Chapter 2: Three Fourths
Smith's clothes were ripped but he was intact. He looked around. All his vials and most of his syringes were destroyed. Shattered glass on the table and shards on the ground. No guns. Just fists. The walls, his floors, and his apartment unit except for one part of the wall near the door were all as pristine as before these men ever came in. His dog was still barking. The show on the television was still running.
It was an episode on Netflix. A martial arts and military guy with strong punches and a sharp mind. Guts. Rationality. Risk balancer. Quite literally based on a true story. Never had a normal life. Didn't have time for anything besides work and training. Eleven seasons and counting. He remembered it being promoted five years ago when he was still in high school. Two seasons a year. That's how popular the show was.
'Path to Ruthlessness'
When facing someone whose intent on taking your life, Henry would throw out a meaty punch with three fourths of his effort in it. One fourth was the same as no fourths. Half meant you weren't sure. If something made you hesitate, like fear, hesitation, uncertainty, or intimidation, half meant one fourth. More then half meant you were committing no matter what. You never threw out your full effort because you didn't if there were others. If there were, you were screwed if you had gone all out.
This is why Henry always threw out three fourth punches. He fully committed but also gave himself some breathing room. It was more then enough breathing room. Three fourths didn't account for one basic thing, but this thing unnaturally supported it. People weren't robots. They could feel emotions. They would feel if death were on their doorstep and coming for t hem. They would feel if the situation was right.
Next was the realization of the situation. People always took their sweet time to see the situation, process it, and then realize what had happened and the implications of it.
This was why a punch with three-fourths of your effort was the best type of weapon you always carried on your body.
After Henry threw a three fourths, he would walk forward the same way he went for lunch or to work. Just a casual one two pace before Smith threw another punch. Never in his life had he ever punched anyone before. It felt awkward, but he was strong. Abnormally strong. First he was falling down multiple stories and now he was punching people in to the wall. The second guy was deeper into the wall then the first. After the first punch, he was more familiar with the motion, the physics involved. He had a better understanding of his strength and how to apply it.
How did he end up back on the 10th floor from the 2nd floor though? He would figure that out after he killed everyone. Yes. He had never killed anyone in his life before, but since his own life was now on the line, it made sense to kill the threat that wouldn't stop until he was dead.
The third guy cracked the wall. His hair was partially on the other side. He seemed important. Someone had shouted Aaron after looking at their buddy. No one had noticed the second guy yet. The fourth and fifth broke the wall but no one except he noticed.
Time is an interesting concept. When disbelief and shock take over the body, it feels as though time freezes. You see, but you don't do. The body is accelerating at a fraction of its normal pace, or at least that's how it feels. All of this takes place before you realize what happened. When you realize, then adrenaline takes over for time and your body instinctively responds to the situation. It seeks to preserve your life at all costs. Men discover strength they never had before while women have newfound courage.
When he arrived at the sixth guy, they all reacted at the same time. Gripping their knives, the debt collectors, because they were coming to collect a hundred grand, approached him quickly but cautiously, their pointed blades wanting to cut off his routes of escape.
The supervisor held a knife across Megan's throat, threatening to pull it across if he made the wrong move. She had wide eyes and her mouth was open but no sound came out. He paused, unsure of how she got there. He swallowed, nervous, and the supervisor took note of that.
"Back down kid and heads behind your back. The girl doesn't need to get hurt"
He blinked. He stared but didn't comply, not because he was scared or planning his next move but because he was distracted by Megan. She was even better then in his dreams. Her qualities made him hard making it extra difficult to remain calm. She appeared to be sad and it made his heart rage with fury.
*Thump*
*Thump*
The beating of his heart pushed back the desperation climbing out of him. His past experiments were circulating through his veins, pumping into his organs, his limbs, his cells.
Henry Ruthlessness was a fictional character based on a true story. He was slightly exaggerated to pump up the ratings and bring in the sponsorships and revenue, but right now, Henry Smith, no, Henry 'Ruthless' Smith threw a three fourths through Megan, at the supervisor, ignoring number six and number seven. The intensity of love in her eyes magnified as her irises bent and twisted into a heart. He was the only thing that appeared on her mind. Her one and only. Her soul mate. Her lover, her fiancee, her husband, and the father of two, three, four, five, countless children.
When a shotgun was fired, there was an overwhelming force of projectiles that eventually spread with distance. With some modifications, the shot could be spread. He didn't have the components for that but he tried to control the intensity of his arm. He didn't want to hurt Megan so he didn't. He wanted the supervisor to feel his rage so they did. After throwing the punch, he immediately spun to grab the knife. It sliced him and stopped a few millimeters from her throat.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone