The studio lights burned as the countdown ticked to zero. The audience's murmurs quietly. The cameras rolled.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Glamourbabe's said dripped with excitement as she struts onto the stage, "Welcome to the semi final of our hero association exam. Tonight, the world will get to meet the future of heroism starting with our top-ranked team!"
She twirled, as the screen behind her lit up with bold letters:
TEAM 3: SHADOWBEARER, NAMELESS, & SCARLET MARIONETTE
The crowd erupted in applause as Gwin and Miles walked towards the stage and to their seats, but the moment Arthur appeared...there were some boos mixed with it.
A highlight montage began to play of each member's greatest moments throughout the exams:
- Shadowbearer (Miles): Him using his win to win the obstacle race, his desperate rescue of the hostage in the ruins of Paris.
- Nameless (Arthur): Him along side his knight battling against Sin in the simulation, and his speed blitz in the obstacles race.
- Scarlet Marionette (Gwin): Her used of blood during the obstacles race and her puppet-like form in the fight against Sin.
The video ended with a slow-motion shot of the three eating lunch together in the cafeteria.
The audience clapped, but Glamourbabe's smile.
---
"So tell me," she purred, leaning forward with the mic extended, "Why did you guys become heroes?"
Miles swallowed hard but answered first, "It's… been my dream since I was a kid. Heroes like Empire Gold and Machine Prince have always been my idol. And I wanted to be like them."
Gwin grinned, "My mentor said I had potential if I stopped being a menace!" She winked, "So here I am, turning chaos into justice!"
Arthur's turn. The studio lighting planted on him, "After I was free from prison, I had to repay my debt to society." He met the camera's lens, "This is how I pay it every single day till the day I die."
The audience murmured with a few nodding while others whispering amongst the crowd.
Glamourbabe's eyes gleamed, "Admirable! But let's be honest. The audience want to know their hero a bit more."
She snapped her fingers, "Shadowbearer, care to comment on this?"
The screen flickered.
A grainy security footage played.
A twelve-year-old Miles, face streaked with tears, dragging a woman's limp body out of a house.
The camera switched to a staged suicide.
The studio erupted.
Gasps. Shouts. A few horrified screams.
Miles stopped breathing.
Arthur's fingers twitched this was the ambush he was expecting but he assumed it was going to be against him.
Glamourbabe's had a venomous smirk, "That's you, isn't it?"
The mic hovered in front of Miles' frozen face.
Silence.
Then..., "Yes." His voice was hollow, "I killed her. My power… it happened too fast. I panicked."
The audience exploded
Glamourbabe turned to the camera, "A tragic accident… or a cover-up? People, vote now!"
The approval ratings on screen plummeted.
---
The studio was in chaos.
The audience's shouts and gasps, the approval ratings still nosediving on the screen behind them.
Miles sat frozen.
Glamourbabe's smile never wavered, but her grip on the microphone tightened, "Well, well. A confession live on air! How…honest of you, Shadowbearer."
Miles opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Then, "We've all done s*** we regret." Arthur's voice cut through the noise.
The cameras swung to him as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his gaze locked onto Glamourbabe, "Difference is, we're not hiding behind a mic to pretend we're saints."
Gwin wrapped her arms around Arthur right arm, "Yep, but guess what? We are friends that stick together. Even if one of us were hated throughout the world. We still love each other and treat each other as best friend." She ended with a cuties peace sign.
The audience's murmurs shifted with a mixture of disgust and oddly intriguing.
Glamourbabe's eye twitched, "How… refreshing."
She snapped her fingers again, "But let's not deflect. Nameless—care to explain this?"
The screen changed to Empire Gold's final moments.
The legendary hero locked in battle with Lord Kaizer—until a young Arthur, his power flaring out of control, disrupted Empire Gold's Trigger at the worst possible second. Kaizer's fist colliding with Empire Gold before ripping him in half.
The studio fell dead silent.
Glamourbabe's voice was a whisper, "On this day, you were responsible for the symbol of peace dying by the hands of the most vile villain on the planet. How do-"
Arthur didn't flinch nor let her finish, "Yeah. And I'll spend the rest of my life making up for it." He shrugged, "There no such thing as a perfect hero despite what the world will say. We will make mistakes in this line of duty and the only way for us to make amans are to correct our wrongs."
The approval ratings stalled for a brief moment before increasing slightly.
Glamourbabe's smile turned brittle, "Such noble guilt! But let's not pretend you're—"
"—more honest than you?" Arthur interrupted. He smirked.
"Funny. You're ranked fifth, right? And the hero in the top ten who's never beaten an S-Class threat. Or hell, even an A-Class." Arthur reveal with a confident smile.
The audience gasped.
Arthur stood up with the mic in hand and faced the audience, "Let me tell you all a little story behind prison. Most of the villain, vote her as the best hero of the year, for a simple reason. She pays you money to get arrested."
Glamourbabe immediately jumped up and said, "How absurd of you to make such a lie live on national television."
Arthur chuckled, "Oh love, your trigger is basically useless. Your song trigger is only good in a support role. Most support user are ranked in the thirties with in term of rank but you are in the number five spot. I need you to explain how did meet the arrest requirements despite support heroes normal have very low arrested requirements. Do you have any comments?"
Miles followed up, "Now thinking about it, my mentor is a support hero and he has to make twenty arrested in a month. I remember correctly, you made two hundred arrested with B, C and D rank villains in three weeks alone. Even before you had sidekick."
Even the crowd started mumbling amongst themselves, some were curious will the others were dismissive.
Glamourbabe immediately took control of the situation, "I simply worked harder than the rest. Now how about we talk about something more spicy."
The next video played of Gwin undressing herself and entering the tub with Arthur, "As you can see-"
Before she could shifted the tension away from her, Arthur and Gwin asked with a deadpan look, "Why do you have a video of us taking a bath?"
Even the audience started mumbling in confusion. There was no point of even showing this but she still did.
Glamourbabe couldn't think of something to say.
The camera caught Glamourbabe's eye twitching violently. Her knuckles were white around the mic.
"Welp!" She clapped with a nervous laugh, "That's all the time we have! Let's hear it for Team 3, folks!"
The audience's applause was mixed with cheers, boos, confused clapping. The approval ratings was above average.
As the credits rolled, Glamourbabe stormed off stage with her beyond angry expression.