Chapter 72
Ralph was used to being alone. He was a latchkey kid, so he didn’t mind fending for himself. But he had to admit that it stung when June had suddenly abandoned him as they navigated through the raging battle taking place in the center of the War Games arena. He knew he had been labeled as the “weird dude” by the media, by his opponents, and maybe even by his fellow challengers, but he still tried his best to fit in. Unfortunately, it never seemed to work. After coping with this issue for basically his entire life, he was finally able to use this perception to his advantage. In fact, it might even have become his true superpower because no one saw Ralph, not really. He had basically become invisible to those around him, which allowed him to sneak into areas and places that most couldn’t. In fact, he wagered that he could basically dance through the current battlefield without drawing attention. So he did. When interviewed after the challenge, a few of the combatants even admitted that it was that mix of Ralph’s boldness and casual confidence that threw them off, allowing him to make it through unscathed. No matter, the error in judgment would decidedly cost them.
Once he had traversed the active battleground, and after realizing that June had split off, leaving him alone, Ralph decided to proceed to their ultimate target. Surely, she would catch up if she could. So he casually walked the few miles to Tower 2’s entrance completely unapproached by any of his competitors.
Once Ralph arrived, he stood outside the giant castle door and looked up to see Arsenal and Migraine relaxing on a parapet of the roof of the tallest tower. Migraine, also known as Connor, was a known quantity for Ralph; they had even formed a fledgling friendship at the beginning of the competition before Connor had become close with Spencer, Cecilia, and Megan. Many people Ralph thought were friends had ditched him for cooler crowds when they eventually found Ralph to be an odd duck.
While Ralph was opining the loneliness of his existence thus far, Connor noticed him staring up at them and chuckled loud enough for UFO to hear. “You? UFO?” he said off-handedly. “They sent you?” The asshole just burst into a fit of laughter. For his part Connor’s cohort Arsenal just stood there, leaning against the stone wall, fiddling with something in his hand.
Ralph smiled and nodded vigorously, “Yes. They did. And more than that, I’m going to fuck you both up and take your tower for my team,” he said matter-of-factly.
Migraine glanced at Arsenal, who continued to stare daggers at UFO, each showing their skepticism in their own way. Arsenal squinted, “Yeah, alright dude,” he sneered. “I’m going to do you a favor, you weird fuck. Get lost, and we will save you the embarrassment of getting your ass handed to you. It’s a win-win, really: You avoid pain and humiliation, and we get to save our energy for an actual threat. Yeah?” Ralph had never heard the All-Star named Arsenal speak before. He had a mild Scottish accent. Between Arsenal’s light Scottish brogue and the tinge of Irish that Connor had picked up from his parents, the medieval atmosphere of the castle fortresses was made all the more authentic.
Ralph snorted, “What is this? An episode of Peaky Blinders? And, sorry. No can do, fellas. Here’s what’s actually about to happen: I’m gonna go all shock and awe before I restrain the both of you, lock you in your own brig, and then stroll to the flagpole to affix my team’s colors. Sound like a plan?” They didn’t respond at first. Then, Ralph was treated to a sequel of hysterical laughter ringing down from both of the meta-jerks. Ralph shrugged. “Okay, I guess this is a show not tell kinda situation,” he muttered with a smirk. Why waste his voice yelling when they couldn’t hear over their own cackling anyway?
A loud crash interrupted the dual laughing fits as a huge chunk of the tower was ripped from the parapet behind Migraine and Arsenal. They were caught off guard but still managed to dodge the hurtling projectile. The sandstone boulder slowed as it approached Ralph, and then stopped and began to spin, suspended in the air inches from his outstretched hands. The wannabee Herald, called UFO, glanced from the giant shrapnel back up to his opponents and made a pushing gesture. The tower chunk flew with extreme velocity toward the two All-Stars, crashing into the wall they braced against, breaking it clear off from the castle. The tumbling rampart caused Migraine to plummet two stories before Ralph, right hand extended, halted his fall with a second tractor beam. He yelled up at Arsenal, “You stay right there. I need to lock your friend here away before I deal with you.”
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“Use your power already, Migraine!” Arsenal shouted at his teammate from up on his perch.
“I am! I mean I’m trying. He should be curled up in the fetal position on the floor by now!” Migraine shouted back.
