Capítulo 24: Halftime
The announcer walked onto whatever was left of center stage, clearing his throat and fixing his tie. He had an announcement to make. "Did you all enjoy our last five matches?" the crowd roared, rising to their feet and applauding the beta testers. "Good! Since we have gone through half of our contestants, we will take a short half-hour break! Teams, please follow your designated chaperone to your team's personal waiting room and have a short rest. In the meantime, we will repair the main stage. For those watching at home, don't touch that dial! We will be back shortly."
The same suited man that the team had met back in New York greeted them from behind before showing them the way to their waiting room. As the teams walked through the stadium's halls, Tempo took the time to make conversation with Lady Luck.
"That was pretty impressive." he told her, trying his best to act nonchalant as he walked beside her and Flora with his hands in his pockets. "Thanks. You were somewhat impressive too. I mean, you were getting your ass kicked and I thought you were really lame but you ended up knocking him down in one punch. I'm impressed you figured out how to beat him."
Tempo thought back on his fight with Spectre, remembering the moments when he allowed himself to be mocked in front of everyone by the intangible hero. 'Right... She saw all that huh?'
"I mean, it was simple really. The first half of the fight was just me figuring out how his powers worked–"
"Uh-huh."
"Once I figured it out, there was an image of him inside of my head, or I guess, the outline of his body. You see, when it comes to physics, there's a certain order of things. You know, the laws of mass and inertia and all that. His punches hurt like hell, they felt like real punches but you can't just generate that much force from nothing. So I figured that he must make certain parts of his body tangible the moment he attacks so he can build up enough force to do damage. Anyway, in that outline of his body, I mentioned earlier, I could see the muscles lighting up what areas were required to throw a punch, which meant those areas of his body must have been tangible. I know a thing or two about human anatomy so I knew his liver would be open. So, I punched his liver and activated a special power of mine."
After Tempo's long ramble, Lady Luck stared at him without saying a word. "Uh huh..." she muttered.
'Wait to go Ky.'
"Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself."
Lady Luck chuckled to herself. "I take it back, you are pretty lame."
Ky felt as if a ten-million-ton weight had just crashed onto his head. Inside of his own mind, he saw himself on his knees in a dark void, a spotlight on only him. 'NOOOOOOOO' his inner self bellowed with the words 'Lame' echoing throughout the dark void.
"But in a cute way." Lady Luck added.
'Huh?'
"Oh, thanks." Ky felt relieved, yet at the same time, he was confused by his relief. He subconsciously cared about her opinion of him more than anyone else's. He could deny it all he wanted, but the time warper had a crush. "By the way, how did you beat that Dungeon Master guy anyway? His attacks looked as if they kept missing."
"I'm just lucky."
"That's it? Just luck?"
"Yup."
"So that's your power? Good luck."
"Pretty much. Hmm... or maybe it's giving other people bad luck. I'm not too sure which."
Team New York was then let inside their waiting room, one filled with all sorts of snacks and other amenities. Immediately, most of the team began indulging themselves. However, Ky, was still stuck on his interaction with Lady Luck.
The social butterflies of the group; namely the Blur, Infinite, Celsius, and Fixer were all standing in a circle chitchatting. Mania and Novacaine kept to themselves, sitting in their own respective corners of the room; of course, Novacaine was still enjoying his strange knife hobby. Meanwhile, Tempo sat on his own on a sofa across from Flora and Lady Luck as they were eating snacks and talking quietly. He was staring at Lady Luck for a while, trying to get a read on her.
'Her powers are clearly luck or chance-based. How the hell does that stop my Psychometry ability? Maybe I'm just thinking too hard about it. If our powers follow the rules of comics, it probably just works. Like how ***man somehow beats omega-level characters despite being nothing more than a rich boy in pajamas.'
"Why don't you take a picture, I'm quite sure it will last longer." Tempo jolted upon hearing Professor Anarchy's voice right beside him. He hadn't even noticed the warlock was sitting right beside him.
"I'm just trying to figure her out. We're teammates after all." Tempo used this as an opportunity to extend his hand out to Professor Anarchy. "We haven't introduced ourselves properly. It's nice to meet you, by the way." However, the warlock did not reciprocate the gesture.
"I've noticed the first thing you try to do when you meet someone for the first time is to touch them. I have also taken notice of your desire for information about all of us. I take it you have some sort of ability that can somehow gather information via touch, yes? Information makes you feel safe as a tactician."
