GymPredator Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Author's note: This section may seem a bit out of place, but it originates from a question someone posed in a DM - We have seen how John feels trying to cope in a world of littles. How does Gabriel cope in a world of men who are giants to any normal human? So this is perhaps a small answer to that question... Chapter 9 - Destiny - Part 4b - The Enemy “Hey Mister backstabbin' son of a bitch / You're livin' in a world that'll soon be dyin' / And I know - Everybody knows you try to be like me / But even at your best as a man you couldn't equal half of me. / I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways / And now that it's here I see it all so clearly / I've come face to face with The Enemy '' ~ Godsmack, The Enemy 14 Aug 2020. 6 weeks after the letters arrived. 8 months after the accident Gabriel had no idea when he began that day just how much John would change his world, how he would eventually change his entire life, in just a few minutes. But John had a way of teaching him about who he truly was and who he could be in the most unexpected ways. Being summer in Colorado, John thought their calisthenics and martial arts workouts would be better outdoors. So, ever since they began training, John had been taking them into the mountains three times a week. Outdoors, they could soak up some sun, get a tan, sweat, and try to make it fun, an important aspect since calisthenics were Gabriel’s most difficult, and therefore, least enjoyed part of his training. And it did work. Gabriel did enjoy working out under the sky. Of course, he felt self-conscious being shirtless “in public” next to his giant muscle god lover. Gabriel wasn’t exactly alone in that though. Anyone on Earth besides the other four giants would have felt emasculated next to John. Even Justin and Adam admitted that being with him in the gym when he ripped his shirt off was more than a bit intimidating. For his part, John tried to do all he could to relieve his self-consciousness. He made sure they went to areas that were relatively sparse with the possibility of only a few people seeing them. That had the added benefit of making sure that HE wasn’t watched either, the uber-human titan that he was. He made sure to shower Gabriel with support and complements to make him more at ease. And the complements were merited as Gabriel was progressing amazingly well. John taught him properly, of course. He was draconian when it came to doing the movements properly. But he also wasn’t a task master kind of trainer where no matter what, the effort wasn’t good enough. He was a “coach” and he cared that his “student” succeeded. And it showed. Often, as they had on this day, they would drive to Devil’s Backbone between Fort Collins and Rocky Mountain National Park. John had bought Gabriel a full outdoor calisthenics equipment set including dip bars, rings they could suspend from a tree limb, and a portable pull up bar. But in a pinch, Gabriel could use John's forearm as a makeshift tree limb. After all, Gabriel’s weight was nothing to him. And the sheer scale of John's forearm made a pull up or chin up that much harder than with a normal bar due to the wider grip required to hold onto the 2 foot circumference muscular “bar.” The moment began while they were working on strikes. John being there meant that the pair didn’t need any sort of bag. John’s abs could easily absorb every punch. “That’s it, Angel. You’re doing great. Keep going. Make me feel it.” John said, encouraging Gabriel as he felt the smaller man hitting him harder. Gabriel didn’t seem to believe it, but John kept telling him how his martial arts skills were becoming better, faster, more confident with each training session. “Yes, awesome job. Get into it. Fuck ya, that’s it.” Gabriel should have been proud. He was progressing so fast. But … he wasn’t. He had come to not believe John’s compliments anymore. About anything. It had been building inside him for a while - slowly, insidiously, so slowly even Gabriel didn’t know it was happening. There had been so many changes so fast. Gabriel had been tossed out of his comfort zone into an entirely new lifestyle in just a few weeks. He had wanted it, asked for it, and he thought he loved it. He had never been so comfortable and accepted in his life. But he had not considered the toll it would take on his psyche as he suddenly went from being the top expert in the world to not being the best at anything he was doing. It was the very first time Gabriel did pull ups hanging from John’s arm that it really started gnawing at him openly. The small, nasty voice of recrimination and self-doubt. What was so confusing to him was that Gabriel KNEW he should not have felt the way he did. He knew it was ridiculous. He knew how much fun he was having. But… he started listening to that little voice. It was so stupid what it was saying. It was bile, poisonous. Gabriel KNEW it was. He knew the one thing John Declann would never do was “humor” him. John wouldn’t lie to him, especially about training. And yet… Gabriel had never failed at anything in his life that meant anything at all to him. Sure he had lost a race or a game, but not anything really important. But this - this was different. Gabriel couldn’t help but compare himself to the others in his life - bodybuilders, athletes with decades of experience, and then there were the giants - and it felt like even the smallest of them was light years ahead of him. They all told him not to compare himself to them. How great he was doing to be so new while they had been doing this for years, decades. But John has been doing this for just a handful of weeks and look at him. You know what he must be thinking seeing you struggle. You know he HAS to think differently about you. Now that he knows about your family, he has to think like everyone else… sadly, Gabriel started to listen to the nasty inner voice. And slowly, it began to poison him. His circumstance with the giants only gave the voice ammunition. John was no longer the only giant in his life. There was now Skye - those emails and chats. Skye was nothing short of incredible to him. Kind, gracious, encouraging. Just like John. But sometimes, Skye could make him feel so tiny and stupid. Skye had this way of sometimes making Gabriel feel like he was a subject case presented in grand rounds - not a person but an inanimate research subject. Like when they were talking about their research. Skye would sometimes point out something that Gabriel had totally overlooked that Skye thought should have been obvious to a toddler. And the manner in which Skye did it made Gabriel feel as neophyte to his life’s work as he was to weightlifting. Gabriel could hear the voice… Skye Collins was your student just a few years ago. Now he is looking down on you. He is so much better than you. Superior… and Gabriel kept listening. At least, Skye would have been considered an expert in the subject. What was worse was when John would see something that he had been working on for years and ask, “What about this?” And it turned out to be a whole new approach Gabriel would have never considered. Look at John. What took you so long, he gets in an hour. So that must mean it isn’t hard at all. It must mean you’re inferior… and Gabriel kept listening. Then there was the way Skye would sometimes be so derogatory to littles. Sometimes the way he would talk made it sound like littles were at best more like pesky children, and other times more like insects than humans. It would get to the point the giant would actually apologize, saying he didn’t mean to cause Gabriel offense. Skye would say it was just his nature now and, oftentimes, he didn’t think of Gabriel as a little. But, Gabriel had noticed John also picking up on the language. John wasn’t using it in the same way, but sometimes the dismissive tones, the inflections, the attitude towards littles was there. They’re talking about you, you know. You’re just an insect to them. To all of them. You’re worthless. They laugh at you when they’re talking to each other. Even the normal bodybuilders. They can’t be friends with you. You’re a tiny, a runt. Runt body, runt mind. Even the other littles know you’re a worthless runt. And Gabriel kept listening. Whenever those kinds of things happened, both John and Skye were kind about it. They were both apologetic. Both told him fresh eyes can easily see something someone missed. Skye reminded Gabriel that was