Chapter four
1059 Words
Rain hammered Ashbourne.
Cold.
Relentless.
The kind that turned streets slick and painted every neon reflection across the pavement like fractured light.
Ethan ran through it anyway.
His hoodie was soaked within seconds.
Water clung to his hair and blurred his vision, but he barely noticed.
All he could think about was the footage.
The collapsing overpass.
The screaming.
The massive figure standing in the wreckage.
His pulse hammered against his ribs.
Part fear.
Part adrenaline.
Part something else.
That strange pressure building inside him again.
Every footstep fed it.
Every stride sharpened it.
By the time he reached East District, blue sparks were already flickering faintly along his sleeves.
The sight hit him all at once.
The overpass had collapsed across three city blocks.
Steel support beams jutted from shattered concrete like broken bones.
Emergency sirens wailed.
Police had cordoned off the perimeter.
Fire crews fought through debris while civilians shouted from behind barricades.
And above it all—
standing atop the fractured remains of the transit line—
was him.
Breaker.
Even from a distance, he looked enormous.
Rain rolled down the reinforced plates of his black combat vest.
Orange fractures glowed across his forearms like molten cracks in stone.
He stood perfectly still.
Watching.
As if the destruction around him meant nothing.
Ethan slowed.
His stomach dropped.
This was real.
Not tests.
Not experiments.
Not shattered watermelons in abandoned parking lots.
A real threat.
Real people in danger.
A police officer shoved back the crowd.
"Move away from the perimeter!"
Another section of overpass groaned.
Concrete shifted.
Someone screamed from beneath the wreckage.
Ethan's head snapped toward the sound.
A city bus was trapped beneath a fallen support column.
Tilted dangerously over open space.
Passengers were still inside.
The column was slipping.
If it fell—
The bus would drop thirty feet.
No time.
No backup.
No plan.
His body moved before his brain could catch up.
He sprinted.
"Hey!" a cop shouted.
Ethan vaulted the barricade.
The kinetic pressure surged.
And suddenly—
he was airborne.
He shot over the emergency vehicles in a single impossible leap.
Gasps erupted below.
For one suspended second, Ashbourne seemed to freeze.
Rain hanging motionless around him.
Then gravity took over.
He landed hard atop the broken overpass.
The impact cracked concrete beneath his sneakers.
The absorbed force rushed through him harmlessly.
Ethan straightened slowly.
Across the wreckage, Breaker turned.
Orange-lit eyes narrowed.
For several long seconds, neither moved.
Rain hissed against shattered steel.
Then Breaker spoke.
His voice was low.
Rough.
Amused.
"Well."
He tilted his head.
"What's this?"
Ethan's throat tightened.
No rehearsed lines.
No dramatic one-liner.
Nothing.
So what came out was:
"…Hi."
Breaker blinked.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
A deep, sharp sound that somehow made Ethan feel even less prepared.
"Seriously?"
Ethan grimaced.
Great.
Fantastic opening.
He squared his shoulders.
"Step away from the bus."
Breaker's smirk widened.
"And if I don't?"
Good question.
Ethan had absolutely no answer.
But he forced himself forward anyway.
"Then I'll stop you."
Breaker looked him up and down.
The soaked hoodie.
The nervous stance.
The complete lack of visible experience.
"You're a kid."
Ethan clenched his fists.
Blue sparks snapped between his fingers.
"I'm old enough."
Breaker's grin vanished.
Without warning—
he slammed his fist into the overpass.
The entire structure erupted.
Concrete exploded upward.
The shockwave hit Ethan like a truck.
He was launched backward, tumbling through rain and debris before crashing through a twisted steel barrier.
Pain exploded across his back.
Real pain.
Not like training.
Not controlled.
Not expected.
He gasped for breath.
Breaker hadn't even moved from his spot.
"Oh," the larger man said, almost disappointed.
"You're worse than I thought."
Ethan forced himself up.
His body screamed in protest.
But beneath the pain, energy churned.
The impact had charged him.
He could feel it.
Pressure coiling through his limbs.
He ran.
Faster this time.
Rain blurred around him.
The charge built.
He drew back his fist—
and swung.
Breaker caught it.
One hand.
Like stopping a child.
Shock rippled up Ethan's arm.
Breaker's fingers tightened.
Orange fractures pulsed brighter.
Then—
he redirected the force.
The reflected kinetic burst detonated point-blank.
Ethan flew.
He smashed through a shattered support beam and skidded across wet concrete.
Everything rang.
For a moment, the world tilted sideways.
He coughed.
Tasted blood.
This was bad.
Very bad.
Across the overpass, Breaker advanced slowly.
No rush.
No strain.
Each step deliberate.
"You've got power," he said.
"Sloppy, but real."
Ethan staggered upright.
Rain dripped into his eyes.
He wiped it away.
Tried to steady his breathing.
Think.
Maya's voice echoed in his head.
You're not ready.
No kidding.
Breaker stopped ten feet away.
"Walk away."
Ethan blinked.
"What?"
The larger man's expression was unreadable.
"This doesn't concern you."
Behind Ethan, the trapped bus groaned again.
Metal screamed.
The support column shifted lower.
Passengers inside shouted in panic.
And just like that, the fear burned away.
Because this wasn't about proving anything.
Wasn't about winning.
People needed help.
Ethan turned and saw it.
The column was seconds from giving out.
No choice.
He ran—not at Breaker, but toward the bus.
Breaker frowned.
"What are you—"
Ethan hit the support beam shoulder-first.
Pain tore through him.
But he absorbed the impact.
Stored it.
Held it.
Then released.
A violent burst of kinetic force blasted upward.
The collapsing column jerked back into place just enough.
Just enough for firefighters below to evacuate the passengers.
The bus steadied.
Safe.
For now.
Ethan dropped to one knee, gasping.
The release had nearly emptied him.
His vision blurred.
But below, civilians were climbing out.
Alive.
Breaker stared.
Not at the bus.
At Ethan.
Something unreadable flickered across his face.
Then, distant sirens intensified.
More emergency response units incoming.
Breaker clicked his tongue.
"Another time."
Before Ethan could react, the larger man slammed both fists into the overpass.
A massive vibration pulse tore through the structure.
Concrete exploded upward, forcing Ethan to shield his face.
When the dust cleared—
Breaker was gone.
Silence settled.
Broken only by rain and distant shouting.
Ethan swayed.
His legs finally gave out.
He collapsed onto the soaked concrete.
The last thing he saw before darkness took him was flashing blue-and-red lights below.
And somewhere in the crowd—
Maya.
Running toward him.
- Writer
