Inner-Self 4

CHAPTER 1 Overdevloped Power

Hokoshi Sukahara was a 27 year-old man that had mastered his outra in such a few months as he lived alone up in the mountains. His other’s name was Discord Dust, a thin being in bronze armor with a large steel sword on it’s back with a helmet covering it’s face. “Alright Discord…it’s time to show the world our power. For far too long I’ve been living up in this small house above that small town and it’s time I take over. I hoped a fellow outra-user would fix the problems of this world, but seems I must do this myself”

Brushing his brown hair from his hazel eyes, he levitated up beside his other, taking off at great speed. After a few minutes of flying, he landed in the street of the small town called: Akari. A man driving up the road stopped when Hokoshi came into view. He honked his horn a few times when the user had his outra use a fierce wave of force from it’s fist to send the driver and her car, flipping threw the streets before crashing into an old dumpster.

All the citizens began panicking, running in random directions. As the villain walked through the streets toward his objective, the police came racing through the streets before blocking his path. Three of the four officers aimed their guns toward him demanding he put his hands up and come quietly. As Sukahara put his hands up to submit, his outra came into view of the men. They instantly began firing rounds head-on at the super-natural being. However, their bullets seem to have no effect against Discord’s armor.

“Poor fools, after years of being aware of outras, you still think guns can do anything against them? Either your other opponents didn’t know how to use their powers correctly or had useless outras. Mine is the prime example of the perfect being” The three officers lowered their pistols while their fourth comrade walked past their car and stood facing their opponent, he had blonde hair brushed to the right side with ocean blue eyes. That’s when a buff being with gray skin dressed in black kind of looking as if made of stone, manifested beside him.

“I am officer Harris Ogana and my outra Heroic Chain will stop you here before you endanger the lives of anyone else!” Hokoshi just looked at him as if he were no threat. “One officer can’t stall me for that long, but I’m interested to see how far you’ve come in using it.

Harris sighed before his outra pushed off with his feet, lunging toward his target. As his other threw a quick blow toward the opponent, Dust blocked it with his left wrist. A slight quake filled the city for a moment before stopping. “I’ll admit you have strength and maybe precision but your speed could use some work” Smacking the target’s hand out of the way, Sukahara struck the officer’s other in the stomach, sending him past the police car a few meters away.

“I bet you thought this armor would make me even slower than you and I’d have to focus on pure power. But sadly you’d be wrong, my armor may lower my overall speed, but not enough to really lower my fighting capabilities. If this is all you have to offer in terms of power, then I’ve already won this battle”

“Come on Harris! Give him everything you got!” One of his fellow officers cried out. Ogana nodded focusing on his assailant. “I will show you that I’m no joke!” Heroic Chain’s body outlined with a gold aura when suddenly it threw it’s hands out in his direction, shooting golden chains right for him made out of the outra’s own energy.

The officers cheered as the chains wrapped around Discord Dust’s body which paralyzed it’s user as a result. “Impressive, seems you’ve been holding back. If you’re not going to hold back any further, neither will I” All watched as the armored being broke free from the restraints and dashed right for the opposing other. Chain was struck rapidly in the abdomen, each strike sending a rush of pain through both the outra and it’s user.

Once Hokoshi pulled his outra back to him, the policeman fell to his knees, spitting out blood onto the street. “D-damn, I’ve never had to use my outra, more or less lose with them!” His comrades gasped as the man hit the ground motionless. “You monster! He was a great officer and didn’t deserve to die!” Without a word, the tyrant had his outra slam it’s palm onto the pavement, sending a shockwave throughout the small town.

Everything such as people and loose objects when flying across the city with multiple buildings falling to the ground with a loud crash. “That takes care of them, now to continue my objective”

Meanwhile…

Sumiko stood on the balcony of a hotel he was staying at. Since he was always moving around, he didn’t feel the need to buy a house. The hotel employers let him stay free as long as he helped around the hotel and kept that area of the city safe from evil outras or criminals even if they didn’t possess others. His ally that helped him nearly a year ago decided to join him on his quest to rid the world of selfish outra users.

He knew he couldn’t wipe them all out, but it wouldn’t stop him from helping those that need it. Just then his friend came out onto the small balcony. “So what brings you out here? You’re normally only out here if there’s something wrong or you’re having Cassadora search the city for anything happening that might need stopping”

“You’re right on both accounts, I feel as though something’s wrong so I’m having my outra scan the city for any suspicious activity”

“I feel the same, but you might be overreacting, I’m sure if something was happening the news would’ve caught it by now” The man switched on their T.V when an emergency announcement broadcasted on their screen: “Warning, a man with super-natural abilities has taken over Colorado, we have no update on his next course of action and any officers that made it to the scene were defeated in moments”

“Looks like your gut was right, we just weren’t looking in the right city, haha”

“Let’s go Aiden Frost” They packed quickly since they always traveled light. After a few hours of driving they reached their destination, the outskirts of the city already seemed effected by the villain’s take-over. As they made their way toward the town hall, they found a women dressed in dark blue leather with blonde hair and blue eyes.

