1
Rain slowly drizzled down, covering the massive trees that dominated the landscape as far as the eye could see, each the height and width of a New York City skyscraper. The reason for that was because in actuality, they were New York City skyscrapers. But not here. Here in the Accelerated World, created by the fighting game Brain Burst, the cityscape had become ancient, enormous trees in a Primeval Forest stage.
Copper Tarnish – not his real name – sat on a particularly thick branch on one of those trees – that wasn't a tree – watching his parent – not his real parent, of course – engaged in a fast and furious duel against another fighter. The feeling was odd, since it had been some time since his tag-team partner, Indigo Viper, had fought a single duel. She hadn't given him a reason for this sudden fight, but then again, he'd known her for most of his life and knew better than to ask for an explanation.
When the duel was initiated, he had been invited to join the Gallery, an area where friends of the duelers could watch and cheer. So here he sat, on a branch that wasn't a branch with a group of people he didn't really know, watching his friend Viper fight an orange-tinted game avatar that could jump really high and throw small bombs at her. She retaliated with throwing stars and knives that materialized out of nowhere.
Copper Tarnish – Tarn to his friends – let out a sigh. Not because the fight was boring – quite the opposite, really – but because his mind was wandering over the several problems that were bothering him, both in the real and Accelerated World. Adults probably wouldn't see these as problems, but to a thirteen-year-old, these were problems on a global scale.
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, friendly voice. "Hey there, Tarn. Thought I might find you on a lone branch, sulking about life."
Looking up, Tarn Saw a bright green figure approach. The avatar had a featureless face and a slim, female shaped torso and waist and hips. From there though, she had only one, extra – thick leg that ended in a round, double – axled wheel, meaning she had to roll instead of walk, in order to move around. Each of her thin, feminine yet muscular arms ended in small, circular shields that looked similar to the wheel.
Tarn smiled, though nobody would be able to see it through his helmet's face plate. "Why Emerald Buckler, as I live and breathe!" He was fairly impressed that she could keep her balance on the rounded tree branch, even if it as wide as a street.
"Yeah, yeah," she said, her Queens accent sharp. "You just dueled me yesterday, you drama queen."
"So, what brings you here?" he asked, motioning for her to sit next to him. He knew it was difficult for her to stay still with that wheel. "Did Viper put you on her Gallery list?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I know that guy." she pointed to Viper's opponent. "I'm not all that close to Orange Acorn, but he's in the Legion, so I gotta give him my support, ya know?"
Tarn was a bit taken aback. First of all, Orange Acorn was... well, it was a name among names, no doubt about that, but the way Emerald Buckler had made that last remark, it sounded like there was something else there, beneath the surface of her words.
"Is this like a Legion activity?" he asked cautiously. Normally it was uncouth to ask about another Legion's business, but he and Buck were pretty close. When she nodded, he continued. "But I thought Pewter Slip was chill about that kind of thing."
"She usually is," Buck replied, "But something's been bugging her for a few days now, and she's all about Legion solidarity right now." It sounded like she wanted to say something else, but her voice dropped off suddenly.
"But," she continued, sounding more like herself, "I'd never miss a fight between spectrums!"
That confused him. "Spectrums?"
Emerald Buckler sighed. "You know, I've spoken to Indigo Viper a few times, but maybe I missed something; is she a complete airhead? She always forgets to tell you about important stuff."
Tarn chuckled. It was true; in the real world, Lisa Pak could be quite forgetful if she was rushed or excited, and even more so when both.
"A fight between spectrums," Buck explained, "is a duel between two colors of the rainbow."
He nodded, certain that he would've figured that out on his own eventually. He watched as Viper dodged a wide swing from Orange Acorn and managed to score a hit with a glowing dagger, earning a loud cheer from the Gallery crowd.
"Are spectrum fights a big deal then?" he asked
"Well, not officially," she replied watching the fight with renewed interest, "but there's only seven colors in the rainbow, so they are pretty rare."
He could understand that. As far as Tarn was aware, no color was repeated when the Brain Burst system created your avatar. That, on top of the fact that there was no way of knowing how many of the seven colors had been used yet, and he could see why this kind of duel might not be very common.
