Daniel Xander, Chapter 15: Daniel vs. Cecile

By the time he reached the wall, it was 5:00 pm. He passed the checkpost and whizzed past the crowd of soldiers who had solemn expressions on their face. Penelope was right alongside the door they always used to get to the top.
"You took longer than usual." She said as Daniel approached her, "I was just about to call the-Wait! Arthur?!" Her eyes widened as she took the limp cat into her arms from Daniel. Arthur mewed weakly as Penelope stroked his fur. Immediately, her expression turned murderous.
"Who did this?" She said quietly, "Did you?"
"Of course not!" Daniel said hastily, "My friend Sandra found him drugged in a bush with a wounded paw. She treated him. I don't know who did this."
Penelope looked at Daniel hard. Then, she took out her phone and muttered something into it. Almost immediately, a burly soldier appeared and took Arthur from Penelope with unexpected gentleness. He carried the cat away.
"I will investigate every single person in that academy. I don't care how long it takes or how many people I have to torture to find out. I will find out who did this." Penelope said through gritted teeth.
"Is-is that really necessary?" Daniel asked, genuinely scared by her expression.
"No one touches my cat." She whispered, looking at him with the same murderous expression, "You hear me? No one."
Silently, she pushed open the door behind her and led the way up to the wall. The cylindrical structures used for monitoring air traffic weren't there, so it was clear there was some air traffic today. He looked to his left. The vast forest stretched all the was to the mountains. The mountains themselves were covered in a mist that made it difficult to make out whether they were snow capped or not. He and Penelope went over to one of the circles and stood on opposite ends. Penelope's expression was still solemn. Much more solemn than usual and Daniel couldn't help but anticipate a hard beatdown.
"I think it's time to make additions to your training." Penelope said, "Up until now, you have worked on getting used to semi mortal physical prowess and your Imperium. But what I didn't take into account was that you can't fight. You can use your raw strength to dodge or even land a hit, but you can't use your strength effectively or with skill. That is going to be the aim of this training. To teach you how to fight."
"Ok." Daniel said.
"You will punch, kick and use your joints to hit me. I don't think the weights should hiner you any longer." Penelope finished and took a stance.
As usual, Daniel charged her. But as soon as he took his first step, his legs vibrated under him. He felt the surge of power in them and knew that his Imperium had kicked in. He pushed forward as the world blurred around him and struck out as soon as he was within range. She blocked his hit with her forearm and leaky to one side as Daniel kicked out. The movements were painful, but he wasn't being restrained. He ran right at her again and saw her expression turn to surprise for just a millisecond. He struck out again, but she jumped straight up and somersaulted right over him. She had atleast jumped 5 meters in the air. Daniel turned instinctively. He would catch her by surprise before she landed. He turned and ran back. Looking up, he saw that she was moving uncharacteristically slowly through the air. She landed right in front of where he'd run to. He punched out.
Thwack!
The kick he received to his chest sent him sprawling backwards. He landed on his back as the world turned red before his eyes.
"Sorry about that." Penelope said, extending her hand, "I couldn't hold back."
"That's alright." Daniel said in a constricted voice.
"You have gotten really fast." Penelope said smiling slightly, as always, "If I had to guess, with your speed boost counter measure, you are definitely as fast as a motorcycle. More or less anyway."
"Wait, really?" Daniel asked bewildered.
"Yeah. But with your countermeasure. Not without. Had I known you had gotten this fast, I would never have jumped. And take this advice right now." Penelope said somewhat sternly.
"To never jump up?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, never during a fight." Penelope said, raising a finger, "You see, there is no way you can steer yourself when you are in mid air if you don't have an aero-kinesis Imperium. If you jump up, your opponent can easily pinpoint where you are going to land and it will be a guaranteed hit. Leap back, block or sidestep. But never jump up. Or you will surely get out maneuvered.
"The other thing: wasteful movement. You make a lot of wasteful movements. Also, your technique is totally primitive. You just strike head on. Try to feint and then come up with something to take your opponent by surprise. We will try to have a drawn out match. I will not hit you, but I will exploit any opening you have and will point out any movement you make that is unnecessary."
"Right." Daniel said numbly. Fighting was way more complicated than Daniel had ever expected.
They both went on to stand at the opposite ends again. Just like before, Daniel's legs vibrated under him and with a surge of power, he ran forward. He struck out at her gut with his elbow immediately. She caught him at once.
"Time out!" She yelled before Daniel could move. He looked down to see that her knee was an inch away from his chest.