the point of rounds and bringing tough patient cases before colleagues. John assured him that it happened in police work all the time and that’s why multiple detectives were usually assigned to a case. And on top of it, they had physical and genetic advantages that Gabriel just didn’t have, and there was no reason to beat himself up over not having those advantages. The worst thing was - Gabriel knew they were absolutely right, but the insidious voice of depression still ate at him slowly, gnawing at the core of his being. When he and John had been alone, it was different. John being better physically at most everything was one thing. Gabriel always had his own academic and intellectual areas in which he was better than John. There was a balance. But that balance was changing. John was catching up to him fast academically, and he knew it was only a matter of time before John would pass him by. Gabriel couldn’t compete with a literally faster, bigger, better superior brain and senses. And now… now there were others like John who were just better than he was. Physically better. Intellectually better. Just… better. Deep inside, a question began to grow. How could John really care about me when there were men out there who were just as advanced as he was? He loved John with all he was but… could John love him as they became more and more different? He remembered when John explained how he had been made to feel before the Heath thing. How it felt like Gabriel and Jack were talking down to him. How John felt like “the other.” So out of place. Gabriel knew he never meant to do it, just like he knew that the giants making him feel that way now was not intentional. It kept at him though. Inadequacy. Inferiority. Gnawing and growing inside him. Like John before him, the voice turned into a knot of anger and resentment. And it began to grow. The feelings finally boiled over that day in the mountains training as he was punching John’s abs. Gabriel was sweating so much that it looked like rivers of salt water were running down his pecs and abs. His hair was drenched and matted to him. Every hit would cause sweat to fly off of him… but he was hitting John Declann. It was like hitting the side of the mountain they were on. Beyond the normal slight suppleness of John’s unflexed flesh, there was no movement at all. The few times he trained with John’s heavy bag, the thing was really hard when he hit it, but it had some movement when he did. There was nothing with John. John wouldn't even know he was being hit if he were not watching. And all John told him was to hit more. In the vicious doubting inner voice’s lying sing-song, Gabriel could hear how John was humoring him, belittling him. Like how you tell a baby how good they’ve done. The jock laughing at the dork, making fun of him, telling him to hit harder. Inside, the nugget of self-consciousness and inadequacy that had grown into anger blossomed into rage. Gabriel started hitting John harder and harder, putting everything he had into it. And then putting in more. He became reckless, flailing away. He started grunting angrily, trying to get John to react. To get him to feel something. But when John did … John reached out and gently, but firmly grasped Gabriel’s hand in mid-strike, stopping him instantly. John absorbed all the momentum easily to keep Gabriel from falling, but he could tell something was wrong. This was beyond practice. Beyond hard work. This was nearing fury. “Jesus. Angel, I want you to not hold back, but don’t hurt yourself. What’s wrong?” Gabriel struggled, for real, against John’s grip trying to wrench his hands away, but John handled it with his ease. It was another moment of feeling inadequate, his tiny hand feeling like a baby’s in John's hand. A grown man being held helpless like a struggling insect in a spider web. The jock holding his fist playing “mercy” knowing he could not get away. Gabriel exploded. “THIS!!! This is what’s wrong.” He pushed and pulled, but nothing happened. “You, Skye, Will. Babying me. Humoring me. Belittling me. You know you’re all better than me. What is the point of doing ANY of this? I’ll never be good enough. Fucking hell, I’ll just keep getting worse and worse compared to you. “Will won’t even talk to me. At least that’s honest. It says something about how he really feels about me, but you two. Telling me how good I am, but in every way possible showing me you’re always better. Snickering at me behind my back. Always twenty steps ahead. How can you even care about me at all? I am like some insect to you, we all are. Why can’t you just LEAVE!!! LEAVE AND LEAVE ME ALONE. BE WITH YOUR OWN KIND and leave us stupid runts who are beneath you behind.” John dropped Gabriel’s hand, turned his head, and closed his eyes, visibly grimacing. Gabriel’s words wounded him more deeply than any weapon could. In milliseconds, he saw his life dissolving again, the only thing giving him meaning, his Angel, vanishing. John's voice was barely above a whisper. “Do you mean that? Do you want me to leave?” John looked up with tears in his eyes, “I will go, if you want me to.” Gabriel had made John feel, but what he had made him feel… instantly he regretted his outburst. He fell to the earth, sitting in both real and proverbial dust, ashamed of his lashing out. “God, no, John… I’m sorry.” Gabriel looked up to the towering, but crestfallen presence so far above him. “It’s just… You all are so good at… at everything. All of you are. Isn’t there anything in our lives where you can treat me like a fucking man, an equal, and not hold back. Please John. Can I do anything well enough that I can keep up with you without you taking it easy on me? Treating me like a fragile little flower? Like this self- defense stuff. You treat me like a kid play wrestling on the floor with his father. It’s hopeless to learn anything for real like that.” “Gabriel, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset—“ “JOHN! WILL YOU FUCKING STOP IT!?! I AM NOT SOME PREGNANT HORMONAL WOMAN. WILL YOU PLEASE TREAT ME LIKE A GODDAMNED EQUAL AND NOT HOLD BACK. IF YOU WON'T ACTUALLY TEACH ME AND NOT HOLD BACK THEN I’M STOPPING THIS RIGHT NOW!” Gabriel shouted into John’s face as best as he could. John took a deep breath. Oh fuck… How could he have been so wrong? Here was the same mistake Gabriel made all those months ago that pushed him the rest of the way into destroying Heath. And now the one person who should know better - John Declann - was doing the same thing himself. John was all too familiar with what he needed to do to fix this. Although his and Gabriel’s dynamic was unique - this was not the first time he had witnessed this. So many young cops when they make their first mistake. Martial arts students in a losing streak in sparring or competition. Their confidence in themselves hangs by a frayed thread because they see everything as insurmountable. All they see is failure. And it makes them either collapse in on themselves or become angry. And Gabriel… Gabriel was an angry one. He was going to need to teach Gabriel about the poison that is anger… John got down on his haunches. When John spoke, his voice was forceful. “Alright. But before I go on, give me the courtesy of letting me finish. First, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I don’t think of you that way at all, so maybe it is easy to forget. “Now - you don’t want me to hold back anymore. Treat you like an equal, on equal terms. Don't hold back.” John looked at Gabriel intently. “Are you sure? Once I do, there is no going back.” “John, I may have stepped over the line telling you to leave. I don’t want that at all, but I’m tired of being treated like a goddamned baby. Either you treat me as an equal or we are done with this. I want a partner, an equal, not a goddamned giant nanny.” John took a breath. “Alright. I won’t hold back anymore. You want an equal. Fine. You want to see what you can do with self defense. OK. I will teach you what you have to do as an equal. I will no longer be your coach. I will be your opponent. And you will learn as my opponent. Starting now.” John stood, turned around, and took a few steps away. He closed his eyes and when they opened again … The Predator was in control. He turned back to face the little man. And for the first time ever, when that part of him looked at Gabriel York - it was not with a desire to protect him. “Stand up, Gabriel.” Gabriel heard the change, saw the change, and he knew who he was dealing with. It scared