The Miracle Clinic

In one of the many break rooms in the employee-only area of Club Azure, Tim-Tom finds himself facing The Arrow of Club Azure, Li-Wei Zhang. The two are silent as they stand there looking at each other.

Tim-Tom’s brow furrows while Li-Wei lets out a slight smirk, and just like that the two rush towards one another and throw a fist into each other’s face.

Tim-Tom takes a step back while Li-Wei remarks, “It’s been a while since we fought, you still remember how I made you try and run away like a bitch?!’

“Run away?” Tim-Tom questions as he delivers a right hook into Li-Wei’s cheek, “I was just trying to get some elbow room!”

“Is that so, well that’s a shame,” Li-Wei begins to say as he slowly but surely moves closer to Tim-Tom, “I’m the Arrow of Club Azure!”

Li-Wei passes by a glass table with an unopened bottle of wine and a corkscrew before he closes the distance with Tim-Tom.

“Once I’m shot out towards my opponent,” Li-Wei says as he headbutts Tim-Tom, “I only move forward!”

“Your title isn’t even that cool,” Tim-Tom says as he delivers an uppercut into Li-Wei’s jaw, “When my title is so much cooler! I’m Starlight’s Brightest Boxer!”

Li-Wei laughs as he knees Tim-Tom in the stomach before delivering hook after hook into Tim-Tom’s face. Tim-Tom keeps stumbling backward until he gets pinned up by the wall.

“What now, you’re only good when you’re away from your opponent,” Li-Wei remarks as he begins to knee Tim-Tom in the groin repeatedly, “You have no idea how to fight someone when they’re up close and personal!”

However as Li-Wei goes for his finishing blow, he gets to feel several jabs begin to hit him. As Tim-Tom starts to fight back, Li-Wei tries to get an attack in but he can’t. For some reason where before his attacks would have landed; now they can’t even get through to him. Not only that but the tempo and how fast he throws his straights and jabs is completely different!

Tim-Tom delivers an overhand hook into Li-Wei’s face which sends him stumbling back into the glass table.

“How did you-” Li-Wei begins to ask before getting interrupted.

“I really wanted to save this for a special someone but after you tried copping a feel you left me with no choice,” Tim-Tom remarks as he makes a new stance, “I’m using my style.”

In boxing, the most common style is the orthodox style where fighters lead with their right fist, however, there’s another type of style; the southpaw style. In this form, a fighter leads with their left fist. And as Li-Wei begins to get hit with jab after jab, he starts to realize Tim-Tom can freely interchange between both styles. Orthodox fighters are typically right-handed, and Southpaw fighters are typically left-hand, but those who can perform both styles with ease are ambidextrous.

Only about one percent of the world is ambidextrous, meaning most fighters go their whole lives without fighting someone ambidextrous. So when they eventually do, all of their tricks are completely new to them.

And it’s this advantage of being able to perfectly use both hands, that Tim-Tom is exploiting.

As Li-Wei struggles to even get a hit in, he notices something on the glass table.

“Club Azure should really consider…,” Tim-Tom remarks as he delivers a straight punch towards Li-Wei, “Tossing aside a dull arrow like yourself!”

However, as he is about to land that punch, Li-Wei catches his hand. And before Tim-Tom can move, he feels a sharp pain in his sides. He looks to see that Li-Wei has stabbed him three times with a corkscrew.

“Say that again,” Li-Wei remarks as he uses the corkscrew to stab into Tim-Tom’s side again, “I said say that again!”

Tim-Tom winces his pain as he takes a step back, but Li-Wei rushes toward him. Every time Tim-Tom tries to make distance between the two, Li-Wei shortly closes it. Writhing with pain, Tim-Tom realizes there’s one thing he can still do.

Li-Wei goes to stab Tim-Tom in the eye as he yells, “THIS IS THE END!”

However, Li-Wei looks to see that Tim-Tom blocked the move by having the corkscrew plunge through his right hand. Tim-Tom then uses the injured hand to pull Li-Wei closer to him.

“I AGREE!” Tim-Tom grits, “THIS IS THE END!”

Tim-Tom uses his left uninjured hand to deliver a liver shot into Li-Wei’s body. After the hit lands, Li-Wei falls to the ground exhausted while Tim-Tom catches his breath.

“You mother fucker,” Tim-Tom pants as he sits down on the couch and looks at his right hand, “How the fuck am I going to get this shit out?”

As he sits there, trying to catch his breath, Tim-Tom begins to think about how he wanted to only go all out when he faced off against someone. Yet here he was using his switch-hitting skills on an operative of Club Azure.

Tim-Tom comes to the realization that if he wants to defeat the man who sent him down this path, he’ll need to grow stronger. Though first, he’ll need to treat his fresh wounds.