Ralph smiled and whispered to his suspended captor, “If your alias is indicative of your power, I’m sorry to kill your mood. Ever since I was abducted by aliens, Precepts’ powers haven’t had any effect on me.”
“There’s no such thing as aliens, you fucking nutjob,” Arsenal spat from above before he dashed out of view, likely heading to the stairwell. Now, Ralph had two options; either restrain Migraine right there or get him to the brig. He had the handcuffs that were meant to represent power dampeners that had been handed out by Ritchie and Joan before the War Games started. So, still maintaining his energy field with his right hand, he quickly used his left hand to clip one side of the cuffs onto one of Migraine’s wrists and the other cuff to a piece of exposed rebar sticking out of the castle’s busted wall.
Right after he dealt with this first headache, the second nuisance arrived at the castle entrance. Without saying a word, two neon pink, slightly opaque pistols appeared in Arsenal's hands, and he started to unload on Ralph. Rose-colored energy bullets shot toward him, piercing his chest and torso one after another. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Nonplussed, Ralph gazed down to see the pink projectiles connecting with his body and exploding one after another.
Arsenal was dumbfounded. “Wha! What are yah, man? Them were psychic bullets. Yer mind should be shredded right now.”
Huh. Ralph guessed Arsenal hadn’t realized the true implications of his admonition to Migraine, or maybe he just didn’t buy it. Either way, it was his loss. Arsenal lunged at Ralph and swiped at him, but Ralph managed to dodge the attack and use his tractor beam like an energy blast by reversing its flow, which sent Arsenal flying backward into Connor.
“Dude, get off!” Migraine shouted while pushing Arsenal off of him with his free hand.
Now, it was Ralph’s turn to laugh. “You shoulda listened! I’ve gotten used to being dismissed. Maybe now people will take me a little more seriously.” He locked the helpless Arsenal in another of his beams and escorted the shocked All-Star to the Team 2 holding cells. He kept his eye out along the way for a piece of metal like a sword or shield or some sort of cast iron decor. He found what he was looking for in the brig: The shaft of a sword leaning against one of the walls. Ralph then shoved Arsenal into one of the cells, placing the sword across the opening where the cell door met the adjoining metal bar, using his tractor beams with opposing force on each end of the sword. The sword bent around the bars, locking the door in a closed position. Pleased with his work, he went outside, unlocked Migraine, brought him to the brig, and handcuffed him inside one of the many empty cells.
“Done and done,” Ralph said under his breath. “Now, to finish this. I really wish Skyrocket was here.” He had just taken the castle singlehandedly and was quite proud of the achievement. But now that that was complete, he wanted to have someone else there to guard the jail so that he could return to battle. This was just too much fun to end.
“Why?” Migraine asked. “You don’t think anyone will believe you when you tell them this story, do you? Too bad there wasn’t a witness.”
Ralph looked at the dozen or so camera drones swirling around the brig. “I usually don’t like to be mean to people. I was bullied a lot as a kid. But, you’re a fucking moron, Migraine. It’s a truly cruel joke from the gods that you were given mind powers.”
“Fuck you!” Migraine snapped.
“Ah. Your trademark rapier wit. Forgive me, guys, but I’ve got a job to do.” Ralph didn’t wait for a response. He suspected that it was getting pretty late, and he wanted to get his team’s flag on top of the mast before sunset brought about the end of the challenge.
He walked into the hallway outside the jail room and inhaled. It was a welcome moment of quiet, a second to breathe. Ralph looked around and noticed how beautifully detailed the massive castle constructs were. The Show’s technology was next level. No matter what damage was done to the man-made elements of the scenario, when the reset happened, everything was fixed, as though they had a “save file” that they could load after each point was scored.
He pulled his team’s orange flag from beneath his black uniform jacket and walked the three flights of stairs up to the rooftop deck. The sun was setting as he emerged from the spiraled tower staircase. Pink-tinged golden rays kissed the top of the trees as a warning sign that night was fast approaching. Ralph was mighty proud as he hoisted Team 3’s flag and gazed over the valley. He may not be the best, or the smartest, or the strongest competitor. But today, he had played his part well and done everything he possibly could to achieve a win for his team. At the end of the day, it was something he could take pride in: A good, honest, hard day's work.