THE NEW GODS | developing

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

"WHAT did you say?" Noelle's screams echoed throughout the hallway leading into the Battle Royale arena as the sounds of crowds cheering faded into the background.

Felix frowned, however it was as insincere as just about anything he's ever said. "You didn't hear me, sweetheart? Would you like for me to repeat it in Hindi for you? Fine," he sighed, clearing his throat in preparation to repeat himself. "सेठ बीमार है, तो–" but before he could finish, Tara shoved the back of her fist into his stomach.

Felix clutched onto his stomach, groaning much louder than the screams of the crowd behind them.

With pain in his eyes, he turned to Tara, still clutching onto his stomach for dear life. "What the ever-loving fuck was that for?"

Tara shrugged, a tranquil, satisfied look Sabrina rarely saw on Tara's face had settled there and she was on the verge of giggling like a child. "You were being a dick."

"Dick! That's a curse word," Sasha chirped in, hopping down the hallway leading into the arena playfully. "That'll be five dollars please." She added sweetly, reaching out for Tara to pay up.

"Excuse me, people! We've got a much much more pressing issue at hand here." Noelle shouted, her body going into full panic mode.

"Seth isn't here and according to Felix, he's not coming. This is bad. This is really really bad. I based our entire strategy on his powers. With his Telepathy, the work the rest of us were going to do was close to nothing. I– I don't have a back up!" Noelle muttered as she began hyperventilating.

The rest of the team turned to her with confused looks etched onto their various faces before turning to each other in question. "We had a strategy?" They all asked her in unison.

This sent Noelle over the edge as she clutched her hair and started tugging on it. "Of course we had a strategy! Did any of you read the emails I sent out?"

Felix scoffed at her words. "Emails?"

"I'm having a nervous breakdown. Oh my... we're first up. We're going on in ten minutes! When I get my hands on Seth Grayson–"

"Come on, it's not his fault he fell sick right before the match." Felix came to his best friend's defense as expected, but Noelle was having none of it.

"Look, this is simple. We have a good roster on our hands. We just need to get in there, throw a few punches and boom, we win. Plus we have you... the ace of Bluebird Academy. There's no way we could ever lose." Felix shrugged.

Tara and Sasha both nodded in agreement. Noelle was about to say something when the announcer's voice echoed throughout the arena outside, and the assistants pushed them towards the entrance.

"First up tonight we have the ace of Bluebird, the crazy crew with nothing to lose, the ones you've all been waiting for...–" Noelle wondered what name they'd introduce them with, given she had tasked the team name to Felix.

She hoped it wouldn't be something silly or an innuendo, but as she watched Felix pick his nose besides her then wipe it on his costume, she couldn't help but mentally face palm herself.

"THE NEW GODS!" As the crowd went insane with applause and cheers, the doors burst open, leaking in an overwhelmingly bright light. 

Normally, Noelle was way more than excited and pumped up to compete, but today she couldnt help but feel like a pig taken out for slaughter.

The only thing that brought her comfort was that after this match, win or lose, she'd head out to Porter Hall and give that boy Seth Grayson a piece of her mind, regardless of if he was sick or not.