“That’s close enough, if you don’t want to be slaughtered, I’d suggest you both turn back” Sumiko summoned Cassadora to his side. “We’ve come to stop the tyrant hurting or pushing the citizens of this city out of their homes. He as no right. As a fellow outra user, I and my partner will stop him before he makes things worse”

“How cute, but you should know I too have an outra of my own” Suddenly a women with pale skin dressed in black armor with red eyes and black horns on her head appeared. “Behold my outra, Alpha Vega. She’ll defeat you both with ease” Both heroes stood ready as the dark being dashed toward them. Adian had his other Aqua Titan fire shards of blue crystals right for the coming foe. Just as his attack was moments from contact, her outra vanished in a mist of black smoke.

“Crap, where did she go!?” Using his left eyes for seeing through his outra’s eye while keeping his right eye normal, he looked around for his foe. That’s when Toyoko saw her emerging from a rift right behind them. Without hesitation, he had his robotic other turn it’s arm backwards towards there target, firing a powerful blast while keeping the rest of it’s body facing the opposite direction.

Alpha was struck by the powerful blast as the street lit up in a flash of light. The pair looked at the women who was clutching her right shoulder with her left hand, shaking from the pain. “Looks like she took a clean hit, but the fact that she can still stand probably means she can still fight as well”

“You piece of trash! I’ll make you regret fighting me! Her outra threw it’s arms out, creating a Circe of purple flames. “Kill them Alpha Vega!” The succubus-like being clapped her hands together, causing a colossal fireball to come down from the clouds. The assailant slowly backed away to gain some distance while Sumiko and Aiden were trapped within the circle of flames.

Aqua titan tried charging their attacker but was stopped by a transparent barrier around the flames. “Damn it, let’s see just how strong this barrier is!” His other began throwing a barrage of strikes against the barrier but was ineffective. Toyoko was out of options, he threw his hand out in the direction of his ally commanding his outra Cassadora to split into several pieces and attach themselves around Aiden’s body.

The pair watched as the massive sphere of fire impacted the barrier. The transparent field began to crack apart from the immense power of the incoming attack. Suddenly it broke through, Toyoko could only watch as it came closer. His armored comrade had Aqua stop the giant sphere with only his palms. It’s power was so great, his outra began to get forced down, the weight causing the concreate below them to crack apart.

“C-come on” Aiden groaned trying to push the attack away. Finally his outra managed to push it away, causing it to ascend into the air before exploding just outside the atmosphere. Toyoko cheered for his ally as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Sumiko turned to see their enemy on her knees nearly out of power, she could barley keep her outra manifested.

“You little shits! How dare you do this to me! I deserve to rule along side our lord Hokoshi!”

“Then he can join you in the afterlife for being such a heartless person” As Cassadora reformed beside it’s user, Aqua Titan dashed across the city street, punching her across the face with immense power. She went staggering several feet before landing on the sidewalk motionless. “There, now let’s hurry to her “lord” before he can take another action”

The pair ran up the steps of the town hall before Sumiko had a plan: “You go in through the front door, I’ll find another way in and have my outra scout ahead of me” Frost agreed and walked in, the lobby was entirely empty with no sign of life anywhere. Looking at the index, he saw that the top floor was obviously the boss’ office so the hero made his way up the stairs not trusting the elevator.

At that moment, a boy with dark black hair and blue eyes wearing a black hoodie stood outside the town hall’s entrance with a plain expression on his face. (I can sense three consciousness within the building, I assume this is where that man is that’s been causing chaos) He slowly approached the entrance with one hand in his hoodie’s pocket…

On the roof, Toyoko found a glass window on the surface. Searching the window he couldn’t find a handle to open it so he decided to risk it and shattered the window to get inside, all there was were a line of doors with red carpeted floor. He dropped down onto the pile of glass below, luckily his shoes kept his feet from getting pierced. “Hopefully no one heard that. Now to find the tyrant and put an end to his future plans”

The boy found an empty office to wait inside while sending his robotic other through the halls in pieces to lower the chance of him getting spotted. After searching multiple empty rooms, Toyoko decided to use his scanning ability to try and locate their target. After a few moments, his outra’s eye found him and put itself back together just outside the door.

