Chapter 37 – No Ticket
An event as popular as BlizzCon demanded exacting logistics to prevent utter bedlam. With excitement running at fever pitch as fans of Blizzard Entertainment's many universes descended upon the Anaheim Convention Center, inevitable bottlenecks formed and lines snaked for seemingly-endless distances. Some consolation was had from people geeking out over shared interests (one particularly intense discussion surrounded stealth in Heroes of the Storm), but this ultimately had the opposite effect of making people more impatient to play their favorite games rather than less.
Nova decided she would have some fun. Other Heroes groused, but went along anyway.
Event schedule in hand, Nova got into a very short admission line as most arrivals had already dispersed to their convention halls by the time the actual Heroes arrived. Denied entry due to lack of credentials ("Killer costume, though!"), she snuck off, cloaked, and tiptoed past the people who had just told her "no" two minutes ago. She blew a silent kiss in their direction, grinning like a child on Christmas.
"1600 hours" she said quietly. "Time to see who looks like me!"
It wasn't a mainstage event, but groups of StarCraft-themed cosplayers had gathered of their own accord. Some took large group-shots (so an SCV stood under Kerrigan's wings who was flanked by Zeratul, Nova, Raynor, and, oddly, Sgt. Hammer). More well-represented characters judged each other on accuracy and swapped tips on costume-making. It was to one of these groups Nova injected herself.
"Wait, is that real metal for the gun?"
"Look at the armor detail! Was that 3D-printed or injection-molded?"
Nova said nothing, hurrying away as if she had urgent business to attend to.
"That prop was really heavy. Some people's obsession with detail…" muttered one cosplayer.
She broke into a weakly-secured access point. Unlike digging through SPEAR, this required little effort.
"Aha! Gotcha!"
The parade of cosplayers began on schedule, the same schedule Nova swiped. As each was announced (name and character), they walked out onto the stage, stood for a bit, then departed for the next contestant. Nova finally settled her debate with herself, and cut in front of a Sonya.
"Hey!"
She stepped on stage, toggling back to invisible. Now was the moment.
FZZZT.
Gasps from the auditorium crowd, then wild cheers.
"That's…that's cinematic quality right there" said a shocked Wil Wheaton. "No fair, Blizzard—putting your own woman in the contest!"
"You have no idea…" said Nova, though nobody heard.
A blur tore the eyes of convention-goers away from a woman who'd just appeared onstage, seemingly stepping out of a Blizzard cinematic. Nova fell backward, struck by Kerrigan, who slashed wildly as she dropped from the ceiling. Spikes came up through the stage floor, splintering wood and metal while missing Nova by less than a meter. Heavy footsteps. Jim Raynor, who had been content to wander with his visor down, took the mic and flipped his faceplate open.
"Sorry to crash the party, guys. But we have an announcement."
He passed the mic to Gazlowe, who now stood at the head of a line of Heroes—one that completely took over the entire stage, much to the chagrin of cosplayers.
"How ya doin?' Gazlowe here! So, you ever hear a rumor so ridiculous you'd rather believe the Horde and Alliance could coexist?"
Jaina cleared her throat loudly, and accepted the vocal amplifier.
"Some of us still believe that." She left a very big pause before speaking again. "Your society has been living a lie, and we are here to bring you the truth!"
"Fear is not always an illusion!" bellowed Diablo, having sunken into the splintered stage. He needed no microphone, so it was passed again.
"Yet fear is what drove those who would conceal us" continued Malfurion.
"Maybe some of you should stay concealed" huffed Sylvanas. "As I suspected, my portrayals have been…lacking."
"You weren't supposed to say that!" hissed Raynor. "Stick to the plan!"
She quickly passed the microphone—she was not going to admit she'd forgotten her part of the speech.
"Bul-Kathos would frown upon you concealing your true power!" added Sonya. She towered over everyone save Diablo.
"Of course, you should do so responsibly" interrupted Johanna. "Nothing is worse than…"
"A lesson in restraint from those who chased me into my own realm, killed me, and then brought me back for more loot?" roared Diablo. "How amusing."
"We will find the people who have been suppressing evidence of the supernatural. And we will kill them!" screeched Valla, still seeming quite deranged. "Their blood will fill the oceans, the lakes, and the rivers!"
Her tirade drew curious stares because, its disturbing content aside, she did not resemble any character from any Blizzard property without her iconic hood and armor (though the voice rang familiar).
"Brightwing no like friend's attitude! But we must stop the bad people!"
Raynor couldn't help but be amused by this—Brightwing, who decapitated a hummingbird in one bite, complaining about someone else being too much into gore?
By this point, Weaponized Extraction Teams were told to forget subtlety. The cat, as they say, was out of the bag, and forcing it back in was going to be messy. Captain George Sulu of DU Steadfast Samurai opened fire from a great altitude, directing his plasma cannons at a specific target. They would try to minimize collateral damage (energy weapons made this easier than explosives) but in the interest of maintaining the watch SPEAR-like organizations held for centuries, it was sometimes more practical to eliminate witnesses along with the actual 0-10-4s when the ablation failure hit this scale. Less memory wiping that way.
Impacts turned a parking lot full of cars into just so much twisted rubble as blue fire rained down on what was once a Manta-class transport and everything around it.
"Clear the room!" yelled Nova. "Everyone get out of here!"