Let’s step back a little.
About two weeks before graduation.
As one might expect, Team Valiant were cherishing their last few weeks in Detu City, before finally heading out into the rest of Daysend to start their careers.
The year had been hectic, and rest was warranted, as they lazed about Julia’s lounge room, appreciating the silence and each other’s company.
The only thing to break up this pleasant scene was Julia, scrolling on her tablet and off in her own little world, before an idea that’d lain dormant for a few months now crossed her mind, causing her to stand up and address the others.
“Hey, do you guys remember those people that interviewed us after the attack this year?”
The rest of the team went to look at each other in recollection.
Wess went to raise a point, before stroking her chin. “…that’s right, I totally forgot about them.”
“Wait, wasn’t that after the tournament?” Sola asked, as Harley scratched her head.
“I think it was both. I remember them being the same people.” Harley wondered, nodding her head. “Yeah, they asked a bunch of questions about our team and said they were doing a biopic or something.”
“A biopic?” Essex asked, as Julia shot up.
“Really?! They told you that?!” Julia exclaimed, before turning to a still confused Essex. “It’s like a movie based on our lives!”
“They’re making a movie about us?” Essex wondered, as Wess rested a hand on her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t get our hopes up. These sorts of projects live and die as quickly as the day.” Wess reasoned, as Sola pulled out her tablet excitedly. “Movie executives are always putting feelers out to new Venator teams in hopes they’re the next big thing. That way they can secure the rights before anyone else.”
“…does that make us a ‘hot commodity?’” Essex asked, as Wess’ eyes sunk.
“…if we have to put such a spin on it.”
“Found it!!! It’s coming out soon!!!”
Everyone turned to Sola, as she waved her tablet about, before Wess charged over.
“What?!” Wess exclaimed, grabbing it up, before scouring the headline. “How that’s even possible?!”
“They’re actually releasing it?!” Julia cried, reading over her shoulder, as Wess wrestled the tablet away, before scrolling.
“No, I’m looking into this…” Wess muttered, scrolling again, before turning to the others. “It’s been less than six months! There’s no way they cobbled a whole movie together!”
“…m-maybe that’s…just how popular y-you are…” Percy posited, as Julia grinned beside her.
“I like Percy’s idea.”
Wess pursed her lips, before turning her attention to the tablet again.
“…okay, there we go…” Wess let out. “It seems there was a Team Spectrum movie in the works about their origins, but due to our notable presence at the tournament and the recent attack, they pivoted to us ‘up and comers.’ I suppose that’s one explanation…”
“So they’re tryna capitalise on us?” Harley reasoned, as Julia thought for a second, before turning to Wess.
“Wess, did we secure a copyright on Team Valiant or anything?”
Wess went to raise a point, before stroking her chin. “…that’s right, I totally forgot about that.”
“So we can’t sue them?” Sola remarked, as Wess gave a dry laugh.
“Well, if it’s as bad as most Venator movies, we could sue for defamation. I hardly think it’s worth it though.” Wess pointed out, waving her hand about. “We’re just about to graduate. I’d rather not spend a bunch of money on lawyers right now.”
“Well, we still gotta see it!” Sola insisted, jumping in front of everyone. “If it’s good, that’ll be cool! And if it sucks, we’ve gotta make sure so we can sue!”
“Again, Sola, we shou-“ Wess raised, only for Harley to step in.
“Sounds like a fun weekend trip.” Harley exclaimed.
“This shall be my third movie in theatres.” Essex noted, giving a thumbs up.
“…a-and my first…” Percy admitted, as Julia pointed dynamically.
“Then let’s make our way to the cinema!”
Wess, sick of trying to speak over everyone, handed Julia the tablet and pointed at the release date.
“…in a few weeks once it’s out.” Julia added, deflating somewhat. “Right, thanks Wess.”
Wess rolled her eyes, before going back to scrolling. “Let’s hope it’s at least salvageable…”
———
It was a good few weeks of waiting, broken up with their graduation, but eventually, ‘Team Valiant: The Journey Begins’ was out, to a…
…well, Team Valiant were deliberately avoiding reviews to go in with a fresh perspective, and to avoid anything bad news if it wasn’t reviewed well.
After heading to the Cherry Theatre in Detu City, they sidled into their seats in a fairly empty theatre, sat through far too many ads and trailers, before eventually…
…the movie began.
We open on a young woman, standing outside a massive building, clearly identifiable as the Venator Academy.
“Yep, that’s me. I’m Julia, just your average, run-of-the-mill kinda girl. Nothing too special about me. You’re probably wondering how I got to study here, at the Venator Academy.”
Cut to Julia as a small child, staring wide-eyed up at a TV.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be a hero. Fighting monsters, saving people, that kinda thing. I know, call me cliché.”
Julia, now settled into her seat, excitedly looked to the others, getting positive nods and thumbs up from them, as the on-screen Julia made her way inside the building.
“But I wanna make a difference, with a team of my own, and live up to the ideal of my heroes, Team Spectrum. And nothing’s going to stand in my way.”
Suddenly, Julia bumps into someone with a large swath of blonde hair in front of her.
“Well, except that.”
Ignoring the bad joke, Julia lightly clapped as Harley came on-screen, grabbing Harley’s arm happily.
Harley braced herself, hoping she got as flattering a depiction.
“O-Oh, sorry. I’m…a bit of a klutz.” Julia excused.
The large blonde hair whipped to the side, revealing what looked to be a model, stick thin, perfect makeup and decked out in designer fashion.
“That’s okay. I can be a total klutz too.” She excused, before sticking out her hand. “I’m Harley.”
Harley’s jaw dropped, as the on-screen Harley started twirling her hair.
“Are you studying to be a Venator as well?” Harley asked, resting a dainty hand on her hip.
“Yeah. You could say I’m kinda obsessed with the idea.” Julia insisted, pushing her hair back. “Sorry, I’m a total dork…you probably think that’s stupid…”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been working my whole life for this.” Harley clarified.
“Why would she think that’s stupid? She just clarified they’re both studying there.” Wess accurately pointed out, as Harley threw her hands out.
“That’s meant to be me? I look nothing like that!” Harley complained.
