THE ONE CALLED J

Unexpected Development I

Joshua woke up hurriedly, sweat dripped from his forehead.  He had a nightmare while he was asleep, he dreamt his comrades died along the way.

He saw Eva crying in pain and he was so helpless to do anything to help her.

While he sat on his bed, he struggled his hardest to stop the tears from falling now.

He heard a voice in his head:

"You aren't strong enough, you are going to fail. You will die!!!"

"Shut the f**k up!" Joshua shouted.

"I haven't even said anything yet," came Hendrickson's voice. Joshua looked in the direction of the voice, Hendrickson was standing by the side of his bed, Joshua's left shoe was beside him.

"Henry must have substituted himself with my right shoe, f*****g dumbass," Joshua yawned as he got to his feet. "I hope you came here with a new pair of shoes, that happens to be the only one I packed on the way."

"You certainly have poor packing skills, it's a good thing we are going shopping today, I heard Moscow has some really good stores..."

"I didn't exactly come here for the shopping bullshit, I am just here to rescue Eva and get back home in time for dinner," Joshua replies as he gets to his feet.

"We will have plenty of time for that," Hendrickson smiles. "Besides, we look like immigrants who managed to illegally sneak into the country last night, we are free men, it's time we look the part."

"The J is not just a man," Joshua says with his most demeaning glare.

"Yeah, I know," Hendrickson smiles as his entourage appeared at his right-hand side "He's a boy," he ends as his entourage touches him and Joshua's shoe appeared in his place.

After a while, Joshua got dressed and came outside, everyone was already out, Leon looked better than he did yesterday evening. Joshua was glad his friend had recovered. Hendrickson dropped the keys with the receptionist as the five move outside.

They first had a sumptuous breakfast at a restaurant not too far from their hotel, Joshua had insisted to pay the bill but Hendrickson made sure he did, the boys then went to a boutique.

Joshua was only interested in T-shirts even though the weather was cold compared to the U.S.A.

Joshua looked in the mirror trying to compare what black T-shirt looked best on him, each of them had designs that denoted skulls, blood, chains, and several hardcore symbols.

Max and Dave went to the jacket section, Dave had selected some fashionable and comfortable jackets for Max. Dave was going through the rack trying to find out which was right for him until Leon came to them.

"Max," Leon began. "Hendrickson is by the blazers section, said he needs to see you."

"I am not exactly what you call a fashionista, you know I am just fourteen," Max was unable to help himself from grinning as he scratched the back of his head.

"And I am just a year older," Dave nudges him forward. "Just go and help the old man, will ya?"

"Alright fam," Max says as he moves over to the shoe rack.

"Where's J?" Leon asks, looking around.

"I saw him leave the T-shirt section, he said he wanted to get a new bean cap and a stud for his right ear."

"He really dressed for the weather," Leon ends in a sarcastic tone.

"It's J," Dave smiles as he selects another jacket. "It's all about maintaining a particular style for him."

"Yeah, I will see you later, man."

"Leon, wait!" Dave called. Leon stopped in his tracks to turn back at him. "I am sorry about that fire man, I see you developed a bond with him and also Kronk, we are gonna rescue him, man."

"I know," Leon smiles back at him. "I already have plans for that."

He ends as he walks away.

Dave couldn't help but be alarmed by what he had said, he already had plans for that and it didn't seem like it was in the same accordance with their plan which involved finding where Madame lived and rescuing Kronk and Eva, it felt more sinister.

"Wait, it's sorta suspicious," Dave was puzzled. "What would Hendrickson want to tell Max that he wouldn't want me to know, also, Henry isn't an i***t, he knows that anything he tells Max, Max would most likely inform me. This is suspicious, I have gotta find a way to alert the others."

As he kept thinking, he felt an arm wrap around his two legs, before he could do anything, he felt his entire body being dragged towards the ground.

Joshua was checking himself out in the mirror, he had gotten a new shirt which portrayed a skull with crossbones beneath, he wore a chain around his neck with also the pendant of a skull but the pendant had green eyes. He retained his old head-warmer and left-ear stud.

