Twins 99 Volume 1 – How Heroes Start Chapter 4: Training Is In Session

Dad starts showing us everything the Training Room has to offer. “We got 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, 2 bench presses, 2 lat pull down machines, 2 leg extension machines, 2 pull up bars, 2 cable and pulley machines, 2 hammer strength machines, 2 leg curl machines, 2 hyper extension benches, 2 preacher curls, 2 leg press machines, a squat station, and several dumb bells.” It’s all normal gym equipment! And, why does most of it come in two?! Dad must have prepared for this day. “You two will exercise on these machines for 3 weeks.” “What?!” Jovan and I reply. “What did you expect?” Dad says while looking confused. “We expected to be using machines that WEREN’T made on EARTH. We can’t get stronger through ordinary means!” “Yeah Dad, look at this! A treadmill? I HAVE SUPERSPEED! I’LL RUN OVER THE TREADMILL!” Jovan and I complain. Jovan and Dad immediately look at me like there was something completely wrong with what I just said. “Tha, that's not what I meant to stay.” I stutter. “Yeah. You two can’t use your powers properly.” “How would you know? You weren’t.” “I didn’t need to be there to know that you can’t control your powers. You found out that you had powers six days ago.” Dad interjects my sentence. “Javon can't use his superspeed, but I can use my eyes just fine.” “Then, change your eyes right now.” Dad confidently commands. Jovan repeatedly opens and closes his eyes to activate his blue eyes. “Okay stop, I clearly made my point.” “No Dad, you haven't. I may not be able to activate on my own, still when they are activated, I can handle myself. I'm the reason Javon and I lasted so long against Bane.” Jovan argues. “Whoa, Jovan, stop right there. I was not a burden against Everbleed.” I speak out, feeling irritated. “All you did was get pummeled. What, you want me to praise you because you got back up every time.” “I'm not asking for praise. I'm asking for credit. I'm the one who knocked Everbleed back to Apokolips with one punch.” “You can't use his actual name and still reference that he’s Darkseid. Plus, wasn't that the only good hit you had against him?” “Yeah, and that one hit was stronger than all of your attacks combined.” “You were still getting beat up most of the time.” “So? A lot of anime characters get beat up most of the time in their first battle. But at the end, they do something that gives them the win which is what I did.” “That doesn’t matter, you still lost. And, the reason you lost Jovan, is because your body couldn't keep up with your eyes. At this point, I think you two just don't want to exercise.” Dad stops our argument. Jovan just stands there with an angry look on his face. “The reason you need to exercise is to not just get your body fit, but to also get your body adjusted to your powers. So, you won't fall unconscious after using your powers.” Dad looks at me right away. “Wait, how did you know that happened?” I ask. “Did you hear a voice before you fainted?” “Yeah.” “That was me.” The voice I heard was Dad! No wonder it sounded like him. If that’s the case… “Then, you fought Everbleed!” I confirm. “Yes, I did, but he escaped.” Dad answers and sounds disappointed. “Then, shouldn't you be exercising, too?” Jovan questions. “No, I don't because I have superstrength.” “Why don’t you show us some proof?” “I'll show you on April 27th.” April 27th? “Here's a calendar.” Dad hands us a calendar. Let’s see how far is that from April 6th… “THAT’S THREE WEEKS FROM NOW!” We yell. “Exactly. Now, enough distractions. Start exercising.” Feels like we don't really have a choice. Dad always ends up winning the conversation somehow. I begin exercising by going on the treadmill. Jovan commences exercising at the squat station. “Javon.” “Yes, Dad.” “Get on the elliptical.” Dad instructs. “Why?” “The treadmill is not prepared for your ACCIDENTS. I don't want to take the risk of you using your superspeed by mistake and fucking up the treadmill. Money quickly leaves my wallet. Do you understand?” “Yes, I understand.” Seriously, he has way too much stuff to be up my ass about a treadmill. I get off the treadmill and go on the elliptical. Just like that, three weeks of dreadful workouts pass by. Now, I know why fat people stay fat. That crap strains the puberty out of your body! There were several times where I was just going to be like “Fuck this.” Still, I pulled through. The things that kept me going was mostly  and I know it was just three weeks, but I actually have gotten stronger and