“The hair is accurate.” Essex noted.
“But where’s the bulk?” Harley insisted, pointing at the screen, as the characters kept talking. “Like, she’s hot, they got that part right, but where’s my muscle?”
Sola noticed and sat up. “Hey yeah, where’s your bulk?”
“…th-those heels…don’t look g-good for fighting e-either…” Percy added, as Julia reached out.
“Come on, guys, it’s only been a few minutes. Maybe she bulks up later?” Julia posited, not really satisfying Harley, as what looked to be Wess was coming on screen.
Julia leaned over to tap Wess’ arm. “Look, it’s you!”
Wess rolled her eyes, before giving into Julia’s excitement and leaning back.
Interrupting Julia and Harley’s conversation, a woman with far too many suitcases and several servants passed by, before knocking into Julia.
“O-Oh, sorry, sorry, I di-“
“Watch where you’re going, you simpleton!” Wess complained. “You nearly got mud on my dress! Wait till my father hears about this indiscretion!”
Wess immediately felt her eye twitching, as Julia slowly sank into her seat, avoiding any kind of eye contact with Wess.
“You’re the one who bumped into her.” Harley defended, as Wess scowled at her.
“I’ll have you know you’re speaking to Wess Delacroix Nouvel, a Northern Noble, and one who doesn’t have time to squabble with the riffraff! Now out of my way!”
Wess charged past them again, followed closely by her servants, as Harley rested her hands on her hips.
“That girl needs a serious makeover.”
“Ugghhh…” Harley let out, cringing into her seat, as Wess was now solidly sunk into hers, visibly seething.
“…Wess?” Julia tried, looking to the others for support.
“…I have never once said…‘squabble with the riffraff.’” Wess noted, still staring directly ahead.
“…you do talk like that…” Harley muttered, as Wess finally raised out of her seat.
“Don’t start with me, Baroke!” Wess declared, as Julia and Percy had to hold her down, right as Essex pointed to the screen.
“Sola, I beli-“
“No, I don’t want it!” Sola cried, pleadingly, before turning back to the screen.
“With the paperwork finished, it’s starting to feel real now.” Julia stated, as another person headed their way, before waving her arms widely.
“Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!!”
She fell over right in front of them, before taking a tumble and bumping her head on the wall.
“Oh no!” She cried, standing up and rubbing her head. “Oopsy poopsy, I fell over!”
Sola stood up straight, her face having sunken in a way it never had before, as the butchering on screen continued to play out.
“Sorry. I’m Sola. I wanna be a Venator, but I keep falling over!” Sola complained, huffing out. “How am I meant to fight Wailing if I can’t even stand up straight!”
“Well, my name’s Julia! I’m sure you’ll find some other way to help people!” Julia insisted, as Sola gave a quick salute.
“I better, or else I’m gonna be in real trouble.” Sola declared, only to trip over a nearby bucket and fall over again. “Oopsy poopsy, not again!”
Sola stared blankly at the screen, as the others tried to gauge her reaction.
Before she said anything, she started to raise her hands, as Essex quickly noticed she was preparing to use her Whil on the screen and lowered them as soon as she could.
Essex moved her back to her seat, as she threw her hands up.
“What the hell was that?!”
She stood back up. “I don’t do that! That’s not my thing! I shoot lightning out, I don’t fall on my butt!”
“I mean…I have seen you fall over like that before…” Julia admitted, as Sola shook her head.
“Nuh uh! I so haven’t!” Sola insisted, before sitting back down and folding her arms. “Stupid movie…”
Turning her attention, Essex noticed she was coming up on screen, as she felt the tension the others had and braced herself.
“You reckon we’ll be on the same team?” Julia hoped.
“If we’re lucky. I just hope we don’t get too many weirdos.” Harley stated, before someone appeared behind them, with a scythe and purple suit.
“Excuse me.” She asked, pointing forward. “Which is the way to the principal’s office?”
“Uhh, that way, I think.” Julia said, before tilting her head. “Who’re you?”
“My name is Essex. A pleasure.” Essex stated, before heading in the direction of the office. “If you’ll excuse me.”
She quickly left, as Harley turned to Julia, spinning her finger beside her head.
“What did I tell you? Weirdos.”
“Oh come on…” Harley groaned, as Essex sat quietly.
She tilted her head, surprised at the…accuracy.
“…huh. You got out pretty unscathed.” Julia noted, as Essex turned to the rest of the team, before bowing toward them.
“I’m sorry that I’ve been portrayed better.” Essex insisted, as Percy silently snickered and Sola shook her head.
“It’s not your fault. You just got lucky.”
“…not…as much as Harley gets lucky.” Essex joked, as Harley, still dejected and sunken in her seat, reached over Sola’s seat to high five Essex.
“I guess character accuracy wasn’t a top priority for the filmmakers.” Julia remarked to Wess and Percy, as Wess shrugged her shoulders.
“Can’t say I expected better. Let’s hope it smooths out as it goes along.” Wess stated, before Julia remembered something and spoke up so everyone could hear.
“Hey, just double checking…” Julia asked. “We all kept everything we said about Wicker how we planned, right?”
“Yeah, I stuck to the script.” Harley confessed.
“I said he was behind the attacks and that he was controlling the Wailing.” Sola admitted, before turning to Percy and pumping her fists. “And that he was a piece of shit to Percy who should rot in hell!”
Percy found herself blushing, as Wess raised a hand.
“But nothing about him being Cecil. Drudging up the name Wicker’s enough of a stretch, I doubt they’d believe an uncorroborated accusation like that.” Wess clarified.
“Okay, cool.” Julia said, sighing out, before turning to Percy. “Sorry if seeing him on screen’s gonna be triggering for you. You can head out, if you need.”
Percy shook her head, before pointing back at the screen.
“…d-does that mean I sh-show up soon…?” Percy asked, right as the scene cut to a dimly lit room, with a monitor showing the academy campus.
“I…trust that you got it in place.”
Percy quietly nodded.
“Good, good…all according to my plan…”
The shadowy man rested his hands on Percy’s shoulders.
“With this, we’ll finally vanquish those Venators once and for all!”
