48 - Can't Understand a Word He is Saying

Sirens in the distance tell me the authorities may be on their way. If so, their response time is better than most. I see the Cuscuses hear them as well. They take the fight above the street. One of them manages to grab Kyle around the neck and drag him up the side of a building. The other two follow along the side delivering blows to his belly and both sides. He grabs onto a windowsill and jerks forward pulling the first Cuscus off the building. He breaks free of the headlock. Kyle twists his body, grabs the windowsill with his other hand, plants his feet against the side of the building, and pushes himself several yards in the air towards a large scaffolding. He weaves his way up the green bars. The Cuscuses follow him up.

Two patrol cars stop next to the battered newsstand. The officers get out of their cars and look around. One of them scratches his head. I can’t hear what they are saying, but I’m sure it involves a lot of “I don’t believe it” and “have you ever”. The newsstand owner tries to direct their gaze upward, but he must be a foreigner with a thick accent, because the officers act like they can’t understand a word he is saying.

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47 - They Struggle in the Air

They struggle in the air. Their bodies are entwined like pretzels. Each has a hand around the other’s throat. The Cuscuses were designed to feel little pain, but the grimace on this one makes me shiver. Kyle is able to slip loose at the last second and flip himself over a pole and onto the ground. But his momentum is too great. He crashes thru a newsstand with the Cuscus.

Kyle is on all fours and tries to spring to his feet, but the Cuscus is too quick. They grapple with the Cuscus on top, writhing and struggling. Kyle somehow manages to flip his attacker over his back and puts him in a headlock.

But it doesn’t last. The other two Cuscuses are behind him and pull him off. Kyle sidekicks one and roundhouses the other, but neither go down. The four are back at it punching, kicking, blocking, and chopping.

Kyle looks like he’s starting to breathe hard, and I think I see what may be a drop of sweat moving down his brow. His endurance is incredible. I wonder if he’s had any enhancements. I should collect a genetic sample and have Amazat test it. No, not Amazat. I don’t trust him. Who knows what he would do with that information. I’ll find another less self-interested geneticist to analyze the sample.

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46 - They're actually gaining on him

The Cuscuses follow. I thought they would be trailing behind, but they’ve made up the distance rather quickly. Dr. Amazat should be commended. Physically they’re quicker, faster, and more powerful than me. Imagine what they could do with my training and experience. That’s a foe I wouldn’t want to face.

All four shuffle along the ledge around the side of the building. Kyle decides to go higher. With bare hands he’s able to scale the side of the hotel like it was flat ground. I would have a hard time keeping up with him, but the Cuscuses don’t. Apparently Amazat designed them to move up and down as well to the side in the urban jungle. Kyle is as surprised as I am. They’re actually gaining on him. He pops into a window.

I’m tempted to follow them in but hold back realizing this is not the time to reveal myself.

I hear scuffling and women shrieking. The temptation to go inside grows.

One of the Cuscuses comes flying out of a window head first two stories up. The other two fly out of an adjacent window holding onto Kyle. Or is he holding on to them? They’re at arms’ length and spinning slightly. Kyle twists one so he hits a cornice with the side of his body and rolls down the side of the building alone. That leaves him with only one opponent.

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45 - Extreme Sports Style

He goes for a jog each day, sometimes in the morning and sometimes at night. But he doesn’t use a trail in the park like a normal person. No, he has to do it extreme sports style. He jogs across rooftops, leaping from building to building. I couldn’t have asked for a better setting if I had planned it myself. His four-eyed friend usually jogs on the sidewalk below, but for some reason isn’t tonight. I wonder why.

He leaps from ledge to roof effortlessly with a smile of pure euphoria filling his face. He really enjoys this, doesn’t he? But I can see the quick glances he takes around, the straining of his ears in every direction. He knows something’s up, and he’s ready for it. No reason to keep him waiting.

The Cuscuses descend from three sides when he is in midair and has no way of dodging them. He tries his best to block all three attacks, but two of them hit him pretty hard. He crashes against the brick chimney so hard it cracks. They don’t give him any chance to recover delivering a series of kicks, punches, and elbow jabs to every part of his body. I see the smug looks on their faces and shake my head. “Don’t get sloppy,” I whisper, but it’s too late. He kicks one of them across the street. The other two intensify their barrage of punches, but he somehow slips past them and is off the rooftop and onto a ledge across the street.

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36 - Hit Him While He's Down

All three proceed to kick Kyle while he is down. Not a very honorable attack, but understandable considering the torment he’s put them thru.

