“You seem different,” Vortex said after they had found their pace.

“What makes you say that?” Lyssa asked.

“You’re less timid, less withdrawn. The game has changed you.”

“So quickly?” Lyssa tried to sound doubtful, a poor attempt to hide herself, but it was true. She had felt the change the moment she regained control after Eury’s rampage, as though she had fallen asleep and someone else took her place. Though the same thoughts and emotions ran through her head. The same anxieties. The same pain. The same anger.

“You didn’t greet your friends this morning.”

She had her there. Lyssa had avoided finding her roommates. She had stayed in her tent, woke, got her gear, did the press conference, and then met up with her team. Somehow the idea of meeting them filled her with dread. What disappointments they must have held for her after seeing what she had done. Maybe this was the sign of progress in her sedentary life; finding shame in the perception of failing someone else’s expectations.

She and her friends would inevitably meet one way or another. Soon.

The next leg of the game would take them into the edges of New Langshir. A long stretch of flat ground. Nowhere to take cover, nowhere to hide. Plenty of time to think, to mull over what had happened and what will happen. One of the premier things Lyssa noticed was that the other members of the team walked a couple steps back, letting her and Vortex walk together. Was it because they saw her in a more respectful light, or was it just fear? Were those two things different? Lyssa wondered if there was hesitation in letting her continue being a part of the team.

Vortex said nothing else. She saved her breath, so Lyssa did as well. She glanced at the tools her team had acquired. The team’s unofficial leader wore a pair of bracers made of smooth, silver metal with many ports, no doubt to amplify the power of her winds. Burnout received boots with nozzles. Ironhog, a helmet with a heads-up visor. Lyssa couldn’t see whatever Ecto received.

As expected, she stood out. Her Mimicrine suit visibly looked different than the FASE suits. It was more authentic, more velvety; closer to the way official heroes would look. If there was anyone to stand out to. They had been moving for hours. The mountains and forests receded behind them. They were on dirt. And the sun was beginning to take its place in the middle of the sky. Lyssa glanced around.

Many other teams moved at their pace, separated by a decent distance. It was the logical, cutthroat strategy. Go too far ahead or linger far behind, and your team would find themselves stranded. Even the speedsters did not wander too far away; they were especially vulnerable to stationary traps.

Far to the side, Lyssa caught sight of the familiar flutter of wings. Amelia, Penny, and Carrie, among a few others. They had made it. She did not look long. Knowing was enough.

“What would you all do to win?” Vortex asked suddenly.

Lyssa stayed quiet.

“I don’t know,” Burnout said. “In my head I never saw myself as one of them. You know, the ones on top of the stage waving to the crowd, wearing technicolor. I just want the degree. Having a hero certification opens up a lot of opportunities.”

“Can’t do much else with a body like mine,” Ironhog said.

“I wanna put away bad guys,” Ecto said.

“Do you have any friends who signed up?” Vortex asked. ‘Yes’ was the answer. Vortex added, “Are you willing to fight them to win?”

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“Where is this coming from, Allison?” Ironhog asked.

“There’s an artificial ravine a few minutes ahead, do you see it?”

Ironhog squinted.

“I see structures,” he said.

“Bridges. There’s five in total. Five for a hundred teams. Some will have to go first, some will have to go last.”

“How do you know this?”

As if to answer, a breeze swept past, ruffling Vortex’s long, blonde hair. She brushed the strands out of the way.

“A little birdie told me,” she said. “It’s a sense, if you want a real answer.”

The teams were converging towards a common center, the bridges. The closer they came, the more apparent it was that the canyon had been dug into a roughly V-shaped pattern, funneling people towards the middle.

“How did they do that so quickly?” Ecto said. She floated a distance in the air to see for herself, then came back down. “It’s got to be at least a few hundred feet wide! You’d think we’d have heard about it on the news or something.”

They did not speculate long. A brief tremor spread throughout the earth followed by a great rush of air. A shadow briefly blotted out the sun, humanoid and muscular. The titanic figure stayed in the air at the zenith of his jump for an arresting, awe-inspiring moment. Air rushed in as a volume of space was suddenly freed. The man shrunk as he landed on one knee, cracking the ground before the many teams of contestants. He stood, slowly, as if savoring his every movement in front of them, and then patted his palms clean of dirt.

“Looks like I made it just in time!” He shouted. “And I wouldn’t miss this for the world. To see a new generation of would-be superheroes come into the fold of society. Whether you want to join our ranks officially, or want a quieter career, your participation is paramount! Thank you all for…”

Lyssa found it hard to concentrate on his speech. His voice was louder than Tobias’s, for even in his shrunken state he still stood as tall as a townhouse. But he also had the physique of a strongman, producing an undeniably intimidating figure. Everywhere his eyes turned, steel followed, and he regarded every student before him as if they all commanded the respect of his steel-grey eyes. But perhaps the most impressive thing of all was he made a crew cut look good. Or maybe that was a trick of the noon sunlight.

Excited clamor came over the students. Lyssa looked to Vortex in confusion.

“That’s Giantsbane,” Vortex said, her mouth slightly ajar. Even she had been thrown off.

“I see,” Lyssa said. Of course. It should have been obvious.

“He once plugged a volcano by moving parts of another mountain into it,” Burnout said. Flames were coming off his shoulders without him noticing.

“He has redirected rivers to build hydroelectric dams in developing countries,” Ironhog said.

“He ran point against Rachminau,” Ecto said.

Lyssa couldn’t replicate their energy. But then again, she never understood people who closely followed famous actors either. Were those feats all that impressive anyways?

If magma made it through hundreds of miles of solid rock with the intention to erupt, she doubted it would be stopped by any mountain range. It was more likely that it was never going to erupt. And she was not so sure about taking local work economy away from developing areas just to build things for them. As for Rachminau, well, clearly it did not matter where any hero had stood against him. Nobody was even sure what the real death toll of those meteors had been.

“How strong is he? Compared to Victory, I mean?” Lyssa asked. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to know.

“I mean strength doesn’t matter. Giantsbane does way more charity work than her,” Burnout said.

“Got a real fan over here,” Ecto said impishly. “That’s a real sore point for anyone who has followed Giantsbane. Man is chafed because even at his largest he’s still weaker than Victory.”

“Oh please,” Ironhog retorted. “Victory is only six-foot-six. She has way more leverage.”

“Okay,” Ecto said with a smirk.

“Quiet,” Vortex said.

The speech was ending.

“…and you, Colossi! Don’t get conceited just because I’m your mentor. Justice does not play favorites. Don’t let me down, but above all else, don’t let yourself and your team down!”

“I will not, sir!” The voice came from a tall, young man. His physique was not nearly as built as his mentor, but he was getting there.

“A bit nauseating,” Lyssa blurted out quietly. She felt regret immediately upon saying it. Thankfully, the others did not hear. Except for Vortex, who gave her a knowing look Lyssa could not decipher.

“This old man has talked enough,” Giantsbane said. “Good luck and look behind you!”

Hundreds of heads turned. Giantsbane’s booming voice and imposing presence had pulled their attention away from the rising smoke cloud behind them. A combined force of armored vehicles, power suits, and helicopters closed in on them, their countless barrels glinting in the sun.

Teams were already swarming the limited number of bridges available, running past Giantsbane.

“Do you think you could take us over the ravine,” Lyssa suggested.

Vortex did not answer, intent on something else.

“Why is he still there?”