I found a seat in the upper rows of the arena as everyone funneled in. By the time everyone was seated the place seemed about 85 percent packed. Everyone spoke to one another as the excitement for the event grew.
The arena contained about one thousand people in the seats. The party guests stood out among the crowd as dressing much nicer than the newcomers. I looked down at the first-row seats and saw Hercules with his wife and who I presumed to be the city mayor. They looked quite happy chatting together. In the center of the arena red lines indicated the inside of the fighting area. The area designated for the two fighters to duke it out was about half the size of a football field, American or otherwise. On the four corners of the marked arena area stood four metal pillars.
The referee walked out to the stage and was followed shortly by Rachel and Tabitha. The referee wore all white and brought the two fighters to the center of the arena. He took out a megaphone and spoke to the crowd and the two contestants.
“I welcome everyone to the Jace family home for this battle between two young persons. I would like to especially thank the mayor of our great city for watching and officiating this match as well as the other dynasty heroes in the crowd watching. We thank you as well for taking the time to support this event.”
The referee turned to Rachel and Tabitha and spoke to them about the match for their benefit and the benefit of those watching.
“Now Rachel you have heard this speech before so it will be review for you but still important to follow and Tabitha listen well. If you do some of these things you may get disqualified or your ability to compete for the title entirely revoked. The first and most important rule is that there will be no killing blows. You will be escorted to prison by a few of the audience members if that is the case. You can deal a significant amount of damage, however. Whether it is until your opponent passed out or yields are up to them. We have healers on staff waiting for the match to end. They will return you to full health within a day given you aren’t dead.”
“Now for some things about the match itself. You both fly and for the sake of the audience members, the barrier will prevent you from going above 200 feet which is a few feet above the highest level of the arena. For the sake of showmanship, I would recommend between 75 feet to 150 feet high though how you fight is ultimately up to you. Your suits have already been inspected by the officials, so we are good on that front. If you are found to have used any excessive tools or accessory weapons you will be disqualified. No other person may enter the arena once the match has started. And finally, you are free to use any part of your natural powerset and use whatever moves you feel necessary to show off or use. This fight may be an honorable one, but you can use whatever dirty tricks you wish to win. Shake hands.”
Rachel and Tabitha followed as instructed.
“And fighters to the ends of the ring.”
The referee motioned toward the entrance of the arena and the barrier activated. The shields extended between the pillars and shone briefly before turning translucent. Rachel and Tabitha floated over to their end of the arena. Rachel put on her mask made by me and quickly adjusted it. While Rachel wore her Legacy costume Tabitha wore a grey metal armored suit and combat boots it looked heavy but more protective. Her mask was more of a full helmet that looked like a medieval knight.
“Fighters ready.” The referee looked to the two fighters, and they nodded back. “And FIGHT!”
Rachel and Tabitha burst into action. They became a blur as their feet kicked off the ground and they propelled towards each other. Their collision occurred within a second. I could only tell who was who because of Rachel’s yellow costume and Tabitha’s red energy powers. In addition to flight, Tabitha had a form of energy projection. A light red glow encased her body as she flew to meet Rachel.
The pair crashed into each other in the air. Rachel used her flying momentum to send a right hook into Tabitha’s side. At the same time, Tabitha got above Rachel and slammed her fist towards Rachel’s head. Rachel raised her left hand to block the punch and the force pushed her back.
As Rachel recovered Tabitha chased her down. Using her height, she came down onto Rachel with a set of flying kicks. This threw her off balance she was forced to stumble back to her feet on the ground. Tabitha landed a few feet from her and then they began to circle.
Tabitha attacked again aggressively and set out a series of punches. First two to the head with one hand and then a hook to the body. Rachel held her hands up blocking them with her forearms. When the hook came she counter-attacked as Tabitha opened up. She sent a punch of her own to Tabitha’s side and then performed a sweeping kick to her legs. Tabitha’s power glowed after each hit causing it to shimmer and dissipate some of the force of the attack to other parts of her body.
Tabitha took the punch with a grunt and was forced to fly after she lost her footing. She started to back away in an effort to gain distance and momentum, but Rachel followed. She flew at Tabitha with her hands out and swapped punches between her body and head. Tabitha backed up and weaved around the arena dodging or reducing the power of the hits that came her way. As Rachel got closer to getting more hits in she flipped the dynamic once more.
