The Games Heroes Play (9 page)

“
What’cha
looking for Decathlon?”
  Jay turned around, and sure enough Duke was standing there.

“I was just… I was trying to see who we were up against.”

“Well then you’ve asked the right person, because I was assigned the responsibility of researching the other teams by the great Hammer herself.”  Jay thought about telling Duke that he actually never asked him about it at all, but he saw how proud Duke was to be the bearer of this information, and decided it would be better for him to just listen.

“The sheet you’re looking at now is red team.  It’s the only team that is di
stributed perfectly even, with seven Prometheus, seven
Titans,
and seven
Hermes.  The leader of the team is Brain, a Prometheus that is known for being able to see people’s thoughts before they do.  He is the top of all his classes, and everyone wanted to be on his team.  As such, he has had the pick of the upper-class st
udents.  These fourteen
students are seniors, meaning they have been here for at least six years.  These six are fifth year students, who are good enough to be sixth years.  And this one is your girlfriend.”  Duke pointed to the last name on the list.  The name read Sapphire. 

“How did she make the team if it is so prestigious?”  Jay
could not
help but asking, ignoring the fact that Duke was referring to her as his girlfriend, clearly to poke fun at him.

“Here’s the story that I heard.  Brain goes out to the track every morning to work out.  Apparently so does you’re girl
Zahrah
.  Brain saw that she was running really fast, even for a Hermes, and decided to clock her one day.  He realized she was running at a speed that was comparable to the top Hermes, which, by the way were already on his team, and so he asked her right then and there to join his team as well.  That was the second week of school.”

Jay got a picture in his head of
Zahrah
out running, and a creepy sixth year guy hiding in the shadows watching her.  Jay
could not
help but dislike Brain at that moment, even though he knew his dislike was unjustified.  Jay decided it would be good to continue talking, in order to keep
himself
from thinking too much about this.  “Duke, did you happen to look into why she came late to school?  She arrived at the same time as me.”

“Of course I looked into it, you arrived late and look what you turned out to be!  From what I’d gathered she originally did not take the test to get into the Academy.  Then when the Academy heard about her, they approached her and accepted her anyways, but she turned them down.  She is one of five children, and her parents are out of work, so she wanted to use her ability to provide for her family.  The Academy was finally able to convince her to come after they assured her that they would take care of her family.  Even after accepting those conditions, she refused to go until she saw with her own eyes that they were bringing food and clothes to her family.  It doesn’t sound like she has multiple abilities like you, but we have to be prepared for anything.”

Jay thought back to his own family.  It was difficult to think about them; he missed them very much, and hated that
he had to leave so suddenly.  A
t least he knew they were able to take care of themselves.  He could only imagine how hard this must be for
Zahrah
, knowing that her family was just getting by with help from the Academy.  He was glad to attend a school with its priorities in order; that would give its students what they needed, such as support for their family.

Jay and Duke continued talking about each team, and the attributes of their key players.  Jay could see the pride in Duke’s face as he recounted his knowledge, which was actually very impressive.  Once they had gotten through all the other teams, Duke pointed to their sheet, titled “Team Green”.  “And then there’s us. 
Key players Hammer and Decathlon.”

“Don’t forget about you and Hummer
,”
Jay said.  All the other teams had at least four or five players that Duke labeled as key players, so it made sense that their team would also have as many.

“No, kid, just you and Hammer.
  I hate to tell you this, but we aren’t a very impressive team.  Hammer is very good, but she’s something of an introvert.  She doesn’t get out much and meet other people.  As a result, she didn’t have many talented friends when it came time to form a team.  She’s very close with Hummer, so naturally she joined the team.  And you’re right in a way, Hummer isn’t a bad Hermes, but she isn’t one of the heavy hitters in the field.  Hummer is a little friendlier, and so most of the team members joined because they knew her.  I was on a team with the both of them last year, and I don’t think Hammer and I had ever actually spoken throughout our time training together.  I probably could have made it onto a better team if I had
sought one out, but Hummer and I are pretty good friends, and I didn’t like the idea of competing against her. 
That,
and I like a challenge.”