Taking a deep breath as he watched through his outra’s vision, Cassadora smashed down the door standing just 20 feet from his target. “Ah, yet another outra user come to take me down for my crimes against this city correct?” With his other’s computerized voice he responded: “That’s right, I’m here to stop you before anyone else gets hurt”

Hokoshi began to laugh as he summoned his outra beside him. “You honestly think your stupid robot can stand up against my outra Discord Dust” That’s when Aiden and the hooded youth burst through the door standing on both sides of Cassadora. “If you think one enemy is nothing, then let’s see you take on three!” As Frost summoned is thin blue other, the new ally summoned an outra that was tall, buff and had two faces that looked like masks with one body. It’s body was like looking at a milky way, dark-pink with what looked like stars all over it’s body.

“Wow, your outra is surprisingly mesmerizing. However, appearances are a small factor in combat. So let’s see what you got”

“My creature’s name is Dark Lock and will show you the error of your ways” Instantly both Dark and Titan charged the armored outra head-on, just as they prepared to attack, Discord elbowed titan away while backhanding his ally. Both others smashed through the walls of the office, letting in rays of light from outside.

“Hmph, seems this room’s too small to fight you all. Very well…let us take this fight outside” Hokoshi walked downstairs while his other jumped out the window across the street from his targets. His bronze armor shined in the light as they faced each other. “I have a plan, I need you to fight him one on one until I can find an opening to use my special ability against his outra” The boy said through his other.

Once more Cassadora split apart, becoming armor around Aqua’s body to multiply it’s defense and physical attack. Sumiko continued to watch from within the town hall while the others were outside near their outras. “Let’s go!” Frost cried out as his other dashed forward, Discord opened his palm as a sword formed in his grasp. “Yes, let us go, I shall show you the penalty of selfishness”

An abrupt force of wind rushed toward the hero from Dust merely slicing the air in front of him. Titan managed to evade it just in time to watch the wave shatter a house into a pile of blocks as if it were nothing. This made Aiden uneasy, but he knew they were the only ones who could stop this man before hundreds or even thousands were killed by his hand.

Pulling himself together, he sealed his other within a transparent barrier around his body to boost his defense. Aqua went in for an attack, throwing a full-force blow aimed at Discord’s face. However, the villain blocked it with his sword. The force of Aiden’s attack shook the entire city. Hokoshi watched from the town hall steps as his outra deflected every attack with only his one handed blade.

Frost was quickly becoming infuriated by his foe’s constant taunting by just blocking instead of actually attacking. “Very well, if you’re not going to take me seriously…then I’ll use my mastery techniques I’ve kept hidden until a battle such as this arose. Behold…ice golem!” Everyone watched as ice formed around Aqua Titan to form a golem creature. It let out a loud groan before taking a step forward. It’s step shook the area around them from it’s mass.

“Heh, you think a block of ice can stop Discord!? How dare you think less of my outra!” The armored other griped it’s sword tightly, swinging the blade horizontally in his opponent’s direction. Once more a vast rush of wind hit the monster’s stomach but had barley any effect. “Damn it! Very well, I too shall use my full power to take you out!”

His sword was utterly engulfed in blue flames. “Time to end you!” His other ascended above the golem at incredible speed, going in for an all-out attack. At the same time, the golem clinched it’s fist and throw a slow but powerful punch right back. Their clash was far greater than before, sending Aiden a few feet before being caught by Dark Lock. All were shocked to see a large crater around the two outras.

That’s when the unknown boy decided to wait for their next clash to use his outra. Frost could tell what his ally was thinking and had the golem throw both arms down in an all out smash. Right as Dust jumped back out of the way, he felt a hand touch his back. “Ability seal!” Hokoshi felt a sudden pain in his body causing him to fall to one knee breathing heavily.

“What-what’s going on? Surely a mere touch isn’t enough to do this kind of damage to me!” That’s when he realized his outra was standing motionless like a statue, the flames gone from it’s blade. “This is blasphemous! What have you done!?”

(My outra doesn’t seem to react to my will like it should!)

“It’s simple, with my outra I cut the physic link between your outra and your mind. You haven’t lost it as you can see since your other is still in physical form, you just can’t command it any longer” A look of both fear and anger washed over him. “You bastard!” In a blind rage he ran up to the boy throwing a punch. That’s when Dark appeared between them, catching the man by the arm.

