Infinity Legends

Chapter 34: The Return

The crowd’s cheers and applause varied according to the players that marched outside, but never faltered. While each of the three dozen aspiring Wildcards rounded the arena outside, the epic thundering drums and excited public maintained a constant, mesmerizing, and overwhelming soundtrack. The Fire Eels were just finishing their lap around the stage, shooting colorful rounds of plasma and laser into the open skies with their glorious weapons.

That meant the Infinity Riders were next.

“Guess what I got for you!” Potathunder nudged at Kramen while they awaited their cue.

“What?” Kramen replied, keeping in mind the flatness suggested by Serry.

“Jude and I go way back, so she told me about the source of her team’s weapons. It’s a player name Ybor, operates a small workshop on Seeraim Island.”

“Good job,” Kramen replied, then looked at Serry, who gave him a thumbs up for keeping it in character.

“Good job?” Lord asked. “That was an excellent job at the very least, I’ll let you know!”

“Last but not least,” the grave voice of the sports commentator echoed over the arena. “The Infinity Riders!”

“Guess that’s our cue…” Lord said, mounting onto DM3-C4 and starting an epic marching hymn on his lute.

As previously rehearsed, the war machine took the lead, closely followed by Serry, then Kramen, and lastly Gurm, concealed by her black, gray and purple robes.

The crowd went wild as the first of the robotic steps clicked against the marble surface, the bard riding the war machine like a hero from legend. From the silver lute, an amplified song added a deserved tone of grandeur to their entrance.

While most of the other teams resorted to firing shots and dark-matter powers into the air for fanfare, DM3-C4 had had all his weapons stripped and replaced by water cannons. Now, the destroyer spurted burst of colored water in all directions.

Serry, who came right behind, graciously danced to Lord’s tune, waving her hands at the water shot by the robot to create fantastic sculptures of ice around the team’s path. In a few seconds, they had a corridor of twisted colorful ice fangs enclosed around them and a carpet of red snow laid out as they progressed around the arena.

Kramen came next. Luca’s urge was to wave at the roaring grandstand, but that was not what Barry would do. So instead Kramen marched as if headed straight to battle, features sharp and pace decisive, eyes as cold and calculating as possible, unflinching at the spectacle that surrounded him.

Shortly after entering the scene, DM3’s water reserves had been depleted, but Gurm, the last in the formation, had that covered. Raising her time staff over her head, the mage returned the ice pillars around her to their liquid state, then used simple dark-matter manipulation to telekinetically push the water to the front of the group so Serry could proceed with her act.

The returning water, though, would not be used for more decorative sculptures and red carpets, but for a ramp. Slowly but steadily, Serry raised a walkway from the floor, allowing them to parade above the arena grounds, going as high as most of the viewers to look them in the eye. It also poetically placed the Infinity Riders above the competition, but that would soon be granted by the ceremony narrators themselves.

“What a fantastic display by the Infinity Riders!” the main commentator’s booming voice echoed across the arena. “Look at how they combine their powers for a spectacular entrance! If they can show this same level of engagement in battle, Jerry, they’re a promising bunch! Too bad they only got five members so far.”

“We’re still months away from Legends Cup, Larry,” Jerry, the second commentator said in a thinner voice. “Plenty of time for them to gather four more. Though I would feel more comfortable if they already had a full team.”

“Very well, Jerry, let’s go over the players we do have, shall we? First, we have DM3-C4. Interesting name for an even more interesting character! We have to wonder what’s behind those eight titanium legs.”

“Could be anyone, really,” Jerry commented. “What I do know is that he is the most literal tank we’ve seen tonight!”

“You said it, Jerry! And riding DM3-C4, we have Lord Potathunder, the famous bard of Winner City!” the graver voice presented. “Now, Jerry, bards are rarely seen in competitive leagues. What do you think of this choice?”

“You’ve got to keep in mind that Lord isn’t your everyday bard, Larry,” Jerry pointed out. “Rumor has it that he is a second character to none other than legendary Chimera war hero, Zero Guy. Anyone who remembers Spruce will think twice before underestimating that bard! Not to mention, it’s a clever choice to boost dark-matter efficiency…”

“Which brings us to the next Infinity Rider!” Larry interrupted. “Serry Frost! Not only as gorgeous as the ice sculptures she’s creating, she’s also one of the veterans here, isn’t that right, Jerry?”

“Absolutely, Larry! Serry Frost was part of the Winter Blades. Not many people will remember them, as they disbanded six years ago, but they were an up and coming local team that ranked up some impressive wins in their short run. Glad to see her back at it, it is always fun to see an elemental mage in action, and ice ones are hard to come by.”

“And speaking of dark-matter mages,” Larry resumed the introductions. “Gurmonya Bearius comes at the rear. Have to say, I love her outfit, worthy of a world boss if you ask me! And get this, Jerry, it seems Bearius is enlisted as the team’s healer!”

“You’ve got me there, Larry! Sure doesn’t look like any healer I’ve ever seen! Says here she is specialized in the fairly recent skill tree of time-bending, so she might be onto something there. Anyhow, we have to be impressed at how well she works with Frost. Two mages in tandem tends to be a recipe for success, even if her role as a healer comes off as unorthodox.”

