He didn’t leave the hospital at all and volunteered another nurse called Rowena to take Lexie home and babysit her for the night. Rowena was a little old and a little bent, and had a stern croaky voice. She also expected Lexie to go right up to her room, shower, and sleep the second they got there. Lexie obeyed without question. Rowena intimidated her, the same way her Sunday school teacher had. She just had that elderly no-nonsense air about her that said she was not to be messed with.
When Lexie was heading up, Rowena had already locked all the doors and was settled in front of the TV.
Just in case another ghoul got in though, Lexie snuck a knife from the kitchen and got into bed with it.
But she couldn’t sleep.
She wasn’t sure why. It was probably anxiety or left-over adrenaline or maybe a bunch of other things.
Whatever it was, she lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, her thoughts racing with no destination and no pattern.
She needed something to distract herself, something to center her mind before it fractured.
Then she remembered the video of Xena breaking into the party was online. She wanted to watch it. She wondered which parts had made it into the clips.
Could people see the desperation on Xena’s face? Did the cameras catch Lexie running in there to pull Xena out?
She had to know.
The two alerts flashed back to back, so fast it was almost like they were happening simultaneously. And soon Lexie was welcomed to a new web page, with a series of videos scrolling down it.
“Woah.”
The top of the page indicated that there were currently two million videos in priority circulation on this day. From the context and clicking around she figured out that meant that two million videos were trending across Earth 9. That was an insane amount.
But the viewership was insane too.
In just the first page alone, the least of the top twenty videos had 500 billion unique views.
At the top of the stack was a video of a [Hero] called Stella Firebringer. She had red hair like Luther, and they shared similar eyes too but hers had more humor in it, sporting crow's feet and lines that showed she was prone to laughing.
The actual video itself was more of a gif of her winking at the camera over and over again. It was titled, "The Queen of Dragons gives us a rare wink!”, and had 89 trillion views and a bunch of people fawning over Stella in the comments.
She must have been very popular because the video was only posted this morning and was already the highest-viewed video trending.
The one underneath it, with thirty trillion views, was posted five days ago. It was a video of a Fae ambassador eating a cookie. Lexie only knew he was a Fae ambassador because that was what the title of the video said, but he didn't look anything like what Lexie thought a Fae would look like.
Well, maybe the long hair tied in a knot at the top of his (its?) head and the sharp pointy ears matched.
But that was where the resemblance ended. The man had serpentine features, a flat nose that was basically slits in his face, yellowing eyeballs with blue pupils, ridges in his neck, and strange smooth shiny skin. He looked very much like the alien Aiden said Fae were.
And the alien seemed to like the cookie because after he took a bite, he was asked what he thought by reporters and he responded, in an oddly human-sounding voice, “It was a delightful dessert.”
He even managed a human-like smile while he was at it, while his audience clapped and laughed. Lexie thought she saw the tip of his ear twitch a little when they did.
Was it from annoyance or mirth?
She only watched the video halfway before x-ing out, feeling strangely disconcerted.
Lexie kept clicking down from video to video, trying to numb the worry in her brain, until she got to the second page, with a video that had 10 billion unique views.
The video was titled The MIGHTY SHOWDOWN, Conrad Grace Versus Top Dog HIGHLIGHTS.
Lexie clicked on that video. It was about six minutes long, and it began with two announcers, sitting at a very ESPN-like desk with a huge screen behind them, showing the same colosseum Lexie had seen on Xena's iPad.
“Mallory, I gotta tell you, this was the fight of the year." The burly male announcer started. "Heck, of the past ten years. Ever since I started this job, I have never seen a fight quite as exciting as this one.”
“I agree with you, Harold and this is why.” The pretty blonde in a business suit chimed in. “From the start, you can see the audience is already eager and roaring to go. We've got Conrad fans there with their signs and Top Dog’s ‘bullies’–that’s his fan base–are on the right in their T-shirts. Both sides are waiting and cheering on their competitors. Conrad's trying his best to respond to the crowd's energy, poor thing, but this whole thing is new to him. But Top Dog is a professional. See how he works the crowd? He gives them a show."