Jay realized now that despite Duke’s competitive attitude, and his excitement over the upcoming games, he really
did not
believe they stood a chance.  “You’re forgetting our biggest key player.  We have surprise on our side
,”
Jay said, hoping to cheer Duke up a little.   Jay pointed at the poster advertising the
tryouts, which was
also still left up on the announcements board.  “Look at this poster Duke.  You have three people being beat by three others.  If we play this right, we could be the ones on top.”

“Jay, you are talented, but you are new in all thre
e areas.  Any top Titan can out
lift you, any top Hermes can outrun you, and any top Prometheus can out read you.”

“Then I’ll have to take a lesson from this poster.  I may be beat if I challenge them in their own specialty, but I can beat them using one they are not capable of.  I’ll run circles around the Titans, I’ll knock the Prometheus off their feet, and I’ll see the Hermes movements before they can make them.  You’ve told me all their strengths, but I know they have weaknesses too.”

Duke thought for a moment, and then looked back at the sheets.  “You’re girl has a weakness.  She is a first year, and so she doesn’t have experience defending against Hermes disabling techniques.”

Jay
was not
sure what he was talking about, and he
was not
thrilled that the first person
who’s
weakness Duke discovered was
Zahrah’s
, but at least Duke was brightening up a little.

“And the head Prometheus for team blue, he’s in my advanced mental techniques class, and he’s taken the test on blanket readings four times now and not passed.  He’s amazing at getting into people’s heads, but if he can’t blanket read he must only be able to get into one at a time.”

“Blanket read?”

“You don’t have to worry about that for a few more years, but essentially it’s allowing yourself to see the thoughts of anyone around you, instead of just the one you’re focusing on.  It’s pretty neat, it causes us to be able to see many pictures at once, although it’s difficult to maintain.”

“I can blanket read
,”
Jay responded.  He
was not
aware that it was actually a technique, but he was a little relieved that his special way of reading had a name.  He decided not to tell Duke that he
did not
know how
not
to blanket read, and that it has been going since he arrived.

“Can you really?  Seriously, Decathlon, you are a strange kid.  Another year at this speed and you’d be a top Prometheus, even without your other abilities.”

“Ok, well who else?  Everyone has weaknesses.  We just need to find them.”

“Brain doesn’t have any weaknesses, he’s at the top of all his classes, and passes all his exams on the first try…”  Duke’s eyes widened.  “…I have an idea.  I think I know how to find people’s weaknesses.  Thanks kid, I’ll catch you at practice later!”

With that, Duke ran off in the direction of the classrooms.  Wherever he was going, he clearly wanted to get there fast.

CHAPTER 9

THE NEXT MORNING, when the whole team got together again to practice, Hammer called them in for a meeting.  She had a few pieces of paper in her hand that she was reading over while the group assembled.  “Ok team, we have a few new things we are going to try.  Duke, who has been scouting out our competition, has found weak points on each of the other teams.  We are going to work on some ways to exploit them during the games.  We don’t know exactly what to expect, since we won’t know the situation of the game until we arrive, but we will know the matchups beforehand, since that is posted a few days before the games actually begin.  We also know the general layout; we are going to either need to stop the team we are facing, or keep them from stopping us.  Either way, the information Duke found is going to help.”

Jay looked over at Duke, who was beaming with pride.  Whatever he found, he was certainly proud of it.  They went through each of the other teams, brainstorming ways in which they could take advantage of the weaknesses named.  After a while of brainstorming, they ran through a few options in order to get exercise in,
then
practice ended.  As usual, Duke and Jay walked back towards the dorms together.

“Well that was certainly one of the less strenuous workouts,” Jay said while they walked.

“And yet, possibly one of the most successful,” Duke responded.

“So where did you go to find these weaknesses?”

“First, I went through class rosters for the past few years to see what classes the key players, and especially the team captains, have and have not taken.  Apparently most teams were grouped
with people who had taken similar classes.  I guess it’s because people tended to join their friends’ teams, and they were friends with the people they had classes with.  Then while I was searching for that information, I noticed the quiz signup sheets by the doors for each classroom, so I looked over those and compared them with the class curriculums to see which key players were having to take quizzes on certain topics multiple times.  Between these two sources, I found what the different players have not learned, as well as what they have not understood.”

“I like it, but what about us?  Are we missing information too?”

“Unfortunately, yes.  Hammer is the only one with any leadership training at all.  Luckily she is our captain though, so she should be able to make use of this type of knowledge anyways.  This is still going to hurt us in the long run though, since we don’t have anyone who is likely to take the advanced strategic leadership class next semester.  That means our team will most likely be split up for the next round of games.”

