Glitch

The Life of the Game

PAX 

"You're Pax, right?" He'd hidden out in the hallway under the stadium, hoping that no one would follow him down; it seemed that he had been wrong. With a sigh of resignation to his fate, Pax looked up from the bench and offered an attempt at a smile. It was a pathetic one.

"Yep." At least they knew his name; that was surprising in itself. He was unpopular on the rankings, and he'd never had fans who cared enough to stalk him outside of the combat ring. 

The "fans" were three teenage girls, who looked just about his age- or at least, the age Pax was supposed to look like, despite his mere four years since creation. All three girls were decked out in Mutant Combat merchandise- even the oxygen masks hanging from their wrists were stamped with the logo. As he gawked, they unrolled full-sized posters and held them out for him to sign. Three identical versions of Pax's face grinned up at him, shiny and laminated. He frowned. Pax hadn't even known he had posters.

"We're huge fans," the tallest, a blonde, confirmed loudly. The crowd above their heads let out a sudden roar, signaling the end of a match, and almost drowned out her voice.

"Is it true you're dating Sanya?" the middle one piped up as the cheers died down.

"Yeah, what's that like?"

"Isn't she like the best fighter in Ironski?"

"How long have you been dating?" Of course. Pax winced, not sure if he was disappointed or relieved. If it hadn't been for his relationship with Sanya, he would have become invisible a long time ago, like Ty, like Meri, like dozens of others he knew. The Ringmasters would love to kick him out onto the street, but their romance had far too many fans.

And speaking of Ringmasters.... Ringmaster Aldwin was watching him from across the hallway, as she handed out bottles of water to a row of mutants waiting for their match. From the look she was giving him, her bat-like ears had picked up on the conversation, and she wanted him to act accordingly.

"It's great," he said as he turned back to the girls with as much pep as he could muster. He even tried for a rakish grin. "She's awesome, and- well, I don't have to tell you. You've seen her in the ring; she's a kick-ass fighter. A bit too much for me to handle, if I do say so myself." The blonde sighed romantically; the other two giggled.

"Could you sign these for us?" the posters were pushed into his face, along with a Mutant Combat pen. Pax cringed. Clearly these particular fans were new to the sport. More dedicated ones would know that none of the mutants could read or write.

"Um....." To his relief, the girl on the right let out a shriek of delight and pointed a finger down the hallway, diverting their attention before he could make an excuse. Pax turned around, and saw Sanya.

It wasn't hard to see what made the public fall for her. The scientists who created them focused more on strength than physical beauty, which meant that mutants often looked ungainly and strange, with weird proportions or overly-elongated limbs. When it came to Sanya, however, they had found a perfect balance that was never achieved again. Pax wasn't too unlucky in that manner- he wasn't monstrous, but neither was he spectacular. He had plain brown eyes, a complexion that was two or three shades lighter, and short dark hair. His figure was neither burly nor lithe, but an uncertain in-between. In comparison, Sanya had coppery skin and silky black hair contrasted by shocking dark blue eyes. She was long-limbed but muscular, with a lean but graceful figure. Most of all, she radiated confidence- the sort of brazen defiance that viewers loved.