Codi shoved the confrontation with Kye from her mind, focusing on the much more immediate problem for her Gauntlet path. While the beating she visited upon the Zulu Forge pairing had provided her with a much needed release of violent energy, it hadn't solved much. Leela was still out of the singles tournament, and Battlecast's flag team still lacked its most potent weapon.
On top of that she still had two more singles matches of her own to bludgeon through – two competitors who she knew through their dossiers alone. A part of her mind still twinged – don't discount anyone – but try as she might, she couldn't force herself to consider either of the remaining fighters as a threat. Her thoughts continually swept back to Keefer Darkwood, and a thirst for payback that was beginning to boil up in her chest.
But the tournament ground inexorably onward, appeals and injuries not withstanding. The Gauntlet schedule was a brutal juggernaut of violence far too large to be impeded by any one individual.
So Codi forced herself to prepare, spending long hours in the training centre, with Bronagh Llewellyn never far away. She drilled herself mercilessly, working to the point where she could destroy her coming opponents with mechanical ease. Other competitors gave her a wide berth; even the others from Battlecast could see the rage simmering just beneath her skin and knew better than to bother her.
The first unfortunate person in her path was Pyra Dokker, a girl from the highly regarded Orion Academy. Codi put paid to any expectations of an upset in less than five minutes of fighting, her natural ferocity augmented by a carefully honed practice regimen as she tore her opponent apart in front of the screaming crowds.
She stormed from the Arena, not even breaking stride when the media vultures tried to descend on her. One man barely got out of her way in time and if she'd run into him wearing her exoskeleton she would have sent him flying.
But right now she didn't want to talk. She didn't want to fence with words and play games with the cameras. She just wanted to get the next fight over with and advance into the knock out rounds. To get one step closer to Keefer Darkwood. The intervening rounds were more of an annoyance than anything else, but she made herself keep up with the winners and losers. Even Bronagh seemed to sense her mood and didn't try to force her into the press commitments.
Keefer's next fight yielded a similar result, albeit in less brutal fashion as he dispatched a male fighter from Everest, keeping his top seeded reputation intact. For Battlecast's part, Gareth, Ripple and Chris all stormed through their second matches, to join Codi at the top of their respective groups with two wins apiece. The blip of Keefer Darkwood not withstanding, the big picture was still painted with blue and cyan.
And Codi intended to make sure it stayed that way.
Her next opponent provided a much sterner test of her abilities, despite another intense forty-eight hours of tailored preparation. Ryker Marshall, clad in the stark alabaster exoskeleton of the Nebula Academy, had surprised many when he made it to the group stage, scraping through the Mayhem in his second year of competition.
It would take more than that to impress Codi, however. She readied herself for an inevitable slug-fest, relishing the prospect. When it came to matching an opponent strike for strike she'd established herself as one of the toughest nuts to crack.
Sure enough, with the thousands-strong Battlecast faithful roaring her on, she emerged victorious from a long, painful but immensely satisfying brawl. This time she did face the cameras, all by herself, briefly able to forget her new nemesis, basking in the adoration of the crowds and revelling in the knowledge that she had proved all her doubters wrong.
After patiently indulging the reports from news-nets, big and small, Codi detached herself from the chaos of the Gauntlet for a little while, peeling out of her exoskeleton and retiring to her small, comfortable quarters within the Arena. Battlecast's fighters had a large section of one of the upper floors set aside for them each year, meaning that she had one hell of a view from the towering vastness of the Arena.
Berlin One sprawled across the landscape like a glass sea, lit up by the afternoon summer sun. Vehicles flitted through the sky like birds, flowing to and from the great Arena that marked out the city like some kind of primeval monolith. From her window hundreds of feet high the roads took on an unreal, almost artistic quality, their metal surfaced pathways filling the space between the buildings like quicksilver.
Resting her forehead against the window, Codi took a deep breath. She'd come an awful long way in two short years.
A high-pitched ping rang through the room and she looked around sharply at the door. Frowning, she crossed the room and thumbed the release, unsure about who might be calling on her right now. She didn't have any scheduled training until the evening.
When the door slid open, however, a surge of happiness leapt within her.
It was Leela. Her friend was up and moving unaided – more or less. A bulky metal cylinder encircled the break in her leg, giving her an awkward limp as she hobbled across the space between them, but a brave smile filled her features.
"Into the knockout rounds without breaking a sweat," Leela laughed triumphantly as they hugged. "You're unstoppable!"
Codi grinned. "I wouldn't go that far. How're you feeling?"
"Better. A lot better." She stepped back and beamed, pointing down at the gently humming cylinder. "This gizmo's a bit annoying, but my leg doesn't hurt anymore and I can get around. The med techs say I should be allowed to train again in five days."