Tabitha grabbed hold of Rachel’s arm mid-punch by moving closer halfway through. She then began to grapple Rachel while in the air. She locked Rachel’s right arm in a lock before starting to elbow Rachel repeatedly. Rachel tried to wrestle out, but she wasn’t nearly strong enough and had no momentum while in the air to get out. The two of them spun in the air as Rachel tried to force them to the ground and Tabitha kept them up.
Rachel kicked out with her feet as her face was hit by Tabitha’s elbow. Rachel adjusted her head so that the mask’s side guards took the brunt of the force, but she was still unable to see clearly. As they spun in the air the two of them hit the barrier of the arena causing both of them to be thrown back. While Tabitha was focused on keeping Rachel restrained she didn’t realize that they were so close to the barrier. In her moment of surprise, her grip loosened, and Rachel twisted Tabitha’s arm around and free herself. As soon as she was free she kicked out once more and got some distance between the two of them while staying closer to the ground.
As I watched I was fascinated by Tabitha’s energy abilities and the fast-paced nature of the fight. I had seen some videos of Rachel’s old fights, but they were always a blur like this one, but I had not seen footage of her against other flying superhumans. The other fights between mantle contestants had not been recorded and neither was this one. To the general public, only a written description of the fight would be provided. This was largely to prevent possible cheating by future contestants if they were to analyze footage of many previous fights in an attempt to win. If you used other footage however it was fair game.
Tabitha floated twenty feet above Rachel and glared down at her as they both waited for each other’s move. It only lasted a few seconds until Tabitha finally went for it. Her speed increased as she rammed into Rachel with both fists in front of her face about a foot away. As her fists met Rachel’s defense Rachel counter-attacked once more.
She sent a knee into Tabitha’s gut as Tabitha flew at her vertically. Rachel carried the attack and leaned back and forced her body to spin. In half a second Rachel was on top of Tabitha and forced her down with all her might. Tabitha had the wind knocked out of her by the knee kick and was unable to push back. The pair hit the ground after falling twenty feet with Tabitha on the bottom. There was a crack as they slammed into the concrete flooring.
Tabitha focused her energy as she fell and protected her back but still felt most of the force of the fall. Her energy field flickered unsteadily. Rachel had her knees on Tabitha’s stomach and began pounding into the shield covering Tabitha’s face now a shade of pink. Her face whipped back and forth as a punch to each side of her face came.
Tabitha focused the last of her energy and channeled it into where Rachel’s next punch landed. The energy glowed as it leaped up Rachel’s arm causing electric shocks as the foreign energy traveled. Her arm froze so Tabitha threw a free punch at the now exposed chin. Rachel released much of her hold on Tabitha, and she rolled free before floating herself further away.
Rachel spat out blood as her arm hung limp. She shook her arm as the feeling was slowly returning. Bruises were already starting to form around both of Tabitha’s eyes. She forced her arms up in a defensive posture waiting for Rachel. She held herself unsteadily using some of her energy to keep her afloat while standing on the floor.
“What’s it going to be princess. Come at me. I want to see you bleed some more,” shouted Tabitha.
“I won’t let you win. Not today at least. But if it is a beating you are wishing for then I am more than happy to give it to you. Just because I beat your brother last month while almost dying in the process doesn’t mean I won’t also beat you now. I had sparred with him hundreds of times. You are no better than him.”
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“Then prove it,” spat Tabitha.
Rachel flew at Tabitha intending to send a kick her way. As the kick went to Tabitha’s head she slipped around it and rocked back before sending a punch into Rachel’s stomach. She then followed it up with a hook to her side. Rachel coughed holding back blood as Tabitha grabbed Rachel’s suit. She gripped Rachel’s shoulder cuffs and threw Rachel around.
The crowd had gone through a series of emotions as the pair traded blows. One side cheered as Tabitha gained the upper hand while the pro-Rachel side booed. Another group entirely cheered regardless of who was seemingly winning. I winced as I watched Rachel get so badly beaten up. At this point, I could tell she had inherited some of the strength of her father, or else she would not be able to last as long against the onslaught of punches and crack concrete. I definitely could not take that much punishment.