“I wouldn’t even need to use my outra to counter that attack, but I don’t need to waste more energy than I have to on a single opponent. If you’re this determined on killing us and hurting the weak…then you neither deserve an outra or to live. I normally resist the thought of such a sinful action, but even if you were put in jail, I’m sure you’d find away to escape or hurt wrongly convicted people in their as well. In that case I’ve determined your fate. Shall you burn in the afterlife for your greed and rage” Sumiko and Aiden watched as the boy looked away, his outra slamming it’s palm against the villain’s chest.

Dark Lock used it’s ability to cause Hokoshi’s heart to stop. After a few seconds, the rage and fear left the villain’s eyes as he hit the ground motionless. Discord Dust faded into wisps of red light until fading away completely. Toyoko was in shock for a moment before snapping out of it and coming outside.

“I would normally lecture you about how killing him was uncalled for, but I guess even after he lost his power he tried to attack you there was no reasoning with him and in a way you were right. Just don’t do it unless you’re absolutely sure ending their life is the right thing to do”

Sumiko came up to them as Cassadora rebuilt it’s self then went back within it’s owner’s body. “I’m with Aiden on that, but aside from that misdemeanor you did it and probably saved us both. I don’t think Frost would’ve been able to beat him on his own if it wasn’t for your unique ability”

“I’m glad I could aid you in the fight. Like me and probably many outra-users, I heard about him on the news and knew I had to stop him myself. Though I’m glad I didn’t have to face such a monster alone. My other might seem powerful, but I use him for support or surprise attacks normally to save power” Just then a news helicopter came into view, landing just a few meters away as a news team ran up to him asking his name. “My name…is Collen Star” They asked how it felt to save the city, even the world from such a corrupt man.

“It’s great knowing I spared hundreds of lives from such a horrible fate at the hand of that men. I’m also thankful I had friends to help me with the battle. If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t be here” The news report turned to the camera announcing: “You heard him viewers! Thanks to him and his friends, they defeated the monster Hokoshi!”

Once the press left, Toyoko took their new friend back to their hotel where they asked him to tell them about his life and how he learned of outras…

“I’m 19 years old, growing up I lived in a middle class house with parents that were at work often, they would just leave money on the counter. Before I was 13 I had a sitter called Aurora, she had dark blue hair with green eyes. She was really nice and actually paid attention to me. But once I was old enough to be home alone, that’s how it was from 13-16. But one day, my father didn’t come home. I learned he had got himself into trouble with the wrong gang. As you can guess, this put a big toll on my mother. She began to drink and go to bars to fill the void left by my father’s love.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

She changed a lot and wasn’t the mother I knew anymore. All the stress from her abuse and loss of my father, I finally ran away with just the small things I could carry in my backpack. That’s when…I was found in the rain by a group of thugs…”

[Flash Back]

Collen stood in the dark of the night as rain flooded the streets. Lighting filled the streets reviling five armed men blocking his path while behind him was a dead end. “What’s wrong little guy? Don’t be scared. As long as you do what we say we won’t hurt you” One of them stepped close. He wore a gray hoodie with blue jean. He had pale white skin.

“N-no, get away!” But still the gangster drew closer with his knife. G-get away!!” Suddenly a transparent formed in front of the kid as if a ghost was protecting him. One of them cried out: “The brat has an outra!” They prepared to fire when the dark-pink arm grabbed their guns at super-human speed before emptying and crushing all their bulliets.

Collen didn’t fully understand what was happening but knew something was protecting him. He made it his goal to stay strong for whatever it was that was fighting for him. All but one ran away in fear. The last one to remain was the gang leader. “You little shit! I don’t care if you have one of those monsters or not! I’m going to kill you right here!”

His assailant lunged at the young boy who was on his hands and knees from the immense stress the outra was having on his body, but he knew he had to keep his creature manifested long enough. As the man was about to stab the boy in the head, the transparent hand grabbed him by the throat, flinging him into a small store nearby. Once his outra faded, he could feel his strength returning.

Collen rose to his feet to find his attacker dead from smashing through the brick wall an landing on a glass counter, shards of glass impaled his body. As much as he knew the man deserved it, Star began to cry as he fell to his knees. (Why!? Why did I kill him!?” I didn’t mean it! To think this “outra” would do something so horrible!”

[End Of Flash Back]

“For months I didn’t dare give into my outra’s power…That’s when almost a year later, I heard a cry for help and witnessed a poor girl getting threatened by a man with a knife. The memories of that night came flooding back. My body suddenly moved without thinking as I rushed him. Without warning I could feel that stressful feeling in my body as the arm came out like a spirit once more.