"Don't close in if you don't have a way to guard your vulnerable regions. This would have been an easy victory for me. Also, when you step into someone's guard, it's all a matter of speed. If you land a blow faster than your opponent, you win that exchange. In this case, had you been faster, you would have landed your hit without giving me a chance at retaliation." Penelope advised.
For the next several hours, they went hand to hand, with Penelope pointing out every mistake Daniel made. He was drenched in sweat and dizzy, but somehow, he was also really attentive and drank in everything Penelope told him.
"If you get into a situation like this," she instructed as their arms were tangled together, "get in this close, always attack the nose with the crown." She continued demonstrating. "Speed and power are always deciding factors. So make sure you maintain that."
"Alright." Daniel said huffing.
Some distance away, a siren wailed.
"Great, I am on my break now." She said sighing and went over to the edge. She said down there heavily and patted the space right next to her, indicating Daniel to sit down. He went over and sat down too. The sky had darkened and the mist around the mountains straight ahead had subsided. A faint light shone across the sky right over the peaks. Was this the aurora that shone over them all the time?
"This is... surprisingly peaceful." Daniel commented semi consciously. Behind him, past the other side of the wall, a horn blared and someone swore loudly.
"Yes. Very peaceful." Said Penelope chuckling.
"By the way," Daniel began, ignoring the sounds of the scuffle that followed, "I never asked you, how old are you?"
"Me? I am 19." She said, "Elizabeth and Darius Rowse-I don't know if you are acquainted with him, he's rank 5-were my classmates in school. After school, me and Rowse trained under the same master. Elizabeth went to college alongside handling her Faction. Me and Rowse joined the army."
"And what about Nathan?" Daniel asked, remembering what Nathan had said about going to college.
"He's 21." She said distastefully, "Goes to Elizabeth's college and handles his Faction."
"Right." Daniel said.
"Mew." Came a voice from behind them. They turned at hyper-speed to see Arthur the cat sitting there.
"Arthur!" Penelope yelled as relief flooded her expression. The cat immediately jumped into her arms amd she snuggled him.
"You traitor! Don't I get a hug?" Daniel said pointing at Arthur accusingly.
At that, the cat stuck out his tongue at him.
"Sorry Daniel, no hugs for you." Said Penelope smiling.
She must have been really worried about him because the relief was clear on her face.
"Don't do this to me again, you stupid felis." She scolded as Arthur purred in her arms.
"I think it's the right time to leave." She added, turning to Daniel.
"Yeah, let's go." Daniel replied.

Penelope dropped off Daniel at the gate of the academy as usual.
"Take a day off tomorrow." She said, "You need the rest."
Before Daniel could say anything or thank her, she drove off. Daniel turned and walked through the gate of the academy. A day off tomorrow. Well, maybe he could enjoy himself. Afterall, he didn't have any classes tomorrow either. He started walking straight back to his dorm building. Some people were playing a game of soccer right in the lawn infront of the the building. Daniel squinted, trying to see if Davy was with them or not. He could see one of the guys turning their head in his direction. Daniel turned away amd continued walking away. Had he noticed him?
There was a loud noise from the field. Daniel turned to see what had happened. The football the guys had been playing with was flying at Daniel at super-speed. It was just a foot away when Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. That's when something wierd happened. The ball flew away spinning from Daniel, as if kicked away by an invisible force. He saw the the blades of grass getting pushed back in a similar fashion, as if the wind was making them dance. But there was no wind. He was certain he was doing it. He uncrossed his arms at once. It had been similar this morning during his fight with Cecile. At first, he had thought she had retracted her wires out of fear of critically injuring him. But now, he wasn't too sure. Was it his countermeasure against her Imperium? He turned to look at the flower beds. Ok. He pictured himself fighting Bartemius and then Cecile. The anger filled his chest and he felt as if someone had inflated a balloon inside him. He immediately crossed his arms over his chest and uncrossed them immediately in one swift motion. The tulips in the flower bed were momentarily pushed back, as if by a wind, before returning to their initial position. So this was his doing. When had he unlocked this-
Wham!
He fell face first onto the hard ground. He felt his nose break as blood flowed out and spilt onto the ground. He pushed himself into a crouching position with his hands when he received a hard blow to the back of his head which shook his skull. He fell sideways. Through blurry eyes, he could make out 4 figures standing over him. They were speaking. But he couldn't comprehend any of it. What was going on? Were they jumping him? He pushed himself up from the ground and stood up. The tallest figure out of all of them attempted to kick him in the stomach. But Daniel had just trained and his adrenaline was spiking. He leapt back instantly. His vision was a bit blurry from falling face first and the darkness, but he could make out everything. He ran forward at incredible speed and in a split second, slammed his shoulder into the tall guy, sending him flying back. Two of the others tried to grab him but he dove forward, under their arms, got to his feet and struck out.
