Chapter 9 – Wrestling with Yourself
The Acmedome, Acmetropolis City.
By this time, the sun is barely visible over Acmetropolis, the brightest lights are coming from below instead of above. As Rev flies across the city, he tries to be as discrete as possible, he doesn't want to have the attention on him even if he can fly like no one else can. He stays low across the city, more importantly below the level of the dome itself so that no one can see him coming towards him as they watch the final stages of the wrestling tournament. He stops and lands on an adjacent building to figure out how to enter this building without being seen. There are security guards outside the doors leading to the 3 landing pads on the outside of the building, impossible to get past anyway even if he was flying through them at high speed; a messy impact with a wall 5 metres inside would be what he would be confronted with. So, using his internal GPS, he locates a different way inside.
"Through there, in, down, in, out, outside and in again; too easy!" Rev says before running inside the itself building down to the top floor before running into the staircase to descend down it at high speed, running diagonally down with the wall until he stops when he gets to the ground floor where he pauses.
"Normal speed, normal speed." Rev reminds himself as he walks through the door and sees the stone floored lobby around him with the doors 30 metres away. He would prefer a lot more to simply breeze out of here as fast as possible, but where people can see him it is more important to act normal. It takes a long and painfully conscious effort to slow down, each step feels like an eternity compared to the speed he could do this at. Rev makes it out onto the street where the streets are clogged due to traffic disruptions caused by the impact of the meteor and subsequent tsunami.
"No need for speed, normal speed." Rev reminds himself again as he moves into the street, weaving past the stationary vehicles to the other side of the street to the entrance to the Acmedome. Unsurprisingly, this late into the fight, no one is lining up to enter and no one is wanting to leave, however the security measures are such that he can't get inside without a ticket; without money, that is impossible. The turnstiles are covered from the roof to the floor by tall thin glass doors, meaning there is no gap for him to take advantage of to sneak inside. He then walks slowly to the carpark entrance, which takes up the first 15 floors of the building and is guarded by only a boom gate; a much simpler option to get past. No cars are going to the entrance, so he looks up to the concrete ramp and guns it. Running as fast as possible up the ramp to climb up the spiralled route that goes around the perimeter of the building. Once again, it is easier for him to run along the vertical wall instead of on the ground because of the lack of traction. He slows down once he reaches the top floor and simply jogs over to the elevator in order to get higher up the building. He presses the button for the bottom level of the stadium and waits for the ride to be completed.
He knows exactly where to go to find Slam, in the changing rooms where all of the wrestlers are waiting, resting and training as the tournament progresses. However, now, that room is filled with 14 out of 16 competitors; Slam being one of them. The elevator doors open to a quiet corridor save for the robotic vacuum cleaners whizzing around the floor to clean up the mess from the final break before the final. Knowing that he could be spotted, he walks around the circular corridor, passing all of the food and drink stalls before coming up to a heavily secure door with a security guard standing just to the side. Rev already has a plan as to how to get inside.
"Excuse me."
"All access pass?" The guard asks, being the only legitimate way to get inside.
"No, I just want to know where the bathroom is." Rev asks, trying to say it as slowly as a normal person would, but it comes out still too fast which the guard interprets as nervousness and implies that he thinks the roadrunner is trying to get inside.
"No all Access pass, no entry, now move along, you're missing the fight." He explains.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I think that person over there needs your help." Rev says.
The guard only briefly looks to his left, where the bird was pointing, turning back forward without moving an inch; he thinks that he's not gullible enough to fall for that trick. He would be right if confronted with anyone else, no one could get inside that door with the fraction of a second opportunity that Rev had. He stops at the top of the stairs, recovering from the risky opportunistic moment. He picks himself up from the side of the wall and begins to descend the stairs down into the restricted area. As he enters the rooms, he sees that everyone is glued to a TV screen on the other side of the room, watching that fight that they wanted to be in. Rev slowly walks forward to the back of the seated group of wrestlers. Rev hesitates at the sight of all of these much stronger men and the imposing figures they all are.
"Um, excuse me. Can I speak to Slam for a minute?" Rev asks to the entire group whilst looking at Slam sitting in the middle of the group. Some of them turn around whereas most keep on watching the TV.
"Hey, are you here to take the order for the buffet?" The closest one to him asks.
"No, I need to talk to Slam in private for a minute."
"He's got no pass." Another one points out. "It's another fan."
"No but I…" Rev pleads. Slam tries to stand up and talk to Rev but another sits him down.