him a bit to see the Predator like this for the first time - had his outburst pushed John over the edge? Reluctantly, Gabriel stood and faced the titan. “You don’t want me to hold back anymore. Fine, little man. We'll step things up then. You have a very simple first job in our first proper sparring match. Take me down. Put ME on my ass. Just one time. I’ve shown you how. Everything you need to know, you already know. But, I won’t just let you. You fight for it, and you can do it.” Gabriel was shocked. “John, that’s hopeless. I can’t really fight you. You can anticipate what I am thinking before I even have a chance to think it. And .. and look at you. How can I even hope to move all of you? You’re 550 pounds. You hold me in one hand” The Predator’s reply was instant, “I have seen Ms. Carla put men over twice her size and more on their asses in a second. Hell, she used to do it to me and I am VASTLY more experienced than her. It is the same difference in size between me and you as between her and those 280 pound rooks she would embarrass in training. You’re just making excuses, Squirt.” The Predator then held up his index finger, “BUT - here’s what I will do. I will give you exactly ONE way in. One way I will not defend.” The Predator paused for a moment for emphasis, and his voice became louder. JUST ONE “I’ve taught you how to look for openings and how to exploit them. You have exactly one way to beat me. That is all you will get out of ANY opponent who knows their shit. But, I won’t hold back. You come at me any other way than that one opening, and I will do more than just put you on your ass. You think you feel belittled now? You mess up, and I’ll grind your pathetic fragile ass ego so far into the dirt you’ll have to dig for a month to find what’s left of it. I’ll give you EXACTLY what you want. You have my word. Now, are you man enough to quit making excuses and follow through with what you asked for?” The Predator then extended his hand, not to help Gabriel, but as a handshake between combatants. The first thought through Gabriel’s mind was, Oh FUCK, what I have done. He will destroy me. But then, he thought for a second. This is what I asked for. I asked for John to treat me as an equal. I asked for him to do his best. This is it. Gabriel knew, if nothing else, this beyond a human being was a man of his word. He would not hold back, and he would give Gabriel his one way in - if he were good enough. John said he had taught him all he needed to know. And when it came to training, John was nothing if not brutally honest. Gabriel decided, but he really had no choice -- he stood up, approached the Predator, and took the giant hand. The Predator smiled… the smile he flashed when he saw prey. It immediately unnerved Gabriel even more. This was for real... “Good. You were always brave when it came down to it. Brave… but foolhardy.” Faster than Gabriel thought possible , the Predator let go of his hand, took him around the left shoulder, and flung him several meters through the air like a used soda can. Gabriel landed on his ass with a thud. The Predator smirked, “Then come at me, Runt. Beat me if—,” The Predator snickered and his eyes cut into an almost contemptuous sneer, “if you’re man enough.” It took Gabriel 15 or 20 seconds to collect himself, shocked from the sheer speed of what had happened. He had been thrown by John once before. But it didn’t feel like this… this was effortless. When he did gather himself, he looked up and felt something akin to what the Israelite armies felt on seeing Goliath. The Predator stood about four meters away, nonchalant, just staring at him - with an almost shark-like smile flashing through his eyes. Gabriel slowly stood, shaking away the cobwebs and trying to engage what John had taught him. He knew John looked totally relaxed, but it was a complete deception. While his body was standing as if nothing out of the ordinary were going on, those eyes were on fire, recording every little thing Gabirel said and did. It didn’t take long for his inferiority to cause Gabriel to wither. He lost all of his lessons trying to take in the titanic task before him. He had no idea where to even begin to come at John. Finally, almost desperately, he did what most untrained fighters would do - he came straight at John. Gabriel tried to go downward as he came at John, going at those gigantic feet and calves the size of his head. Gabriel lost sight of John’s face as he went down, totally focused on his target without taking in anything else … “OH FUCK. HAHAHA….” A deep, obviously amused laugh rained down from above, as Gabriel felt that hand clasp onto him again. The Predator easily plucked him out of the dive. The giant raised Gabriel up and held him dangling at arms length, “I THOUGHT I taught you better than that, stuck up, little rich boy. Huh?” John shook Gabriel bodily back and forth a few times as if he were shaking out a towel. “Maybe you just aren’t up to it, Squirt. But, I’m a generous man, and I’ll give ya a do over.” The Predator flicked his hand, and again Gabriel flew backwards, landing on his ass exactly where he had before. The Predator looked out at Gabriel sitting there. What he just did… that was sickening. He would be dead or maimed by anyone worth a damn. That attempt was so utterly worthless…. He had to get this under fucking control. He had to get Gabriel angry enough to be teachable, but to get him there… The military had a saying - that they needed to break a man down before they could build him back up. He was going to have to tear down Gabriel. Break him. Gabriel’s pride was always based in his intellect. So, he would have to break that. Going deep enough into Gabriel’s psyche to push him where he needed to be wouldn’t be pretty. It would be vicious. But he knew exactly how to do it. And Gabriel had asked for it - do not hold back. Treat him as an equal. So, the Predator decided he would keep his word. “Is this REALLY what you were like back in England? You already told me you weren’t fucking man enough to stand up to your father. I bet those corn-cob-up-the-ass pricks at your little boarding school saw you as prey. That’s why you tried to erase it all, huh, Runt? Run across the fucking ocean because you know all you are good for is to be a stepping stone. Fuck, not even that. Just some thing for a man to step on. How many times did they leave you in a locker or gave you a black eye because you were too much of a fucking coward to ever fight back?” Gabriel stood up faster, his anger again welling up inside him. John looked exactly as he did before, but this time Gabriel tried to approach more cautiously. When he thought he saw something, he dove for it -- but again found himself flying backwards like a piece of paper shot like a basketball toward the rubbish. “Jesus, you’re nothing but fucking Little Lord Fauntleroy. Never had to work a day in his life. Always had everything handed to him. And what did it make you? Hell, a little entitled prick who isn’t even good enough to be a proper entitled prick. You’re a fucking omega entitled prick. Tell me, Runt. You even have to wipe your own snotty fucking nose before I came around and told you to try and stand on your own? “Jack and your military goons at your beck and call. Turning them into your little minions. Must have felt good for a coward like you after being a doormat for your whole life. Taking people who at least have a sense of honor and try to be men and turning them into your fucking butler and footmen and lying to yourself, telling yourself that you didn’t do it. That you’re different, when you are just the same entitled ass your whole family is. You said you were so ashamed of old Gabriel. But you’re just like him. Using up common people, decent littles, using them like cattle to make your dream a reality and to build that bank account you say you don’t even use.” The Predator sneered. Gabriel’s anger became white hot as the Predator kept at him, pressing the buttons he knew would push Gabriel on. But then he decided to one up again. This time, he didn’t just wait on Gabriel to charge him. As soon as Gabriel began to run toward the juggernaut, the Predator started walking toward the little man. He snatched him again in mid-stride and threw him away. And again, and again, and again. After the sixth time, the Predator walked within inches of where he had tossed Gabriel and sneered over his titanic pecs down at the now raging little man. The Predator knew exactly how to