Hatchetfield Stories

It's A Matter Of Time

WARNING: This story contains MAJOR Yellow Jacket spoilers. Do not read if you haven't seen Yellow Jacket yet.

This was originally going to be a cute Stopwatch vs Yellow Jacket story but I got carried away.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
-Violence
-Threats

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"On the left, we have the titan of time! Will his opponent think fast enough to beat him? It's Stopwatch!"

The crowd cheered as Daniel climbed onto the platform. Hannah looked up at him, waiting for her cue.

"And on the right, our very own Yellow Jacket! Stopwatch better watch out, because I hear she has a killer sting!"

From the other side of the platform, Daniel smiled at Hannah as she also climbed up onto the platform.

Hannah smiled back, before looking over her shoulder at the section of the audience where the other kids were seated, and Sophia gave her a thumbs up.

The bell rang, and Stopwatch immediately lurched forward, holding his breath as he did. Hannah dove out of the way, laughing.

"Hey! How can you move?"

Hannah shrugged. "You said it yourself, my powers are useful."

"Not fair!"

Hannah smiled at her friend. "Don't worry, I won't go too hard on you."

She closed her eyes, and the floor underneath them rumbled, much to the delight of the audience.

Stopwatch leaped forward, tackling Hannah, sending them both to fall onto the floor. Hannah winced, and the rumbling stopped, but she used the immense power that surged through her thanks to the mind milk to her advantage, sending her friend flying across the ring, though she made sure he wasn't hurt before she pushed him off the edge and the crowd went wild, cheering her name.

Hannah stood up, and jumped off the platform as the announcer declared her victory, helping Daniel up.

"That was awesome, Hannah!" he told her. "You totally deserved to win."

Hannah smiled, climbing back onto the platform to take in the cheering of the audience. In the crowd, she spotted Ethan, who was yelling her name louder than anyone else, a cheque in his hand.

*** *** ***

Back in the locker room, Sophia approached Hannah as she puts her sneakers back on. "Good work, Yellow Jacket," she said, sitting down next to her. "I knew you had it in you."

"Thanks."

"I have a question. I'm going against the champ next week, and I was wondering if you wanted to join me? It'll be two against one if you don't, so I wanted to talk to management to see if it's okay."

Hannah's eyes went wide. "He's killed before. Are you sure?"

Sophia nodded. "My dad gets a lot of money if I fight him, and it doesn't even matter if I win."

Hannah nodded slowly.

*** *** ***

"-join me, if that's okay?"

Charles shifted in his seat. "That wouldn't be fai-"

"Of course," Otho spoke before he could finish his sentence. "The more the better. Ask Stopwatch to come too."

"Otho, we should really talk about this. You cost me a lot of money."

Otho smiled, his eyes glowing slightly. "My team will grow. Isn't that worth the risk?"

*** *** ***

"On this side, we have Spitfire, Stopwatch, and Yellow Jacket!"

The trio stepped onto the platform nervously. Were they really doing this?

"And on the other side, the one and only champ! It's Otho!"

As Otho stepped onto the platform, the boy with the bloody nose following him closely, the three shivered. Spitfire hesitantly took a step forward, clearly trying to protect the two younger kids.

"Your time has come," Otho said with a smile. "Soon there will just be one singular voice. My voice."

The bell rang, and the fight started.

It was three against two. The odds were in their favor. But Otho was fast, he and the boy immediately closing in on them, jumping out of the way from Spitfire's fireball with ease.

Hannah closed her eyes, feeling the mind milk unlock her powers slowly but surely.

"It's a matter of time..." Otho taunted her, not saying the words out loud, but Hannah could hear him clearly. "Soon you'll give in. You all will."

Hannah tried to get in his head, flip the switch she managed to flip in Spitfire's head when they had fought. But it was no use.

A piercing tone filled the air, and instinctively, Hannah covered her ears. Spinning around, she found Otho looming over Sophia, who screamed as her arms were twisted behind her back by the other boy. Daniel tried to push Otho away, but he couldn't. Otho laughed, his eyes glowing brightly as Sophia's tone shifted closer and closer to his.

"Sophia! NO!" Hannah yelled, and all that bottled-up anger came out at once, sending a force of psychic energy across the ring.

Otho fell backward, but so did Sophia and Daniel. Hannah ran toward them, standing in front of them, one hand extended towards Otho. "Don't hurt them."

Otho laughed, now floating slightly above the platform. "Stop me."

Hannah tried to, she really did, but even as the roof of the roller-rama creaked dangerously at the shaking of the Earth, Otho continued laughing.

"Hannah!" Sophia called out, grabbing her arm. "He's too powerful!"

"See? Your friend agrees."

Hannah looked out into the audience, where she saw Ethan. He was biting his nails, terror clear on his face. She would win. For Ethan and Lex.

She closed her eyes again, and concentrated, hoping that the effects of the mind milk combined with her anger were enough to stop him from hurting her friends.

Before she knew it, the floodgates opened, and another wave of psychic energy bursted free from her mind, hitting Otho and his companion, but leaving her friends untouched.

The two boys fell off the platform, and the bell declaring their victory sounded, though Hannah wasn't calmed. Otho looked up at her, his eyes glowing. "I'll beat you. Eventually."

The crowd surrounding them cheered, and when they went back to the locker room, a bunch of kids were waiting for them.

"You guys beat the champ!"

"That was awesome, Yellow Jacket!"

"Your powers are the coolest!"

Hannah didn't reply, just grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder.

"I'm going to find Ethan. I'll see you guys tomorrow," she said to Daniel and Sophia, who simply nodded.

"Banana!" Ethan called out when he saw her approach. "Good job, Split! Hey, what's wrong?" he asked when he saw her concerned face, crouching down to her height.

"I quit."