Inside the recently closed grocery store Tatsu’s Household Needs, Ronnie Everst taunts The Massachusetts Boys’ third-in-command, Chao ‘Cambridge’ Huang.
“It’ll take a lot to put them down!” Ronnie remarks as he gets in a fighting stance.
“Is that so?” Cambridge questions as he takes off his baseball cap.
As Ronnie begins to rush toward Cambridge, he stops as Cambridge tosses his baseball cap at Ronnie’s face.
Although it only obscured Ronnie’s vision for only a moment, it was enough for Cambridge to close the distance between them and land a clean uppercut on Ronnie’s face.
Then a right hook.
Then a left hook.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Righ-
“You’re the third-in-command?” Ronnie laughs as he grabs onto Cambridge’s incoming fist.
His other hand now grasping onto the front of his opponent’s shirt, Ronnie sweeps Cambridge off his feet and slams him into the ground.
“If all the others are as predictable as you, this’ll be a walk in the park!” Ronnie smirks.
With Cambridge now on the ground, Ronnie uses the opportunity to wail on the black haired thug again, and again, and agai-
“Let’s see,” Cambridge breathes as he grabs onto Ronnie’s incoming fist.
His other hand now grasping his opponent’s shirt, Cambridge sweeps Ronnie off his feet and slams him into the ground.
“Is that how you did it?” Cambridge questions as he stands up.
Wincing in pain, Ronnie’s head races with thoughts.
Was that the move he just did?
The exact same move?
Ronnie’s eyes widen as he stares at Cambridge.
“I told you that you should’ve just played dead,” Cambridge utters as he gets in the exact same fighting stance Ronnie used earlier, “Cuz a fight against me is a fight against yourself.”
THE MIRACLE CLINIC: SEASON 2
“Let’s Go Blobbies!” A large crowd chants before stomping their feet.
The crowd is sitting in the bleachers of an ice rink, watching Seastar High’s Blobfishes go up against an out-of-city team. Sitting in the front row of the bleachers is the duo Vanessa Deli and Blanko Deck near the start of their freshman year.
“Wow, I didn’t think we’d be able to get to see these guys so up close and personal!” Blanko shouts as he tosses some popcorn in his mouth.
Vanessa who’s sitting next to him isn’t really paying much attention to the game as she looks down at her phone.
“You okay? You been starin’ at that thing for a while.”
The hockey game continues on as an opponent from the other team bumps into someone from Seastar’s team. Vanessa & Blanko don’t notice.
“Nothing,” Vanessa says before admitting, “It’s just, we finally got into Dirty Fang and…I thought they’d at least have us do something by now.”
“They have!” Blanko says not noticing the person from the opposing team starting to argue with the person they bumped into, “We had that dinner with everybody, Graham took us to the docks, & Makisnley taught us how to fish!”
“You know what I mean,” Vanessa grumbles, “I thought we’d have gotten a chance to take care of him.”
The argument on the ice rink begins to turn into a fight as the away team member swings a fist on their opponent, knocking their helmet off, Vanessa & Blanko are still chatting and haven’t noticed yet.
“Vanessa look, that man- he- do you really-” Blanko tries to say.
“Blanko,” Vanessa spits, “I have to find him. I have to-”
CRASH!
The crowd looks on in shock as the opposing hockey player’s face smashes through the glass barrier and onto the bleachers. Right in front of Vanessa & Blanko.
“Come on, you can’t just quit on me now!” The Seastar Hockey Player that got their helmet knocked off yells at their unconscious opponent, “You got me all fired up over someone so weak!”
The Seastar Hockey Player raises their foot and places it atop the hockey player’s helmet.
“Y’know, these ice skates have really sharp blades,” The Seastar Hockey Player remarks as they push down on the person’s helmet, “But I wonder if they’re sharp enough to cut all the way through. You wanna find out together?”