Another five days. Codi's good-feeling began to evaporate. That meant Leela would miss and forfeit the last of her remaining singles matches, not to mention the next round of capture the flag.
Leela must've noticed her expression, because she suddenly winked. "Don't worry about me. I thought a lot about what you guys said after the fight and, well you were right. It's my first year and I got bashed up by the number one seed. I'll be back. Hell, for a while I never thought I'd even make it to the Gauntlet this year, so I'm good, okay?" Then a smile of uncharacteristic mischief crawled across her face. "Oh, and I think I've found a replacement for our team – you know, temporarily."
Codi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Who is it?"
"Oooh, that would be telling." Leela giggled. "C'mon, we were just getting the final okay from Bronagh when you finished up your fight. Everyone's down in the gym getting ready for a training run. You game?"
"Of course I am."
"Then follow me."
Giving her friend a suspicious look, Codi reluctantly fell in alongside her as they set off, being careful not to walk too fast. Frowning, she tried to guess who Leela would have found as a replacement. A rookie fighter with little experience, she didn't really seem qualified to be making team selections. Codi ran through various possibilities in her mind from the Battlecast contingent, but none of them really seemed right for their flag team's tried and true tactic. They needed a replica, someone who could generate the same explosive speed.
They entered the humming noise of the gymnasium and Codi immediately spotted the other members of the group, gathered in their normal training gear alongside the head instructor. And there was another person that Codi dimly recognised from the Battlecast group – one of the rookies in this year's crop. With Leela stumping along by her side she approached them, staring at the newcomer.
She caught Gareth's eye as she stopped, and he flashed her a knowing smirk.
"Codi, thanks for joining us." Bronagh smiled and gestured to the figure beside her. "I was just about to introduce the team to your new runner."
The boy that stood before them was lean-framed and slender and his sharp, youthful features marked him out as one of the rookies that had entered the Battlecast fold this year. His ink-black hair had been shaved down both sides but left longer along the top, carved into a short ridge that looked sharp enough to actually cut someone. It took Codi a moment to figure out where she recognised him from, but when she did a wry smile crossed her face. She should've known.
Mica Samper – Leela's doubles partner.
From the expression on his face she could see why Bronagh Llewellyn had agreed on him as their replacement. He wanted payback as much as anyone else. Aside from his obvious axe to grind, Samper also had the build of a sprinter. While she doubted he could match Leela's flat out pace, she knew that to have paired with the girl in the first place meant he was no slouch. To keep pace with Leela in a fighting rhythm he would have to have a serious turn of speed.
If she couldn't get her hands on Keefer Darkwood in the Arena, Codi couldn't think of a better way to insult the towering thug from Black Horizon. They would show him that Battlecast relied on no one person; their strength lay in their unity – and a roster of formidable depth. There would always be more fighters ready, willing and able to step into the breach. They would inflict one of the most searing insults a Gauntlet fighter could receive: indifference.
"I believe Mica should be able to fill in adequately for the intervening rounds," Bronagh continued, clapping the boy affectionately on the shoulder. "But I suggest you get down to work. The next match is in two days. You have that long to prepare."
*
Two days, as it turned out, was ample time. Leela proved to be an invaluable asset, constantly on the sidelines of the training arena despite her injury, regularly taking Mica aside to explain some small quirk of her technique. Every time he came back onto the field after her intervention he was that much more keyed into the speed of the team. Another thing Codi quickly discovered about their stand-in was that, while he may not have had the same speed, he had a hell of a right hook and wasn't afraid to use it. He would provide a tougher target if the other team managed to single him out.
By the time the Battlecast team stood ready for their next match, Codi felt remarkably sanguine about their chances. Today they faced off against the best entry from Thor's Wake, seeded one place above them in seventh. Beatable. Very beatable.
The announcer's voice thundered above the crowds as Battlecast entered for their next match, and a huge swell of encouragement rose for Mica's late entry into the line-up. Codi glanced back to see the boy smiling, as though intoxicated by the cheers and a warm feeling tingled up her spine. Although she had an extra year of Gauntlet experience under her belt, she knew exactly how he was feeling right now.
But they didn't have time to dwell on the support. The team from Thor's Wake entered from the far end to a crescendo of noise from their own fans, and Codi focused her mind on the only thing that mattered right now: winning. Realistically, she knew her team's ranking of eighth was deceptive, owing largely to their sluggish pre-season form. Modestly she would have placed them at least in the top five.
