The studio lights burned as the countdown ticked to zero, the audience's murmurs fading into a tense hush. The cameras rolled.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Glamourbabe's voice dripped with excitement as she strutted onto the stage, "Welcome to the semifinal of our Hero Association exam! Tonight, the world will get to meet the future of heroism, starting with our top-ranked team!"
She twirled with a flourish, and the screen behind her lit up with bold, glowing letters:
TEAM 3: SHADOWBEARER, NAMELESS, & SCARLET MARIONETTE
The crowd erupted in applause, a thunderous wave, as Gwin and Miles walked toward the stage and took their seats with hesitant but determined steps. But the moment Arthur appeared, the applause was marred by a scattering of boos.
A highlight montage began to play, each frame a testament to their trials:
Shadowbearer (Miles): Him using his Wyrm to win the obstacle race, his desperate rescue of the hostage amidst the ruins of Paris.
Nameless (Arthur): Him alongside his knight battling against Sin in the simulation, his speed blitz dominating the obstacle race.
Scarlet Marionette (Gwin): Her masterful use of blood during the obstacle race, 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, a rare moment of camaraderie that softened the audience's edges.
The crowd clapped, but Glamourbabe's smile remained, hiding her intent.
"So tell me," she purred, leaning forward with the mic extended like a weapon, "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 idols. And I wanted to be like them."
Gwin grinned, her confidence a bright flare, "My mentor said I had potential if I stopped being a menace!" She winked at the camera, "So here I am, turning chaos into justice!"
Arthur's turn. The studio lights pinned him, "After I was freed from prison, I had to repay my debt to society." He met the camera's lens with a steady gaze, "This is how I pay it every single day until the day I die."
The audience murmured, a few nodding in approval while others whispered among themselves.
Glamourbabe's eyes gleamed with a predatory glint, "Admirable! But let's be honest. The audience wants to know their heroes a bit more."
She snapped her fingers, "Shadowbearer, care to comment on this?"
The screen flickered to life.
A grainy security footage played, revealing 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 pierced the air.
Miles stopped breathing.
Arthur's fingers twitched—this was the ambush he'd expected, but he'd assumed it would target him.
Glamourbabe's venomous smirk widened, "That's you, isn't it?"
The mic hovered in front of Miles' frozen face.
Silence stretched.
Then…, "Yes." His voice was hollow, "I killed her. My power… it happened too fast. I panicked."
The audience exploded, a cacophony of outrage and shock.
Glamourbabe turned to the camera, "A tragic accident… or a cover-up? People, vote now!"
The approval ratings on screen plummeted.
The studio descended into chaos.
The audience's shouts and gasps filled the air, the approval ratings still nosediving on the screen behind them.
Miles sat frozen, his hands clenched in his lap.
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 shit 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. Each one of us have a reason why we should be hated, but I can promise you this. That our determination for a better tomorrow, will never burnout."
Gwin wrapped her arms around Arthur's right arm, "Yep, but guess what? We're 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 friends." She ended with a cute peace sign.
The audience's murmurs shifted, a mixture of disgust and oddly intriguing curiosity rippling through the crowd.
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 a brutal 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 collided with Empire Gold, ripping him in half in a spray of violence.
The studio fell dead silent.
Glamourbabe's voice dropped to 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 did he let her finish, "Yeah. And I'll spend the rest of my life making up for it." He shrugged, "There's 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 amends is to correct our wrongs."
The approval ratings stalled for a brief moment before inching upward.
Glamourbabe's smile turned brittle, "Such noble guilt! But let's not pretend you're—"
"—more honest than you?" Arthur interrupted, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"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 revealed with a confident smile.
The audience gasped.
Arthur stood up, snatching the mic, and faced the audience, "Let me tell you all a little story from prison. Most of the villains voted her as the best hero of the year for a simple reason: she pays you money to get arrested."
Glamourbabe jumped up, "How absurd of you to make such a lie live on national television!"
Arthur chuckled, unfazed, "Oh love, your Trigger is basically useless. Your song Trigger is only good in a support role. Most support users are ranked in the thirties in terms of rank, but you're in the number five spot. I need you to explain how you met the arrest requirements despite support heroes normally having very low arrest quotas. Do you have any comments?"
Miles followed up, "Now that I think about it, my mentor is a support hero and he has to make twenty arrests in a month. If I remember correctly, you made two hundred arrests with B-, C-, and D-rank villains in three weeks alone. Even before you had a sidekick."
Even the crowd began mumbling amongst themselves, some curious, others 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, showing Gwin undressing and entering a tub with Arthur, "As you can see—"
Before she could shift the tension away from her, Arthur and Gwin asked in unison, their expressions deadpan, "Why do you have a video of us taking a bath?"
Even the audience mumbled in confusion, the pointless display raising eyebrows. There was no justification for it, yet she'd played it anyway.
Glamourbabe couldn't think of a response.
The camera caught her eye twitching violently, her knuckles 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 a chaotic mix of cheers, boos, and confused clapping. The approval ratings hovered above average.
As the credits rolled, Glamourbabe stormed off stage, her expression a storm of fury.