Two years ago, Zeke was at the table eating breakfast. A bowl of raisin cereal with vanilla oat milk. He was talking to his dad about school. Zeke was a freshman and he was gonna have gym class that day, and he was nervous. They were doing the mile run.
Like his dad, Zeke was on the husky side and in middle school he still remembered when the other kids made fun of him for walking the whole mile. He wanted desperately to be like all the kids who were competing for who would have the fastest time.
That was when his dad gave him advice, he didn’t need to compete with the other kids, he just needed a goal for himself and he could focus on that.
“I think when I was your age, the low end average for a boy was what? 6 minutes?” He had said. Zeke nodded.
“Okay then how about this, we make it a game. If you agree to try your hardest to make that time, I’ll take you and your friend Sean out to celebrate. That sound fun?”
Zeke nodded, more excitedly that time. He did the math, if he could hit 10 miles per hour for as long as he could he could make that time.
He was gonna make his dad proud.
When the time came he loaded up a speedometer app and was ready to go. For the first two minutes he was able to do it, but it wasn’t long after that he started to slow down. He wished desperately that he could keep going, that he could make the time. He didn’t want to end up just like he did in middle school.
That was when it happened. His talent awakened. His feet started to float ever so slightly off the ground and could feel his body moving on its own. His speedometer told him he was hitting exactly 10 mph, with not a hint of fluctuation.
With his new talent, he made it the rest of the mile, shutting it off as he got closer so no one would see. His final time was just over six minutes.
His dad was so proud he took him and Sean to celebrate that night. That night was the happiest he had ever been, and it was then and there he decided to use his powers to make sure everyone would feel exactly the way he did that night. And that he would stop any bully that would get in his way.
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13:04. Sunday, November 19th, 2023. Rocket Cafe, Midport.
Zeke and Sean had finished their snacks. They both had another 20 minutes left in their time at the arcade before they had to pay for another hour. Zeke would be eating a bit too much into his allowance if he did though spring for it.
“Alright, we probably have time for one game.” Sean said.
“Yeah I was just thinking that, but since we don’t have a lot of time, wanna make it interesting?” Zeke offered.
“You seriously need to get that gambling streak in check.” Sean asked Zeke.
“Game’s are more fun with some stakes! Besides, I need your help with something.” Zeke responded.
“Why don’t you just ask me then? I’m your friend, not some fairytale creature who you have to trick in order to help you.” Sean said.
“You wouldn’t help if you knew what it was for.” Zeke said.
“Well then why the heck would I do it as part of a bet!” Sean said.
“Fine, I wanted to be more mysterious but I want to challenge Graveyard Bash and I need a second.” Zeke said.
“A second to like, think about it or…” Sean said.
“Ha ha, no like a second as in dueling things. It is part of their bs code. Honestly it is major nerd garbage! Like you remember in US history they talked about Hamilton and Burr, it is some weird stuff like that.” Zeke said.
“Would that be standard if this was a normal monster of the week?” Sean said.
“Nope, another Graveyard Bash original.” Zeke did a mock spinning flourish in the air with his finger. “Basically each side gets a witness for when Poltergeist kick’s my butt again.”
“Ugh, why do you have to wrap me up in your hero BS more. Can’t you ask Juggler?” Sean whined. Zeke thought it was unfair, since the totality of his involvement was that he was the only one who knew his identity and that he helped him with his costume.
“I really don’t know juggler like that, and frankly the more I learn about him the more creeped out I get. I don’t even think juggler has, like, a house or a family, I think he just does the hero stuff full time.” Zeke explained. Also the last time he was his second, Juggler laughed at Zeke when Poltergeist picked him up by his clothes and tossed him onto a car. Though Juggler might’ve laughed regardless of the outcome. Absolute psycho.
“Fine, but what do i get if i win?” Sean asked.
“Hmm…” Zeke considered what he had that Sean wanted. “I could… have Messenger give you a selfie? He could write your recommendation letter for college?”
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“Dude, Messenger is some two-bit vigilante, like any college would give a hoot about what he has to say.” Sean said.
Moments like this made Zeke wish he had cool contacts in the World Breakers, or that he was a full on member. He couldn’t afford the entry level fee.
“I could carry you to school?” Zeke offered. His talent didn’t have a carrying capacity that he could tell.
“Ew no, what if someone saw us like that! Don’t you have masculine pride?” Sean said
“Fine, fine, yeah people would think you were gay with Messenger.” Zeke said, waving off his friend. Just then he had it!
“I could get Emily to take you to prom!” He declared.
Sean’s face immediately turned red. Sean’s crush on Zeke’s sister dated for as long as he could remember. She was two years older than them both, and currently attending Sherman University here in Midport thanks to a full scholarship including room and board.
