BXBX NOVEL Chapter 122 - 122. Power Struggle
"I\'m fine, there\'s nothing wrong with me. I\'m just tired." Art looked away in to the woods refusing to make eye contact with Jane and Asher.
"Alright if that\'s all it is then you will be fine with us never entering camp and wasting these days. I figure if we don\'t train here we will have a few months set back from our goal to be a hero."
"Asher\'s right, just a few months set back. That is if we can still be ready for our end of year tournament to sew the seeds for our path to a senior year scholarship to a university. But it doesn\'t matter. We can afford to start late on that path."
Asher and Jane finished each other\'s thoughts to make it sound like they would be taking a heavy hit. The only one that knew how true this was was Asher, he had realized all the benefits this camp had at every turn.
"That\'s not fair. It\'s really nothing. I am just feeling tired like I said." Art was trying really hard not to talk about it. But Asher and Jane both knew that if he bottled it up it would just make him feel worse. On top of this, they also knew he would start to fall behind from the stress of whatever it was making him become way more behind in everything.
"And if it was fine you would be able to tell me how many points you get for beating me in the sparring field." Asher looked at Art like he had just said something crazy.
"I- umm, what are points for?" Art fulfilled
"That\'s what we are talking about Art! You have something bothering you. Asher and I are your friends. Rivals. And at this point family, so stop being so hard headed and tell us what is wrong. Worst case we can\'t help. Best case we can be there for you to lean on." Jane had taken a harsh tone but it finally seemed to get through Art\'s thick skull.
"Just- just watch" Art pulled out a bent paper clip and held it up. Asher and Jane were a bit confused but didn\'t show it.
Art held the paper clip and his brow creased. His focus was intense as he willed his super power to work. The paper clip slowly straightened itself out before their eyes. "Wait, so you found lead paper clips to use as a hero?" Asher thought that this had to be the answer, but Art\'s face said he was wrong.
"No… I found a steel paper clip that I accidentally bent while practicing the other day. I thought I had found a lead paper clip and was worried about why it existed. But.." Art trailed off as Jane showed a realization.
"Your super power isn\'t only to control lead, is it?" Jane and Asher were silent, they weren\'t sure what to say.
"That\'s what I thought, so I snuck in to the nurses\' office and found the paper files from when we got our super powers. I knew it took a while for them to give me my information but I thought it was because they were so busy." Art\'s face became more and more tired looking while he spoke.
"Then when I found it… When I found it I didn\'t know what to do. My super power is recorded to be all metal manipulation and all metal poison immunity. I have two powers just like you guys. But my real powers were hidden for some reason. But I have an idea why." Asher and Jane had become much more serious. This was not a simple accident and they knew it.
"My brother took over the family and my parents both work for hero corp as researchers. If my theory is correct then my brother had my information falsified so I couldn\'t contest him as the head of the house. His powers are only metal manipulation, it has to be in a solid form. Mine is all metal manipulation and all metal poison immunity. I would be forced to take over as the head of the family the second I graduated."
The paleness of Art\'s face had made him appear as a ghost. He had no anger left but still could feel the pain with every word he said. "It could be a good thing, you won\'t need to worry about the duty getting in the way of your dream to be a hero. It\'s unfair to you thug, you should be able to be home with your family. If you don\'t want the position then you shouldn\'t have to take it." Jane laid it all out straight.
"I don\'t think my parents know, which is even scarier. How does he already have these connections so soon after graduating? It makes me worry that he is involved in something worse than just changing documents." This put Asger and Jane on edge. If Art\'s parents weren\'t involved and were in the dark then it was going to be messier.
"Then we keep it a secret for now. You still pretend that your power is to control lead. Practice in secret and we will see what we can do. If I sit down with Garnet I think she will allow us to have a private training space at night. We can take it slowly and make sure your parents are safe and your brother isn\'t involved in anything nefarious. He deserves to be punished for lying to you, but if he is in to something worse then we might not be able to stop it."
Asher didn\'t finish his statement because Jane jumped right back in. " And if it is just him wanting power Asher and I will stand with you. You shouldn\'t have to take on anything you don\'t want. If they try to force you then Asher will let them spend some personal time with his jinx power while I show them my beautiful face." Jane and Asher were smiling wide at Art now.
"You guys are kinda dumb. But I like the plan..Thanks." He turned away again from them, but this time he wasn\'t trying to avoid their eye contact. Asher could see from his shoulders that he was crying.
"Well in the meantime, let\'s get you on the fast track to being a martial arts master. If I remember you will need to be strong to move some of that metal you want to carry." Asher clapped Art on the back and headed toward camp. Jane was at his side. Art looked at them blurry eyed before running to stand next to them as well.