Lopsided

I was walking towards the exit with Sgt. and Lou until Lou stopped right at the frame that marked the entrance to the abandoned mall.

—"I have to go take a leak."— said Lou.

After that, we made our way back into the mall, but Sgt. decided we should cover more ground as Gyu wanted, so we took our left instead of the right where Gyu was located. We managed to find a washroom after 5 minutes. It turns out it's a pretty big building, all things considered.

—"Sorry guys, I'll be out in a bit."

I sat in a nearby wooden bench next to a planter pot with no decoration, reminding me how weird it feels to be in a shopping mall with no signs of lively groups of shoppers clamoring about discounts or families with kids pestering parents to get them something from an ice cream stall. Next to me, Sgt. was seated at a distance, I should probably get to ask him something that I've been wondering for a while.

—"Hey, so... if you don't mind me asking, what exactly triggers your premonition, or is that also a cover-up for your real power like Gyu's? "— I asked.

—"You are too nosy y'know, you don't have to concern yourself with that, when something that requires my power happens, you'll know right away what it is."

—"Well, but wasn't it an influential... no, that isn't right... a great... nope... a leader who said that 'to forfeit your powers' background to your allies is the biggest show of trust one can do, leaving them at the hands of your peers to work in perfect synchronicity' or something like that."

—"You actually read what Gyu wrote in that bogus blog!? He doesn't believe that, that's for sure."— said Sarge in a kind of disgusted tone. —"It's just a hook for suckers to not fall by the wrong path, Gyu, if given the chance will create a cult so that he can get all the people with powers to not wreak havoc in the city, almost like kindergarten for grown men."

—"I mean, he clearly picks the wrong people if that's what he wants to do. I don't think that the ones who ditched his search operation would work as loyal servants. But that's besides the point, don't avoid my questions!"

—"Mmmm. I'll give him this: you shouldn't go around telling everyone your powers. it's like saying you are going to play rock right before a Rock, Paper, Scissors match."

—"C'mon, you guys know my powers, it's just so unfair."— I try my best to put on a puppy face, but it came out as if I had just lost my contact lenses and was trying to pop my eyes out by squinting so hard.

—"Ok, ok, let me think.... uh yeah. Has Gyu given you a 101 on how powers are divided into self-targeting and external-targeting?"

—"He must have mentioned something like that in one of our conversations, but honestly, some of the time, the things he says escape my mind."

—"Then let's go with a simple real-life example: you and Gyu, your powers let you send attacks via the use of hand motions, yet the thing you are affecting is external whereas Gyu's time travel powers let him travel back in time but his body is the one moving back, even the thing he did yesterday with his fingers shows that what he only affects is his body."

—"But isn't he affecting time in general? I don't understand."

—"He is affecting his perception of time, I know it sounds weird, but bear with me, this is how a lot of powers develop. Our preconceived notions of what powers should be come into play greatly. If Gyu's powers were external-targeting, that means that he could make things around him travel back in time, even other people, but he himself wouldn't be able to. That said, I wouldn't have a clue of how your powers would look have them been the self-targeting type."

—"Maybe I could modify my body in some way, but if I still had to do hand motions, maybe I'd have to use a mirror to do it correctly."

—"Well, it's useless thinking about it, what you should keep in mind when encountering an enemy is figuring out what kind of targeting type their powers are, since the two have different approaches. Most self-targeting types are more about protecting the user rather than attacking, since self-defense is natural to humans. Lou's future vision lets him not embarrass himself while gambling (25% of the time). Meanwhile, Wham's external-targeting weakening powers allow him to attack (weaken) stronger foes, but that requires him to touch the enemy directly. The input is different. Yours is definitely an attack power first and foremost."

—"I guess there's the argument that I use it for defense, but given how they work, I guess I'd have to be proactive and take the initiative to make an attack."

—"See, you are getting the hang of this quite quickly."

—"By the way, what kind of type are you?"

—"Me?"— As soon as he said that, he put his hands up to his face, supporting his elbows in his knees, making a meditative pose, before stating the following in a serious tone. —I'm both."

—"Hey guys, there's no paper in these abandoned stalls!"— yelled Lou.

—"You'll have to use your hoodie, haha!"— said Sgt. mockingly. He switched gears too fast.

—"How does that kind of power even wo—"

For some reason, my voice stopped in its tracks. I immediately felt my throat contract as if I needed to vomit, but that wasn't the case; it felt as if the air inside my body had suddenly left it. I saw Sgt. react the same way and watched as he began choking. This feeling made me so uncomfortable, I began to flail my legs up and down until I somersaulted out of the bench, wherein I immediately regained my breath.

—"Shit. People usually think they are choking on saliva or have an invisible cable around their necks. Never expected to see such an erratic reaction, but you've got to admit I made you breathless heh!"— proclaimed a voice in the distance. Above us stood a man with a crop haircut and his boot against the glass balustrade of the second floor, looking directly down upon us. —I guess I'll have to apply more force!"

After stating that he snapped his fingers and I was forcefully pulled to my right as if there was a black hole sucking me into it. I grabbed onto nothing but seemed to be working, since my hand motions simulated movement, I was holding on to one of the unfinished metal supports of the mall's ceiling.

—"Lookit that! Fast reaction time, let's crank up the volume, shall we?"

All of a sudden, what was tugging at me stopped, which made me faceplant since I was holding the ceiling too hard, as I tried to get up, a sudden swing of air made me roll upwards then go back face first into the floor. He kept repeating his move again and again like a broken record. I had no choice but to directly attack. I stared right at his legs and made a cutting motion but somehow an air whirlpool between us served as a shield against the attack.

—"Waddaya think? Pretty impressive moveset I've got for what's basically an impromptu encounter, I was called here in a hurry, you must've really upset Jacob, he wants you gone, I tell ya."— uttered the spiral-user. Who is Jacob? Who is he referring to? Is that Gyu's real name? Whatever questions are for later, I need to step it up.

I make a push motion in mid-air, launching myself high up, where I then try to cut him below the waist to no avail. To stop the fall, I simply zoom in with my hands as if it were a picture and make a safe landing, incredible what a short amount of training can do. I then run below the protruding second-floor balcony to attack the enemy from a blind spot as I punch upwards, but he had already jumped and secured his landing by opening a vortex that pulled him in right before he hit the floor.

—"Show me what else you can do, girl!"

I ran backwards as fast as I could, keeping a safe distance between us he kept sending air whirlpools my way but as soon as I felt I was being sucked into one I grabbed onto a ledge or pillar to pull myself out.

—"It's no fun if you don't attack! Let me get closer so we can end this peacefully!"

—"AS IF!"

I keep falling back, I need to stop this soon otherwi—Ah! My hair got stuck in a spiral, and my body slammed to the ground as if I had just been thrown in a judo match. I can't do anything if he puts up his vortexes as a barrier; my attacks won't hit him directly. However, as I was thinking this, it's as if a miracle occurred in front of my very eyes. The air was visibly dense and packed with the color yellow!

—"What?! This wasn't in the footage I had received!"

I can clearly see where he has placed his air whirlpools! I step forward for the first time in the battle and hold a flicking finger position in my left hand. As soon as I propel my index finger by releasing my thumb, this guy is going to be sent flying away.

—"Hold up!"— When he said this, my movement was thrown off by a nearby spiral he'd just added, which made me misfire and hit a glass door next to where the man was standing. —"This isn't fair, you can't get any cheat codes in real life, missy!"

I quickly moved my hand in a swift motion, simulating a sweeping sword stroke, but he jumped up at the precise moment. I then try flicking again where he hasn't set up any vortexes, but he would generate them faster than my attack could reach him so I try pushing him instead. I manage to move him across just fine as he overcompensates his defense with the strong wall of whirlpools he's created which give him several marks across his body because of the suction force.

—"Aw, shucks, I was supposed to make it to a fancy dinner today!"

I ignore his quip and punch forward, he's completely cornered, it's only a matter of time before his defense comes down.

—"Hey, not to be a party pooper, I'm enjoying our fight but shouldn't you be looking our for your friend."— Oh no I had completely forgotten. —"I never deactivated the air sucker I set up near his face, safe to say his brain is almost drained our of oxygen, this things are more effective than drowning, that is in killing you haha!"

I need to head over to Sarge, but this guy is going to take the chance to deal a massive blow I have to force him to yield now.

—"Getting desperate, I see! You won't make it back in time if you keep attacking me, it's only a matter of time before he suffers a great deal of damage."

—"Who says I was taking damage?"

—"Uh?!"

Out of nowhere, Sgt. elbows the guy cleanly in the back of the head, which makes his defenses disappear, and one of my "contact-less" punches connects. I've since made it so that I don't deal a massive amount of damage, but that also took a bit of training.

—"I take it you now know what my power is."

—"I'm... not... sure."— Almost out of breath, that was tiring. —"Is it invisibility and... visibility?"

—"That's right, air might be homogenous with no edges to cause reflection or scattering, as well as its particles being spread so thinly they cannot be seen, but it's just a matter of perception. I hid myself while providing you with aid by giving color to that which you can't see."

Cool.

