Chapter 10: Blood and Bonds
The training room air hung thick with sweat and iron, the distinctive scent of Marie Moreau's blood manipulation cutting through the generic gym odors. Landon adjusted the straps of his protective gear, deliberately loosening his right shoulder pad while Marie prepared for their assigned sparring match. Her face was a mask of concentration, dark hair pulled back severely, fingers flexing as crimson droplets hovered around her like deadly satellites.
Perfect setup. Perfect target. Perfect power.
"Remember, control exercises only," Professor Brink called from his observation position. "Moreau, focus on precision. Vale, defensive maneuvers."
Landon nodded, positioning himself exactly where he needed to be. Blood Control had been on his acquisition list since arriving at Godolkin—a versatile B+ rank ability with both offensive and defensive applications. The risk lay not in Marie's skill, which was considerable, but in her control, still unstable after the accident that killed her parents. One moment of panic could trigger exactly the lethal response he needed.
"Ready when you are," he called, deliberately using a cocky tone that would unsettle her.
Marie's eyes narrowed slightly, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple as she raised her hands. Blood droplets from the training room's supply containers formed into thin ribbons, weaving complex patterns in the air between them. "Don't get overconfident, Vale. This isn't a game."
"It's just practice," Landon countered, moving forward with calculated recklessness. "Show me what you've got."
The first few exchanges followed the assigned pattern—Marie directing blood strands in controlled offensive formations, Landon dodging with just enough skill to appear competent without revealing his Enhanced Speed. The dance continued for several minutes, their movements drawing closer as Landon systematically closed the distance between them.
Then came his opportunity—a momentary flicker of uncertainty in Marie's eyes as he deliberately stumbled into her control zone.
"Watch your—" she started, instinctively throwing her hands up.
The blood ribbons responded instantly, no longer thin controlled strands but razor-sharp spears that punched through Landon's loosened armor at precisely the wrong angle. He felt the warm rush as one pierced his heart, another sliced through his carotid artery, his body already collapsing as the training room erupted in shouts.
Marie's horrified face was the last thing he saw, her mouth forming a silent "no" as darkness claimed him.
Landon revived in an equipment closet, the smell of floor wax and dirty mops filling his restored lungs. His chest ached with phantom pain where Marie's blood spear had pierced his heart, the sensation lingering even though the wound had vanished. Something else lingered too—a heaviness centered in his sternum, a weight that had nothing to do with physical injury and everything to do with Marie's expression as she'd realized what she'd done.
[BLOOD CONTROL (B+) ACQUIRED. HEAVY STUFF, SOFTIE. DON'T CRY NOW.]
The system's message pulsed blue across his vision as Landon pushed himself to sitting position, testing the boundaries of his new ability. B+ rank—the highest tier he'd acquired yet, a major step toward survival in Godolkin's deadly environment. He could feel the power settling into his system, an awareness of fluid dynamics that extended beyond his own body, a connection to the blood in his veins and potentially in others.
His hands trembled as he stood, not from the physical trauma of revival but from something deeper. Marie's face—the absolute horror, the echo of her parents' deaths reflected in her eyes—had struck something in him that the system's cold calculations hadn't accounted for.
She'll blame herself. Again.
The thought came unbidden, unwelcome in its empathy. Landon pushed it aside, focusing instead on the tactical advantages of Blood Control—versatility in combat, synergy with his existing abilities, potential for powerful merges. But Marie's expression lingered, a ghost his revival couldn't banish.
He slipped from the closet into an empty corridor, using Shape-Shifting to subtly alter his appearance—just enough to avoid immediate recognition as he made his way back to his dorm. The campus was already buzzing with news of the "training accident," students huddled in whispers as security personnel hurried toward the gym.
Ten deaths. Ten powers. Progress with consequences.
"You're not dead."
Luke's voice cut through the darkness of the dormitory rooftop where Landon had retreated after his revival. The Golden Boy approached cautiously, the ever-present flame dancing between his fingertips casting long shadows across the concrete surface. He carried two beers, condensation glistening in the flame's light.
"Observant as ever," Landon replied, accepting the offered bottle. The glass was cool against his palm, a sharp contrast to the warm summer night air.
Luke settled beside him, flames extinguished as he twisted the cap off his beer. "Marie's a wreck. Thinks she killed you in front of the entire combat class."
"She did." The admission slipped out before Landon could censor it, too raw and honest in the aftermath of revival.
Luke's eyes narrowed, but he didn't press. Instead, he took a long drink, the silence between them weighted with unasked questions. "Security said they found no body. Just a lot of blood that DNA confirmed was yours."
"Copy ability kicked in," Landon offered the familiar lie, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Emergency cellular reconstruction. It's... not pretty. Needed some time to pull myself together."
"Bullshit." Luke's response held no heat, just quiet certainty. "Whatever your deal is, Vale, it's more complicated than some convenient 'copy ability.'"