"When fans disturb your personal space, you have to give them the opportunity to leave before going after them." He whispers.
"Bird, we ask you one time to leave. Otherwise, we bring the ring in here." He warns. A sudden wave of confidence comes over Rev, he feels that he can actually beat 13 wrestlers in a fight.
"No, I'm not leaving until I talk to Slam! So if you have to throw me out then so be it because that's not going to happen!" Rev counters. All the wrestlers except for Slam get out of their chairs and move them to the side.
"I give it 5 seconds." One wrestler guesses as they stand up.
"How about this?" Rev offers. "If you can't pin me down in one minute then I get to talk to Slam in private."
"Deal." One agrees, echoing the sentiment of the others. Slowly they walk beside each other to corner the roadrunner on the other side of the room.
"Listen, I might not be the strongest or the most cunning or even that good in a fight. In fact I don't instigate fights I'm on the other side of them; but I'll tell you this. I can run away fast, so fast you won't be able to see me or even touch me because you can't corner me because I'll simply get out, bye." Rev half taunts half explains as he backs himself into a corner of the room. All the while, he looks for a way out of this. He sees the gap above them and bolts for it when he has the chance going straight over them, before they have a chance to react, and across to the other side of the room.
"Come on, you're faster than that!" Rev taunts whilst running on the spot near to where Slam is sitting. Some wrestlers become more aggressive, wanting to end this as quickly as possible. Their heads turn periodically back to the TV screen to check on the progress of the fight upstairs before returning to the one happening right in front of them. A wrestler leaps forward to catch the bird but Rev moves across two steps to dodge it. They all work as a team to try and corner whilst leaving no gaps, but it is of no use. Rev gets out just as easily as before.
"No more cornering, spread out, he doesn't have the space to run around." One instructs to the others. They all spread out to cover more space but still try and squeeze him out. Rev looks at how they are fanning out and plots out a path in between the wrestlers. Without warning, the lights go out, the only visible light in the room are the slightly pale glowing eyes of Rev, who is using his GPS system to find his way around the room without needing light.
"Hey." Rev says from right behind another wrestler whilst tapping him on the shoulder. It draws the response he wants, he swings his clenched fist around to where he felt the touch on his back and unintentionally connects with the jaw of whoever was behind him. In a flash, Rev does this to nearly everyone in the room before returning to the light switch to allow everyone else to inspect the damage. 5 of the wrestlers are getting to their feet after being hit; not enough for Rev's liking. So he begins round two, distracting and irritating the wrestlers but prodding and taunting his way around the room whilst listening out for the unintentional hits he is causing. He uses the rest of the minute to do this before allowing everyone else to see what he has done. Nearly everyone is one the ground and a few are getting to their feet. Slam still sits patiently in the corner, confused at what has happened to all his fellow wrestlers.
"That's it, one minute's up you all need to leave the room if you can." Rev announces, but most are incapable of doing so and Rev knows it. So he talks to Slam in the room amongst the quiet moaning.
"You're Slam right? Listen, this is all going to sound a bit crazy but you have to come with me because something's happened and you're not going to believe it at first so I really think it's best if I tell you once you've arrived." Rev explains
Slam replies back to inform Rev of one obstacle he has to overcome.
"Your manager? Um, we won't need to worry about him, or her, or it. Let's just leave now." Rev insists.
Slam then tells him of something else.
"You're worried of the penalties on your contract? I don't think…" Rev begins to explain. For the last few minutes, nothing has gotten in his way that he hasn't found a way past. Rev, for a few minutes, was the opposite of his usual self. He was confident in a way that showed he was on top rather than the other way around, trying to appease others or himself. Now, in a second, that's gone and he has to work around the problem that is set before him.
"Okay, you need to call your manager and... and tell him to come down here right now." Rev insists. Slam digs into his locker to find a mobile phone which he uses to contact his manager.
"Kid, you won't be able to afford his release clause." A wrestler advises him.
"We'll see." He replies. At this stage, all of the wrestlers are standing or at least leaning against the walls with eyes on the TV to see what is happening in the match. Rev takes a look simply because everyone else is doing so, he figures that it must be an interesting one. After approximately 20 seconds of staring at the television. Rev turns pre-emptively for when Slam's manager walks in; A large dark skinned man with a black turtle neck shirt and jeans with his blonde hair shaved along the side and cropped on the top.
"Slam what do you need?" He asks in a somewhat cheerful mood.