Too late. The fourth person kicked him in the side. The force of the kick was such that Daniel went flying through the air and landed on his back on the grass.
He got to his feet and narrowly dodged one of the guy's punch. He leapt away once more. The tall one ran straight at him. Daniel's legs were vibrating under him. He had to beat these people with speed. But whoever were they? Daniel sidestepped with ease as the tall guy kicked at him. He drew back his fist and struck at the guy's face. He was sure his opponent would be able to dodge it, but no. These guys weren't Penelope. His fist collided with the guy's nose with a sickening crunch. His knuckle felt warm and sticky, as the guy arched back and fell down heavily. One of the other's came at him and punched. Daniel remembered what Penelope had said. Step inside the guard. Then, it's a matter of speed. He ducked and punched the guy in the stomach, faster that his opponent could dodge. He heard a gasp of pain before the other guy skidded back from the force of Daniel's punch.
He ran around those guys. Now was the time to get back to the room. There was no way he was gonna unnecessarily fight, especially when it was four on one.
BAM!
Daniel flew forward in the air. He curled up to avoid injuring himself severely. He rolled using the momentum to his advantage as soon as he hit the ground and turned to look. He had put a great deal of distance between himself and those guys. But one of them was standing there, holding up his hand at chest level. It was hard to tell in the growing darkness, but Daniel was sure that a black blob was floating an inch from the palm of his hand. Instantly, the blob shot out at Daniel with such speed that he didn't even get the chance to dodge. It hit him right in the diaphragm and he flew off his feet. But the pain wasn't there. He landed a few feet back and felt his chest. No, he couldn't touch it.
His barrier! His Imperium must have switched the countermeasure as soon as it sensed someone else's Imperium. The first hit had hurt him, so he must have switched his counter measure after sensing the other guy's Imperium after enduring a hit. The guy who had shot the black blob at Daniel brought his hands together and threw them outward. Another blob shot at him and Daniel raised his arms to his chest. The blob hit him, making him stagger a bit but bounced off before making contact with his skin. The other two guys were recovering from Daniel's strikes. But what about the 4th one? The one who had kicked him?
Suddenly, Daniel's head jerked sideways from a blow. There hadn't been any pain, given the protection his barrier was giving him but it still startled him. He jumped away and turned to see Marcus, his hands on fire. His Imperium? Marcus ran at Daniel, the fire trailing his hands in brilliant orange arcs.
"I told you you were dead meat!" He roared as he punched at Daniel's chest. Daniel blocked his hit with his forearm, mimicking Penelope and struck out with his other hand. Marcus caught his punch and Daniel could tell from the tiny bit of strain he felt that the guy was attempting to squeeze it. Instantly, Daniel pulled his hands back to himself and jumped back. With his barrier, he shouldn't endure any real damage, right? He ran at Marcus and jumped with the objective of slamming his knee into him. But Penelope had been right about avoiding the jumping tactic. Marcus sidestepped easily and instead, swung out his leg, kicking Daniel in the side of the face. This time, there was pain, though of course, nullified. Daniel flew back and hit the ground hard. The sky came in and out of view. He got up as soon as he hit the ground and turned, his head spinning. Immediately, Marcus punched him in the face with his fiery fist. Daniel's face burnt from the heat even though the fist never made contact and was repelled. He grabbed Marcus's wrist as hard as he could, pulled the other guy towards him and kicked him in the stomach.
"Oof!" Marcus gasped in pain.
He punched Daniel in the face with his other hand. But Daniel raised his arm to block the hit. He stepped into Marcus's guard and slammed his forehead into the latter's nose. His opponent kicked him in the stomach making him lose grip of Marcus's wrist. He skidded back and he and Marcus stood face to face. Marcus's face was bloodied. His nose was bleeding profusely. Daniel himself didn't feel too good.
As soon as he attempted to move towards Marcus, something hit him in the side of the head again. The blob guy must have done it. His whole body jerked to one side. There was no pain, but that was because the guy had hit him just to make him lose balance for a second. Marcus stepped up and unleashed a barrage of fiery punches. Every single one hurt badly. Even though his barrier was there to repel the blows, the speed and power of the punches was more than he could take. He tried to lash out, but his vision was blocked by a wall of dancing flames. It was too bright. He recieved a particular hard blow to his abdomen and gasped. The flames no longer danced before his eyes but he was still blinded. He couldn't make anything out. He tried to blink out the spots.