"Any idea what other colors of the spectrum are out there?" he asked.
Buch shrugged. "I've seen a guy named Red Soccer in a tag-team match before. He was level 5, I think. Rumor says the Empire on Staten Island has a guy with green as his color, but I don't know that one for sure." She looked over to hi mand nudged him with her elbow. "But enough about that. I want to know some details about your little three-man Legion ruling all of Manhattan."
"Hey," Tarn replied defensively, "we're a four-man Legion now."
She barked out a laugh. "Oh yeah, you got that purple kid, don't you?"
"Mauve," he corrected. "Mauve Dictionary."
"What a name." she groaned. "What's his story?"
"Well," he said, thinking back to the past two and a half weeks, "his parent suffered total point loss not long after introducing him to the game, so he was on his own. He's got some great support abilities, but one on one isn't easy for him. Without a tag-team partner, he'd be gone faster than a snap."
Buck nodded. Total point loss was the dread of all who called themselves Burst Linkers. "So, you adopted him?" she asked. "Oh, that's just sooo sweet."
Tarn shoved her. "Yeah, yeah. Bite me. I felt for the guy you know? Then I met him in the real and found out he was only seven years old; an actual kid. He was really low in points and I guess a big brother instinct jumped out. Apparently, some gang was farming his points. I figured the Legion could help, and that was that."
"I still can't believe the Crystal Conclave stretches through all of Manhattan." Buck said shaking her head. "I mean, Pewter Slip has had the Slip Circuit for a while now and we don't hold all of Queens."
Tarn nodded. Their Legion Master, or Governor as they were called, was able to work out some kind of deal with several of the small territories that dotted Manhattan, so it was far from ALL the borough. Not that he needed to tell Emerald Buckler that.
"Well," he said calmly, "almost all of Manhattan. We end at 110th Street, not at the Bronx border."
Buck shivered. "And I'd bet my left shield that was by design." She shook her head. "I don't care what any rumors say, your Governor is a good planner and has a brain in that skull of hers."
Tarn couldn't disagree with either of those statements. The Bronx was under control of Silver Lupus and his Legion, the Lupus Guard. Since they fought to maintain the status quo, the establishment of a new, powerful legion in Manhattan was an affront to everything they believed. Never mind that the Governor of said Legion flew in the face of every tradition the Accelerated World had established.
Luckily, Harlem stood between the two Legions, meaning that the Lupus Guard couldn't attempt to invade them during the weekly territory battles, an event that allowed Legions to attempt to expand their borders. That meant little in the way of actual conflict and more along the lines of an occasional duel whenever a Guardian (as they called themselves) wandered into Manhattan.
He turned back to the fight. The time limit had to be almost up by now; not being a combatant, he didn't have a digital display to show him the time. Still, the shape both avatars appeared in was proof enough of the length of their fight.
"Ten bucks. Acorn pulls it out at the last second." Emerald bucker said, looking at Tarn
"Oh, you're on." he replied. "Can't have you dissing my parent like that!"
They were close enough to hear Viper call out her special attack; "Indigo Haze!"
Smoke surrounded her and four identical Vipers stepped out, each looking just as real as the next.
Buck groaned. "Ugh, forgot about that move. Yeah, Acorn's toast."
Tarn watched as Orange Acorn put up a valiant effort, but in the end, he ended up impaled by all four daggers, though he knew only one of them was real.
A resounding cheer exploded from the Gallery as Orange Acorn exploded into thousands of tiny pixels and evaporated while Viper's clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, leaving only one indigo-colored ninja girl left. The cheers intensified as she bowed to the Gallery, especially from the male-type avatars, and it wasn't hard to see why.
Indigo Viper had the impossible curves of a woman who couldn't possibly exist in the real word. Everything, from her wide hips and thighs to her slim waist and enormous bust screamed that man had to be the one who designed these avatars. It was common knowledge amongst Burst Linkers that the game Brain Burst 2039 had begun in Japan, and if anyone doubted it, the avatar Indigo Viper quelled those doubts!
"Does that bother you?" Emerald Buckler asked, motioning towards the avatars catcalling Viper. "I mean, she's your parent, so you know her in the real. She a girlfriend or something?"
