With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty

Chapter 7

"Okay, so Erza's working on a cure for us. Great," Gray said, pacing. "Nothing to worry about. We just have to wait. Wait and remain calm."

Natsu leaned back against the wall, arms crossed and a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You know... this might not be so bad."

Gray spun around. "Not so bad?! We're freaks of nature! Or are we freaks of science? Whatever! Either way—we're freaks!"

"Maybe we should be more positive about it."

"Okay, I'm positive we're freaks."

Before Natsu could respond, an all-too-familiar voice rang out behind them.

"Hey, Fullbuster!"

Gray stiffened as Laxus Dreyar stormed toward them, flanked by his ever-present goons, Bickslow and Freed.

"Yes, Laxus?" Gray said cautiously.

"Where's my report?"

"Report?"

"The one you were supposed to write for me! Where is it?"

Gray rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh. Right. Sorry, I kinda forgot. You know—what with being mauled by a tiger and hospitalized and all..."

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "So you're backing out of our deal? That it?"

"Deal?" Natsu echoed.

Gray muttered, "I do his homework, he doesn't break my face. Classic arrangement."

"Yeah, well... guess what? You're going straight back to the hospital—courtesy of my fist."

Laxus lunged, swinging hard—but Gray dodged it with ease. Another punch—dodged. A third—Gray sidestepped and flipped backward like it was nothing.

"Are you done now?" Gray asked calmly, landing in a perfect crouch.

Laxus blinked, stunned. "You think you're real smart, don't you?"

Natsu grinned. "Compared to you? He's a genius. Then again, everyone's a genius compared to you, Laxus."

"Shut your mouth, Dragneel!" Laxus barked, turning his fury on Natsu.

"Make me."

Laxus charged again, throwing a punch that Natsu caught effortlessly. Before Laxus could react, Natsu countered, sending him flying backward. He recovered quickly and lunged again—only to eat Natsu's fist, right in the jaw.

"Had enough?" Natsu said. "You know something, Laxus? Gray's not doing your homework anymore. And if you still feel like harassing us..." He stepped forward. "...you better be ready for a fight."

"Whoa," Bickslow muttered. "The nerds are on steroids."

Freed placed a hand on Laxus's arm. "Let's get out of here."

Laxus glared at him but didn't argue. He gave Natsu and Gray one last death-stare before spitting, "I got better things to do anyway. But this isn't over."

As the trio walked away, Natsu smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Go write your own paper next time."

Once they were gone, Gray let out a breath. "Okay... I won't lie. That felt really good."

"Right? I didn't think we'd ever get one over on Laxus. Told you there's a positive side to this mutation thing."

"I still don't like it," Gray said. "We need to keep this under wraps. If people find out what we can do, we could end up in serious trouble."

"I guess..."

Just then, a sleek, cherry-red convertible roared past them. Behind the wheel was Loke, the local rich pretty-boy bachelor, and beside him—Lucy Heartfilia, looking all too impressed by the flashy car.

Natsu watched them pass, eyes wide. His expression shifted from awe to mischief.

"On second thought... you can keep it a secret. But me? I'm gonna get some use out of these powers."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked, wary.

"I'm kinda low on cash, right? Maybe these powers can help me make a little money."

"Doing what? Working at the circus?"

Natsu's eyes landed on a flyer stapled to a nearby telephone pole. It advertised an open-challenge wrestling match happening Friday night. Beat the champion, win $1,000.

He grinned and ripped it off the pole. "This."

Gray snatched the flyer and read it. His eyes widened. "Are you insane? This guy's a professional! You'll be pulverized!"

"Not with my new skills, I won't."

"Natsu, this isn't some backyard brawl. You're going up against someone trained to break bones."

"Relax. I've got this."

"Even if you could pull it off, there's no way your dad would let you do it."

Natsu smirked. "That's why I'm not gonna tell him. And neither are you."

"Oh no. You're not dragging me into this."

"Come on, all you have to do is not tell anyone where I am Friday night."

"What if someone asks? Like my aunt?"

"Just say you don't know."

"You mean lie?! I can't lie to her, man. Aunt Ur can see through walls."

"Please. Just this one time. Do it for me. Remember—I did save you from Laxus."

"You didn't save me. I had that handled."

"Sure you did."

"What do you need the money for anyway?"

"I wanna buy a car."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "A car? Since when do you care about cars?"

Then he remembered the convertible... and Lucy.

"Oh... I get it. You want a car like Loke's so you can impress Lucy."

"No. Maybe. Shut up."

"Natsu, face it. Guys like us don't end up with girls like Lucy."

"Says the guy crushing on her just as hard as I am."

Gray groaned. "Touché."

"So? You gonna cover for me or not?"

Gray considered. "Okay. But only if you promise me you'll come back alive."

"Alive and a thousand bucks richer. Then it's car time, baby. And Lucy will never look at me the same way again."

"There goes my only shot at true love."

Natsu chuckled. "Doesn't your aunt try to set you up with girls anyway?"

"Yeah, but she's horrible at it. The last one was some extreme activist who thought science was a crime against nature... and she had crooked teeth."

"Yikes. Your aunt thought she'd be a good match?"

"Said she seemed 'nice' on her profile. Now she's trying to set me up with her co-worker's sister-in-law."

"And what's she like?"

"I don't know and I don't want to know. Next time Aunt Ur brings it up, I'm just gonna tell her I'm not interested."

"And you really think she'll listen?"

Gray sighed dramatically. "Lord, I pray she does."