Mallory’s voiceover led to a zoom-in of the screen behind them which showed a tall dark-skinned boy in a gas mask with fangs at the end of it. He was wearing a sweater with ripped-off sleeves and black techwear cargo pants that were baggy at the thighs but tight around the calves. Also, he had on big black boots that Xena would probably appreciate.
On his arms, he wore black fingerless tactical gloves with metallic protrusions at the knuckles. Silver metal also covered much of both forearms. They flashed and gleamed in the sunlight as he threw both hands up and the crowd roared. He did it again and they made an even louder sound, some drumming their feet for him.
“Oh, they love him,” The square video of Top Dog swam away as they switched back to Mallory. “Top Dog is the longest-running junior champ we’ve had for a while, you know?”
“Yeah, and the funny thing is he came out of nowhere. Just like his competitor today Conrad Grace. You know Grace is Julia and Mechanico’s son.”
“I know but you know he doesn’t like to disclose that fact. You probably shouldn't mention it.”
“I know love, but it’s just so rare to find a kid with two famously hero parents, who doesn't want to be a hero himself. I mean kids used to dream of being heroes. What is the world coming to?”
“Well, we're in the new gen now and Conrad’s a special breed. He’s also special in the fact that he’s most likely the only Junior in the circuit today who stands a chance against Top Dog.”
“Yes. And if you ask his fans, the Gracers, they’ll tell you that Conrad will almost certainly beat Top Dog today.”
“We’ll see about that. Look, he’s getting himself ready with a little stretch to warm up.”
The square arena video was back, and it showed Conrad actually doing stretches. Unlike Top Dog who was dressed like an assassin, Conrad was dressed very much like an 80's jock at the gym. He was wearing loose basketball pants, with a loose graphic t-shirt and striped headband that held back his hair. Clean sneakers on his feet. No mask, and no gimmick. He had some metal on both arms but shorter, only around his wrist.
He didn’t look like he was there to fight. He looked like he was there to have fun.
But his unassuming nature immediately made Lexie identify him as a threat.
“And then now we see the start of the match with Conrad Grace getting in position.” Mallory’s voiceover continued, as both boys walked to each other. “He’s loose and ready to go. Top Dog is too. And at the sound of the bell…”
Gong!
“Oh, they charge! TD just went for it, did you see? He doesn't waste any time at all and that’s the beauty of TD’s fighting style. He doesn't hesitate to go for the finishing move early. He knows how to take a risk.”
He certainly did. And he was fast, faster than should be humanly possible. Lexie literally saw Top Dog leap from the other side of the field, clearing nearly forty feet in a single jump. He landed right in front of Conrad, aiming a kick to the side of his face.
“Beautiful! I love that guy. But Conrad expects it. There’s no surprise in his expression and he doesn't block. He leans right into TD's kick.”
Lexie was a little confused as she watched Conrad do just that, until at the last minute, as Top Dog’s foot connected with his chin, Conrad hooked both arms underneath Top Dog’s leg and flung him far away, toward the concrete wall at the side of the Coliseum.
Top Dog quickly adjusted and landed on the wall sideways with his feet. Like Spiderman, he used the wall as a springboard to propel himself back to Conrad.
Conrad once again accepted a blow to his stomach and didn't bother blocking the connecting blow to his face. Instead, he grabbed Top Dog’s head, twisting it so the fangs faced away from him, and then drove his forehead right into TD's.
Lexie winced at the sickening crunch.
"Ooh, that one's going to leave a mark."
That was brutal. Lexie couldn't see Top Dog's face, but she imagined there were birds floating around his head.
And then Conrad did it again, harder.
And again.
Conrad kept head-butting Top Dog. The mics picked up the 'thunk' sound each time.
It was a brutally efficient move, because Top Dog was stunned motionless.
And Lexie couldn't look away.
But after about the sixth thunk, TD brought up his hand and a curved but squarish forcefield sprouted out of the metal, about the length of his arm and a few inches wide. It blocks Conrad's next head-butt, though it cracked under the force. That allowed Top Dog to escape, by hopping up and driving both feet into Conrad's chest.