A black portal suddenly opened up behind Joshua, Joshua kept smiling to himself as he looked in the mirror.

"I am pretty sure God jizzed several times while He was making me," Joshua felt himself.

A figure emerges from the portal behind him, only its head pooped out, the head first looked around the area to be sure there was no one around, more of its body was about to emerge from the portal but suddenly it felt a fist bashing against its face forcing it to leave the black portal willfully as it was sprawled around the room; it was Terry but was cloaked in his entourage's miasma.

Joshua grinned as he turned to him, his entourage had materialized at his right-hand side. "I had been expecting you, I knew you'd be stupid enough to try and pull a stunt to capture me."

Terry got to his feet, his entourage emerged from his shadow which was right behind him. Joshua had his most demeaning look on his face as he began to circle him. "You know, the last time we spoke, I am sure you brought up your babe, what's her name again?"

Terry was quiet, he didn't reply to him. He looked carefully at Joshua, he was trying to figure out what the blonde teenager was up to. "I could swear I didn't see your entourage before I wanted to pop the rest of my body out."

"I figured one thing while I personally learned how to disperse momentum and kinetic energy to outer space so I don't destroy the earth," Joshua chuckles lightly. "I realized I could decide to let only a part of my entourage surface since I haven't seen anyone use it, I am guessing that's purely restricted to a primordial entourage," Joshua grins. "I always left my entourage summoned, though, just the arm as that's more than enough for smashing skulls and it was kept underground where no one would easily find it, learned it from the sicko back at home, also, I realized I could see the things my entourage could from its line of sight so I saw you popping your creepy-looking head from the ground, just thought to play a nice old game of whack-a-mole."

"You aren't half-bad," Terry says, his disposition was calm and the way he looked at Joshua. Joshua could feel something was wrong.

"The eyes are the window to the soul, the nature of every man can't be hidden from the look in their eyes," Terry says as he began walking towards Joshua.

"Didn't take you for the philosophical type," Joshua grins. "Last time we fought, thought you was the average black guy whose mama got r***d to death and couldn't survive without drugs."

Terry ignored what Joshua said and continues. "For a moment, the spark in your eyes changed, you can sense it, can't you? Something is wrong," Terry grins as he points to Joshua's left hand which was in his pocket. "Lemme guess," he continues. "When you felt something was wrong, you had then tried to call Dave or Henry on your phone, you have extremely good memorizing skills so I know you'd be sure where everything on your phone is without looking it and even though, your phone is upside down, you have successfully navigated to the keypad without making a single error and you are currently dialing Dave's number."

"What the f**k?!" Joshua had a look of disbelief on his face. "How the f**k did you know?"

"You don't understand," Terry smiles at him. "My entourage and I can travel through the shadow of any object, you are the first live person I am telling this to after madame, I never tell anyone I am sure I wouldn't kill this piece of info."

As he spoke, Joshua tried to remove his phone and throw it away but Terry's entourage arm materialized from the shadow of the phone as it slashes Joshua's right leg ripping it into two causing blood to splatter everywhere.

"ARHHHHGHHHHH!!!!" Joshua screams at the top of his voice as he fell to the ground. Terry grinned evilly as he walked towards him. "You made a good analysis of my ability but I am guessing you only thought I could travel through the shadows cast by humans, I deliberately limited myself to that ability application so that you would have insufficient knowledge and with that, I was able to outsmart you though it was quite hard, took a bit of planning."

"I am The J," Joshua grins haughtily. "It's not just hard to outsmart me, it's impossible."

As he spoke, a middle finger suddenly flew from the phone which Joshua had thrown to the ground, it crashed into Terry's nose vehemently breaking the bone and tearing it from the rest of the body, it would have penetrated through Terry's head if Terry's entourage hadn't suddenly come from behind to hit the finger sending it to the ground, the finger then flew over to Joshua's entourage, it was then that Terry noticed the right arm of Joshua's entourage; it was missing a middle finger.

Terry staggered backward, he was astonished as he was bleeding uncontrollably from his nose. "How did you?"