With several security personnel all trying to make their way towards the scene, the hockey player finally locks eyes with the person sitting right in front of them & the unconscious player.
Vanessa Deli.
“Oh hello,” the person says as they lean further into the bleachers.
Vanessa looks at the person and realizes she’s the only female player out on the hockey team. Her boyishly short brown hair is all messy, there’s some blood dripping down her forehead, and her lips have formed a smile.
“I’ve been meaning to get to know you,” The person remarks as they reach out their hand, “My name’s Sammy Becken. You wanna fight?”
“....I-” Vanessa tries to say.
However on that day she wouldn’t have much to say to her, as their first encounter would quickly be cut short as the security personnel finally managed to get there and restrain Sammy.
The crowd looks on in shock as Sammy slams the opposing hockey player’s face through the glass barrier.
After that day, Vanessa only saw Sammy in the halls at school, however instead of getting into a fight, Sammy was too busy being stuck inside the school’s blobfish mascot costume as punishment for her fight at the hockey rink and Vanessa had more pressing concerns that winter.
Eventually in the spring semester, they had finally gotten a proper second meeting. Vanessa was walking out of the school that day when…
“YO!” Sammy yells.
Vanessa looks to see Sammy leaning against a wall with a fellow student that has long silky black hair standing next to her. Sammy’s hair has grown a bit but it still is nowhere near how long it is in the present day.
“Can I help you?” Vanessa asks, “And who’s that next to you?”
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“That’s my bud Orville,” Sammy says.
“Sup,” Orville says, “I’m just here to record the fight.”
“That’s if she wants to fight,” Sammy says before walking over to Vanessa, “So you wanna fight?”
Vanessa looks down at Sammy, and her deep red hoodie that masks the bloodstains all over it.
“Fine, I’ll fight you,” Vanessa remarks, “But you need to wash that hoodie afterward. It reeks.”
“I can agree to that,” Orville laughs, “Now come on Sammy, go and show her the might of your fangs!”
Vanessa makes a fist in preparation of what’s to come.
________________
Back in the present day, Vanessa & Sammy have both slammed their fists into The Massachusetts Boys’ Frankfurt ‘Fall River’ Schulz.
”I think you’ll soon realize who here is afraid of The Big Bad Wolf,” Sammy says in delight.
Sammy swings her foot and slams it into Frankfurt’s side. Not giving him a moment of rest, Vanessa follows it up with a few palm strikes around her opponent’s chest. On her final attack, a loud thunk is created when she lands the palm strike.
“Thunk?” Sammy questions as she scratches her rooster mask, “Bodies don’t make that noise.”
“They don’t,” Vanessa remarks underneath her kitsune mask, “He’s got a gun under that suit.”
Frankfurt takes a step and reaches into his inner suit pocket, however Vanessa swats his hand away.
He tries again only for Vanessa to swat his hand away once more.
“You damn brats!” Frankfurt grunts as he keeps on trying and failing to reach for his gun.
“I get it, you’re just trying to counter what I do!” Frankfurt smirks before he leaps backward, “Then what do you do if your opponent doesn’t attack you? Your whole strategy falls apart-”
“Did you forget about me dumbass?!” Sammy remarks as she headbutts Frankfurt into one of the large bodies of meat placed upon a silver hook.
Sammy doesn’t let up for a moment as she goes for several quick slashes, chipping away at him before delivering a slow yet powerful overhead hook. Her moves are irregular, rigid, and animalistic. There’s no proper thought behind what she’s doing, just her instincts.
As she delivers a liver punch, Frankfurt falls to his knees wheezing.
“How did an old sack of shit like you get out of the retirement home?” Sammy laughs as Vanessa walks over.
Though as Vanessa approaches them, her eyes pick up on something.
__________
Inside a fancy italian restaurant, The Vignette’s leader – Joel Cooper – twirls some spaghetti. Sitting around the table are his subordinates Archer Flick & Elias Cooper. Elias is sitting with his legs out on the table and his hand continuously poking a meatball with a fork.