The night air hummed with the distant sound of campus security drones, their red lights pulsing as they patrolled the perimeter. Landon took a long drink, buying time to formulate a response that would satisfy Luke without revealing too much.
"We all have our secrets," he said finally. "You've got The Woods. I've got mine."
The mention of The Woods hung between them, a shared understanding forged since Landon had saved Luke from suicide. The Golden Boy nodded slowly, accepting the implicit boundary.
"Fair enough." Luke raised his bottle slightly. "To surviving Godolkin's bullshit, whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," Landon echoed, bottles clinking in the darkness.
They drank in companionable silence, the campus stretched below them like a diorama of normal collegiate life—a façade both knew concealed Vought's darker machinations. Luke's gratitude remained unspoken but palpable, a debt incurred when Landon had warned him about his brother's fate, saving him from a despair-driven end.
"Marie needs to know you're alive," Luke said finally. "She's been through enough."
Guilt twisted in Landon's chest, sharp and unexpected. "I'll find her tomorrow. Let her know I'm okay."
"Sooner would be better." Luke stood, stretching. "She's in the medical wing. Shock response. Blood powers sometimes backlash when she's upset."
The information settled like a stone in Landon's stomach. Another consequence he hadn't calculated—Marie's powers turning inward, punishing her for a death he'd orchestrated. He nodded, unable to find words that wouldn't taste like ash.
Luke departed with a final nod, leaving Landon alone with the night and the weight of what he'd done. Blood Control hummed beneath his skin, a powerful new ability gained at a cost he hadn't anticipated—not physical pain, but the knowledge that he'd reinforced Marie's deepest trauma for his own gain.
[FRIENDSHIP SOLID: LUKE'S GOT YOU. NICE WORK.]
"Fascinating recovery, once again."
Cate's voice sliced through the library's hushed atmosphere, her arrival heralded by the subtle click of heels against polished floors and the faint scent of expensive perfume. She slid into the chair opposite Landon, manicured nails drumming a soft rhythm on the wooden table between them.
Landon's Mind Control Immunity activated reflexively, a psychic barrier against her probing. He kept his expression neutral, though his pulse quickened with the tension of a prey animal sensing a predator.
"Not sure what you mean," he replied, closing his textbook.
Cate's smile was razor-thin, her eyes never leaving his face. "Marie Moreau impaled you through the heart with a blood spear in front of twenty witnesses. Yet here you sit, not even twenty-four hours later, without so much as a scratch."
"Medical technology is amazing these days."
"Indeed." Her voice dropped lower, forcing him to lean slightly forward to hear her. "Almost as amazing as your supposed 'copy ability' that conveniently activates whenever you should be dead."
The challenge in her words was unmistakable. Landon maintained eye contact, aware that any sign of weakness would only intensify her curiosity. Cate was Vought's pet project, a telepath being groomed for their inner circle, with access to resources and information that made her particularly dangerous to his secret.
"What do you want, Cate?"
Her smile widened fractionally. "Just making conversation. Checking on a fellow student after a traumatic experience."
"I'm touched by your concern."
"You should be." She leaned back, studying him with clinical interest. "You're collecting quite the reputation, Vale. The boy who can't die. People are starting to talk."
The warning was clear—he'd drawn too much attention, too quickly. Landon bit the inside of his cheek, calculating his response.
"People talk about lots of things. Doesn't make them true."
"No," Cate agreed, standing smoothly. "But patterns are hard to ignore, aren't they? Ten 'accidents' in two months. Ten miraculous recoveries. Even Vought's statistics department would find that... improbable."
She departed with a final lingering glance, leaving behind the subtle scent of her perfume and the distinct impression of a predator marking prey for future hunting. Landon remained seated, outwardly calm while his mind raced through contingencies. Cate's interest was becoming too focused, too dangerous to his carefully constructed cover.
[CATE'S PROBING: STAY SHARP, LIAR.]
As he gathered his books, Landon felt Blood Control pulse beneath his skin, a reminder of both power gained and price paid. Marie lay in the medical wing, suffering for a death he'd engineered. Cate circled like a shark scenting blood in the water. Luke offered beer and fragile trust based on lies.
The weight of it all pressed against his chest, a pressure that had nothing to do with phantom pain and everything to do with the fragments of humanity the system couldn't quite strip away with each revival.
Ten deaths. Ten powers. And a growing web of consequences I didn't calculate for.
Landon traced a pattern on the wooden table, a habit from his old life that surfaced in moments of introspection. Ohio felt impossibly distant now, the person he'd been there fading with each death and revival, replaced by someone harder, colder, more focused on survival at any cost.
Yet Marie's horrified face lingered in his mind, a reminder that costs weren't always measured in physical pain or system debuffs. Sometimes they came in the currency of other people's trauma—trauma he was increasingly unsure he had the right to inflict, even in service of his greater goal.
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ Friends and HIMYM Crossover ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ Friends and HIMYM Crossover ] with exclusive access to 25+ chapters on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse, Breaking Bad , The Walking dead ,The Hobbit,Wednesday].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!