"I already made a proper and perfect analysis of your ability from the day we met," Joshua grins. "I knew you should be able to travel through every form of shadow and also, you are capable of creating portals, I intentionally put my hand in my pocket and pretended to dial Dave, I know you would think I was defenseless and use that opportunity to attack me, I had summoned my entourage's middle finger and kept it within my phone since you saw the rest of my entourage standing at my right-hand side, there's no way you wouldn't drop your guard, your observational proficiency had just failed to realize that a middle finger was missing because every time you ever encountered an entourage, they were always complete, it was impossible for them to be in parts so before you could adjust to that, I used it once again. I am always going to win. Why? Because I am the J."

"You f*****g shithead!!!" Terry ends as his entourage tried to appear from within Joshua's T-shirt's shadow but two of Joshua's entourage arms appeared from Joshua's body as it punched the entourage away causing it to crash against numerous drawers and objects.

Joshua got to his feet, even though he was missing the lower part of a leg, he managed to hop on one foot as he brought his two arms to his face with the aim of boxing.

"I know you miss your boo, how about I send you over to her side so you can keep her company."

"Shithead!!!" Terry screamed as a black portal appeared in front of him, he jumped inside. The portal vanished as another reappeared directly below Joshua's legs. He jumped out from the newly-made portal as he tried to punch Joshua but an entourage arm suddenly appeared from between Joshua's legs(where his crotch was). It punched Terry's head forcefully sending him crashing against the ground badly.

"It's like you don't understand," Joshua had a demeaning grin. "If you wanted to capture me, you should have done it the first time, it's impossible to beat me after I have gained information regarding your abilities, from the time at Big burgers, I had been wondering how I would be able to combat your ability and I find out my entourage could do this, you gotta admit even though we aren't exactly cool but this is pretty neat."

Joshua ends as an entourage arm appeared from the ground, it slapped Terry's face knocking him upwards in the air.

A leg of the entourage materialized in the trajectory of Terry's body. It bent before retracting fully, connecting its heel to Terry's balls sending him to the ground, groaning in pain.

Joshua smiled to himself as he hopped over to his position, it was difficult moving with one leg but Joshua wouldn't let it show on his face. He stopped a few inches from Terry's position.

"I am only going to say this once before my entourage ode ode you, in case, you haven't noticed, I have been holding back less than 99.9999721% of the attacking potency of my entourage, if I release it fully, I would destroy the entire local group and probably even half of the observable universe, I sent the two eyes of my entourage to observe the entire f*****g boutique, I don't see Dave, Leon, Henry or Max, I have a feeling you are yet to deliver them to Madame as you know she won't approve of the extra load based on what I heard about her so I am only going to ask this once, where the f**k are they?"

"You are the J, aren't you?" Terry has a sly grin on his face. "Why don't you figure it out?"

"You have no idea how happy I am that you are being stubborn," Joshua grins manically in his direction as his entourage readied its fists. "ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE ODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Joshua screams at the top of his lungs as his entourage began to punch Terry's body rapidly. Terry was shaking as if he was having a convulsion as he received those punches. Joshua stopped for a while. "That was fun," Joshua smiled to himself. "And you should have seen yourself, you looked like a young bastard suffering from epilepsy."

"Y....you sh...shit...h... shithead," Terry whizzes out, amidst pain.

"I don't understand you," Joshua had a puzzled look on his face before it reverts to a creepy grin. "But you can't blame me, I could never understand stupid, I guess that's why I had a problem understanding almost everyone around me." Joshua grinned at his entourage which was flexing its knuckles. "J 2.0 right here," he taps his entourage lightly. "Seems psyched for round two, are you?"

"Fuc...." Before Terry could complete his sentence, Joshua's entourage dashed at him punching him speedily as Joshua began to shout "ODE" repeatedly.

Terry vomited blood from his mouth, even though he had shielded himself with a miasma cloak, he had taken far more damage than he could have anticipated, he could feel his ribs broken and most of the other bones had been ground to powder.