“So, you think sending those kids from the east was the right call?” Archer remarks as he cuts his chicken parmesan.
“I’m sure they’ve asked for help from someone like The Miracle Clinic so it should be easier for them,” Joel explains, “Not to mention Jackson & Lucia were busy meeting with the MSA today, so there’s a low chance of things getting out of hand.”
“But there’s still a chance?”
“Yes, it’ll be particularly tricky for Vanessa in particular if she crosses paths with Schulz.”
Elias’ eyes perk up at the mention of the name.
“That guy in his mid 30s? Dude looks like he could break his legs if he sat the wrong way,” Archer remarks.
“It’s his age that’s the exact issue,” Joel explains as he wipes his mouth with a napkin, “He’s been in this business for a long time, always hopping from organization to organization when the last one falls. His list of connections goes farther than even my own I’m afraid. Most people that were his age when he started out have retired and started up families. Families that need someone to babysit their kids.”
“S-so he’s-”
“Yes. He’s got quite the powerful entourage at his side. One I’m not sure if they can defeat.”
__________________
Back at the warehouse, despite trying to get out of their way, Vanessa along with Sammy both are restrained by a total of 5 people around their age.
“About time you damn brats came to help me!” Frankfurt yells as he’s helped up by one of them.
“What the hell?” Sammy grunts as she tries to break free, “Their grip is insane!”
“Who are they?” Vanessa asks.
“These five happen to be some children I’m currently watching over,” Frankfurt answers, “They just so happen to all be from a few old ‘colleagues’ of mine.”
Vanessa tries to make out their faces but can’t due to them all wearing halloween costumes.
“I’m running out of my red watercolor paint,” one dressed in a suit & wearing a mask with a German flag painted over it remarks, “I’m curious if your blood can be a good replacement for it.”
“Scientifically speaking,” one dressed in a crazy scientist outfit remarks, “You’ll need to do some sort of magic trick if you want to escape from us.”
Sammy struggles against the three who are pinning her down.
“Wow, aren’t you aggressive!” One wearing a panda mask compliments, “But I’ve faced tougher fights than this thanks to FromSoft!”
"This mask is so itchy,” a person wearing their mask inside out groans, “I knew I should’ve read the instructions.”
“Dude I just want to go to bed,” a person wearing pajamas yawns, “Why do we gotta fight these dudes?”
Frankfurt makes his way toward Vanessa & Sammy, he grabs onto both of their masks and rips them off. As he stares at them he can’t help but laugh.
“So, you two were the ones trying to attack me?!” Frankfurt laughs as he pulls out his gun.
“Y-you know us?” Vanessa questions.
“Of course I know you Vanessa,” Frankfurt chuckles as he kneels before Vanessa and presses the gun against her temple, “You were quite the cash cow for me once.”
As those words ring out in her mind over and over, Vanessa’s breathing quickens as her eyes grow cold. The cold air from the warehouse feels more and more like the cold air from the alleyway back then. The hands pressing against her sting in a sickly familiar way to the bruises from her past. And the smile on Frankfurt’s face looks less like his own and more like that man’s.
“N…No… I can’t…go back to….then…”
Her surroundings grow darker and darker until she can’t see a single thing
The only thing she can see is just a bitter endless void.
A void that will swallow her whole.
………………..
“SNAP OUT OF IT!”
Vanessa’s vision begins to shift as the dark void begins to blur with a light.
“I don’t know what he’s trying to say but are you just going to let that slimeball do as he wants?!”
Vanessa’s vision begins to become more clearer as those lights are ceiling lights.
“He may have more people but when has that been a concern?!”
That coldness she feels, it’s from the temperature they have the place at so the meat doesn’t go bad.
“I don’t know you too much but I do know one thing. You’re strong.”
Those aren’t bruises, they’re just the hands of people around her age trying to keep her down.
