Thanatos

Chapter 5

Kei was nothing like the last time Megan had seen her.

Well, she still looked the same: a seventeen-year-old, purple haired Japanese-American clad in a black leather jacket which had been discarded to the side of the court for a black sports underwear on black jeans and black leather boots. Her hair had actually been a bob cut the last time they met but they were now grown into full long locks tied in a big single braid down her back to allow for ease of movement on the court.

What was different was her vibe. Gone was the childish, carefree and willful aura that was seemly characteristic of her. It was almost like a second skin to her then, permeating through everything she was and did; her stance, her stride, even her subconscious. Now, that vibe was replaced by something dark, measured, and perhaps lethal in nature.

How much of this is the making of the events of last time? Megan wondered.

Kei was the only girl in the trio that was the Homo supernus, the Supermen. Her power was superspeed, which she utilized to hone her martial arts skills. She was somewhat the designated warrior of the group, proficient with an array of weapons ranging from katanas to throwing daggers and shuriken.

For all of her usefulness though, she also happened to be the only one of the trio that Megan wasn't that enthusiastic to see.

A primary reason was that the teenage speedster's nature always presented a challenge to her. In almost every encounter, she never missed the chance to needle, argue, and get on her nerves. It was as if she wanted to find just out how much she could bear before breaking; and while she didn't break in the end, she definitely felt herself bend to the point of groan.

However, on their last outing together, Kei had surprised Megan when she had worried for a member of the group to the point of blind panic - inadvertently putting a finishing touch on the debacle that ensued afterwards of course - but that different side of her even to putting her life on the line to save his prompted a reexamination from her.

Yep, that kind of story will definitely change anyone, Megan concluded.

Kei was on the court alone when Dennis and Megan approached. She was passing, shooting, and defending the ball all by herself but the movements were so fast that it almost looked like there were seven of her conducting the moves all at the same time with seven balls.

"She's incredibly fast now," she remarked.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling a little in what one could be tempted to term as a proud father moment. "She's gotten better since she recovered from the explosion, more dedicated to the practice and work too. If only she would just listen to me and not sneak off the mountain, things would be gloriously great."

Well, it seems like there's a story waiting to be told, Megan caught the strange look in Dennis' eyes and her curiosity was piqued.

Unfortunately, she didn't get the chance to probe for details as they had already reached the court and Kei stopped the moment she looked up to see them arrive.

"Meg," she called as she laid eyes on her, almost looking like she was shocked at the sight in front of her. "Gosh, I thought you were dead. I mean, that would have been a perfect justification for how things went after last time."

One blink and Megan found Kei inches away from her face, the sudden change in position disorienting her so much that she would have fallen backwards had Dennis not steadied her in time.

"Such a shame." Kei smirked.

"Kei," Dennis warned her with a glare.

"What, Director?" She shrugged defiantly. "You asked me to be nice. This is as nice as I can be." She faced Megan with an almost sarcastic smile. "Trust me, Meg. Right now, I'm the nicest face you're going to see around here."