1 Deadlift

Milo Mack slammed the straight bar to the black floormat with a scream of effort, the noise echoing through the empty gym. He'd never allow himself to make such a scene if anyone else had been there with him. It simply made things awkward, which was why he preferred lifting at night. There was no one here to judge him for his lift screams, and that was all the better. Milo found that he was only really able to lift heavy weights when he screamed. Non-lifters might find this odd, but it worked wonders for Milo. He wiped the thick sweat from his brow with a rough calloused hand, taking in huge lungfuls of air while pacing around the bar. Four one hundred pound plates elevated the bar on each side, and Milo grinned to himself. Eight hundred pounds wasn't too bad, though today he hadn't been performing at his best.

Milo supposed that not taking pre-workout for this session did it, but while he did like what he called 'legal go powder' he found that it upset his stomach every time he took it. It interrupted his lifting sessions with overly long trips to the bathroom. Slowly Milo has been trying to ween himself off of the stuff, but it hasn't been easy. He yawned and took in his surroundings as he continued his long breathes. If he were to call his gym anything, it'd be narrow. At least compared to the other larger gym chains. There was plenty enough room to move around in, but when Milo thought of the other gyms he had gone to in the past, this seemed like a closet. Sure, it was a long closet with all the machines and weights he could ever need to 'embiggen' himself further.

A clear glass scan door sat at one end of the gym, that being the door Milo most frequently used. The other end was what was considered the front door by newbies. That was the door people used to come in and sign up, and it was also the door that was locked at night. The scan door was always locked, but the electronic door would unlock after a quick swipe of a thumb-sized, green plastic key. Milo currently had it hooked onto his keyring, as always, along with his dozens of other normal keys that held no use here in foreign land.

Milo stopped pacing around the straight bar, and looked to the mirror, seeing his massive form reflected. He was a tall man, taller than most, and his clean-shaven square like face was a painful reminder of his inability to grow a proper beard. A fuzz of closely shaven black hair sat atop his head, the light reflecting off the sheen of his sweaty scalp. His broad torso was barely contained by his simple white tank top, which had been completely been soaked through by sweat hours ago. His tree trunk-like legs rippled with muscle as he shifted his considerable weight on each foot to maintain motion, and once again Milo found himself desiring bigger gym shorts.

He flexed his arms at the mirror, seeing his biceps quickly gain size over his head. Milo laughed. He'd sure come a long way from the skinny bean-pole he was at eighteen. Eight years of hard training and BIG eating had brought him these gains. He wasn't sure if he should have been ashamed, but he found that he enjoyed the eating the most about his lifestyle. Or should he say… Liftstyle?

He frowned at the pun, and his reflection frowned back at him, looking disappointed. Milo did not blame his reflection for its judgment. He yawned, looking away from the mirror and towards the round clock mounted above the leg press in a far corner. Five in the mornin', time to get going. Around five-thirty was when other people would show up, and Milo didn't feel like dealing with anyone else right now. He was good enough at holding a conversation in English, but Milo had not yet learned Japanese to a point where he could speak in confidence to a native without embarrassing himself.

He re-racked his weights, packed his black canvas gym bag, and went on his way. On exiting the gym, he was struck by how brisk the air was. Mornings in Japan were always so damned cold, but they were peaceful and quiet as well. Milo had moved here because some Japanese pro wrestling league had scouted him in America during one of his shows. The pay that was offered was simply too good to pass up on, and Milo had packed his meager belongings and moved to this rural town. Milo considered it rural at least, compared to Boise anyhow.

The drive wasn't too far from Tokyo, where the famous Tokyo Dome resided. If he got really popular playing his character, then he might just perform there one day. Funny that he was so self-conscious about his lift screams yet he had no problem throwing people around in front of a crowd of hundreds, maybe thousands of people.

Milo pondered what his character would be as he began the trip home, jogging at a comfortable pace. He tried to limit his driving to build up his endurance. He had the impression that his manager would want him to play a heel. Old Misashi had told him plainly that Milo had the face of a villain. Sure, his low brow and blocky features may have made him look constantly enraged, but Milo would much rather play a face.

He enjoyed the idea of being a 'good guy' character.

