Contest of Champions

57

The door opens before us and I can hear Luis welcoming the crowd with his characteristic "WASSUP!" The crowd cheers and applauds in response and I take a deep breath, calming myself. It's show time.

"Are you ready to meet the teams responsible for helping this year's champions win the last Space Games, the thirty-sixth Contest of Champions?"

A resounding yes echoes up from the audience.

"Give a hand to our champions from Hala and Asgard and their amazingly fabulous teams!"

There's more applause, which increases when Veers' prep team takes the stage, waving to the crowd. I can just barely see them, from my position, all three of them with blue skin and varying shades of dark hair. Then my prep team parades out, MJ, Flash, and Ned looking as excited as I've seen them yet. Even MJ is smiling, her wavy dark hair bouncing around her shoulders.

Then the Kree escort walks out and I see a young Kree with short dark hair and a beard. He's announced as Soh-Larr. Jane walks out next, smiling and waving. The audience is clapping and cheering as Veers' stylist steps out, Bron-Char, maintaining a stately expression as he is applauded. But Erik Selvig gets an even louder welcoming cheer from the crowd, and for good reason.

Now it's time for the mentors to make their appearance. Ronan, Minn-Erva, and Korath the Pursuer all walk on stage to tremendous applause. Then Hela, Valkyrie, and Thor take the stage and the applause and cheers only increase.

Hela is enjoying the moment, sweeping her hands back through her hair and causing her multiple-pronged helmet to appear. Then I'm being prompted and I walk forward, toward the stage.

"Give it up for Loki of Asgard and Veers of Starforce!"

Veers and I step onto the stage at the same time. My gaze quickly roams over the crowd before it finds her, and she's already looking at me. Dressed in her green and black Starforce uniform, Veers wears the green mask over her face which deactivates as soon as I lock eyes on her. Her hair floats down around her shoulders in slight waves.

Now. Now is the time.

I move across the stage toward Veers and she's hurrying toward me. I catch her dead center in the stage as she flings her arms around my neck and then she's kissing me. I kiss her back, knowing full well this is being filmed, that everyone in the galaxy sees this right now. Including Gamora.

Luis' voice penetrates through my thoughts and I adopt an annoyed expression as I set Veers' feet back down on the ground, glancing over at him. He's laughing and grinning at the two of us. "Well, what did I say, yo?" he exclaims. "Love at first sight, am I right?"

I glance at Veers and she's smiling. "Yeah, Luis, you had a point," she says. "I admit it, you were right."

"I knew it," Luis declares. "You two just have that special something, you know? Like my cousin Ernesto was saying when we were discussing your interviews over dinner at a local diner? Now, I'm not much of a diner guy – prefer Italian, know what I'm saying? But they had a rad grilled cheese sandwich with bacon –"

"Luis," I interject, lifting an eyebrow.

"Right, right, right. Anyway, we were discussing you two as a ship and such, and Ernesto, he was telling me about some theories floating around Titan. He said he heard that this chick Emily told her boyfriend Carlos that, 'yo, dude, Veers and Loki would make a very decent couple,' and that she came up with a rad ship name. Carlos, now he and Ernesto get to talking and he tells Ernesto about the crazy ship name his girl went and came up with."

Veers and I exchange a look, my expression dubious while hers is amused.

"So I said to Ernesto, 'yo, dawg, did the chick tell Carlos to tell you to tell me, just what that ship name was?' And he said, 'nah, dude, just that it's pretty legit and definitely should be given to them.'"