Ethan and his lackeys slowly got up, their whole bodies aching even though they had only received one strike from Stella.
“I’ll remember this,” Ethan seethed while trying to hide his pain, as he turned to leave, followed by the other two.
Stella approached Seth and helped him get up.
"Geez, look at what they did to you. Maybe I should have beat them up some more," she said, however as he turned around she noticed that the three bullies had already left. "You look like you might have some broken bones. Should we head to the hospital?"
Seth, a mess of blood, tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, I've been in worse situations. Thank you, though."
"Don't worry about it. I despise bullies, if it wasn’t for Corwin I would’ve sent them straight to the hospital."
“Who?”
"You don't know? Ethan Corwin, he's part of the Corwin family, one of the wealthiest families in Sunrise City and Hyperion Academy's biggest benefactor.”
“I didn’t know that,” Seth said. ‘No wonder he’s so arrogant,’ he thought.
“Yeah, his father holds a lot of power.”
"Then won't you get in trouble for hitting his son?" Seth asked, concerned.
"Nah, I’m protected by the school. As long as I don't overdo it, I'm untouchable," Stella answered confidently. "That may have sounded bad, don't get me wrong, I'm not okay with that, but since it allowed me to interfere in this situation, I think it was a good thing right?” She said as she laughed nervously. “Anyway, I'm Stella, nice to meet you," she said with a warm smile.
"I'm Seth, nice to meet you too. And thank you again for your help."
"No need to thank me. Besides, you didn't need my help, after all, you could’ve beat them up yourself. Not sure why you didn’t though," Stella remarked.
"What? What are you talking about? I don't have any abilities," Seth asked, confused.
"Wait, you don't? That's weird," Stella said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?"
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"It's not important now. Where do you live? I'll help you get there."
"No, really, there's no need. I'll manage," Seth insisted, trying to walk on his own. However, each step sent a huge amount of pain through his body, and after a few steps, he stumbled and fell to the floor again.
Shing!
Stella teleported to Seth's side, lifting him up. "See? You're not okay. Now, where do you live? Let's get you there quickly."
Seth shared his address, and Stella took out an auto-injection from one of her pockets.
“Take this,” she handed it to Seth.
“What’s this?” he asked as he grabbed the auto-injection.
“It’s an RRB.”
“A healing auto-injection?! But aren’t they super expensive?!” Seth exclaimed, surprised.
“Don’t worry, the school gave me a lot of them,” Stella responded nonchalantly. "Now hold on tight," she advised with a mischievous grin as she activated her ability.
In a series of teleportations, they ascended into the sky. With each jump, bolts of purple energy surrounded them as they reappeared at higher altitudes, almost reaching the level of the city's skyscrapers. Normally such a chain of jumps would have immediately depleted Stella’s energy, however, since she wasn’t teleporting to any specific coordinates the energy consumption was much lower.
Despite the darkness of the night, the city glittered with life, illuminated by the thousands of lights below. Seth couldn't help but be captivated by the breathtaking view.
"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Stella commented before teleporting once more.
----------------------------------------
After some minutes of teleporting, they finally arrived at Seth’s house.
"Well, thank you for helping me, and I really mean it," Seth said.
"I already told you there's really no need. Oh, that's right, give me your phone," Stella said while extending her hand.
Seth complied and handed her his phone. Stella then proceeded to enter her contact information on Seth’s phone.
"There, now if you ever need help again, give me a call. Goodnight,” she said with a smile.
"Goodnight," Seth replied, and with a final teleportation, Stella vanished.
Seth entered the house, his body aching all over. ‘What a day. I wouldn't have made it without her,’ he thought as he made his way inside.
"Welcome back Seth, how did your da-" began his aunt as he entered the house however she stopped after seeing how Seth had several blood stains and bruises all over his body.
By then the RRB had already worked wonders so he wasn’t as bad as when Stella found him, though his appearance was still concerning
"Oh my, sweetheart, what happened to you? You're covered in blood. We should take you to the hospital," she rushed to get the car keys.
"It's okay, Aunt Teresa. I'm fine, I just got carried away during sparring class. You don't need to worry," Seth reassured her with a comforting smile.
"Alright, but if it doesn’t get better by tomorrow we're going to the hospital, okay?" she declared.
"Yes, Aunt Teresa."
"Very well. Now go freshen up and come back. Dinner's ready, and I've made your favorite," Teresa said, winking playfully at Seth.
"Got it!" Seth exclaimed excitedly as he hurried to the bathroom.
"He's just like his parents, for better or worse," Seth's uncle chimed in, entering the house and overhearing the conversation. He chuckled lightly. "He certainly takes after them, doesn't he?"
Teresa wore a nostalgic smile. "He truly does. But I worry about him participating in the tournament. He hasn't awakened his ability yet. What if something serious happens to him, Nick? I couldn't forgive myself if we let him compete and he gets seriously injured or worse," she confessed.
"Hey, calm down, honey. He'll be alright. If it gets too dangerous, I can always pull him out. But I have faith that he'll find a way to surprise us, just like his parents always did. I believe in him," Nick reassured Teresa, offering comfort.
"But what if..."
"Then I'll step in and ensure nothing happens to him, alright?"
"If you say so," Teresa replied, still doubtful.
"C’mon, when have I ever let you down?" Nick said, flashing a wide smile.