That was unusual, especially for Buck, Tarn though. Hardly anyone in the Accelerated World asked personal questions like that; it was considered rude by most. Then again, Buck was always one to throw caution to the wind and risk it.
"Nah," he replied, "just a friend I've known since forever."
Buck nodded. "The best kind of friend." she agreed. "The fight's over, so we'll probably get kicked out of here in a second, so until next time, be safe buddy."
Be safe? What kind of farewell was that? He couldn't ask however, since the world around him was beginning to fade out. "Uh, you too, pal."
Rick Billings opened his eyes and blinked a few times, eyeing a sun beam that was dangerously close to his face, next to him in the booth he was sitting in. Thanks to the power of acceleration granted by Brain Burst, a half hour duel lasted only 1.8 seconds in the real world, and that sunbeam hadn't been there 1.8 seconds ago. Hmmm...
A low groan from the booth across from him diverted his attention from the rouge sun beam and he watched his best friend and Brain Burst parent Lisa Pak stretch. He heard joints pop and a sigh escape her lips as she relaxed her athletic body. It was hard to believe she was Rick's own age of thirteen, with her height (5'11") and Asiatic features making her appear a bit older, sometimes getting her unwanted attention.
Luckily, they were at a dive-café, so their booth could be locked from the inside, though it was transparent to ensure nothing... naughty was happening. Lisa brushed her glossy, black hair out of her eyes, revealing her father's Korean heritage in her skin tone and eyes while also showing off her mother's Irish roots with a narrow jawline and angular chin.
Rick, on the other hand, was about as plain and normal as you could possibly get. Light brown hair, not all or short for his age, not fat nor thin for his size, he was just one big basket of plain old blah. Over the last two months, ever since getting Brain Burst and helping to establish his Legion, he'd been trying to work on this. One thing he did now as keep his shaggy hair brushed back, out of his face.
See, Rick had one feature that wasn't as plain; his eyes. They were a strange aquamarine color that seemed to flow in the right light. This unique feature, paired with his extra-normal everything else had been a source of annoyance for a long time, so he used his thick, usually unkempt hair to hide it.
Until he met her.
Samantha Watt, the Legion Governor known as Crystal Seraph, and Rick's girlfriend had taken him and set him straight with a few words and a push in the right direction. Granted, she was Lisa's friend first, so he had to tank her every once in a while, not just for Brain Burst, but for introducing him to Sam the thing was, once he became a part of her life, he discovered that her life had a few complications to it!
Not in the real world, where she was the adopted child of two prominent, wealthy African American parents who had two children of their own, but in the Accelerated World, where the lucky few who met the requirements to install it, the Burst Linkers, ran things in a way they saw fit.
And it gave them the power of acceleration.
"That was a fun fight," Lisa said after a yawn. "Good Gallery too. Ol' Acorn picked up a trick or two since I fought him last."
Rick was only half listening as he scrolled through a few of the afternoon's news stories. "Didn't look like you were struggling too much." His neruolinker on the back of his neck chirped as a new story appeared on his virtual screen that only he could see. Likewise, Lisa had a virtual display in front of her that Rick couldn't see.
"Well," she replied, quickly typing a response to a text on email, "I did jump to level 5 last week. It's not much, but it can help, those level up boosts. Back in the day, when we were both level 1, the fights were way more even. We both put our all into them. Later on, he kind of dwindled, though he kept leveling, so I guess he just didn't like fighting me. But that fight, he put his all into it! Tons of efforts! Guess he was just saving it up." She finished her typing and closed her desktop.
Rick shrugged. "Could have something to do with the Slip Circuit," he suggested. "Buck was at the fight and while she didn't say anything, I got the feeling there's some heavy politics going down."
"Hmm," Lisa mused. "That doesn't sound like Pewter Slip. I mean, the Circuit's supposed to be about fun and not giving a damn."
He shrugged again. "Could it be us? The Conclave, I mean? I mean, establishing a new Legion that rivals the others in size, right in the middle of the city? That's gonna pluck a few feathers. Plus, the fact that we've been able to defend it so well with only four of us, well, it could be sending more of a message than we wanted."
