A man hiding behind a wall in a multistorey car park pulled a string and silently rejoiced when he heard the stuttering of a car engine.
Despite how suspicious he looked, he was the legitimate owner of the vehicle. He walked to the car and checked if any bots were trailing behind him.
So far he had avoided a majority of them. They were the androids created in Atlantis but they shouldn't be able to harm a human without influence from a shady character. The only person who could have done this was Rodney and he didn't know about Atlantis so that was impossible.
He had decided a long time ago to save his complaints for Jay. He was trying to get to Atlantis but the bots kept getting in the way.
He touched the car door and it felt odd to him. He turned around and tried to run but he'd barely taken three steps before the car exploded and he was launched into the air by the force of the explosion. He heard a mechanical voice announcing that it had located its target and he swore as he crushed a cigarette in his mouth. He pulled it out and tossed it away. He took a pack out of his coat and lit another.
He was calm despite the footsteps that were getting closer. He took a puff and let it out. The he turned to face the car again and just beyond it was the bony framework of an android.
"I don't have a choice anymore," he flexed his biceps and stretched his hamstrings, "Come at...", His eyes widened as his attacker pulled out a gun.
"That's against the rules!", He shouted and ran away.
The man may have been treating the situation lightly but that was proof of his skill. He easily avoided his attackers, a few more explosions and destroyed vehicles and he was above Atlantis in a "borrowed" chopper.
Unfortunately, the man wasn't the sharpest tool in the box.
"I didn't think this far ahead," he said, cursing his foolishness.
Yes, he was above Atlantis but he couldn't get in.
He heard a strange sound and raised his head.
"This isn't funny anymore."
The headrest was riddled with bullet holes as he jumped into the ocean.
Instead of the feeling of weightlessness he expected, he continued to fall. A second later he realized that he was under the influence of gravity. Then he realized that he wasn't drowning.
Why didn't I think of that first?
Someone must have noticed my arrival.
He slid down the tube and soon the familiar sight of the underwater city appeared.
************
"Let's move on to the next round," Jolly raised his hand and the names oon the board disappeared.
Two new names appeared on the first line.
"Edison vs Bell."
The triplets and a boy who appeared to be the same age as them were transported to to the field.
"Hey, can't we leave already."
Schrodinger was ignored like it was the natural thing to do.
"Ein?".
"I'm not sure yet."
Stein wanted to know what his brother and Coulomb were planning. He decided that if Ein wasn't going to tell him, he wouldn't ask.
Still, it would have been much more easier if they didn't have their ambiguous conversations near him.
In the last fight, he felt like he wasn't supposed to be on the field. He was moving as his brother commanded and didn't offer any ideas.
He was merely functioning as a proxy, a second body, for his brother.
He could always pry into his brother's memories, he wanted to but he didn't.
"Edison wins."
"It's confirmed now, isn't it?".
"Yes, as you suspected. Impressive, Coulomb."
"Says the guy who accurately predicts the best moves in any situation."
"It's not exactly... Never mind."
The triplets returned and their unconscious opponent was taken away.
"Darwin vs Joule."
Jolly's departure was immediately followed by a blizzard.
Darwin transformed into a yeti and walked through the snowstorm with barely any difficulty.
Until his fur was set ablaze and his entire body was caught in the flames.
He transformed again, this time he was a dragon.
He sent a torrent of flames from his gullet at Joule but she was completely unscathed.
He flew high and came back down with his claws trained on her.
"Game over."
His voice sounded straight out of an arcade game but Joule didn't flinch.
"Yes, it is."
His dive came to an end a meter and a half away from her. She rose to meet him on a pillar of ice.
Joule placed her palm on his body and his body was slowly coated in a thin film of ice.
The dragon changed into a ball of smoke but remained trapped in the ice shell.
Worse, the gas was compressed and reduced to a tiny sphere at the centre.
"I thought she said she couldn't reach absolute zero."
"She's still a hundred and nineteen away from absolute zero."
"What scale are you using?"
"What scale indeed?"
I am an adult.
Schrodinger reminded herself of that fact and overlooked Laplace's petty provocation.
Ever since she questioned Coulomb, Laplace and Joule had doubled their efforts in trying to make her her mad.
She didn't even get an answer from Coulomb.
He said that he was preventing any accidents from the weak link and she intuitively knew it wasn't a lie but...
She couldn't accept that answer.
