Chapter 187

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> *I'M WON'T FALL FOR YOUR TRICKS!*
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*- Zeke mangles his fight banter*

This is the 187th chapter of *unORDINARY*.

## Plot

John walks through a school courtyard, quickly becoming the center of attention. The other students continue debating on whether or not the article Isen wrote is really true. Their constant observation reminds John of how people used to watch him back at his old high school, and how he ended up stuck with the label of "Monster". Suddenly, John finds his way blocked by Zeke and two of his cronies, Mardin and Julien. Zeke announces his intention to prove to the whole school that the rumors are hogwash and John is a harmless cripple. Zeke's words slowly begin to sway the crowd, and they become eager to watch him prove it.

The scene draws attention from the inside of the school as well. Arlo and Holden take notice from one of the adjacent windows. Arlo realizes that Zeke is making the same mistakes he made, and understands that nobody will be able to save the fool from John's wrath. From another window, Cecile watches and wonders if John will finally reveal himself. Seraphina and Evie walk past another window where a cluster of students talk excitedly about what they're witnessing. Unlike them, Seraphina has no desire to watch the event, as seeing that side of John is too painful for her. When asked by Evie whether or not she was worried for John, Seraphina replies that John is more than capable of dealing with Zeke.

Back on the scene, John thinks back to how everyone treated him like trash because they saw him as a helpless cripple. Not even the article outing him as Joker was enough to stop them from looking at him in disgust. John gives in to the belief that he'll never win, weak or strong. Everything he endured in his efforts to hide what a violent powerhouse he could be was for naught, as Seraphina learned the truth anyway. Now all he had left were his feelings of contempt towards everyone around him, who continue to openly talk about him like he was less than human. The crowd eagerly anticipates for John to once more suffer a painful humiliation, and Zeke taunts him for being so uncharacteristically quiet. John makes up his mind, and decides that nobody deserved any sympathy or mercy from him.

John finally speaks up, letting Zeke know just how screwed he is by referring to his previous beatdown as the "lunch-bag incident." Zeke is left confused for a moment, but then the memory of his attacker's first disguise suddenly jumps to mind. Since this particular detail of his encounter was something he had never shared with anyone, Zeke is left with a horrifying realization on how John was privy to it. John slowly approaches the trio, causing Zeke to back away nervously. John notices right away, and calls Zeke out for trying to turn tail after his big display of bravado. Backed into a corner, Zeke fires up his ability while declaring that he'll teach John a lesson that will silence him once and for all. Flanked on either side by the powered-up Mardin and Julien, Zeke charges at John and throws a punch. His target, who now has glowing eyes, easily evades the attack. Rather than countering, John rushes straight to Mardin and holds him up by the throat. Surprised and confused, Mardin tries to worm his way out of what's coming by trying to divert John's wrath towards his leader. It doesn't work, as John slams him headfirst into the ground with the express intention of pulverizing the entire trio. With firsthand proof that John was no cripple, the panicked crowd scrambles to evacuate the courtyard. John kicks the downed Mardin in the stomach with enough force to send him crashing into the school's outer wall. Zeke can only watch and regret not believing that the student he provoked turned out to be Joker after all.

## Appearing Characters

* John
* Zeke
* **Julien**
* Mardin
* Arlo
* Holden
* Cecile
* Seraphina
* Evie
* Remi (flashback)
* Claire (flashback)

## Appearing Abilities

* Phase Shift
* *Mardin's Ability*
* ***Julien's Ability***
* Aura Manipulation