The abandoned limestone quarry on the border between Gotham and Blüdhaven was a desolate pit of grey rock and rusted mining equipment. It was the kind of place where mobsters dumped bodies, which made it the perfect dojo for a man trying to learn how to break physics.
Elias stood in the center of the pit, surrounded by massive boulders and the skeletal remains of a crane.
He rolled his shoulders, the blue quills on his head shifting with the movement. His run across the continent had proved he had speed. He had the engine of a Ferrari. Now, he needed to learn how to drive like a stuntman.
"Okay," Elias exhaled, bringing up his mental HUD. "The speed is innate. The combat... that requires memory."
He focused on the section of his mind labeled Combat Simulation: Frontier Protocol.
In his old life, he had Platinumed Sonic Frontiers. He knew the inputs. Now, he had to translate button presses into muscle memory.
Technique 1: Cyloop
"Let's start with crowd control."
Elias didn't just run; he focused on the trail behind him. He pushed the Chaos energy out of his heels, making it sticky, lingering.
He took off. VWOOM.
He sprinted in a tight circle around a cluster of three car-sized boulders. He wasn't just moving fast; he was painting with light. A vibrant, glowing blue ribbon of energy hung in the air behind him, refusing to fade.
"Close the loop!"
Elias completed the circle. The moment the two ends of the energy tail connected, the laws of physics inside the ring inverted.
SNAP.
A pillar of blue anti-gravity erupted from the ground. The three massive boulders were yanked violently into the air, floating helplessly ten feet off the ground, suspended in a stasis field.
Elias skidded to a halt, grinning. "Defense broken. Now for the punish."
Technique 2: Sonic Boom
He leaped into the air, hovering for a split second using his momentum. He leveled his eyes at the floating rocks.
In the classic games, Sonic was a ball. In Frontiers, he was a striker.
Elias extended his leg. He didn't kick the rock physically. He kicked the air in front of the rock.
Thwip-Thwip-Thwip-Thwip!
His legs became a blur of motion, moving faster than the eye could track. With every snap of his ankle, a crescent-shaped shockwave of compressed air launched forward.
The blades of air slammed into the boulders like rapid-fire artillery. Boom-boom-boom-boom! Stone chipped and shattered, turning the boulders into gravel while they were still suspended in the air.
"Range is good," Elias noted, landing lightly. "But it lacks impact."
Technique 3: Wild Rush
He spotted the rusted crane tower across the quarry. It was thick steel, reinforced and heavy. A Titan-class target.
"Evasive offense," Elias muttered. "Wild Rush."
He charged. But he didn't run in a straight line.
He jagged.
He threw his body weight violently from left to right, creating a zigzag pattern of blue light. To a normal observer, he would look like a glitch in reality, flickering in and out of existence as he closed the distance.
He slammed into the crane's base, not with his hands, but with his entire kinetic field. The impact sounded like a thunderclap. The steel buckled, twisting like wet clay.
Elias rebounded off the metal, backflipped, and prepared for the finisher.
Technique 4: Phantom Rush
"Let's see if I can crash the server."
He focused his Chaos energy not on speed, but on duplication. He needed to vibrate his molecules so fast that he existed in multiple places simultaneously.
He attacked the crane again.
First, a punch.
Then, before he retracted his fist, a second Elias—a translucent, purple-blue clone—punched the same spot.
Then a third. Then a fourth.
PHANTOM RUSH ACTIVATED.
Elias unleashed a flurry of blows, but he wasn't hitting the metal alone. Dozens of afterimages swarmed the target, mimicking his strikes with a delay of milliseconds.
The sound was a deafening, high-pitched drone of impact. BRRRRRRRT.
The thick steel beam didn't just bend; it disintegrated under the sheer volume of force. The crane groaned, tilted, and began to fall.
Technique 5: The Parry & Grand Slam
The massive metal structure, weighing easily twenty tons, came crashing down directly on top of him.
Elias didn't dodge.
He planted his feet. He took a deep breath. He held both hands up, palms open, and visualized the absolute stoppage of time.
"Parry."
PING.
The sound was distinct—a sharp, digital chime that cut through the roar of the collapsing metal.
Elias caught the falling crane.
But he didn't catch it with strength like Superman. He caught it with a glitch.
The crane froze in mid-air, inches from his nose. The falling debris stopped. Dust motes hung suspended. For Elias, the world turned grey and static. He had a window of opportunity.
"Grand Slam!"
He grabbed the frozen metal beam. He spun.
Using the stored kinetic energy of the falling object against itself, he whirled around like a tornado, dragging the twenty-ton crane with him.
He released.
CRASH.
He hurled the wreckage across the quarry. It slammed into the far wall, bringing down a landslide of loose rock and burying the equipment in a cloud of dust.
Elias stood in the clearing, steam hissing from his quills. The red bio-electricity of the Phantom Rush faded, replaced by his standard blue aura.
He panted, wiping sweat from his forehead. His HUD chimed.
Proficiency Increased.
Combo Meter Unlocked.
Skill Points Acquired.
"I'm not just a runner anymore," Elias whispered, clenching his fist. The power of the Frontiers moveset was different. It was aggressive. It was designed for killing giant robots and eldritch horrors.
"If I use the Phantom Rush on a human, I'll turn them into paste. I have to be careful."
He looked at his hands. They were trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer rush of the Chaos energy coursing through his nervous system.
He walked over to his duffel bag, which he had left near the entrance of the quarry. He pulled out a bottle of water and downed it in one second.
"Okay," Elias said, looking back toward the skyline of Gotham City. "I have the speed. I have the moves. I have the money."
He zipped up the bag.
"Now I need a base. And a computer."
He pulled his hood up, masking the blue quills.
"Time to go shopping."
He tapped his foot.
Boost.
He vanished, leaving only a swirling blue Cyloop ring slowly fading in the dust of the quarry.