“Did you forget about how you got here?!”
She made it all the way from The West Side just to fulfill a goal.
“Did you forget about where you are?!”
She’s not in a void of darkness, she’s in a warehouse.
“DID YOU FORGET WHO YOU ARE!!!” Sammy Becken shouts.
Frankfurt groans as he stands up and walks over to where Sammy is being pushed down and kicks her in the head.
“YOU BITCH, DID YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SCREAM AND YELL BECAUSE YOU’RE-” Frankfurt tries to say but can’t as he gets tackled.
Tackled by Vanessa.
Having managed to use all the strength she could muster, she managed to shake off the others for a brief second and bring Frankfurt down onto the ground. Frankfurt scrambles to aim his gun at her face.
“Go ahead, pull the trigger,” Vanessa commands as she leans her forehead to press against the chamber.
Frankfurt goes to pull the trigger but….he can’t?
“What are you waiting for?”
His hands they’re…shaking?
“Take the shot.”
This feeling he has… it’s unmistakable.
“Go ahead.”
Never once did he think he could feel this from someone so young once more.
“Do it!”
Never once did he think Vanessa Deli could make him feel afraid.
“Y’know I haven’t used a gun before but even I can tell,” Vanessa begins to say as she stands up, “When the safety is on.”
Frankfurt looks down to see that all this time he forgot to take the safety off his gu-
WHAM!
Vanessa kicks his hand sending the gun flying across the warehouse. Sammy, seizing the moment of shock from everyone, manages to break free from her restraints and slides over toward Vanessa.
“On your feet Becken,” Vanessa commands.
“Welcome back Vanessa,” Sammy smirks as she stands up, “You gave the big bad wolf a run for her money with that act you just did.”
“Don’t just stand there you idiots!” Frankfurt yells as he points to the two girls, “GET THEM!”
As the five teens all race toward the two, Sammy immediately kicks one of the bodies of meat causing it to swing into the person in the crazy scientist costume. Vanessa dodges a hook from the person in the German flag mask before delivering an uppercut of her own.
The person in pajamas and the one with a panda mask try to swing at Vanessa from opposite sides, however Vanessa ducks out of the way. Before the two can react, she places her hands behind their heads and slams them together. Meanwhile Sammy slams her knee into the stomach of the person with the inside out mask over and over and over again.
As Frankfurt lays watching Vanessa & Sammy fight his five trainees, he can’t believe his eyes.
Their fighting styles are complete opposites. Vanessa is always methodical and reactive with what she does while Sammy is proactive and impulsive. They’re like oil and water, they shouldn’t be able to mix together.
And yet, when one begins to fall behind the other swings by to aid them. They’re setting up attacks for the other to finish.
This shouldn’t be happening.
They shouldn’t be winning.
And yet despite everything…
Those mere two girls are taking down the five best young fighters Frankfurt could find from his connections.
“This can’t be happening!” Frankfurt begins to say as he begins to crawl away.
As he backs into one of the meats on the hook, Sammy brings her foot into it, just mere inches away from Frankfurt’s snivelling face.
“It’s time you open your eyes and face reality,” Vanessa hisses.
“Face it old man, we just blew your whole house down!” Sammy taunts, “And you’re next!”
_______________________
“How have you been Eli?” Kimberly questions, “I’m curious to see just how strong you’ve become!”
Elizabeth’s eyes are still wide as she looks at Kimberly, after all this time… why did she have to meet her again here? Why now?
“H-h-hey Ki-Kimberly,” Elizabeth begins to stammer as her self consciousness washes over her, “I’m a l-little busy trying to f-fight this gang, do you mind if we fight again some other time?”
“Thugs? You do realize all these bitches here are with me, right?”
“What?”
“Yeah, Lowell is what I’m called here as the fifth-in-command,” Kimberly explains, “Now I have a simple question for you Eli; do you want our fight to be a reunion or an execution?”
See You Next Chapter!~