26. The Protégé

They stood amongst the crowd of bloodthirsty idiots that composed the student body and did their best to fit in.Today they were April. The southern belle. She was a test run to see how much effort it would take to fool the students. It wasn't hard, none of these fools had the brain cells necessary to figure out they were the kidnapper. The university hadn't even launched a full investigation into her disappearance, she probably just got homesick, was the mindset campus security had. It made things so easy. Now they were at this boring tournament looking for a new target, one with promise. So far they had watched several fights and no one caught their eye. When Sheree had her match they realized how strong she had suddenly become. What was she doing that changed her from the weakling she was when they met her, to the actually respectable b-rank she was now? Wait, if she was a B- rank that meant she had developed a second power. Some people got all the luck, while people like the protégé got nothing. That was going to change though, once this mission was complete powers would be available for everyone.

They watched Sheree and considered targeting her again, it was at least a place to start. When she easily dispatched her opponent, they mentally added her name to their list of possible targets. After her there were more of the average students, who weren't worth their time. At this rate Sheree was going to be the only candidate. Elliot walked onto the mat and changed their mind again. He had somehow become a B-rank as well. So now the absolute weakest students were amongst the strongest, what the hell was going on in that G-rank dorm? They wondered if their growth was somehow connected. That didn't Make any sense though, but neither did their rapid rank jumping. They watched Elliot demonstrate his unusual ability. That strange power in itself wasn't enough to make them want to target him. When he sent his opponent sailing off the platform telekinetically however, they added him. Something about him and Sheree was different and they planned to be there in person when The Doctor figured out what it was. After Elliot's fight was over the match of the night took place. Their disciple Rayne went up against some nobody from the controller class. The girl controlled water and did her best to keep the fight at a distance. Rayne meanwhile did her best to close that same distance. They actually felt a pang of pride watching her muscle through the other girl's cowardly attacks. She was hitting Rayne with an attack that looked like, well rain. The drops zipped so fast that when they hit her there was an audible pop. The first one that landed seemed to catch her off guard and made her freeze and yelp in pain. She recovered quickly though and worked through it. That was what they liked about Rayne. She refused to give up when her circumstances seemed to want her to. Even as a homeless teenager, she carried herself in a way that let you know she wasn't defeated. They had found her camped outside of a construction site begging for a job. She claimed that she was as strong as any of their machines and would accept less money for the work. Since she was only 15 at the time the person running the site couldn't legally hire her. They liked her spirit and convinced The Doctor to intervene on her behalf. She had been a loyal disciple of theirs ever since.

The character they played today was actually inspired by Rayne. The name April, acknowledged the relationship between April and rain. April's eyes were the same vibrant shade of blue as Rayne's hair. Lastly, they had roughly the same bust size as Rayne. They weren't completely sure, but they gave it their best guess. They may be brazen enough to befriend a lonely girl for the sole purpose of kidnapping her for scientific experiments, but they would never ask how big someone's tits were.

The water controller created a massive ball of solid water and attacked Rayne with it. It looked like just another failed attack strategy, until it landed on Rayne, and began slowly crushing her. They watched in anticipation with the rest of the crowd as the fight drained from Rayne's eyes. She struggled to get back up for a few seconds and then collapsed under the weight of the ball.

"Such a waste of talent," they said, expecting the worst, after Rayne went limp. They found themself suddenly wondering how they would complete the mission if she were to die. Any day now the power accelerator she gave Albert would have him begging for a second dose. If Rayne died, that would throw a massive wrench in The Doctor's plans.

Then something strange happened, Sheree called out to Rayne and somehow revitalized her.

"What in the anime trope just happened?" They asked aloud in their best southern drawl, as Rayne made her way to her feet with the ball still pressing down on her. They were shocked, but not enough to break character.

Rayne went on to win the match in a pretty spectacular way. She body surfed out of the ring on her opponent. They had to admit, they liked her style. If she wasn't so fat one of their characters might even date her. No, that would never happen, even if they didn't find her extremely unattractive. She was their subordinate, and she would never be more than that to them.

Rayne and her opponent were escorted to the infirmary immediately after their fight and they found themself wanting to go and see how bad she was. Make sure they don't need to start looking for a replacement. When Elliot, Sheree and Albert went with her, they stayed put. They could just go and see her later. If they had time. After a few more boring matches it was that bastard Albert's turn to show what he could do. He was facing off against a black guy known as Rock. He was like a walking muscle. To make matters worse he wore a white tank top to show off his massive muscles. If it came down to a battle of strength, their money was on Rock. It never did though. Albert must have been in a rush because the moment the match started he sped at Rock. Rock threw a wild right as he rapidly approached him, but of course he missed. In the blink of an eye Albert was behind Rock. He picked the larger boy up over his head and suplexed him off the platform. Rock landed on his back with his feet in the air. Albert was off the platform and heading back to Rayne's side the moment they declared him the winner.

"Well, at least we know the pill worked," they said before sneaking off the campus. They had seen enough to report back to The Doctor.