He leaned over the desk, before pushing a big red button.
“Welcome to the Venator Academy. I hope…you enjoy your stay.”
Percy looked to the others, shrugging her shoulders at the lack of info from her minimal screen presence, before it cut to Julia and Harley heading to the Orientation Event.
“I can’t wait to start studying here. Is there anything cooler than being a Venator?” Harley insisted, as Julia hid her face.
“I guess so…I just hope people don’t think I’m a dork or anything…”
“Hey, you’re not a dork.” Harley said, stopping right before they arrived at the courtyard. “You’re smart, kind, and the bravest person I know. And we’re totally best friends.”
Julia sighed out and smiled. “You’re right. Thanks Harley.”
“Now let’s head to that event. I wanna see where the cute boys are at.”
“For fucks sake…” Harley muttered, falling further into her seat.
Suddenly, screaming and large crashing was heard in the direction of the courtyard, with several onlookers running in the opposite direction.
The ground started to shake, as the pleasant atmosphere was suddenly replaced with a creeping sense of dread, with the knowledge of exactly what was wreaking havoc on the other side of the building.
Julia noticed the change and started to pay closer attention. The characterisation may have it problems, but this was something they couldn’t get wrong.
The first time we worked together… Julia realised, quietly hoping in her seat. Maybe this’ll turn it around.
Suddenly, the onlookers started shouting as they ran.
“Watch out! There’s a Wailing there!”
“It’s bigger than any we’ve ever seen!”
“There’s no point fighting it! It’s too dangerous!”
Julia and Harley looked at each other, before sprinting out into the courtyard and seeing a glimpse of it entirely.
A Wailing.
The size of the support towers, laying waste to the campus with no opposition.
Its massive visage consumed the sky, as glass and concrete rained down on the ground below.
More onlookers ran away, as Julia and Harley stared up into its eyes.
“Julia!”
Julia broke her concentration, as Harley grabbed her arm.
“We have to get out of here! That thing’s too powerful!”
Harley started running, only for Julia to stay behind, as destruction collapsed around her.
“I’m not running away.” Julia declared, before spotting a rifle on the ground nearby. “This is what Venators do!”
Julia picked up the rifle, before aiming it square at the Wailing’s chest, getting the shot just right.
The Wailing soon noticed her, before roaring wildly and swinging down to take her out.
Just as the Wailing was about to hit, Julia fired, as the bullet left the chamber, before being consumed in bright, yellow light.
The camera panned out to show the bullet travelling all the way through the Wailing’s body and into the sky, as the Wailing stopped, took a second, and slowly but surely fell to the ground, collapsing in a massive heap.
Julia, now having witnessed all of that play out, was staring agape at the screen.
The others slowly turned to her, as all they could read was shock at what was unfolding.
“Julia!” Harley cried, running back over to her. “You took that thing out all on your own!”
Just as Julia went to turn around, she nearly tripped over her rifle, before tumbling over comedically.
Harley shook her head. “But I guess you’re still a total klutz.”
Julia got back up to her feet. “All in a day’s work.”
“What was that light that came out of the bullet?” Harley asked, whipping her hair to the side.
“That’s my Whil, Velocity Propel. It makes it that bullets are five times as fast as they usually are.” Julia said, before shying away. “But it’s totally lame. It’s not like those other cool Whils…”
“…they couldn’t even get the name right…” Julia finally managed to say, as Harley rested a comforting hand on her.
“And where was Essex during that? She fought the Wailing too!” Sola insisted, standing up again, as Julia blinked a few times.
“Yeah, why was I the only one fighting it?” Julia let out. “And then it dies after being shot once? What the hell was that?!”
“I thought you were defending this trainwreck.” Wess remarked, as Julia slowly sunk back into her seat, folding her arms.
“…I’m still holding out hope, but they’re doing us dirty.” Julia muttered, as Harley grimaced, before looking over to Sola and Essex.
“Julia’s not usually this pissed off.”
“I think they made it personal.” Sola whispered, as Essex nodded.
“She doesn’t like when she’s the only one that gets credit.” Essex also added, as Harley sighed out.
“…let’s stick it out. I’m starting to like that suing idea.”
———
“Wait, YOU guys are my team?”
Julia stared out at the others littering their dorm room, as Wess’ suitcases filled half the room.
“Oh great, I’m stuck with the poors!” Wess bemoaned, leaving the room right away.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Julia went to run after her, before giving up right away.
“Oh boy, I’m not cut out for this stuff.” Julia sighed. “All I’m good at is being average…”
Julia had to hold her tongue, desperately trying not to critique the movie too much, even as she felt some anger boil over.
———
“I’ll join you guys for team training soon!” Harley exclaimed, before heading into a locker room nearby the training grounds.
“We do-“ Harley started, ready to critique that they don’t have lockers anywhere near there, only for on-screen Harley to start stripping down.
The camera held on the shot egregiously, as most everyone turned away out of respect, save for a gobsmacked Julia and stunned Sola.
Sola looked to be covering her eyes but was still peeking through her fingers.
“Awooga!” Sola let out, as Harley stood out of her seat and tried to block her gaze.
“Wha-why I am getting naked?!” She complained, as on-screen Harley then changed into equally revealing ‘exercise gear.’ “…ugh, this is gross…”
Harley fell into her seat, visibly pissed, as Julia’s eyes remained glued to the screen.
———
“Watch where you’re…oh, sorry.” Wess let out, bumping into a stranger in the hallway, before an absurdly handsome man turned around.
“No need to apologise.” He said, flashing a fairly charming smile, before sticking his hand out. “My name’s Avalon.”
The team’s stared wide-eyed at the screen, before looking at each other in shock, as on-screen Wess started to swoon.
“Wess. Will I…be seeing on campus?” Wess asked, visibly blushing. “We could…head to the Spire, i-if you want.”
Avalon shot a finger gun her way. “It’s a date.”
Suddenly, Julia’s eyes shot open.
“Wait.”
She turned to Wess.
“Did they replace Cyrus with Avalon?”
The realisation hit Wess as well, as she instinctively covered her mouth.
“But this Avalon’s way smoother!” Sola pointed out, as Harley shrugged in her seat.