Rachel slid to her knees and stumbled back up once again. She shifted to one side as she put a hand on her most recently injured side. She could feel her side aching and her ribs bruised as she moved. Rachel put her energy into her feet and took off towards the top of the arena. Staying near the ground was not working for her and neither was using the same tactics on a different cousin. Tabitha watched Rachel fly up as high as she could go without being stopped by the barrier.
“Coward,” she said quietly enough that Rachel could not hear but loud enough for the nearest audience members. She shot into the air after Rachel a moment later.
Tabitha swung out at Rachel, but she kept herself moving. Rachel began bobbing and weaving between punches and repositioning herself in the air as they fought. She also kept her head low and protected behind her arms whenever possible. While focusing on defense she did not attack much as her breath got heavier. Whenever another punch or kick was thrown she would adjust her body to dodge or make the attack become as close to a glancing blow as possible.
Tabitha’s attacks no longer came with the bite of the energy field because she had exhausted it protecting herself. As Rachel started to avoid attacks and become more defensive Tabitha became more focused on her attacks and began recovering her energy and body. Some of her natural power directed itself towards her sore muscles and bruised body while the rest went straight to her fists.
Tabitha threw another punch up towards Rachel’s chin once more and realized her mistake. She desperately tried to shift her body and drop lower, but Rachel just smiled. Rachel leaned her body back and Tabitha’s fist continued up and hit the barrier. The barrier pushed back at her sending her down towards Rachel’s readied to attack. An uppercut of her own sent Tabitha smashing into the barrier once more. Rachel spun and performed a kick sending Tabitha spinning uncontrollably through the air. Tabitha’s head swam as her head ached from hitting the barrier. Tabitha took a moment to right herself in the air and brought her fists up.
“That was a very good move back there, but it won’t work twice. I can still take a beating. Bring it on,” said Tabitha as she raised her glowing fists.
“I’m happy to show you more.”
Rachel spat out more blood and rocketed towards Tabitha. Rachel held her arms out as she flew with her hands in fists like the traditional flying superhero. Tabitha met the fists with her own hands and grabbed hold of the fists. They spun in circles flying vertically toward the audience members. Tabitha pushed on Rachel, and she reciprocated. As their efforts to do something meaningful died Tabitha adjusted her elbows and went in for a headbutt. There was a distinct crack as Rachel’s head whipped back and her strength in the hold weakened. Tabitha pulled Rachel closer and brought her feet up and sent two feet into her chest sending the two of them flying away from one another.
Rachel held her head as she steadied herself in the air. One of her eyes saw red and she felt signs of a goose egg forming on her forehead. She looked at her gloves and they were marred with her own blood and the paint was now scratched up in places.
“I’ll make you pay for ruining my suit.”
Rachel flew to Tabitha flying at her from above this time. She sent out a hook to Tabitha’s side which she blocked. Rachel followed up by grappling with Tabitha. They spun around horizontally and looked like they were in zero gravity. While flying above she grabbed Tabitha’s hair and pulled it downwards as she tried to get behind her and get both arms restrained.
Tabitha yelled out and kicked at Rachel, but she spun above her avoiding the kick. As Tabitha spun to meet Rachel her hair was pulled more annoying her further. With a punch, Tabitha broke her hair free from Rachel’s grasp and then followed up another punch with her opposite arm. Rachel raised her arm to block the attack and a crack was heard. She grunted in pain and flew back a few feet as her arm broke. She wanted to let more cries of the pain out, but she held it in. Tabitha looked at Rachel’s now broken arm dangling to her side and laughed.
“Out with the old and in with the new as they say. Give up now or I will break your other arm in a minute.”
“You already know my answer. Bring it on. I can deal with the pain.”
“Have it your way then. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”
Blood flowed from Rachel’s arm as she raised it to cover her head. Her heart rate raced as the pain in her arm grew and Tabitha jumped to attack her in her weakened state. Rachel felt her legs grow weaker as she started to drift downwards. Tabitha sent out a flurry of kicks aided by her flight. Rachel ducked and rolled as best she could to avoid the attacks. Rachel rotated whenever possible to take the hits to her less injured side, but it had been getting harder by the minute. Rachel dropped her height off the ground to duck another hit this one just barely missing her head.