There was something odd about "weak link", it was as if it he was talking about a stranger.
The three minutes passed and according to the rules, both parties should lose but Jolly came and grudgingly made an exception on grounds of the special case of Darwin.
Joule was granted the victory and they were taken off the field. It was only natural since he couldn't move or attack he in that condition.
"Quite the troublesome fellow."
"You looked like you had it all under control," Coulomb retorted as he wriggled out of her embrace.
"It was really hard though and I had to withstand ridiculous temperatures."
"I'm not buying that."
She grabbed him again and noticed that he wasn't resisting again.
He was probably thinking of ways to deal with Darwin.
Laplace peeled her hands off Coulomb and forced her back into her seat behind him.
Truly troublesome.
Adapts to his environment and events.
In extreme conditions, he transforms into a different creature.
And from the little I've seen, he's not just free to transform into mythical beasts, he favors them.
We can't rely on common sense when battling him, he's always going going to be unpredictable.
No, he's not completely unpredictable.
One thing is sure.
His survival.
She returned her gaze to the field and wondered if Coulomb had figured something.
Maybe a way to kill him.
Ridiculous.
I rate him a bit too high.
But she couldn't get rid of the thought.
Darwin's ability might have guaranteed his survival but if his name was taken into account, it could be used against him.
Perhaps a situation where he would have to evolve into a mindless beast to survive.
But how would anyone do that?
"Franklin vs Cousteau."
"Hello, I'm Franklin and this is a message to all electricity-users."
Franklin was a boy who appeared to be just barely old enough to meet the requirements of the Playground.
His act added weight to the belief.
Cousteau smiled and raised both of her hands.
"Electricty... Thanks for the heads-up."
"You're welcome!"
His reply lacked ill will and his red hair jumped a little when he answered.
She dropped both hands and all spectators instinctively braced for impact.
The barrier separating the spectators from the field, which had only served the function of preventing outside interference so far, mocked their actions.
"That's the fastest and greatest area of effect ability I've seen," Laplace said.
Cousteau floated in the pool she created. She moved around like a fish. Franklin remained at the bottom and watched her circle him like a shark around a sunken boat.
"He's going to drown if he doesn't act fast," Schrodinger noted.
Purple streaks orbited the child.
"Hey, he's just like...".
Ein stopped talking when something unbelievable happened. Then he shook his head as the water disappeared.
Joule and Laplace behind added.
"No, absolutely nothing like him."
"Nothing like Coulomb at all."
Coulomb prayed for the fool's safety as he was taken of the field.
He saw great potential in an unstable element like him.
"What kind of idiot tries to scream underwater?", Newton asked puzzled.
Stein patted her head.
"Humans have the amazing ability to screw up in the most spectacular ways."
Ein turned to face the boy behind him.
"Oh, I didn't know that that you were still here... Try not to die, that Franklin is a fearsome, fearsome opponent."
"Oh, that's...."
"Edison vs Darwin."
"I give up!".
"And Darwin is on to his second loss in a row,"Jolly said as if he couldn't care any less, "Next, Bell vs Franklin."
"I'll be using this battle instead to send my message and... And...and...and..."
He kept repeating 'and' like a broken record with a frozen visage until Bell gave him a kick that revealed training in martial arts.
Then he was down for the count with a silly expression.
Jolly appeared on the field with a troubled face... Skull.
His phalanges attacked his cranium.
"... That's... Um... Bell's victory... And... And...Um...Oh.. God, No. "
The skeleton burst into laughter. It was mingled with a sound similar to chattering.
"I can't do this any more..."
He cleared his throat, or sounded like he was and moved on, "Now, this will be fun, Joule vs Cousteau."
"Have fun with Darwin?".
"No, He was a disappointment. Almost boring."
"I see, then I'll do my best to entertain you, who knows, maybe I'll melt the frost around your brain and make it function like it should."
"I wonder if you can, fishbrain."
"Yay, now that the trash talking is done, I hope we'll see something interesting."
The field turned into a pool again.
"Is this the only trick you have?", Joule said as the entire pool froze and shattered.
"Maybe it is, but it's a good one. You'd better not underestimate it".
The ice shards turned to water again.
"You're right, my mistake."
She rose in a jet of bubbles once she was surrounded again. The pool of water was too high to attempt escape.
For the average Savant.
She amplified her motion by releasing a large amount of energy.