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The force of his shove threw both men in opposite directions and they landed on their backs. Top Dog got up faster and immediately jumped to the other side of the field.
“Damn, that was a savage start." The fight screen went away and they were back to Mallory's wide and white grin. "You a betting man, Harold?”
“I am. And I put a bet on Conrad winning this whole thing.”
“Well TD is my favorite to win and he has to win to keep his undefeated status.”
“We’ll see.”
Lexie also wasn’t sure. It seemed like Conrad had the advantage in this case because, despite the powerful blows TD had landed, Conrad still looked pretty steady while TD was very obviously wounded in the nasal area.
Top Dog leaned against the wall and a vial of green liquid appeared in his hand. He upended it into the mouth of his dog mask and swallowed.
Instantly an alert came up on the screen to announce that TD had used his only allotted health potion for this match.
For the next few seconds, Lexie could see Top Dog trying to think of what to do next as Conrad got to his feet. What she didn’t understand was why Conrad was giving him the break though. The latter clearly had the upper hand there, and wasn't even halfway as beat up as Top Dog. He should have charged TD the second he got his bearings, and kept wailing on him.
But Conrad seemed to be watching Top Dog too, as though trying to figure the other boy out.
And then suddenly, their temporary ceasefire was over.
Lexie saw it coming, the gleam in Conrad’s eyes before he rushed Top Dog.
Top Dog instantly went into a boxer’s stance and as Conrad tried to swing at him, he put his arms up to block.
Conrad's right hook was powerful and probably would have snapped TD's arm if the latter didn't have the metal protection. TD also threw up his forcefield shields, which rattled with each blow that Conrad dealt while TD stayed protected.
“God, Conrad is dog-walking him here,” Harold's voice-over said. “What do you think Mallory?”
“Well, everything's going in Conrad’s favor but if experience has taught us anything, it’s to never count Top Dog out early.”
And just as he said it, Top Dog's hands did something.
It took a pause and a replay for Lexie to tell exactly what. The knuckles of his tactical gloves, the metallic parts suddenly exploded up into spikes with blunted edges.
The forcefield fell and the spikes met Conrad’s fist blocking his blow, and nearly getting him in the eye.
Conrad leaned back and threw up his own forcefield to block.
That allowed Top Dog to spin around, drop low, and shoot his heel right up into Conrad's chin.
It connected with a resounding crack!
Conrad's head snapped back and he stumbled. But TD wasn't done. He performed a double combo of powerful kicks right in the stomach and then a roundhouse kick to the face that sent Conrad side-spinning to the ground.
Conrad caught himself on his elbows and coughed, spitting out blood.
“Ah, see what I mean." Back to Mallory. "What did I tell you? Let’s not forget, Harold, Top Dog isn’t just a brawler. He’s also a weaponist and those gloves of his are weapons. Now let’s fast forward a little to one of my favorite scenes from the match. This scene is why we love Top Dog."
In the next shot, which was sometime after Conrad had gotten back up, Top Dog swiftly parlayed a parry of kicks and attack combos that Conrad struggled to keep up with.
Top Dog focused his attacks on Conrad's face, side, and stomach. At one point, Top Dog flew into the air, grabbed Conrad's head, and drove it into his knee. Mid-air, he then wrapped an arm around Conrad’s neck, trying to RKO him into the ground, but Conrad reversed the move at the last moment, positioning Top Dog to bear the impact.
“Shit,” Lexie thought, but Top Dog wasn’t done. He aimed one fist at the ground and caught himself on his metal spikes that pierced through the earth. At the same time, he wrapped both legs around Conrad’s neck, and using just one hand to twist himself around in the air, he flipped and flung Conrad to the other side of the field.
Lexie winced again as Conrad crashed into the ground, rolling in and scraping his skin probably. But she kept watching. She couldn’t look away. She was impressed by Top Dog’s artistry, strength, and resourcefulness. She could see why he was number one. And also watching him was fun because he just put so much flair into every move, making it look almost like he was dancing.
But she had to give Conrad props too, because the guy just kept getting back up.
He even grinned as he did, as though being flung halfway to Mars had been fun for him.