“That’s the key word for the Infinity Riders, Jerry. Unorthodox. And that’s all thanks to that cyborg right there.

“Kramen Blacksky!”

The crowd roared louder once the name was announced, forcing a small smile out of Kramen. Luca wished Barry had been there instead of him. Luca wished Barry could feel firsthand how loved he was by thousands of people whose names he never knew. Barry deserved to know.

“Looks like the crowd remembers old Blacksky, huh, Jerry?”

“Of course they remember, Larry! It’s not everyday that a talent such as Blacksky comes around. It’s been five years since we last saw him, but if he’s still half the strategic genius he used to be, we could be looking at the birth of new global champions.”

“Kramen Blacksky isn’t known to play around!” Larry confirmed. “A robotic tank, a time-bending healer, an elemental mage, a freaking bard… Were it anyone else, I’d say that’s totally nuts, but if someone can pull it off…

“it’s Kramen Blacksky!”

***

Saturday night was practice night for the Star Rangers, but that had just been ruined.

While their Spawn-Master, Andre, sat on his grand chair with impeccable posture, every other Ranger roamed the room with their phones at hand. The internet had just been taken aback by the announced return of Kramen Blacksky, and each of his old teammates had found a different reason to lose their minds over it.

Some feared having an opponent who knew their inner workings so thoroughly, and Andre had to agree that was the most aggravating hypothesis. Others simply feared having their old ally now fighting against them out of sheer respect for his abilities. A few were concerned about how Kramen’s return to the spotlight could affect the Rangers’ own popularity.

But aside from Andre, only Dana seemed unaffected by the news. If anything, she seemed to be enjoying the chaos wrought by news.

Andre? Andre remained impassive. He had defeated the fool once before and, if it ever came down to it, he was certain he would do it again. If anything, the greatest liability in such scenario would be his own teammate’s emotional investment on the matter.

Adding to the ruckus, Vicky, the official streamer of the Star Ranger, barged into Andre’s living room, her blue hair bouncing as she ran, cellphone in hand.

“Guys, you have to see this!” she spoke, panting.

“If it’s Kramen Blacksky strolling over a bridge of ice, that is old news,” Andre snarked without bothering to raise his voice to match the others.

“It’s not!” Vicky shook her head, then turned up the volume on her phone and delivered the device to a center table. Everybody gathered around to watch the video of Barry Watson conversing with one of the most influential Fantasy Stars streamers in the world. Even Dana had gotten up to see what that was about, but Andre remained still.

“Even after years fighting side by side,” Barry’s voice echoed from the phone, “all it took was one bad call for them to turn their backs on me. Our sponsors told them to throw me under the bus and they did, without another thought.”

“You assholes f*****g deserved it!” Dana relished Barry’s speech.

“He didn’t leave you out either…” Richard pointed out, but Dana just shrugged. “When was this?”

“Posted right now,” Vicky said. “I haven’t even watched the whole thing. Just skipped to the end. Already half a million views. What are we going to do?”

At that point, Barry was giving a speech about waging war against the system, against sponsors and alleged sellout players. Players like everyone in the Star Rangers.

“We’ll do nothing,” Andre spoke again, still seated. “Let him squabble all he wants, indulging him would be a waste of time and energy that would only benefit Blacksky himself.”

“He is namely attacking us!” Vicky snapped back. “We have to respond.”

“At this moment,” Andre kept his cool demeanor and logical tone, “he is but a mere noob surrounded by pro-player wannabes who call themselves a team despite having no more than five people. For all we know, they may not even win Wildcard.”

“Oh, they’ll f*****g win!” Dana chuckled. “This little interview made sure of it.”

“It made sure of…” Andre started, but fell silent as his name was cited at the video.

“And Andrew Laserburn, the only reason you ever beat me was because of my mistake. A mistake I do not intend to repeat. When we meet, I hope you improve enough to make it interesting.”

The room felt silent as the video ended and the Star Rangers all looked at their Spawn-Master in anticipation for his rebuttal.

Andre’s mouth had turned to a thin line and wrinkles had formed over his forehead, around his nose and at the corners of his mouth. The skinny man stood up, straightened his jacket and stared each of his companions with passion.

“I stand by what I said,” he repeated, voice as cold as before, but with an added edge. “This. Is. Beneath us. Now everyone take a seat and let us train. I will not ask again.”

***

Luca raised from the blue pouf exhausted. Shaking hands and greeting fans had taken way longer than he had anticipated, and he still had to find Barry.

Or not.

As Luca turned, he found his roommate resting on the lower bed of the bunk, his body covered by the sheets as he faced the wall in the dark.

“Barry, you asleep?” Luca asked.

Silence was the response, but, given how badly Barry snored, silence meant no.

“You should’ve seen it, people love you!” Luca said sitting at the slab and punching his friend’s arm. It was a light and gentle punch, but one that made Barry flinch and curl closer to the wall. Luca frowned. “Barry, where were you?”

“I’m tired,” Barry muttered. “Just let me sleep.”