go for the kill— and he did. “And shit. Look at me. Here I was thinking I loved you. But, really, how could anyone love such a worthless little dipshit as you? You know, I bet in college, some bull came at you and used you like a fuck doll.” The Predator roared laughing. “That’s it isn’t it? That’s why you’ve been able to handle this cock of mine for so damned long, isn’t it Runt? Some pathetic excuse of a fake man turned you into a submissive needy cock slut. But, then again, that’s always been you, hasn't it GABRIEL? Always desperate to be fucked by a BETTER MAN’s cock. Your father, your brother, your little school bullies.” The Predator wiped a bit of sweat from his pecs and flicked it into Gabriel’s face. “And now ME - a BETTER MAN than you could ever hope to be. You’ve even admitted it. But you can tell the truth now. It wasn’t some accident that made me. You wanted to make your perfect man. But you don’t want a partner. You just want a real man to fuck you again.” The Predator then raised a foot, planted it on Gabriel’s chest, and pinned him to the ground. “Well, fucking little rich boy. If you just want to be a REAL MAN’s fuck toy, I can do that too. Me, Will, Skye - we will just pass you between us like a fucking fake cunt. And you can be the worthless drooling little cock whore you were really born to be. And I will be ashamed that I ever felt a thing for you but disgust. I won’t waste another second with you Little Lord Fucktoy. You’re not worth my time.” The Predator lifted his foot off, turned his back, and started to walk away. Down on the ground, through rage-fueled tears, Gabriel let out a scream, a scream of pure frustration and fury. As he kept walking, seeming to pay no attention, the Predator smiled as he heard exactly what he wanted to hear - Gabriel pushed truly over the edge. Gabriel ran blindly against the massive body, running toward what seemed to be an open vulnerability - John’s exposed kidneys and low back. The Predator’s enhanced hearing heard Gabriel running without control, mindless, thoughtless, heard him stop and plant, heard his arm pull back … In an instant, the Predator whipped around at full speed - and for the very first time, held his abs in a flex as someone struck them... But not as hard as he could. He didn’t want Gabriel to destroy his hand, but he needed the message to get through. Gabriel’s hand slammed into the diamond hard brick wall causing a massive blast of pain to shoot through the little man’s fist. Gabriel had not paid attention, had punched with his knuckles, and they’d bloodied across just one of John’s bricks. Gabriel screamed, this time not in anger but in real pain. He pulled back, stunned, and then faster than even he had known John to move, he felt two hands encase his waist. He flew ten feet into the air over the Predators head. The Predator took the tiny, breaking Angel and began to shake … and shake … and shake… The Predator looked up smiling like a cat ready to end its toy mouse, as if he were ready to snap the little man in half. Toying, toying… until he saw real fear in Gabriel’s eyes. Fear had pushed through the rage. Fear enough that his life was starting to flash before his eyes. “ARE YOU DONE OR DO YOU WANT ME TO FINISH?” “Please John.” In a flash, the Predator was gone and John was back. The shaking stopped instantly. And caring was plastered all over the giant's face. “Thank fuck that’s over...” Gingerly, carefully, John lowered Gabriel to the ground, followed by himself kneeling on the earth. “Give me that hand, Angel.” Gabriel was still in too much pain and shock to resist, giving the giant his tiny hand. “Move your fingers for me.” Gabriel complied. Then with what may have been the lightest touch Gabriel had ever felt from a human, John allowed his fingers to graze over the injury. John closed his eyes and felt as Gabriel's mind cleared enough to grasp what was happening. John didn’t need an X-ray. He could feel through that light touch of fingers across his own swelling hand if Gabriel had broken bones. He saw John reach for something … his backpack, and from inside he removed a well equipped first aid kit. It then hit Gabriel … John had planned this. He had maneuvered it all to be right here, right now. Maneuvered it so that everything he might need to help Gabriel was within arms reach… every moment. It had all felt so real… but he had never been in any real danger. “John…” John looked lovingly into Gabriel’s eyes. “Sssshhhhh…. let me take care of this. It isn’t broken, but you’re going to have some swollen knuckles for a few days. You did better than me in my first fight.” John removed some alcohol preps and cleaning gauze. “Hold on for the sting babe.” Gabriel yelped as John began to clean the split open cuts, his years of first responder training showing through. He was as good as Gabriel could have been were the roles reversed. “Angel. I hope you know I didn’t mean any of that. OK? Really, not one single word.” Gabriel nodded. He knew. He knew and felt ashamed he had pushed John into it. “But Angel, it is a lesson you need. Every fighter, every cop. Hell I bet every doctor too. You NEVER get angry. EVER. As soon as you get mad, you have already lost. Even the most inept can get the best of you if you’re not thinking. That goes for that nasty voice inside your head too. Trust me, I know. I have it too. It loves to twist you. You can’t let it. “Angel, by the time I am done with you, you’ll be able to kill people. You can pretty much do it now. You may not think your punches do anything against me, and that’s true. But to a normal, you’d have them down in one. You’re already that good. What happens when you have that ability and you come in pissed, angry. What can you do? You either wind up hurt or… you hurt others way more than you ever need to. You can barely live with yourself if you do that - and some people can’t. You have to stay in control. If you don’t, some bloody knuckles and swelling and needing some pain meds for a couple of days is going to be the least of your concerns. Read the situation. Only engage IF you must, if there is no other way out. If there is any safe way out, take it before you fight. But if there is no other way - Read it, unleash, and end it BUT always in control. Staying in control is the only way you stop. Never be angry in a fight. What happens in an emergency room or a surgery and something happens and you get pissed?” Gabriel looked down. Here he was, feeling like a kid with his father again. Reciting what he already knew. But he deserved it. “You miss things and people die.” “Exactly. Now…” John took a breath as he applied some antibiotic ointment and began to bandage the hand. “The other thing…” “First - I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way at all. I of all people should know what that feels like and never do it. Making you feel that way - that is my mistake, not yours. You know that right?” Again Gabriel sheepishly shook his head yes. “OK. You know it, now, please, Angel. Believe it.” “But John, you don’t know what it’s like. You are so good — at everything. It’s like there isn’t anything you can’t do. And do it better than me in a couple of days. Nothing. I spent years and years working on some of this and you master it in an hour. You both, hell all of you. Is there anything at all that I have in me to do that you can’t do?” John smiled and shook his head. “You really don’t understand. You don’t know how much I envy you sometimes do you?” Gabriel looked stunned. “Envy me?!?” “You heard me. Let’s see, what can you do better than me? Let’s start with. Go to the fucking store. Go to a normal gym. Cook for us. Just walk down the street…” “But that’s so ordinary. Everyone can do that.” John’s eyes shifted and Gabriel saw a small flash of pain. “Not everyone. I can’t. Skye can’t. Will can’t. Angel, you might think what I can do is extraordinary. And maybe it is. But to me, what you can do is just as extraordinary. It seems so simple to you, but I’ve had to watch and live through all of those everyday things of being human wither and die for me. Just think about it. You went to buy a new pair of kicks for the gym. What did you do? And what does it take me to do the same thing? “Angel, the things I can do may seem like magic. And it is fun… a lot of fun. I love it. But Angel it is a curse too. It’s like those super genius kids you see stories about sometimes. Savants. They can do amazing things but they’re so isolated because they’re different. I’ve