Superboy Jamie and the Ninja Guardians

Chapter 14: Wesley joins the Dojo

Chapter 14: Wesley joins the Dojo


However, the following day was better.

It was a Friday, and during recess in the morning, Jamie looked happy and excited, and explained to me that an old school friend of his from Metropolis was going to spend the weekend in New York at his place. My pal said he was a cool and athletic guy, and passionately into martial arts, so he surely would appreciate meeting me and my family and friends, and vice versa. Seeing how happy my friend was, how could I refuse?

And so, that afternoon everyone including Wes was in the Dojo, kneeling on the mats and meeting a new guest.

I got a good impression of Richard. He was a short, muscular boy with a chubby smiling face and long brown hair, wearing a sleeveless tank top and shorts that showed his powerful body; it was evident that he was a bodybuilder. In fact, he told us plenty of stories about his achievements in bodybuilding, martial arts and other sports.
Then, Jamie made me feel proud, telling Richard how we protected him from bullies at school.

“Really?” the newcomer smiled brightly after the tale. “Wow, Jamie, I’m so relieved… When you moved, I was so afraid you could be in troubles with bullies at school, without me around and Wes attending a different school.”

“I was lucky.” Jamie replied. “These guys are the best guardians I could’ve found… beside you, of course!” he giggled.

“Oh, so you used to protect Jamie at his old school?” I asked. That information didn’t surprise me; Richard seemed the type of kid who does that, and of course, a timid boy like Jamie needed all the help he could find around.

“I was his Guardian Angel” Richard beamed “Anytime Wes wasn’t close! It was a handful” he grinned, “But a friend like Jamie deserved the effort!”

“Definitely!” everyone agreed while Jamie blushed.

“Ha ha! Jamie was always so scared of being bullied in the hallway, that I would just carry him on my shoulders!” Richard said, as he lifted Jamie up and set him on his shoulders with Jamie’s legs just hanging in front of his chest, and then he started to walk around carrying our giggling friend.

“Wow! Jamie’s a heavy boy! That takes a lot of strength to just carry him on your shoulders like that!” Raja said.

“We want to carry him!” my younger brothers shouted, just like I had expected!

With a sigh, I asked: “Jamie is it fine?”

“Of course!” he laughed.

“Okay, everybody take turns!” I said, and once more Jamie became the happy toy of the Dojo, being bounced up and down on our shoulders while we walked around the large room; even Wesley joined the fun, chuckling.

Luckily, Wes seemed to trust us completely now, and showed no objections at our handling of his little brother; he had even been understanding, when learning about Jamie-Ball. I wondered if Wes, too, used to toy a bit with Jamie at home…. It was likely to happen, when two siblings were so unequal in strength. Perhaps Jamie was so eager to be our toy, because he was used to be Wes’!

My musings were interrupted by Kenji proposing: “Hey guys, now that we’ve all warmed up, why don’t we play Jamie-Ball?”

Rolling my eyes, I commented: “Right… It was just a matter of minutes before you suggested that, I knew…” Kenji just giggled.

Richard was puzzled. “What’s Jamie-Ball?”

It was Jamie himself who explained that to him, and then Richard laughed. “Wow, Jamie, it’s strange but sounds fun! I’d like to see that!”

“Then let’s do it right now!” Kenji exclaimed, and standing up, he went to grab Jamie under his armpits… but I gently seized my little brother by his elbow to stop him.

“Come on, Kenji, not today that we have a new guest!” I mildly scolded.

My brother huffed in frustration, but it was Jamie who protested. “Miguel! Why do you always try to stop our fun?”

Although I felt a bit guilty, I replied: “But Jamie, there’s a reason I don’t approve this Jamie-Ball stuff so much! You could get hurt and – “

“How many times did they brother played it with me?” he answered, staring up at me, looking as defiant as such a sweet boy could look. “And how many times did I get hurt? Miguel… try to trust your brothers more!”

“Right, Miguel.” Hiroki intervened. “They are pretty responsible… at least, around Jamie!” He grinned.

For some moments, I was at a loss of words, and Jamie took the chance to challenge me: “Why don’t you try it yourself?”

“What?” I stared at him in disbelief.

“Yeah, play Jamie-Ball with me, my friend!” he said with a wide smile. “You’ll have fun, and will realize that is harmless!”

“Yeah yeah Miguel! Do it! Great idea” everyone exclaimed.

“So you’ll teach me how to do it!” Richard said.

After some hesitation, I sighed and shrugged. “Fine, if all of you are so stubborn….”

Everyone cheered and laughed, while I lay on my back and tucked my legs. Of course, I have practiced with the medicine ball for years, so I know the stunt, but I felt uncomfortable performing it with a human being… especially if it was Jamie! The mere thought of accidentally hurting him made me shiver, and I fully realized how deeply I had grown fond of that innocent boy who needed me so much!