I heard a gunshot and felt a surge of pain in my wrist. But that wasn’t my focus at the moment. I threw a punch in sync with my outra even though my physical body was out of range, the outra’s arm was close enough to make contact. It struck him with such force, he went staggering several feet away. To shorten it, I realized I could learn to protect people with my outra without taking a life without a reason”

“Wow, I can’t believe you went through all that. I’m glad you realized to accept your outra as a part of you instead of rejecting you. In the beginning an outra was a physic awaking, concentration and studying could manifest it’s physical form. But what I’ve also heard is the children of an outra-awakened person can develop one without even realizing it”

“Hmm, interesting”

CHAPTER 2 Outra Alliance

After a month of being a team, Sumiko had an idea: “We need organization, we’ll call it the: “Outra Protection Organization. O.P.O” Collen looked at him as if it were a dumb idea while Frost thought about it for a moment… “Not a bad idea actually. Just how big of an organization are we talking? Base, state or U.S?”

“International, we need outras in any spot we can in case there’s a problem in a different country, or we need someone there quickly”

“Seems you’ve really thought about this. Where would our base be to start out with? I’m sure it’ll take time before we can grow across the U.S alone” Aiden asked.

“Would have to be Kansas, it’s the middle of the U.S, plus plenty of forest areas to build or base away from the city and people that would plan to destroy it” Toyoko responded. “Alright, all that’s left is how are we gonna get so many outra user’s attention?”

“Leave that to me” Star answered…

After a few days Sumiko and Aiden found a large open area in the forest to begin working on their base. They didn’t have funds for steel or metal, so they used the wood around them to build a temporary one, using their outras to cut and prepare the wood. Meanwhile Collen headed to the international news station that broadcasts news all over the world. Using his power to hide his outra from non-users, it made it’s way into the room where a young man was giving the news.

Placing his palm on the back of the man’s head, he sent messages into their head as if talking through them. “Lastly, an organization is looking for fellow outra-users that want to help or protect others from selfish users that plan to attack and harm others. Call this number or come to Kansas to join our alliance. For all you tyrants abusing your powers, we will find you all and stop your chaos”

With his message sent, he made his long way back to his ally’s base…Collen helped built the base with his outra but paused to answer any calls about the message he sent. Most calls were of fellow heroic users wanting to join the alliance when he suddenly got a different call: “Is this the organization number? Your alliance is a joke and we’ll brake you until you submit!” They then hung up and he put his phone back in his pocket.

This didn’t surprise him, he new giving out their announcement would also draw a lot of enemies. “How’s our base coming along? Seems we’ve gained a new foe and he’s already threatened us” Frost assured him one threat is nothing to lose sleep over. “Our capabilities will grow stronger so long as we train often. Once we’re about 50, that’s when our outra won’t become any stronger no matter how much training we put into it”

1 Week Later…

With their super-natural speed and power, they managed to finish the base just hours before the first group of volunteers showed up. “Hello, my name is Collen Star, me and the others will be asking each of you questions and testing your abilities to see where you should be put in the organization” They all nodded ready to be evaluated.

“First off: Why do you want to join us?” Each of them said they wanted to protect the world from evil users. “Good, next: Do you accept yourself as an outra user?” Most of them said yes except for one that was unsure of his answer. “Why are you unsure of yourself?” Collen asked walking over to him. The boy looked around his age, he had short blonde hair with brown eyes.

“A year ago me and my brother Kyle were walking through town when a drunk driver came speeding toward them out of control. I was still new to my physic ability, so when I summoned my outra to try and stop the car I was too late, I was stuck standing there frozen as my brother’s body laid motionless in his own blood. Since then I haven’t used my outra unless I really need to”

Letting out a sigh Star put his hand on the boy’s shoulder responding: “I know how it feels to not accept this part of you when you were given it through birth, but I learned to accept it. When I was a kid, I accidently killed a man trying to hurt me. The memory haunted me for so long until I saved someone with it’s power, ever since then I’ve made it my goal to improve my other’s limits and help those that need it or deserve it. Your brother would’ve wanted you to help those in need. As you get older, your abilities will grow and you’ll save many people”

The young boy wiped his tears and slightly smiled in hopes to become the hero his brother wanted him to be. “Now, one question left before we get to the physical test. Are you ok with moving around often in case multiple situations occur?” Which they all accepted the possibility. “Now for the physical test, I want you to line up in a horizontal line so each of you can step up and have your abilities evaluated. You can choose who you want to fight for the test”

First up was a 30 year-old man named Jiraya Keodo. He was bald with a black biker jacket, blue jeans and blue eyes. He was pretty well built for his age. “Guess I’ll go first, behold my outra: Rocky Engine! In an abrupt flash of light, a black motorcycle with a flaming skull on the front of it formed in between him and the trio of heroes.