"What's taking that i***t so long?!" He bit his lower teeth. "I am getting pummeled out here."

"Sounds like we will be going for round three soon," Joshua grins as he smiles at his entourage. "This sure does get my blood boiling."

"J isn't exactly what anyone would call nice, if I don't do something, this kid might actually kill me here, I have to do something before he comes," Terry raised his arm as Joshua's entourage was about to deal the next set of punches in. "Please, stop, just please," he cries as tears fall from his eyes. "I will tell you anything you want, you have got to understand it wasn't my fault, she made me do it."

"Stop telling me what everyone knows, just tell me where my friends are, then after that, you will lead me to Eva and Kronk."

"Who was talking about that?" Terry had an evil smile on his face. "I am referring to the disgusting slut you call your mama, she was the one who begged me to manhandle her and treat her like my b***h, I have got to say, she was a wild one."

Joshua couldn't help but get pissed, that was one thing that triggered his emotions before logic could set in. He never knew his mother or father. The decent woman who had been his mother for as long as he could remember, the useless piece of s**t before him had the guts to insult her, he wouldn't stand for it.  Ooh damn, the audacity!!

His entourage dashed towards Terry who was on the floor, it picked him from the floor as it threw him high in the air, it accelerated before Terry could reach the maximum point in the atmosphere. Putting its two hands together, it connects it to Terry's back sending him crashing against the ground vehemently, Joshua's entourage didn't relent.

"You are a shithead and by that, I mean you have literally got s**t for brains, so much for the kid with the highest ever recorded IQ in the whole of U.S.A. I was thinking you would be even more formidable than this," Terry had an evil smile on his face. As he spoke, Joshua could feel Terry's entourage directly behind him and he knew there was no way he could call his entourage back to protect him before Terry's entourage could deal damage.

"You dumbass!" Joshua gritted his teeth. "You knew I had kept my entourage within safe proximity so in case your entourage had ever come close to me, I would have beaten it mercilessly. That's why you pushed the right screws so I would lose my cool and for a brief moment, I would forget about my proximity tactic."

"Precisely," Terry had a wicked smile on his face. "I have never been a fan of Battle cries, Always saw that as stuff for kids who watch too much TV but I think a simple punch to your lower jaw should knock you the f**k out."

"As I said earlier," Joshua had his most haughty grin on his face. "I am the J, it's not just difficult to outsmart me, it's impossible."

"What a shithead, the kid's just bluffing, I have looked at his entourage, it has arms, leg, and other body components every entourage usually have, there's nothing it's missing, I have outsmarted him, I have won."

Terry's entourage stretched his arm as fast as it could, its aim; to punch Joshua on his face.

"At the moment, Terry's entourage has chosen to interact with physical matter," Joshua grins evilly to himself. "Already anticipated this," the arm was about to reach him but it stopped in the air as a thin string of some sort was suddenly tied around it keeping it in its position and preventing it from moving further.

Terry looked closer, he then noticed that one of the ends of the string was connected to Joshua's entourage's right leg, the other end was connected to the severed leg and Joshua was holding the middle which he had used to keep his entourage's arm in the atmosphere(the string was a Yoyo).

As fast as Joshua could control his entourage, he sent directions telepathically to his entourage, the entourage pulled on the string causing Joshua, Terry's entourage, and the severed leg to come towards it.

Terry was amazed beyond words. "How the hell did J think of that?"

"I always keep a yoyo in my other pocket, I predicted you tryna playing on my emotions so I could forget my proximity tactic, you have been tailing me for a while, it's only reasonable for me to assume you already know what makes me tick," Joshua grinned as he approached his direction. "I have been knotting up my tying skills from 14, I knew it'd be useful. Now, you are going to talk," Joshua grins as his entourage prepares to land another barrage of punches but it vanished.

Joshua felt something sharp pierce through his back, he felt cold and weak. Eventually, he passed out as he collapsed to the ground.

"Took you long enough, runt," Terry was aggravated as he got to his feet. Standing behind Joshua's fallen body were Leon and his entourage; Leon looked unhappy.