One of the Cuscuses picks him up by the scalp and holds his arms behind his back while the other two pummel his stomach. They each take a special kind of pleasure with every strike.

Kyle slumps to his knees. His attackers go back to kicking him in the front, back, side, and everywhere in between. I’m a little disappointed he succumbed so quickly. Maybe he’s gotten old.

The Cuscuses give him one last kick then drop him. His face smacks the ground. They look up at me and smirk. One folds his arms, another rubs his chin, and the third squats against the rocks.

I see a twitch less than a moment before Kyle flies up the rock face again, but this time he’s heading straight for me. I should have known he wouldn’t go down so easily. He mustn’t see me. I’m not ready to face him yet.

I’m barely out of the room when he leaps over the guardrails. He sees back of my head as I turn down the staircase. Does he recognize me? It’s been years and I doubt he ever expected to see me again. I wonder if the Cuscuses have recovered and are on their way here. But even if they were, he has too great a head start on them. I’m on my own.

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35 - This Just Keeps Getting Better and Better

He launches a series of elbow jabs to the ribs, but the other Cuscus grabs his hair and flips him face forward into the water. His friend’s head pops up. Then it hits the water again and goes under along with the other Cuscus. Kyle bursts out of the water and swims towards the waterfall. The Cuscuses are right on his tail. He pulls himself up onto the rocks and scales the face of the cliff. The Cuscuses follow. Kyle is so quick and limber he practically flies up the three stories. The Cuscuses try to encircle him, but aren’t fast enough to get ahead of him before.

And then Kyle does the unexpected and changes directions. He jumps straight at the Cuscus on his left, grabs his arms pulling him off the rocks, spins him around in midair twisting his arms behind his back, and knees his spine as they hit the water. I see the Cuscus fly out of the water and strike the rocks with the back of his head. Kyle is out of the water right after him throwing more punches, launching more kicks.

The other Cuscus drops down behind him and hurling his own feet and fists. The Cuscus Kyle thought he had taken out earlier has recovered and lands on Kyle’s shoulders planting him into the ground. He is hungry for revenge. This just keeps getting better and better.

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34 - Strategy over Strength

The other Cuscus slips around the branch behind Kyle who launches a back kick to let him know he knows he’s there. The Cuscuses continue to attack from each side increasing the intensity of their blows with each strike. Kyle leans back dodging their fists, grabs their arms, and twists backwards pulling both assailants over the rail with him.

I see what he’s planning. He’s positioning them so one is below and the other at his side so when they hit the water one will take the force of the blow and the other won’t land on top of him. Clever, using the environment to his advantage. The Cuscuses must realize it too, because try to reposition themselves, but Kyle isn’t letting go.

They hit the water as planned. From the sound and the size of the splash, Kyle has one less foe to worry about. At least he would if his foe wasn’t genetically enhanced. Kyle is visibly stunned. It gives the other Cuscus a chance to get behind him, put him in a chokehold, and push him under the water. I can see him thrashing beneath the surface. The Cuscus has the look of death in his eyes.

For a moment I wonder if this is how it will end. I’m tempted to get up to rescue him so that I can be the one to put him down, but then I see the Cuscus flip over and Kyle come up. Despite an arm still being tightly wrapped around his neck, he manages to take in a small breath of air.

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33 - Bargaining Chips

The first Cuscus pulls himself over the railing dripping water all over the ground. He is not happy. He sends a power punch directly at Kyle’s face, but Kyle drops to the floor; the third Cuscus moves his head in time and is only grazed.

Kyle slides between his friend’s legs. He launches his fist straight up into the Cuscus’ gut forcing him two feet into the air. He lets go of René and them rolls over clutching his belly. He’ll be out for a while.

Now that two remaining Cuscuses have lost their shields and bargaining chips there is nothing to hold Kyle back. Of course, seeing their brother writhing on the floor probably removes any inhibitions the Cuscuses may have had. Now we will have a real fight. Now my test can truly begin.

The Cuscuses move in opposite directions boxing Kyle in. Or so they think. He reaches up, grabs an artificial branch, and flips himself up onto it. It figures someone known as the Wandering Koala would take to the trees. The Cuscuses follow suit, one on the same branch and another on a slightly higher one. Kyle spin kicks the higher Cuscus who puts his arms up to block. Kyle launches a few more kicks and punches, all of which are easily blocked. The Cuscus smiles, but I know he’s merely gaging the Cuscus’ strength and abilities. Just what I would do.

