To Walk the Whole Way 2 (Patreon)

“That fucking retard!” Itsuka shouted, punching a metal plate, her fist swelling as she launched the punch. By the time it collided, her fist was bigger than the plate was.

Much as I was always glad that Itsuka's mutant power wasn't aimed at me, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the plate. The girl had been through enough without having to deal with her super strength kicking in all the time.

“We should have known,” She gritted her teeth as she spoke. “I knew something like this would happen eventually. I told him so myself, didn't I?”

The two of us were in one of the junkyards around the docks that we'd visited earlier, sitting on a pile of scrap metal and looking out over the ocean. The sun had begun its descent behind the horizon, casting the sky in shades of red and orange. I looked at the sea as well, watching the waves crash against the rocks.

“He should have listened to me,” Itsuka muttered again, turning away from the sea. “I told him that if he wanted to stay safe, he shouldn't go out alone. I told him not to trust the Black Mask. I told him about the danger of getting involved with his organization, and yet he chose to listen to those assholes!”

She turned back to the water, a single tear running down her cheek. I wanted to try and comfort her, but I didn't know how. So instead, I looked out over the water, letting the spray of the ocean soak into my skin.

"We have to do something," I said after a few moments, my voice firm as I turned to face Itsuka. "We can't just sit here and do nothing."

Itsuka nodded, her eyes burning with determination. "You're right," she said. "We need to rescue him, no matter what it takes."

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as we stood up from the pile of scrap metal and headed back to our base. We had a plan to make, and we had to act fast if we wanted to save Itsuka's friend from the clutches of the Black Mask.

As we walked, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and fear at the same time. This was the kind of adventure I had always dreamed of, but I knew that it could be dangerous. Still, I was willing to do whatever it took to help Itsuka rescue our friend. Especially from himself.

[hr][/hr]

It was easy to make a declaration like that, but actually doing something about it was a lot harder. For starters, we didn’t know where Bart had gone. More than that, we didn’t know how deep in Black Mask’s organization he was. He was too young to be anything more than a grunt or an enforcer, but Bart was damn good at fighting, and with his size he had the potential to be crazy intimidating if you didn’t know him.

So for the time being, Itsuka and I focused on training. I threw myself into sparring with as many of the more advanced students as I could, determined to become stronger and more skilled. Itsuka, on the other hand, spent hours each day honing her super strength.

We also spent a lot of time gathering information on the Black Mask and their operations. We talked to contacts on the street, scoured the internet for any leads, and even staked out some of their known hideouts. But no matter what we did, we still couldn't find any solid information on Bart's whereabouts.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Our frustration grew with each passing day, as we felt like we were no closer to finding Bart than we had been when we started.

One evening, Itsuka and I were sitting in our base, exhausted from another day of training and searching. We were both slumped over on the couch, staring blankly at the TV. Suddenly, Itsuka sat up, a look of realization on her face.

"I think I know where Bart is," she said, her voice resolute.

My heart skipped a beat at her words. "Where?" I asked eagerly.

"I overheard some guys talking about a 'secret weapon' that the Black Mask had acquired," Itsuka said. "They said it was being kept in a warehouse in the industrial district."

I jumped up from the couch, feeling a surge of adrenaline. "Let's go," I said, already heading for the door.

Itsuka followed close behind me, and we quickly made our way to the warehouse district. As we approached the warehouse Itsuka had mentioned, we could hear the sounds of shouting and fighting coming from inside.

We exchanged a look, then burst through the door, only to come to a stop as the wave of thrumming bass, accompanied by the sound of jeers, shouts of encouragement, and the unrecognizable sound of fists meeting flesh. I shared a glance with Itsuka, both of us surprised. Was this a warehouse or a fight club?

My eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting, and I saw a large crowd of people gathered around a makeshift ring in the center of the warehouse. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and blood.

In the center of the ring was Bart, fighting against a muscular man wearing a black and white mexican wrestling mask. I recognized the man, everyone who lived in Gotham City did, he was the infamous Bane, the one who Broke the Bat. From the looks of it, he was juiced up on his Venom steroid, but Bart was somehow managing to not only survive, but actually holding his own.

“How the hell?” I muttered under my breath. It didn’t make sense, sure Bart was one of the best in our age group, but he wasn’t good enough to go toe to toe with Bane.

I shared a glance with Itsuka, before we settled down to watch the rest of the fight. The fight lasted for another minute, another minute of watching Bart hop around like a grasshopper, before Bane managed to grab onto Bart’s arm and threw him across, and out of, the ring.

The crowd roared in approval as Bane held up his fist, signaling victory. Bart hit the ground hard and rolled away, avoiding the hail of blows raining down on him from Bane. When he stopped rolling, he hopped up to his feet looking none the worse for wear.

Itsuka looked just as confused as I felt, her forehead scrunched up as she tried to process what we’d seen. In my case, it wasn’t helped by the screen that appeared in front of me.