“Alright, who will be your opponent?” Star questioned. Keodo thought for a moment then chose Toyoko as his foe. He was surprised he was picked but summoned his other ready for the battle. His tall buff robot stood prepared when the bike took off at great speed. Cassadora ascended into the air, firing bullets from it’s left hand. Surprisingly the outra was much faster than a normal vehicle.

Using his precise scanner, Cassadora locked onto the fast moving bike, firing a red beam from it’s eyes. The others watched as it struck Keodo’s back tire, causing it to flip out of control. Quickly he returned his outra before he sustained any more damage. “I’m impressed, your other is fast for it only being a bike. Does it have a range limit or can you guide it as far as you want?”

“The farther away it is the more stress it puts on my body. But, I’m sure with practice I can increase it’s range” Frost smiled responding: “Good, you’ll be the one helping members get to their location faster if they can’t use their outras to get there on time. Also, every few days I want you to test your range as much as you can. Don’t burn yourself out but also no slacking either”

They welcomed him to the team as the next one stepped up. It was a girl who looked to be 20, she had her light brown hair in a ponytail to keep it out of her face and from getting tangled. “Hello, my name is Ciara Holamay. This is my outra Lively Gem” The group saw a being that looked like a harpy or angel. Basically a female being with pink skin and dark blue wings. Ciara decided to challenge Aiden to a duel. Her foe summoned his other waiting for her move.

Lively Gem vanished in a flash of light. Aqua titan waited, looking around carefully when her outra emerged behind his. They clashed blows as their fists struck one another’s. Frost felt a sudden jolt travel from his hand to his heart, but brushed it aside thinking it was nothing. Taking a deep breath to keep her focused, Ciara had her other unleash an onslaught of punched directed at Titan. Frost managed to counter each of her coming attacks, but as each attack made contact wit his outra, the tingling grew stronger throughout his body.

He had no choice but to pull back his outra. It felt as though he drank an entire cup of sugar, his heart was racing to the point he was hyperventilating. A few of them were looking at him with worried expressions. “Are you alright!?” Sumiko asked in a worried tone with his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Yea don’t worry, her outra seem to cause my body to spaz out with each blow as if I was on a sugar rush. Your other’s adrenaline effect could come in hand in a fight. Something like that would cause the enemy to lose their concentration. She deserves to join us”

“Thank you so much, I’ll do my best to aid you all in battle. Though, this is only the 2nd fight my outra’s been in” That made Collen curious and he asked: “Can we know what the first battle was?” She told them how a boy tried forcing himself on her and without warning her outra appeared and knocked the guy of his feet.

“I guess you’d just call it self-defense instead of a battle. The blow hurt him a little more than it should, but when the staff saw on camera of him trying to kiss and grab me, they considered it self-defense. Doubt they’d believe me if I told them I didn’t even mean to hit him, but rarely anyone in my school has an outra so they’d probably think I was lying. Anyway, after that day I practiced for months with my other until I could make her fully manifest, then control her attacks so I wouldn’t hurt anyone or thugs more than I had too”

Everyone clapped for her achievement of how far she had came as an outra-user. “Who’s next?” Frost asked standing there with his arms crossed. There was a slight pause before another young man stepped up. He had black hair brushed to the right covering one of his brown eyes. He wore a black jacket and jeans. “My name is Noah Mason…and this is my outra, Black Moro. A skeleton dressed in a black cloak with a top hat formed beside him.

His outra also held a cane as if ready for a fancy party. The trio was interested at the sight of this new being. It had a unique look to it. “Alright, who are you fighting?” Toyoko asked as the three of them summoned their other to their side. A smile appeared across his face as he said: “I’ll take on both Frost and Collen” At first they thought it was a joke but they realized he was serious, Noah stood motionless with his outra starring at them.

“If you think you can take us both on then be our guest” Aiden responded. Sumiko backed away giving them space. “You first” The challenger announced, standing confidently in front of them. Taking the initiative, Aiden had Aqua charged their target at near full speed. At the last second Moro slammed the bottom of the cane onto the pavement. Titan was frozen in time along with everyone in several meters.

(Looks as though my time stop ability is getting better, though the power tends to deteriorate my stamina rather fast, so I should hurry and attack) As Black Moro tossed his cane into the air, it froze mid-air moments after leaving it’s user’s grip. Quickly the undead moved up to his foes and boosted his physical attacks by covering his boney hands in his own energy. With all his power he struck Aqua repeatedly until his stamina finally gave out.

