It wasn't long as the news hit the IGPX tournament.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my Honor and Privilege, to welcome you to the IG-3!" the IGPX resident announcer said as the crowd cheered. "Our teams are ready and raring to go in the first rounds of the tournament. We have registered 12 different teams into this years IG-3 and they are all more than willing to claim the title of champion. Of course, the obvious favorites heading into the start of the tournament are none other than the brutal threesome, Team Demon's Blight lead by Astaroth, representing the Demon Universe! Course they aren't the only ones. Other favorites include Team Eastern Warriors, Team Steam Machine and even Team Undead Party!"
At the mention of these names, the crowd cheered for each one.
"Now...let us announce the 12 teams competing. The First six are registered as Universe representatives by an anonymous and generous benefactor. Team Demon's Blight: Members are Astaroth, Zagan and Bathin!" he said.
"Then we have Team Steam Machine consisting of Blood, Sweat and Tears. Three steam mechanics and racers from Japan, Paris and New York!" the announcer said as the audience cheered.
"Next is Team Undead Party. Competitors are Bones, Alec and Graci!" the announcer said next.
"Then there's Team Eastern Warriors consisting of Shinji, Pom and Zetsuna." the announcer said. "Now for the other two we haven't mentioned...what?" he said as a black smoke filled the stadium.
"Pathetic beings of the Future Universe...your futures will soon be clouded in darkness." a voice said as standing above the smoke was a man dressed in black with piercings on his face as smoke came off his body.
"And there's one of them now. From Team Darkness Emperors of the Darkness Universe...here's...Ashe!" he said.
"Hold on a second, it's just you? Where are your teammates, your Midfielder, your defender?" a reporter asked. "You're so confident that you can win on your own?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I have a team. But my teammates, they prefer not to socialize in these kinds of gatherings." Ashe said. "Especially with you freeloading beings of the light."
"Oooh, already Ashe is getting personal with other universes not like his! But he is correct, his team is here with him, just not here. Ashe is the Forward, and he's got other teammates with him but due to an agreement, we will not screen their names." the announcer said.
"Ooh… Mystery racers. This'll be interesting." an onlooker said.
"Okay...final sponsored team...Ooh. This one is interesting. A group of criminals from the Hero Universe getting a second chance. Please welcome...Team...Reborn Society!" the announcer said.
Three figures were walking into the stands as the heroes looked.
"You've gotta be kidding." Zexi said as walking in was Cheetah, Poison Ivy and Captain Cold.
"What? Those guys shouldn't be here." Hope said. "I demand they get kicked out."
"Sorry but no." the announcer said.
"So all together, the loyalists we're dealing with are from Demon, Steam, Undead, Shinto, Darkness and Hero universes in that order." Vera said.
"Now...for our six other teams, entered only a week ago." the announcer said. "Team Justice Men featuring Heart aka Leon Flux, Red Riot aka Eijiro Kirishima and Sting Eucliffe!"
"Then...we have team Imperial Steam with Ichiro Ogami, Sakura Shinguji and Gemini Sunrise!" the announcer said.
"Next, Team Silent Blades with Kabuki, Harumi Ishihara and Maki Harukawa!" the announcer said.
"Then we have Team Valkyrie Maidens with Leonora LeBlanc, Teresa Linares and Rinea!" the announcer said.
"Then its team Shining Ice with David Ishihara, Sectonia and Mayumi Kirishima." the announcer said.
"Finally we have team Rising Risks consisting of Jexi, Jack Ginova and Abby Masterson. However, Abby is not with them at the moment. From what we've been told, she's undergoing recovery from a recent surgery." the announcer said.
"That means we won't see Abby for the first few races." Makoto said.
"And I can feel that tension between the teams already." Ty said. "You could cut this with a knife."
"We've got a huge stack against us boss." Jack said.
"I know. Just stay calm. We'll beat these guys." Jexi said.
"Plus… There's not much tension between David and Cheetah, but I can definitely feel it between him and Demon's Blight. It's very personal for them." Sectonia said.
"Of course it is. He's a demon hunter, after all." Mayumi said.
"Were definitely in for some tough competition, but we can handle it no sweat." Sting said. "Besides, I hear you can put pets in your machines. I know Lector will be riding shotgun with me."
"Only difference is, im no ordinary house cat." Lector said.
"Neither is she." Eijiro said seeing Cheetah sharpening her claws on a nearby pole and cutting deep into it.