___________________

Elsewhere in an adjacent break room in Club Azure’s employee-only section, Marcus Veridan is sitting down with Marcy Murphy. Marcus is a bit nervous since he doesn’t know how to fight and doesn’t know if he could hit her but Marcy lifts her hand.

“Have a seat I just want to have a chat with you,” Marcy states.

Curious, Marcus sits down on the chair and looks over towards Marcy.

“So who’re you?” Marcus asks.

“I’m just the business analyst and a manager for Club Azure. Sometimes I help get people into the club but most of the time I help figure out what Club Azure’s next move should be,” Marcy remarks as she pours herself some whiskey.

“And what is that next move?” Marcus asks.

“Do you really want to know Marcus Veridan?” Marcy asks.

Marcus feels a chill go down his spine as he realizes this woman sitting in front of him knows his name. Seeing Marcus’ shocked expression, a sly smirk emerges from her lips.

“H-how do you know my name?” Marcus asks, shocked.

“Because you just told me,” Marcy Murphy laughs, “I only knew the members of your club but never who was who.”

“You’ve been spying on u-” Marcus tries to say but gets hushed by Marcy.

“That doesn’t really matter, what does is that it seems we have similar goals,” Marcy replies with a smile on her face, “So if you let me walk away, I promise I’ll take care of things on my end.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Marcus yells, “You’re working with Club Azure! You guys harmed my friend! Why would I-”

However before Marcus can debate any longer he begins to convulse before falling over. The reason? It’s due to the taser Marcy Murphy is holding in her hand that she just used.

“I think you misunderstood me,” Marcy replies as she walks towards the employee’s only exit, “I wasn’t taking no for an answer.”

As Marcy leaves, Marcus can’t help but get the inkling that this won’t be the last time he’ll see her.

_____________________

In the CEO’s office, Ronnie Everst is sitting across the desk from Jerry Pitt, the CEO of Club Azure as well as a close friend to his late father.

“So, I take it you and your friends were the ones who came here?” Jerry asks.

“Yeah, but it was only because you guys hurt our friend first,” Ronnie remarks.

“Hurt your friend?” Jerry questions, “What I’m doing doesn’t hold a candle to what others would do if they were in my position. Though I must warn you and your friends, while I care for your safety, my members do not. Whatever happens down here never reaches the police, you want to know why?”

Ronnie looks to see that Jerry has stood up and is now looming over him, and it feels like all of the taxidermied animals in the room are staring at him as Jerry utters, “They don’t even have the courage to step one foot into this place.”

Despite feeling fear, Ronnie stands up as he remarks, “So whatever happens here stays in here?”

Jerry looks to see Ronnie walking toward the door to the room and he confirms, “Yes and it’ll be very wise of you if all of you were to back off-”

However, Jerry’s monologue is cut off by a loud clicking noise. Confused, Jerry looks to see Ronnie’s hand over the door knob. As he takes his hand off of it, Jerry realizes that Ronnie locked the two of them in this room.

“Well that’s a relief,” Ronnie remarks as he rolls up his sleeves, “I’ve been meaning to blow off some steam against scum like you!”

_____________________

Outside the entrance to Club Azure, Tom, Tim, Vanessa, & Blanko are all exhausted as more and more Club Azure members arrive.

“They just keep coming!” Tom groans.

Blanko & Tim chuckle at Tom’s comment causing Tom to roll his eyes.

Vanessa stares at the group of Club Azure members rushing towards them, all of them have some sort of makeshift weapon on them. Vanessa tries to fight back but she’s too exhausted after taking care of so many Club Azure members. She closes her eyes waiting for the weapon to careen into her face.

And she waits.

And waits.

And waits some more.

Vanessa opens her eyes confused as she looks around to see none of the Club Azure members hitting her, but instead looking down the street where a lone figure hidden by the night approaches them.

“I’ll have to thank him for watching over the kids,” the figure remarks as he steps in front of one of Club Azure’s gang members.

“Who the hell are you?” a gang member asks.

However, the figure ignores the man as he instead looks toward the ground and notices that there’s a jacket there which was tossed off earlier during a scuffle.

“Hey don’t ignore me!” the gang member shouts as the person reaches down to grab the coat.

The gang member takes a step towards the figure, stepping onto the coat in the process, and unknowingly stepping right into the figure’s trap.

The figure quickly moves the coat off the ground, tripping the gang member, then tying it around the gang member’s neck and suffocating him before slamming his head into a nearby wall.

As the gang member falls to the ground unconscious, everyone looks shocked to see the figure walk forward towards them.

“You want to know who I am?” The figure, who steps out from the shadows remarks as he reveals himself to be Mesto-Presto, “I’m just some dad.”

See You Next Chapter!~