It's not that Jeremie has delusions of being a bodybuilder.

He's never going to have an overly muscular physique. He skips gym class more often than not, misses entire nights of sleep on a weekly basis; and the muscles in his brain are the ones getting the biggest workout in the regular scheme of things. He's not going to kid himself into thinking he could take Yumi or Odd in a fight.

It's just, everyone seems to assume that he's physically helpless. Jim, XANA, the kids at school—even his own friends, who really ought to know better by now. Sometimes, annoyed, Jeremie feels he ought to point out that he's the one who makes the long hike to the factory (and back) more than any of them, and almost always at a run, because it's silly for a small thing like exhaustion to keep him away from Aelita (and his work) for longer than he has to be. Most days, he doesn't even break a sweat anymore.

And he might he get the majority of his arm muscle from typing, sure, but Jeremie can swing himself down a rope just fine, thank you very much. He can support his own weight with his strength—well, more or less—and he's not prissy about things like heights or getting his hands dirty. He's found himself swimming through the running sewage beneath the factory more times than he can count, even had to drag himself out from the hard pull of the current, once, when XANA tried to drown him.

But he didn't drown, Jeremie remembers with a fierce swell of pride. He fought, and he lived. He knows better than anyone he isn't weak.

And maybe a polymorphic clone can toss him away like a ragdoll, okay. That's fair enough. He's always been a bit of a lightweight. And of course XANA's puppets have the advantage of exaggerated stamina and strength.

But if Jeremie lacks in the bulging muscles department, or advanced martial arts training, at least he's got quick legs, and a damn good set of lungs. He's been beaten, electrocuted, stabbed, suffocated more times than he could count, and he hasn't died yet. XANA's going to have to do better than that, to stop him from protecting Aelita.

He'll protect her to his last breath, and that will be a long time coming, if he's got anything to say about it. Whatever they think about his strength, it doesn't make a difference to Jeremie.

He's not one to go out without a fight.