It was a rainy day. The four of them were sitting in a café over cups of coffee, chatting about training.
"What do you say we train our abilities?" Kiro asked.
"Sounds good to me," Sone said.
Sebastián simply nodded, agreeing without needing words.
Worh cleared his throat.
"Okay, it's settled. Tomorrow we'll start train..."
An explosion cut him off. They turned and saw one building collapsed and others crashing down, throwing up a huge cloud of dust.
The four of them tore off toward the blast. When they arrived, people were running in desperation. Worh spotted a woman trying to lift a chunk of rubble, and beneath it a trapped little boy.
"Mom... Mom, I'm so scared," the boy said, his voice trembling.
Worh rushed over and heaved the rubble aside. The boy leapt into his mother's arms before she could even lift him.
"This is no time for sentiment. Run," Worh said.
The woman ran with everything she had, the boy clinging tightly to her shoulder.
Kiro watched them go, then turned and made out a silhouette in the dust.
It was a superhuman firing lightning from his hands, the man behind the destruction. Sone approached cautiously, studying him as the wind brushed softly across his face.
A bolt struck near him, and Sone stepped back and looked up. His eyes met the man's.
Without hesitation, Worh charged in and threw a punch. The man dodged, flipped backward, and fired a bolt at him in the same motion.
It hit Worh full on and drove him back a few centimeters.
Kiro took advantage of the distraction. He appeared behind the man and landed a blow that sent him flying, but multiple bolts instantly rained down on Kiro.
He staggered back, his arms scratched and steaming. The man hadn't taken any damage, and Worh reappeared at his side.
The man unleashed a hundred bolts at once and Worh was thrown back violently. Once he was clear, the lightning stopped, and small clouds seized his wrists. He tried to break free, but electric charges ran up his spine.
Sone wasn't about to be left behind. He curled into ball form and slammed into the man's face, shoving him backward.
Small cracks spread across the man's face, running from his nose to his mouth.
"Tell me something. Are you a Boss, and which one?" Sone asked, curious and serious.
"I'm Boss 10. My name is Noni," the man answered.
Boss 10 leapt into the air, dodging a punch from Kiro.
*He saw my surprise attack,* Kiro thought, noting the move.
Worh, thoroughly annoyed now, stomped and broke free, and the clouds disintegrated at once.
He charged again, landed a punch to the Boss's face, and then unleashed a barrage of blows. Boss 10 was pushed back farther and farther with every strike, until one clean hit killed him. His body crumbled like dirt, with no trace of blood or anything of the sort.
Worh turned and walked away. Kiro and Sone watched him go, but Sebastián noticed an energy beginning to gather.
Boss 10 was reviving, his body now made of stone. The air around Worh felt slow and blurred.
Boss 10 struck the protagonist hard across the back and sent him flying.
Worh crashed into the wreckage of a building and was buried under it.
Boss 10 turned on Sone and hit him before he could react. Sone slammed into a car, and Boss 10 immediately hit Sebastián and sent him into the same car Sone had hit.
He drew a deep breath, but when he turned, Kiro was waiting with a perfectly placed punch.
Boss 10 crossed his arms to block, trying to stop the blow, his feet digging into the cracked ground.
Kiro remembered something.
*That man could shoot lightning from his hands, so I should be able to recreate the same phenomenon that produces lightning.*
Without a second thought, he closed in at top speed, the air around him compressing. His fist carried a new energy and a new focus. Kiro had created a new punch.
"Strike Plus!" he shouted.
The punch landed, and multiple bolts of lightning fell from the sky and pulverized the Boss. The air returned to normal as if nothing had happened, and the rain had stopped.
Kiro let out a sigh and stretched out his hand to steady himself.
Worh climbed out, his clothes filthy and his hair a mess. Sone and Sebastián got their balance back, groaning in pain.
"Sebastián, you're going to have to lend me your washing machine," Worh said, his voice rough from the dust.
Sebastián nodded.
*Apparently I'm not that durable in my normal form. I'll have to train my "Emotion Modes" if I want to truly help the team. I'm going to perfect my Fury mode,* Sebastián thought with determination.
Sone stretched like a cat, settling back into his posture, thinking that he needed to train so he wouldn't fall behind.
Nightfall began to claim the streets. The four turned and walked away, heading home.