Jacob once again found himself in the world of light, but this time, something was different. The air around him was electric, and around his neck, the Sterling Star burned with an ethereal, golden flame. Suddenly, it grew, swiftly doubling in size until it completely covered Jacob's chest. Three beams of light from its center burst forth and circled him in a dizzying kaleidoscope. The first touched his body, starting at his feet before molding upwards to his neck, becoming a cobalt mesh of chainmail. The second light became a bright crimson cape and latched onto his shoulders, widening until it was flat and extending outwards into a cape that flattered behind him. Finally, the third light exploded into a shower of stardust, cascading around him before hardening and solidifying properly around his body, becoming a gleaming silver armor. Once more, the world around him grew bright, and Jacob had to shield his eyes.

  Then, all at once, Jacob found himself back in the laundromat. However, he now found himself standing over Lance, and, to Jacob's relief, the boy was still perfectly pristine.

  "Lance! Thank goodness!" Jacob dropped to one knee, giving the boy a closer inspection. "You don't look hurt. Holy crap am I glad I managed to reach you in time."

  Lance's mouth was moving, but the words failed to form. Instead, he raised a trembling finger, pointing to something behind Jacob. Jacob turned, and what he saw made his jaw drop open. The Lowtown Legion thugs that had followed Lance inside looked like bowling pins that had been swept up in a hurricane, one of them hanging from a ceiling fan while two more were smashed through a wall. The remaining three were wobbling as they tried to stand back up. What was more, Jacob could spy what appeared to be an indentation in the floor where he had been a moment before the flash. That was when he finally looked down and took a good look at himself. The silver armor gleamed in the midday sun as the scarlet cape hung at his heels, and in a mirror on the wall, Jacob could see that his eyes were glowing even brighter than before. He felt so strange and yet so right. He was just bursting with energy beyond what a mere adrenaline rush would provide, and his senses were open. He could hear the chaos outside in perfect detail, from the sounds of each individual person screaming to a car blowing up and something catching on fire. Heck, he could even smell it, as well as feel the tension in the air as the remaining three thugs got back to their feet. Acting fast, Jacob scooped Lance up, opened the dryer, and quickly stuffed him in next to the girl.

  "Neither of you leave this machine! Understand?"

  He didn't wait for a response as he slammed the door shut and spun to face the three thugs. They had already surrounded him, one drawing another gun, taking aim, and firing. Jacob shrieked in terror as he shielded his face, but rather than the sensation of tearing metal and an eruption of blood, he only heard something plink to the ground pathetically. Three more shots followed by silence, and Jacob finally lowered his arms. Four dented bullets now lay at his feet, but there wasn't so much as a scuff on his armor. Jacob continued to balk in utter shock until a second thug latched onto him from the side.

  "Hey! Get off!"

  Jacob shoved out his arm, and the thug went flying, smashing through the wall. The third made his move, and on instinct, Jacob ducked, catching the thug on his back before he reached up, caught a wrist and an ankle, and he hoisted the thug up over his head. A second wave of amazement melted over Jacob, recalling how he couldn't even carry a sack of birdseed without getting winded before he refocused on the first thug and threw the third into him. They landed in a heap where they remained motionless. Jacob could only stare before looking down at his hands. The silver armor seemed to crackle with a strange energy that was emanating from his body. His everything was wired with it, making him jitter and tremble even when he was still.

  "This...this is amazing!" he gasped as he tried to settle down. "This is incredible! This is uncanny! This..."

  Suddenly, something snaked around his wrists. He could see it was a hooked chain that had now bound his wrists, and, as it went taut, he could see that it was held by a thug on a motorcycle with its engine revving up.

  "This is the worst day of my life."

  The motorcycle took off, and soon Jacob was scraping against the asphalt on his belly, unable to do much else but hold on. As they passed, more of the thugs turned towards them, and they started shooting at Jacob relentlessly. The armor was protecting him for the most part, but one zinged just close enough to the back of his head to burn hair. That got his blood pumping again, and he worked to get his feet underneath himself. He managed to rise to a sitting position and managed to ski. If he had the moment for rational thought, Jacob would have questioned the physics of this, but instead, he put his focus on the chain, trying to undo it and get himself free. With a flex of his arms, he managed to snap it, only for the motorcycle to make a hard right as the still-skidding Jacob went crashing into a nearby pretzel stand. Jacob now lay in a heap, a pretzel somehow stuck in his teeth and his face glazed in salt. He spat out the treat in disgust and forced himself upright.

  "I feel like I'm losing my freaking mind," he grunted as he popped a kink out of his back. "Seriously, can this day get any weirder?"

  Depends on what you think is weird, I guess.

  Jacob froze, and his heart sank. A quick sweep of the area showed that most anyone but the Lowtown Legion was now on the streets, which meant that voice could only have come from one place.

