"Hey Silver Shadows it's good to see you guys again!" Max greeted them all three sitting down at their table
"congrats on the album release we saw the music videos they look fantastic," Joel said with a wide smile
"thank you, guys! don't give us all the compliments you all look really awesome in it too we and couldn't have done it without you" Daisuke said
the three guys were bashful "it's our first time being in a music video the rest of the team is super proud right now" Nash said
"when is your championship coming up?" Kaleb asked "we want to come to watch it live"
"in a few months," Nash replied "I'll send you the info when tickets come out"
"We are rooting for you guys! we must support our champs" Kanna said with a smile
"I want to see our Silver Dragon smashing somebody's goal post that will be the talk of the league" Kaleb added enthusiastically
suddenly nash started chuckling
"what is it? What's so funny?" Max asked
"nothing I just had a funny thought," Nash said
"share the joke so the rest of us can laugh too this is a boring-ass party," Kanna said
nash started chuckling "it's inappropriate I shouldn't" he pushed back
"oh come on Nash" Kaleb insisted We are all grown here"
"you said you wanted to see our dragon smashing somebody's goal post" he repeated slowly
they all thought about it a second and they suddenly got it and the whole group laughed "you have a dirty mind" Kanna said
"blame Mr. Williams its way to early in the morning for me to function rationally" nash joked
"thas the general consensus of everyone, that we met since we got, here," Liam said laughing "we were all in bed sleeping and got dragged out to this we were thinking about ditching but then you guys showed up"
"I thought avian types were naturally early risers?" Kaleb asked
"you've been doing your research" nash replied with a smile
"you made me curious a little bit" Kaleb admitted
"but not when you're evolved from a nocturnal species," Nash said
"what? dang a nocturnal bird? that means a bird of prey most likely a predator" Kaleb said
"ooh I like it very cool thats why you're so good at Lazor ball if
the Lazor ball is prey then you're hunting it if you're a bird and defending your territory from the other birds who are the opposing team"
"wow I don't think I've heard anyone put it like that!" nash said "my skills at playing being tied to my avian heritage so it's like a special ability inherited from my ancestor's genetics"
"the superhero of Lazor ball," Kaleb said with a grin
"a movie and action figure character would be totally cool" Nash added
they both laughed "oh jeez for a second I thought you were about to say something mature and interesting talking about heritage and genetics"
"and you turn it into superheroes and toys?" Kanna said
"you guys are such!" she cried exasperated making everybody laugh
"its a party lighten up, sis," Kaleb said laughing "everything doesn't have to be thought about that deeply"
"I am sure there are plenty enough people out there doing that already," Nash said shaking his head
"all kinds of doctors and scientist who can attribute everything about me and my
physical condition down to something related to birds" he snorted
suddenly the holoscreen lit up and the star stream host Mindy appeared
dressed up in a glamorous robotic look today
"Hello everyone today on the star streams we bring to you the grand return of a chart-topping figure the brand new release ANEW ME By Brent Phoniex just released by Eclipse Entertainment"
the music video started with Brent Phoniex in a space shuttle he was wearing a black and silver bodysuit with
actual technology built into it there were some parts of it that looked metallic
like flexible armor meant to cover vital parts of his body
it was a very cool looking suit that covered him all the way down to the black boots on his feet that had faint lights
flowing under the soles of the boots
the ship he was flying in space was crashing he was bailing out taking
a jet pack it easily attached to the back of his suit and a helmet came out of it
snapping on over his head dark glass covering his eyes
the completed suit look made him look some kind of superhero character as he opened the door of the shuttle and jumped out
the jet pack on his back activated, and he flew away from the wrecked ship as it crashed below suddenly there were ships flying overhead very swiftly and he was being chased by other guys in jet packs
and this is where the music video began to get interesting as he began to fight off the guys chasing him in mid air by using the features
in his suit and his jet pack acrobatic flips and flying kicks all kind of other tricks and moves while the other guys
didn't have the suit as he did were helplessly skydiving due to the air pressure and altitude he could literally pick them out of the air
and that was when it clicked that he was wearing some new kind of tech bodysuit in the video the song was
playing but no one was dancing everyone was just stunned watching the music video which was shot like an action movie
after landing on the ground the effects of the bodysuit was even more impressive as he defeated a number of bad
guys showing off how it enhanced his ability to move
he could pull off flips and flying fighting moves he could jump higher move faster with the suit which had lights glowing
inside it along with its shining silver plated armor look that turned each move into a light show the closest thing Sienna
could relate this suit to was a Tron Suit from the old movies back on Earth 2 at the end of the video Brent Phoniex landed in front of the screen and then stood tall
Brent Phoniex Ultra Idol for the future a female voice came on introducing the new Idol Performers Athletic Body Enhancement Suit
this new suit was created in collaboration with the creators of the original Body Enhancement suits that gave us Lazor Ball along
with Brent Phoniex as the designer of a specialized body suit for idols and performers this bodysuit will not only protect your body during physical activities, it will also enhance your physical ability and capability
you want amazing dancers with acrobatic skills you got it a clip appeared showing a group of idols lead by Brent Phoniex dancing in what looked like sleeker versions of the suit
these suits are lightweight and can also be worn under your clothing or stage costumes like a second skin the female voice continued as the dancers on the screen showed off
an amazing choreography with lots of stunts and tricks pulled off perfectly included to show the fluidity and flexibility of the suits
despite its appearance of having armor the metallic parts seemed to be somehow soft and did not restrict the flow of movement required for dancing
it was molded over the parts of the body they were covering
you want a fighting action star for movies we got that too she continued showing off the first suit that was seen in the music video previously
or do you just want to have fun with a body enhancement suit that is easy to purchase and easy to wear and
does not require you to buy any additional exoskeleton that was needed with the previous suit?
