The Martial Arts Prodigy

Chapter 4

"On the day of victory no fatigue is felt" -German Proverb

Asia charges at Danyelle with the speed of a cheetah going after a fresh meal. Danyelle closes her eyes, making time itself come down to a crawl from her perspective. Asia unloads a flurry of open palm strikes, but Danyelle blocks every single strike that Asia throws at her. Danyelle then kicks Asia away from her, knocking her down to the ground.

"You have gotten better, I always knew you were something special from the moment I saw you." Danyelle's expression on her face shows a confused curiosity towards Asia's interest in her.

"You speak as if you know me, but I know nothing of you lady." Asia smiles at Danyelle upon hearing her say those words. Asia walks up to Danyelle, and she grabs her hand that has the dragon tattoo. Asia then places Danyelle's hand on her chest. Feeling a connection between them, Danyelle takes her hand off of Asia's chest, shocked by this revelation.

"Who the hell are you?" Danyelle questions Asia.

"I was an old friend of your birthparents, they assigned me to watch over you. I have been watching you for a long time, Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School, High School, your parents funeral. I been there for it all, hiding in plain sight. You are the last of the Jade Dragon society, a group of legendary warriors who have protected the world from evil for centuries." Danyelle looks at her tattoo, while putting her hand over her mouth in disbelief. As she walks to the railing of the second floor, she looks back at Asia with tears in her eyes.

"My foster parents never told me this, so they died, my birthparents?" Asia nods her head at Danyelle who closes her eyes in sadness.

"I am sorry, Danyelle. But, I was there at your christening, your parents blessed you with that mark on your hand, making you the first Jade Dragon warrior in years. It explains why you are stronger than most fighters, smarter than them, faster than them. That combined with your years of training, made you more powerful than most." Danyelle tries to let it all sink in, but she can't fully process the information that she has just learned.

"I know this must be too much for you, but I just wanted you to know this." Danyelle then looks at Asia with a curious stare.

"Who is Cole Michaelson?" she asks.

"He is the dean of this school, he wants to meet you. I can take you to him so you can ask any further questions you may have about this place and why he chose you to be here." Danyelle looks at her necklace that her father gave her before his death. It has the image of a dragon eye with words inscribed on it saying; "The soul is more powerful than the body".

"Very well, take me to the Dean, I would really like some answers as to why I am here." Asia then escorts Danyelle to the third floor of the building, where pictures of shaolin symbolism can be seen on the hall walls.

Asia and Danyelle arrive at a black steel door with the words overlord written in Chinese lettering. Danyelle looks at Asia, unsure about this meeting with the dean of the school, but she stands ready for anything that comes out of the door. The door then slowly creaks open and a sharp dressed man steps through the door; his stature having a regal presence that Danyelle can sense.

"Hello Danyelle, we meet at last. I imagined that you would be something to look at, but just from looking at you, I can already tell that you are a extraordinary specimen. I can feel a small percentage of your power from where I am standing." Cole extends his hand out towards Danyelle, offering a handshake to her. Danyelle shakes his hand, but cautiously.

"Nervous are we? It's all good, that happens to everyone who comes here. There is nothing more intimidating than learning martial arts from the very best, or just being around people who are prodigies like yourself. But I can tell that you are not like everyone else Ms. Faust." Danyelle then looks at her right hand and she sees the tattoo glow a shade of green.

"May I ask why is my right hand glowing a dark shade of emerald green?" she questions Cole, who smiles at her, acknowledging her curiosity.

"Come in my office, we have much to discuss!" says Cole. Meanwhile, the other students are being led to the housing area near a forest. The students look in awe as the apartment houses range from different sizes to different colors, they also range in different designs from wood to brick.

"These are our houses?" Laura asks Master Tiger, who stands on her left side, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, you will all be staying in each of these luxurious lofts, they will provide you with everything you need for all activities you are going to partake in. They will all have a gym, training materials and a special security system that will guard your premises around the clock. You can also have parties and other get together's here as well." the students begin to buzz among themselves about the housing situation, wondering what loft are they going to be staying in.

