𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Eighty One ~

"Near-immortality is an unbelievable gift. Yet, you come back to life at unpredictable intervals outside of your control with the reflexes of a wet noodle and are unable to defend yourself or your team. Somehow, you've turned an asset into your liability," Reginald lectured. Though Klaus wouldn't openly admit it, he was growing tired and a bit antsy to get to work rather than listen to the old man telling him of his weakness.

"Not that I care about your opinion, but if I were to improve myself, how do I do it?" Klaus asked. "First, let's sharpen your reflexes. Practice makes perfect," the old man answered, pointing to the empty road. Klaus walked towards the middle of the gray gravel while his father added to his previous statement, claiming when he was fast enough to catch the ball, he will have succeeded.

Doesn't seem that hard, though my hand-eye coordination is like a drunk kitten. Without warning, Reginald threw the yellow ball in his direction, and the junkie struggled to grab it, watching it bounce a few times before finally catching it, holding it in the air like he had just won a trophy. "Ha ha! See?" But Klaus was distracted, he didn't realize there was a bus coming right for him, he turned around at the last second, and before he could do anything, he was hit by the metal monster, the vehicle dragging him for a few seconds before letting him go.

Reginald reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his stopwatch, starting the clock to the junkie's reanimation. The first experiment lasted about eighteenth minutes, and shortly after awakening, Klaus groaned at the pain as he tried getting back up again. "You tricked me!" He whined. "See? You're too slow! Let's go again!" Reginald instructed. "You're a terrible father!" Klaus shouted.

They continued the experiment a few more times, and the minutes till Klaus awoke from his eternal sleep decreased. One time he woke up around the eleven-minute mark, and then the next time, nine minutes. After a few more times of being run over and smashing against people's windshields, Klaus seemed to get the hang of it. When he saw the trucks and cars coming towards him, instead of trying to dodge them, he held his arms out, just waiting for the impact.

Six minutes became four, then two, then one. On the final time Klaus rose from the ground, Reginald threw the yellow ball in his direction. And he caught it with no struggles whatsoever. As he stared at the sphere in shock and happiness, Klaus felt so proud of himself. The struggle had paid off, and he finally discovered the secret to his reanimation. "See? I never doubted you," Reginald slightly smiled. "Now, you're ready!" 

Klaus's face slightly fell, wondering what his father meant by that. "Ready for what?"

~~~~~~~

"Looks like you two finally decided to reappear, huh?" Allison scoffed when she noticed Dusk and Viktor come down the stairs. But rather than get angry and defensive, the raven swallowed her sister's bitterness, following them all downstairs to the basement, where the kugelblitz was burning with an orange glow. As she stared at it, Dusk couldn't help but notice its somewhat squishy architecture. And although the temptation to touch it was strong, she reminded herself that it was a force not to be trifled with.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Fei asked the others as she stared at it. "This whole thing's gonna take the damn universe," Five noted. "What's it made of?" "Micro black holes collapsing at increasingly short intervals," Sloane responded. The time traveler continued, asking how they weren't being sucked into it, to which the gravity girl responded they didn't know. "You shouldn't exist here, and neither should this,"