Butterfly Kisses Part 1

Chapter 43: Anyma Agapi

Crimson, hexagonal sheets of energy surrounded a tall muscular man in a sphere, as he stood in front of a cannon used purely for testing purposes. A large bang erupted into the air, an iron ball spinning towards one of the sheets. Scarlet sparks danced into the air as the cannonball bounced off of the barrier.

"So the barrier gets stronger every time it gets hit. Hmm...not quite. It's more like it absorbs the kinetic energy from whatever hits it, and redirects it at the projectile that hits it. What's even more impressive is that the procedure happens in less than a second, meaning no matter how much you throw at the shield it will never break! Absolutely incredible!" 

"I haven't found anything that's been able to break it so far." The man wiped his forehead with a towel.

"More testing will be done tomorrow. Imagine, Anyma, what could be done if soldiers had a fraction of your DNA! They'd be able to create a massive dome of defence!" The doctor got lost in thought so Anyma waved him goodbye and walked out the door.

The boulder of a man curled up into a ball, covering himself in his shield again and rolled down the hill towards his favourite tree. That tree had been hit so many times yet it never collapsed. It always stayed strong just like Anyma.

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"Hey Anyma, can we get your autograph?" A collection of five kids ran up to him, each with their own merchandise. One had a shirt with Anyma's face on it, one with a hat, one with an Anyma action figure.

"Sure thing!" He rushed over, pen in hand, and immediately signed every piece of merchandise. He even posed for a selfie with them all.

"Thanks mister!" They all ran to their parents with brilliant joy. 

"Can I test your shield?" An eight year old girl asked innocently.

"Sure!" Anyma put his barrier up, the honeycomb pattern surrounding him as always. The girls eyes glowed red and a powerful laser shot out from it. As soon as it hit the barrier it dissipated into the air.

"So cool! Thank you!" She ran towards the other kids.

Anyma entered a small corner shop and greeted the cashier/owner.

"Hey Anyma, how can I help you today?" The owner was small, old and frail, but always spoke with a strong voice and was adamant on doing everything himself.

"The usual please, Si-woo." He looked around for any new offers but found nothing. The owner was quick on his feet despite his old age and got to the counter with everything Anyma wanted in a couple of minutes.

"This old man's back won't be any good in a few years." He grumbled as he rubbed his back with ointment. 

"You'll still be faster than everyone else." Anyma  waved as he left with a bag of items.

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"Are you ready, Anyma?" The same doctor as before placed safety goggles over his head with thick gloves.

Anyma clicked his neck and his knuckles, stretched his arms, and then stared at the cannon in front of him for a few seconds. They fired, and he waited for the doctor's signal. As soon as the doctor blew the whistle, Anyma generated his shield. Half of one of the cannonballs was past the shield but it was quickly sliced in half. The other cannonball bounced off just like before.

"Whoah."

"Incredible reaction time!! By slowing down the footage we can see that the cannonball was cut from where the shield was created. It's as if the shield shut like an automatic door." The doctor stroked his chin. "I have one more thing I'd like to try!"

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"Whenever you're ready, Anyma!" He shouted from behind bulletproof glass.

The air around Anyma's body sparked and many hexagons quickly formed a hollow protective sphere around him. He breathed in, and the shield expanded to three times it's original size. Anyma nodded, and the doctor pressed a big red button.

Thousands if not millions of bullets collided with the shield, reflecting back towards the turrets that fired them. Some ricochet into each other. Either way, the shield stayed strong. Overheating turrets deactivated.

"Great work, we'll continue this tomorrow!!"

"Be seeing you!" Anyma left the scientist's research centre. Death Arms was waiting for him at the exit.

"You're Anyma?" Death Arms asked in a grumbled voice.

"You want my autograph or something?"

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Thanks for reading this chapter of Butterfly Kisses. Anyma is the second of four 'champions' and his quirk is used for defensive purposes...obviously. It creates a honeycomb structure around his body that can increase in size.

See ya.