Calista Elise Medley

  Level 410

  REP: 63/100

  SB: 75%

  EB: 65%

  MB: 83% Needs Attention

  Flaw Level 38

  FP: 9/10

  Katelyn had taken both of them to a hacked clinic on the space station closest to the atmosphere. With Genesis X locking down, the rest of the stations in the Line were safe from the raid. One of Katelyn’s friends, who remained unnamed for Calista, ran the clinic and helped them both in no time. Calista’s shoulders and arms were mended and tightened to their regular size, the damage too great to repair the mod. Her Health and Energy bars were at 100 points by the time she went home.

  The clinic wasn’t authorized since it usually aided minor criminals; hackers and such. They also tended to use unconventional, slightly life-threatening methods of healing when it came to large wounds.

  It had been a few hours after the raid when they got back home. Calista convinced both her parents and fans that while she and Katelyn were taking a ‘secret fashion sister trip’, a fan had approached them and reprimanded Calista for mimicking BBS, deeming it ugly and demanding she go back to her previous body.

  It was bound to happen soon, so it was the perfect excuse for her having gone to the spa for a full treatment, and it was the perfect cover-up for the huge price tag on the Masks they got. Calista input the unofficially-prescribed meds in her sleep capsule, avoiding any questions from fans. The viewer tracker showed they were a bit skeptical and suspicious, but there was no proof of them having lied.

  She had to make a huge apology to all her fans, pretending to care about their opinions, and convincing them that the backlash she got for modding was massive. There was backlash from people actually suffering from Balloon-Body Syndrome, insulted that imitating their plight was taken as sympathy, but no one really listened to them. It had to come from some random fan who didn’t even have it. A lot of people weren’t happy that Calista removed her mods, but since her mother believed her, they couldn’t say much.

  The SociaLights weren’t very happy about having to reverse a mod they’d taken so much time to adapt to, especially when dancing. Calista felt bad for the nicer girls in the group that changed themselves out of pressure, but she didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for Danica, Rebecca, or the other girls like them. They were complaining about missing out on potential compliments for their mods.

  The sisters never had their meeting with Benson Kalley. He was still in the updates on the Versus News Hub, so he probably wasn’t even at the raid. Calista had rejected any hopes of seeing him. It was stupid that she even thought she had a chance.

  She couldn’t hope to try to make it into the 9% that got accepted into the fighting school. Not without her mother, grandmother, and everyone else finding out and ruining her life. How could her body even handle any of that, after so many years? If there was anything that raid taught her, it was that she wouldn’t be able to handle anything the Versus Games threw at her.

  Calista was on a holo-call with the other channel leaders, discussing the changes to the dance outfits now that their arms weren’t all inflated. Bored out of her mind (and secretly criticizing some of Rebecca’s tastes), Calista was watching Whitley Geanna’s recent speech at NYWS, which was her alma mater. She would’ve preferred listening to Thiki Burna, but her viewers would murder her if she dared.

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  “Jorren and I disagree on much, but I believe we have made progress,” Whitley was saying, referring to the outgoing Planetary Leader. Jorren Buanne, a Mercearthian, never liked Socializers, but he didn’t do a service to the fighting world, either. He was the reason why there were so few full-blooded Earthians representing their planet in the Games, just after Lisa had won.

  Part of her wished Lisa White was running for Planetary Leader instead, but the woman never showed interest, sticking to fighting academia. Just a few weeks ago, she was announced to be the new Dean of the Versus Fighting School at Fistborn Academy.

  Lisa was 28 years old when she won her Games in 2338. She had a lot of obstacles throughout her career; being an Earthian woman, she was very often underestimated and was written off as a mediocre fighter that everyone would forget.

  She had already competed in three Versus competitions, but had never reached the top three places. Even so, in her first competition, she impressed the Versus fanbase enough to earn the call sign ‘Dark Horse’. Getting on the planet team three times in a row was already a very impressive feat. It was hard enough to get on the country team— even getting into the fighting school itself was a huge success.