When Jamie sat on my soles, I took a noticeable time to adjust his position, to be sure to not drop him, then I started the exercise very slowly; after a minute of rolling him without accidents, I became more confident, and the motion grew faster, while my friend cried joyfully and the others cheered.

After some minutes, I decided to stop and stood up, gathering Jamie in my arms before gingerly placing him down.

He hugged me, saying: “See? It isn’t so bad, after all!”

I smirked. “Okay, since you like being a toy so much… I officially adopt you as mine!” and hugged him back.

Everyone cheered louder than before.

Then Richard said: “It’s awesome! I’d love to try it too…”

“Oh, I’d be glad to become your toy, Richard!” Jamie said smiling.

“But can you do that safely, Richard?” I asked, again worried.

“Don’t worry.” He replied. “I’m used to practicing with a medicine ball. “

Smiling, I nodded. Richard gently picked up Jamie and bounced him a few times in his arms, just to show us how easily he could handle his weight. Then he dropped onto his back and placed our Teddy bear in the right position.

“Allez-oooppp!” Richard exclaimed, extending his muscled legs.

I was impressed, seeing how high our new friend was able to toss Jamie up; those muscles definitely weren’t meant just for show! My worries soon disappeared, realizing that Richard was very skilled, and managed to control the rolling of his human ball perfectly. After a couple minutes, he stopped and all of us, including Jamie, congratulated him.

“Oh, it was nothing!” Richard chuckled. “Protecting Jamie was a lot more difficult…” He wrapped his arm around Jamie’s shoulder, “And it wasn’t such a big deal, after all!”

“Do you miss being my bodyguard?” Jamie asked.

“A lot!” Richard admitted, but then he winked and grinned maliciously. “But I’m not going to miss that for long…”

“What do you mean?” our Teddy Bear asked, puzzled.

The muscled teen explained with a wide smile: “You know my Dad is a construction worker… well, he just got an assignment in New York, in this same district… a long assignment, so our family is going to live here for almost one year…” His smile widened. “I begged my folks to enroll me in your school, Jamie! And they accepted!”

Jamie was overjoyed by those news and hugged Richard while his strong friend swung him around; we were also very happy… only Wes’ cheering didn’t seem very enthusiastic, and I suspected his jealousy about others protecting his precious brother was resurfacing. Well, he had to deal with it… Jamie, as vulnerable as he was, needed a high level of protection, and a guy like Richard could be of great help! I made a mental note of talking to him once he started to attend our school, in order to involve him into our “bodyguard” schedule.

But before that could happen, things took a bad turn.

