"Cannot believe they stuck me with Cobalt Lad," muttered Hal as the to groups moved out. "First chance I get, I'm complaining…"
His stopped and looked at the Young Avengers. He definitely recognised the black-haired kid in the red cape. Squinting trough the visor, he was surprised when the machine responded by cranking up the optics. Looking at the guy, he suddenly realised why he knew him.
"Kaplan!"
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Patriot looked around the arena. Well, it could have been worse. A t least they were facing humans, and there was gravity. His eyes settled on the platforms. With a little imagination, he guessed he could spring –
"KAPLAN!" The roar echoed around the arena, and Patriot looked around to see the guy in the armour charging at them with his fists out. "KAPLAN! C'MERE, FAGGOT!"
Hulkling looked at Wiccan. "You never told us you had a nemesis, Billy."
Wiccan stopped. "He sounds like a guy from my school. Hal Roberts. Hal… well, I guess you could call him my nemesis…"
"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M GONNA KILL YOU, FREAK!"
"Aw, drop it, you ass," said Wiccan. Taking a deep breath, he threw a flash of energy at the charging teenager. Who suddenly found himself sixty feet up, and falling.
Inches from Hal's ear, a tiny voice said, "Gravity accelerating. Propulsion will activate in 2… 1…"
Neat, thought Hal. What else can this thing do?
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Hulkling saw the armour's boot-jets activate. Based on the guy's shouting, he guessed it would be better if he dealt with the armoured guy before he figured out how to work the lasers, or whatever that suit had. Using his shape-shifting powers to grow a set of wings, he was about to take off when he heard someone say, "Son of Mar-Vell!"
Hulkling turned. There was a Kree in green armour. Smaller armour than what the flying dude had, but Hulkling didn't feel like taking any chances. "Yes, I'm the son of Captain Marvel," he shouted back, "what is it?"
"I am Nal-Rogg, Cadet of the Kree Accuser Corps. Son of Yon-Rogg, Commodore of the Kree Second Space Fleet. Our fathers had a blood feud before their deaths. Now, by the forms of ritual combat, I challenge you to end that feud with a duel to the death!"
Hulkling stared at the guy for a second. "Listen, uh, Nal-Rogg, I'd like to help you with that, but my friends need my help, so if you could just wait a bit, then – "
"If you will not meet the summons," said Nal-Rogg, "then by the Kree law, I name you as a xenoform."
Hulkling did not have time for this. "A what?"
"What on Earth you call an alien. As the non-Kree child of a Kree parent, you hold a unique place in our law. Thus, if you will not accept the burden of a Kree male of your family, and face me in a duel, I can legally declare you a xenoform and dispose you and your accomplices."
"That's lunacy!"
"That is the status of the law. What say you to the summons?"
Hulkling looked once again at Cobalt Lad, who was firing lasers and missing everyone. "If I face you'll, you'll leave my friends out?"
"Yes, son of Mar-Vell."
"Fine." He ran for Nal-Rogg, and before he had got halfway he was flapping his wings, getting himself airborne. With twenty feet to go he launched himself, and got knocked about the head with a mace. Recovering, he made his arms longer and began trying to find a way through his opponent's armour.
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Vision floated through the platforms. He knew there were four opponents. One was above him, only dangerous at close range. Another was engaging Hulkling. The third, a white gorilla creature, was trying to beat Patriot with little success. Where was the fourth? If he could find her and stun her, then –
Suddenly, he felt sluggish. His processors began to warn him of overheating, and his cooling units swung into overdrive. To power this he had to stop phasing immediately. Which was a problem when he was floating through a platform. He screamed in pain as his molecules meshed with the platform. Where was this attack coming from?
"When I was twelve," said a voice conversationally, "a boy in my school found out who my father was and beat me up. I told him my dad would get him, and he laughed. He said, 'What's he gonna do, lame me to death?' And that's the problem when you carry a name like Melter. You become a target."
Vision looked around for the speaker. He saw a girl in a strange helmet. She stepped onto the platform he found himself through, and kicked him in the head. "So tell me, metal man," she continued, "do you feel up to targeting anyone right now?"
Vision thought he could muster enough power to go intangible, but suddenly her helmet started to glow, and he could feel the microwaves entering his body, slowing his systems, trapping him…
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Patriot ducked again. The gorilla, if it was a gorilla, was a hard foe to beat. It had several times his strength, was almost as fast as him, and was it gunning for him. He could maybe outthink it, but he would never outfight it.
Ducking around a punch, he realised that was the answer. He was a soldier now, like his grandfather, like his uncle. Soldiers used the terrain. Soldiers looked after their teammates.
He could hear the flying guy's laser bouncing off Wiccan's forcefields. Looking around, he saw the Vision being attacked by one of the other villains. If he could get her to concentrate on him, the Vision would be able to fight the Were-Ape.
He ran. There was a roar behind him as the beast tried to match his speed, but he had the head start. Jumping from stairs to platforms, in the air most of the time, he managed to get close enough to use a throwing-star on the girl. They bounced off her helmet, stunning her just enough for the Vision to get away. "You want to be my target, boy, you'll do just as well…"
"I'd like to see you try – " Suddenly, the lobe of Patriot's left ear were burning. He stopped and put his hand over it.
"Metal earrings," said the Meltress. "Flashy. Hip. Dumb. And very," she paused to punch him so he fell off the platform, "distracting."
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On happier days, the Dignitaries' Platform of the Zenn-La Arena would hold government officials, celebrities, or the families of the opposing captains. Tonight, however, it held only two people: the Grandmaster and Kang. The Jadzian singularity floated around them both.
The Grandmaster steeped his fingers and shot a glance at Kang. "I am impressed, old foe," he said, "these four youngsters are all you said they were. I am surprised that I was able to assemble a match for them so easily."
"Mmm," said Kang vaguely. He was looking at a button on his console, clearly thinking about something.
"Still, I believe that I have chosen well with my four warriors. There is really no way they can win against these odds. You may as well throw your 'defeat' switch."
"I'm sorry?" said Kang, looking up from the fight.
"Your 'defeat' button. That is the purpose of the button, is it not? To abdicate from the match?"
Kang looked at the button for a second, and then laughed. "No, old foe," he said, pressing it, "it summons the rest of the Young Avengers."
"The rest – " The Grandmaster paused for a second. "But you said that there were four – "
"No, you had heard that there were four," said Kang. "I merely use the information I had to the best advantage. I now deploy my reinforcements."