“I thought the teams were
rechosen
each year anyways?”

“Technically they are, but core groups tend to stay together.  When people are choosing their teams, they want people they can work with, and so they often choose the same group of people they were on a team with previously under a different captain.  Changes come when two people from the same team end up in the advanced strategic leadership class, or none do, as is the case with our team.”  Duke gave a half smile.  “I don’t look forward to playing against you, kid.”

“We might end up on the same team, who knows.  Besides, we need to focus on this year first.  What other weaknesses do we have?”

“Well, there’s the fact that you’re a rookie.  Being our ace in the hole, while having no experience with any sort of upper level tactical training, is not something we should overlook.  We are also short on Prometheus.  Prometheus
tend
to be the rarest of the three ability groups, as well as the slowest to develop without training.  It’s usually the case that the top three years of Prometheus are almost entirely on teams, while the
bottom three years are
almost entirely not on teams.  We have us two, and one friend of mine who took a lot of persuasion to join us.  That was all we had going into try-outs, and all the decent Prometheus there got offers from other teams, which they accepted over ours.  Hammer decided she would rather have less Prometheus than take some that weren’t ready.  It really is unfortunate, because this leaves us with two fifth years and one first year; which is far lacking from any of the other teams.  We will be almost blind in comparison.”

Jay had noticed their distribution before, but he hadn’t realized just how off sided this would make their chances.  Their team consisted of ten Titans, eight Hermes, two Prometheus, and Jay.  “I guess I should work on my mind reading then
,”
Jay responded.

“No, keep working on all three; don’t focus on the Prometheus abilities over the others just because it’s needed more.  That is already the one you are strongest in, and we need them all to be as strong as possible.”

They arrived back at the dorm room, and immediately ended their conversation.  Even though none of the other students in their room were on teams, they knew rumors would spread if anything were overheard.  There was also the possibility that some of the students had been approached by members from other teams, asking them questions about their dorm mates. 

Jay woke up Michael, as he did almost every morning, and the two of them headed off for a quick breakfast before class.

“CAN YOU HELP me with my mind reading?”

Michael seemed a little confused by Jay’s question.  “You mean with your classes, or with the reading part itself?  If you are actually asking for help with the mind reading, I’m afraid you’re far ahead of me there.”

“I don’t mean I want you to teach me anything, I wanted to work on mind reading under different types of conditions, but I need someone to read.  I figure you’re the only person I really know to ask.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“That’s not what I mean.  I guess I mean it would have been better for me to practice with someone else, since you haven’t learned many blocks yet.  I also don’t want to constantly be intruding on your thoughts.”

“Don’t worry about
it,
I’d be happy to help out.  If blocks are what you’re looking for, all the better, I’ve
been wanting
to practice mine anyways.”

WITH TEN DAYS left to the start of the games, Jay’s time was constantly being filled up with practicing.  He would get up early in the morning and go practice with the green team on team tactics.  He would grab a quick breakfast, go to classes, grab a quick lunch,
then
get together with Michael to work on mind reading techniques.  These varied from picking out Michael’s thoughts in a crowd to learning Jay’s limitations on distance, and improving his range.  They would practice up until it was time for Jay’s practice with one of the team leaders - Duke, Hammer, or Hummer.  After he finished with them he would grab a late dinner, and then just walk the halls, trying to identify who was around and how close they were by the pictures in his head.  Sometimes he would go out of his way to walk near some of the so called “key players” from other teams, in order to get a feel for their thought patterns.  Most of the older students had blocks up to safeguard against any unwanted intruders; Jay thought he could crack them if he tried, since none of them were as strong as the one Captain Williams had tried against him during his second reader’s test (except possibly Brain – his thoughts appeared to be particularly dark).  He decided not to attempt breaking through the blocks however, since they would surely be able to feel him poking around in their heads.  Besides, their blocks were each unique as well; with a little attention, Jay realized no two of their blocks were exactly the same either, and Jay was quickly able to pick up on who’s blocks were whose.  Even the blocks gave him information, by letting him know who was close by.

