Location; Arena
Interacting With; No-one
Mood; Annoyed → Excited → Determined
Keats had arrived in the arena just before Sylvia did, watching the ensuing drama and finding it more funny than anything else. None of it seemed directed at him, but some of it sounded completely off-base. Luke having a thing for Lovelace, for example. Far as Keats could tell, Luke hated the girl's guts, so he wasn't sure where that had come from. Then again, the guy's hatred was kinda obsessive. Keats preferred to think that his buddy was better than some preschooler pushing a girl around because he liked her.
The idea that it was in the Times was a surprise, though. Mostly 'cause it was hard to imagine someone in Delphina picking a fight with Luke so blatantly. After all, he could probably stomp most of them. Keats would probably look into whoever wrote it once he got the chance, anyway. There were times to stir up trouble, but if one of his schoolmates wanted to do that, then there were the Mayweathers to target. Trying to start some kind of internal feud was just a stupid decision.
Keats didn't spend too much time thinking about it, though. While Luke was his friend and all, and he kinda sorta had an obligation to try and give the guy a hand, it wasn't like Keats himself had anything to do with it, beyond helping out with a prank or two. He had the tournament to focus on anyway, didn't he? Drama wasn't gonna be one of his top priorities for the next while. Unless someone else decided to try and make it one.
It was a testament to Keats' enthusiasm for the tournament that he actually gave Mrs. Lovelace his complete focus when she started talking, and listened to all that she said. Rarely would he actually bother paying attention to any lecture, even a short one like that. Once she'd finished talking, Keats found himself even more eager at the prospect. Making a mental note to take the teacher's advice on board, he cast his thoughts forward to the tournament. There was stuff he wanted to know, but most of that was to do with the match-ups.
One thing Keats was sure about was that he was ready. Completely, one hundred percent ready to get this thing going. Hearing about how this was gonna work just made him even more excited - an 8 man brawl? Did it get any better than that? Talk about an opportunity to let loose. Finally, after all this schooling and rules crap, he could just let loose until he had to stop. It was probably the best thing he could have asked for.
The changes in the arena sounded like they'd be interesting as well. Adapting to the situation was a useful skill for any villain, and he liked to think he was pretty good at it. He was smarter than he looked, despite what he chose to show people. Part of him worried that he'd end up going too far by accident, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for now. That would just be what happened in the fight, and he couldn't go worrying about it. If someone was weak enough for that to happen, they didn't have a place here.
Keats decided he'd be best heading over to the poll station, putting in his requests. He had a few ideas about who he wanted to take on. People who were strong, and who'd put on a show in a fight against him. Even if he lost, he wanted a worthy opponent, not someone who he was expected to just stomp. That wasn't how he did things. Thinking about it, he grinned as he wrote down his requests. He didn't bother making it formal, and it was obvious in his writing.
SAMUEL KEATS
1: Will Blake -
We're roommates, and I'd say both think we're tough. I hate to say it, but he's good. I'd like to think I'm better. Truth is, I wanna find out which of us comes out on top.2: Avalon Middleton -
Sparky's always had a bone to pick with me. Thinks she's queen of the whole damn world. We'll see if she keeps that up once I pound her face into the dirt. All in the spirit of competition.3: Kayla Styles -
I wanna see how her tech stacks up against natural talent. I got a hunch she's stronger than she gets credit for, and I wanna see how much.
Once he was done scribbling down his requests - with the addition of a few doodles to emphasise his point because why the hell not - Keats walked out of the polling station. Well, more like strode. It was obvious that he was feeling pretty good. Despite the slightly immature delivery there was a pattern and reasons behind his requests - first, they were all Mayweathers, and second, they couldn't really mess around in his head. Will could see his thoughts, but unless Keats had missed something, the guy couldn't mess with them so it was good enough.
The main reason for this was because Keats was scared as anything of what playing with his mind would come up with. He didn't want to risk a breakdown in front of the whole school - who knew what damage that could do to his reputation? As long as people just figured he was some brainless bruiser, they wouldn't try anything with him, but if his weaknesses were put on show... He tried not to think about that.
For now, it was just time to prepare himself for what was coming. Maybe he'd be able to grab a spot in the control room. There was some stuff he wanted to test about his powers if he had time. Really find out his limits before someone else found them for him. In Keats' experience, the middle of a fight was a bad time to find that kind of thing out.
Sure, the smartest thing to do was probably trying to find out about the competition, but it didn't matter who he was up against. Keats was confident he could take them down. Well, most of them anyway. As for the rest - hopefully someone else would take them out before he had to. A man could dream, couldn't he?
For now, Keats walked towards the door. He'd heard everything that he had to. If he thought of anything else, he'd ask, but he didn't see a reason to stick around.
Amy just about jumped out of her skin when Minako wrapped her up in a hug, making a fairly undignified noise of shock. Once she realised it was just her friend, Amy looked a little embarrassed.
"Minako! Sorry, I'm just kind of jumpy right now. For obvious reasons." she said, waving her hand at the surrounding participants. After a second, she looked at Kayla.
