4.14

Not long after their meal, Stick left the three teens to their own devices. She said they could pretty much do anything they wanted, they just needed to be on their best behaviour.

Hunter, Jimena, and Silas were walking about Twinderbark and were still in awe of the location.

“What should we do?” Silas asked.

“I dunno. We’re meant to be on vacation, right? We need to find something fun. Something relaxing,” said Hunter.

“Hey, is there anywhere we can go to find out what we can do here?” Silas asked a random passer-by.

“Just check on your phone.” They continued on their way. The three of them pulled out their phones.

“They have some opera playing in about fifteen minutes. That could be okay, I’ve never seen one,” said Silas.

“There’s a big celebration festival, but that’s not until tonight,” said Hunter.

“They’ve got a fighting tournament within the trunk, if we hurry, we should make it in time,” said Jimena.

“We’re trying to relax,” said Silas.

“A friendly fighting tournament could be a great way to test our skills and let off some steam,” said Hunter.

“It says superpowers are allowed,” said Jimena.

“Hmmm. I wanna go and relax,” said Silas.

“Maybe you could go and see the opera by yourself, and Hunter and I can enter the tournament?” suggested Jimena.

“But then I miss out on the exciting action.”

“I think I wanna join the tournament. Its up to you Silas.” Silas thought for a moment, Hunter and Jimena could hear the cogs of his brain grinding.

“I’ll go with you guys. Should be fun.”

“Sweet.” The three of them made their way toward the trunk and followed a moving crowd into a large doorway.

The room was enormous. The circled tiered seating around the slate fighting stage gave the feeling of a stadium more than a room. Music blasted throughout the stadium and four large screens were set up above the slate.

The seats were filling up fast and Jimena led the charge to find where they could register.

There was a booth tucked to one side. Jimena, Hunter, and Silas observed the different groups gathered around. Some looked stressed, some looked relaxed. Some were locked in deep conversation while others were having heated arguments.

All sorts of people made up the various teams. One person was about twelve feet tall and was full of muscle. Another member of his team looked to be only a child no older than ten.

Hunter noted a team full of robots. One team was comprised of mighty looking elephant people. Another team was dressed all in black, covered in pale make up, they wore heavy eye shadow and had black nails.

“Excuse me, I’d like to register my team for the tournament,” Jimena had pushed her way to the registration desk.

“Sure. Have you got four members?” asked the chameleon behind the desk.

“No,” admitted Jimena.

“Then I’m afraid you can’t register your team. If you can find a fourth member before the tournament starts, which is in twenty minutes, you’re more than welcome to register.”

“Right, thanks.” Jimena turned to her teammates.

“I really wish Gauzelle was here right now.”

“So do I,” said Silas.

“What’s the problem?” asked Hunter.

“We need to have four members in our team to register.”

“Damn. Well I guess that’s that then. Off to the opera?” said Silas.

“Well, well, well, looky what we have here. What are the chances?” the sweet drawl was instantly familiar, and the teens turned their heads and were shocked to see Woolpack.

Silas immediately tensed but Hunter and Jimena weren’t perturbed at all.

“What are you doing here?” Jimena asked.

“I’ve been living here a little while now. I feel I’m not right for Athena City.” Woolpack sauntered over to the group and nodded at each one.

“So you can wreak havoc somewhere else?” asked Silas.

“No, not at all. I’m not a criminal here. I’m actually a bit of a hero. Were you three wanting to join the tournament?”

“Yeah, but we don’t have a fourth member.”

“Where’s the pile of bandages?”

“She’s off seeing to some personal things,” said Jimena.

“Hmm, just so happens I’m interested in joining the tournament, but I don’t have a team at all. I thought it was just a single person thing. Did you wanna join forces and win this thing?” Woolpack offered her hand and Jimena took it. Hunter shook it next, but Silas scowled.

“Silas?” said Jimena.

“What? We’ve fought against her, not with her. We don’t know what she’s like.”

“I’ve fought with her against that vampire attack. We know she can fight.”

“Besides, the fights are one on one, we aren’t fighting together. You won’t have to worry about me.” Silas approached Woolpack and shook her hand.

Jimena led them back to the registration booth and they eyed off the other teams again.

“Hey, I’ve got a fourth member now. I’d like to register.”

“Well hello Woolpack. I wondered if I’d be seeing you here today. You’re with this lot then huh?” The chameleon’s eyes snapped around as they talked.

“Yeah. We actually know each other so I thought I’d help them out. Does the competition look tough?”

“Yeah. Some of these groups enter every year. I know some of them travel the world just to fight. Its gonna be tough. What name am I registering your team under?”

“Oh, Justice Punch,” said Jimena.

“I dunno. Doesn’t feel right,” said Silas. “We don’t have Gauzelle and she’s with us.”

“Justice Punch,” Jimena repeated.

“Not a worry. Thank you. And your names? For our announcers.” Jimena pointed at each one and gave their hero names. “Well, good luck but make sure you have fun.”

“Thanks, I’m sure we will.”

“You know that person?” Hunter asked.

“Nope, but like I said, I’m a bit of a hero here. While we’re at it, my name is Freja.”

“Jimena.”

“Hunter.”

“Silas.”

“Nice to meet you all. Let’s have some fun.” As Freja said that, the music blasting from the stadium stopped and a voice boomed, announcing the start to the tournament.