“I guess they were worried an accurate depiction would come off as…disrespectful?” Harley stated, as the others mirrored her sentiments.
———
“You big bad Wailing! You better not hurt Julia!” Sola cried, rain pouring down, as the Gelatinous Wailing got closer. “You’re asking for it!”
As the storm brewed around them, Sola stepped forward in protest, ready to confront this Wailing and protect Julia with her life…
…were it not for the branch she accidentally tripped over.
“Wha-oh no!” She cried, falling flat on her face and into the mud, before accidentally firing her Whil in the Wailing’s direction and scaring it off.
Once she managed to get up, the storm started to clear, before she simply threw her hands up and said…
“Oopsy poopsy!”
“I’m suing!” Sola yelled out, mostly to the screen, as Harley and Essex tried to hold her down. “I’m taking your asses to court!”
“…G-Get ‘em!” Percy cried, cheering Sola on, as Harley insisted she stop jazzing Sola up.
———
“Who are you?!” Julia cried.
“I’m afraid I can’t say.” Rosalind declared, showing off a cocky smile, as Wailing ravaged the academy around the team. “You can just call me…Rosalind.”
“But that’s just her name!” Julia complained, before sinking into her seat, losing the energy to keep critiquing.
Essex immediately went to strike at her and missed, as Rosalind backflipped, right as a Wailing flew by, before landing on its back.
“You better watch out, losers! My master’s not one to be trifled with!” Rosalind called out, as the Wailing flew away with her on it. “Wicker sends his regards!”
She started to disappear, as Team Valiant collectively gave up.
“Damn, she got away.” Julia complained.
“SHOOT. THE WAILING. WITH YOUR GUN!” Wess insisted. “MY DEAR IS NOT THAT STUPID!”
“Why is she announcing Wicker’s name so brazenly?” Essex asked. “For someone so secretive, she was very loose with her information.”
“…p-poor plotting?...” Percy posited. “…had to…s-set it up somehow…”
Suddenly, the Wailing attacking the academy started to disappear, and the Behemoth Wailing slowly sunk into the water bordering the academy, as Team Valiant all started celebrating.
“We did it! We won! The Wailing have been defeated!”
“You did nothing!” Julia cried, before staring down at her empty popcorn bucket. “…I’m gonna get some more popcorn. Anyone want some?”
“I finished mine in the trailers.” Sola admitted, holding up her empty box.
Essex and Harley showed theirs off too, as Julia sighed out.
“Cool, I’ll be back in a few.”
“I think I’ll join you.” Wess remarked, staring back at the screen. “I need to not be here for a bit.”
Julia and Wess got up, sidling past the others as they left the theatre and beelined for the concession stand.
“We should’ve just brought our own.” Julia realised, sighing out. “They’re gonna overcharge like crazy…”
Julia turned to Wess. “Is popcorn too expensive in the Northern Wayside too?”
Wess tilted her head. “…relatively, but most people there are…well off. And the movie theatres are much nicer.”
“Right, makes sense.” Julia said, as they reached the stand. “Uhh, three medium…no, two large popcorns.”
“No problem.” Said the concession worker, before going to grab something from behind the counter and coming up empty. “Dammit…it’ll be a minute. I’ve got grab some bags from the back.”
They quickly left, leaving Julia and Wess to wait patiently.
After a moment of silence passed, Wess leaned against the counter.
“…Julia.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you think of the movie so far?”
Julia let out a weakened sighed. “…severely disappointed. Sort of a childhood dream that’s been ran over with a steamroller.”
Wess touched her fingers together. “…what did you think of my portrayal?”
Julia looked a bit surprised. “What do you mean?”
Wess avoided looking at her. “…well, you were there for most of it…was I really that awful?”
Julia’s expression turned to worry, as she placed a hand on Wess’ shoulder. “No, of course not. You weren’t that…well, cartoonish.”
“I know…but there has to be some kernel of truth in there.” Wess reasoned, standing back up and wandering a bit. “They didn’t pull this out of nowhere, this is from our accounts. This is how the filmmakers saw me…a spoiled rich kid with an ego the size of a Behemoth Wailing.”
Julia rubbed her neck. “…I mean, at first you seemed a bit like that…but that’s before any of us really knew you. I stopped thinking that, like, a couple of days after we met.”
“…you’re just saying that…” Wess muttered, as Julia smiled and wrapped her arm around her.
“And you don’t have an ego. You have a lot of confidence that can read as an ego to stupid filmmakers who don’t know how great you are.” Julia admitted, grinning to her after, as Wess rolled her eyes.
“Alright, alright, you’ve laid on enough compliments. I feel better.” Wess insisted, staring back at Julia. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”
Julia linked hands with her. “Hey, you got the least flattering depiction of any of us. You have every right to be mad.”
“…Sola’s is pretty bad too.” Wess admitted.
“…yeah, they did her dirty.” Julia agreed, as the concession worker came back with the bag. “I hope they’re at least kinder to the rest of us going forward.”
Julia and Wess went about grabbing their popcorn and heading back to the theatre, sidling over to their seats.
“What’d we miss?” Julia whispered, handing Harley her popcorn.
“We started second year with a plan to track down Wicker, then we went on a Wailing hunt, an-“ Harley said, before stopping herself and grabbing Sola’s shoulder excitedly. “Babe, babe, look! It’s happening!”
“I’m looking!” Sola exclaimed, struggling to stay still in her seat.
Julia checked the screen and registered on-screen Harley and Sola in the middle of training in the Spire, before remembering them confessing that that’s how they started dating.
“Please don’t screw it up!” Sola begged, as Essex gave a proud thumbs up to both of them.
“Even if this is done well, it will still fail to capture the beauty of your love.” Essex insisted, as Harley and Sola both turned to her, blushing heavily, before jumping over to her seat to hug her.
“You sweetheart!” Harley cried, only for someone way further back in the theatre to shush them.
Harley stood up and flipped them off, before Sola pulled her back down and pointed frantically at the screen.
After a harrowing day of training, Harley and Sola were both panting heavily at the top of the Spire, with Sola on top of Harley, staring back at her.
The sunset gleamed behind them, silhouetting them against the sky.