'Damn, this guy's smart. I guess the jig is up.'
"And if I do?" Ky crossed his arms, speaking with a defensive cadence.
"Then it makes you untrustworthy. We're supposed to be teammates, yet you hide your abilities from everyone. Of course, I'm not telling you to share your entire hand with all of us, but secrecy is suspicious. You know, I too have an ability that allows me to look into one's mind. Rather than you sapping whatever information we want from each other, how about we chat about ourselves? Like normal individuals."
"Okay..." Ky found the professor very suspicious. Nonetheless, he heard him out.
"My name is Professor Anarchy– but you already knew that. It's no secret that I am adept in the mystical arts. Force fields, summoning, telekinesis, and much more. As for my alignment, I'd classify myself in the Chaotic Law category. I believe in what is right, using these gifts given to me to protect those incapable of protecting themselves. However, I cannot do that alone. That is why I am introducing myself to you now, Tempo. I would like to form an alliance between like-minded individuals, a league of sorts. I would like to invite you if you are willing."
"You mean like a team of heroes?"
"Precisely."
"Why me? You came up to me saying that I was suspicious and all of that, but now you want me to join your team? If anything, THAT is suspicious."
"You are answering the questions yourself, Tempo. If I believe you are suspicious, then I believe you are smart. It means you understand the value of obtaining and withholding information. As I am, you think first before acting. Why wouldn't I surround myself with someone I view as a fellow intellect? Let's say you're actually just an untrustworthy imbecile; well, now you and I could keep an eye on each other. Have you ever noticed that everyone's abilities seem to be tied to their personality in one way or another?"
Tempo took a look around the room. 'He's right for the most part. The Blur is impatient and a motor mouth, Infinite is a gym-obsessed freak, and I–' It was then that Tempo realized why he received time manipulation as an ability. 'I've lived my whole life wanting to change the past. I've wanted to save Mom so I could change our lives. Dad wouldn't have to work so much and we could've been a family again. I guess those manifested somehow– But if that's the case, how did the app know any of this before my DNA was connected to the game?'
"Sure, but where are you going with this?"
"You and I share abilities, therefore, we must be similar enough. Infinite and the Blur have already agreed. The child will likely agree if I ask him as well. You would be the final pillar, the last piece of the puzzle. There are hundreds of people like us all around the world, having these incredible abilities, but most mean harm. Even some of them in the room with us now use their powers for personal gain. Someone needs to uphold the laws of the world and I believe it could be us."
"Alright, maybe I will join. I do have one question." Tempo looked at the professor with his eyebrows crunched beneath his mask.
"And that is?" the Professor was prepared to answer any question the time warper had. This offer was serious and Tempo was one of his most sought-after candidates.
"Before you got your powers– did you always talk like a Victorian mage or did you just adopt that accent afterward?"
Professor Anarchy's shoulders dropped and he exhaled in annoyance. "Ponder my offer, Tempo. We will meet again after the tournament." Professor Anarchy rose to his feet and joined the other guys in conversation, leaving Tempo on the couch alone. He looked back at Lady Luck, whose catlike eyes were seen behind that domino mask that covered the area around them. There was a brief moment of eye contact before she looked back at Flora.
Some time had passed before the Blur, Professor Anarchy, Fixer, Infinite, and Celsius, all stood at the center of the room. "Enough idling, let's come up with a plan to win this phase of the tournament. Those who still remain on our team are Fixer, the Blur, Flora, Nocacaine, and myself. I believe it would be best to finish this as soon as possible now that their morale is down. They have yet to win a round outside of a disqualification, they're feeling weak. It would be best if I were to go next, followed by the Blur. That would bring the score to six to one, ending this phase. If either of us somehow loses, then Fixer should be our eighth, Flora our ninth, and Novacaine shall be our anchor. Any objections?"
"I don't really care." said Flora. "The less work for me, the better."
Novacaine said nothing; he simply shrugged before going back to doing what he does by himself.
"Alright then. Everyone else, rest up. There are still plenty of phases to go." Just as Professor Anarchy spoke, the announcer's voice was heard through the intercom.
"Break time is over. Please return to the stage."
Determined to win, all ten members of Team New York were back on their feet and made their way back to the center stage.
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