Downtown, off the beaten-path, HardStop finds himself at the meeting place. Outside, as expected, stands Damon, waiting, cool as ever.

“You really want me to do this, huh?”

“It’s what I live for. Without this, I couldn’t live a normal life.”

HardStop eyes the strange figures entering the building, taking mental notes of his potential opponents. He could take them all, no problem.

“Henry, before we go in, do you want to use a different name?”

“Tell them HardStop’s fighting tonight.” He said proudly. Damon nodded in response and went in ahead of his invitee.

HardStop entered the unassuming location, beneath a skyscraper in the Cloud Corridor, a stark dichotomy between civility and savagery. The building was immaculate within. Though packed, HardStop appreciated the architecture and use of space. There wasn’t a spot to stand where the pit couldn’t be seen, the floor was inclined perfectly.

People prepared to be called in certain corners, but the majority of attendees were betting or just there for entertainment. HardStop could tell just by looking at them who was who. He saw Damon in the distance, and chuckled to himself that his acquaintance was the latter.

Quickly after entering, an old man began to speak at the entrance to the pit, where two sides of spiral staircases met. The fighting grounds were wide and covered by a glass globe so that viewers couldn’t interfere. The man’s voice carried through anyways, everyone going silent out of respect either for him or the sport.

“Please give a warm welcome our newest contender… HardStop!”

Henry tore off his shirt to reveal his augmented body and lifted his face cover and put on his glasses. People gasped, having seen him in action in the city, though now he had a name. He looked around for Damon, thinking he wouldn’t have known. His buddy was not in sight, until the old man spoke again.

“And a cold welcome to a top dog here… Daddy Chill!”

Damon stepped down the stairs confidently, making no eye contact with HardStop - although now they were both wearing sunglasses. HardStop recognized him immediately. It was hard not to with his tube socks and signature mustache.

“Damon?” HardStop asked in shock.

“Henry.” Daddy Chill grinned. They both went to their sides of the arena. “Let’s do this, ‘Hardstop’.”

Daddy Chill relaxed against the back wall of the pit and pointed a single finger at HardStop. A trail of blueish energy zipped to him and connected with his chest. Ice spread on the stop sign instantly and HardStop took a moment to shake off the shock of DC’s power.

Again, Daddy Chill sent a lazy beam of cold HardStop’s way. This time, it wouldn’t make it. HardStop rose into the air as the entire room stopped moving. Not a single particle vibrated as the crosswalk hero flew to Daddy Chill to land a serious punch on his chin. The cold hero crumbled and HardStop’s arm lights went green once again.

“That’s going to be tough to beat.” Daddy Chill stood from the ground, squaring off against HardStop. “One sec.” He then cleared his throat with strange noises for about a minute. “Alright, back to it.”

HardStop and Daddy Chill approached the center of the pit and traded punches shortly. DC covered his fists in ice as he hit. HardStop had to evade or block with his lights or stop sign. After enough nullified hits, HardStop decided to end the battle on his time. His arm lights turned yellow for a moment, then red, stopping the arena again.

Daddy Chill was frozen, but not from HardStop’s aura. He had covered every cell in his body with ice. This shielded him from the moment of HardStop’s lights turning yellow. He was free from the pause of his opponent. DC threw out a massive wave of cold towards an unsuspecting HardStop, landing with ease. The entire stop sign was covered, as well as his left arm light.

HardStop wasn’t done though, as he sank to the ground from where he floated, his right arm turned green to free everyone, then he changed it back to yellow then red. Daddy Chill couldn’t see this maneuver, but sent out another cold blast at that same moment.  For the free moment, the audience went nuts, enthralled with the action.

Ice covered HardStop’s entire body. Daddy Chill was stuck in position completely. Everyone awaited the ice to melt. Then, everything began to move again. HardStop broke free from the ice and DC from his pause. But neither of them were the reason.

Everyone looked around confused as the motion that began was completely against their will. They were all overwhelmed by music. Nothing could be heard at all except for the shuffling of feet. It wasn’t music that could be heard… it was only felt. In the arena, rhythm took full control.

“There’s only one man with this kind of power over boogie. One being, rather.” HardStop stated as he danced with Daddy Chill.

“Do I need to ice him?” DC asked, dancing with HardStop.

“Not if it’s who I think it is. He’s… an old, old friend.”

Suddenly, the dancing stopped and everyone in the arena caught their breath. The old man stood at the pit entrance as if to say ‘finish the fight’. The heroes looked at each other and nodded. Daddy Chill slapped HardStop in the face softly and his big body clanked against the floor. The old man rolled his eyes and announced DC the winner, allowing them to leave.

Outside, they scrambled to see what direction the being went in. HardStop pointed in the sky and they both viewed a cube of pure light. It was a disco floor following a person in the center.

“The Funk Realm.” HardStop said.

“You know a guy with a ‘Funk Realm’?”

“Yeah.”
“I’m in.”

HardStop flew towards the lights, followed by an eager Daddy Chill, sitting on a couch chair made of ice and cracking open a beer, casually propelling himself forward by shattering ice backwards.