this suit is the newly updated version no exoskeleton needed all the technology of the exoskeleton
that enhances the human body is now built into the suit using new fibrous flexible alloys enabling
us to create a sleeker and more convenient design that has a lot more applications for everyday use so anyone can wear them not just sports athletes
As a performer, one of the things most worrying is my physical form Brent Phoniex was saying on-screen as I get older my body
naturally is no longer able to keep up with the same pace I used to have in my younger days
I also think of those young idols who are out here working hard putting their bodies on the line for every performance
so I thought if Lazor ball has a bodysuit that protects and enhances athletes bodies while they play the game!
why can't performers have a bodysuit too? there should be a bodysuit that can be used for dancing and performing on stage
to help the performers while they do their work that way later they won't be like me, waking up in the morning sometimes
with an aching body due to overused joints and old dancing injures this bodysuit will help to prevent those injuries before they happen
the healthy idol is the happy idol and even at my age with the assistance of the new bodysuit
I can continue to be your Brent Phoniex and do all kinds of amazing things with my body and put on spectacular performances on a younger person
the suit will be even more fantastic as each suit once bought and put on the first time becomes bonded to your body
it is equipped with a special A. I system reads checks and monitors everything in your physical form and all its settings are perfectly calibrated by the suit's system to
be attuned to your body and it enhances your body to its optimum condition suits cannot be changed once calibrated
once worn it's yours for life the perfect tool to help you take care of your physical form and condition while performing
even alerting you to things like your hydration levels and vitals the system will inform you of what your body needs to be at its best
to all performers like myself out there
I am very happy to have been given the opportunity to create this special suit for the future of all of us thank you"
"wow,!" Zane said surprised when the video ended "that went from music video to tech sale presentation real quick"
"No Kidding I think our Lazor Ball suits just got relegated to being outdated too," Max said
"I think we just got upstaged at our own party," Liam said
"bro were you blind that music video was just the coolest thing I've seen in how long?" Kaleb asked
"theres no thinking? we definitely did get upstaged at our own party!" Melody said
"thats just a gimmick" sienna said wisely "its a music video for a new tech body suit thats basically
an overdone commercial wait and see how long Brent Phoniex takes to get to number 1 on the charts first"
the holoscreen was showing the results of the release in real-time, the song was climbing the local charts rapidly everyone started
watching it now they applauded as it reached each level and then entered the planetary chart Hot One Hundred
within the top twenty
"Silver Shadows looks like he's going to knock you guys off" someone cried
making the crowd at the party laugh the song continued to climb up but then suddenly Silver Shadows song GET LOST
sitting at number six on the charts started to run numbers and then suddenly it began to climb up
"whats going on?" some people asked
Daisuke chuckled watching the screen as a race began between Brent Phoniex new song ANEW ME and Silver Shadows GET LOST
"why is it Get Lost?" some people wondered
"why is it moving up? I thought they would put support behind After You or Not Looking Back
since they are already number one songs they have to keep them up there why would they stream another song to number one?" everyone wondered
then the other songs on the charts started to move as well sienna gasped and started laughing
"They are trying to slow down Brent from climbing!" sienna cried "they know he will come up fast since he always does, but it will be difficult if they are other songs on the charts, that are on the move at the same time!"
for several minutes there was movement on the charts as the fans tried their best to stop Brent Phoniex from rising
but soon the chart settled and
"yeeeeessss!!!"Kaleb screamed in elation hugging nash in his excitement "wohoo we won!" could be heard the band started celebrating
GET LOST by Silver Shadows NO#1
NOT LOOKING BACK by Silver Shadows NO#2
ANEW ME by Brent Phoniex NO#3
AFTER YOU by Silver Shadows NO# 4
the chart read a hashtag was also going viral on the fan forum #GETLOSTphoniex was trending
what's that about someone asked pointing
pulling up the hashtag they found a post
"why is Brent Phoniex trying to compete against Silver Shadows with tech advertisement?"