“She… She wouldn’t…” Sean stammered.
“She absolutely would if her sweet baby brother asked her too! C’mon, you and I both know your ‘masculine pride’ can stand a pity date if it means getting the girl of your dreams!” Zeke said. It was weird his friend had a crush on his sister, but if he was gonna he should at least get something out of the situation. I’d be lying if that didn’t mean I wasn’t rooting for my best bro to still win against all the odds. So really I win either way.
“Fine! But don’t tell her it is because I am desperate, or make it weird. Just like, I dunno, say it was because my date canceled on me at the last minute or something.”
“I don’t see how a date canceling on you makes you look any better but sure. Let’s hurry before our time runs out, I can’t afford another hour here.”
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Tronic Fighter was a weird game. It starred a cast of animatronic mascots, each with a different animal theme. It started off as a horror game franchise but it had been spun off into a series of games.
Horror getting turned into a lazy shell of itself? Honestly reminds me of Graveyard Bash.
Tronic Fighter was the newest arcade game at Rocket’s, and was also its most high-tech. The player controlled their character with boxing gloves that were plugged into the console. You could punch, block, and do a special attack by pressing a button inside the glove. The characters were all the same but did have different special attacks.
The lore of the games was pretty out there and it got more convoluted with each installment the multi-media juggernaut. The idea was that a theme park was covering up a series of murders because they didn’t want anyone to be declared dead on their premises. Based on some weird creepy-but-true fact the author heard about a real theme park with some obvious liberties taken.
One of liberties being that the method that they used to hide the bodies was to cook them into the food they serve guests. But the souls of the victims started to possess the animatronics, and roam the park at night. From there it just continued to devolve into being about how the murders were actually experiments and that the real killer kept changing.
Zeke was playing as Saul Scarab. Saul was a beetle with boxing gloves and shorts. In the lore of the games the soul possessing him was a costume designer that many fans thought was the real killer, but maybe was actually someone else entirely? Zeke didn’t really follow the fan discussion that closely but Sean could probably say. Zeke did know that Saul did have some connection to the plot whatever it was.
Sean was playing Paul Pidgeon. An anthropomorphic pigeon with a messenger bag, pilot hat and goggles. In the lore of the game he wasn’t too important in the murder plot but his brother, Perry Penguin, was. To be clear, their souls were brothers but also the characters of the animatronics they were also brothers. It’s a weird franchise.
After they selected their characters it was time for the game to start.
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Zeke launched a right jab while pressing the special attack button. Saul Scarab’s gloved fist sprang out from his wrist like one of those extendo arms right into the other character’s chest. This shaved off the last bit of health Zeke needed, so he finished off his opponent with an uppercut straight into Paul Pidgeon’s jaw. This caused the animatronic bird’s neck to overextend like some sort of toy robot from the 60’s.
“Winner winner chicken dinner!” Zeke shouted!
“Ugh no fair! You only won because I tripped during the second round. If that hadn’t happened it would be that beetle’s jerk whose head would be in the air!” Whined Sean.
Sean did in fact trip during the second round. It was kind of his own fault, he was too into the game and was bounce stepping like a real boxer. After checking he was okay and hadn’t hurt anything they continued.
The two started to catch their breath. This game takes a lot more out of you than Skate Racing Turbo!
“Listen, a deal's a deal. You gotta be my sidekick now!” Zeke’s said.
“No, no! That wasn’t the deal, I said I would be your second or whatever, not that I would be your sidekick!” Sean continued to whine.
“Well what, you gonna show up in a t-shirt and jeans? Let the local villains see your face and ruin my cover?” Zeke pointed out.
“I… I guess I didn’t think of that. But can you at least call me something cooler like your ward or assistant?” Sean asked.
“You think assistant sounds cooler than sidekick?” Zeke said.
“Or, shoot. What is that called? That the mafia people say… Associate!” Sean declared.
“Fine you want to be my associate? Sure. But we gotta hurry and start working on your costume since the challenge is for Monday!” Zeke said.
“Wait you already issued the challenge? What the heck was your plan if I had said no?” Sean asked.
“Come clean and beg, but thanks to you I get to keep my pride.” Zeke said.
“Some hero.” Sean said.
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“By the way, I forgot to ask you about something.” Sean said as the two started to make the journey back over to Zeke’s apartment to work on Sean’s new costume.
“Go for it, a sidekick has to be informed after all.” Zeke teased.
“Associate!” Sean said, punching Zeke in the arm. “Anyway, when we were talking about who would win a fight, you said Messenger would be a bad match up with Frankenstein. But you didn’t say if you could take Mummy?”
“That's easy. That because there is no way in heck I am not lucky enough to face him." Zeke said, laughing. "Because if I did, I would kick his butt!"