[quote]New Unarmed Styles Available: Krav Maga (Initiate), Lucha Libre (Initiate), Pankration (Initiate)

Choose one to unlock[/quote]

I brought a hand up, tapping on pankration while disguising it as rubbing at my forehead. While I wasn't opposed to my power picking up the new martial art, this entire mess with Bart was so confusing. He had been able to stand up to Bane, fucking Bane, in unarmed combat, something that even the Caped Crusader couldn't do without getting his ass kicked.

The whole episode left me feeling a little dazed, but I still managed to make it out of the warehouse with Itsuka in tow. Once we were safely away, she finally broke her silence and voiced her opinion on the situation.

"That was insane! How could he do that? Does he have some kind of special training?"

This gave me pause for thought, and I took a moment to think about her question before wetting my lips and answering.

"I don't know," I said, my mind racing. "But I think we need to confront him about it. There's something going on with him, and I don't think it's just regular training."

Itsuka nodded in agreement, her face set in determination. "We need to get to the bottom of this, for his own sake."

The next day, we tracked Bart down to his apartment, determined to get some answers. When we got there, he was shirtless and covered in bruises and bandages, but he greeted us with a cocky grin.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"What the hell was that last night, Bart?" I demanded, my anger boiling over, while also trying to hide how unnerved I was by the fact that he didn't seem to be surprised to see us. "How were you able to fight Bane like that?"

Bart's grin only widened. "I've been training," he said simply.

"That's bullshit," Itsuka interjected. "No amount of training could prepare you for a fight like that. You were doing things I've never seen before."

Bart's expression grew more serious, and he gestured for us to come inside. "Fine, you want answers? I'll give you answers. But you're not going to like what you hear."

We followed him into his living room, where he proceeded to tell us the whole story. About how he had stumbled upon a secret fighting ring run by the Black Mask, where they used experimental drugs to enhance the fighters' abilities. How he had been offered a chance to join, and how he had been injected with a serum that had given him incredible strength and agility.

As he spoke, I began to get a really, really bad feeling. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was something about the way he was moving. As he puttered about his kitchen, I did my best to move closer to Itsuka, just to be on the safe side.

But before I could act on my instincts, Bart turned back to face us, holding a small vial filled with a thick, green liquid.

"And this," he said, brandishing the vial, "is the secret to my strength. The serum that I've been injecting myself with. It's what allowed me to go toe to toe with Bane."

Itsuka's eyes widened in horror. "Bart, you can't keep doing this," she said, reaching out to grab the vial from him. "It's not safe. You don't know what kind of long-term effects this could have on your body."

But Bart jerked away from her, a manic glint in his eye. "I know exactly what kind of effects it could have," he said, his voice rising. "And I don't care. I'll do whatever it takes to keep getting stronger."

I could see the madness in his eyes, and I knew then that something had to be done. I stepped forward, placing myself between Bart and Itsuka, and spoke in a low, firm voice.

"Bart, you need to stop. You can't keep taking that serum. It's not worth the risk."

But Bart just glared at me, his breathing growing ragged, "I don't care what you say," he spat. "I'll do whatever it takes to become the strongest."

And with that, he lunged forward, a crazed look in his eyes. We barely had time to react before the fight began, a brutal brawl in the middle of Bart's apartment. Bart's fist connected with Itsuka's chest, sending her flying back through a door deeper into the apartment, before he was on me.

I could feel the strength of his punches as they landed, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t bruising my bones with each blow. But I refused to give up. I couldn't let Bart hurt Itsuka, or anyone else. So I fought back, using every bit of training and skill I possessed.

It was a fierce battle, one that left us both battered and bruised. But in the end, I emerged victorious, pinning Bart to the ground with a knee to his chest.

As he lay there gasping for air, I looked down at him with a mixture of anger and pity. "You need help, Bart," I said firmly. "You can't keep going down this path. It'll destroy you."

Bart just glared up at me, his eyes filled with hate. "You don't know anything," he spat. "I'll show you all. I'll become the strongest, no matter what it takes."

And with that, he lashed out again, taking me by surprise and knocking me off balance. I stumbled backwards, barely managing to keep my footing. But it was enough for Bart to make his escape, disappearing out the door and into the night.

As I watched him go, I knew that this was far from over. Bart was a loose cannon, a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. And I didn't know if there was anything I could do to stop him.

But I couldn't focus on that right now. I ran deeper into the apartment, stepping past the ruined door to check on Itsuka. She was sitting up, seemingly unharmed, looking over her hands with a puzzled face.

“Itsuka, you okay?” I asked as I stepped past splintered wood.

“Yeah…” she answered hesitantly. “But from that hit, I don’t think I should be.”

Given the massive dent in the drywall behind her, combined with the number of wood shards that tore up her clothes but somehow left her skin untouched, I completely understood her confusion. The only thing out of the ordinary for her was…

[quote]Artifact: Horse Talisman of Shendu[/quote]

Was an amulet around her neck I’d never seen her wear.