was the first post to get a lot of views
"Social Awareness is more important than new tech by Brent Phoniex" and pointing out
that while the tech-filled music video was very cool to watch and the bodysuit for performers is a great idea
he had chosen to use the platform of a music video at the wrong time and competing against a band
that had released a very woke album filled with very important messages about the youth social issues
that needed to be brought to public attention his ad came across as condescending and making light of the youth social issues as if they were not very important
while many youths were struggling with such issues which was much more important than spending money on expensive new tech also
the new suit was compromising the ability for young people to become idols as not everybody could afford the suits and
not every label would be able to afford to buy the suits for all of their idols
only labels that had a lot of money would be able to outfit all the members of their idol groups with suits which would push out
a lot of idols from smaller labels which was already financially difficult for them as it was
imagine being regular kids having to compete against idols who are like superheroes
because of a bodysuit? you couldn't get on stage anymore with just your
talent and skills you needed to have the tech to be able to sing, dance, and perform
there would be a clear distinction
between rich performers and poor ones regardless of talent, the post argued who would want to watch
a poor performer who has a lower quality of performance over a flashy high-tech performer on stage
it was crushing creativity and stunting the talent of the performers who would simply use the suit to perform well on stage
canceling out the hard work and training of many years that other idols have to go through to be able
to do the same things on stage with just their bodies without the suit
natural performers who can perform without the suit are the truly talented ones
if a situation occurs where performers don't have the bodysuits will it mean they
might have to cancel the performance because they can't do it without them?
however real performers will not have any such difficulty however if idols use
a combination of training while wearing the suits their performance skills and stage quality would naturally improve
fans would very much prefer them to use the bodysuits that way
but to have idols wear the suits while performing with other idols who couldn't seem too much like cheating and discrimination unless the cost of the suits could be reduced so everyone could afford them the suits
might completely spoil things for the fans who just wanted to enjoy a fun music performance and not a competitive event between idol groups
"is Brent Phoniex trying to shut down Silver Shadows album debut for raising their voices about the youth social issues? was another post under that was also gaining attention
"The New Brent Phoniex body suit music video is to distract people from paying attention
to the really important issues and messages in silver shadows, songs" was another post
"We must not let Brent Phoniex knock silver shadows off the charts their music gives voice to today's generation and must not be silenced by commercialism" was another
"Silver Shadows has a much more important reason for being number 1 on the charts than Brent Phoniex does" was yet another
"how superficial are you? that you would choose a commercial ad song as no 1 on the charts
over songs that are true art and have deep emotional sincerity and meaningful messages
the Brent Phoniex song has no emotional connection
it is one of those songs that will be a hit for a time because of the beat but you will soon grow tired of hearing it and it will pass
however silver shadows songs carry cultural relevance of our current generation and bear much more significance"
was another post this one seemed to be written by some famous music critic
Kanna's mouth opened in shock "okay I was not expecting that kind of response holy shit!" the fans were going off
saying things like Silver Shadows music video was a meaningful important and creative artwork
Brent Phoniex was a superficial commercial that has no deeper meanings, how can that be number 1
soon the other silvers shadows songs began to climb charts again and ANEW ME was dropped was number 11
while Silver Shadows once more held the top ten spots
"Holy crap I think you guys just retired the Phoniex"
Max said in shock "not only did the fans stop his climb but they dropped him off the top ten"
"that has never happened before," Joel said
as they looked across the room to the man in question
he was standing there watching the screen with a stunned look on his face as more criticism for him rolled in
on the forum in the form of comments
"after all these years as an idol, he doesn't know how to read the vibe of the public sentiment" someone commented
"he's showing expensive things so he can make more money that most people can't afford to buy in these difficult times"
"of course he's a very wealthy superstar now so he has become insensitive to the living standards of us regular people"
"Eclipse Entertainment will go bankrupt if he is the CEO those bodysuits will fail only rich people can buy them" someone else commented
"ouch!" Melody said amused
"I actually kinda feel sorry for the guy," Liam said softly
"I can't believe this is even happening right now!" Daisuke said "this was supposed
to be just a friendly bet I didn't sign up to kill Brent Phoneix's comeback!"
"you're going to have to get used to it," Joel said "its the consequence of being in this business
sometimes things turn out very unexpectedly when you least expect it"
Max nodded "even if you don't intend to crush someone you might still do so indirectly and someone else might also indirectly crush you,
the trick is learning how to navigate these ups and downs and survive also in knowing if someone is intentionally trying to crush you or not"
more and more negative comments started coming in towards Brent Phoniex so Mr. Williams soon turned off the holo screen
"epic fail on his part if I ever saw one" nash said "congrats guys you just took down your first challenger" he patted Kaleb on the shoulder
"are you kidding me? what congrats? it doesn't feel good" "he's probably pissed as hell at us right now," Kaleb said
as Brent Phoniex walked across the room to them
"ah congrats you kids I guess the best ones won," he said offering his hand to Daisuke
"yeah sure thank you, sorry about that" Daisuke said shaking his hand not knowing what else to say and just feeling awkward now Brent turned and walked away from them without saying anything else
"ok we are officially going home now before this turns into a shit show," Kanna said getting up
"agreed," Daisuke said "we'll join you," Max said "let's ditch this"