"We will conquer...because we are heroes of justice!" Heart said posing.
"Is he always like this?" Eijiro asked.
"Yes." Harumi said.
"So...you must be Kabuki." a voice said as approaching her was a man dressed in robes as he smoked from a pipe. "Names Shinji...I happen to lead the Eastern Warriors."
"And I should care why?" Kabuki asked.
"To put it simply...we'll be coming to cut you down." Shinji said drawing a sword as he held it against Kabuki's neck before she could draw her knives. "If this were real...you'd be dead." he said chuckling before sheathing his sword.
"I'd suggest you'd save your boasting and your energy for the races. You're going to need them." Kabuki said.
"Hey, don't talk to big bro Shinji like that!" said a little girl with a raccoon tail and ears.
"Easy, Pom. We'll have our chance." Shinji said.
"Yeah. He'll kick your butt when he's not busy being a complete loser and not being lazy." Pom said.
"That's not a compliment!" Shinji said doing a facefault.
"Hey, i know what you are." Twilight said. "Are you a Tanuki?"
"She's definitely got the looks. But aren't tanuki's supposed to be Shapeshifters?" Ty asked before a large imposing figure approaching from behind. Staring them down was a large man in robes with his head covered by the hood. "Man...this guy's energy is something else. This must be Zetsuba." he thought.
"Easy there Zetsuba. We don't need a bloodbath before the tournament." Shinji said before Zetsuba shook his head yes as he sat down.
"Not much of a talker, is he?" Maki asked.
"Forgive Zetsuna. He's an executioner for the royal capital back home. Oh and he's mute so he can't speak." Shinji said. "But if he gets mad enough...he'd likely kill everyone in this entire stadium."
"So there's a Tanuki, an executioner for royals, and you're supposed to be, what exactly?" Ty asked.
"Right. My name is Shinji Sakamoto. I'm actually a monk for the local temple." he said.
"Nice to meet you. So are you three here because of Talent Corp?" Connor said.
"I'm sorry, what?" Shinji asked.
"The guys who financed our team." Pom said.
"Oh those guys. Yeah they're sponsoring us." Shinji said.
"And we're assuming you're not the only ones. Kind of strange when you think about it, don't you think?"
"If you mean not the only ones sponsored, yeah. They're sponsoring all of those universe representatives." Pom said.
"If that's the case, we wanna wish you the best of luck in the tournament." Hope said as a bone hit him. "Ow! What the hell?"
"Hahaha! Aw, little baby thinks this is a kiddie game? Wake up, suck up. This is a battle to the death!" said a living skeleton.
"And that would be Bones, Forward for Team Undead Party." said a pale young man with an umbrella. "I am Alec, his teammate."
"Are you a...Vampire?" Applejack asked.
"And… I'm pretty sure intentionally killing competitors is illegal here." David said as he shivered.
"Aw...such a stern young man." said a woman with bat wings and horns.
"A Succubus too?" Sunset asked.
"I don't think she is… she doesn't have bat wings on her head like Morrigan." Mona said.
"Not all succubi look the same….pretty kitty." she said stroking a hand under his chin.
"Okay, she's a succubus." Mona said.
"And don't mind Bones's attitude, blue one. He knows all too well that this isn't a killing sport. He just likes to be intimidating." Alec said. "And i hide the fact that he easily falls apart." he whispered.
"I heard that!" Bones said.
'How can you hear? You don't have ears!" Alec shouted.
"These teams have quirks of their own, I see." David said.
"Yeah. And Blood, Sweat and Tears aren't even talking. They're busy suiting up their racing machines." Sakura said pointing to the three mechanics doing so.
"And the Demons or the guy from the Darkness universe aren't talking. They're busy keeping to themselves." Leonora said.
"It's going to be fine." David said checking the schedule. "Guess the competition doesn't officially start until tomorrow."
"By the way, how will it work with 12 teams?" Himiko asked.
"There will be 4 teams in each race, and overall placement of the teams will be determined by combined point totals. At the end of the season, the top 8 teams will move on to the playoff, where the top 2 in each race will move on to the final." Driver said.
"I see. That does sound rather interesting." Izuku said.
"That's not all. Midway into the season, there's something called the IG Festival." Lemon said.
"IG Festival?" Sunset said.
"It's a series of special races, including an All-Star race where all the teams become mixed around and compete in a playoff, and a Battle Royale where all 12 teams compete in the position-oriented races." Indigo said.