Lexie thought she saw a crazed look in his eye as Top Dog jumped on the offense again.
This time, Top Dog was even faster, employing more combos, not giving Conrad space to catch up. But Conrad was catching up for some reason. He was getting faster too. But he wasn't blocking all the blows. He seemed to be deliberately taking some while blocking others with force fields generated by his metallic armband. At a point, it almost felt like he was matching up to Top Dog's speed.
Finally, Top Dog dropped into another finishing move where he squatted low and clearly planned on shooting forward to impale Conrad with his blunt spikes.
But Conrad stepped back at the last minute and twisted around to side kick Top Dog in the middle of the movement.
“Duck,” Lexie muttered and Top Dog did, just barely dodging the blow. Relief bloomed and the scene immediately freeze-framed with the announcers coming back to say, “I mean did you see that last-minute duck by Top Dog? He literally had a split second to correct himself and he did.”
“Well," Harold sounded a little grudging to admit. "We’ve always known Top Dog’s reflexes are legendary.”
“What’s legendary is the blow he lands right after, right to Conrad's midsection.” The video plays again, and they see the blow. “He keeps targeting that spot, perhaps because he knows Conrad suffered a broken rib during his last match. But Conrad is a Berserker-type fighter and they're known to be tough and have amazing reflexes. The berserker skill also helps them match up to their opponent's strength or speed, so the longer the match goes on, the faster Conrad gets. You see he's almost as fast as Top Dog now. One second, Conrad's on the floor, and the next, he is sweeping TD's feet and stomping him into the ground. I mean did you even see him move?"
"I didn't!” Harold sounded excited. “And that's why I still think Conrad's going to take this whole thing."
"We'll see about that. Now in this next highlight, we see Conrad punch TD so hard he flies into the wall. And here, he stumbles as he regains his balance. But he's not giving up. He gets right back into attack mode. Oh, Harold, this match gave me chills. I’ve never seen two more evenly matched candidates than these.”
Lexie had to agree. She was even smiling while watching the match, her heart pounding as she became increasingly engrossed. The holographic nature of the video made her feel like she was there, in the arena. It was weird because she’d never been interested in sports before and never watched MMA with Logan.
But there was something different about this.
Or maybe she was different.
Either way, she kept watching.
She didn’t know why she was rooting for Top Dog here. Maybe because both his parents were mundane and they probably needed this win more than a [Heroes]’s kid. Or maybe because Top Dog seemed more dedicated and like he was taking the fight a lot more seriously.
Or maybe she just liked his fighting style and his resourcefulness.
Because despite his relative experience, Top Dog was the underdog in this fight. He landed more hits, but his opponent's hits dealt more damage. Conrad was stronger than him, could match up to his speed during brief bursts, and could take damage better, which meant that Top Dog had to fight smarter. Lexie liked smarter.
But she also liked that none of them seemed ready to give up yet, even though they'd been at it for nearly an hour already.
Even when it was obvious that Top Dog's strength was flagging–his whole body was dripping in sweat, his breaths panted, one leg limping slightly– he kept going, never letting it slow down his moves.
“The next highlight is where the tides turn in Conrad’s favor,” Harold spoke first. “You see here, that he totally has the hang of Top Dog’s fighting style now. He can predict the angles Top Dog is going to try for, and he can even predict how much force he's going to exert on each attack. Conrad is indefatigable and so he uses Top Dog's predictability against him. When Top Dog feints for the left, Conrad uses his own momentum to knock him off his feet.”
“But then you forget, that this was Top Dog’s intention the whole time," Mallory countered smugly. "Watching the fight live, many thought that Top Dog was a goner at this point. That he did too much too quickly, and showed all his hands. By the second round, they thought he’d be exhausted and Conrad would win easily. But no one saw that Top Dog's real plan was to force Conrad’s true nature to the surface. You see, the very strength of a Berserker is also its weakness. In the middle of serious, extended battles, when they feel significantly threatened, their mind often shuts down and their instinct takes over. They go into Madness. All they want to do is destroy their opponent and they lose sight of strategy and leave themselves open to fatal attack. You can see it here, in the middle of the second round, where Conrad starts to behave more erratically. He leaves his midsection wide open for that blow from TD, and this other time, he doesn’t even try to block this leg kick that dislocates his knee.”
