Author's note: Our protagonist raises to power because the only way to beat an enemy is to be ready for them when the time comes.
Kristen smacked Matthew's avatar in the face. His health bar dropped ten points, bringing him to red level. He feebly kicked Kristen's avatar in the shins, but his strength score had fallen considerably from peek, and Kristen only lost three points. Kristen landed a punch on Matthew's avatar's side, sending his reaction score close to zero. She spun and kicked his legs from under him, and his health bar dropped to zero.
"KrayKray has won!" the computer referee announced. Kristen ripped the neurohelm off her head and blinked her eyes, readjusting to environmental stimuli from her eyes. Matthew took off his neurohelm with a considerably more dejected expression on his face than Kristen did.
"Hey Matt, nice moves," Kristen said.
"Yeah right," Matthew said. "You won from the first punch." Matthew rubbed his cheek as if Kristen had actually punched him there, though sometimes, the memory felt real enough.
"Well, I have a lot of practice," she said humbly. "What about lunch? You must be tired after all that."
"Well, actually, I wanted to show you a place I found," Matthew said. "I think you'd like it."
"Something better than lunch? What is it?"
"Come on, you'll see," Matthew insisted. Kristen shrugged, dropping her neurohelm into the box. They left the games center and got into Matthew's car.
After a five-minute drive, Matthew drove into a gated parking lot. Five buildings circled around the lot, cold glass reflecting the sun back at Kristen from every direction.
"Which one is it?" Kristen asked.
Matthew pointed at one to her left. "That's the one." The building was brick-red glass with words "Games of the Future" on the side of the building. Matthew parked the car in the guest parking in front and they walked through the shiny doors of the brick-red glass building.
Inside, there were rows upon rows of game cubicles. Conversations floated in the open space, people playing all sorts of neurohelm games. Kristen immediately drifted to a standard matchmaking machine in the corner.
"Is this like a super boss gaming center?" Kristen asked. She attempted to log into the hub with her gaming ID, but it didn't accept her login info. "Why can't I get in?"
"Only recruited members can play here," a balding gray-haired man said, stepping forward. "Hi, my name is Frank, and here at 'Games of the Future,' we recruit only the best for gaming competitions. How may I help either of you?"
"My friend Kristen here, she's obsessed with realistic boxing games. She's a real champ," Matthew said.
"That's only because I want to be ready," Kristen automatically replied. Suddenly, she realized she meant she wanted to be ready to get back at Spencer. It had been two years since she'd graduated high school, and yet he had been her motivation for taking up realistic boxing neurohelm games in the first place. And she was good at it.
"Well, let's test you out and see where you stand. We can make you ready for any just about any competition you might want to enter," Frank said. "Follow me."
The man led them to a small cubicle in the center of the first floor. He instructed Matthew to stay outside while Kristen played against the recruitment computer. Kristen put on the neurohelm and initiated the game.
The opponent's avatar was a cyclops, surprisingly. Since Kristen normally only played games known for their realism, she'd never fought against mythical creatures before. Kristen figured it was part of the test.
The computer gave her a minute to calibrate her brain waves to the game controls, and then Kristen and the cyclops were ready.
The cyclops donned his club, which wasn't right. Frank told Kristen she would be playing a boxing game, not a fantasy fight with weapons. The cyclops swung its club and Kristen ducked, grabbing its legs. She pulled with all her strength, dragging the cyclops off balance. She grabbed the club and wrenched it free of the cyclops's grasp, knocking the beast to its feet. She bashed its head hard, watching the cyclops's health plummet. With one last hard smack, the cyclops died and the game ended.
"KrayKray is victorious," an obnoxious drunk commentator announced. Kristen ripped off the neurohelm, almost falling over from dizziness. She grabbed the handle of a chair and steadied herself.
"What was that?" Kristen demanded. "That wasn't a realistic boxing game at all!" Suddenly, she realized Frank's jaw had dropped to the floor.
"You beat Mr. Snuffles," he gasped.
"That huge cyclops's name was Mr. Snuffles?" Kristen asked. Frank barely nodded. "That's silly. So why did you have me fight him?"
"While you were in there, Frank explained that no one ever wins the recruitment fight," Matthew said. "You beat it in a minute and a half."
"Do you know martial arts?" Frank asked.
"No, but I really love realistic fighting games," Kristen said. "I've been playing for a few years now."
"I might have a job for you." Frank handed her a shiny midnight blue flyer. "I would absolutely love to pit you against the best fighters in the professional league, but the first responder task force is looking for recruits. Would you be interested?"
Kristen read through the flyer. "Yeah, why not?" She looked at Matthew's shocked face. "Matt, you're right. This is really cool."
"I know," Matthew managed, his eyes the size of oranges. "First responder task force? That good?"
"I know, right? The meeting's next week! Can you drive me there? Matt?" Kristen asked, shaking the frozen Matthew.
"Of course," Matthew said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Kristen smiled, feeling the power, untapped, and ready for everything. "Let's do this!"
If anyone has any questions about this sci-fi universe, which I admittedly don't explain in detail, just ask in the comments and I'll make something up real quick. As always, don't forget to like and bookmark as well!
The revenge is coming soon. And it is going to be so satisfying.
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