  "Please," he begged as he turned to the sky. "Please tell me I'm not hearing voices."

  No, lad, you're not hearing voices. Just a voice. My voice. I am Merrick, and I will be your combat instructor.

  Jacob suddenly let out a ghastly wail, one that attracted the nearby thugs in earnest.

  Jakers, boy! I don't even have physical ears, and you're making them bleed. I thought Nina had filled you in on everything by now.

  "So I was right!" Jacob sobbed. "You are with that Nina chick!"

  Merrick gave a haughty huff.

  Please. That salty wench wishes she was with me. But that's hardly here nor there at the moment. I believe you've made some new friends.

  Jacob looked up to find he was once again surrounded, but this time by scores more of the thugs than before. Then, in a deluge of purple and orange, they began to swarm Jacob. The boy was frantically ducking and weaving, managing to jump onto one's shoulders and latch onto a telephone post which he frantically shimmied upwards to put as much distance between them and him as possible.

  Climbing to a higher vantage point for better tactical analysis. Good thinking, boy, good instincts.

  "Please stop talking to me!" Jacob moaned.

  Back below, the thugs were piling on one another, forming a makeshift ladder in an attempt to get to Jacob. It was like fighting an army of locusts that were only interested in a single piece of grain, and here was Jacob ready for harvest. When he ran out of pole to climb, he looked to the nearest building. By his guess, it had to be at least a fifty-foot jump, and he was hardly in the best position with his back to the wall, so to speak. Still, it was either jump now or get dragged down by the horde of angry bikers. Taking a breath and whispering a prayer, Jacob pushed off the pole. The good thing was that he cleared fifty feet easily; the bad thing was that he kept going. More than that, parts of the wooden pole were still in his fingers, and he could hear the pole crashing down into the street. He sailed through the air for a few minutes before completely clearing the building he had been aiming for and landed squarely on the sidewalk of the street on the opposite side. Though the wind was knocked out of him for a moment, Jacob couldn't help but notice that he barely felt any pain, even though the impact left a noticeable crater in the concrete. He arose and dusted himself off, once again finding that the armor wasn't even scuffed. In his head, he could hear Merrick chuckle.

  Pretty fine handiwork, eh? Can I make a suit of armor, or can I make a suit of armor? Virtually indestructible, light weight, and quite fetching to yonder maidens, I assure you. Feel free to shower me with deserved praise and adulation.

  Jacob rolled his eyes, but he didn't have a chance to reply as more of the thugs came rolling down the street on their bikes.

  "Oh, give me a big fat break!" he exclaimed as he turned to run, only for more to appear on the other side of the road. "This cannot get any..."

  Ah ah ah! I'd advise you against saying that again, boy. Trust me when I say that it can always get worse, but this is the perfect opportunity.

  "Opportunity for what?"

  For me to teach you the ways of combat, of course. That's my job. Besides, it's plenty obvious you have no clear idea how to fight unless you were in a blind rage, which at this point would be very counterproductive. But fear not, lad. I know exactly what to do. Just follow my instructions to the letter, sprinkling in some comments about my greatness now and again, and you'll come out of this just fine.

  The first thug to reach him managed to get a chain around Jacob's neck, and once more, he was dragged across the ground. This time, however, he hadn't the chance to plant his feet, and the chain dug into his throat and cut off his air. Jacob kicked and flailed, desperate to save his neck, and he ended up bringing both of his heels down hard. They broke into the asphalt, digging in, and suddenly the chain went taut and pulled the rider off his bike. Jacob wasted no time untying his neck, only to get dogpiled by several thugs at once. Jacob was losing sight of the sun as more bodies piled on, and once again, panic began to set in. Desperate for light and a decent breath, Jacob coiled his body tightly like a spring, and then he jumped up, sending the thugs off of his person and scattering across the street. He finally managed to breathe, though his throat hurt and made his tonsils burn.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "I can't keep this up," he rasped. "One more good rush, and I'm dead."

  Just then, the thugs that recovered started to open fire, prompting Jacob to shield his face. A few managed to zing through his defenses, a bullet even grazing his cheek.

  "Wonderful design, Mudflap!" he snarled at the voice in his head. "Love the fact that you forgot to add a helmet made of the invulnerable material. It's so nice to feel the wind in my hair before a bullet splits my skull open!"

  I barely had enough material to make the armor, thank you very much. But if defense is what you're worried about, then extend your right arm.

  "No way! This is the only way I'm staying safe!"

  Fine. I'll do it myself.

  Unbidden, Jacob's arm stretched out with a snap. Jacob started to panic, only to feel his cape suddenly snake away from his back, spin around his arm, and wrap around his wrist. Then, it expanded outwards and assumed a triangular shape before taking the full form of a shield.

  "What the...huh?" Jacob gasped before his arm moved again, shielding his face.