Slam explains exactly what Rev wants without sugar coating it at all.
"Woah, okay there, thanks for the joke, but…" The manager replies in surprise.
"I'm serious," Rev replies, trying to stand up in the conversation. "How much is the release clause?"
"It's 75,000 quasarlinium, you can't afford it." He insists. Rev has other ideas.
"If you give me just 5 minutes, I'll have the money in solid Quasarlinium. You stay right there." Rev says as he backs away to the exit and runs across to the VIP landing pads where he opens the doors from the inside. The security guards do not have the time to turn around to authenticate who has just done that, because Rev has flown off into the sky, which has grown towards a very dark grey; like a sunset on an overcast day. Rev flies back to base.
"I need 75,000 Quasarlinium right now." Rev asks to Ace as he looks at the simulator program that Tech is designing on a computer.
"What for?" Ace asks.
"To release Slam Tasmanian from his wrestling contract." Rev explains anxiously.
"That's a lot of money for someone of his age and ability in the wrestling circuit." Tech notes as he stands up to get one of the bars. "But we have to do this without raising suspicions and in the long run, this will be a very good deal."
"You think a kid walking offering to release someone from their contract is not raising suspicions enough?" Ace asks.
"It's better than taking him and therefore having someone look for him which might lead to all of us being found." Tech explains. He lifts one of the bars onto a lead plate using his magnetic levitation before plasma cutting a line thorough a section to give exactly the right weight. Once done, he picks it up with his own hands and hands it across to Rev.
"Just don't drop it while you're flying, then it would turn into an expensive cannonball." Tech warns.
"Got it." Rev says before zipping off across the city. At the same time, Tech begins to feel concerned for Rev, he quickly debates whether to tell this to everyone or not. He feels that Rev is doing most of the work whilst everyone stays here without a clue. Tec may be doing something right now, but he heels that it's not as significant as what Rev is doing. He's not jealous of the roadrunner's actions, but he's worried that he will burn out at some point but not in a fireball, a collapsed heap on the ground with is mind and body not sound. Tech knows that if he were doing all of these things, he'd be near breaking point, then again he is not the most mentally tough despite his intelligence.
"I hope he's alright." Tech says as he sits back down to work on the coding for the simulator program as he waits for the liquid fuel to be turned into gas so more of it can be stored on the jetpacks in order to achieve greater range. This option was considered when the design was initially made, but was deemed too volatile and costly to implement. However, Tech does not need to worry about the second part and he won't talk about the second.
"Rev?" Ace asks rhetorically. "He's fine, he's got everything under control."
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't care about his wellbeing." Tech says. Although it does not convey exactly what he feels, in his extensive range of vocabulary, the right words elude him. The more words he thinks of, the more it changes the meaning of the words he has already said. It quickly becomes a task that he tries to solve using trail and error in his head, this would be a better task for a computer to do; a program that translates feelings into words.
"I'm not worried about him, he seems to be more confortable than most of us with this whole thing, I think he's enjoying it the most. Imagine having the freedom to be able to fly and travel great distances that those sorts of speeds, it would be immensely empowering." Ace postulates.
"I guess we've been unlucky in that regard." Tech replies. "Even me, I don't feel empowered about this magnetic levitation I have. It seems more like a party trick more than anything else."
"But you would rather still have it than not right?" Ace asks, knowing what answer he is going to get.
"I put that up on a plate for you, didn't I?" Tech replies.
"Yeah, you made that easy for me." Ace replies.
"It wasn't intentional." Tech adds.
"Whatever you say." Ace says as he stands up to look around for Lexi but he can't see her from their current position. She might be hidden behind the central column of the building. Ace walks around the table quietly as he is not wearing any shoes on and so his feet do not make as much noise. He cannot find her inside, so he heads up the stairs to the viewing platform; where she is standing away from the barrier, not looking at anything in particular before Ace comes up the stairs.
"Lexi, are you alright?" Ace asks. Lexi responds straight away, sounding a bit agitated.
"I can hear everything you say down there." Lexi responds. "I don't like all this change either. I have to concentrate on trying not to hear everything because it's not what I'm used to. Rev is the only one who isn't confused or overwhelmed, it's because his gift is speed and that can be used basically all the time. Your power is only good at destroying things and that is something we don't need right now."
