Slumdog Hero

Sweat dripped from Serena's brow as her fist made contact with the punching bag for the thousandth time that morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but she'd been in the training facility with Diamond Ace for hours, and she was already feeling the strain.

Luke stood nearby, his arms crossed and his eyes cold. "You're too slow," he barked. "You need to be faster, sharper. Do it again."

Serena gritted her teeth and resumed her onslaught, trying to keep up with the relentless pace Luke was setting. It wasn't just the physical exertion that was wearing her down—it was his constant criticism, his never-ending stream of corrections and disapproving looks.

As she continued to pound away at the bag, she couldn't help but feel like she was back in her early training days, being berated by Dr. Tanner. She thought she'd left that behind, but here she was, reliving the same nightmare all over again.

The only difference was that she was doing it by choice this time.

"Keep your guard up!" Luke snapped as she took a break to wipe the sweat from her eyes. "You leave yourself wide open when you get tired."

Serena bit back a retort and forced herself to focus on her footwork. She envisioned Axion's smug face on the punching bag, and with renewed vigor, she unleashed a flurry of punches that made the bag sway and creak on its chain.

"That's enough," Luke finally said, his voice as sharp as ever. "Let's move on to the obstacle course. I want to see how you handle yourself in a more dynamic environment."

Serena nodded wearily, following him to the next area of the training facility. The obstacle course was a sprawling maze of walls, ramps, and barriers, designed to mimic the chaos of an actual combat situation.

Luke stood at the edge of the course, his gaze sweeping over the obstacles. "This course is meant to simulate a hostage situation. Your objective is to rescue the hostages while neutralizing any threats you encounter."

Serena took a deep breath, psyching herself up for the challenge ahead. "Got it. Let's do this."

Luke's lips twisted into a grim smile. "Oh, and one more thing. I'll be joining you on the course. Consider me an unpredictable variable."

"What? That's not—"

"Go!" he shouted, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Serena cursed under her breath and took off, sprinting towards the first obstacle. She scaled a wall with surprising agility, her muscles burning from the effort. As she landed on the other side, she found herself face-to-face with a replica of a burning building.

Without missing a beat, she charged into the flames, using her powers to create a protective shield around her. Inside, she found a group of mannequins tied to chairs—her 'hostages'.

She moved to free them when suddenly, Luke came crashing through the wall behind her. She had barely turned around before he had tackled her to the ground.

"Not a great start. You should have sensed me coming. Your awareness needs work. A lot of work."

Serena struggled against his grip, but he was too strong. With a grunt of frustration, she twisted her body, managing to roll him off her. They both scrambled to their feet, circling each other warily.

Luke launched himself at her again, but this time she was ready. She enclosed him in a cube-shaped energy shield, trapping him within its confines. He slammed his fists against the barrier, but it held firm.

Serena smirked at him as she turned back to the mannequins, using her powers to slice through their bonds. But just as she finished freeing the last hostage, Luke's hand punched through her shield. She stumbled back in surprise as the cube shattered into motes of light.

"Nice trick with the cage," he said, dusting himself off. "But you need to focus on sustaining your constructs. If they break that easy, they're not going to save you in an actual fight."

Easily?! Her energy constructs were durable enough to withstand an anti-tank rocket. How the hell did this guy have that much physical strength?

They continued through the course, facing off against each other and the various obstacles the facility had to offer. Serena used every trick she knew to try and outsmart him, but he was always one step ahead, always finding a way to counter her moves.

By the time they reached the end, she was exhausted. She collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, her body aching from head to toe. Luke stood over her, not even breaking a sweat.

"Not bad," he said grudgingly. "But not good either. You're reactive, not proactive. You're allowing your opponents to dictate the flow of the battle. If you want to beat them, you have to force them to react to you, to be on the defensive. You need to dictate the ebb and flow of the battle, not follow it."

Serena couldn't even muster a response; she was too drained. Instead, she just lay there, staring up at the ceiling, wondering how the hell she was going to survive this training regimen.

"It's a good start," Luke said, his tone softer than it had been all morning. "We'll build on this. Be back here tomorrow, same time. And be ready to work even harder."

Serena groaned inwardly but nodded in response. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and bear it.

As she limped back to the locker room, she couldn't help but wonder if teaming up with Diamond Ace had been a mistake. But it was too late to back out now—she had signed up for this. For better or worse, she was stuck with him, and she would have to find a way to make it work.

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"Did you get that, Tony?"

"Yeah, boss, I got it."

Tony, a cameraman who was responsible for filming live streams and producing high-quality videos, was currently reviewing footage from Glimmerstrike's most recent confrontation with Axion. He had been working with her for a few years now, and he was used to her antics and dramatics.

"No, no, not like that," Glimmerstrike said, leaning over his shoulder. "I need it to be more dynamic, more engaging. Zoom in on her face as she's about to attack, then cut away to me dodging her blow. Make sure the angle is just right—it needs to look like she almost had me, but I was too quick for her."

Tony sighed and made the adjustments. "Like this?"

Glimmerstrike watched the new edit and nodded. "Perfect. That's exactly what I needed. Now, for the part where she throws the dumpster at me—make sure you zoom in on the sparks flying off my constructs. It needs to look like I'm struggling to hold back her attacks."

Tony couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You were struggling, boss. She had you on the ropes half the time. The way things are going, she'll end up killing you."