more flexible. The only thing left is to test Dad’s theory. “Okay, today is the day you stop exercising and begin your superpower training.” Dad announces as we are inside the Training Room. Jovan and I are pumped up. “So, can I try to use my superspeed now?” “Yeah, you can attempt to use your superspeed with all of this equipment here.” Dad sarcastically replies. “Was that sarcasm?” “Don't be dumb.” “Where can he, then?” Jovan wonders. “In here.” Dad types in a code for an unknown door. “The Simulation Room. And, the code to open this door is “twins99”.” We walk through the door and enter the Simulation Room. “HOLY CRAP, THIS IS AMAZING! IT'S LIKE WE'RE INSIDE OF A VIDEO GAME!” I shout with joy. “How can you say we're inside of a video game when all I see is a bunch of pixels. This looks like the development of a video game.” Jovan adds as he is not impressed. “Man, I swear you are such a tsundere.” “Don’t worry, Javon. He will be very impressed very soon. Now, let me just get my remote that magically appears in my hand…” Dad says on purpose to overawe Jovan. “There it is. Now, to change the environment. Oh, the remote is not working. I guess I have to go without.” Dad pretends that the remote isn't responding and he makes it mysteriously disappear on its own. He is really trying to amaze Jovan. “Jovan, I know you're excited.” Dad states with a smile on his face. “Yeah sure, I'm excited.” Jovan ironically says. “Computer, activate the Practice Simulation.” Dad orders. “Processing… Computer does not recognize.” Dad’s computer confirms. DAD HAS HIS OWN JARVIS?! “Dammit, now wonder she told me those strange names in the car.” “Problem?” Jovan asks on purpose. “Computer, activate Animal Farm.” “Animal Farm activating.” “Animal Farm the game?!” “No, not the game! I have to change that later on.” The Simulation Room suddenly begins changing the surroundings. Words cannot DESCRIBE how I feel right now. All I can say is I'm close to a heart attack. The pixels all combine into one and expand to absorb us into them. “WHAT IS GOING ON?!!!” Jovan screams. “Jovan, how do you feel?” I calmly ask. “JAVON, SHUT THE HELL UP!” “I knew you were astonished by all of this!” Dad declares with satisfaction. I closed my eyes the entire time while the pixels were doing their thing. I open my eyes. “There truly is a heaven on Earth.” I am totally stunned. If we weren't in a video game before, we are now. I see a beautiful scenery of grassland. The sky is bright blue with multiple clouds. The grass is light green and almost goes upto my knees. There are some trees and small mountains nearby. There are a couple of animals not too far from here. I can even feel the blissful wind breeze through my body. This place is… Perfect. “Wow, this simulation certainly took you out of reality.” Dad comments. “Dad, how is all of this possible? Everything feels so real.” I wonder. “Remember when I said a friend helped me out with making the security for the Aquos Crystal.” “Yeah.” “That friend’s technology is not from this world.” “Well, tell your friend that I said “thank you” because this is seriously a blessing.” “I will do that.” “Why do you call this place Animal Farm?” “My friend also did that.” Dad replies. “Anyway, where’s Jovan?” “He's playing with giraffes.” … “What did you just say?” “He is playing with giraffes. Look over there.” I look around and see Jovan smiling while riding a giraffe. “Hey, let’s have a race with the other giraffes. You ready, Joseph? Let’s go, I know we can do it.” Jovan kindly says with a peaceful tone. Jovan and the giraffes initiate racing each other. “Once, this simulation was activated, he changed entirely. He actually thought he was in heaven and started messing around. It was a really weird reaction, but I knew he would break. You two are so easy to read.” Dad observes. What. The. Hell. He switched from tsundere to deredere. I've never seen Jovan like this before. “Wait, you two?” “Yeah, you are the same way.” Dad says without a doubt in his mind. “No, I'm not.” I strongly disagree. “Why don’t you race with them” Dad suggests. “Why?” “Why not? This is your chance to test your superspeed. Why do you think I chose this simulation in the first place?” “Because of, um, all of the open space.” I reply while sounding unsure of my answer. “Exactly, now go.” “Wait, give me some time.” Let’s see, how did I use my superspeed last time? “Training starts now.” Dad pounds the ground and sends me through multiple trees. “Dad, what the hell?!” “You better start running.” A mountain begins crumbling and closes