With all the time Jay spent preparing for the games, he began to fall considerably behind in his classes.  He still passed all the applied tests, but the rest were being ignored in order for him to spend his time training, and as such they were being failed each week. 
There are still two
weeks of classes before final assessment week after the simulation games end, I’ll just have to stu
dy really hard during that time,
Jay decided. 

A few days before the opening of the games, Jay was walking through the halls at the end of the day as he normally did.  He was walking down the hall from Brain, seeing how far away he could get while still picking up on Brain’s block.  All at once the block vanished, and instead of seeing a black screen, he saw his own collage reflected back at him.  He tried to block Brain, but he
was not
able to conjure up a block powerful enough.  He looked up to see Brain walking towards him with a big grin, and Jay realized he had stopped walking completely.  As Brain neared, Jay felt his powers focus, and he pushed out with the biggest block he could muster.  Apparently it was big enough, because the small pictures of his own collage that were being reflected by Brain’s thoughts of reading him suddenly changed into Brain’s regular thoughts, the first sight Jay had ever caught of them.  Brain stumbled back a few steps, his smile fading, before he reestablished his footing and quickly put up a new mental screen.  This caught the attention of the students around them, and a crowd began to form encircling Jay and Brain, who were now just looking at each other.

Jay
did not
like this situation one bit.  Brain was a legend at this school for his superior control over his abilities, and here Jay was, in an unwanted confrontation with him.  Brain smiled.  He
did not
seem to mind the attention in the slightest.  After a few long moments, Brain walked up to Jay so that he was a short distance away.  Jay looked back at Brain unmoving. 
Running won’t do any good now.  I need to
just wait and see what he does,
Jay thought to himself.  He kept his block up strong, not knowing if Brain were trying to read his thoughts, and he saw that Brain was doing the same.  Then Brain’s block began to fade, and a few words were
made visible. 
Meet me at practice room 7
at midnight.  I already have it reserved.  Don’t worry, I am not hostile, and I’m not bringing any friends, and I would appreciate if you didn’t either.  You have nothing to worry about from me.  We both know that even if I did get physical, you would have nothing to fear, as you are far more physically capable than I am.
 

Jay
was not
sure how to send Brain back a message without abandoning his block, so he gave a single nod, and as much of a smile as he could muster.  Brain was satisfied with this response, and extended his hand to Jay.  Jay took it and they shook.  “I look forward to seeing you in the games
,”
Brain said, loudly enough for the crowd to hear.  He was making a statement.  He was telling everyone that Jay should not be taken lightly, and that he was a worthy adversary for the mighty Brain.  “I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from you there
,”
Jay responded so the crowd could hear him as well.  He wanted to let everyone know that he did not view himself on the same playing field as Brain, but rather thought of Brain more as a teacher, compared to himself as a student.  With those words, Brain turned and walked away, and Jay took his lead and did the same in the other direction.

Jay
was not
sure what to expect from the meeting.  He thought about not showing up, but his curiosity was too strong.  Besides, Brain was right, he was far more physically capable.  Jay
was not
sure if Brain was saying this in regards to his speed, or if Brain had somehow found out about his strength, but either way he was uneasy by the thought that Brain considered him to be strong at all.

Jay circled back towards the dorms, but before he entered the room he saw the thoughts of Duke, who had clearly heard about Jay’s confrontation with brain and was not happy about it. 
Jay decided he
did not
want to deal with Duke right now, so he turned around and went back towards the training rooms.  He decided he would wait at practice room 7.

EXACTLY FIFTEEN MINUTES before midnight, Brain walked through the door.  He
did not
seem surprised in the least to find Jay already there waiting for him.  By the way Brain walked he looked massive, and when Jay pictured Brain he always thought of him as a big guy, but as Brain got close Jay realized that Brain was actually slightly shorter than him.

Jay had been sitting on a bench at the side of the room when Brain arrived, but quickly stood up when Brain entered the room.  Brain motioned for him to sit down, and once he made his way across the room he sat down next to Jay.  Brain paused for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts.  Jay
did not
believe that Brain had actually come in here unprepared with what he was going to say, but he played along anyways, and waited.

“I’ve heard many rumors about you, Decathlon
,”
Brain began when he was ready.  “Some say you’re just a lucky, overrated first year Prometheus.  Others say you are the most powerful person who ever lived, and that even the professors are afraid to match wits with you.  I even heard one person suggest that you had achieved flight.”