. Teon blocks the incoming attack before grabbing his opponent's arm and throwing him with a turn over him and slamming the boy into the ground. Lloyd gasps, surprised. But Teon gives him no time to stand up, trying to stomp on Lloyd's head. This one quickly rolls to the side and jumps up, but just as he stands on both feet, Teon is right in front of him again, delivering a right hook to the mask's chin. It breaks instantly on impact, and Lloyd's mind goes blank for a second. The boy falls to the ground; as his consciousness returns, he sees Teon's foot right over him.

  "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

  Teon stomps on his chest, breaking the armor. Lloyd spits out blood before gritting his teeth as the armor repairs itself. He swings the scythe. Teon is forced to jump back to evade the attack; still, he gets slightly cut in the leg. Lloyd uses this moment to get up but struggles to stand straight.

  Percy on the sidelines looks worried, doubting if it was a good idea to underestimate his friend, who even surprised Nova. Max notices his worried expression and smirks.

  "Hey Percy. Do you regret betting on Lloyd now?"

  Lloyd spits out blood again before wiping his mouth and dashing at Teon. He just waits for his friend to come close enough. Then he grabs Lloyd's arm again, twisting the scythe away from him, and gives his friend a hard headbutt, which sends him to the ground a third time. As Lloyd tries to stand up, Kaia steps between the two.

  "Stop! The fight is over. Teon wins."

  Percy's jaw drops, and he shakes his head in disbelief.

  "How?"

  "Well, for the past few days Nova has made my life a living hell; it seems like there's no holding back from her side."

  After a long day of training and showering, the five are back in their room. Grinning, Max stands in front of Percy, looking up at him.

  "I won the bet; come on, give me my money."

  "Yeah, yeah."

  He walks over to his bed and pulls some notes out of it. Max snatches it out of his hand and stuffs it in her pocket.

  "Thank you very much."

  Someone knocks on the door, and Kaia tells them to come in. Lucius steps through the threshold. Everyone quickly lines up and greets him all together.

  "Relax, there is no need to be so formal."

  He looks around the room.

  "Nice, you understand how to keep your place clean. I wish Kai were like that."

  His gaze wanders over the now more relaxed recruits before it stops at Kaia; it remains there for a few seconds before it swings over to Teon.

  "Ah yes, that's why I'm here. Teon, please come with me."

  "O...okay."

  Lucius leaves the room again.

  "What did you do now?"

  "I have no idea, Max."

  Teon follows Lucius outside and closes the door behind himself; he hurries to catch up to Lucius.

  "What do you need me for?"

  "It's a surprise."

  Teon swallows hard. He follows Lucius through many hallways he has never seen before until they reach a rather big door. Lucius places his hand on a digital pad on its side, and the door opens. Behind the door is a big room with a concrete platform in the middle that's about half a meter higher than the rest of the floor. On this platform sits Kai.

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  "Hey Teon!"

  His voice is excited while he waves at his friend. Teon stares at him, surprised.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "He is here because I want to test something."

  Lucius walks past Teon into the room. Kai stands up as Lucius stops in front of the platform.

  "I want you to fight. Don't hold back, Teon."

  Teon swallows again before entering the room completely and jumping up on the platform. Kai smiles brightly.

  "I have high hopes!"

  Without waiting for a start signal, Teon uses a flash step to get as close as possible to Kai. But this one suddenly stands behind his friend and delivers a kick in the back of Teon's knee, causing the boy to fall forward.

  "Oh shit."

  Kai looks over to Lucius.

  "Too much?"

  Lucius calmly shakes his head. While still on the ground, Teon spins on his hands and kicks Kai in the stomach. Kai slides a few steps back on the ground. Despite this, he shows no sign of being hurt. Teon quickly moves around the platform, using multiple flash steps, trying to confuse Kai. Then suddenly Kai uses one himself and just grabs Teon out of the air. Holding him by the neck before slamming him into the ground, breaking the platform beneath.

  "Fuck!"

  Teon spits out before grabbing Kai by the collar while he still lies on the ground. He places his foot against Kai's stomach and hurls the boy over himself, slamming his back into the ground as well. Jumping up, he tries to stomp on Kai's head. Kai grabs Teon's foot and throws him over before standing up and gathering distance.

  "Why aren't you using any ability, Kai?"

  "Sorry to say it like that, but you don't seem to be worth the effort."

  "What?!"

  Teon glares at his friend, taking insult in the comment. He dashes at Kai, who effortlessly dodges all of the incoming attacks. He gathers distance again and sighs, looking at Lucius.

  "COME ON! USE ONE!"

  Teon yells. Lucius on the side smiles, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He gives Kai a small nod. Kai turns his attention back to his friend.

  "Fine."

  Kai places the palms of his hands together, pointing them at Teon.

  "Blood drill."

  A stream of blood shoots out from between his hands. Teon's eyes widen, and he jumps to the side, evading the attack. He starts to move in a zigzag to get closer to Kai. Kai stops the attack for a second to give Teon false hope that it ended before starting it again, just as Teon is only a few steps away from him. The blood hits Teon point-blank and sends him flying to the other end of the platform. The boy manages to stay on it with just the tips of his feet. His torso hangs forward, and his gaze is directed to the ground. Lucius looks at him intensely.

  "Now... come on. I want to see what happens next!"

  The man thinks to himself. Suddenly Teon throws his head back and breathes in deeply. In his shirt is a big hole, where the blood attack hit him.

  In this moment Teon could feel his body reacting to the danger Kai posed, recognizing him as something more dangerous than any nightmare he had ever come across before. His gaze is directed towards his friend. He raises his hand, fingers spread slightly. Immediately after, five concentrated streams of blood shoot out of the fingertips, directed at Kai.

  Lucius smirks, satisfied.

  Because of Teon's ability, his body automatically copied and changed the one used by Kai. Creating one of his own, one only for him to use.

  Kai's eyes widen, and he yelps out excitedly. He dodges every incoming attack and runs around Teon, whose arm follows Kai's movements, the blood carving deep marks into the thick concrete walls of the room. At one point Kai stops and places his palms back together. His blood clashes with the five streams of Teon.

  To Lucius, the outcome of this was clear from the beginning. The only reason for him to let the two boys fight was to see Teon's innate ability in action and gift him something new to fight with.

  Kais attack overpowers Teons quickly, and he hits him again, this time with much more force. Teon gasps out as his back slams into a wall of the room, leaving a crater.

  "Okay. That's enough, Kai!"

  Lucius walks over to Teon and helps the boy to his feet.

  "You did amazing!"

  A woman and a man enter the room, supporting Teon while walking.

  "They will bring you to the hospital wing."

  Kai's gaze follows the three.

  "Did I overdo it?"

  He asks with regret in his voice. Lucius steps next to him.

  "No, you did perfectly."