"So, this is what your training has gotten you." Marcus's voice said, "Must be nice, having an Imperium that does all the work for you so you never have to put in any effort."
"Damn you." Daniel growled, "What the hell are you attacking me for."
"You see it pains me to see when some weakling such as yourself gets the star treatment." Marcus said, "Liz Brown and Darius Rowse looking out for you. Penelope Sherman training you."
Daniel could see Marcus properly now. He tried to act like he couldn't, so as to keep the latter talking while his mind frantically looked for openings.
"Hardworking individuals like myself get cast aside when someone like you comes by." Marcus continued, "You must really think you are something, being Samuel Xander's son. Let me tell you, you are nothing but filth. You are the lowest of the low...."
While Marcus continued babbling about his family, Daniel tried to think properly. He was angry, definitely, but this wasn't the time to act rashly. That wasn't want Penelope had taught him. Maybe, if Bartemius had trained him, he would have stopped and listened to Marcus's words. But there was no point.
Out of the corner of the eye, he saw the blob guy walking towards them with the other two Daniel had hit. Once they got here, there was no way he was getting out without a serious injury. He lightly, with minimal movement, tried patting the side of his leg. Yes, the barrier was active. He thought hard about what Penelope had said about the barrier. And then, it clicked. This barrier wasn't a conventional barrier. A conventional barrier would be like wearing a steel armour. All hits would be neutralised by its hardness. This barrier was the kind which repelled and redirected the force of the attack. A projectile hitting a conventional barrier would shatter. A projectile hitting this barrier would bounce off. Similarly, if someone who's body was enclosed in a conventional barrier hit someone else, it would be like getting hit with an iron clad glove. In Daniel's case, it would be similar to a force of repulsion. So punching wasn't the solution. He had to make sure he made maximum contact when hitting Marcus and let the barrier do the rest. He had to slam himself into his opponent, use his opponent's strength to his advantage and deflect the blows, bouncing the off if his barrier.
Unfortunately for him, he recieved a kick to his side that sent him sprawling.
"Hey trash! You listening?" Came a gruff voice.
"I am sorry, I might have spaced out while you people were barking." Daniel said furiously.
"Hey now." He attempted to grab Daniel by the arm, but he couldn't get a grip. Daniel saw his chance. Instead of punching he slammed the palms of his hands into the guy's chest with full force. The guy looked surprised and Daniel felt as surprised as the guy looked because the guy flew back atleast 5 meters and hit the ground painfully. Daniel had a stroke of inspiration and he slammed his palms into the ground at full force. The repulsion he felt against the ground was so much that he shot to his feet and almost lost balance. There was a disoriented shout as Marcus swung at Daniel. Until now, he had been blocking fists with his forearms, but this time, he swung his hand, pushing away Marcus's wrist. The repelling force was such that Marcus's fist changed direction and went completely astray. Marcus didn't waste any time. He attempted to hit Daniel with his knee. Daniel brought his palm over his stomach and jumped up. As the knee collided with his palm, he felt the strong repulsion force and let it send him flying off. He landed on his feet safely, surprised at the amount of distance he had put between himself and Marcus. He ran forward. One of the other guy's ran at him, punching at Daniel. Daniel pushed away his wrist with his palm, completely changing the direction of the punch as he had done before and not knowing what to do, he grabbed the guy's face and pushed it. He felt the guy's face slip out if his grip from the strong force of repulsion. The guy arched back with surprising speed. He hit the ground headfirst with a THUD! and lay there clutching his head swearing.
The guy Daniel had pushed back before seemed to have recovered while the blob one was keeping his distance. The first one came at Daniel and made the mistake of punching. Daniel pushed his arm away with the same movement, though this time he tried to put extra force behind his hand. The guy completely lost balance and staggered sideways.
Daniel took advantage of his disorientation and as the guy turned, he slammed the palm of his hand into his opponent's chest. Ofcourse the strike itself wasn't painful at all. But the repulsion force between an object and Daniel's barrier was strong. He sent the guy flying with his push. The guy spun in midair. He had gone really high up. He hit the ground with his back and tried to regain balance.
Suddenly, Daniel was pushed forward and he landed on his hand. He turned to see that the other guy had recovered and was looking mad. Daniel got up and swung his whole arm at the guy, who put up his forearms to block Daniel's strike. Unfortunately for him, the more the area of contact between Daniel's body and the surface he was striking, the more repelling force the object felt. At once, the guy flew back much higher and much farther than his peer. He hit the ground hard with his back and ceased all movement this time. Just lay there unconscious.
