THE ONE CALLED J

Ice and drinks

Dave had moved over to Ben, bending down, he rummaged his body trying to feel for his pulse. "He's still alive," Dave finally said as he got up. Ben had lost his two front teeth and his body was bruised all over. "If J had used his entourage to attack him, the minimum casualty would be milky way galaxy as he doesn't know how to disperse the energy created by his entourage, he must have found a way to defeat him even without an entourage, he definitely used an entourage due to the pink miasma around him, J is nothing less than impressive, he was also able to defeat Max without an entourage, he's just as I hoped the first Primordial would be, even without an entourage, he's still a force to be reckoned with."

"You are a really shitty person, you know that," Max told Joshua sharply.

"You wouldn't be the first to tell me that," Joshua answered him as he clutched his sides, he dropped to the ground immediately, he felt intense pain, the damage on his body was taking its toll as he found it unable to move.

"You deserved this," Max tells him. "I can't believe someone as undeserving as you is the first Primordial."

"Max, don't be too hard on him," Dave says as he moves over to Joshua. "J, can you stand?" He asks.

"Even as I am now, I still stand better than your d**k ever could" Joshua cheekily replies.

"I will take that as a no, I will fix that," Dave smiles as purple miasma began to form around him, Joshua kept clutching his sides in hopes of seeing what sort of entourage he had but before he could see the shape, the purple miasma had already vanished. "And that's it, you are healed."

"Wait, what," Joshua said as he moved his right arm subconsciously. He was amazed as he looked at the rest of his body, he was perfectly healed. "Is this your entourage's ability," he asks as he got to his feet.

"In a way, yeah," Dave replied. "My entourage is supposed to allow me to manipulate time but presently the only two abilities I have unlocked under time manipulation is time skip and time-restore."

"So entourages have the potential to unlock more abilities?" Joshua asks.

"No, just the Primordials," Dave answers him. "I am also a Primordial, there are hundreds of sagas regarding us, the diamond sign Primordial could manipulate any form of matter at its basic level, I am the crescent Primordial, the one in the fables could manipulate time and impose the concept of time on even higher dimensional beings but due to the spat amongst the siblings, their full abilities have been lost and we have even less than an infinitesimal fraction of the powers we had during our first incarnation."

"So I can manipulate all forms of matter," Joshua smiles haughtily. "It's a befitting power for the J," he had a puzzled look on his face as he suddenly turned towards Dave. "Though that doesn't explain how you were able to heal me."

"I told you I unlocked time restore, what it entails is that I can change the state of any object to any state that had occurred or will occur to the same said object but in order for the ability to work, I have to touch the person with my entourage, so when my entourage touched you, I simply restored you to the state you were before you fought with Maxwell this morning."

"I didn't see your entourage at all."

"Up until now," Dave smiled. "You haven't battled any short-range entourage, short-range entourages are so fast that they are capable of moving at light speed and way higher, it's impossible for any naked eye to keep up with its speed, that's why all entourage users are fond of enclosing themselves with the miasma of their entourage, it enables them to be able to perceive the movement of other entourages even short-range, that's why you couldn't see mine, you weren't enclosed in your miasma, therefore you were like a human trying to perceive faster than light movement."

"There's so much to learn about entourages," Joshua thought to himself. "But saving Eva is of priority, I can never forgive myself, how could she got abducted on my watch, I have to rescue her no matter what." Joshua began walking towards Ben who still laid unconscious on the ground, probably half-dead by the state of his body. "Dave," Joshua begins. "You said your ability enabled you to transform anything to any state of it that has occurred in time, I want you to restore Ben to normalcy."

"You f*****g i***t," Max grunted in his direction. "He's obviously an entourage user and a dangerous one at that, it was a fluke that you were able to beat him, he might escape us or even worse, either way, we wouldn't be able to rescue Eva, whosoever she is."

Joshua smirks as he begins. "Everything I have ever done in life didn't theoretically appear like it was the safest decision but yet, it all worked out for me not because my opponent made a mistake or by a stroke of luck, no everything only worked out for one reason and it shall continue working out for the same reason."

"Lemme take a guess," Max scoffs indignantly "Because you are the best."

