AN: You'd think that could have done something other than give vials out to the highest bidder...

ooOoo

I'll admit that I'm always a little uneasy when I get off at the bus stop near Mac's Arcade. Mac's was built during the heyday of Brockton Bay-and video arcades-and these days it's off-off-Boardwalk location went past edgy into downright dangerous.

I still kept visiting almost every day. The dodgy location kept all of the cool kids from school from dropping by, which was nice, but the real reason for my frequent visits was the arcade cabinet in the back corner. I hummed along with the theme music that started up as soon as I dropped in my quarter. I didn't even have to look at the screen to read along with the scrolling text.

"Congratulations! You have been selected to defend the DIMENSIONAL FRONTIER against EDEN and her swarm of alien parasites! Beggining as a lowly Ward, do you have what it takes to rise through the ranks..."

I stopped talking and started loosening up my fingers as the intro wound to a close. It wasn't like I hadn't long mastered the early levels, but a moment's inattention could still lead to an embarassing result.

The game was the most detailed cape simulator I had ever seen. It's devotion to realism resulted in a complex control scheme and brutal difficulty curve that had kept it from achieving much popularity, but that was fine with me. It wasn't like I had a lot of friends clamoring for my time to keep me from mastering my chosen task.

The first level started you out as a Brute in a relatively straight forward punch-em-up. I darted through the enemies with practiced ease, and if I imagined a certain trio of faces dissolving into pixellated death sequences, well, who could blame me?

The second level was where things started to get interesting. You played as a Blaster, which was challenging in its own way, especially when it came to the final boss. You could engage in a tricky dog fight, chipping away at his health bit by bit... or you could nail the barrel he started off standing next to and end the whole thing in one spectacular explosion.

I often thought Winslow High could be improved by the addition of some exploding barrels.

So it went, level after level, until I finally reached my current nemesis: the Behemoth fight.

You were playing someone who was Eidolon in all but name, which was a challenge by itself. Juggling three powers and controlling them all at the same time was no joke. Even worse was that coordinating any kind of assault on the Endbringer required absolutely perfect timing. One mistake and you were dead. Succeed... and you chipped about half a percent off of his health.

I had scoured the internet for clues, but every shortcut some online hero claimed to have found had turned out to be a false lead. Today I was determined to get through the level the hard way.

I was in the zone. Darting in and out, dodging lightning bolts by inches, landing hit after hit... Dimly it crossed my mind that my dad would be upset if I was late for dinner, but I pushed the thought aside as the unnecessary distraction that it was.

Finally... finally! Behemoth gave a despairing cry and disappeared in an overly dramatic death scene. I slumped down and took the chance to mop my brow. The screen had faded to black, and the next level seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time to load. Eventually a single sentence appeared on the screen.

YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE AWAITS

The screen faded back in to a peaceful meadow. A female figure was walking towards my viewpoint, and as it came into focus I blinked in shock. It couldn't be...

"All this effort," even the voice matched Emma's mocking tones perfectly, "and you'll never match up to me. What a loser."

I was still staring in shock when she unleashed a golden beam of destruction that wiped out half of my health in one hit.

I growled in anger and settled back down to the normal grind of gameplay. It was just a coincidence. The whole "my final form is the one that looks human" thing. That's all. But I'd be damned if even a virtual avatar of my former best friend was going to beat me here, in my one sanctuary.

She was incredibly elusive, boasting a wide array of powers that put even my avatar to shame. But the AI could only do so much, and eventually her lack of creativity started to show. I couldn't say how long it took, but I was definitely starting to feel some hunger pangs by the time she finally exploded in another dazzling burst of light.

Again, the screen went black. I stared at it, waiting for the game to continue, and jumped in surprise when somebody cleared their throat behind me.

Spinning around, I saw a somewhat nebbish looking man, standing in an anonymous corridor that had somehow taken the place of the back wall of the arcade. He smiled at me once he saw he had my attention. He looked like an accountant who had just discovered a new tax deduction.

"We've been watching you for some time, Taylor," he said, holding out his hand. "How would you like to come help save the world?"

ooOoo