Milo jogged on for what felt like half an hour across dark empty streets. His apartment was located in the hills overlooking the town. The view it granted him was spectacular, and easily his favorite part of the tiny abode. His least favorite part was just how damned small his apartment really was. It felt as if he had barely any room to move around in, and Milo was nervous with every step he took on its thin floors. He felt as if at any moment he would fall through the floor and into the downstairs apartment. Maybe even crushing one or two of his neighbors.

He'd move into a bigger place with no neighbors once the wrestling gig really took off. Milo was certain that he would become famous in the Japanese pro wrestling world fairly easily. He was not only incredibly tall but insanely muscular. Whenever he was out in public, he would draw stares without trying too. Milo frowned. Being his size in Japan and not catching stares would be more bizarre he supposed.

Soon the sun began to peek over the horizon, illuminating his path as the street lights automatically clicked off. He continued his heavy jog, taking deep even breathes. It didn't take long for an incline in the road to appear. It was somewhat steep, though not treacherous to walk up. It did good work for his legs too, and soon he felt a pleasant ache build in his quads as he rose higher and higher up the slope.

The sidewalk he trod upon was overgrown with lush green foliage, small cracks giving way to probing plants. These plants trailed back into the forest off to either side of the road much like vines, and Milo took in the earthy scent of his surroundings. The nature here was pleasant, and a nice change considering he grew up in arid dry Idaho. Seeing this much green was almost a shock when he first moved here a month ago.

Milo suddenly heard a scream of sheer terror. The scream came from near the top of the incline, and he craned his neck up to see its source.

Milo had to shield his eyes against the sun as he saw the small form of what appeared to be a young man sprinting toward him full speed, the incline giving him a large boost to his momentum. Milo caught a short glimpse of the boy's features, seeing the outline of soft rounded features.

Milo hoped that the kid didn't trip, for if he did the concrete would shred off a good portion of his skin before the lad came to a stop. Why was he running so fast? The sun stopped Milo from discerning any more features, but he could at least see the pitch-black hair of the young man. Safe to say he was Japanese. There was a high school in this town somewhere, maybe he was a student?

It wasn't long before the boy passed him, and once he did, Milo spotted what he had been fleeing from. A gigantic green oval orb sped after the high schooler. Milo's eyes widened as he felt the full force of the orbs pass. The wind had nearly knocked his massive form off its feet. He was stunned. What on God's green earth was that thing!? His gaze followed the orb as it chased the young man further down. Without knowing fully why, Milo chased after the two, his long legs quickly gaining on them.

Milo had never before run this fast, he could feel the wind in his ears as he gained on the orb. If he tripped, there was a decent chance that he would die. Milo's significant weight combined with his current momentum would paint the street red if he fell. It was steep enough that Milo may even snap his bull neck if he flipped end over end.

He forced himself to stop thinking about his potential fate. He needed to help the kid get away from that floating booger. He passed the orb quickly, feeling the powerful gust of air blast him. The force of it nearly made Milo lose his footing. Soon he was running next to the kid, who spared Milo the briefest of glances before turning his gaze back on the road ahead of him. Soon the road would flatten out, and the orb would catch the boy quickly.

Milo didn't know how to handle this. What was the orb capable of? What even was it? Why was it after this high schooler? It didn't matter, Milo needed to try something to save this kid. As the road flattened out, Milo stepped between the path of the orb and the boy during his sprint. Milo didn't know what else he could do, so he twisted his whole body around in a desperate punch. His aim was true, and Milo's strike found home deep within the center of the floating orb. Milo's fist sank all the way up to his elbow within the green ovoid.

Surprisingly, that did stop it. However, Milo found that he could not feel anything below his elbow. His arm was engulfed within the orb. He turned his head to see the high schooler still pounding his feet on the pavement. That was good, the kid would escape and live a happy life. Milo however? He had no idea what was going to happen to him. He braced his trunk-like legs, and pulled as hard as he could, heels digging into the black pavement. He couldn't pull out at all, the orb acting almost like an anchor for his engulfed fist.

Milo noticed that the gale that had previously threatened to blow him from his feet had died down to an immutable high pitch whine. He tugged furiously to no avail, and soon, the thing began to suck Milo further in. The bodybuilder screamed as soon, half his form was engulfed, the vanished half of him completely numbed.

Then he was gone completely. The orb had completely absorbed him, and after a minute, it too vanished in a blink of an eye.