A Second Chance

Part 14 - It's time for an upgrade

 "So, we've got the first part covered: a general that can lead SWAT to win against the fighters ranked 25th-13th," Mark summarized. "Now, we need to make your suit stronger,"

"My suit?" I asked, intrigued. "But how?"

"There's a way to do this, but it's pretty hard." 

"Is it worth risking?" I worried. "I'm sure I can beat those four if I prepare beforehand,"

"It won't work: those four are on a different league from the other elite fighters, at least from what The Swordsman said," Mark insisted. "That's excluding the fact that you barely beat The Trickster and The Swordsman and you wanted ZERO deaths during The Purge. We'll need to prepare in the best way possible if you want that outcome."

"Right..." I realized. "It's time for an upgrade,"

"We need three rare elements to strengthen our suit," Mark continued. "Want to guess?"

"Alright, I'm 90% sure that one of them is Titanium," I replied. "But what about the other two?"

"What the–you got the first part right!" Mark exclaimed. "How'd you know?!"

"I figured it'd help me endure stronger attacks and handle rougher conditions, you know, in those battles with the four people that I'm supposed to fight," I explained.

"Exactly," Mark nodded. "Now, the other two are Neodymium and Samarium."

"Neodymium and Samarium, huh? I've heard of them, but rarely see them used," I wondered.

"Neodymium will boost your agility. Your suit will have a stronger magnetic attraction to surfaces with a hint of metal, so you can cling to them whenever you want. You'll be climbing walls and doing crazy acrobatics," Mark explained enthusiastically.

"So I now have metallic abilities too?"

"And now, Samarium. That one's harder to find, but it'll be really helpful for your defenses. You can upgrade your electric force field to an electromagnetic force field. No more facing just one direction, because your new force field can change the direction anytime!" Mark unveiled. "Oh, it can also block more powerful shots as well!"

"Shoot, I need these power-ups!" I exclaimed.

"That's right," Mark replied. "Find these elements and your offensive and defensive capabilities will skyrocket!"

"In that case, I'll head out right now," I said, casually slipping into my blue jacket and heading for the door.

"Wait, what about the suit?" Mark asked.

"You can pick it up at my place," I responded. "Take a break from the computer for once."

Mark chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'll swing by your apartment later. But promise me you'll be careful out there,"

"You know me, Mark," I smiled. "I'll be as careful as ever."

"Alright then, sending coordinates," Mark said, and the location popped up on my screen.

The coordinates seemed to be quite distant, but I was determined to reach them. With the upgrades to my suit and The Purge coming up, I'll have to do whatever it takes to ensure zero deaths as I promised.

I walked to the location, paying attention to my surroundings.

So far, everything looked good: streets were bustling with people, there were multiple hot-dog and burger stands, and huge sky-scrapers scoured all around. It was nice to be walking in such a good environment. Not only that, but nobody actually knew that I was Power-Punch, making it even better.