THE MOMENT
Astra fell out of a horizontal portal and landed on her feet in front of Barley and Oz. Her two teammates were seated on a metal park bench overlooking a zombie pen. The enclosure resembled a bear exhibit at the zoo. A wide moat of glowing lava separated the mock island from 25' sheer glass walls. A group of zombies stood in the center of the island quietly moaning to each other.
"Sweet, I love the zoo!" Astra commented as she took in her surroundings, then she waved at Barley and Oz.
"How'd it go with Aury??" Barley asked with apparent giddiness.
"Great!" Astra said. "He upgraded my Flair; but, I wasn't there for very long. Before I got back back, Doug and Whitney needed some help." Astra glanced at Oz. "They said hi!" Oz nodded.
"Aww, nice," he said. "They okay?" Astra nodded.
"Their Earth got a-," Astra used air quotes. " 'warning from aliens'," she giggled. "I told them it's nothing to worry about, but Sharp Development would be in touch if they wanted to evacuate the Earth. I already Whispered Melody about it."
"Oh, nice. Did you meet President Dracula?" Oz asked. Astra nodded.
"Yep!" As she answered Oz's question, Astra felt a Whisper on her wrist.
[When's our first match? - Hels] The Whisper came directly to her and she heard Helios' voice clearly in her mind.
[Dunno. Need practice. - Astra] She replied as Oz asked a new question.
"Well, Barley helped me get the rest of my abilities while you were visiting Aury. What's next?" Oz asked.
"Next, you learn how to use them," Astra replied.
[Okay. We'll practice. - Hels] Helios replied. Whispers came with added emotion and more nuance than texting. Nanos were also able to relay the user's emotions along with the message. Astra felt an odd tone in Helios' words. She got the impression he was deciding something instead of just agreeing with her.
[Helios? Everything okay? - Astra] She sent the Whisper, then she was distracted by a tall, wide portal that opened next to them. Ruin walked out of it with two women. One had pale skin and a violet pony tail. The other's skin was olive colored with short, curly brown hair.
"Hey guys. I want you to meet Minerva," he introduced the brown-haired woman on his right. "And, her friend Victoria," he gestured at the violet-haired woman.
[Yeah. Perfect! - Hels] Helios replied. Astra got the impression he was very giddy about something. But, she was excited to meet Minerva. Ruin didn't talk much; but, many of his few words were Minerva's name.
"Hi!" Astra said.
"Howdy!" Barley waved at the women.
"Hello," Oz smiled. "It's nice to meet you." Then, he tilted his head at Ruin.
"Did you complete the Marciegeddon quest too?" he asked. Ruin shrugged, then tilted his head at Minerva.
"Admin privileges," he said. As soon as Ruin replied, six chimes sounded. One from each of their nodes.
"Patch notes!" Barley chirped then, began reading in earnest. Oz turned his attention back to Ruin. But, Astra focused on Minerva.
"You work for Sharp Development?" she asked. Minerva shook her head.
"Victoria does," she pointed at her friend. "But, I'm from Chroma Corp. We recently acquired Marciegeddon."
"Whoa! Starting this month!" Barley chimed in. Though, she did not look up. Minerva nodded. "This will be the first full month under our ownership. We have exciting plans," she said.
"You good here, Minnie?" Victoria asked. Minerva nodded.
"Great. See you guys around," Victoria waved at Astra, Barley and Oz. Then, she stepped backward into a portal and disappeared.
"So... can we get some leaks about Chroma Corps plans?" Astra asked with a broad smile.
"They're having an exhibition derby match against Sharp Development!" Barley blurted out. Her eyes grew wide as she continued to read. Minerva smiled and nodded.
"It's all in the patch notes."
"Hey Astra," Barley looked up from her node. "When did you sign us up?"
"Huh?" Astra looked at Barley and tilted her head. Barley nodded.
"Says here, 'Exhibition match between Chroma Corp and Sharp Development - Skull Crushers vs. Green Tornados.' We're the only Green Tornados, right?" she asked. Astra nodded; but, she was stunned.
"Oh! You guys are the Green Tornados?" Minerva asked. Then, she looked at Ruin. "You too?" He nodded.
"This is gonna be fun," she grinned, then shrugged.
"Melody agreed to that. If it's a surprise to you, take it up with her," she said.
"I'm going to...," Astra said. "...but, can you tell me who the Skull Crushers are? I've never heard of them." Minerva nodded.
"It's an all-star team put together just for this match," she said. "Melody insisted. The team includes me," Minerva winked at Ruin. "Victoria," she gestured at the space where Victoria disappeared. "Cassie from Star Brigade, J.J. from the Honeybees," Astra's eyes went wide at the mention of J.J. But, Minerva continued to list her teammates. "And two other Calaveras, Majesty and Flutter."
"FLUTTER!?" Astra yelled the question and threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "We couldn't even beat her if she was alone." Minerva giggled.
"That's why it's an exhibition match," she said. "No one expects you to win."