Jason stared at the carnage, face blank, his leg bouncing on the bleachers.
"Do something!" Vida screamed at Hendrix. Jason looked anxious, but it took him a second to respond.
"It's alright, y'all. Your friend's facing one of the strongest rebels here. He's held his own so far, he won't bow down now." Jason's response surprised everyone in the crowd.
A shocked silence covered the bleachers as everyone's focus shifted back to the fight.
Jason felt the need to explain himself.
"I want to see how far your friend's powers go. I need to see his maximum so I'm not holding him back on easy missions." Jason kept his eyes on the fight as he talked. The uncertainty in his voice didn't comfort Hendrix's friends at all.
"Go Hendrix!" Molly yelled. Her exclamation broke the silence.
"Molly, what the fuck? We're supposed to be homies!" Biggie laughed as he stood at the edge of the circle.
Hendrix couldn't hear any of the commotion going on around him. All he could hear was that voice.
"Does he expect to say that and live? He must die for his words." The voice spoke once again.
"I just need to teach him a lesson. He doesn't deserve to die." Hendrix finally broke to the voice's persuasion, even if just a little.
Hendrix slowly got onto his feet, looking down to keep his composure.
"You still got some juice in you, emo boy?" Biggie cackled, swinging his mallets around.
Like a gunslinger, Hendrix swung his guitar forward, manifesting a pick into his right hand in milliseconds.
Biggie immediately grew cautious, assuming a combative stance.
Hendrix played a pinch harmonic on the high e string, sending a black mass of Spirit flying through the air.
The black mass was in the shape of a sharp spear. It rippled through the air like the soundwaves it was produced by.
Biggie narrowly dodged the attack, surprised at the raw speed of the black mass.
"What the hell…" Biggie muttered.
Vida noticed something from the stands. It didn't seem like much to worry about, but it was strange.
The roots of Hendrix's usually all pink hair had turned jet black.
"It had to have been during the fight. I would've noticed it before." Vida thought.
"What the hell is that?" Biggie asked from across the mat. Hendrix stayed silent.
The black mass of sound waves fizzled out a couple feet after it had passed Biggie, imitating the sound of guitar feedback as it dissipated.
Hendrix played a power chord, the sound of the chord ringing through the gymnasium like a haunting reminder of his power.
Another black mass appeared, shooting out from between the strings of his guitar near the pickup.
This time, the sound waves took the shape of a blunt block of black Spirit.
Biggie began to make his way around the perimeter of the circle, trying to close the distance between him and Hendrix.
"So far, his abilities have all been stronger at long range. I just need to get close and personal." Biggie reasoned.
To his surprise, Hendrix began to play what seemed like a full riff, each strum shooting a uniquely shaped Spirit wave based on the chord played.
"What… Is this guy…?" Slim muttered. Jason was wondering the same thing.
"There's no doubt he's just a kid, like his friends. But there's something different about him, something dark." Jason thought.
Biggie began to get close to Hendrix, using all of his focus to avoid getting hit by the soundwaves.
He didn't know what would happen if he got hit, but he didn't want to find out.
He zig zagged through the center of the circle, swinging his hammer backwards in preparation for a strike.
Hendrix didn't look at his opponent. Instead, his eyes were solely focused on his guitar.
Biggie jumped over a low power chord wave, grinning as he finally entered melee range.
"Gotcha now, motherfucker!" Biggie exclaimed, swinging his hammer forward.
"Hendrix!" Vida exclaimed while trying to hold herself back.
The hammer headed straight for the side of the pink-haired boy's head. It felt like, if Hendrix didn't move immediately, his head would come off his shoulders.
Hendrix dropped flat on his back, his knees buckling until they nearly snapped.
His hair flipped backwards, showing his eyes to Biggie for the first time. He was taken back by the sight.
Hendrix's eyes didn't show the regular anger Biggie was used to seeing after teasing his opponent.
"He's not just angry, it looks like he could kill me…" Biggie's mind began to race.