—"Hey guys... are you done yet?"— said Lou, hidden in the hallway leading to the men's restroom.

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—"Are you sure this is fine?"— I ask Sgt. who's covering the man's eyes with Lou's hoodie.

—"Yeah, we need to get Gyu to know what to do with this trash."— I don't like the sound of that. —"Besides seems like his powers functions like your, he can't place any vortexes if he can't see a thing."

A loud ourburst of destruction can be heard in the distance.

—"That must be my partner."— said the recovered spiral guy twith both hands and feet tied up by a rope that was lying around in the residue of materials left by the construction crew once in charge of this mall (Lou was the one ordered to find it).

—"Your partner?!"— I inquire.

—"Sounds like Gyu is in trouble we gotta move."

— "All of us?"— asked Lou.

—"Yeah leave this waste of space and lets see what Gyu is facing up against."

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We took an exit which led directly to the outside parking lot only to find an unsightly fleshy creature and Gyu lying on the ground then taking a knee while holding his ribs tightly with his left hand. He then caught a glimpse of us.

—"TEN SLASH THOSE BALL-LIKE LUMPS YOU SEE PUMPING OUT OF THIS OLD MAN'S BODY, THOSE MAKE HIM CHOCK-FULL OF EXCESS FLESH!"

What is even that sentence!?!?

I followed Gyu's instructions and attacked those overstuffed bits while evading strips of muscle thrown our way by the creature until I made my way onto Gyu.

—"What the hell is that thing?!"

—"That guy uses the shock as a massaging stimulant for his muscle fibers and helps him activate his powers, which is expanding his body indefinitely, which made him grow to this size even though his face looks like a walnut in the body of a giant sea pickle."

—"I regret even asking that, doesn't make any sense!"

I try my best to hit the monster until it finally stops growing. After that, Gyu finally gets up and...

—"Thank you Ten! You are my savior!"

—"E-E-Eh?! Don't hug me out of nowhere."

—"Sorry, I almost lost hope back there."— Gyu recomposes himself.

—"Seems to me like we walked right into a trap."— Sgt. interjected.

—"And you would be right in assuming that they were prepared to take us down. Do you have any idea who these guys could be? Someone taking revenge for his fellow villainous friends?"

—"The guy we captured mentioned some kind of 'footage', maybe they were spying on us?"— I suggested.

—"Maybe there are cameras around the park I haven't noticed and hacked?"— said Sgt. Excuse me, hacked?!

—"Even those at the mall we visited last time with Lou, but there wasn't anything that would give away our powers, unless there's a small microphone somewhere we haven't realized."

—"So they were acting on pure conjectures as to what our powers were?"

—"To be fair, you give away your powers with all the hand gestures."— said Sgt. with an insidious smirk.

—"Hey!"— I replied.

—"Let's go interrogate that man you guys mentio—"

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Some studies have suggested that when the head of a person gets decapitated electrical brain activity in the brain persists for a period of 13 to 14 seconds following; however, it is believed that consciousness is lost within 2-3 seconds due to a lack of oxigenated blood circulating to the brain. The body is certainly wonderous since it can activate emergency measures such as the release of the adrenaline hormone by the adrenal glands, it is this fight-or-flight mode which can help us in the most dire of situations. The question is how does it apply to the body of a power-user such as myself, well... since decapitation is considered a rather quick and painless way to go there's no true way of knowing how it feels yet since the feeling of sudden detachment from one's own body is undescribable it is there that my fight-of-flight mode reacts to the unnatural feeling of gettin my neck cut and my head moving forward without me telling it to do so. It took 2.5 seconds for me to activate my powers.

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—"AAAAHHHHH!"— I jump back with pain on my neck. The feeling of cutting then reattaching my body parts is similar to the phenomenon known as phantom limb, and the itching sensation felt by those missing a body part they once had. They can also feel vibrations, touch, and temperature sensations, but what differs in my case is that since I'm travelling back in time, my brain somehow delays the pain I feel, which at times is course-corrected, and I just felt a slight sting in the affected limb. However, this unexpected attack was done in such a quick manner that it jumbled my brain more than I thought it would, giving me a sharp pricking sensation and also the impression I had two throats, making me choke instantly.

—"Gy-GYU! WHAT'S WRONG?"— screamed Ten at me.

—"get... bac..k"— I mustered up to say in between coughs and a strained voice before she passed right beside me. A woman with a blank stare and a vibrant blue hair color wielding a katana, missing my neck by an inch after I fall in my attempt to evade the attack. In the blink of an eye, she escapes my view. Teleportation? No, it was like she had momentum, like she had already jumped towards me and unsheathed her blade in a swift motion.