Glimmerstrike shot him a sharp glance. "Hey, I've got it under control. I'm just setting the stage for my eventual victory. It's all about the narrative, Tony. People want to see a hero's journey—they want to see me rise to the challenge and come out victorious in the end. And that's exactly what I'm going to give them."

Tony sighed, his fingers moving over the keyboard. He'd heard it all before—Glimmerstrike was a perfectionist, obsessed with presenting a carefully crafted image to her followers. He didn't understand her obsession, and frankly, he didn't care. As long as he got paid, he would do whatever she asked.

Besides, he had to admit that the videos were popular. Millions of people watched them, and the money was rolling in. So if Glimmerstrike wanted to keep pushing herself to the brink of disaster, he'd just keep filming and editing her fights with Axion, no matter how ridiculous it all seemed.

"How's your training with Diamond Ace going, anyway?" Tony ventured after a while. "Is he really as tough as they say?"

Glimmerstrike scoffed. "Tough doesn't even begin to cover it. The guy's a sadist. He's been working me to the bone every day, pushing me harder and harder. I've been fighting Axion every other day, and then I spend my downtime getting the shit kicked out of me by him. I mean, yeah, I've gotten better at holding my own, and he hasn't managed to knock me out yet, but... I don't know. It's like he's preparing me for something, something more than just beating Axion. He keeps talking about how I need to be ready for anything, how I can't afford to take anything for granted. It's creepy."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he's onto something. I mean, you saw what happened with Prime. Axion managed to take him down, and he was one of the strongest Supers around."

Glimmerstrike shook her head. "I'm sure it was a fluke, Tony. A one-off. She got lucky, that's all. She'll never manage it again."

"You sure about that, boss? What if she's been training, too? What if she's even stronger now?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Glimmerstrike snapped. "She's just some slum rat with superpowers. She doesn't have access to the same resources and training facilities that I do. She's not going to catch up to me that easily."

"Whatever you say, boss. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

The pair sat in silence, watching the edited video over and over again. It was slick and polished, making Glimmerstrike look like the underdog hero fighting against overwhelming odds. It was exactly the kind of content her followers expected—and it had nothing to do with reality.

After a while, Glimmerstrike spoke up again. "Do you have anything else on her? Any more footage or info I can use?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, I got some stuff. Looks like she's been pretty active lately—getting involved in turf wars between smaller gangs, rescuing people, that kind of thing." He clicked through a few files on his computer. "It's been getting harder and harder to keep tabs on her with our drones, though. They keep getting hacked and crashing into things."

Glimmerstrike frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Someone from the slums managed how to hack into our drones and take them out. I've been flying them in to get some more footage of Axion in her element, but they always end up in a wreck."

"How? It's not like those slummers have access to cutting-edge tech. All they have over there are rusty old junk heaps from a century ago."

Tony shrugged. "I don't know, boss. But whoever's doing it, they're good. Really good. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear it was someone who had worked in cyber security or espionage, but that couldn't be it. It's the slums, after all."

Glimmerstrike ran a hand through her hair, clearly frustrated. "Guess she has lackeys, too. Alright, whatever. Keep trying. We need more footage of her, no matter what. If you can't do it with drones, then figure out another way. And Tony?"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Watch yourself with that footage. The way you have it now, Axion looks like she's a hero or some shit, helping people. Make it look like she's the one causing all the problems. Edit it to make her look like a villain. Got it?"

"Sure, boss. Whatever you say."

With that, Glimmerstrike left the editing room, her heels clicking loudly on the tiled floor. Tony sighed and turned back to his computer, preparing to twist reality to fit Glimmerstrike's narrative. It was what he was paid to do, after all.

But as he began editing, his mind wandered back to when Glimmerstrike wasn't so... desperate. When she was genuinely trying to make a difference and be a hero, rather than just putting on a show. She was so different before all this—back when she wasn't Paragon Entertainment's puppet. Back when she wasn't the same hollow shell.

Now she was just a brand, a commodity to be sold to the masses, and that's all that mattered. Tony knew he was just a cog in the machine, but sometimes, he couldn't help but feel dirty, like he was complicit in something ugly and rotten.

He sifted through early video footage, looking for the clips of her early heroics. Clips of her working with the police to take down some bank robbers. Clips of her helping people when the Hollowed Eagle Building lost power. Clips of her standing up to the very company that now employed her.

It was all so different back then, and a part of him couldn't help but wonder if there was a way to get that old Glimmerstrike back—the idealistic young hero who genuinely wanted to make a difference. But then he remembered the contract she had signed and the way the media had turned her into a celebrity. The way she had changed, becoming more concerned with her image and popularity than doing what was right.

The way she had lost her way, bit by bit, until she became the fame-obsessed superhero he now worked for.

Still, he clung to a small hope that maybe, just maybe, there was still a glimmer of the old Glimmerstrike left, buried beneath the layers of artifice and ego. Maybe having to train with Diamond Ace, who was practically the only superhero to refuse corporate sponsorship, would help. He was basically her opposite in that regard and a powerful Superhero in his own right. There was no telling how hard he would push her.

If she ever came to her senses, Tony would be there to help her in whatever way he could—even if it meant putting his own career in jeopardy. After all, he knew that the real Serena would not have approved of what she had become. He still had faith in her, or at least, the person she used to be.

Maybe I'll finally muster the courage to ask her out, he thought wryly, knowing it was just a fantasy. Still, a small part of him held onto that hope, even if he knew the chances of it ever happening were slim. And that small hope kept him going, even as he edited the truth to fit the lie.