Biggie couldn't stop his momentum. He flew over the now ducked Hendrix, his trajectory predicting a landing outside the circle.
"Time to destroy him" The voice spoke to Hendrix one last time.
"You don't have to tell me twice." He responded.
Hendrix played a panic chord, making a sound wave that imitated the shape of an axe head.
With no time to dodge, the soundwave crashed into the side of Biggie's knee, collapsing his leg into an angle no knee should bend.
"FUCK!" Biggie screamed in pain.
The crowd grew shocked as they watched Biggie's knee explode in crimson carnage.
The injured boy crashed on the mat outside of the circle, continuing to scream while hovering his hands over the injured area.
"Biggie?!" Slim jumped out of his seat, making it down the bleachers as fast as he could.
Quickly, Hendrix got up, swinging his guitar around to his back.
"What's going on-" Bloom entered the gymnasium with a smile that quickly faded. Alex entered after her, quickly dawning the same expression.
"Molly, call the nurses!" Jason exploded up from his seat in the bleachers, pointing out the door as he looked at his little sister.
Hendrix spat on the floor next to the cripple Biggie. He power-walked out the doors of the gymnasium, roughly passing Bloom and Alex.
"Hey!" Alex yelled for Hendrix to no avail. He kept his pace down the hallway until he turned out of sight.
"Hendrix!" Molly disobeyed her older brother's orders, running after Hendrix.
It all happened so fast for Vida. She started to hyperventilate as she tried to take in the scene.
"Vida?" Amora turned to her, growing concerned as Vida clutched her shirt.
"Vida!" Amora yelled as Vida passed out. She collapsed over herself as Amora caught her just in before her head would hit the seat in front of her.
Alex and Bloom stared at the scene in shock. They had only been gone for a few hours, and all of this transpired?
Slim used his hoodie as a tourniquet around Biggie's knee as Jason tried to keep the injured boy awake. The other kids were too busy worrying about the unconscious Vida.
"Oh no…" Is all Bloom could mutter. She repeated it three or four times while she covered her mouth with her hands.
"Get that motherfucker out of here! He's the goddamn devil!" Biggie ranted between his painful grunts.
"Why would Hendrix do that?" Chase asked the rest of the group. They all went silent, trying to come up with an answer.
"He seemed different." Amora responded.
"He hasn't been the same since D.C." Akilah added.
The group went silent as they came to a consensus without speaking a word. Hendrix had changed entirely since the infiltration and no one knew how to help him.
"Is something wrong with her too?!" Jason just noticed the unconscious Vida as he turned towards the top of the bleachers. "Get her to the infirmary too." Jason rubbed his forehead as he tried to get his thoughts in order.
Bloom and Alex rushed over to help the kids carry Vida. Everyone inside the gym made their way out, whether they were helping Biggie or Vida.
"Does anyone know where Hendrix could've gone?" Jason asked the kids. They looked at each other with uncertainty.
"We'll go find him." Taro nodded to Chase and Kai, the three of them speeding down the hallway with Kai in the lead.
Jason dragged his fingers through his bright red hair. "What'll I do with that kid? He has so much potential, I can see it. But that darkness…" Jason thought.
They checked the bedrooms, the graveyard, the cafeteria, practically everywhere in the compound they could think of.
After fifteen minutes of searching, they gathered back in the lobby.
"What the hell? Where is he?!" Chase began to get frustrated. Hendrix didn't give the time of day to explain his actions to his closest friends.
"I don't know where else to check. I couldn't find Molly either. The only thing I noticed was that he took his guitar case with him." Taro shook his head, trying to think of a spot where they hadn't checked.
"You don't think… You don't think they left for the city, right?" Kai asked the two other boys. They looked at each other as their concern grew.
They didn't know what he planned to do. They didn't even know if Hendrix was fully aware of the dangers of going into the public without one of the adults.
They all took a deep breath as they thought over what to do next.