had to make peace that I can’t go back. That I have to accept who I am now and what I can do - all of it. And that means accepting what I can’t. “Don’t ever think that I’m talking down to you or treating you like a child. I mean fuck, Angel, there is gonna come a point where I can’t even use a fork to eat with because it will be too small for my hands. Like you using a seafood fork or a baby food spoon. Without special shit, it will be hard to even feed myself. Now, you wanna talk about feeling like a baby… I half expect to get buzzed like the airplane in the hanger game you do to get a fussy eater to eat. “So ya, I’m gifted. A genius. A savant. Whatever you wanna call it. But … so are you. In ways I can scarcely imagine. Remember, whatever I am, whatever I can do physically. However my brain and my eyes and ears and all that work now… it’s because there is a magnificent mind inside your head that made me.” John raised one hand and put a finger to Gabriel’s right temple. “I would not be here if it were not for this mind. You were always here first. Always. And I will be playing catch up to you for the rest of my life.” “Gabriel, I will spend my whole life trying to be worthy of you. You’re my Angel.” John finished with Gabriel’s hand. Gabriel looked at the job … It was perfect. Then he looked up at John. John hadn’t been just binding his physical wounds. He had perfectly bound his not visible wounds too. John had sucked out the poison, cleaned his wounds of soul as thoroughly as he had cleaned the dirt and blood from his hand, and bandaged his damaged heart. The knot of anger was gone, and his merged soul was whole again. Gabriel didn’t feel inadequate seeing John live up to his potential anymore. Remorse poured from him, as he saw clearly what he had let happen. “God, why am I so stupid sometimes? Can you forgive me John? The only child here is me, throwing a tantrum…” John lifted Gabriel’s chin, “There is nothing to forgive, Angel. We are on this journey together, remember? Remember when I felt exactly what you just felt? What did I do? And you forgave me...” Gabriel dove into John, hugging him tightly. “Thank you. Both parts of you…” “What do you mean?” Gabriel pulled back. “You did teach me to observe you know… You threw me around like you didn’t care, but always in the same precise spot. You never allowed us to move so far away that your backpack wasn’t within easy reach. You made me feel everything. It felt so real. But, you made sure that I was never in any real danger. Even when you could have let me hurt myself, even when you could have hurt me badly, you didn’t.” Gabriel looked at his bandaged hand, “Except my pride.” John smiled, “I promised you I would never allow you to come to harm, especially from me. That is the one promise no matter how much you may ever beg or plead or change or hate me or whatever that I will never break Angel.” Gabriel looked at John. And what he asked he asked quietly, cautiously. “But, what if you didn’t hold back at all, John? If you didn’t keep that promise or have that promise? What can you do? I mean REALLY do, if you weren’t the man you are? If you didn’t care…. What did I ask for that you were smart enough not to give me fully?” John looked at Gabriel with an expression he instantly recognized. It was the same look he had when he was worried what John would think when he learned about his past. It was a twinge of fear. “Do you really mean that? You know what I can do already.” “I know the raw numbers, John. But if I’ve learned anything from you and from all this is that raw data doesn’t tell nearly the whole story. I also know you, and I know there are some things that even you are afraid of. I saw the fear just now. There are things you can do that you only allow yourself to see. It’s OK. I really want to see. I want to share everything with you. Even this.” “But once you really see, once you have at least some idea, you… might not see me in the same way. I don’t want you to be scared of me again. Angel - there is a reason why I had to be SO adamant about teaching you about anger in self-defense, anger in fighting, anger when you listen to that nasty inner voice. I was angry once and a man would be dead because of it if it were not for you. Another one of those things I can’t do, saving his life like you did. It was miraculous to see you do it. Not in a million years could I even come close to that.” “John, was Lois ever scared of Kal-El?” John smiled and relented. “OK. I’ll show you. What do you want to know?” “That night in the parking lot. If someone attacks you like that again. Like the way you are teaching me to handle myself. What could you do?” John nodded. He looked around and quickly found what he needed, a half buried lump of granite. From the look of it, John guessed it was perhaps the size of a large family grave marker. Then, he noticed standing out of the ground a large blade of rock. It was about ten meters away, a jagged run of stone almost as tall as Gabriel but as thick as a large tree trunk at the base. John reached into his backpack, took out Gabriel’s sunglasses, and handed them to him. “Put those on and I think you might want to back up a bit. Just in case.” Gabriel looked confused but did as he was told, putting on the glasses and moving perhaps three meters to the right. John spoke up so that Gabriel could hear him clearly. As he did, Gabriel noticed John relaxed but tensed in a very unique way that he had come to know as his fighting stance. “Alright. Let’s say that some person is coming at me and is right where that big piece of jagged rock is. And, do you remember what happened to the asphalt in the parking lot?” “Of course I do, John.” “OK--” What happened next would have required a slow motion camera for Gabriel to have fully appreciated in proper detail. John ran at full speed to the spire of rock, crossing the ten meter distance in far less than a single second. In one fluid motion he stopped, planted perfectly, and performed a roundhouse kick into the stone blade. The entire blade exploded. Fragments, dust, and several large pieces flew several meters in all directions before they landed. But before those pieces even had a chance to crash to the earth, John ran back to the buried lump of granite. He planted again, pulled his arm back, and struck full force into the buried stone. There was a MASSIVE cracking noise, something akin to a muffled explosion. Again, dust and fragments flew through the air, some of which landed around Gabriel meters in the other direction. John hopped back and forth on his feet a couple of times before he stopped and stepped back to Gabriel. Gabriel looked to the scene of carnage. Beyond him, the former blade of rock was broken almost even with the ground. Pieces the size of dinner plates lay scattered around as the dust was settling. The buried boulder had fragmented into several large pieces and had literally shifted under its earthen cover. Gabriel saw where the dirt had cracked and lifted up due the sheer scale of the force John had dumped into it. John had destroyed tons of stone, yet other than the sounds of his running feet, he himself never made a sound. John held out the hand he had struck the boulder with. When he hit the pavement a couple of months ago, John had cried out in pain, the flesh had turned red and bruised - if only for a few minutes. Now … nothing. “I would not have even known I had done it Angel. No pain at all anymore. Not from that.” Gabriel looked at the hand closely. Not only was it not swollen or red, there was not even a scratch on his skin. Gabriel looked up, sobered. He was shaken, shocked. BUT - some piece of him now, the piece of him that was perhaps mixed with John … was turned on. Excited in a weird way by the feeling of power. Gabriel had a sense from that spot just beyond his conscious thoughts, the place where John lived in his mind, of another emotion — satisfaction. He didn’t understand it, but it was real. “John, there isn’t even a scratch. That rock … it has to be sharp. Has to be…” John raised an eyebrow. “Oh, that….” He went back to the first aid kit, and withdrew an emergency scalpel. He handed the instrument to Gabriel, then held out his hand. “I am guessing you are pretty good with that thing. I figured this out a couple of weeks ago. Go ahead. I trust you.” “John, you want me to…” “Go on Angel. You said you wanted to know everything. When you explained what was happening to me, I went through the calculations. I