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32 - Over the Edge

I see a line fly out from the pair (is that a bolo?), but I’m not sure who threw it. The ball on the end wraps around a protruding rock, and the pair swing towards the cliff face. It must be Kyle’s, because he entwines his limbs with the Cuscus’s who is struggling to move but can’t. The Cuscus hits the tip of a jutting rock with his spine and is forced to let go. He falls into the bubbling pool below.

Kyle places his feet on the rock face, squats down, and then pushes himself off the rock flying thru the air back onto the second tier. He lands on a fake tree branch then is flying thru the air again.

He flips over the other two Cuscuses who turn so his friends are between them as human shields. But they don’t see one end of the bolo whip still in his hands and the other flying across the floor. It wraps around on the Cuscus’ feet, and Kyle pulls him into the other.

They quickly regain their balance, but not before Kyle elbows their arms loosening the grips on his friends. Brent manages to wiggle free, but René is still trapped. Kyle focuses on him. He lunges, kicks, and strikes making contact with the Cuscus’ arms, shoulders, and sides without hitting his friends. The Cuscus jerks René around trying to block each attack, but Kyle anticipates each and every movement. The other Cuscus attacks from the other side, but Kyle manages to fend him off while still maintaining an offensive.

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31 - A Crowd Gathers

By now the other patrons have crowded around watching the scene while keeping a safe distance. Several large waiters, probably security, rush up to the table. But the first Cuscus takes them down with a few swift kicks and is back on top of Kyle. But Kyle is ready. They trade blows, kicks, jabs, and stabs with silverware without ever making contact. Amazat did his work well. These test tube creations are his match.

Kyle tries to move back to help his friend, but the Cuscus isn’t letting up for even a second. Kyle tries to edge his way back, but the Cuscus lands a blow each time raising the cost high enough that he stops.

The cell phones are out and the fight is being recorded from every angle. I’m sure the videos will be posted online before the night is over. It will provide me with an excellent view of the fight from all angles. Surveillance has never been easier than in today’s mobile age.

Kyle realizes he’s gaining no ground, and his friends’ blue faces tell him he doesn’t have much more time, so he tries the opposite tactic and launches his body forward into the Cuscus’s sending them both over the rail and towards the waterfall. The Cuscus sees the attack coming and lets his body go limp to help absorb the force of the blow.

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30 - The Cuscuses Strike!

The shows are rather entertaining. I, of course, am not distracted, but my quarry is. At least he appears to be. But I must be careful not to make assumptions. As my last test showed, his mild demeanor is only skin deep.

I wait for them to finish their entrées and order desert. A full stomach is a great disadvantage in a fight. This will certainly affect how he fights. I need to take that into consideration when assessing his skills.

The Cuscuses have replaced three of the waiters. It’s a common movie cliché, and one never used in real life, so they won’t expect it. They place the deserts down, and then put all three in headlocks.

Kyle reacts immediately and somehow manages to get his footing with one leg on the ground and another on the wall. He flips his assailant overhead, but the assailant is no slacker. He maintains his hold and takes Kyle with him. Kyle must have anticipated something like that, because he shifts his weight in midair and lands on top. They struggle for a few moments, then Kyle slips away and leapfrogs over the table. He aims his two feet at the heads of the other Cuscuses. They turn to block the souls of Kyle’s shoes with his friends’ heads, but he weaves his feet around and them and strikes their hands instead. They don’t loosen their grips even the slightest bit. I can see the look of surprise in his eyes. Good.

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27 - Cuscus

Chapter IV - A Medium-sized City

The moon is full and bright – a hunter’s moon. A good omen. The universe is on my side. I shan’t fail. There was a time the learned and wise would look to the sky for signs to guide their actions. They regularly enjoyed bountiful harvests and were warned before disaster struck. Now too many of the so called “educated” think themselves too learned and wise to listen to anyone or anything but their own scholarship. Ironic – the very source they look to for their salvation is the very source of their stumbling.

I should not have been so surprised at Dr. Amazat’s willingness to assist me with the Wandering Koala. It seems he has stepped on even more toes than even the Sainswroths suspected. While I understand his change of heart, I am still leery of how helpful and obliging he became. Enemies do not suddenly become friends, no matter the cause. I must keep an eye on him.

The Cuscuses are proving to be even better than I had hoped. I was sure that in the decades since my last … experience, his methods and techniques would have been refined, but this, this is like a science fantasy come to life! They are so elegant and powerful; their moves so precise. And they pick up new skills so quickly. I dare say it won’t be long before their abilities exceed even my own. I must set my plans into motion before then.

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