Still, no point in being overconfident. She gave the other team a cursory examination: two boys, three girls and all of them looked lean and fast. The film they'd watched back showed a common enough three by two formation, the male fighters leading like a blockade to clear a brief path for their slight, swift comrades. Not a million miles from the Battlecast strategy, Codi had to admit, but her team committed to it with a lot more determination.
The Arena construct for this match was thankfully straightforward, laid out with a series of ramps and half-pipe shapes reminiscent of the skating parks that littered the cities of old Earth. Scattered amongst the obstacles she could see the black lines of high speed mass conveyers built into the floor. If a competitor jumped onto one with their gravity fields correctly adjusted they would be propelled around the Arena even faster than the exoskeletons would allow.
"They ring the centre," Gareth said above the rumble of the spectators, pointing at the conveyers. "If we break left hard and you lead Mica in you can bounce them. Get it right and they'll ride you all the way to the flag."
Codi looked at their new team mate. "You game for this?"
"I won't let you down," Mica replied firmly.
"Then follow my lead. Let's make this quick and clean." She turned to the others. "I'll lead Mica into the conveyers. Spread in an arc for a decoy. Once we're flying drop back and protect our flag and keep them away from the conveyers."
Ripple, Cardle and Gareth all nodded their agreement, and then the time for planning was over. The teams lined up: the klaxons blazed out their clarion call to arms, and the match began in earnest.
Codi hung to the left of the line, waiting until the last possible moment to tip their hand. The others formed a loose line with her, except for Mica who remained several paces further back, playing the roll of the protected sprinter. The two sides drew closer...closer...
"NOW!" she yelled, breaking into a flat sprint. A swift glance back over her shoulder was enough to confirm that Mica hadn't missed a beat, rapidly closing the distance between them until he was barely a couple of meters behind her. The closest Thor's Wake fighter noticed the move too late to stop them, and Codi leapt onto the conveyer, adding all the weight she could to her exoskeleton as she landed.
The sensation of sudden, whipping motion made her stomach turn but she hung on, eyes fixed on the approaching angle of her jump. Licking her lips she tensed her muscles, then released the weight of the exoskeleton, simultaneously kicking off from the conveyer.
Her sheer hang-time caught Codi by surprise as she found herself soaring in a graceless arc, limbs flailing as she tried to give herself some semblance of aim. She just managed to hit the next conveyer in line, remembering at the last instant to readjust the gravity fields so she wouldn't immediately be whisked off by the machine's momentum.
Repeating the process eventually landed her barely fifty yards from the other team's flag, once she'd finished rolling. With the excited roars thundering in her ears she scrambled upright to face the defenders.
Only to find that she was alone.
The other team had completely misjudged the potential of the Arena; their defenders were too far forward and Codi's trajectory had dumped her in behind them. A few seconds later a dull thud heralded Mica's arrival hot on her heels. She bounded back, dragged him to his feet and virtually threw him at the enemy flag.
"Go, go, go, go, GO!" she blurted with the urgency of a machine gun.
Mica didn't need to be told twice. He shot off and wrenched the heavy flag pole free, generating another wave of noise from the Battlecast supporters.
A flash of movement in the corner of her high snagged Codi's attention and she whipped her head around to see a bronze-armoured figure clambering upright. One of the female fighters had doubled back, using one of the other conveyers to hurl herself back across the Arena in a desperate attempt to protect the flag. She tore across the Arena floor at an angle to cut Mica off and he didn't have the sheer velocity he needed to outrun her.
But when Codi was around, he didn't need it.
She hurled herself into the chasing fighter's path with a shoulder block. The punishing impact flattened the girl, leaving Mica a clean run at the nearest conveyer. He flung himself at it, one arm outstretched, the other clutching the flag pole tightly to his chest. He hit it like a falling rock, with the gravity fields of his armour ramped up to maximum.
The conveyer performed its function and in the blink of an eye the other fighter was whipped from Codi's sight with stunning speed. She just managed to twist her head to watch the end point of the conveyer, which two of the Thor's Wake fighters were frantically sprinting towards. Their efforts ended up being sadly wasted. Mica released the gravity fields at just the right moment, resulting in a catapult effect that flung him in a high arc well over the other competitors.
He crashed painfully to the ground, but he was alone with all the time in the world to recover. Codi watched with a breathless grin as he gathered the flag and loped the final hundred yards to the finish. Planting his trophy into its holder, Mica turned, pumping both fists in the air with a shrill whoop of triumph, a whoop that was soon swallowed up by the roar from the crowds.
With a clenched fist raised high, Codi saluted the Battlecast supporters as they cheered, acutely aware of the camera drones zeroing in on her predatory smile. The academy had just delivered its message in no uncertain terms: you can hurt us, but you can't break us.
And we're coming for you.