Lisa shook her head as she put her hair in a ponytail. "No way, Sam wanted to make a splash with this, so whatever the other Legions are thinking or doing, we have to trust that this is going according to plan. We have to trust she knows what she's doing."
Easier said than done, Rick thought, thought, though he nodded in response.
"Anyway," she continued. "I'm all dueled out for the day. We did two tag matches and I had a solo, so if you wanna go solo for a fight or two, go for it. You're almost to level 4, right?"
He nodded again, though "almost" was a relative term when it came to Burst Points. He needed less than 200 Ponts, but since he generally received 10 or 20 points per win, it was a slow process; especially since he lost almost as much as he won!
Still, her felt he'd been level 3 for far too long, but maybe that was just him. After only a few days of playing, he made it to level 2, almost unheard of. Then, a week, later, he shot to level 3, leading some to think he was some kind of dueling genius. Sadly, it was only because he'd gotten caught up in one of Sam's fights and ended up getting victories over opponents he had no business beating.
Now, two months later, he was till level 3 and looking for a path to increase it. But the team of Viper/Tarnish was starting to make the rounds, and a lot of tag-teams were avoiding the Conclave's territory. That, combined with end of the school year standardized tests had left Rick with little in the way of Brain Burst victories.
That was over though! Plus, summer vacation was in a month! He had all summer to collect Points!
But at this moment, he didn't really feel up to it. Sure, the duels didn't actually happen, but they were still pretty tiring. Instead, he wanted to enjoy his Saturday afternoon. It was unfortunate that Sam couldn't join them, but she was at a junior tennis tournament, some qualifier for a major something or other. It truly impressed Rick that she could run the Legion and concentrate on her tennis. As far as he was concerned, women were made for multitasking.
"Nah, I'm good," Rick replied. "We have territories tomorrow, so we should rest up some."
She smirked back. "Sure."
"It's too bad we don't get Burst Points in the territories though," he said.
"Yeah," she agreed, but her thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Having known her for most of his life, Rick knew something was up.
"Something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Miss Pak?" he asked.
"Well, uh..." she looked down at her lap and actually blushed a little! Now Rick was interested; Lisa never blushed!
"C'mon," he said, "out with it."
"Craig asked me out yesterday!" she blurted suddenly before clapping both hands over her mouth and opening both eyes wide like she couldn't believe she'd just said that.
Rick raised an eyebrow, "Craig Thomas? The eight grader who plays basketball on the varsity team?"
She nodded; mouth still covered.
He grinned. Ever since he and Sam had started dating – as much as seventh-graders could date – she had been giving him hell. Now, it was payback time!
"Don't." she warned when she saw his smile.
He held up both hands in mock sincerity. "No, no, I wasn't going to say a thing! Nothing like all the crap YOU'VE been throwing at ME the last month and a half! Didn't even cross my mind. I promise."
"I didn't even give him an answer." she muttered, crossing her arms.
"Plus, your dad would probably kill him."
Now she glared at him. "Don't you dare Rick Billings!" I swear, I'll kill you."
"Perish the thought," he replied, hands still up. "I'd sooner try to convince an adult that Brain Burst existed. I'd never try to blackmail a friend."
"Oh please," Lisa huffed, "like an adult would believe you about Brain Burst."
Because of the nature of the requirements needed to install the program, currently it wasn't possible for adults to play Brain Burst, so they didn't know about it.
A sudden email appeared on both of their displays, interrupting the conversation.
Checking the sender, they both noticed it was Sam.
Done with tennis. Meet at the Base ASAP. Later!
The Base was in Central Park, near one of the many fountains and hedge bush formations that allowed at least a little privacy. Because they were only thirteen, none of them had their own place, obviously, so they had to make due for team meetings. But it was going to take a good while to get there!
Both of them sighed and Lisa looked at Rick. "Orders are orders, I guess. I'll shoot her a reply telling her we're on the way."
Rick nodded. Both of them were actually quite eager to meet with their friend whom they thought would be tied up all day. Neither, however, we're looking forward to a forty-five-minute subway ride though!