“This is it!” Sola let out, linking hands with Harley.
“…Harley?” Sola let out.
“Yeah?” Harley replied, resting her hand on Sola’s.
The team waited with bated breath.
“…you’re my best friend.”
The expressions on Harley and Sola’s faces slowly sunk, as on-screen Harley sat up.
“And you’re my best friend too!” Harley let out. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as good friends with anyone else!”
Harley and Sola slowly sat down in annoyance.
“When I think of you, all I think about is someone who makes me endlessly happy and fulfilled.” Sola insisted. “In a platonic way.”
“That’s what friends are for!”
Harley resumed the sunken position she was in before the scene, and Sola slowly curled up in her seat, visibly miffed.
“…we shouldn’t have gotten our hopes up…” Sola muttered, as Essex comfortingly patted her, while on-screen Harley and Sola confirmed their friendship with a firm handshake.
———
“That Team Valiant…they’ve been a thorn in my side for too long.” Wicker declared, addressing a kneeling Rosalind and Percy. “Rosalind, I have a plan for you. You’re to head to the academy at once.”
“Of course, my master.” She replied.
“And Percy?”
Percy gulped.
“…I have something even more nefarious for you.”
Percy tilted her head, visibly confused as to what they could even be hinting at.
The rest of the team looked to her for some kind of hint, as she threw her hands up.
“…I-I don’t know…it w-wasn’t even a-anything like this…” Percy assured, as Julia sighed out.
“At this point, that’s not too shocking…”
———
“But what about us? What about our friendship?”
“Friendship?” Harley let out, standing up in her noticeably skimpy formal dress. “You’re jealous because I’m friends with Sola?”
Essex looked away in shame. “…I just wish I could be friends with you too.”
Harley tried averting her gaze from the screen, as on-screen Essex continued to pour her heart out.
“But we can all be friends! There’s nothing wrong with that!” Sola insisted, as Harley sighed, before whipping her hair to the side.
“…I just don’t see it. After all…” Harley let out, before staring back at Essex. “…you’re leaving us behind.”
Harley and Essex blinked, before staring at each other.
“What?” Essex let out.
“You’re moving teams. Julia told me yesterday.” Harley said, dramatic tears in her eyes. “How c-could you abandon us like that? How could you b-be so cold?”
Essex avoided eye contact. “…I…I got a better offer…”
Harley and Sola both gasped.
“…umm…” Essex let out, before looking back at Harley.
She pointed to the screen.
“They fucked us up too.”
“…cool…that’s really cool…” Harley grumbled in her seat, still not looking at herself on-screen.
———
“I did it! A well-deserved victory!” Wess cried, as Cyrus lay on the arena ground beside her, grabbing at his knee.
“Owie! Ow! That was so mean of you!”
Wess turned to the crowds and opened her arms. “Go on! Lavish me with your praise!”
“…I’m finding the director and doing unspeakable things to their car…” Wess declared, vigorously massaging her forehead from stress, right as on-screen Avalon ran up to her in the arena, before sweeping her up.
“I think my princess deserves a reward.”
“Oh my, if you insist…”
“I certainly do.” He said, before kissing her in front of the crowd.
Wess gagged and had to turn away, as the team reviled, and Julia was noticeably offended beside her.
“Wha-they know that’s wrong!” Julia cried, turning to Wess. “There’s footage of the fight! You kissed me!”
“I remember, dear. It was beautiful, and I’m not sullying it…” Wess insisted, waiting patiently with her gaze to the wall. “…is it over yet?”
“…n-no, it’s…still going…” Percy begrudgingly admitted.
“You’re using a lot of tongue.” Harley let out, as Wess groaned in her seat.
“Sweet lord, let it end…”
———
“Better watch out, Harley! I don’t plan to play fair!” Adora cried, cackling wildly with daggers displayed, before charging right at her.
“No, great idea, telegraph that right away!” Harley called out, leaning back in her seat, as the others started laughing. “Really smart move in a fight!”
“Better watch out, I’m about to break the rules!” Sola added, as the others kept chuckling.
Julia raised her finger. “Guys, we shouldn’t be too loud. We’re still in a public theatre.” Julia insisted, as Wess sighed, before standing up and facing the maybe three people behind them.
“To anyone legitimately enjoying this drivel, I can only pity your pathetic taste in media and lack of critical thinking skills!” Wess let out, as the one guy in the back of the theatre booed her, chucking his popcorn her way.
Wess dodged it and had half a mind to go confront him, before Julia pulled her down to avoid any escalation of the argument, right as on-screen Adora stabbed Harley in the leg during their match.
Harley fell to the ground, with a noticeable shot of her backside, as Adora cackled wildly, before teleporting Harley and herself away from the arena.
Harley ignored that this was the fourth needless shot of her butt in the movie, and blinked in confusion at the complete deviation to what had happened in real life.
Harley eventually appeared in a dimly lit room, tied to a chair with her cleavage on full display, as Adora kept cackling, before taking off her mask and revealing…
“…you.” Harley let out.
“Are you surprised?” Rosalind teased, throwing her mask away and pulling out her sword. “That whole fight was a ruse. I just needed you weak so I could capture you.”
“Then-“
“Yes, I was Adora the whole time!” Rosalind revealed, cackling again.
“What the fuck is happening?” Harley let out, as Sola jumped up in her seat.
“Did they listen to us at all?” Sola genuinely asked.
Eventually, a second party walked into the room, arms behind his back and a wide grin across his face.
“…Wicker.” Harley let out, whipping her hair out of her face.
“…yes, it’s me. And you’re part of that annoying team.” Wicker admitted, before taking a strand of her hair and running it through his fingers. “Now that you’re here, your team shouldn’t be too far behind.”
“What do you want with us?” Harley asked.
“It’s not what I want with you.” Wicker confessed, turning to leave. “I’m only interested in one of you…Julia.”
“…again, he just admits he’s Wicker…” Julia muttered, running her hands over her face. “…this hurts. I’m hurting watching this…”
It cuts back to the rest of Team Valiant in their dorm, debating what to do to go and rescue Harley, as Essex sighs out.