"Who's to say that's all I'll be? The way I see it right now is that these powers are like weapons to a soldier; it's only an addition to we are. I'd be no different if I just had a double barrel laser blaster. That's why I'm going to make it up by doing other things, like mastering fighting and swordplay. I think that's where the difference is really going to come from, the power just gives me the added responsibility and motivation to do so. That's not to be a killing machine or anything, just to be better than who I am currently." Ace explains.
"It's so easy for you to say that." Lexi replies. "I'll wait until you back that up with actions."
"Am I not allowed to say that?" Ace asks, perplexed at why she is being so aggressive towards his pledges to become a better person.
"What I mean is that we don't really have a purpose, we're being rounded up like sheep simply because we are different with no reason for doing so other than that. And, since the government is certainly not behind this, this… person or company or conspiracy has some sort of plan for us. And you…" Lexi tirades with a controlled and measured anger that has been slowly building ever since she realised that she had changed. Ace, on the other hand, would like Tech to speed up with refurbishing the jetpacks. But he thinks that they should have a culture where internal rifts form in this group which leads to them becoming dysfunctional.
"I swear, this is all I know." Ace says defensively. "She said that there will be super villains that are created from this whole thing, and we're going to be the ones who stand against them." Ace says.
"Isn't that what the police and military do?" Lexi replies as if it should be common knowledge. "By your own logic, these powers aren't going to make us any better at doing that than if we had a blaster in our hands. This shouldn't be our job or duty or whatever this is called."
"Lexi, please. We have to stay together." Ace insists, moving closer to her to try and reassure her. However, she moves backwards, towards the glass panes that act as a guardrail along the outside of the building.
"I want to make my own decision about whether I want to do this, and right now it's not looking good for you." Lexi replies in a way that tries to show maximum disappointment towards what Ace is trying to do.
"Lexi, don't be like this." Ace pleads. Tech hears this commotion as he walks up the stairs, holding a jetpack in each hand by the straps. He doesn't want to be caught in the middle of this, so it makes him feel awkward as they both turn around once they both catch his eye so to speak.
"I'll just leave these here." Tech says inoffensively as he puts the jetpacks on the ground and turns 180 degrees to leave quickly, running down the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible. Ace can now diffuse and change the subject of this conversation.
"Come on, let's get out of here so we can use our powers." Ace says, trying to contain his excitement to the point where it is not offensive to Lexi but also hints that he is excited. Ace walks over to get his jetpack. As he swings it around his body to fix it to his torso, he notices that Lexi is not impressed and has not moved at all. Instead, she gives a look of indignation towards him with her arms folded over.
"Lexi." Ace complains. Futility and exasperation are creeping into speech and body language. Part of him want him to persist until she feels better, the other part wants to leave by himself; the first part is larger but diminishing in size as time passes by. "What do you want to do?"
Lexi's answer to that question hasn't been formulated, a symptom of being in a mope. As a result, all Ace can hear in response is silence. It may be an advantage to him knowing that Lexi can't come up with an answer, but to brag about it now would be insensitive.
"Please, let's get out of here, out of the city, and leave our problems here for a bit, you know what I am saying?" Ace asks. Still, Lexi does not reply back. There is an inner conflict that needs to be reconciled and balanced. Whilst she would like her situation to be better than it was if the meteor had not hit, she would also not like it to be taken to this extreme; where she is thrust into being someone who is completely out of character with who she is. It's a case of simply being a person who isn't frowned upon but also isn't held up on a pedestal. She would rather be respected rather than to command it.
"Maybe… you know what? I kind of just want to be a person, to feel like a person. We should stop trying to be heroes and instead let's try to be people." Lexi explains as if to stumble into that answer she was looking for. With a growing cheerfulness she lets her arms come to her side before getting close to Ace until they are almost touching each other. "Let's be people."
"But, we… are?" Ace says, slightly confused.
"Let's not go to the desert, let's stay here, order in, let's act like we are a bunch of friends rather than a group of individuals who are just here because someone told them so." Lexi says. There's something about what she says that resonates and agrees with Ace. That's not to say that his initial position was wrong, they are both right but in different areas, so there is no conflict between these two issues, and Ace chooses for it to remain that way.
"That's a great idea, just one problem. Who's going to be open after what has happened?" Ace asks. She chuckles at how he has overestimated the damage.
"No around here is going to be shut." Lexi answers. "Come on, let's go inside."
She walks up to the jetpack and picks one up and carries it by the strap down the stairs, leaving Ace to wonder what has just happened up here.
(31/12/14): For all those reading, writing or both. A happy new year to you all.