Time began moving once more as Aiden’s outra shook as if still getting punched then staggered back a few feet next to it’s user. “He’s not all talk” Frost commented holding his hand against his wounded abdomen. This excited Star for his turn to attack. Mason. With his outra exhausted, Dark Key moved full speed toward his target. Before the man’s outra could even attempt to stop time, Key grabbed the opponent by his face.

“Power siphoning” A golden light lit up around his palm as the small amount of power remaining within the other was drained away, Noah fell to one knee with his outra returning to him. “I-I guess I lost” He laughed out of breath. The other two returned theirs as well and clapped in surprise.

“Well done, you managed to hurt Frost and if it wasn’t for your other running out of stamina, I’m sure you could’ve injured me as well. All you need to do is train to extend how much power you can use at one time”

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to train as hard as I can” The boy bowed then sat on the side-walk as they came to the last volunteer. “Alright, looks like you’re the last one to test. I’d be happy to be your opponent” Collen said holding his hand out to him. The friend smiled taking his hand to get up off the side-walk.

“I’m Mira Zomara, allow me to show you my outra. I will accept you as part of me” Closing his eyes his other emerged from a flash of light. A being with blue skin, white irises and a cloak made of water that flowed like a river. Once more the others saw the outra as a unique one.

“This is my outra: Rovale Dimica!” Star stood ready when a line of sharp ice shards surrounded Aqua in a perfect circle around him. Clinching his fist, the projectile shot toward him in every direction. Clapping his hands together, the sheer force caused the spikes to shatter to pieces before they could strike him. “Looks like I’ll have to try something else. Let’s see you stop this!”

Rovale charged lightning into his two long fingers when he also added flames into the attack, shooting a fierce bolt of lightning engulfed in flames. Dark Key didn’t move from it’s spot, but Star wasn’t sure if he could handle such an attack. Without much time to think, his outra threw his left hand out in an attempt to absorb the charged attack, but in an instantaneous change in course, the bolt of lightning struck the outra with flames bonding his hands like cuffs made of flames.

“Alright I give up” Collen announced with a slight laugh. Mira smiled, happy he had won the duel and so quickly.

3 Days Later…

“Alright, since there’s a total of seven of us so one group will have four instead of three…Let’s see, squad one will be: Me, Star and Noah. Team two will be: Jiraya, Ciara, Sumiko and Mira” Aiden announced. “We might switch around depending on the situation, but for now we’ll see how it goes. Anyone have a rejection to my choice?” He looked at everyone and no one said anything.

After a few hours of scouting with Sumiko and checking the news for any suspicions activity, they located two threats coming from different directions toward their base. Squad one took the one coming from the north while team two took the one coming from the south.

“So, what kind of threat are we dealing with?” Jiraya asked as he road his outra while the others flew through the air. “Well they were too far for Cassadora to fully analyze there threat level, but I know a threat when they get in several miles of my robot’s scanner” They all were curious to see who their target would be. After about five minutes, they located the coming threat. Without any warning, a dark figured came rushing toward them at immense speed. It slammed into Sumiko with a punch. Toyoko felt his right arm utterly go limp after he jumped away from their enemy.

“D-damn it! He’s incredibly strong to break my arm in one attack” The hero cried out gripping his limp arm with his only usable one at this point. They saw the outra looking like a black robot with a red core in the center of it’s chest. Sumiko stood on the sidelines to add as support since he can’t attack head-on with one arm.

“I’ll take you on” Mira announced stepping forward. He summoned Rovale to his side when the villain began to speak through his other: “So, you’re the group of outra-users trying to help the world with your special abilities…Well I’m sorry, but I can’t allow this. For I will use my powers to wipe out all who don’t deserve their powers!” The armored robot lunched toward Zomara instead of his outra in hopes to end his first challenger.

In a swift move, Dimica appeared in front of the incoming assailant, causing a fierce wave of force to slow down and send the outra staggering backwards, smashing into an oak tree a few meters away. “You’re good, but I have tricks up my sleeve as well” With a snap of his fingers, chains made of dark-red flames sprung out from the dirt, wrapping around Rovale’s arms and neck. “Heh, looks like I have you. Time to finish you off. Oh, how unprofessional of me, I forgot to tell you the name of my outra. He is called: “Mystic Arc” Now, let us proceed”

Meanwhile…

“Looks like you’ve come to me” A women’s voice commented just a few trees away in the shady forest. The group of heroes came to a halt once they heard her. Aiden summoned Titan to search the area at a fast rate. Just then, he saw two red eyes before becoming paralyzed in place. “It must be her outra’s ability!” Star announced as the boy sealed Aqua within a barrier in case their target attempted to kill his other while still stunned.