Daniel turned to see that the other guy also wasn't getting up. The blob guy was no where to be seen. Daniel charged Marcus who brandished his fiery hands. Daniel's senses went into overdrive. He let his body flow. Every time Marcus him him, he let the push direct his body away. He pushed away his wrists and deflected his blows away from his body. Marcus swore in frustration as most of his punches met the air and the ones that hit Daniel had no effect. But Daniel was also getting tired. He couldn't keep this up. His arms ached from all the movement, not to mention the weights. As Marcus directed a hit at Daniel's face, he brought up his hand and pushed Marcus's fist upwards. The guy staggered backwards in disorientation. Daniel struck Marcus in the stomach with his other palm, pushing forward with full force. He heard Marcus gasp and felt him bounce off of his palm. He flew back off his feet and hit the ground in a similar fashion as all his peers, though he immediately got back to his feet. He attacked Daniel again, but Daniel had had enough of this at this point. He let Marcus hit him with conviction, right in the face. Marcus looked surprised that Daniel had let him punch him, but right at that moment, Daniel swung out his hand, and struck Marcus in the side of the face. The repulsion force sent him sprawling in the dust. He got up spitting as Daniel sprinted at him and slammed his shoulder into him. The guy was lifted off of his feet. He hit the ground with a loud WHAM! and Daniel finally thought this was the end.
But no. A projectile hit him in the face and he fell back, more in surprise than in pain. He was too tired for this now. His eyes were watery from all the flashes of Marcus's flames. He stared up at the sky, not wanting to move. 4 faces came into view. A red head and three others Daniel couldn't care less about at this point. What was their problem with him? Why the hell were they after him? Yeah, he knew the answer himself, but it wasn't something that justified these guys' actions.
"Maybe, we should bury him right here." Said one of the guys savagely.
"You didn't beat us, scum." Said another, "You just caught us by surprise, that's all."
"Why do this?" Daniel blurted out, without meaning to. He knew he should probably stop, but somehow, he continued, "We all are fighting the same enemy, right? We all have to work together so as to stay alive. I don't know much but I know that. Then why all of this?"
"Hm? Oh, I guess you don't get it." Said Marcus, "So listen, loud and clear. We can't care less whether you live or die. We are just paying you back."
Reason was pointless. They weren't gonna listen. Marcus lifted his foot over Daniel's face, and Daniel prepared himself for his last act of defiance, preparing to spring up.
WOOSH!
The guys standing on top of Daniel all went out of view as momentarily, a blinding light flashed, washing everything in white. Daniel got up and turned.
His opponents were all standing way off, clutching their abdominal regions. And right in front of Daniel stood...
"You ok, man? Gosh, I never expected them to have the guts to attack you." Davy Castillo said, turning his head slightly and looking sideways at Daniel.
"I am ok!" Daniel said gratefully.
"Good! Then get back to the room. I will take out the trash."
"Oh, ok. Ummm...." Daniel patted the pocket of his shorts. His barrier had subsided. "Crap, I lost the keys." He said to Davy.
"What?"
"Hey man, blame them."
"But you had the keys with you!"
Right at that moment, Marcus charged Davy, while his goons stood off, their expressions wary. He hit Davy right in the face with his fiery puch before Daniel could shout a warning.
Or atleast, Marcus attempted to hit Davy. Davy tilted his head to the side and kicked Marcus in the gut, sending him skidding backwards.
"Damn it, Castillo!" Shouted Marcus, spitting blood.
Before he could go on, Davy had already sprinted at him and delivered multiple blows in a second. Marcus slid off his feet and hit the ground, completely unconscious. The speed and power of Davy's blows had been such that Daniel hadn't even been able to completely follow the movement. He was left blinking as Davy stepped over Marcus and casually advanced at the other three guys.
But Marcus wasn't out yet, he jumped to his feet and tried to attack Davy while the latter's back was turned. Again, before Daniel could shout warning, Davy had already caught Marcus's arm and flipped him over his shoulder and into the ground, hard. Marcus jumped back to his feet again and tried to attack again.
Suddenly, a blinding white light flashed before Davy. Everything was washed with that light for a second and Daniel blinked hard, trying to make out what was going on. The second passed, and all 4 of Daniel's attackers lay on the ground, unmoving and unconscious, while Davy patted Daniel's shoulder and indicated the latter to follow.

