1. The Dark Side of Destiny: Beginnings

Chapter 4 - Master of Lightning

The sun was shining, the day was warm, and the smell of fresh flowers was in the air. School was in session, but at a pause. Children were running all around outside of the school, shrieking as they chased each other, laughing as they played games, and one or two crying after a nasty fight. However, not every child was so keen to have fun in the sun. One lone boy sat apart from the rest, by the corner of the school building, hoping for some peace to let him focus on his work.

"Perfect!" Jay said to himself as he took in his finished creation. He'd just attached the last piece and now it was finally ready for testing. It was a visual aide for his upcoming school project – a book report, actually – and he'd been working on it every day at every opportunity for weeks. On the playground, during lunch, and after school. He'd only had a little help from his parents, but overall, it was his invention and his handiwork.

Now, the moment of truth: to see if it was functional.

It was a fairly simple machine, no electricity or wires, more like popsicle sticks and rubber bands. All he had to do was flick the first piece and it would start a chain reaction. He watched as objects fell and flipped and spun by the power of gravity alone. "Yes!" he cheered himself when it succeeded, swelling with pride. "It worked!" After all his hard work, it had come together perfectly, just in time for his report the next day.

"What are you doing?"

Jay turned to see three boys from his class watching over his shoulder. "Oh, hi!" Jay flashed a bright smile. "This is my project. I've been working on it for weeks and I actually got it to work! I just tested it and it went great. I was a little worried it wasn't stable enough, but it held together really good! Wanna see?"

But the kids just continued to frown at it. "You're doing homework. During recess?" one of them asked incredulously.

Jay shrugged. "I don't think of it as homework. It's fun. I could even show you how to make it!" he offered. "It'd be a lot easier to replicate since I already worked out all the problems, and the materials aren't hard to get, especially these sticks 'cause you get to eat a bunch of popsicles!"

Another boy broke out in a fit of laughter. "That's so dumb!" he declared, and the other two chuckled with him. "No wonder no one will play with you!"

Jay visibly wilted at this.

"You're such a nerd," the third boy said.

"Yeah, no one'll ever want to hang out with you if you're always doing homework!"

And with that, one of the boys kicked Jay's creation, sending the pieces sprawling, and all three of them ran off laughing.

Jay bolted to his feet. "Hey!" he yelled after them. "You can't do that!" But the damage was already done, and none of them cared. He was tempted to run after them, but it wouldn't make any difference.

Jay knelt back down and began collecting the pieces of his now-useless project, growing angrier and angrier. But soon he found himself fighting back tears.

All his hard work . . . .

Jay wiped one eye with the sleeve of his shirt before a tear could escape. There was no use crying about it. And he didn't want to give them that satisfaction. The best thing to do would probably be to tell his teacher. And maybe he could still fix it.

Jay did his best to put everything back where it belonged, but as soon as he moved his hands away, it all crumbled apart again. Jay groaned. "It's impossible!"

"Is it?" Again, Jay was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a stranger. He looked up to see a man standing on the other side of the corner in the school's shadow. "Or are we only confined by the walls we build ourselves?" the man asked. Jay squinted, but he couldn't quite make out his features, hidden in the shadows. The man tossed something to him, which Jay nimbly caught in his fingers. It was bent up paper clip from his machine.

Jay wanted to ask what the mysterious man had meant, but he was already speaking again. "What happened here?" he asked, eyeing the scattered debris. "Something go wrong?"

Jay continued to pick up the debris. "It was working just fine before those bullies came and messed it up," he answered, his anger resurfacing.

The man nodded. "I see. Bullies are often a problem. Do you get bullied a lot?"

Jay paused, thinking about it. "Well, not really. But most other kids don't like to hang out with me, and sometimes they can be kind of mean."

"I understand. When I was your age, people treated me the same way."

"Really?" Jay asked, eyes wide with disbelief. Someone understood him? That was new. Jay stared at the man in awe. "Who are you?" he wondered aloud.

"A dreamer, like you. Attempting to build the impossible. Care to join?"

"Join . . . what?"

"You're not alone, Jay. There are other kids in the world who are bullied, too. But I want to help people like you, so you don't have to be treated like this."

As much as he tried not to show it, Jay's interest was clearly piqued. "Like, how?"

Wu opened his mouth to speak, but as he leaned against the wall, he seemed to stumble. He quickly recovered and stepped away. He said, "I want to give you a place where you will be accepted, where others won't laugh at your talents, but praise them. And by teaching you to defend yourself at times like this."

Jay looked at the scraps in his hand. This was the first time anything like this had happened. Surely it wouldn't happen again, not after he told someone about it. "They're not usually this mean . . ." Jay mumbled.

"This won't be the last time, Jay, I promise you that. I already told you, I've been in your position before, and I know what it's like. If you don't stand up for yourself, they will never leave you alone."

Jay thought about it. Maybe it would be a good idea to learn how to scare off those boys in case they ever made fun of him again. It would at least make him look cooler, not to mention all that stuff Wu had said about being accepted and understood. Jay couldn't help but crack a smile, just thinking about the possibilities. He stood now. "You're right! I'll show those bullies that they can't push me around anymore!"

Wu chuckled. "I like your enthusiasm. But you'll have to save it."

"What? You mean we're not starting yet?"

"I apologize for making you wait, but there are a few things I still have to sort out." He paused, thinking, then added, "Starting a week from today, I want you to come back here right after school, everyday. Tell your parents that you're taking self-defense classes. I won't be here when you come, but you'll figure out how to reach my place; you'll know it when you see it."

"Okay . . . But what if those bullies come back before then?"

"Don't you worry about it," Wu encouraged him. "You're strong, Jay. I'm sure you can take care of yourself until then."

Jay was about to protest more when he realized that he was being called back into the school. When he turned his attention back to Wu, however, the man was already gone. He hurried and picked up the last few pieces of his wrecked machine. Despite the disappointment of having to wait, Jay had a big smile on his face, already imagining the looks on those boys' faces when he showed them a bunch of cool fighting moves.