“If you won’t come out, then I’ll make you” That’s when Dark Lock unleashed blasts of energy, taking out trees. Once a mile of the forest was wiped out, they spotted the women standing beside her outra that was a light blue skeleton with red eyes dressed in a black hooded cloak.

“Might as well introduce myself, my name is Kaylah Rioko and this is my outra Corona. I’ll take you all out without any effort” Star waited patiently when her outra’s eyes lit up, that’s when a tornado formed in between them, making it’s way toward Key and the others. (Damn, my other can’t absorb wind, what should I do?) That’s when Moro once again slammed his cane’s bottom onto the ground causing time to come to a stand-still.

Quickly he placed his hand against Star’s shoulder, allowing him to move within the frozen time. Dark key moved up to their target, striking them in the abdomen. Right as he reached out to seal away Corona’s powers, time abruptly began to move once more. As Collen turned to see Moro already drained of stamina. (Damn it, how’d he run out of power so fast!?)

As he turned back toward his opponent, he felt a great pain brushing across his jaw. He realized Corona had struck his outra in the jaw with immense force. The boy spat out blood falling to one knee as his other staggered a few feet before catching it’s balance. (This isn’t good and doubt Noah can use his time stop again for a while) Aqua Titan was still paralyzed so both Key and Moro charged their assailant with all they had.

Corona closed his left eye, suddenly causing an explosion. That’s when Noah transported his ally’s outra out of the way just in time. (He’s gone, where did he-) Before she could finish, Dark Key repapered inches from the other’s face. It grabbed Corona by the face. “Ability seal” Kaylah watched as her outra stood motionless as the hero called his other back to his side.

“How dare you infect my outra with yours! I’ll make you pay!” But no matter what she did her outra wouldn’t move. “Time to finish you off” Collen announced, sending Key to attack once more. She couldn’t move fast enough to dodge the coming attack. He punched her rapidity before sending her staggering across the forest, smashing into a tree. “There hopefully she’s done.

They saw Aqua finally free of the paralysis and returned to it’s user. “Her outra is powerless. Hope the others are doing well”

Meanwhile…

“Time to make you submit to the power of my outra” As electricity surged through the bounds, the assailant watched as his target began to shake in pain. That’s when Lively Gem emerged behind Mystic, striking them in the back. The robotic other released it’s grip on Dimica. “Shit, no matter, I’ll capture you again” The assailant announced.

Instead of going back on the defensive, Gem began attacking their foe head-on with incredible speed. Like Aqua, each time Mystic clashed blows with her, he could feel a surge of energy rush through his body like a sugar rush. (I don’t know what’s happening, but I won’t let a little adrenaline stop me) Even as his heart raced through his chest, Arc proceeded to fight back until finding an opening against Ciara.

The villain struck her other across the face, sending her into the air. Meanwhile Sumiko used his only movable hand and fired a red blast out of Cassadora’s left hand. The blast went straight for the human instead of his outra in hopes to buy time or defeat him. The outra stood in between him and the incoming projectile. It blew up in a flash of light. When the smoke cleared, Mystic had a few scratches but stood there still able to fight.

“Of course it barley had effect” Toyoko complained lowering his hand. That’s when Rovale flew full speed toward the outra. Arc fired a fireball just a few feet away from her target. But surprisingly the elemental other deflected the attack and grabbed his foe by the face, sending a storm of electricity through their body before letting go.

The assailant felt the surge of pain rush through his body before falling to the ground out cold. “There we finally got him. Now let’s take him back and question him. Hopefully we’ll get some answers on why he decided to attack us” After taking them back, they bound them in a chair with their oura powers sealed.

After constantly questioning them, one of them finally spoke up: “Fine, we were both hired to destroy your alliance so our lord can steal the abilities of any strong outras he finds” Kaylah elbowed her acquaintance in the side replying: “Enough! We don’t need you revealing everything about our lord!”

The squad of heroes looked at each other than back at the pair that sad next to each other still bound. “Alright, looks like we’ll have to locate this “lord” of theirs before they can make themselves much stronger than we can handle” Aiden announced trying to plan a way to locate the next threat.

“You fools won’t locate him no matter how hard you search” The male commented with a serious expression on his face. Collen looked at Sumiko who was still gripping his broken arm. “Do it” He said back in a serious tone. Star summoned Dark key and placed his hand in the center of their foreheads. Everyone watched as a key symbol formed out of pink light on their heads.

With his outra, he managed to get all the information out of them. “Good, now let’s go stop that monster” Collen said as he faced his comrades…

TO BE CONTINUED…