Greg woke up with a start when someone slapped his face. Looking down at the person who slapped him, he saw the monkey-like girl staring back at him with a roguish grin on her face.
"Rise and Shine Old Man~! I have never seen a man pass out standing up~! Very Impressive~!"
Greg immediately frowned in response. Why was he being called an Old Man?
He grumbled with annoyance as he rubbed his cheek. Rachel’s eyes widened as she held a hand to her mouth in what was clearly mock shock.
"Really?! I honestly thought you were in your 30’s~!"
Greg’s professional smile began to cramp as he struggled not to snap back at the girl. Thankfully for him, he didn’t need to.
"Rachel! Apologize to Mr. Greg!"
Leo growled at Rachel with unconcealed annoyance on his face. Judging someone by their appearance had become one of his pet peeves. Seeing the way that he was glaring at her, Rachel flinched slightly but didn’t say anything... as if she was waiting for something.
Greg decided to step in before things escalated any further.
"While I thank the young miss for your concern, I get that comment about my looks quite often. I don’t let it bother me too much anymo... Did I say something wrong?"
Leo fell to the floor, kneeling in place as the desire to cry welled up from the depths of his soul.
Leo..Don’t cry! Let me out! I will beat up the bad guy who is making Leo cry!’
’I’m not gonna cry...I’m not!’
His ears twitched as Astra piped up, trying to be comforting saying she would beat up the guy who made him cry.
Rachel and Lily held their stomachs as they tried to suppress their laughter...they failed.
"HAHAHHAHAHA! Your cuteness knows no bounds Cutie~!"
"Maybe we should start calling you Leona~?"
Leo shot a murderous glare at the gremlin duo while Luna awkwardly remarked
"Greg...This is my brother Leo...Leo. Greg"
Greg looked between the boy, or rather the young man, curled on the ground and the two girls cackling like hyenas at a zoo. For a brief moment, he seriously contemplated walking back into his office and pretending none of this had happened.
Still rubbing his cheek from Rachel’s enthusiastic wake-up call, he tried to collect himself.
"...Right. Pleasure to meet you, Leo,"
Greg offered, his voice straining toward civility.
Leo responded with a muffled groan as he curled tighter into himself, clearly questioning every life decision that led to this moment. He gave a half-hearted thumbs-up from the floor.
"He’s fine," Luna muttered with a shake of her head. "Just let him spiral. He will get over it."
Lily wiped a tear from her eye and leaned against Rachel for support.
"I didn’t think I could laugh this hard again. You’re the gift that keeps on giving, Leo."
"I swear to god, I will have Sis give you guys extra vegetables in your food!" Leo growled into the floor.
"Oh no, the cutie’s threatening me again,"
Rachel giggled, sticking out her tongue and fluttering her fingers in a magical taunt while Lily flinched, genuinely concerned about Leo’s ’threat’.
Greg cleared his throat loudly. "Alright. Focus up, everyone." He clapped his hands once for effect, trying to reclaim some semblance of order.
Luna stepped in, offering her brother a hand. "Come on. You can sulk later. We came here for a reason."
Leo hesitated before taking it. He stood up with all the dignity of a cat that had just fallen off a countertop. After brushing off his hoodie, he glanced at Greg, cheeks still a bit pink.
"So... sorry about that. They’re a lot. Especially her." He jabbed a thumb at Rachel, who was now trying to balance herself on one leg while making monkey noises.
Greg gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You’ve got a rough road ahead, kid. But your pain builds character."
"It better build a fortress," Leo muttered.
Luna gestured to the gym equipment.
"Alright, can we start now? We came here to see what we’re capable of physically now that... well..." She gestured vaguely at her glowing red eyes.
"Now that you’ve all become mutated anime protagonists?"
Greg asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That’s not inaccurate,"
Rachel said brightly.
Greg said, narrowing his eyes.
"Are you guys sure you won’t get me in shit with the government by allowing y’all to use the equipment in here?"
Crystal gave a soft smile and replied
"There shouldn’t be an issue. If there is, the worst case scenario is I call my parents. They have some sway with the government."
Leo and Luna gave Crystal a dubious look. Having some ’sway’ was a serious understatement.
"Alright then...What do you wanna start with? Do you have any idea of what you are capable of right now?"
Greg tried to do his best to be professional but the unhinged one made it really hard.
"I have a tail and superhuman reflexes. I can also see your darkest desires and manipulate shadows~" Rachel replied with a wink.
Greg sighed and walked over to a cabinet near the wall. He pulled out a clipboard and clicked his pen, flipping to a blank page.
"Alright. Let’s at least try to keep this semi-organized. We’ll run some basic tests first. Speed. Strength. Agility. Then we’ll see what else you people are hiding."
He pointed to Leo. "You. Let’s start with your speed. The track’s open. Run one lap."
Leo glanced at the others, then back at Greg. "Like, just a regular sprint?"
Greg nodded. "Yes. As fast as you can."
Leo crouched at the starting line, eyes narrowing. When Greg gave the signal, Leo exploded forward like a bolt of lightning, his feet barely touching the ground as he tore around the track with breathtaking speed. Greg blinked, completely stunned, his stopwatch forgotten in his hand.
"That... was faster than anything I’ve seen," Greg muttered, mouth slightly open.
As Leo slowed to a stop, chest heaving, Rachel bounced over with a mischievous grin. "Not bad, Speedy Gonzalez! But can you keep up with this?"
Before Leo could react, Rachel suddenly darted past him, chattering and making ridiculous monkey noises, waving her arms wildly like a circus performer. Lily burst out laughing, joining in the teasing with exaggerated clapping.
Leo threw his hands up in defeat and muttered,
"I....I’m right there with you man,"
Greg said with exhaustion seeping into his voice.