As Tabitha sent another kick Rachel ducked again and swung back at Tabitha as hard as she could with her own leg. Rachel’s shin hit the side of Tabitha’s knee and a pop could be heard as her leg was displaced. Now it was Tabitha’s turn to cry out in pain. She flew back getting distance between the two of them until she was up against one of the barrier walls. At this point, the two of them were floating about fifty feet above the ground.
Tabitha grimaced in pain as she held her leg limp in the air. What little healing she could have gotten from her energy powers could not help her leg, only assist in numbing the pain. Her replenished energy had once again drained almost to empty as it was used up to protect her from the worst of her injuries. One of her black eyes had swollen and closed her eye.
“That was a good move back there, but you are losing this fight and we both know it. Your enhanced strength may have helped you last a bit longer, but I will bring this to a close.”
Tabitha flew after Rachel and began pummeling her with her fists and she was forced to defend herself. Rachel sent a few more kicks Tabitha’s way but she dropped her height so that it landed on her much better-protected side instead. The two drifted downwards as the fight continued. They had both drained too much of their energy and did all they could to stay in the air before their fight ultimately finished on the ground.
Tabitha swung punches toward Rachel’s injured side and broken arm aggravating the wound even more. Rachel switched to a more defensive stance and threw punches as well because her kicks had become less effective on the ground. It was also more energy efficient to throw quick punches than to try and land a high kick when you couldn’t use verticality to your advantage.
The fight ended with a head hitting the concrete. Rachel threw a punch at Tabitha, but she shifted her weight with a grunt of pain and grabbed Rachel’s arm. Tabitha took a step and twisted popping Rachel’s arm out of its socket. With both arms incapacitated Tabitha grabbed Rachel by her mask and slammed her down onto the concrete.
<-0-0-0-0-0->
Rachel moved past some of the visitors who had come to see her while she rested in the medical tent. She had been unconscious for almost an hour now and almost everyone had left the arena grounds and the Jace property.
Her mask had already been removed and replaced with gauze and bandages. She stepped into her room where her father sat on the couch next to her bed.
“What do you want,” she hissed at her father before starting to tear off the broken and bloody yellow suit.
“Understand that I am not here to shame you or be angry at you about this outcome. While I have not experienced this failure, I know that it will come to me sooner rather than later. What I do know is the stories of those that came before us and what their failure meant to them and how they each got past it to make a name for themselves beyond their stint and Hercules, Legacy, or one of the other titled heroes.”
“Do we have to do this now?” asked Rachel exasperatedly. “It’s been what? An hour. Forty-five minutes. Is this really what you want to say instead. I don’t know. ‘You did well in the fight. I’m sorry to see you lose’.”
“You know I could, but it wouldn’t mean anything to you. At least not right out of the arena. I would rather focus on the practical and honest results of the fight as you start planning for a future. And knowing you I would start talking to superhero teams and see if you can join one of the smaller teams. You are still relatively green despite some of the more high-profile cases you have completed.”
“And do you think I don’t know this?” said Rachel as she spun back around to face her father. Most of her suit was off her leaving her with just her undersuit on. “I’ll try not to mope around the house and will get started on finding an opportunity. You don’t need to worry about me anymore. I’m an adult and now, I am no longer a part of the dynasty line okay?” Some tears had started to form in her eyes.
“Rachel,” Todd Jace sighed and sat back in his seat on the couch “It is my job to worry about you and I want what is best for you which is why I am so insistent on these points. I know Dan was in the stands today and at the party. You should consider reapplying for the Superhuman Task Force job with him. Some of your old teammates are still there with him. It would be a good place to start over at. They can support you and help you get back into the flow of things.”
“I’ll think about it but I’m also going to look at the other options I have but not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe not even the rest of the week. Ok.”
“As long as you will consider it and don’t forget the title of Legacy is behind you now. In the past. You’ll want to start looking forward to your future and should consider what you want to wear now that yellow is off the table.”
Rachel looked at the pile next to her bed she had made while taking off the super suit. She tried to imagine wearing her original costume before the Legacy suit and couldn’t see herself in it. She knew her father was harsh but right. She needed a new look to distinguish herself from her rookie days and her time as Legacy. Eventually, she would need a new suit but first, she needed to rest.
“I’ll keep that stuff in mind but get out now. Go deal with the straggling guests or whatever busy work mom needs you to do.”
Recognizing that he wasn’t needed anymore Todd left the room so that Rachel could finish cleaning up and sleep the rest of the night away.