"Sorry I didn't notice you either - but she's right, Kayla. In the nicest way possible, you look like hell. And by that, I mean your face says you genuinely want to die. I thought I was stressed." she said. Amy would have pressed to find out what was wrong, but it was at that point that any attempts at conversation were put to an end by the arrival of some redheaded girl. Who, in Amy's opinion, seemed like a complete bitch.
It was true that Mrs. Lovelace could be strict, but the woman didn't deserve to sit there and deal with some stuck-up brat calling her everything under the sun. That girl was the sort of person who figured that everyone owed them something, just because Mummy and Daddy had a lot of money or influence to toss around. Ugh. At least it didn't seem to phase the woman too much, since she was still happy enough talking with them about the tournament.
Amy felt her heart drop into her stomach when Mrs. Lovelace explained the rules. A free-for-all? That really, really didn't suit her. Even if she got people on her side, she wasn't sure she could use her abilities without screwing their days up. It was definitely worrying, to say the least. If she hadn't already been freaked out by the idea of the tournament, this would have made it happen. As it was, it had turned her nerves from 'this is bad but everything will be fine' to 'oh my god I'm going to die before I even turn 20 this is bullshit'. Not the best.
Still, she looked around the room, thinking about the comments from earlier. 'Look what the cat dragged in', 'Don't play with your food'. It wasn't unusual, but today of all days it had gotten on her nerves. She'd been selected for the goddamn tournament, and she still wasn't anything more than a joke. A weakling. The girl that always got her ass kicked, that couldn't beat the control room. Not worth fearing, not worth hating, not worth even a second thought.
Without realising it, Amy was clenching her fists a little. The same thoughts just kept running through her head. She was frustrated. It was finally dawning on her just how sick she was of all these supers acting like they were above her, above anyone that they thought of as weaker than they were. And she couldn't even blame them for it, because she hadn't done anything to make a mark!
Closing her eyes for a second, Amy thought the situation over. She had two choices here. Either she could suck it up for the whole tournament, pretend she was the weakling that they all thought, and go about the rest of her school life as a nobody. The girl no-one knew, and the girl no-one cared to know. Or she could make her mark. Find one of the strongest, the top dogs from both schools, and wipe them out. Of course, for either one of these to be logical, she'd have to face down someone that everyone knew was strong.
After all, if she just forfeited against someone weak, it made her look like she had something to hide. But if it was someone tough, then who could blame poor little Amy for backing down? To be honest, though, that wasn't what she was planning on. The tournament was the last straw. There was a slightly forced expression of calm on her face as she headed to the polling station. Hopefully people would assume she was just hiding nerves rather than anger.
Picking up the pen, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure there was no-one watching her answers. Seeing her choosing to take on the sort of people she was aiming for would only raise questions. Questions that she didn't feel like answering, at least not yet.
Racking her brains, she took a moment to think. Who were the big names at this thing? A few people came to mind right away, so she started scribbling her thoughts down.
Amy Stevenson
1: Brenna Lancaster -
If I have to reveal my powers, I'd prefer to show how strong I am. Taking out the Ice Queen makes a point of that, and I think it'd remind her not to underestimate others. Especially in this kind of school.2: Lucas Farweight -
As stated, I want to show my strength. I can't think of anyone that more people view as strong. Again, I feel that I can catch him off guard. If I can defeat Delphina's champion, I won't be going under the radar any more.3: Will Blake -
He doesn't seem like a bad guy, but he's powerful. If he's the one I have to fight, then at least I'll still be able to make my point. Although I'd probably feel worse about it.
Satisfied with her answers, Amy put them into the box. She wondered if the teachers'd be surprised at them, but somehow she doubted it. They knew what she was capable of, more than pretty much anyone else in the school. There was a reason she'd gotten in to this school, and she assumed there was a reason she'd been selected for this tournament as well. She had a few questions for Mrs. Lovelace, but those could wait. Hopefully she could get the information from someone else anyway. Someone that didn't scare her.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out. A text from Minako, huh? Reading it, Amy nodded to herself. She'd been thinking that she needed a training partner anyway. Besides, if the girl had something to tell her, then Amy wasn't about to just blow it off. The text said it was important, so it could end up being urgent.
To: Minako
Sounds good to me! Was looking to start training anyway.
Just say when + where :)
Slipping her phone back in her pocket, Amy sighed. Well, at least she'd have some sort of help with training. She needed it, that was for sure. Although whenever she got the chance, she felt like doing some research on the tournament participants. Research being a very loose term for her actual plans. Technically, 'sticking her nose where it didn't belong and trawling through classified files' was more accurate.
Amy knew that there just
had to be something on the school network, but she couldn't crack the security on that thing. She'd tried plenty of times, when she was bored, or intrigued, or procrastinating something more important, and it just never seemed to work. Hacking that thing just wasn't possible for her. Well, not alone.
With a few friends in the right places, though? That would be a different story. Looking calm, Amy had finally found herself some resolve. If the school was going to make her play their little game, it was her job to play to win - they couldn't get mad at her for that, right? Besides, if they wanted her to be a hero, then she'd need to do a bit of 'detective work' eventually. Really, if you didn't get caught, the rules were more of a
suggestion anyway.
If anything, Amy figured she'd deserve extra credit.
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