Unordinary: New Student

37: We Beat Him

Stephanie's POV

"I'm so sorry, Stephanie." John repeated quietly, finally meeting my eyes after a while. What I saw scared me, to be honest. John's black hair was wilder than ever with the loss of his hair gel. His golden eyes were filled with malice, but switched to fear and guilt when he stared at me. Blood was running down his arm, staining his teal uniform. Most of all, he had an ability. And his immense aura sent shivers down my back. "Please, hear me out," he rambled on, staring at me desperately. "Please, I wanted to tell you, I really did. But I couldn't! But I was scared of what you'd think!"

I took a deep breath, surveying John's unfamiliar and frightening look again. I reminded myself that my caring and gentle friend was still in there, and I could see him deep inside the emotions of his eyes. Yes, the John I knew was in there, pleading to me not to leave him. "We can talk about this later, John," I finally replied, standing up and walking until I was next to him. "We have more important things to deal with right now." When John still looked unsure, I added, "And I'm not mad about this." 

Hearing this, he looked dumbfounded for a moment before giving me a wide grin. "Right, thanks." Then he glanced over at Arlo, who stood quietly, but the smirk had not been wiped off his face. He must have known that John has an ability.

"I'll take those two." I pointed at Meili and Ventus, who scowled back at me. "You can go straight for Ass-lo." 

"Will you be okay?" John asked me, looking concerned for me.

"I'll be fine." I said impatiently. "I'm going all out today." I cracked my knuckles.

With a nod, John turned from me and rushed at Arlo, who just calmly faced him. I turned to Meili and Ventus. "Ready when you are," I said underneath my breath. With a yell, Meili darted toward me, her red demon claws flashing ominously behind her as she ran. Then when she was close enough, she extended her arm, and a claw flashed toward my neck. I ducked, flinging a fist at her face, and it connected with her cheek. 

With a growl, Meili jabbed her arm forward, and her attack came dangerously close as I dodged again. I created a barrier in front of me, blocking the next hit. If I could just land one solid hit with as much force as possible... I froze Meili for just one second in space, making her stumble and lose her balance. Now! I lunged forward, only to be met with a purple tornado. I gasped as the fierce winds sliced my arms and threw me backwards. I had forgotten about Ventus. Then Meili darted in, leaving a long and deep scratch on my side before darting away again.

"I didn't want to do this, but it looks like I have to." I grasped my bleeding side, closing my eyes and concentrating. I willed all the energy flowing in my body to move faster. Faster, faster, and faster. I willed my aura to expand its size. And when I opened my eyes again, I felt full of energy. "I call this: overdrive."

"Stop sprouting nonsense!" Meili flung her claws out at me, but realized that I wasn't there any longer. "What?" She gasped while I appeared suddenly at her back, with a ball of pulsing blue energy in my hand. 

"And I call this: aura burst." I announced as I slammed it into her side, causing Meili to clutch her side and collapse to the ground. With a cry, Ventus threw another whirlwind at me, but this time I blocked it with a reinforced barrier. I slammed my foot into Meili's stomach, then knocked her out with another fierce punch to her head.

"B-but how?" Ventus gasped while I turned away from Meili, approaching him slowly.

I smiled. "My overdrive speeds up and expands all my aura and energy inside my body, allowing me to move faster, hit harder, and block better. It also heightens my senses and self-healing ability." I motioned to my side, where the scratch Meili had given me was starting to stop bleeding, although it didn't disappear. "And my aura bursts fry, or zap, your energy in the place that I hit you in. You should barely be able to move that area, and of course, it hurts like hell."