"Sounds like fun." Eijiro said.
"So this is sort of like the opening ceremonies. Either way, nice to know what we're getting." Connor said.
"Let's take this opportunity to get to know the other teams. A little socializing doesn't really hurt, except with Steam, Darkness and Demon of course." Ty said.
"I recommend against that." Driver said. "This is an intense competition. And considering they're being backed by Talent Corp, I doubt you'll get much talk time."
"I don't know… I think there's something about the whole Reformed Society getting a second chance that doesn't add up. Sure, these guys got screwed over by Grodd, but… They don't seem like the type to work with someone like Diablo, not after that." Leia said.
"Unless they were being offered something." Lacy said.
"Grodd offered something for their allegiance, too. Look where that ended up." Vera said. "I would know. I was one of his victims."
"Something isn't right there." Jexi said.
"We'll just have to keep an eye on them." Leonis said.
"Either way, judging from the tensions between their teams and ours, rivalries have already began to form." David said.
"Well, we'd better bring our A game, because they will too." Gemini said. "I'm gonna treat this IG-3 like i would any game in my favorite sport. Baseball!" Gemini grinned talking out her lucky ball and threw a killer fast ball, accidentally knocking Bones's head off and bonking on the head of Captain Cold before it hit Sweat's mech. He saw the ding and grabbed the ball and crushed it.
"Who tossed this piece of junk?!" he shouted, causing everyone to back away from Gemini.
"She did! The bitch in the cowboy getup!" Bones said.
"You dinged my mech, cowgirl!" Sweat said before his teammates grabbed him.
"Easy, Sweat. She's not worth it. She's not worth it." Tears said as the two dragged Sweat back.
"This isn't over, you little twerp!" he shouted.
"Ooooh, boy…" Gemini said as Blood walked over to them. Up close he had white snow skin and tubes on his armor pumping blood throughout his body.
"I'm really sorry about Sweat, we're just really passionate about our builds. But we will crush you as payback for that act." Blood said.
"Well i ain't gonna forgive him for what he did. That was my favorite ball." Gemini said.
"Please. You can buy them from a toy store for a dollar." Blood said.
"Hey man, maybe you should back off before your tubes pop from your blood pressure." Ryuji said.
"Or I cut you." Gemini said.
"Do and your group gets disqualified." Blood said smirking.
"We won't risk physical contact. We'll save it for the track. Let me tell you this, we won't go easy." Ichiro said intervening.
"Ogami…" Gemini said.
"Neither will we." Blood said leaving them.
"Well this is certainly a eventful opening ceremony." Sakura said.
"Maybe from now… no more baseballs." Hope said.
"Just be lucky she didn't break anything." Ciel said.
"She did damage a mech, though." Sugarcoat said.
"Alright, alright i get it. No baseballs out on the competitive field." Gemini said. " Sides, i got more. I ain't throwing them here though."
"Good cause you just made an enemy who's gonna be gunning for you." Leonora said. "So far my group hasn't made any enemies."
"Yeah, cause you guys are weak as hell." Bones said.
"Don't be so sure. We've made it out of some tough scrapes." Leonora said.
"Wait… That armor… You're...a Valkyrie!" Bones said.
"Human-turned-Valkyrie, to be precise." Leonora said.
"Who hadn't heard the tales...of the endless war the gods wage against the creatures of darkness. The Valkyries are the gods' chosen female warriors, and the Einherjar, their champions." Alec said.
"Perhaps this will be interesting, after all." Bones said. "We can gain support by taking down the most hated beings in our universe."
"Bones, calm down. At least save it for when the competition is over." Alec said.
"Alec seems like a decent guy, at least." Kokoro said.
"I may be a vampire, but even I have standards. I'm not some inhumane beast people claim me to be." Alec said.
"But we will have to crush you ladies. Sorry in advance." Graci said.
"Your concern is warranted." Leonora said.
"So...when do we know our brackets?" Eijiro asked.
"Tomorrow. That's when they come out and announce who we fight with." Pom said.
"And the way leagues work, all of the teams will face each other at least once." David said.
"Yeah...it's gonna be nerve wracking yet exciting. I can't wait for tomorrow." Sting said.
"Neither can I. I may not show it, but I can barely contain my excitement." David said.
"Hey, that kid. Isn't he the so called demon hunter?" Zagan asked.
"Yes. He is...I look forward to destroying him." Astaroth said seriously.