wondered if this would happen. I bet you did too. You are too good about this not to. But, it was still more than a little spooky when I realized it was really happening. Go on.” Gabriel took John’s open hand and lightly pulled the blade across a small corner of the palm… and nothing happened. Gabriel looked up confused, “Go ahead. No matter what you do, it wont work. God knows what you will use if I ever need surgery. They make diamond tipped scalpels?” Gabriel took John’s hand much more intently this time and pulled the scalpel properly across the palm to make a clean, but not deep incision. Or he tried. Again, there was not so much as a scratch. Gabriel tried again with the same result. John then reached for the blade with two fingers, gasped it, and snapped it cleanly, tossing away the razor sharp fragments. “I haven’t found anything yet that can cut me now. Maybe if you sawed on me, like sawing down a tree you could. I haven't exactly taken up hacking on myself as a hobby to find out. Or I could be stabbed with a point driven into me or something, maybe a needle to draw blood, at least for right now, but… no one is going to get that close.” “What do you mean John? You mean if they decide to run away?” Gabriel asked. John smiled again, “Not exactly.” John looked around a moment and found a small branch about the length of a switchblade knife and handed it to Gabriel. “We’ve practiced this very thing. I promise I won’t hurt you. This is simply a demonstration. Come at me, remember how I taught you how to look for someone trying to do a shank-style attack. That’s easiest. Just come at me the way I’ve taught you to look for most guys doing it.” Gabriel nodded and, remembering how John had demonstrated on numerous occasions how the average knife attack comes, took up that position. Gabriel came at John, using the stick the way he would if he were trying to stab John. John’s response was instant. John flew behind Gabriel. The shock of the speed was so much that Gabriel hadn’t even had time to turn his head to see where John had gone before he felt a hand lift him into the air. Another hand grabbed his stick welding arm, and before he could resist the “blade” had been forced to his own throat. Gabriel was helpless, suspended in mid air, unable to move at all due to John’s crushing strength, and only a couple more pounds of force would have forced him to “slit” his own throat. John spoke into Gabriel’s ear. “I could do this twice as fast Angel. So fast you would never even know what I did. And to me, you’re moving in slow motion. Think about it for a second.” Gabriel shuddered as John released him and sat him on the ground. “I won’t do it to you, but is there any difference between what I could do when you were trying to hit me and someone coming at me with a weapon of any kind? What happened to the last guy who tried? I snapped his arm like a twig. And I was WAY slower and weaker then. What could I do now? To anyone like you or the runt who came after you.” Something inside him knew without seeing - John didn’t have to snap bones anymore. He had felt some tiny portion of John’s grip. Fueled by the rage, Gabriel knew that John could crush bones now, as thoroughly, perhaps even more, than any poor soul who had their hand caught in mechanical rollers in factories that occasionally make the news. If not now, in time certainly, he could pulverize them. “But, you asked about running away too. That -- that we can do. Try it. You’re not just some ordinary schlep. You are a trained cross country runner. So, try it. Let’s say you got some good sense seeing your compatriots crushed and you ran away. Let’s say it is 20 seconds before I see you and you are running at full speed. Panic speed. Even on this terrain, you should be able to get 100 meters away in 20 seconds. You agree?” Gabriel looked around. “I think so. Maybe more than that.” “Alright, I will count 20 seconds so you can hear. And I will not move from this spot until 20. Your goal is simple. I can’t catch you. Let’s say - you have gotten away if you make it down to the Devil’s Backbone sign. From here, that would take you what… two minutes?” “Close enough, I think.” “Alright. Ready?” Gabriel nodded. “Three… two… one… Go.” Gabriel took off as fast as he could to get away … and Gabriel was fast. “ONE...TWO...THREE…” Hearing John’s booming military drill sergeant projected voice calmly counting off added even more fuel to Gabriel’s legs. He was not a sprinter. But he was a distance runner very accustomed to trail running. Gabriel poured all he had into it as he passed 100 meters and kept going as John counted, “SIXTEEN… SEVENTEEN… EIGHTEEN… NINETEEN… TWENTY.” John’s legs ROARED to life. Even over this terrain, he ran so fast and purposefully, it was as if Gabriel was crawling along the ground compared to an Olympic sprinter. John’s mass driving into the earth left massive footprints that looked to be better than an inch deep as he crossed the ground at over twice the speed Gabriel could put out. In under twenty more seconds, Gabriel could hear those massive footfalls closing on him. He pressed harder, his goal in sight, but he knew… John was going to catch him. What Gabriel never counted on was what John actually did. As he closed the distance, John began to calculate how and when to do it. Without missing a single stride, without even a break in his cadence, at precisely the correct instance, John reached out and snatched Gabriel right off his feet and lifted him into the air. To someone on the outside, Gabriel appeared to be Wylie Coyote, his feet running in the air off the side of a cliff, but not going anywhere. “Gotcha,” John said as he pulled Gabriel into his chest, turned, and ran back to where they had started. When they got next to the backpack, John slowed to a stop and put Gabriel down on his feet. Gabriel was breathing heavily still and rightfully so. He had just run almost 250 meters in slightly under 40 seconds on rough terrain. John had just run over 500 meters, half of that carrying 170 pounds of another man while catching him and picking him up, in a time that broke the 400 meters world record in perfect conditions on a track. And John - John was breathing absolutely normally. “Oh my God, John. That was...:” Gabriel said between breaths. John dropped to a knee to be even with Gabriel and said without a hint of braggadocio. “Angel… that isn’t as fast as I can go.” Gabriel’s eye bugged out as he looked at John. He had no idea. Until now. “Don’t you see? It is why I HAD TO teach you about anger. That is why I can’t get angry anymore. Not like I was. I can’t lose it. If the parking lot happens again … before a punch from me was enough to break bones. Now, I can pretty easily kill anyone with that same punch. I can rip their joints out of the socket. I can crush them and I MEAN crush them. And in a fraction of a second. I could have picked you up back there and thrown you head first into the mountain and killed you. Instead of picking you up, I could have snapped your neck without missing a single footfall. It doesn’t matter if it was just one or five or ten or twenty people. I could do them all. “Will said something in his letter to me last month - how he knew I could have killed every single person in that parking lot that night - not just the scum runt, but every cop, the paramedics, your fed team, the colonel, you - all of them if I had wanted and not broken a sweat. He was right. I could have and there was not a thing that could have stopped me. Guns maybe sure, but before the shock of what I can do wore off enough to aim and fire and hope to hit a human target moving at over 30 miles an hour, everyone there would already be dead. What’s more, he said that two months after that night, what I could do then would seem like something a six year old could do. Angel - My God, Angel, he was right. Right down the line. He was right. I look back on it now, and to me, killing all of you back then is something a kid could do. You wanted to know why I’m scared… I’m not scared that you know. I'm not scared for myself. I’m scared of what happens if anyone else finds out what I can do... “You understand Angel? Skye, me, you we all said that the government, your bosses, none of them can have this. You understand why? I can do all of that and more and I am not close to even being done. What will I be able to do when it is too hard to challenge myself to adapt anymore… ANGEL, THEY CAN’T EVER GET THIS. John took hold of Gabriel’s