Contest of Champions

49

Before I can move, a fiery orange line, fixed in a circle, cuts through the air right above the table. A dark-skinned hand with a dark blue sleeve reaches out and grabs at the pack labeled with the five, withdrawing it back through the portal before it closes, cutting off the image of a cliff in the background.

Who else can that be but Wong?

One pack is now gone and there's four left. The sight of the gap between packs two and seven jolts me into action and before I know it, I'm racing across the open space toward the Gauntlet. I need to get that medicine for Veers, to keep her free of Carnage.

Something whizzes past my ear and I spin around as the short spear shoots past my head, ruffling my black hair. Okoye is sprinting after me, a second vibranium spear in her hand, looking to be the same style as mine. She must have gotten her hands on another one, either from another contender or from a sponsor. There's murder in her eyes as I hurl one of my daggers back at her before turning to run again.

I'm banking on the calculation that she won't throw her second spear, especially after I took her first one. So I keep running, looking at my pack sitting there so temptingly. I need it, so badly. I need it.

Then something strikes me in the back and I'm thrown to the ground, plowing into the soft grass. Just as I feel grass and dirt rub into my face, a burst of electricity sparks out from the spear Okoye must have thrown at my back and the energy races through my body, earning a grunt of pain.

I've been electrocuted before. My brother is the god of thunder, after all. So I grit my teeth, feeling the electricity running through me, and force myself up onto my hands and knees, the spear falling to the side. Once again, I thank Selvig for my tough Asgardian jacket for protecting me and saving my life.

Next thing I know, Okoye lands on my back, driving my face into the dirt again. Her fingers dig into the skin on my neck and shoulders as she attempts some kind of hold and I immediately summon a dagger, holding it in a backwards grip and driving it toward her hand. The Wakandan lets out a cry but doesn't release her grip on me, instead pressing down on the back of my neck with her good hand while slamming into my dagger hand with her forearm. The knife is forced out of my hand.

"How does that feel, Asgardian?" she taunts, picking up her spear as she shifts position on my back. "How does it feel to lose?"

"I haven't lost yet," I force through gritted teeth, running my options through my head. I could probably throw her off my back, but then I feel my own dagger touched to the back of my neck and know that trying that will only lead to my own death. I can't go home if I'm dead.

"Yes, you have," Okoye insists, and then the tip of her spear touches my cheek and a burst of electricity shoots through me again. I groan, refusing to scream, but I can feel the veins in my neck bulging from the effort. "You killed Killmonger, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," I seethe. "And I'd do it again. Happily."

"He may not have been a hero, but he was of Wakanda," Okoye says angrily. "And you will pay for his death. Like your little spider ally, you are not meant to play at Thanos' games." She pauses. "Children do not survive in the arena. Such is what Peter Parker and Cassie Lang learned the hard way."

Anger surges through me at the mention of Peter and Cassie but I don't have time to react. I hear the rush of movement, see the dancing of the white and faded blue shadows, and then Okoye is knocked off my back from behind and sent flying into the side of the Gauntlet.

Pietro suddenly appears, glaring at Okoye. I take the opportunity to roll over onto my back and sit up. As I begin to stand, flicking my spear canister and getting the vibranium weapon to expand, I see Okoye start to stand, coughing. Blood drips out of the corner of her mouth.