All in all, though this was probably the worst fight Daniel had had since coming here, it was the one in which he'd endured the least bit if damage.
"I am seriously impressed." Davy said gulping down his noodles, "You held out that long against four guys, alone. That's great!"
"It was just a stroke of luck." Daniel said, feeling a bit if dread, "And you took them out in an instant. So what can I say..."
"But you have the weights on you." Davy said, "Point to be noted."
"Yes, well..." Daniel said, not knowing what else to say. Then, "What's your Imperium, by the way?"
"It's called Flash Eye." Davy said, "It allows me to emit blinding light for just a second once every 2 minutes and blind my opponent momentarily. In their moment of disorientation and blindness, I attack and take them out."
"That's..." Daniel began, not knowing what to say. Not a very strong Imperium? But Davy had taken down all of the goons at once, hadn't he?
"It's not strong." Davy said putting down his noodle cup, "But well, I am pretty ok at fighting, so it works."
"Pretty ok at fighting? Dude, you are a monster!" Daniel said incredulously, "And you said you can't beat Cecile. What chance do I have then?"
"Cecile's Imperium is too strong for any if us, Daniel." Davy said, "The only one with an Imperium as strong is you. Speaking of which, have you gotten a countermeasure for her Imperium yet?"
"I think so." Daniel said nervously. He recounted how he had deflected the football and pushed away the tulips by crossing his arms.
"Come on here then." Davy said, sitting down at his desk and turning on his laptop, "We gotta check."
He opened the search engine APSE and searched for the database they occasionally checked.
There it was.
Counter measures Imperium 1410 takes against "Platinum Claw."
Counter measure no. 4: Repulsive barrier against part A
Counter measure no. 2: Repulsion energy against part B

"She has 2 Imperiums?" Daniel asked Davy.
"Her Imperium had two parts." Davy replied, "But don't worry, she can't use part A. So no need to pay attention. The important part is that it seems you have unlocked the counter measure to part B, the main part. And it is gonna be really effective."
"Repulsion energy." Daniel read, "Makes sense. Her Imperium allows her to chop her enemies to ribbons with platinum wires. If I can push the wires away before they touch me, that should work."
"Seems like it." Davy replied, "You need to train with this. Tell miss Sherman about this."
"Right."

* * *

As it turned out, the following week, whizzed past at lightning speed. His training with Penelope had to be turned up a notch and she told him they would focus on the new techniques she wanted to teach him later. It seemed that even she was possessed by his goal of beating Cecile. Apparently, Bartemius and Penelope had constantly been on bad terms because of their different methods of training (Penelope had trained other academy students before Daniel). Davy seemed more solemn than usual as the date of Daniel's match against Cecile drew closer. Both he and Sandra tried to help out Daniel in every way they could. Davy did some of his writing assignments in his spare time and Sandra tried to help him meditate so that he could relax and get sound sleep. Their friendship with Cecile was hanging on the thin chance that Daniel beat her. As for Daniel, his name and pride depended on his win.
Penelope tried to get him used to repulse energy by throwing objects at him. Many times, it didn't trigger and the object just slammed into Daniel's crossed arms. But he was fine. Everything depended on his victory. After everything Davy and Sandra had done for him and all the training Penelope had given him, he owed it to everyone just as much as he owed it to himself.
The day of the match came. There was a knock at his door in the morning and there stood the two people he hadn't been expecting to see this early: Penelope and Liz. Penelope was wearing a neutral expression on her face while Liz looked like she was trying to swallow a lemon. What was weirder was that Penelope was dressed casually: in a t-shirt and shorts. Her hair was tied in a plait, with strands framing her cheeks.
"Daniel Xander," She said solemnly, "come outside."
The three of them walked right to the lawn in front of the dorm. Davy and Sandra were standing there too with the purple haired guy who often trained with Davy.
"Daniel Xander," Penelope said again, and Daniel was more surprised to see that there was a hint of pride in her expression, "through sheer will power, you have completed your training. You have fully unlocked the semi mortal physical prowess. Now..." She put her hand to her back pocket and pulled out a small rectangular card. She held the card over his weights under his t-shirt one by one and the fell off, hitting the ground with heavy thudding noises. The purple haired guy walked over and picked up one of them.
"Genuine!" He announced as Davy and Sandra cheered.

"Now then." Penelope said. She faced Daniel, and then, drew back her fist and punched him in the stomach.
He gasped and flew back high up. Wait, how high up was he? He was atleast 10 meters in the air. He was suspended for just a moment, the world turning upside down before his plummet downwards. He twisted in midair, trying to make out the ground and to his astonishment, he was able to land on his feet.
