Agile Breakthrough: Powered Personnel Side Hustle, #2

By K. A. Maxwell

She became the very thing she fought against. Will she work for the enemy or work behind bars?

 

After a doomed stunt to protest workplace bias, Lieutenant Felina Gatti found herself in a cage built to keep in high-powereds, even though she never had powers.

Or so she thought. 

 

Upon learning of her breakthrough, the Heroes of Verity offered her two choices: become a restricted hero for only their cause or become a polarizing criminal. 

Neither choice was a fair deal. 

 

With two of the guild's most powerful superheroes guarding her, Felina must rely on past agile teachings to learn her new abilities and find her own path. 

Agile Breakthrough is a side story that takes place after the events of The Big Startup. 

 

It has around 19,000 words of sci-fi fantasy drama and breakthrough action. 

 

It also has scenes of violence, mature themes and coarse language which may make this book unsuitable for younger and sensitive readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. A. Maxwell
• Release date: Jun 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781777658038

Book preview

Prologue

Planet Neerg, twenty-one years ago.

One.

An orange-and-white furred right arm with black stripes thrust forward with fingers curled, palm out and claws sheathed.

Two.

Her hand opened up and out. Then sharp claws unsheathed and cut across the air as her arm curled in. Blue eyes narrowed as they shifted up to scan across a group of students who followed the movement with their instructor. The group had a mix of young and old. Some had claws, some did not. Many were of different shapes, species and power levels.

None of that mattered. In her eyes, they were all advanced-level martial artists of the Panthera style.

Three.

Seventeen-year-old Felina Gatti thrust her other arm forward. Her students followed suit and performed the movement together.

Four.

She curled her claws in and down. She was average height for a Puman, with short brown hair and dark-orange highlights. Like all of the students of the Panthera style, she wore a short-sleeved white gi with a black belt tied around her waist. Its end had three orange dots on it, signifying her third-degree black belt status.

Felina stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. Again. One, two, three, four.

She kept watch as her students went through the motions of the palm and claw strike. It was a combination attack to stun an opponent with a hit on the chest, then deliver a devastating slash.

Felina nodded her approval. Stand.

The students stood up straight, arms down.

For the rest of class, I want everyone to break up into pairs and practice a technique, or you can spar with each other. Begin.

As the class got to practicing, Felina picked up her sports bottle and stepped outside the training hall.

Practitioners of the Panthera style traveled to the mountain regions to disconnect themselves from the hustle of urban life. Situated within a forest of green and red trees, two fountains flanked the Tigao Temple gates. Each fountain featured a roaring statue of an ancient Puman, the water flowing down as separate rivers.

Felina leaned on one of the large pillars of the main temple hall and took a long sip of water. In front, an open square area served as a multipurpose space for outdoor training, meditation and hosting festivals. Holding up the main training hall and roof were carved pillars of legendary fighter Pumans standing tall with their arms up.

Since finding this place a few years ago, Felina’s training had kept her focused on giving herself the means to protect herself and others she cared for.

She sighed as memories of that fateful day washed over her like an ice-cold wave, unable to help the two people who gave her life and loved her. Her ears twitched, and she glanced at her whistling water bottle clasped tight in her hand. She relaxed, letting the feelings flow through her, just as the master taught her when they first met.

Once she finished her short break, she walked by pairs of students and took note of a Gotefalk who paired up with a Star Elf. Both were red belts and moved their arms up and down in a wave-like motion.

The Gotefalk student, Skip Tosto, was taller than his partner, Raibyn Pyrre. They both had average builds and were in their early teens. Skip had white fur with brown patches and short horns on top of his head. With his hoof-fingers spread and angled in the shape of claws, he dug in the air with one hand and drew his arm back, stopped a third of the way and continued. When the other arm thrust forward, it stopped, trembled slightly, then kept going, dug in and pulled back.

Meanwhile, the Star Elf’s arm motion was fluid, with brief bursts of super speed, then slowing to match the Gotefalk’s speed before he revved up his arms again. Like most of his kind, he had pointy ears and orange-brown skin, with short golden-orange hair and light-brown eyes.

Felina glanced down at the floor to check their footwork—well, half their footwork. Raibyn’s feet hovered a couple inches off the mat to keep his arms at the same level as his training partner.

You’re not supposed to train while flying, said Felina.

I’m just hovering an inch, Raibyn whined.

Felina folded her arms. The Panthera style starts with a grounded attitude. Besides, you have a shorter reach than Skip does.

That’s not so ba-aa-d, is it? asked Skip.

No, but all students should lean on training and skill first before using powered abilities, said Felina. Skip, show me your claw wave movement again?

He did, and in spite of achieving a good wave motion, it still wasn’t smooth enough.

Slow down. You’re trembling again, said Felina.

Really? said Skip.

You can do it, Skip. Just like this, said Raibyn and performed the exercise slowly. Skip moved his arms until his and Raibyn’s were in sync. The motion of their arms from fingers to shoulders was like watching waves of water cresting along the shore.

That’s a start, said Felina. Go a bit faster.

They did, and Felina nodded in approval. Their arm speed was the speed a student needed to graduate to red belt level. To get to the brown belt, they needed to go at about twice that speed. Maybe that synchronized connection between students was all Skip needed.

Keep going, said Felina, her tail swishing from side to side in anticipation.

Both students nodded and went faster. Felina stayed focused on the motion of their arms. It was smooth, uniform and in sync.