She finally saw the sky after the longest six seconds of her life.
Then it disappeared replaced by the same transparent blue-ish green she was surrounded in.
She gave up and changed to an offensive strategy. She discharged all of her stored energy as electricity and noticed bubbles.
This isn't pure water.
Sea water?
Her name... Without a doubt, this is sea water.
Then electrolysis is several times more effective and Hydrogen is produced. If I could only ignite...
She remembered something and realized ignition wasn't necessary.
A chemical reaction is simply the collision of particles with sufficient energy.
If I force the separated ions together, I should be able to generate a lot of energy.
I'll also replenish my wasted storage.
Her opponent was being careful to maintain her distance while waiting for her to drown but she eventually realized what Joule was trying to do.
She tried to move the water. If she could mix it, she could separate the bubbles but it was trapped in Joule's Range.
Then she tried to attack with shockwaves but it still didn't pierce her defense.
She decided to get rid of the water.
If she did, then there was nothing to worry about.
"Getting rid of the water?", Joule said as the water was sucked into her body, "I'm sorry, but it's too late."
Joule sent the hydrogen to her and snapped her finger.
Cousteau defended with a mixture of ice and water.
She's too fast.
But it doesn't matter.
Cousteau was injured in the explosion but Joule didn't care. They had a healer and even if they didn't, she wouldn't be dying anytime soon.
One more.
She was taken of the field and tried to hug Coulomb again. She was electrocuted but she quickly absorbed it before she took more damage.
"You knew just what I needed, Thanks, I really wasted a lot of my stored energy on her."
"You... Why did you become this proactive?"
"Don't say it that way...", She smiled then turned to Laplace who was trying to separate them, "Leave me alone, I'm charging up for my next battle."
"Hmpf, you can lose for all I care."
"I thought we were allies."
"You're trying to kill me!"
"This and that are different issues."
"Um... Can you keep it down there, we're watching something...".
""What did you say?"".
"Nothing at all," the boy in front of Coulomb who spoke up answered their chorus nervously and faced the field like his life depended on it.
"I just noticed something, there are six Savants instead of seven," Newton said looking at Coulomb for an explanation.
Aren't you expecting a bit too much?
I didn't even notice anything.
"I guess it's to prevent rigging like last time."
His voice sounded like he had thought of it and figured it out a long time ago.
Wasn't exactly rigged though.
"That makes sense," She nodded after thinking a little, "Yes, that's probably it. "
If it was a different child, I'd feel bad about mislea...
He noticed that the others were listening to their conversation and accepted his hypothesis.
He bit his tongue so that he wouldn't sigh.
"Cousteau vs Darwin."
"I give up," they said simultaneously.
"As I thought, however, someone must have said it first and that is..."
He raised his hand to the board.
"Darwin!"
His name turned red and her name turned green.
"Is that guy really going to be okay?"
"I thought it'd be easy victories for him."
"We're up next guys, focus," Beta said to his brothers.
"Franklin vs Edison."
The triplets did their usual one move win.
They raised their hands and pointed at him. Then they dropped it and looked at the scoreboard.
"You shouldn't look away from your opponent until you win," Franklin advised.
"He got close to them without triggering any of their sensors?"
Schrodinger shouted but Laplace shot her down like it wasn't a big deal.
"But he's still an idiot. If he was silent, he could have won. Now it's just..."
An array of missiles, lasers, railguns and flamethrowers floated in the air behind the triplets.
"Wow..."
"You shouldn't be advising or admiring your opponent," Alpha said.
The weapons fired endlessly where he stood for a full minute then stopped and disappeared in a flash of golden light.
Franklin was unharmed. His childish clothes, black wavy hair and tanned skin were completely clean.
Even as he lay on the floor struggling to breathe, he was still maintaining his electric defense.
"Jolly, the verdict?".
"Well, seeing as your opponent would probably die if he was allowed to continue in that condition and..."
"I can still fight."
"Sure you can...", he walked towards the boy who was glaring at him in defiance and waved his hand, "Hmmn, it seems he has already passed out while remaining propped and with his barrier still active... Edison wins."
"Jolly, we have our three victories and would like to forfeit the rest. We're not part of a registered party and I don't see any way this game has anything to do to do with us..."
Alpha's eyes gained a dull yellow glow.
"Annoying, so... You want to leave, is that it?"