"There's that but the true reason goes far deeper than any mortal level of understanding, it's all due to one thing," Joshua answers him as he stretches his two arms wide. "Because I am the J!!!"

"You rude..."

"Quiet, dwarf, your d**k isn't big enough for your attitude," Joshua says sharply. "I was never asking for your help," he turns towards Dave. "Do you trust me?"

"You can't possibly tell me you trust him," Max was really angry, it was obvious as the lines on his forehead had formed to express annoyance. "He's a wild card, we can't put any hope in him."

"Max, that's enough," Dave says as he takes a deep breath. Joshua didn't say anything, he just smiled at Dave as if he had already agreed to help him.

"Help is not always given freely, sometimes, it has to be earned," Dave begins. "Ever since you discovered your entourage, you had just left and I am really glad you didn't wreak unnecessary havoc so you should understand if I am not too much in a hurry to go along with you if you want my help which you would surely need, you will need to try and be calmer, you have to earn it," Dave walked towards Ben's body. "And a good start would be telling us what sort of entourage he had, I am guessing it's mid-range."

"I am the J," Joshua gleamed arrogantly. "I do not need to earn anyone's help."

"Know this, J," Dave says as he gets up to approach him. "Whosoever kidnapped Eva is a very powerful person and I am not even talking about her entourage, I mean literally as she has great influence if a formidable entourage-user like this," he motions over to Ben. "Is under her control and my instincts tell me he's not the worst one under her, I am going to try my best to find and save Eva, She's a really wonderful person but if I happen to fail and something happens to her, maybe she dies or even worse, just know that her blood is on your hands."

Joshua said nothing, he just kept his arrogant look on.

"As I said," Joshua grinned, showing his perfect set of white teeth. "The J does not require any help from a mortal."

"Well then, suit yourself," Dave says as he turns away.

"Goddammit," Joshua gritted his teeth as he watched Dave turn away. "I kept my facade for long but at what cost, if Eva should die, I couldn't possibly live with myself, for her, I guess I just have to swallow my pride."

BRRRR!!!! BRRRR!!!!! BRRRR!!!!!!.

Joshua could hear a phone vibrating, he turned towards the direction of the phone and about seven feet from his position was an iPhone X.

"This is 2022, what loser still uses an outdated model like that?" Joshua thought to himself. "But that's not the worst of it, I have good observational skills, I didn't see any phone here until just now and I am pretty sure that I walked past there a couple of times, I mean it's even close to where Dave healed me, how did neither of the two of us notice it?" Joshua turned to look at Dave, Dave and Max were talking Dave kept a calm demeanor but it didn't take a psychologist to know that he was having mental turmoil, he wanted to rescue Eva and the only lead he had, he had little or no information about him, as a result, he was skeptical to healing him and Joshua whom he had hoped to help him wasn't helping issues. "Lemme just check the s**t out, what could I possibly lose?" Joshua kept thinking as he moved towards the phone on the ground, he bent to pick it up, he tapped the screen icon and the lock screen came up, it showed a picture of Ben on it, Joshua swiped it to unlock and the home page came up, he swiped down showing the notification bar "it's his phone alright but he's such a f*****g i***t, he didn't even password it." Joshua was taken aback as he saw that there was a w******p notification in the bar. Joshua clicked it and he was taken aback by the first message that he saw.

It read:

When you are done with the poor lad, meet up back at Kronk's bar, Madame has a new assignment for us.

"He's really such an old boring faggot, who still uses w******p in this time and age of technology but he used the word Madame, that's what Ben had kept saying during our little showdown, this is the lead I need," Joshua grins as he pockets his phone. "Eva, hang on, I am coming to save you."

"You can't tell me you are actually considering going to ask him that you agree to his offer," Max says sternly.

"I have to, it's the only way, though J is a bit of a hothead and he's really arrogant but if I have to put up with him to save Eva, it's the least I could possibly do," Dave says.

"But how come I don't remember her, how is it only you and J who does, if she really is missing, her parents would file a missing report or we would have at least seen her name in the address book when we were at the police station but we didn't, there's no picture of her or even memorial, you could be chasing a shadow, you know."