ARASHI’S TALE
Playing videogames with Jamie was great fun! At first, I hadn’t expected him to be such a good gamer, because earlier he himself had denied being one, but now I realized my fatty friend was just too humble. Even my friends congratulated him while we went out of the Arcade, and he blushed, but I felt proud of him. Those two friends of mine were tough boys, one being Artie, a Muay Thai boxer, tall and thin yet agile and fast with his kicks, while the other, Nick, was a large Afro-American wrestler; at first sight, they clearly hadn’t thought much of my new acquaintance, so I was glad he had won their respect!
Before they took the bus to their homes, Nick told our pal: “You’re a cool guy Jamie. Call me whenever you want.”
That gave me an idea. I knew Miguel and Hiroki and their Dojo friends had become Jamie’s bodyguards… Perhaps I could help them to protect him, maybe with Artie’s and Nick’s help. I had to talk with my brothers about that….
“What are you thinking?” Jamie’s voice shook me out of my musings.
“Oh, I was just thinking of some fun things to do with my friends…” I replied smirking.
He smiled. “Cool! Would you like to come to my place and drink some juice before going home? So you’ll tell me about your plans.”
We were now before his house; it was long past dawn, but I didn’t see any light at the windows, so I guessed nobody was home. At first I was going to accept his invite, but I was impatient to discuss the bodyguard stuff with the Ninja bunch, so I was saying: “Thanks, but I must go –“
“There you are, Fatty!”
A rough voice startled us both, especially Jamie, who then gasped in fear, noticing a kid of about his same age, but tall and muscular, crossing the street to approach us, with a mean frown of his face. “Hey! What are you doing here?” my friend asked the newcomer.
“What a question! I was waiting for you!”
“Who is this, Jamie?” I asked, instinctively.
“He’s Stan, a schoolmate of mine.” Jamie explained.
I didn’t need to ask my friend if that Stan guy was in good terms with him or not… when I first had spotted him, I had read the word BULLY on his face, so I already was in my defensive mode, putting my large frame between my pal and that obnoxious teen, who I addressed with a hard voice: “What do you want from Jamie?”
“None of your business, kid!” he sneered, then looked at Jamie: “I already told you to leave my girlfriend alone! And you’re always eating lunch with her!”
“Stan, reason!” Jamie begged. “Ramona and I are just friends, and she isn’t your girl-“
“Shut up! You need a lesson to teach you to not mess with my stuff!” the jerk said, advancing menacingly.
“Don’t make another step!” I warned, still protecting Jamie with my body.
The bully stopped, but threatened me: “Step aside, or else!”
“Or else what?” I kept my ground with my fists raised.
Jamie spoke nervously behind me. “Arashi, I don’t want to involve you in my problems, let me deal with this…”
“I’m already involved, Jamie!” I replied, not turning my gaze away from the thug, who was still growling, ready to attack. Gently pushing Jamie back with one hand, I told him with a firm tone: “Stay back and let me take care of everything.”
Then I addressed my foe. “Listen, you *censored*. Jamie’s my friend, and I won’t allow anyone to harm him. If you want to get him, you’ll have to go past me!” Dropping into my martial arts stance, one hand flat and the other closed in a fist, I continued: “I’ll give you 30 seconds to carry your bottom away before I kick it hard!”
The jock shouted: “You idiot, you don’t know who you’re deal…!”
“No, YOU don’t know who you’re dealing with!” I replied, “Then I’ll have to teach you, HYAAAA!”
Both Stan and Jamie gasped in shock when my right foot lashed up with the speed of wind toward the former’s face… stopping barely a fraction of an inch before contact, so that the bully found himself looking straight into a solid sandal sole; he instinctively did a step back, while the foot landed back on the floor, and – KYYHAAAA! - I pivoted on my right leg to launch my left leg up in a wide circular move to reach Stan’s right flank, but before slamming into it the leg was suddenly stopped and placed back on the floor.
A stunned Stan tried clumsily to punch me, but I dodged so fast, that he only hit empty air, while I executed a well-coordinated dance of punches, chops and kicks, and each of them hit its target on the punks’ body… yet I stopped all the blows before they connected, since I just wanted to scare Stan.
And I definitely was succeeding! He was so pale, that I almost chuckled at such a sight.
Then the bully made an attempt jump on me, but I easily sidestepped that and jumped up with a loud scream, “AYAAAAAAAAAAAHH!”, spinning around in the air and sending my right foot flying barely half an inch above the his head. Stan was so scared, that bent down too fast, tripped and fell to the floor, hitting painfully his chin, while I landed and – HETHYA! – fired a low kick which stopped just in front of the side of his face.
Satisfied when I saw how Stan was frozen in terror, I towered above him and said: “Got the message? Leave Jamie alone, or I’m gonna pulverize you!
For some moments, I thought – and almost hoped - the jerk was going to jump up and attacking again, allowing me to make real damage… but then, he struggled to his feet and started to scramble away. While leaving, however, he glanced back to us and hissed: “It isn’t over between us, Fatty! You won’t always have your friends to save you…”
Once Stan was gone, Jamie sighed in relief, and I placed a comforting arm around his shoulders, imagining how terrified he had been of being beaten up. How lucky that I was with him! “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have allowed him to harm you!”
“I know.” Jamie smiled up to me. “I don’t know how to thank you for your help.”
I smirked. “Well, I know a way… Were you talking about offering me a drink?”
“Sure!”
We walked inside and kicked off our footwear in the foyer, and then we drank some juice in the kitchen. Later, he showed me around his house, and I smiled seeing Wes’ little private gym.
“Wes is a serious martial artist.” I commented, looking down to the mats on the floor. “I could enjoy training here.”
“I could convince Wes to invite you sometimes.” Jamie suggested.
“Thanks. But for now… Could you help me training a bit?” I winked, sitting on the mats.
Jamie laughed and nodded.
That afternoon, I had a great fun juggling my friend.
The one who didn’t look amused at all was Miguel, when he learnt of the accident with Stan. He said he had to “take care of the matter in a more direct way”.

(END TALE)


Stan had just gotten to his “secret” spot in the school garden to smoke a cigarette, when I sneaked upon him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey, what…?”

“Silent, and listen to me, Stan.” I spoke in cold anger; tightening my grip and glaring to the bully in a way that made him hold his breath in fear.

“I know you tried to seriously hurt Jamie yesterday.” I continued. “If my brother hadn’t been there, my friend would be at the hospital now. That is too much, so I’m going to warn you only ONCE. I mean to do whatever I can to protect Jamie, and…” Already raising a foot while speaking, I dropped my heel with a Kung Fu technique on the concrete ground, causing a small crack to appear. “… and you wouldn’t like the stuff I can do!”

I feel pretty satisfied, seeing the bully becoming pale in fear. Releasing him, I gave him a last warning before leaving. “This applies to your comrades too. For your sake, remember what I told you.”

Stan didn’t reply… But in hindsight, I should’ve paid more attention to the looks of hatred he shot me while I walked away.

As we learned later, Stan and the other thugs who had begun to really dislike the Ninjas at school had formed an evil plot of revenge during the big school dance which was to take place near the end of the school year. They were waiting for the end of the large school dance party, which was held in the school auditorium, before they executed their plan.



I love to write about science fiction and fantasy.