CH21: CHANCE TO SHINE

After Phoenix received the name for the gang, he pulled out a box with special leather jackets in. They were fitting jackets with red sleeves and a black trims on the edges. Max suit was a little different from the others because it had a yellow trims instead of black and their were no sleeves, showing his small bare arms.

" How come Max's different?" Sue asked.

" Max is our leader and as leader, he deserves to be slightly different." Phoenix said. " Your jackets are fitted with insulators to keep you warm and communicators on the sleeves. To top it all off, they are bullet proof, although that can't d anything to mutants. Max, your jacket's communicators are on your shoulders and its fire proof, meaning you can use your powers without worrying about it."

" Thank you Phoenix. I guess we can work together t get what we all want." As Max was speaking, loud screams could be heard coming from the outside. Max and his friends ran outside only to see scared people running from something. Max was about to run and see what the commotion was before Phoenix called out and said, " We don't want people learning of us so soon. Take these masks." Phoenix handed them plain red mask with black rings for eyes. There were two holes for their nostrils and no slit for the mouth. When the teens put them on their faces, the masks started to vibrate and they re-adjusted to their face proportions and they made their voices deeper and more sinister. Max and the others headed out to see what was causing all the disruption. They got to the school block and saw something straight out from a horror movie. Pharaoh was standing shirtless in the middle of the road surrounded by horrifying creatures.

They were slightly large with hunched backs and long, bony arms. They were covered with green fur and their eyes were plain white, making them look lifeless. Their mouths were weirdly shaped, making them look like they were smiling. Their feet were shaped like those of wolves and their fingers were long with sharp, dangly claws.

" Masked strangers. So that Phoenix guy was right, their is a gang trying to run us out. Well, let's see how you handle yourselves against my pretties. Pharaoh stretched out one of his hands and the creatures opened their mouths revealing multiple sets of sharp teeth. The creatures ran towards the Cold Flames direction like crazed zombies. CJ pulled out his phone and made an urgent call to someone. The rest of the teens ran head first into the fight.

*Guys, I forgot to tell you one thing. Your suits are fitted with small fire cannons to help those of you without powers but they don't last for long so use them wisely.* With that said, the cold flames started their attack. Max activated his fire walk skill, making him reach the crazed beasts faster.

[Fire arms activated]

ENERGY 48/50

[Quest available. Save your home from the mild-dead mutants before it's too late. Reward ???]

Mild-dead mutants killed 0/50

Max reached the first beast and punched it right under its chin. His blazing arms went through the creature's skull, killing it instantly.

50EXP earned

LEVEL UP

LEVEL 9 [EXP 10/380]

Seeing that the system gave him little experience points for taking out one crazed beast, he figured that they weren't as tough as they seemed. " Guys, head for their heads. Avoid the mouths."

*Got it*

Sue was the second person to get to one of the beasts. It swung its deadly claws for her head but she ducked easily and upper-cutted it on its jaws. She activated the fire cannons in the suit to add more strength to the attacks, forcing her fist to go through its head. Green blood gushed all over her arms but she smiled at her first kill. Using her karate skills, she took out three more of the beasts quite swiftly.

Mild-dead mutants killed 5/50

Rin and CJ had decided to fight the crazed beasts using the back-to-back formation. Rin would duck and tackle while CJ would use his fire cannons and a couple of moves that Harvey taught him. In total, they had been able to take out six crazed beasts but their energy was starting to drain. Sweat was dripping from CJ's mask and Rin's jacket was becoming soaked. CJ's muscles were aching so much that he could barely move his body and unfortunately for him, five crazed beasts were heading for them. Rin, who was as equally as tired as CJ, lifted her weary arms to shield her body.

" I guess this is goodbye CJ."

" Aah I'm too young to die." CJ cried. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to hit his body but nothing came. He lifted his eyes and saw a blonde beauty standing in front of him and Rin.

" Harvey." He said with joy. Harvey had received a phone call from CJ a few minutes ago, asking for help. He drove as fast as he could, violating speed limits and running red lights. Harvey got just in time before the beast stabbed CJ in the chest. Not being able to tell the difference between Rin and CJ because of the masks, Harvey just decided to jump in and save them.

" Master CJ. Is that you behind the mask? What happened, what''s all of this?" He asked as he punched one of the beasts.

" It's a long story Harvey. We need you to help us as. My arms are tired and I can't fight anymore."

" Don't worry master. I got this." Harvey's body started swelling and his well defined muscles bulged out of his suit. His arms became twice the size they were and his back and chest became more detailed and muscular.

Mild-dead mutants killed 11/50

Harvey ran head first and caught the remaining four crazed beasts by their heads. He bashed their heads together, causing them to crush under the pressure of his arms. He then got CJ and Rin and placed them somewhere safe. After making sure the teens were safe, he jumped back in to the fight, hopping to have more fun.

Meanwhile, Max had managed to take out ten more crazed beasts and he earned 500EXP.

LEVEL UP

LEVEL 10 [120/450EXP]

[NEW SKILLS AVAILABLE]

Two stat points available.

ENERGY 40/50

Max didn't bother checking the other notifications because he was surrounded by twenty beasts. Seeing that he couldn't punch his way out of it he quickly checked the new skills he unlocked.

[New skills available]

Fire Breath [Like a dragon, you will be able to spit fire of your own. Takes 20 energy points every time used.]

Fire manipulation (pyrokinesis) [ Make and control your own fire Takes 5 energy points every ten minutes]

Flame immersion [ Summon a huge flame from the ground, burning everything around you. Takes 25 energy points]

Max chose fire manipulation since it allowed him to use it much longer than his other skills. After selecting it, his body started burning within itself before it cooled down. Suddenly, a crazed beast leapt for his head. As a quick reaction, he ducked and placed his hand on its stomach. Like a flash of lightning, his arms sent a flash of fire that went through the beasts guts.

50EXP earned

LEVEL 10 [170/450]

" Oh, yeah." Max said out loud with his deepened voice. The beasts attacked him all at once but Max kept shooting fireballs after fireballs at the beasts, killing them faster than he thought.

1000EXP earned

Level up

LEVEL 11 [550/800]

3 stat points available

Mild-dead mutants killed 45/50. These were the mutants that Max, Sue, Rin,CJ and Harvey were able to kill. Seeing that there were only five beasts left, Max left Sue and Harvey to finish the rest. " You guys handle the rest, I'm heading for Pharaoh."