"I don't want to believe that Eva is just a shadow," Dave sighed. "I remember her smile, the way she walks, how she eats in the school cafeteria so elegantly, I know she exists with all my heart, I couldn't possibly have fathomed someone so angelic and perfect, I would rather risk my life to chase a shadow that could be real than live my life feeling this nothingness and end up being nothing more than a shadow in the dark."

"God," Max slapped his forehead lightly. "I never could speak sense to you, could I?"

"I take it that's another way of saying you're in," Dave smiles as he extends his right arm as if trying to get a fist bump.

"Obviously, what sort of friend would I be if I can't stand by your side."

"Don't be so uptight, J is actually something, for him to want us to bring him to normalcy, he must have a plan, I trust him to have properly analyzed his abilities.".

"If you say so," Dave ends indifferently.

"J!!!!!" Dave called as he turned his back, his calm face had turned to one of concern. "J!!! I know you couldn't have gone far, J, if you playing, it's over."

"Dave!" Max called out. "He has left, if I am to take a guess, he has found his next lead."

"What gives you that idea?" Dave asked.

"That," Max pointed to where Dave's car was parked earlier. "His car is gone, J really cares about Eva, that much, I can tell, though he might try and act like that's not his top priority but it actually is."

"How can you be so certain?"

"Vincent," Max said. "I was present during their last fight, Vincent said that he was going to hurt J emotionally just the way he had done to him, I haven't seen J regard anyone the way he kept regarding the phantom Eva, it doesn't take a genius to connect the two dots, J came here because he thought Vin was responsible for the a*******n and while he was here, I am guessing that's where he met our entourage visitor."

"Wow, you are really giving him the benefit of the doubt, I thought you don't like him."

"I still don't but if my best friend thinks he deserves a chance, then I would be a bad friend if I don't take up the chance too, it's amazing how much I am seeing now I decided to give J a chance," Max said as he bent to the ground, he pointed over to the position where Joshua was. "While we were talking earlier, I spotted J bending down to pick something, it's very close to the spot where you healed him and I trust your observational proficiency, did you see anything at that spot?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"J clearly loves the phantom Eva too much that he would be able to risk his pride for her, I don't even know who loves this phantom girl more, you or him but J must have seen something here that made him feel like he didn't require your help anymore, he found a deeper lead."

Dave stroked his hairless chin lightly. "I am pretty sure I surveyed the entire environment once I came here, if there was something on the floor, I wouldn't have missed it."

"Dave, don't beat yourself up," Max says as he walks towards Ben's body. "There's no use reminiscing over a past that we have no control over, your skip rate is 5 seconds, it's been over 5 seconds so you can't even skip back in time to see or stop J from doing what he did, right now, let's do what we can."

"What can we do?"

"I am afraid we have to go with J's plan, I need you to restore the entourage user to normalcy."

"What gave you a change of heart," Dave asked.

"The last thing the entourage-user probably recalls was his battle with J, I am going to use my illusion ability to make him think he only passed out for a moment and he's still in the fight with J, obviously, we make him thinks he defeated J, then we follow up the rest of his movements, he will lead us right to where the next lead is and at that moment, that's when you use the time to restore to put him back in his unconscious state."

"Sounds risky," Dave grins as purple miasma began to cloak around him. "But of what fun is a plan without a little risk, I am in."

Joshua grins as he pulled over his car just directly opposite a MacDonald's restaurant. "I am so glad I had taken my car to that auto shop and got one of those sleek tires, it really made no noise at all, Max and Dave didn't even notice when I drove off, though I had to be quite slow until I was sure I was out of their earshot." Joshua got out from his ride as he looked at the opposite end of the street, there was a sign on it that read Kronk's bar. "I never liked that place and to be honest, don't know anyone who has ever been there, why I would like to pay it a visit and just complain of bad service, I have to confirm that it's not a total trap," Joshua said as he walked a few meters down, he found a junkie who was sitting close to a trashcan, he held a half-broken bottle of beer. He reeked of alcohol so it didn't take a genius to find out he was actually a drunk.