Before he could answer, Jolly stared at him with his eerie crimson eyes.
"Know your place. I'm the law here. If you gotta problem, then sleep."
The other two apologized and they were taken away.
"Nap time, Alpha. Don't be shy."
He merely looked at Ein with disdain and then closed his eyes and leaned back.
Jolly moved to the next battle and continued with the assumption that the triplets lost all their remaining battles without calling for them and soon, they were done. He announced a seventh Savant but it did not have the desired effect.
The final Savant, who Coulomb suspected to be Earth, didn't reveal any of his abilities and blindly trusted those with three victories to surrender.
If Coulomb gained anything, it was his name Hawking.
It left plenty mysteries about his powers.
All contenders came out with three victories, even Franklin despite not actually winning anything.
His defensive capabilities were astonishing but nothing else was praiseworthy and his stupidity negated any positives Coulomb could find.
Bell seemed to have absolute control over transfer of information, he used it to disable his opponents movements, he won against Joule and Cousteau which was not a surprise, it only made Coulomb even more certain about Edison's true abilities.
Cousteau could probably only absorb, release and manipulate water in all states.
She lacked the subtle but definite calm that most Savants had. It was something that could only be gained in the knowledge of a hidden ability that you could rely on.
At first he thought she could breathe under water but when Bell made her drown in her own pool he realized she was controlling the flow to let air from outside in.
Her effect activation speed and control was top tier.
And finally, Darwin. He also didn't win any battles but he might have been able to beat Bell. He was already a neutralized target for Coulomb despite his strength.
All because of his naivety. It was a rare occurrence which wasn't backed by the usual idiocy it came packaged with.
He avoided doing anything that could potentially kill his opponent even if he was sure that they would block it somehow.
It probably wouldn't be obvious to the others so no one could take advantage of it except for Coulomb.
"The next set starts immediately."
****************
"Who are you?"
"How did you know what I wanted to say?"
"Break it up, now."
Sam said as he walked in to meet Marie and an unknown man in a weird tangle which could be described as a death grip or something lewd.
He sighed as they struggled to separate themselves.
"Stop moving!"
"You should stop!"
"Move your leg a... Arrgh, not that way!"
A few moments and wasted calories later, Sam sat between two disgruntled humans that would be described as adults under different conditions.
"So, who are you?"
"I would first like to know who this brutish woman who attacks without provocation is."
Brutish?
I don't think anyone has ever said anything like that about her.
But I also didn't know anything about her physical ability. I wonder if it's karate or taekwondo...
She ignored the man and left everything to Sam.
" I'm Samuel Reinhardt and she's Marie Greene. We're... were reporters but we left our job to solve the mystery of the Playground."
"So it's fun and games for you?", He said coldly, "Enjoy playing detective that much?"
"I'm trying to find my brother, you a..."
Aparrently, the only thing keeping her from crushing his neck was Sam's presence. She looked at him, smiled apologetically and turned back to the man.
Sam made a mental note to check the recordings of their encounter.
"Like I said, they chose to be..."
"Let's just hear who you are... please, for now?"
He steered the conversation to a less volatile topic.
The man took out a cigarette and smiled when Marie frowned in displeasure. Their expressions switched when he realized it was wet and he tossed his pack on the table.
"I'm Robert Bull", he said as if it was the most painful thing he had ever done in his life.
Sam didn't have to think about it for long, Marie gave him the answer.
Mutterred between chuckles was a single word.
"Bubble..."
Sam found it hard to continue the conversation. He was already using all available resources to stifle his laughter.
He told him all that had happened and led to their encounter.
School must have been tough for him.
"So, who are you, Bubbles?"
He didn't look as angry as Sam expected when Marie called him bubbles which showed that he was used to the name.
He felt a tiny jab in his chest as the man answered.
"I'm Rodney's guardian and you guys have missed a lot of things from what I've heard."
Marie regarded him with a renewed surge of hostility but Sam held her back.
She was surprisingly protective when it came to Rodney. He wasn't sure if it was her strong sense of responsibility or she saw Tom in him.
Either way, a guardian abandoning his duty was never going to be forgiven.
"All of your assumptions...", he paused as if he remembered something and reached into his coat for a rubber box.
He opened it and smiled.
He took out a lighter and a cigarette and spoke after he had successfully managed to further annoy Marie.
"... Are absolutely wrong. "
_____________________________________________________