Joseph took a break from his workout in his apartment.
The local gym wasn't bad but when every session was followed with questions, he decided to purchase equipment in his small apartment even if it set him back a little.
"What cycle you running, bro?"
It got old fast. Now no one could disrupt him from his pure natty gains. 300 lbs bench and 400 lbs squats without Nova augmenting his body was pretty decent since he only started going gym last month.
Weeks had passed since his encounter with Robin and Speedy. He hadn't gone out since.
Not out of fear—out of preparation.
He had no interest in getting double-teamed again. Not until he was ready. Not until he had a real shot at winning without Nova babying him.
"I got jumped by some punk-ass kids. No one gave me the respect of a one-on-one. No one gave me the faith of a one-on-one."
The bitterness still sat heavy in his chest. But deep down, he knew it was his own fault. He'd been too cocky. He'd refused Nova's helping with enhancing his muscles as he moved. He'd let them back him into a corner, force him to run.
After tumbling off the rooftop, he had Nova activate his wall climbing abilities before barely making it to a restaurant bathroom where the splitting headache from the Speed State backlash almost took him out. The Speed State saved his ass, but relying on it as a crutch? That was a loser's plan.
For now, he could lay low. The items he pawned off at a shady shop—one Selina introduced him to—covered his rent and food. No more stressing about bills.
But soon, he'd need more. And stealing just to survive wasn't the goal.
"Two more years and I'll be eighteen. Then the stock market is mine. Muahahahaha." Joseph stopped after cringing himself out.
"Yo, Nova. How's the decentralized currency coming?"
//80% complete, sir. What would you like to name it?//
"BellCoin's got a nice ring to it."
Nova had a feature Joseph never really used until now—dream manipulation.
At first, he told Nova to cut his dreams off entirely. But after last month? He started experimenting.
Robin and Speedy handed him his ass. Before, training was just maintenance. Now? He had to actually improve.
They didn't have Nova. They didn't have Speed State. And they still outclassed him.
That meant skill could bridge the gap.
And if he was going to run into them again, he needed every advantage.
//Entering Dream State. 75% of CPU used.//
This is where the simulations came in.
Every night, Nova ran fights. Robin. Speedy. Even Catwoman.
Nova recorded everything his body felt and analyzed it in real time—within the limits of his own perception.
Then he took it a step further.
"Nova. Watch every martial artist on Lextube. Read everything ever written on every fighting style. Create an AI to fight me."
It wrecked him. Every time. No patterns, no openings, no mercy. And Nova didn't even collect half the data required for the full program.
"This must be what fighting Batman feels like if the hype is to be believed."
But with every loss, he got better. Slowly. Methodically. Next time? They wouldn't get off so easy.
Joining the basketball team came with one unexpected perk—friends.
Well, not really. More like acquaintances. Enough that he wasn't some loser always sitting alone anymore.
"You going to Bette's party this weekend," Andrew said, leaning on the desk with a grin. "I heard there'll be lots of girls."
Of course Joseph was going. Chapters fırst released on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝕟𝕖𝕥
This—this was what he'd been fighting for. Not just survival. Living.
He wasn't about to spend every waking day working his ass off while something cool was happening.
A grin crept onto his face.
"Fuck yeah. Feels good to have the weekend off for once."
Being a thief had turned out to be a great idea. Dangerous? Sure. But at least it didn't suck up every waking hour.