"Oii lad," Joshua grins as he pulls out a huge was of cash from his right pocket. "How about we go over there," he pointed over to the bar. "And get a drink."

The drunk had a cheerful smile on his face but Joshua put a hand to him as if to motion for him to calm down. "But first, you are gonna have to get out of those filthy rags." Joshua grins as his eyes spot a boutique that was on the other end of the street. "And I know just the place."

A woman in her mid-thirties entered Kronk's bar, she was dressed in a black velvet dress, she had sun shades on and wore a hat to cover her hair, it was the shape and curves on her body that gave her out that she was a Caucasian woman.

She made her way to sit beside the counter, A bald thin Caucasian man was at the other end of the counter, roughly about 196 cm tall, he wore a clean white shirt, bow tie, and smart black trousers, he was the bartender.

"What would you like to have?" The bartender asks.

"I don't know," she said with a hint of sorrow. "I just felt I need to escape and I need someone to talk to."

"Well, that's what I am here for," the bartender smiled warmly. "You are going through a phase, if I am to take a guess by the way you are dressed, I will say you were owing some money and you are quite frustrated on what to do next."

"Trust me, I already have plans on what to do next."

"Suicide isn't going to pay your debt," the bartender answers her.

The woman suddenly looked up at the bartender, she was quite amazed at how he easily decoded what I could do next.

"So what would you suggest I do?" She asks.

"You can shut the f**k up," came Joshua's voice who now sat beside her, at Joshua's other side was the drunk he had escorted from the streets dressed in an expensive three-piece suit. "And let the bartender do his job and make some money."

"You are such a gentleman," she says sarcastically.

"I don't care for what you say," Joshua said as he turned to the bartender. "I will take two tequila shots, after that, get me your strongest drink."

"That's odd," the bartender says as he brings a bottle from under the counter, he pours it in a mixer. "Usually, when I see anyone, I am immediately able to profile them but you," he paused for a while. "are a real mystery."

"Yeah right," Joshua scoffs as he motions over to the drunk beside him. "Like you have been able to profile him."

"You mean your colleague," the bartender says as he begins to shake the mixer. "He's homeless, the way he stared around when he came inside, how he fumbled across stools, he is usually sleeping on a community bench which he considers the best days of his life or maybe even by trash cans which I would say is his normal standard of living."

The woman who sat beside Joshua was intrigued as she quickly looked at his friend.

"Is that true?" She asks. "Is your friend really homeless?"

"He's not my friend," Joshua bit his lower lip. "When I entered here, I was looking at you two, you didn't make any motion to look at me or my friend, your attention was purely focused on her, how then were you able to see he and I."

"You are the J," the bartender had a sly smile as he looked at Joshua. "You can't expect me not to get a little alert when I saw your vehicle park itself opposite MacDonald's restaurant, I will take it Ben failed, I told him it was retarded going to harass a young schooler for some change he owes him."

"f**k!" Joshua thinks to himself but he kept his calm facade. "So this bartender right here is the one who sent that message to Ben, he's most probably an entourage-user, it would be stupid to go all violent now, there are two people beside me, I am sure he too would agree as he wouldn't want to turn away customers or damage his place of business, I have a way with words, it's time I put that skill to use."

"Ben would never spill anything that would affect Madame negatively in any way, you must have seen the message I sent to him," the bartender continues. "That's the only way you could have found out about here."

"I am sorry," the woman who sat was now clearly confused. "Do you two know each other or something?"

"We don't, at least not yet but he is soon going to be getting familiar with my fist," Joshua grins cruelly.

"J, don't make the mistake of thinking that I care about these useless buildings or the people who come to patronize me, none of that matters," the bartender said still with an expressionless face. "The only thing that is of utmost importance to me is carrying out Madame's wishes."

As he said that, an entourage suddenly appeared behind him, it had the shape of an athletic human, it was brightly silver and two evil red glints in its eyes, his palms were of a different color from the rest of his body as they were light blue, it touched the wall, ice appeared at the point where it touched, it began to spread around the walls till it had covered the entire walls, door, and windows.

Joshua bit his lower lip, the bartender still maintained a cool composure as he served three small cups on the counter. "Would you like some ice with it?"