hand and held it close. Gabriel had heard John speak earnestly before, but rarely like this. “And then we come to you my Angel. My savior. God I love you. In your own way, on your own scale, you are the same as me. I know you felt like you were left out. But you’re not. When we say we don’t think of you as a little, it’s the truth. You might not be able to kill twenty people at once or lift thousands of pounds , but you will be coming up pretty soon to the level of skill you need to handle more than one person. I can already see it coming; you will be good enough to do it. You have to protect yourself against some random person, yes, but -- Gabriel, you can’t let them have this. No matter what you need to do. You understand me? No matter what it takes. They can’t make more of me. You can’t make more of me. No one can do this again. Ever. It has to end with me.” Gabriel looked up and nodded. “I know. I knew before, but then it was almost an academic exercise. Now … Now it is real. VERY real. John, no matter what. John…” Gabriel took on a look John had never seen before. He swore if he ever really saw the Predator bodily, outside himself, he just saw him in Gabriel’s face. “I understand why you are teaching me what you are. I know what it may take. As much as I can promise you without having gone through it - I will do what it takes. No matter what. But, it stops. Knowing how to do this stops with Skye and me and Jack… and with you John. Because, the way you are going, and if you and I and Skye keep teaching and learning and you learn what happened, you will be able to do it too. You know Skye will never do it again. And Jack… Well, Jack understands. I think he knew a lot better than me before today just how important it is. And… There is a story about Jack, John. I will let him tell you if he wants to tell. It isn’t my place to say, but Jack would rather die before he told someone the sky is blue because they demand it of him. He has that kind of iron will. And, he almost did die once. “But John, can I ask you to do one thing for me, now more than ever?” Gabriel reached out with his unbandaged hand. “For me, John. Don’t hold back. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t envy me or any of us you will physically leave behind. Who you are, what you are - in EVERY WAY - blossom John Declann. Don’t just develop. Be the best damned demigod you can be. Skye said you would crush the world for me…” Gabriel paused as tears welled into his eyes. “John -- crush the world. Don’t let anything stand in your way of living up to your full potential. Not even me and my insecurities. I know you, you will never do it cruel or cowardly. You will never hurt people. That’s not what I mean. Crush what it means to be human. Because you are the most human person I’ve ever met. Crush what it means to be the best man who walks this little dustball. Because you can be. Even if the only people who know are the 6 of us. Be who you are supposed to be. Unleash John - without the rage, without the anger. Crush the world, John. Please. Will you do that for me?” A couple of wet tracks coated the fine dust across John’s face - and they were not made from beads of sweat. “For you, Angel… just for you. I already said yes.” John grabbed Gabriel and stood hugging him close. “Angel, fuck I love hugging you. Just… don’t tell me to leave again. I love you too much.” “I love you, you big lug.” John then got a rather sly smile and leaned into Gabriel’s ear… “Of course, there is one condition for me to keep that particular promise.” “What?” John took a few steps, put Gabriel down, and walked back to where he had been standing almost from the start. When the titanic mass of muscle turned back, Gabriel saw and felt the glow of the Predator back in John’s eyes but with a slightly different smile on his face. A smile Gabriel couldn’t quite place. “You owe me something. I made you a challenge, Runt. You accepted. And you’re damned well going to do it. Same rules. Now… Come at me you scrawny little shit.” Gabriel laughed, “John, you can’t be serious.” John’s demeanor changed in an instant. “Are you a liar and coward or not?” The smile melted off of Gabriel’s face as he looked at John. Gabriel took a deep breath and accepted his challenge again. But this time… this time was different. This time Gabriel was calm. Collected. He didn’t show it though. Gabriel approached John slowly, looking, walking, projecting all he could, even holding his head like he didn’t take any of it seriously. But inside, Gabriel was deadly serious. And he understood the Predator’s smile - hope. Gabriel understood - the hope was for him to beat the Predator. Gabriel studied the titan, and he seemed insurmountable… at first. Then he remembered John’s words - the ordinary things Gabriel could do that John couldn’t anymore. Suddenly, it hit him. He was looking for ways to play the giant’s game. What if he were to make the giant play his game. Not Krav, but Aikido. Don’t attack… but use the giant's strengths against him. The Predator was massive and strong. Gabriel was small, wiry— there. He saw it. An opening. Small, like he was. But it was WIDE OPEN. It practically had a neon sign saying “Use Me.” But It took everything Gabriel had learned to see it… and to use it. Gabriel played the moment for all it was worth. He stayed beyond John’s reach, as if he were not even going to try until… Gabriel went for one of the least defended parts of John’s gigantic body. A small nerve cluster. All it would take is one exact touch in the right place. Gabriel knew where it was anatomically and from his lessons how to take advantage - no matter how much muscle, how seemingly impenetrable, this spot was vulnerable, if you could only reach it. John seemed to be defending —- but not well enough. Gabriel dove and struck. The blow seemed glancing to the outer quad, but it hit perfectly. And the response from John was instant - all of the impenetrable muscle in his right leg froze for just a moment. And without one of those massive pillars to support the muscle giant’s weight, his great mass worked against him, and he tumbled to the ground. Gabriel ran up and fell onto John's chest. He smiled broadly and whispered in John’s ear, “Gotcha.” The Predator growled for a moment as the tingling in his leg stopped, giving him back control. “Why you little fuck…” He pulled Gabriel back so that he could see his face - both John and the Predator were there. And they looked so proud they were about to pop. “That was PERFECT!!!” John/Predator beamed. Gabriel almost burst himself as the two hugged each other. Under the lowering sun, covered in sweat and dust, Gabriel’s life changed again. They were alike, the soon to be largest human who ever lived and the littlest giant. Gabriel loved John all the more for reminding him - he could do what seemed to be impossible - as long as he was as the man he was at his core. As long as he was clear he could do anything John could - in his own way. “Gabriel, trust me. I understand. And honestly…” Jack took Gabriel’s shoulder, “I am glad you have arrived at this choice.” “You can thank John for teaching me--” Jack smiled, “I always knew if there was one man on earth this could happen to, John was the best we could have ever hoped for. He understands. You think he would feel better about me if I told him--” “He is totally confident in you now. Just like I am, but he would be trustworthy to know, Jack.” “You know I don’t like to share it. But, I think I can with him. Next time I see you both. But, Gabriel, you of all people HAVE to know, if we take steps that we cannot hide or explain away…. You know what they will do.” Gabriel sighed, “I know. We have a few weeks, maybe 2 months to prepare. Make our plans. But then… it has to all go. Not a scrap can survive. We can develop what we need to make sure that happens. John and… let’s just say one of John’s friends... can help us-” “Friend?” “He prefers to remain anonymous, but… I trust him, Jack. I have come to learn that we were not the first to discover something like this.” “Gabriel! How do you know-” “We can go through that, but I trust him as much as I trust you. In days past, he was a student of mine. Anyway, he also understands and has kept it to himself for a long time. In his own way, he is defended and untouchable. He reached out to John and me when he figured out what happened. He will be able to help us from a distance. But, John said it best. It has to stop with him. No matter what it