Tournament of Heroes

6. BLIZZARD-2

But why is Mimic meeting with him so early in the morning before anyone else is up? Blizzard thought. They aren’t friends, are they?

“Sorry for being late,” said Mimic, rubbing his eyes. He yawned and glanced wistfully at the closed cafeteria. “I wish they would serve coffee early. I’m not even remotely a morning person.”

“That’s where we’re different, friend,” said Atmosfear, who, unlike Mimic, didn’t sound even remotely tired. “I like gettin’ up early, with or without coffee. ‘Sides, I didn’t expect you to show up this morning for our meeting. Figured you might not want to risk being seen with me after this Dark Thunder crud.”

Mimic ran a hand through his hair. “Frankly, I’m not even sure why I bothered. I’m a person of habit. Once something becomes a habit for me, I have to do it, even if it doesn’t make sense to do so.”

“Why not?” said Atmosfear. “I’d say our little alliance has worked out well for us so far, wouldn’t you say?”

Blizzard stiffened. Atmosfear and Mimic had formed an alliance? When did this happen and why were they working together? Blizzard listened more closely than ever. She didn’t want to miss a word of their conversation.

“Maybe for you, it has,” said Mimic sullenly, “but my Team is still at the bottom of the rankings. And worse, now we know that we’re being used by Sigil to fulfill his dumb Prophecy that’s going to end with all of the multiverse being destroyed. Honestly, if I could dimension-hop, I’d be out of here before you know it.”

Atmosfear chuckled. “Where, my friend, in the multiverse would you run off to if the multiverse is gonna be destroyed? I don’t have no college learning like you, but that don’t seem too logical to me.”

“You know what I mean,” said Mimic. “We need to get out of here and all of our attempts to escape so far have failed.”

Interesting, Blizzard thought. Have Mimic and Atmosfear been trying to escape the Nexus? Is that why they formed an alliance?

Atmosfear nodded. “Can’t disagree with ya there. Dimension-hopping tech is rare even in this place. Looks like we’re gonna have to see this Tournament until the end, whether we want to or not.”

“And then there’s the Dark Thunder business,” said Mimic. “I have no idea what is going on there. I’m not a fan of Bolt, but even I find him extremely disturbing now.”

“I’m more concerned that Sigil’s got a stronger attack dog now,” said Atmosfear, scratching his chin. “Got no respect for the kid, but even I can tell when someone is strong, and Bolt is stronger than the rest of us put together. I suspect that Sigil will sic him on anyone who tries to escape the Nexus.”

“Which is why I am wondering why we’re still meeting like this,” said Mimic. “Still can’t dimension-hop, Sigil has corrupted Bolt, and now we’re facing the end of the multiverse itself. I didn’t ** for any of this.”

“Nor did I, copy cat, but it’s not all so hopeless,” said Atmosfear. “The reason I told you to meet up with me this morning is simple: I’ve got a plan.”

Blizzard bit her lower lip. She listened more closely than ever, wondering what Atmosfear’s plan was.

“A plan, huh?” said Mimic. “What plan is it? Win the Tournament and hope that the Prophecy doesn’t come true?”

“Nothing quite so luck-based, my friend,” said Atmosfear. “Mostly, I’m interested in Dark Thunder.”

“Why?” said Mimic. “Do you want to kill him or something?”

“I’m not interested in killin’ him,” said Atmosfear, shaking his head. A devious smile crossed his lips. “Quite the opposite, in fact. I want to get him on our side.”

“How do you intend to do that?” said Mimic. “Dark Thunder is nuts.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” said Atmosfear. “I’ve already got a plan all figured out. But first, we need to deal with an eavesdropper who has yet to announce her presence for some reason.”

A metal blade suddenly pressed against the back of Blizzard’s neck before she could react. That was when Blizzard noticed that Giggles was no longer sitting next to Atmosfear and a soft giggle behind her confirmed where he was now.

“Giggles,” said Atmosfear, “bring the girl over here. I am sure she would love to join our conversation.”

Knowing she couldn’t defend herself, Blizzard stood up and walked toward the table, feeling Giggles’ knife against the back of her neck the entire time. She then got down and knelt at the table, looking up at Atmosfear and Mimic.

“What the—?” said Mimic. “I didn’t hear you get up. Atmosfear, how did you know she was there?”

“Just a hunch,” said Atmosfear, leaning on one hand. “She seemed awfully upset about her boyfriend, so I imagine she hasn’t been sleepin’ too well tonight.”

“What are you going to do to me, Atmosfear?” said Blizzard. “You know you can’t actually hurt me, right? You can’t kill me, either. Otherwise, you risk getting disqualified from the Tournament.”

Atmosfear chuckled. “Girlie, when did I say I wanted to harm even one hair on your pretty little head? Nah. The reason I had Giggles bring you here is because I want to help you.”

Blizzard frowned. “Help me? Help me how?”

“Well, ain’t it obvious as the sun?” said Atmosfear. “I want to help you get your boyfriend back. And I know exactly how I’m gonna do that.”