WHAM!
Penelope swung her leg and kicked him in the side. He had instinctively put up his arm to shield, but it still hurt like hell. He landed 20 meters away this time. What was up? Was this his training? He heard a small 'thump' from behind him. No, he wasn't falling for this again. He leapt sideways. But this was no ordinary leap. This was unlike any leap he had ever taken. He sailed through the air and felt the strong gush of air all around him. He landed on his feet, feeling his legs vibrate under him. And then, the world slowed down. He turned. Penelope had materialised behind him, but she was moving slowly. As if some invisible force was holding her back. Slow enough for him to properly see her movement. No. It wasn't her who was moving slowly. Daniel's senses were perceiving her movements in hyper-speed. This was his true speed boost counter measure. He pushed her wrist to one side, redirecting her punch and then struck her in the gut with his knee. But she had already blocked him. She tried to hit him with the back of her hand but he leapt back again with strength he wasn't even sure was his own. His body felt light. He sprinted forward and heard a small boom as he began to sprint. But he misjudged his own speed because he left Penelope behind and ran straight forward, almost to the other side of the lawn in just a second. He turned to see Penelope right infront of him, about to kick him in the side of the head. He ducked and dove forward, rolling over the grass and immediately got back to his feet. He struck out with the back of his hand blindly, to his back. But Penelope blocked the strike and kicked at him. Daniel side stepped and attacked again. The two of them went hand to hand, kicking and punching and striking with joints. They moved around, covering the whole field at once, leaping and sprinting. And Daniel was surprised that this was him. He was doing this. He was keeping up with Penelope.
Penelope hit him in the chest with her elbow, knocking the breath out of him. He grabbed her wrist and attempted to punch her in the face. As expected, she attempted to block. Right then, Daniel locked his foot behind her leg and used all of his strength to push her back. She seemed so surprised at this tactic that she didn't even jump to avoid. Had she jumped, Daniel would have gotten his opening to kick her back, but since she didn't, he was successfully able to trip her. This was his opening, her hand was away from her face and he had her other arm in a steel grip. He was at his feet and she wasn't. At once, he struck out as her other hand shot to her face to block but it wasn't going to make it in time so she closed her eyes in what seemed to be fear. And Daniel stopped his fist just a centimetre from her face.
He let go of her other arm and straightened up, offering her a hand. She stared at him from the ground for a moment, as if trying to decide. Then, with a grudging smile, she grasped his had and he pulled her to her feet.
Davy, Sandra and Liz erupted in cheers; and even the purple haired guy was smiling, though it was hard to tell as they were standing on the other end of the lawn. He hadn't even noticed, but in their fight, they had left craters all over the lawn. Small lumps of dirt lay here and there all over the lawn.
"That was terrific!" Liz shouted, shaking his shoulder.
"There's hope for my bet!" Davy yelled, shaking a fist at the sky.
"That was amazing!" Sandra shouted.
"Great job." Penelope said, quietly, setting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her to see that she was smiling in earnest, now.
"Thanks," Daniel said, grinning uncontrollably, "Penelope."
"This level of growth..." Said the purple haired guy, walking to them, "the weights and your will power really brought out the best in you." He finished with a note of appreciation in his voice.
"Daniel, this is Peter Lovelace." Penelope said, "My former disciple."
"Whoa! Really?" Daniel said, "Pleasure."
"Pleasure's mine." He said smiling and shaking Daniel's hand, "You have really done something most people would deem impossible."
"Well, it was only half me." He said, "It was Penelope who really brought it out."
"I have no doubt." Said Peter, smiling.
He couldn't believe who he had been two weeks ago. The kind of weak, whiny guy. But...had he really managed to change? And why had he chosen to go through this, again?
"Don't overthink things." Penelope said quietly, as if reading Daniel's mind, "You walked this path because you chose to walk this path. There's nothing more to it. You are different from back then because you chose to be different. Everything you have achieved is because of that choice. And you have done great. Stand proud. Look back at the you from before only to see the changes now. Don't think about what would have happened had you not made that choice. That you is no longer a part of who you have become."
It was amazing, how Penelope knew just the right thing to say to reaffirm Daniel's beliefs. And this is the person who he had called scary during their first meeting.
"Thanks again, Penelope." He said smiling at her.
She smiled back and patted his shoulder.
"Xander!" Came a voice away from the group. All of them turned towards the source of the voice. It was the blond head from last week.
"Xander!" He yelled again, "Bartemius has called for you. It's about your match with Cecile. Follow me quickly."
