NOVEL NEXT 163 - Four Entrants
Of all the unique and macabre sights I had seen in my years, stepping out into the view of the stadium crowd was likely to be a memory that stuck with me until the day I died.
Which was hopefully not today.
The open roof allowed late morning sunshine to illuminate what must be tens of thousands of faces looking down on the blank canvas that was the arena itself. It was briefly overwhelming. The wave of sound was unlike anything I'd ever heard, and mixed with the bright lights and clear space, my senses were shot.
"Just head out to the center stage. The host will take it from there."
I nodded, even though I barely heard the voice behind me. My feet took me forward, even as my brain tried to keep me back in the shadows. Emerging out into the stadium proper did nothing but increase the volume of the crowd. They were… cheering for me.
In response, I waved to them. This did nothing but make the problem worse, but I reasoned I had a part to play here - getting and keeping the crowd on my side made the morale victory that much easier. At this distance, I wasn't able to pick out any familiar faces.
I just walked down the slightly raised path toward the center. This ground floor of the stadium was flat concrete, uncomfortably plain and large. As if a whole block or two of buildings had been swept away, and this was all that remained.
The only thing to note out here, aside from the platform in the middle, were other figures moving from their own entrances. Seemed as though the Arena organizers were having each of us come out from a different cardinal direction. My lens told me that I was on the east side. To the south, the large beetle-like figure was clearly Blue Bulwark.
And to the north, Maestro.
Rather than waving to the crowd and lapping up the attention, he looked to be scowling in my direction. It took me a couple of seconds to realize it was probably because I now had an actual hand. The crowd wasn't solely cheering for my appearance, but a frenzy of energized speculation also tore through the rows of the audience.
Twenty seconds into what was going to be a long day, and I had already stolen the show. It was enough to get the man's blood boiling, but perhaps he should have known he'd be on the back foot all the way through. My three opponents were desperate. While my entry here wasn't exactly to solidify my career, I just had to avoid making a fool of myself.
Or avoid potential assassination.
I flexed my fingers out as I reached the platform. A simple stage of raised concrete, where a figure was already standing. Not entirely familiar, although I may have seen him on a billboard or two over the years. A dazzling man with a too-white smile and fake tan. Navy blue suit that was tailored to perfection. In his hand was a long microphone, even though much more discreet tech existed. He wasn't a super, but there was something about him that unnerved me.
"Everyone, please welcome our entrants to this year's Heroism Arena!" His smooth voice reverberated loudly around the whole space. There was some magic to how the sound was submitted, my senses told me. "Although the number of heroes has reduced at the last minute, I can promise you that the four who remain have enough to set this stadium alight with their daring heroics!"
I stepped up onto the platform with him, as did the other three. Maestro still glared at me, looking like a dark cloud. Blue Bulwark also had it in for me, his face mostly obscured by a chitin plate, but I could tell his jaw was clenched. The only one who didn't look like they wanted to bury or eat me was Snake-guy, who was…
Well, he looked rather pedestrian compared to the rest of us. A yellow super-suit with green boots and belt. On his chest was the picture of a rather basic snake. The man himself appeared either half-asleep or confused as to why he had been chosen as the fourth out of all possible entrants. Early to mid thirties. Messy strawberry-blonde hair, and light stubble. If it wasn't for the symbol on his chest, he might as well be Guy-guy.
"Everybody put your hands together!" the host continued. Gary-something was his name, I was sure. He continued to smile, turning slightly as if he was trying to address the whole arena as the crowd erupted into applause. After a few moments, their sound was artificially dampened, so that he could continue uninterrupted. "Now let me introduce you to our entrants."
Despite it being daytime, a spotlight appeared from somewhere above us, illuminating the large beetle-man.
"A longstanding pillar of our community, the titan in chitin, and gentle insectoid giant… Blue Bulwark!"
The hero struck a pose, hands on hips and chest puffed out. Whoever was in charge allowed the crowd to be loud once more as they cheered for him. The spotlight then switching to Snake-guy.
"Next we have the adder who can't stop subtracting criminals from the streets, please multiply your support for the divisive… Snake-Guy!"
Whatever pun the host was going for went right over my head. Although I remembered the hero from Roxy's wall, the details had made him seem irrelevant and… snake-themed rather than anything to do with mathematics. I dreaded my own reveal. Thankfully, the spotlight switched to Maestro first.
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As soon as it did, his composure flipped entirely. His smile didn't quite meet that of the host, but he turned and bowed to greet each section of the crowd. Only briefly shooting me daggers, as he had to bow in my direction.
"The highest ranked hero in the Arena today, the illusionist with something to prove, Maestro!"
The smile wavered on the hero's face, the introduction not quite as illustrious as he had been hoping. Before I could revel in his disappointment, the light shone down on me.
//Clara: Your image is projected to several large screens that you cannot see.
//Clara: Alongside personal STAR devices, televisions across the city…
//Clara: Probably further afield, too. No pressure.
Like a fish out of water, I raised my hand and waved awkwardly at the audience.
