Chapter 30: Black Panther

We walked outside, Mr. Bose then walked to the left and I went to the right while the twins and Ms. Avery stood outside the door. “You better be ready, Ferral,” Mr. Bose said, “Because I don’t plan to hold back.” I transformed, “Yeah, me neither.” I got into my fighting stance, and so did Mr. Bose. “So, I’m guessing we won’t be eating anytime soon.” I overheard Ezekial say. “Oh, well I could go and prepare the food,” Ms. Avery responded, “I don’t really enjoy watching people fighting anyways.” She opened the door and went back inside. Mr. Bose and I stared each other down, slowly getting ready to throw the first strikes. Thinking about it, this might not be as easy as I would like. Mr. Bose may be old but that means he’s got experience, right? Till now I’ve been fighting people in my age group, so I know that they won’t be THAT knowledegable compared to me. Although, because Mr. Bose is older; he shouldn't be that fast or strong either. If I can stall long enough, I could get a feel for the way he fights and find any openings. Yeah, this should be-

Before I could finish my thought, Mr. Borse rushed at me and I barely had time to block the right kick he threw. “Ngh!” He’s fast! And that kick hurt a lot more than I thought. I pushed away his leg and went for a punch, but he dodged it and went for a punch toward my stomach. I caught it with my left hand then we started to exchange punches, kicks, blocks, and dodges. He was better than I expected, about as strong as Leona and his way of fighting was something I hadn’t seen before. He used his legs more than his fists to throw attacks, and trying to land a solid blow on him was almost impossible with how tight his defense was. He landed a solid left kick to my ribs, but I ignored the pain and slammed my arm down on his leg so he couldn’t pull it back. He threw the other leg toward my face, but I caught it and spun-threw him behind me. His body hit and slid on the ground, being stopped by a tree. He got up and dusted himself off, “You are quite good, I must admit.” He said as he got back into position. “You’re pretty strong too,” I replied, “ I have to ask, what kind of fighting style are you using?” “Engolo. It’s a form of ritual combat used in Africa.” He charged back at me, but now I know how he fights so I dodged each kick he threw. He swept my legs, but I caught myself and swept his right back. We were both on the ground then got back up to continue our fight, neither of us letting up.

However, just when I thought I had his fighting style figured out, he started to throw more punches. Jabs and hooks from both directions while putting his arms in front of him to block. I was thrown off by this sudden change that he got multiple hits across my face and an uppercut to my stomach. He kicked me back and I slid away, holding my stomach. How was able to change his fighting style so quickly? Didn’t matter, I’ll just have to figure this one out too. I leaped toward him, throwing a right hook that he blocked, and threw his own punch that connected to my right jaw. “What’d you call this one?” I asked as we exchanged blows. “Moraingy,” He responded, “A type of martial arts quite popular in Madagascar.” He dodged one of my attacks and kicked me in the back of the head. I fell to the ground and quickly picked myself up, only to be kneed in the stomach. I growled and threw a hard left hook that slammed right into his face. Alright, I think I got this new one figured out so I rushed him knowing full well he’ll throw a punch. But he stood there closing his eyes and letting his arms drop; it had to be some form of trick so I continued my attack, clenching my left fist. I threw the punch right toward his face….he moved his head dodging the attack, then shooting eyes open and hit the side of my neck with his hand. A sharp pain shot through my neck and I blacked out.

*At the Facility* “I think you’ll be rather pleased with our progress, Dr. Atlas.” Dr. Aero said as he opened Room 367. We walked inside to see the room to see how The Project has been holding up. As the other scientists worked, we walked closer to the pod for inspection. “It’s already in the adult stage and we’re far ahead of schedule. It’s practically done.” I walked around the pod, examining every inch of the creation. “Everything’s been accounted for as far as concealing any flaws?” I asked. “Indeed. And it’s had me thinking, why wait until the four months are up? Why not just release it now?” I walked back next to Dr. Aero, “No.” I responded. “But, why?” He asked. “Because I want there to be not a single flaw with this creation,” I told him, “It has to be perfect. The perfect challenge for Experiment 9320.” I began walking back toward the door, “We’ll continue with the four-month timeframe, everything must be aligned properly for Experiment 9320 to reach his full potential.”