“Yes, but look how amazing he is. He stands on said dislocated knee and still uses his other leg to send TD packing.”
“But that’s not the point. The point is if this continues, Top Dog is going to systematically dismantle Conrad’s body until he can’t move anymore. Or Conrad’s going to go all out and do something stupid to get himself disqualified. Either way, Top Dog will win.”
“I gotta tell you, that’s an evil plan Mal.” Harold sounded disgruntled.
“Evil, but genius. Back to the match, we see Top Dog gets back to his feet, and a time-out is called by Conrad’s team.”
“A well-timed time out, giving Conrad time to calm down.”
“Yes, but it might not be long enough to control The Madness. There's a single one-minute-long time out in this match and most Berserkers need to sleep the blood-lust off. So Conrad's in a tough spot. If he goes too far in the next round he can get eliminated. And Top Dog's not letting himself relax either because, even though he probably planned this, it's still a dangerous position for him to be in. Conrad could literally kill him when he’s in Madness state, or at least gravely injure him. He’s on edge because of that. Even when he speaks to his team, his eyes are still on Conrad Grace.”
As they spoke, they showed an video of TD, surrounded by three people, a tall, broad man, a brown-haired girl, and a shorter boy. The boy whispered something in TD’s ear.
Top Dog nodded.
A bell sounded calling an end to the time out.
“And they’re back. This is the third and final round. The fight has been ongoing for an hour at this point.”
“It’s one of the longest preliminary fights this season, hasn't it?"
"No, that title goes to Kane the Mundane and Eric Stewart. But God, what a dull match that was. But anyway, this is still anyone’s game. Both competitors are wounded and handicapped in different ways.”
“But once it starts, Top Dog still goes all out and watch here. This is where Top Dog executes his finisher.
Lexie sat up, literally and figuratively at the edge of her seat at this point. Top Dog leaped into battle and just began wailing on Conrad Grace. He was even faster than before, milliseconds between each strike, not giving Conrad any room to see, react, or correct. It was just right hook, left, kick, everything all at once.
And Conrad was getting backed into a corner, snarling and groaning but unable to fight back.
“It’s called
Lexie already figured though. But she could also see that the moves put a strain on Top Dog's body. Plus while Conrad was starting to become immune to the blows, not looking like he felt the pain anymore. He started fighting back with powerful jabs of his own. He made huge, hard moves that weren't as coordinated as he snarled, missing more times than he connected.
One such blow seemed to dislocate Top Dog’s shoulder, but the latter still kept going. Yes, he swung with a dislocated shoulder.
It was the craziest thing Lexie had ever seen. And then Top Dog finally got past Conrad's defenses and got him into a chokehold. He had his good arm wrapped around his neck and both legs around his midsection. He activated the forcefield to press down against his neck and his spikes turned and pushed into Conrad's pulse.
Conrad had his eyes squeezed shut but he couldn't hide the pain on his face. And he was growing purple.
Finally, his hand slapped the floor three times and he tapped out.
“Yes!” Lexie cheered, throwing her hands up and feeling an exhilarating wave of relief flood through her. She smiled and sagged back in bed. “Way to go Top Dog!” Her heart raced and euphoria flooded her mind.
Now she saw why people liked sports so much. This was the feeling it gave? Incredible.
And to Lexie’s delight, the men didn’t seem to hurt after the game was over. They both drank health potions and while it didn’t heal everything, they looked better than they did before. They even shook hands at the end, so that meant that there was no bad blood between them. And then they smiled for the camera, while they did it, with Conrad throwing a wink and Top Dog, giving a loud and throaty bark.
Lexie wanted to watch more of Top Dog’s other battles, but she decided to do something else before that. She’d put it off for long enough. Steeling herself against the cringe, she went to the search bar and typed Arcadia Hero Party.
It was the third result with 1 million views.
“Crazy Kids Crash Hero Party. Monty Ward saves the day.”
Who, if anyone, were you rooting for?