  In 2338, Lisa White beat Hajjians, Klausians, Dnilians, Emitonians… every single other participating planet in the Utopia. There were sixteen planets in all, and thirteen of them competed. Lisa stood on the very top of the pyramid. The first Earthian— a woman, on top of it— to win a Versus Games in over a century. Other Earthian had won every now and then in other categories like the Duo and Group sections, but the Solo section was the highlight of the competition. Earthians had made it to third place, maybe second place a couple of times, but not first; not until Lisa.

  As a six-year-old, Calista had focused solely on Lisa’s career. Knowing a Earthian woman was blazing through the fights and catching even the most powerful species off guard gave her hope. She envisioned herself standing on the first-place podium and receiving the same honors Lisa did. Her childish dream sequences played out on their house’s ImaginationStation, feeding the fantasy and motivating every punch and kick Calista practiced in her secret self-training.

  She secretly scoffed at herself for having been so na?ve. Lisa White was one-in-a-million. No one like her would show up for another hundred years or so. She was like Halley’s Comet; a beautiful, unique sight that would come and go, and not return for ages.

  “What do you think of this skirrrt?” Rebecca asked.

  “I think maybe it should have some more ruffles-” Elizabeth began.

  “Not you. Dani, Cali, what do you think?”

  “I don’t think it needs ruffles. It’s tacky,” Danica said.

  Calista paused, only paying half her attention, but enough to hear what she’d said to Elizabeth. “I agree with Liz; more ruffles would be great,” she said to the holograms of the girls around her. If they didn’t glow so much, she’d feel like they were there in the room with her.

  Rebecca shifted in her seat, twirling a lock of cotton-candy-pink hair around her finger, and nodded begrudgingly. “Ruffles it is.” Whether she liked it or not, Calista’s skill in fashion was much better than Danica’s. Elizabeth’s sparkled gray eyes looked at her with appreciation, and Calista winked at her.

  +3 Rel-P

  Approaching Close Friend Status

  She turned her attention back to Whitley. “There are plenty of Versus schools on this planet that do not get a good enough reputation. They are not Tegowai Academy from Japan or Death Claw Fighter Camp from Ghana… or even Fistborn Academy from the States. These schools are worth shutting down for the betterment of our society, and eventually, opinions will shift and these big names I mentioned will fade away, as well. We can put those digits towards programs that will train our citizens to be beautiful, nonviolent, and simply… perfect. As a Utopian citizen should be. We don’t need more Thiki Burnas or Lisa Whites in this world.”

  Calista scoffed. Of course she’d bring her up. A perfect way to launch her brain back into the arena she’d never get to enter.

  How could she ever compare herself, a 17-year-old Socializer with little to no fighting experience, to a 28-year-old veteran with years of combat experience and training who finally got her win in her last tournament before graduation?

  Even with such raw talent, Lisa always faced controversy, from both fighters and Socializers. She was branded a cheater by Hajjians and other planets. Many thought she didn’t deserve the title of Dean.

  There were times Calista wished she never cared about the Games. She wished she had her mother’s mentality. She wished she hated the Games as much as everyone else in her community. She wished Katelyn had never given her any hopes for her desired future. She wished…

  “I think we’re good for the portfolio,” Rebecca said, clapping her hands and squealing irritatingly. “We’re gonna look uber-generateed! Just like the characters in holo-shows!”

  “Even better than them,” said Danica. “Don’t be late for choreo tomorrow.”

  “How can I? I’m the one leading,” Calista said with a hint of sarcasm.

  “We will totally uber-kill it at NYWS,” said Elizabeth. “Night, girlies.”

  The holo-call finished and Calista was left alone to finish watching Whitley drone on about her dreams, but a screen popped up over it. ‘CALI I’M COMING IN YOUR ROOM FOR A BIT, TEN MINUTES’.

  Calista ignored it. She didn’t want another kernel of false hope.

  ‘YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS.’