And the man in the back said "everyone attack!"
and it turned into a ballroom blitz
"I hate you," Jalen mutters under his breath.
Gibson just grins and gives him another shove forward. "No, you don't."
Briefly Jalen considers being obstinate for the sake of obstinancy and using a physics exploit to stick himself in place, but he suspects the little glitch would just find a way around it anyway. "I'm going to kill you."
"No, you're not," Gibson replies smartly (and far too smugly, in Jalen's opinion), finally managing to propel the reluctant Alpha to the starting line of the jury-rigged, double-channeled obstacle course that Eckert and his crew have set up. "You're gonna kill that guy."
The burly, dreadlocked Basic at the start of the A-channel—Blaze, Jalen thinks his name is, he recognizes him from the last time Tron kicked his ass on the lightcycle grid—glances over at him with a sneer and a contemptuous little snort, and Jalen sighs.
He's not sure how Gibson managed to talk him into coming to Eckert's enormous party in the first place, let alone volunteer him for this crazy contest. Making himself look like a a gridbug in front of a spectacularly overcharged crowd of Basics and ISOs is not generally his idea of a good time. Which, on reflection, is probably why Gibson kept on ordering him drinks until he was half-overcharged himself.
Their host raises his arms from the dais. "Ladies and gentlemen, Programs of all designations, if there is one function I can truly pride myself on fulfilling to my utmost capability, it is the provision of a good show. Are you ready to see our two more-than-worthy opponents give you a show as good as any you'll see in the arena?"
The crowd roars an affirmative, and Gibson claps Jalen on the shoulder. "See? What'd I tell you. You can't let us all down now, can you? Just think: What would Tron do?"
Jalen resists the urge to cover his face with his hands. Maybe he'll get lucky and a sinkhole fault will open up beneath him before the race can start.
"Contestants! Are you ready?"
"No," Jalen mutters, which of course is summarily drowned out by his "coach"'s enthusiastic affirmative.
Oh, stop it, Jalen. Haven't you imagined yourself doing this every time you're in the audience on Game nights? Well, here's your chance.
And Eckert himself surprises Jalen by smiling down at him from the platform…and winking at him.
What would Tron do?
The firework that signals the start of the race explodes overhead, a glittering polyhedron in the sky, and Jalen leaps forward, disc drawn, toward the first obstacle.