in on my location. DAMMIT, DAD, WHY?! Okay, Javon, focus. How did I use my superspeed against Everbleed? Think, think, think, think, think. The falling mountain gets even closer. Shit, I don’t remember! In an instant, I'm gone as the mountain almost hits me. “I'm doing it, I'm using my superspeed. This is awesome! Everything moves slow. Now, I know how Quicksilver sees things all the time. Now, to catch up to Jovan.” Wind blows as I easily rush to Jovan. It feels good to run this fast. I'm not going to lie. It also feels scary, but a good scary. If that’s a thing. I slow down to the giraffes’ pace. “Yo, Jovan!” “Yes, brother of mine.” Jovan gently says. “Enough with the queer act! We gotta move! A mountain is falling right behind us!” “Javon, calm down. You are scaring Joseph.” “Who the hell is Joseph?!” “How rude. Joseph is the giraffe I'm riding on.” “You named a giraffe made out of pixels?! Jovan, this is a simulation! Snap out of it!” Jovan turns around and sees the crumbling mountain. “Alright.” Jovan says with a serious tone. “What the? Your attitude changed right when you turned around.” “I see you are using superspeed. I guess this is the start of the superpower training.” He's trying to change the subject! Whatever, right now is the wrong time to argue anyway. “Yeah, I think Dad wants me to outrun the barrage of rocks and he wants you to.” “Survive it.” Jovan finishes my sentence. “You should probably speed up now. The “rockslide” is catching up quick. Do you realize how slow these giraffes are running?” I immediately vanish with the wind. “Show-off. So, how does he expect me to survive this?” Jovan examines the area to search for a way to make it out of this situation. “That could work.” Jovan claims while looking at a giant tree. “Okay, Joseph, this is where I forget your name.” Jovan jumps off of the giraffe. “Ah SHITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!” Jovan yells as he leaps towards the avalanche of rocks. During this, his blue eyes subconsciously activate and his original eyes pupils disappear, leaving one of the white dots to act as his eyes. Then, he swiftly skips up the falling rocks. He keeps doing so, however there is no end to the descending stones. “Damn it, how big is this rock avalanche? I'm already terrified as is.” Unexpectedly, several enormous boulders drop down to Jovan. “Dad, this better not kill me.” Jovan mumbles to himself. “Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!” He screams as he springs up to one of the enormous boulders and aims to strike it. He unpredictably jumps into a room created of pixels. “How did I end up back here?” Jovan inquires. “I brought you here.” Tamba responds. “Why?” “What do you mean why? This is the beginning of your superpower training.” “You didn't want me to survive the rock avalanche?” “No, I was just waiting for Javon to go a distance far enough to put you both in two different simulations. However, I noticed that your eyes activate when you're in trouble so I kept you in to see what you would do. Until, I saw you attempt to punch a big-ass boulder.” “I was trying to test my strength.” Jovan gets defensive. “How does screaming test your strength? That may work in Dragon Ball Z, but that doesn't work in the real world.” “I was in a simulation.” “That doesn’t matter, but by all means, keep trying. Maybe, you'll turn Super Saiyan. And maybe if you cry and scream, you'll turn Super Saiyan 2. But, before all of that, you have to clench your fist and think about who just died in front of you.” Tamba chuckles. “Are you done?” “Yes, I'm done. I brought you here to test your combat skills with your eyes activated. I want to see how long you would last against a group of thugs.” “Okay, let’s do this.” Jovan says to get himself fired up. “Computer, activate the Combat Simulation.” Dad commands. “Processing… Computer does not recognize.” “Really?” Tamba and Jovan comment in their head. “Computer, activate Immortal Kombat.” “Immortal Kombat activating.” “Shut up, I'm going to change that too.” Tamba immediately adds. Without delay, the Simulation Room changes into a thoroughly different area. It looks like an alley at night. “Level 1 initiate.” Multiple criminals automatically appear and surround Jovan. A thug charges at Jovan and tries to punch him. Jovan swiftly evades him and elbows his back, putting the thug on the ground. “These eyes sure have close timing.” Jovan remarks with his blue eyes. Another thug strives to jab him, but Jovan moves around him and kicks the thug to the floor. Two other thugs aim