“It’s hopeless…we don’t stand a chance against Wicker’s forces…”
“…I say we give up.” Wess offered, as Julia stood up dynamically.
“No, Team Valiant is not about giving up! We stand for what’s right!”
Despite herself, Julia found herself getting a little inspired by her on-screen depiction’s sudden shift into competency.
“We don’t back down when we see a challenge! We face it head on, with teamwork, and friendship!”
“But it’s impossible! It would take a miracle to save Harley now!” Sola insisted.
“There has to be some sort of key to this victory.” Essex said, only for Julia to spin right back to her.
“Wait a minute…say that back.”
“What…key to this vic…” Essex started, before seeing what she meant. “Key to this victory!”
“What, what is it?” Wess asked, right as Julia reached into her nearby bag and pulled out some car keys.
“I’ve got a plan.”
“She…I’ve got a car?” Julia asked, scratching her head, as Percy did a double take.
“…th-this is…definitely...the first time we’re s-seeing it…” Percy deduced, as it smash cut to the carpark, with the team jumping inside a much too nice car, before starting the engine and tearing off.
Before anyone could question what was going it, it cut back to Harley, Wicker and Rosalind, as Wicker was about to hit Harley across the face, before stopping.
“…what’s that noise?”
Smash cut to Team Valiant, roaring down the street to what looked to be an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Detu City, as Julia refused to slow down, before driving right through the side of the building, crashing inside.
As the smoke cleared, the team realised they were surrounded by Wicker’s goons, all starting to encircle with their guns pointed at them.
Julia went to mockingly put her hands up, before smirking and reaching into the car, grabbing out her assault rifle, and unloading into the henchmen.
The rest of the team followed suite, grabbing out their weapons and mowing through the countless people, at least as much as a mature rating would allow.
Team Valiant sat in abject horror as their on-screen depictions maimed and murdered their way through the warehouse, with the constant gunfire and explosions only being broken up by terrible quips here and there, all very incongruous to the sheer violence on display.
After it dragged on for far too long, they managed to find the room Harley was trapped in.
“Harley!” Julia cried, going to untie her. “Where are Wicker and Rosalind?”
“Julia, it’s terrible! They said they were headed back to the academy!” Harley declared, getting up from her seat. “Wicker said he was going to bring the Wailing with him!”
“Then we don’t have a moment to lose.” Wess stated, right as Sola made her way through the door, before tripping over the entrance.
She comically landed on her face, as Wess rolled her eyes. “Well, except for that.”
“I hate this movie.” Wess insisted, sinking into her seat. “This rise in action better mean it’s wrapping up soon…”
“W-Wait!”
The team all turned around, as someone else found their way into the room.
“A-Are you guys gonna take on Wicker?” She asked, before placing her hand on her chest. “My name’s Percy. I want to help.”
The team were slacked jawed at the screen, as Percy kept chatting up a storm.
“And why should we trust you, Percy?” Julia asked, folding her arms.
“Because I know about his nefarious plans.” Percy announced. “Wicker’s been controlling the Wailing for years using his Whil. It let him mind control them and do his bidding, as well as tapping into their inherent evil tendencies, thus doubling their strength and pow…”
Most everyone tuned out of the exposition at this point, before cautiously looking to Percy for her reaction.
However, to everyone’s surprise, she was cracking up, weeping with laughter at her on-screen depiction, so much so she was struggling to breathe.
It took her a minute to regain her composure, as she wiped some tears away.
“…t-they…c-c-couldn’t even…get that right!...” She managed, before falling into a laughing fit again, only to be joined by Harley and Sola quickly after.
“Geez…these filmmakers…” Julia bemoaned, sinking into herself. “I guess this is a Venator rite of passage. We’ve got a shitty movie all about us.”
“Weren’t we just saying there wasn’t a moment to lose?” Wess pointed out, as on-screen Percy kept talking ad nauseum.
As the movie continued hashing out needless exposition, Essex stood up, before bowing to the others.
“I’m heading to the bathroom.” Essex announced, turning to leave, right as Harley, having just recovered from her laughing, got up as well.
“Uhh, yeah, I’m gonna go too.” Harley said, hopping over to join her, as they exited the theatre.
Essex casually walked along, as Harley nervously looked over to her direction.
“…so…bad movie, huh?”
Essex nodded. “I’ve not watched many movies, but I can tell this one’s…‘a doozy.’” Essex replied, using air quotes.
“I know. The story was right there, and they still butchered it.” Harley insisted, as they headed inside the bathroom.
“…why is it?” Essex asked, facing Harley before they entered. “Why did it turn out like this?”
Harley went to speak, before stopping and ruminating on it.
“…number of reasons. The big one’s probably the executives behind the project.” Harley reasoned, shrugging. “A lot of these decisions are made my moneymen who want the movie to be ‘marketable.’”
“Is our story not marketable?” Essex asked.
“I’d say it is.” Harley reasoned, nodding. “But then the moneymen say it needs more action, or hot actors, or obvious, cringey dialogue to avoid any kind of subtlety or nuance.”
“…or for Sola to be a stupid comedic character.” Essex noted, as Harley snapped her fingers and pointed at Essex.
“Exactly. Biopic, my ass.”
“Your ass indeed.” Essex replied, before ducking into a stall.
Having made her point, Harley only just remembered why she joined Essex and went to get her attention, only for the door to close in her face.
She was left waiting anxiously for a few minutes as Essex took care of things, before the door finally opened up.
Right as Essex stepped out, Harley quickly jumped into a hug with her, catching her off guard.
“…Harley?”
“I’m so so sorry!” Harley insisted, pushing her face into her. “I know I apologised already, but I still feel bad!”
“Harley.” Essex said, holding her hands up.
Harley suddenly realised she hadn’t washed them yet and let her go, as Essex went to do so.
The moment she dried them, Harley locked her in a hug again.
“I’m sorry!”
“For what?” Essex asked, as Harley sniffed a bit.
“…I know they totally butchered it with the ‘friend’ stuff…but seeing everything during the formal again reminded me what a dick I was.” Harley admitted. “And I know we made up, but…it still hurts knowing I did that. So…sorry, again.”