  Like with his armor, the bullets bounced harmlessly against his new shield. Jacob blinked in awe, but he also grinned.

  "Finally. Payback time!"

  He went charging in, effortlessly plowing through a throng of thugs and smashing them aside. With a sudden burst of courage, he directly engaged the thugs, gladly bashing them with his new shield and throwing them this way and that. He had to duck, however, when a pair of thugs on a rooftop started shooting.

  "Oh, I've wanted to do this my whole life," Jacob chuckled.

  He spun around to face them, took his shield into his hand like a frisbee, and he sent it sailing through the air. It spun like a dream, and it stuck one of them down. However, the shield then clattered off to the side and out of view. Jacob stood there for a few minutes, and even a few thugs were staring up there. Jacob's shoulders then sagged.

  "It's not coming back to me, is it?"

  Well, of course not. What were you expecting?

  Jacob groaned and palmed his face.

  "That's what I get for reading too many comic books. What next?"

  Just then, the ground began to shake, and Jacob felt a fresh rush of malice. He turned to one end of the street, and marching his way was yet another of the legion, only this one was much, much, much bigger. He had to be at least ten feet tall with the muscle mass of two men, and he was popping his oversized knuckles as he leered down on Jacob viciously.

  Boy, what did I just say? Ok, now don't panic...

  Jacob screamed as he turned and ran.

  And he does the exact opposite. I swear, we're working with a real one this time. Alright, halt!

  Jacob suddenly stopped short, literally frozen in place.

  "Ok, seriously, stop making my body move on its own!"

  It's for your own good. You can't just run away from your troubles. Sometimes you must stand and face them.

  "Are you out of my mind?!" Jacob snapped. "Do you not see the hands on that guy? He'd crush my unarmored head like an oversized grape!"

  You're not going to let the helmet thing go, are you? Look, you can defeat the brute, but you're going to have to relax.

  "Easy for you to say, buddy!"

  Just trust me!

  Jacob felt his body become fluid again, and he staggered. Behind him he could hear the bruiser marching his way, taking his time and no doubt contemplating all the ways he was going to rip Jacob apart. Jacob turned back to face him, gulping down hard as he took in the sheer mass of the beast. Even with the ability to leap who knew how far with this armor, something told him it wouldn't take this brute long to catch up and crumple him up like an empty soda can against his forehead.

  "Trust you, you say? Alright then, Mr. Instructor. How exactly do I combat this ogre?"

  For one, that's not an ogre. Much too small and it doesn't smell near as foul. Second, you need to settle down and focus your mind.

  "Dude, don't go Yoda on me and just give it to me straight!"

  I am giving it to you straight! Think back to when you thought that ruffian. Didn't you notice something odd? That the world had gotten slower, maybe?

  Jacob was slowly backing up as the thug drew closer and closer to him. As he backtracked, so did his brain. He recalled his fight in Paradiso, albeit brokenly. There was still a lot he hadn't managed to recall, but a glimmer of memory did seem to recall him managing to counter a few of Blazer's blows, like there were spurts of him moving in slow motion.

  Getting the picture, finally? Those eyes of yours are for more than merely gazing upon fair ladies. Your mind can assimilate information a lot faster than most, but that doesn't matter if you aren't focused. Abandon emotion and focus on what is before you. Find a point, and stick with it.

  Jacob rolled his eyes to the sky and blew a strand of hair out of his face. He had gone crazy, that's what this had to be. All of this had to be a fever dream or he was in a coma having some twisted fantasy. Well, if that were the case, and he prayed dearly it was, he figured he might as well give into the delusion and hope for the best. Dream or not, he wasn't about to get clobbered by this reject from the Mongol Brotherhood. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he let his whole body go limp. He could feels the behemoth's footsteps through the ground before they came to a complete stop. As he opened his eyes, the large brute now towered over him, fists balled and raised. Jacob ignored his first instinct to run and instead focused on the man's face, or at least the motorcycle helmet that currently acted as one. He set his sights on that one singular spot, letting all of his focus pour into it like was looking at a piece of art. Down came the man's hands, and that's when it happened. All at once, the world around Jacob grew slower. It slowed until a newspaper caught in the wind was now hanging in midair, as were the thug's fists. With his sights still set on one point, Jacob jumped back. For a brief instant, time resumed like normal, and the thug did little more than crack the pavement. Outraged, he charged Jacob, throwing a massive right hook. Again, time seemed to slow, and Jacob casually sidestepped the brute. For good measure, he even held a foot out, and the thug tripped and went crashing into a fire hydrant, now getting positively drenched. A splash of water jarred Jacob, and he had to blink back the shock as the realization took hold.

  Now do you believe me, boy? Don't matter if they're bigger, stronger, meaner, or have horrible hygiene, and most of them do let me tell you. If they can't hit you, it doesn't matter. Think smarter, not harder, and let your enemy defeat themselves.