costs us.” Jack let out a low whistle, then said, “Alright. And, you’re right. And when they come for us?” “We have a bit of time to think of that too. John is preparing me for what I might be called on to do. I know that you know. But, even if we are not ready, we have to burn it down by then. And, come what may, we can never allow anyone to follow our work. John is fully capable of not being touched, and is growing more capable by the day. You and I are more vulnerable, but at least John isn’t. That’s the important thing. We knew what we were getting into. He didn’t. We owe it to him that he is kept from them.” “I know… Alright Gabriel. What do we need to do…” John dove on the small package as soon as it arrived. Thank FUCK Gabriel was at the gym; he still had no idea about it. As if they were the most precious pair of things in the universe, John carefully opened the package and looked inside. They were there, and they were perfect. They were burned into his memory as soon as he saw them, but for several minutes he just rolled them in his hand as he had in his mind for weeks. Like very few times in his life, John reveled in feeling raw love as he held them. So many feelings, for such small things. After those few minutes he planted the two items within their hiding place. The last three weeks, now almost at the end of August, had been some of the best of his life. He and Gabriel had been through many trying times these last weeks. But it was all worth it. Every bit. Even the fight where John had almost broken Gabriel’s hand. Their love had only grown. They were now nearly inseparable. John seemed to skip through life like a school girl, he was floating so high these days. He was doing everything he had promised Gabriel he would do. Now, it was time. It was planned. He felt in his soul - it was now or never. It was time to take Gabriel camping…. It was time to take him to see the sunrise. It was time to hear the answer to the question in the way it mattered most. John was giddy… but nervous. It was time. 14 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploder4 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Bravo! This was the best chapter I have read yet. It's indescribable! I can't wait for the next one! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolShedCub Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I find my self checking this forum every day for updates and new chapters and this one doesn't disappoint! Great chapter!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredlifter Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Thanks for another great chapter. John's size is hot, but seeing him use his incredible strength just adds to his sizzle! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnFire98 Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 I might have more to say about that chapter after re-reading it, but wow. Seeing Gabriel tussle with the Predator was quite thrilling. As a reader I had this weird mix of fear and awe because you get to see how much John is holding back power-wise and what happens if he lets go. It highlights the fact that he´s irreversibly approaching the state of a metahuman like Will (in body as well as his mindset). Quick question: who´s Jack again? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GymPredator Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 26 minutes ago, DawnFire98 said: I might have more to say about that chapter after re-reading it, but wow. Seeing Gabriel tussle with the Predator was quite thrilling. As a reader I had this weird mix of fear and awe because you get to see how much John is holding back power-wise and what happens if he lets go. It highlights the fact that he´s irreversibly approaching the state of a metahuman like Will (in body as well as his mindset). Quick question: who´s Jack again? I haven't talked about him in a while. Jack is Gabriel's colleague who was basically co-director of the project that created John. He taught John how to workout initially during John's rehab when he was learning to walk again. Along with Gabriel, he is the only person who can fully replicate the process. I really need to figure out a way to post the first 4 chapters in this thread, but in a way where they do not go out of order. Jack is introduced there. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hialmar Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 7 hours ago, GymPredator said: I really need to figure out a way to post the first 4 chapters in this thread, but in a way where they do not go out of order. Jack is introduced there. Don't worry. You have linked chapter 1-4 in the beginning of this thread. It's easy for your readers to use that link. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GymPredator Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Thought I would throw this in too. I have posted previously a photo of two models that show the size difference between John and Gabriel over the 9 months the story as taken place so far. First pic is where they were at the beginning. John was 5'7" and Gabriel 5'8". Second pic is the difference 9 months after the accident. Gabriel is 5'8" still, of course, and I will reveal John's height at the beginning of the next section. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palisade Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I'm so glad you included those latest comparison images! Reading the latest section, I really get a sense of a bit of Michael Chrichton's work, specifically the Ian Malcolm character from the Jurassic Park novel where he constantly bemoans how genetic technology has been abused because the people using it stood on the shoulders of those who came before them, and don't respect the technology because they never had to work to get it. I get this sense in two ways; the first being John's respect for the power that he's gaining physically and mentally and the restraint he must develop when dealing with 'littles', and the second being how the giants, Gabriel, and Jack must all work to prevent the technology that created John being used by those who don't have the self restraint to not abuse it - I shudder to imagine an undeserving cretin like Jeff Heath being given the same abilities as John! I'm touched though by how Gabriel's emasculation is handled by John. In my view, throughout this story Gabriel's balance to John's physical and tactical prowess has been his intellect. Now, suddenly, the balance is gone because John and the other giants are just as, if not more so, capable in his chosen profession he's dedicated his life to, so what does he have left to offer per se? I think that Gabriel's the only thing supporting John through all this and his evolution - just his love and existance alone stopped John considering suicide by cop in a previous chapter after all! I really love the depth these characters have; the detail of their thoughts, feelings, and motivations all seem so real. When Gabriel shouted at John when he finally lost his temper I could almost feel my heart break for John given how much he loves Gabriel. When John was bandaging Gabriel's fist, it was like he was a mason rebuilding Gabriel's confidence. Overall, I cannot wait for the next installment! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploder4 Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Just like John in the vice versa, Gabriel has to evolve as a little in a superior's world I felt for Gabriel as the emotions got to him. Nothing is as horrible than feeling like you've become obsolete and left behind. Gabe can't help but feel like a burden to them as the gap widens more and more, faster and faster. Gabriel has to realize that he is actually a force to be reckoned with in the littles world. Gabe has made his own dramatic progress but doesn't recognize who he has to really compare. Gabe in the littles world is just as big if not bigger only because the littles never see the giants at all... ever. He is a giant on a realistic scale... the best of both worlds. He isn't disabled at all. Gabe can still help and teach with much better results because he has advanced so much. He won't be able to do that as a giant. Now another question... John's power seems to be growing at an exponential rate. Would it be possible for John to create a megaton blast with an unrestrained punch to the ground? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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