"Finally, one of the newest heroes putting in work on our fair city streets: part-man, part-machine, but all attitude, Gunquake! Extra warm welcome for our newbie, everyone!"
The smirk on Maestro's face was actually very easy to ignore, as my entire being was filled to the brim with the sound of the crowd. Louder than the others, I was sure. My eyes looked around as I continued to wave as it was an action I could repeat without standing around, not knowing what to do with myself.
I couldn't wait to get to the part where I could shoot things.
"Now for those of you tuning in for the first time," the host continued, as the spotlight switched to him, "let me explain the basics of the rules for you."
My arm lowered, and I started scouring the crowd for signs of the Natural Disasters. The host went on to explain that the stadium would be divided up into four quarters, one for each entrant. We'd go through four rounds of challenges before a final free-for-all task that was worth more points. Highest score after all five was crowned the winner. Simple enough.
"With that out of the way, let's get started!" Gary clicked his fingers and fireworks popped in the area about the Arena. Simulated ones, anyway.
It was enough to make my muscles tense up, the stress of someone trying to kill me evidentially keeping me on edge more than I'd readily admit. My eyes turned to the side as parts of the stadium floor started to shift.
In each corner, a small rectangle of ground moved seamlessly to create a box. Once the small chamber had stopped moving, a door opened up at the front of it.
"Entrants, if you could please make your way to your waiting rooms, designated by your set colors." As the host instructed us, holo-screens on the plain concrete walls of these new bunkers flickered into different hues.
I was green. Blue Bulwark was… blue. Maestro had red and Snake-guy had yellow. Raised walkways emerged from the floor to lead each of us straight to these corners.
Now the plain and empty flooring made some sense. Quite a technological and magical marvel, all things considered - but I imagined the Heroism Arena made a lot of money. Our tasks and challenges would grow up from the ground as walls and buildings rose from whatever material this truly was. The documents in my dressing room had mentioned that there would be invisible walls protecting the crowd, and more opaque ones splitting each of us entrants off, but this was…
Impressive. I had no doubts that there were probably several superpowers that went into the running of all this, not just tech and magic. If anything, it made me wonder if the League was also using such resources for ways to fight or defend against the World Government. I certainly had a few ideas.
Not that any could linger in my mind long enough to settle. Walking across the stadium to my designated room felt like it was taking forever, with the audience constantly watching me. The old Dubs would have run a mile to avoid this sort of situation.
My eyes went up as I caught a familiar glimpse of a very distinct trio of hair colors. There were the Natural Disasters - up on the corner of the seating not so far from my bunker. Roxy was giving it her all, yelling something that the sound dampening tuned out, but she appeared happy rather than panicked. I waved at them and they all waved back.
//Clara: In addition, there are four other heroes in your section.
//Clara: Blue Bulwark also has his team in attendance.
//Clara: Leaving Maestro and Snake-guy with the fewest heroes in their corners.
//Dubs: Any of the S-Ranks here?
//Clara: None publicly stated.
Something slightly worrying. While the city needed protecting, having such high-profile celebrities in attendance would be good for ratings. Either they were casting a wide net in Goldarch, or hanging out in secret, waiting for things to turn sour.
I knew that Silhouette was here, at least. Couldn't sense him, but the arena was so packed with different energies it was a little too much for me already. There were a ton of magic and electrical signals. Tens of thousands of people shouting and clapping. Various superpowers belonging to well over two dozen heroes nearby.
It was both incredibly secure and yet the biggest target in the city. Or, that was just me, if I wanted to be slightly big-headed. This fame was getting to me already.
The chamber in front of me looked rather plain, and not entirely unlike my old shack. I pushed through the simple doorway and instead of murder-adjacent things, I was slightly surprised to see a table and desk.
With a click, the door shut behind me. There were no windows, but one wall had a wide screen that was turned off.
As if hearing my thoughts, it switched on.
Arena Setup In Progress
Please Wait Patiently
I flexed my metal fingers again. After worrying about my newest brother appearing to kill me in service of the Government, I hadn't given much thought to having to actually compete in these heroic scenarios.
There was only a slim chance that putting a few Slugs into the problem would earn me the crown. The vibrations coming through the floor signaled a big change in the Arena.
//Dubs: No spoilers?
//Clara: Technically, I should be in there with you.
//Clara: In the spirit of good sportsmanship, I will cut communication.
//Clara: I will join you next round, Gunquake.
//Dubs: As you wish.
Having a drone constantly watching in between rounds was an unfair advantage. Normally I wouldn't have expected the techie to have any reservation about breaking rules, but there was some weight to the important of the Arena. A scandal would hang over my head for as long as I lived.
The screen flickered, drawing my attention.
Arena Setup Complete
Round Starts In: 10 Seconds
Hostage Rescue
Not exactly a lot of time to get acclimated. I took a deep breath and stretched my muscles out. Hostage rescue was a terribly vague brief. With a grapple and my cyborg legs, I should have a reasonable chance of succeeding with a decent time.
The door clicked as the timer hit zero.
I stepped out immediately into smoke and blaring sirens. My eyes widened at the flames and destruction now in front of me, as a distant voice cried for help.