Essex watched Harley patiently wait for some kind of response from her, at least as reassurance.
Instead, Essex took her hand and lightly donked Harley on the head.
“…we’ve been dating for over a year.” Essex pointed out, putting her hand back down. “You don’t have to keep apologising.”
Before Harley could refute the point, Essex took the initiative and leaned in, kissing her, before pulling back and smiling.
“…just be lucky you bagged a ten like me.” Essex replied, as she went to leave the bathroom, leaving Harley in a stunned, blushing state.
Whoa… Harley thought, finding herself swooning. …since when was she so suave?
Once Essex was out in the hall, she pulled out her tablet.
Essex [I used the line you suggested on Harley.]
Sola [Did she swoon?!!!?!?!!?!]
Essex [I believe so.]
Sola [<3<3<3 WAY TO GO BABE!!!!!!!1!!]
———
Harley and Essex sidled their way back in, just as the on-screen team arrived back at the academy, parking in front of the main building, as the campus was being ravaged by an endless number of Wailing again.
“No!” Julia cried, as a voice came over the speakers.
“Team Valiant, so nice of you to join us.”
“Wicker!” Julia declared. “Surrender now!”
“What, when the fun’s just starting?” Wicker cackled. “Soon, this academy will be mine! And then, all of Daysend will be in the palm of my hand!”
“We’ll never give in to your demands! We’ll continue to fight for what’s right and true!” Julia insisted.
Laughter came over the speaker. “If that’s the case, then come find me on the roof of the main building. And make sure to give the Wailing a hello for me.”
The speakers cut out, as Harley made a fist. “Damn him.”
“We’ve gotta end this once and for all!” Julia declared, heading into the main building, as the others split off from her.
“We’ll take care of the Wailing out here!” Wess called out, with Percy following after Julia.
“How did Wicker hear them i-oh, whatever. I don’t have the energy to care…” Wess admitted, visibly defeated in her seat, as Julia reached over to squeeze her arm.
As Julia and Percy made it to the first floor, the others headed out to the rest of the campus, only to be stopped by Rosalind, standing in the middle of the carpark, surrounded by deadly looking Wailing.
“Not so fast, Team Losers. I’m not done with you yet.”
Everyone started preparing for a fight, before Essex stepped forward, holding her arm out.
“She’s mine.” Essex insisted, as they all nodded to her.
Despite not wanting to admit it, Essex was genuinely excited to see herself in a proper fight scene. During most of the movie so far, she’d gotten virtually no screentime compared to the others. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but with her recent want to change things up in her life, this would be her on-screen time to shine.
“…go, me, go…” Essex silently cheered to herself, as on-screen Essex pulled out her scythe.
She charged at Rosalind, exchanging a few blows with her, before Rosalind tripped her and managed to get the upperhand.
Rosalind started winning the fight, with Essex’s back to a car, before falling to the ground, as Rosalind laughed over her.
“I can’t believe Wicker wanted me to take you guys out. You’re not even worth the energy.” Rosalind sneered, leaving Essex alone, before Essex got back up and caught Rosalind off guard.
Quickly, she managed to get the upper hand, knocking Rosalind off her game and dealing blows quicker than Rosalind could respond.
“How’re you…so damn fast?!” Rosalind cried, getting knocked to the ground, as Essex held her scythe to Rosalind’s neck.
Before she could respond, Rosalind managed to get a slash in at Essex’s arm, thinking she’d gotten in a good hit, only to stare in shock at what was underneath.
“Wait a minute…you’re…”
Essex held up her arm, revealing gears and servos underneath.
“…an android?!”
A silence washed over the theatre, and especially over Essex, who was having a hard time comprehending, or even dignifying, what was on screen.
As Rosalind stumbled back, Essex pulled her scythe out, before charging past Rosalind with one last slice.
“And you…” Essex declared, as Rosalind’s body slumped over in the background. “…are defeated.”
The movie then cut t-
“Wait, we’re just not addressing that?!” Harley complained, now out of her seat. “Wasn’t this a biopic?!”
“Hey, quiet down! I’m tryna watch here!” The guy in the back yelled, as Sola leaned over her seat.
“Bite me!”
“…they think I’m a robot?” Essex finally managed to say, as Harley and Sola quickly went to comfort her.
“No, no, of course not.” Harley insisted, as Sola grabbed her face between her hands.
“They just wanted a dumb plot twist for their dumb movie, okay?” Sola assured, as Essex shook her head.
She freed herself from Sola’s hands.
“…I’m just gonna go.”
She started walking to the door to the theatre, as Julia got up.
“Totally fair. We’ll see you when it’s over!” Julia called, as Essex gave a thumbs up and headed out.
———
The movie continued on to what was turning out to be a pretty lengthy third act. At this point, nobody in Team Valiant was really invested, but felt obliged to see it through, at least so they never had to touch it again.
During their fight with the Wailing, they’d gotten help from various random Venator students, most notably Avalon, who came in right near the start and handled most of the fighting for Wess.
“My hero…” Wess let out, watching as Avalon singlehandedly managed to kill three Wailing in one clean blow.
Wess found herself seething at this point, watching as Avalon took up what should have been any narrative importance given to her, before her hopes were slightly raised as he was hit by surprise by a particularly strong looking Wailing.
“Avalon!” Wess said, running over to him, as he coughed up some blood. “You’re hurt!”
“No shit…” Wess muttered.
“Wess…I’m not gonna make it out of this…” Avalon declared, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Just promise me…you’ll live on…you’ll smile every day…and…remember my sacrifice…”
“This feels so messed up…” Harley let out, as Percy turned to the others.
“…i-isn’t he that student in…y-your year that died?...” Percy asked, as Julia nodded.
“It was out on a training mission. I guess they wanted to give him a heroic sacrifice?” Julia posited, before noticing Wess practically horizontal with how far she’d sunk into her seat. “Wess? You okay?”
“…I’m ecstatic.” Wess grumbled, as on-screen Avalon stood back up.
The Wailing let out a vicious roar, as Avalon held out his staff and ran right toward it, before taking a direct hit to the stomach.
The Wailing smiled, before Avalon brought the staff down onto its head, as clouds started to form in the sky, right as Avalon summoned a massive strike of lightning and hit them both.