to strike Jovan from behind. Jovan briskly dodges both of them and makes them fall just by tripping them. Three more thugs hurry to Jovan and aim to thump him. Jovan jumps above them and kicks all of them across their faces. “I could do this all day.” Out of the blue, a thug comes in with a knife and directly cuts Jovan. “OWWWWWWWWW!” Jovan shrieks. A health bar automatically becomes visible above Jovan’s head. “I have a health bar!” Two thugs quickly pummel Jovan to the earth. Still, Jovan rises back up straightaway and knocks them both out. “Ha.” Next, four thugs encircle Jovan and attempt to pound him. Two of the thugs hit Jovan while he smacks the other two thugs. After that, Jovan knees a thug into the air. The two thugs, who hit him earlier, try to wrestle Jovan to the ground. Jovan socks one of the thugs, yet the other thug tackles Jovan to the ground. “Damn it.” Jovan immediately bashes the thug’s head and throws the thug off of him. Subsequently, two thugs come at Jovan with knives. Jovan eludes their knives and backs away of them. Promptly, a thug goes behind Jovan and smashes him to the floor. While he is on the floor, Jovan looks up to see what his health bar is at. It’s at 50%. Jovan gradually gets back up. Right when he gets up, a thug runs at Jovan and strives to punch him. Jovan narrowly avoids the thug and hits him. Afterwards, two more thugs aim to strike Jovan. Jovan sidesteps one of the thugs, still the other thug welts him. “What is wrong with me?” Jovan says to himself as he slowly stands back up. “I need to stop waiting for them and…” A thug rushes at Jovan and makes an effort to wallop him. “GO ON THE OFFENSIVE.” Jovan punches the thug square in the stomach and blows him away. He then sprints towards another thug and kicks him through a wall. He also zooms at yet another thug and jabs him. Jovan continues to punch and kick the thugs surrounding him. He doesn't even give them a chance to attack. “Okay, I've seen enough.” The simulation instantaneously ends and Jovan returns back to the original Simulation Room. “Simulation finished. Score: 9248” Tamba’s computer adds. “I got a score?” Jovan facetiously comments. “Yes, you did surprisingly good for your first try. That last minute surge in power increased your score tremendously.” Tamba appears. “What can I say? I'm THAT nice.” Jovan brags while taking a breather. “No, you aren't. When you started attacking the thugs instead of waiting for them, you moved faster and you weren't as tired as you were earlier. How does that work?” Tamba observes. “I don’t know. All I know is that my vision didn't change when I started fighting back.” “Interesting.” “So, how is Javon doing?” “Let me check. Computer, transport to Animal Farm.” “You don't know!” Tamba and Jovan are instantly taken to the Animal Farm simulation. “What happened here?!” Jovan wonders as all they see is a bunch of rocks, broken trees, and dead animals. “I guess Javon failed.” “I want a redo!” I yell as I lay under a giant stone. “God damn.” Jovan bursts out laughing. “You're such a dick. Dad, please help me.” Dad comes to me and breaks the boulder on my back. “Dad, please give me a do-over. I ran 15 minutes without being obliterated by the rockalanche.” I desperately note. “15 minutes, I guess that'll do.” Dad declares. “Yes.” “Javon doesn’t know that Dad actually forgot about his training.” Jovan speaks in his head. Dad takes us back to the original Simulation Room. “From here on out, I expect you to practice in this Simulation Room at least 2 times a day. I only showed you two of the many simulations it has. I will introduce the others to you later on. Now…” “What did you think?” Dad asks with a smile on his face. “Awesome.” Jovan and I answer. “Exactly, so it was worth waiting three weeks for the superpower training.” We weren't waiting. We were exercising. But I have to say, that room is something else. “Oh yeah, Jo, where did you go?” “I was training in another simulation.” “So, you didn’t have to survive the rockalanche?” “What made you guys think that?” Dad questions us. “Well, you did put us both in the Practice Simulation.” I reply. “I did that because it takes a lot to have two simulations running at the same time. But seriously, how could you even consider that? That's like me putting you in a situation where you can only go on by flying.” “What if Javon could fly?” “Yeah, that’s the next best thing after superspeed.” We add. “Shut up. Just know that your training will expand. After some time, you two will start vigilante training.” Vigilante training?