"So are we assigned a house or will we be able to choose where we stay?" Aaron wonders.

"You will choose any house that suits your personal preference, take as much time as you need." Master Tiger informs the students. As the students each pick their lofts, Laura is approached by Vanessa, and she is seemingly at a crossroads about which house to pick.

"Having trouble?" Laura asks, smiling at Vanessa.

"You could say that again, all these houses look so f*****g cool. It just hard picking which one to stay in!" Vanessa laments. Laura thinks to herself, coming up with an idea for Vanessa to act on.

"Why don't you stay with me, I picked a large loft that has three bedrooms and is big enough for all of us." Vanessa looks confused upon hearing the final three words in Laura's statement.

"What do you mean by all of us?" she asks.

"If Danyelle has any sense, she'll choose to share the loft with us. Besides, I would love to know more about her, there seems to be more to her than meets the eye." as Laura continues her conversation with Vanessa, Carly spots them from afar. Walking up towards them, she eavesdrops on their conversation by hiding behind an oak tree.

"I would love to know more about her as well, but don't you think there is something about her that is kind of huge?" Vanessa wonders.

"What do you mean by huge?" Laura asks, raising her left eyebrow up on her forehead.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, what I meant was does she have a secret worth talking about?" Laura thinks about the statement by Vanessa, understanding that she has a point about Danyelle. Carly smiles, thinking of a plan to get Danyelle to her side.

"Well, you two losers are looking to get Danyelle into your house? Puh-lease, everyone knows a person like her should be around queen like me, not rejects like you!" Vanessa gets in Carly's personal space, looking to start a fight.

"You want another ass kicking?" Vanessa instigates Carly, showing no intimidation towards her.

"Bring it on b***h, I got all day!" when Carly tries to throw a kick at Vanessa, a blonde woman catches her leg and she flips her onto the ground. The woman stands in front of both Vanessa and Laura, appearing friendly towards them.

"You guys alright?" the woman asks, with her hands on her hips and a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, but we can take care of ourselves. But thanks anyway that was a load of awesome sauce!" Vanessa expresses her gratitude towards the woman, shaking her hand.

"This isn't over losers, when the tournament starts I will take you all to loser town, count on it!" Carly gets up and storms off into her loft, while the others continue their conversation with the woman.

"So what's your story?" Laura wonders.

"Oh, where are my manners? Forgive me, my name is Draca Swanson, Mixed Martial Arts specialist, nice to meet you fellas!" Laura shakes her hand, while Vanessa has a shocked look on her face.

"You're THE Draca Swanson?! You are a former Bellator Champion! What are you doing here?" Vanessa questions with glee.

"Well, believe it or not, I have been thinking about going to this school for a while now. It's been a hot minute since I had a decent experience at a university." Laura nods her head with interest, feeling like she and Vanessa have made a new friend.

"Well I got to go guys, gotta see my new loft!" Draca exclaims with excitement.

"Oh, where are you staying? I just want to know, because you are so f*****g cool!" Vanessa exclaims with cheer.

"Yeah, I'm staying right next door to that big house on the far right, do you guys stay there?" Draca wonders.

"Yeah, that's our spot! What do you know, we're neighbors!" says Laura.

"Awesome, all right you guys catch you later!" Draca walks off, waving goodbye to Laura and Vanessa. Vanessa can't contain her excitement, as she lets out a big scream after just meeting her hero. Laura looks over her right shoulder, seeing a gruffly Hispanic man on the phone with someone. She get's a sneaking suspicion about the man; feeling something awry with him.

"Hey La-La. La-La... Earth to Laura!" Vanessa calls out to her. Laura then snaps out of her trance, coming back down to reality.

"Oh sorry, what was that you said?" Laura asks.

"I was asking you about Danyelle, what do you think she is doing with that Asia woman?" Vanessa wonders.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing dangerous." Laura says.