Once it cleared, the Wailing turned to a pile of ash, as Avalon’s body fell to the ground, with Wess running over to it.
“…A-Avalon, no…” She let out, holding his body. “…I-I’ll never love again…”
“Alright, fuck this movie. I’m joining Essex.” Wess let out, immediately standing up and beelining for the door, as Julia couldn’t even get in a goodbye.
However, her attention was stolen away when she back came up on-screen, now at the roof of the main building, occupied by Wicker and a massive number of explosives.
“…ah, Julia. So nice of you to join me.” Wicker greeted.
“Save it, Wicker. We’re through playing your games.” Julia said, as Percy nervously joined her side. “You may think you have the upper hand, but goodness will always win in the end!”
“Is that so?” Wicker said, smiling wickedly, before turning to Percy. “Let’s see how strong those convictions really are. Percy, kill her.”
Before Julia could realise what was going on, Percy was now holding a gun to Julia’s head, slightly quivering as she did so.
“P-Percy?” Julia let out.
“You fool! I tricked you! She’s been working for me the whole time!” Wicker cackled. “And with you gotten rid of, I’ll simply have the Wailing tear this place apart before blowing it up and starting my empire RIGHT HERE!”
“B-But why?” Julia managed, as Percy turned away.
“…y-you don’t understand…I have to do this…”
“No you don’t.” Julia insisted. “That’s not the Percy I know!”
“But we met, like, five minutes ago.” Julia pointed out, turned to Percy, who’d skooched over to Wess’ seat.
“She’s kind, and heroic, and always speaks her mind!”
Percy snickered again, as Wicker started to get upset.
“What are you waiting for Percy? Do it already.”
Percy hesitated on pressing the trigger, staring into Julia’s eyes, before grappling with herself and throwing the gun away.
“No, Wicker. I won’t stand for it.” Percy declared. “I’m not gonna hurt one of my best friends.”
“Again, five minutes ago.” Harley reiterated. “Also, if Wicker’s got a mind control Whil, why doesn’t he use it on Percy?”
Julia went to speak, before stopping herself.
“…huh. Good point.” Julia said, shaking her head. “Also, didn’t Wicker say he had an interest in me specifically? So why’d he try to kill me?”
“Hey, yeah! They totally bunked that up!” Sola pointed out, as Julia shrugged.
“I can’t believe the movie didn’t answer that. It’s been airtight otherwise.”
The others got a good laugh out of that, right as Wicker knocked Percy off the building somehow, before Julia grabbed her rifle.
Wicker mockingly held his hands up. “You think you can stop me? You’re just some random girl. There’s no hope of stopping the plans that are already in motion!”
Julia wavered for a second, thinking over her options, before spotting the fuse near the explosives and getting an idea.
“…I may just be a girl…”
Julia aimed the barrel at the fuse.
“…but I’m also a Venator.”
“No!” Wicker cried, as she fired the shot off, lighting the fuse and causing every explosive on the floor to go off all at once in a massive explosion.
Julia managed to quickly duck downstairs, as Wicker was blown off the side by the force of the explosion, causing him to slowly plummet down from the hundredth floor, before cutting away as he presumably hit the ground.
Once the coast was clear, Julia made her way back up, taking a breath, before heading to the edge, lamenting that Percy had fallen as well…
…only for Sola to appear out of nowhere, blasting herself into the sky with her cannons, with Percy riding on her back.
“Percy!” Julia cried, as the duo landed. “Sola, you saved her!”
“I sure did! I realised, just cause I fall over all the time doesn’t mean I can’t save people from falling!” Sola insisted, as the trio all laughed together.
The Wailing immediately started to dissipate once Wicker was gone, with every Venator on campus cheering.
The movie slowly transitioned into a heroic shot of Team Valiant in front of the academy, staring out at the horizon, looking on at their future and everything that had to come…
…before the silence was broken up by Harley.
“Uhh, guys? I don’t know about you, but after a fight like that, I seriously need to get my nails done.”
The whole team laughed at the hilarious joke, as it faded into the credits, playing a song by some random pop artist called ‘Valiant and Loving It,’ finally ending off Team Valiant’s journey at the academy.
———
“So, how did it end?”
Julia sighed out, as the others left the theatre and met up with Wess and Essex outside. “Uhh…I…indirectly killed Wicker, and Sola learned to fly.”
Wess blinked profusely. “Sounds like I missed a lot.”
“Not really.” Harley insisted, rubbing her face over and over. “That was so bad! They didn’t do anything right!”
“…w-what’re the reviews online like?...” Percy asked, as Wess had already been scrawling them, before handing the tablet off to Julia.
“Nothing favourable, and a sort of ‘well, that’s Venator movies for you’ attitude about the whole thing.” Wess noted, as Julia lifted her head.
“Well, there’s one positive revie…” Julia started, before quickly looking up at Harley and lowering the tablet. “Actually…”
Harley grabbed the tablet and scanned the review.
Blonde one ws hot. rest was sorta okay mostly. 3.5/5
Harley audibly groaned and handed it back. “…of course…”
“...well, it doesn’t really matter if we liked it.” Julia pointed out, spinning back around to the team. “As long as other people got something out of it, then that’s worth i-”
“Two out of five stars. Julia whined too much.” Wess read aloud, showing off a review pulled up on her tablet.
Julia looked over the tablet, just as her energy disappeared again.
“…I wanna go home...”
“Of course you do.” Wess said, wrapping her arm around Julia’s shoulders, as the team started heading off. “What a waste of effort.”
“Let us hope if our stories told again in the future, it’s much better adapted.” Essex insisted, as Sola jumped ahead of them.
“I’ll say! You know what it needs? Better humou-“
Right as she said that, Sola accidentally stubbed her toe on the pavement, before flailing her arms and falling onto the ground, faceplanting into the path.
Just before getting up, she noticed the others looking at her, as Harley was holding back laughter.
“Oopsy poo-”
“This is the only time that’s happened!” Sola insisted, playfully smacking her, as the team took their time getting back home, counteracting the horrendousness of the movie by enjoying each other’s company.