  Jacob was speechless, but no less ecstatic. Looking up, he noticed the rim of his shield hanging over the ledge of the building over him. On a dare, he jumped, effortlessly clearing the height and reclaiming his property. He looked back down to the quite soggy brute who was now looking for his quarry.

  "Smarter, not harder." he mused to himself.

  He looked back to the other end of the street where most of the Lowtown Legion had gathered, likely planning their escape before the police arrived.

  "Ok. Now it's payback time for real!"

  He waited till the brute was directly under him, and he jumped down, wrapping his legs around the thug's neck before slapping the shield over his face. Now blind as well wet and angry, the brute began to thrash around in order to throw Jacob off, but the shield helped Jacob hang on tighter as well as worked as a makeshift steering wheel. The angry thug had become a bulldozer, and like a madman Jacob drove him into the thick of the Legion. Several with active brain cells dodged to the side, but those remaining were swiftly flattened against the ground. A few more started shooting up at Jacob, but his armor took the brunt and his head was angled in a way that he was safe from ricochets. This way and that, he guided the brute, their flailing arms sending the Lowtown Legion flying this way and that. After a few crashes here and there, Jacob lined him up with a power line. He waited till the brute charged before finally letting go, letting inertia do its job as the thug crashed headfirst into the pole. It splintered and crashed atop him, sending countless volts of electricity into the thug's body. With their champion down and the sounds of sirens on the wind, the remaining Legion immediately mounted their motorcycles and raced down the street towards Lowtown. Jacob stood alone in the middle of the street, endlessly exhausted but at the same time proud. He wheezed for breath as he crashed into the chair of a small diner whose front end had been smashed to oblivion. He fanned himself with a menu, and he worked to get his heart to slow down.

  Not bad, champ. Not bad at all. How do you feel?

  Maybe he was just drunk on adrenaline, but Jacob was finding he didn't mind Merrick's voice much anymore.

  "Like I just lived out every tween in the world's power fantasy and came out on top."

  That's a battle high, lad. Try not to get too addicted to the feeling, but it's a good feeling. You fought the good fight, and now you can relax to the cheers of your adoring public.

  "Freeze!"

  Jacob went rigid, and he turned his head to see a pair of cops handcuffed to one another. If he had a guess, these were the ones that were supposed to be guarding the bazaar. The fact that they were handcuffed together painted a very interesting picture as to why they had not. Jacob then took in the ruined building he was sitting in, as well as the quite lacking presence of Lowtown Legion bodies, which Jacob was certain had been lying had around the street but a few moments ago.

  Oh, this is awkward.

  "No kidding," Jacob muttered as he slowly got to his feet. "Ok, I know this looks bad..."

  "Don't move!" the cop on the left squeaked. He was the more anxious of the two it seemed, and his gun hand was shaking feverishly.

  "Easy, Langley," his partner said coaxingly as he looked to Jacob. "Sir, get on your knees and put your hands on the back of your head, interlocking fingers. You have the right to remain silent,"

  Jacob's heart rate was skyrocketing again. This was actually happening?

  "I didn't do anything! I was just..."

  "On your knees with your hands on your head! Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

  It was! This was happening!

  "But I didn't do anything! Please, if you'll just let me explain!"

  Jacob had started to reach down for his shield, which caught the twitchy cop's attention.

  "He's going for a weapon!" he wailed, and he opened fire.

  Jacob reflexively brought the shield over his face, and the bullet bounced off of it and right back towards the shooting officer, catching his shoulder. The man let out an agonized scream and fell to the ground, pulling his partner down with him. Jacob quickly jumped over them and went running into the street, only to spy several cop cars coming screaming down the road towards him. He turned to run up the opposite side, but just as many appeared there as well. Jacob was surrounded with guns aimed at him once again, and who should be among them but the commissioner himself armed with a bullhorn.

  "Don't move!" he barked though the horn. "We have you surrounded!"

  Overhead, Jacob could see a pair of police helicopters, and he could vaguely make out the barrels of sniper rifles from both. Jacob could only balk at this sudden show of force out of nowhere. Where had these idiots been but a few moments ago when he was being swarmed by the Legion?

  Suddenly, he was jumped from behind, and soon throngs of police men were swarming him and holding him down. Jacob could feel one grabbing his wrists with the intent of cuffing them, and once again the fear clutched Jacob's throat.

  "Merrick!" he wailed. "You stupid voice in my head! Do something! Get me out of here!"

  Ask and ye shall receive!

  The star on Jacob's chest began to shine brightly, and a Jacob's body became enveloped in light. There was a bright flash followed by a burst of force, sending the cops falling back. Jacob had vanished from view, leaving the cops to wonder what had happened. All save the commissioner, who had a rather knowing eye as he made his way back to his car to make a call.