"Alright guys, come on." Daniel said. But no one moved.
"Oh, Bartemius has banned us from the gym for today." Liz said.
"Don't worry though, I will cheer really hard for you!" Sandra reassured him.
"You will do this, Daniel. Only you can." Davy said.
Daniel turned for a second. Would he be able to do this? Why was Bartemius keeping them from witnessing the match? Was there foul play involved?
Fighting spirit. Penelope's voice rang in his ear.
"Ok, here I go." Daniel turned to face the group before him, "Wish me luck, guys."
"You will win Daniel!" Davy said with confidence, "We all stand behind you!"
"Go on ahead, Daniel!" Liz said proudly.
Penelope and the purple haired guy nodded at him.
He raised his fist at them as he walked away with the blond guy. Maybe, he would ask Smith to get a cake from his house if he made it out of the gym in one piece.

Daniel hadn't ever been more ready to fight someone. He stepped onto the mat. He felt surprisingly light and his body surged with a new strength, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. On the other end of the mat stood Cecile, her expression one of pride. He just had to wipe that smug look off her face. Just once. He'd passed all the guys who had jeered at him and Bartemius. His eyes fixed on his adversary. This is who he had to beat to fix everything. He'd extracted all details about Cecile's Imperium, or what Davy had called part B of her Imperium. She used 10 wires, all of them about ten meters long and so thin they were almost invisible.
His own counter to this, repulsion energy, was perfectly great for this situation. Whenever he crossed his arms, he would unleash a repulsive force that would push back all her wires. Uncrossing his arms would cut it off. Crossing and uncrossing his arms immediately would release all the repulsive force at once. This is what he had to do for maximum effect.
The bell rang, and Cecile unleashed her wires, all ten of them, with a single outward motion of her hands. Daniel immediately crossed and uncrossed his arms. Instantly, he saw the metallic glint of the wires arch away as Cecile herself stumbled backwards. Daniel saw his opening and sprinted forward, covering the distance between them in a second. He attempted to kick her in the face. He'd been mistaken in thinking that he'd gotten the upper hand. Cecile grabbed his leg, and turned to one side. Daniel knew she was going to attack him with her wires and slash him up. He twisted and grabbed her upper arm with his hand. He sprung up with his other leg and struck her face with his knee. She let go of his leg and went sprawling backwards and he fell down on his back. He got to his feet in a split second. Cecile too, it seemed was far from done. Blood spurted from her nose onto the carpet and her glasses were askew. Her lips were dangerously split up. She swung her hand out with a flourish and Daniel saw the metallic glint just in time to leap to one side as the wires missed him by an inch. She didn't stop but started to make smooth fluid movements with her hands. Wires came at him from all around and he jumped, dove and rolled so as to avoid being cut up. He couldn't use his repulse without it being adequately charged. And it took some time to charge up after he used it. Cecile continued making the movements, looking like a furious opera instructor. He ran around her, wanting to close the difference, but there was no way he could.
Then, the first wire cut him. He'd jumped up to avoid having his feet separated from him and that was when a wire slashed him across the chest. The cut wasn't deep, but it stung. Another wired shot past his ear and cut into his shoulder. How was she able to get her wires to move like that?
Daniel had to settle this within the next couple of hits. Even if that meant he had to cut himself up. He dove forward and used his hand to push himself forward, as he'd seen in the movies. Wires whizzed overhead, but in one moment, he'd managed to get right next to Cecile. He raised himself and punched. She caught his fist. Big mistake. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her downwards. She lost balance momentarily but steadied herself. But that wasn't what he'd been planning. He drew back his head and head butted her hard. Her own head jerked back hard and he loosened his grip on her wrist. She pulled it away and spun around kicking out at him. Her foot caught him in the chest and sent him sprawling backwards. He leapt forward again as soon as he got to his feet, narrowly missing another attack of steel wires. He had to do it now. As soon as he got within arms reach of Cecile, he unleashed his repulse. He doubted if it was enough to really send her flying. He'd been right. It was just enough that she staggered backwards. But this was his opening. He closed in and leapt up. Her wires which she'd unleashed in a split second cut into his body, and his vision blurred, but he used all his strength to slam his knee into Cecile's face.
It was over. Her whole body arched back as she hit the ground head first. Daniel landed on his feet and cautiously backed away, afraid that his effort hadn't been quite enough. But it had been enough. Cecile Kress lay on the ground knocked out, as boos from the spectators filled his ears, but this victory itself, was equal to a thousand cheers to him.