As it happened there was a rounded window of highly reinforced gss through which people in the waiting room could watch fights in the pit. It was likely a substance simir to the hydrapolymer of my armour, highly resistant to most forms of damage.

  Not indestructible, obviously, but unlikely to be broken as mere colteral. A fighter would have to actively try to break it.

  "We have a new competitor for you here tonight, dies and gentlemen!" the referee shouted into the microphone in his grasp. "A beast of unknown origins, a savage monster from the pits of Hell itself!"

  I frowned behind my mask. "You don't need to be mean to the guy," I muttered. "He's not that ugly."

  "Never let it be said that Impact doesn't keep things fresh for you people! Raise a cheer for ROVER THE RIPPER!"

  Rover stepped onto the sandy ground, scanning his gaze to the crowds in the terraces above. A few gasps of shock rose into the air, but it was clear the audience were... intrigued by him.

  "Seriously?" Cheshire asked.

  "Yeah," Dynamo mumbled. "Kinda me."

  "And in the other corner, a returning champion of the pit! You know him, you love him, if you bet against him you hate him! THE GRAVE!"

  I narrowed my eyes. "He's fighting a champion right out of the gate?" I asked aloud.

  A man emerged from the shade at the far end of the room. Bck and muscur, naked from the waist up. His muscur chest was covered by thick ptes of bone that seemed to almost be sprouting directly from his flesh. In particur he wore a helmet that looked like a second skull yered over his own.

  "Materialist," Foresight said, taking a drag of his stinking joint. "Who can create... bones? That's a new one for me."

  "Fighters..." The referee hastily backed to the entryway. "Begin!"

  Grave rushed forward, pale grey goo sloughing around his forearms. On his left he grow a rge disc-shaped shield, while the other became covered with a heavy club studded with spikes. Though he more than a head shorter than Rover he showed no fear in swinging first, smashing his club into Rover's upraised right arm.

  The creature hissed, scars opening on his mottled flesh. Not deep, but still drawing dribbles of blood. Rover swung quickly, punching Grave's shield and fracturing it, sending him skidding along the sand.

  Grave whipped his arm at Rover, those broken shards flying at him as a salvo aimed at his eyes. Rover swatted them aside, hissing like an angry snake. He swung more blows, but Grave was fast and managed to duck and weave around the strikes.

  Then, to my shock, he swung his free hand up and unched a salvo of bone-spears from his palms. Though thin, they were sharp enough to open a few slices along Rover's side. The wounds were healing rather quickly, all things considered, but Grave was still dancing around and nding firm whacks from his club.

  "Your creature is pretty sturdy."

  Impact's voice made us all grow tense, and we spun around in unison to stare at her. Knuckle was at her side, his bck mask peeled up to the bridge of his nose to expose a stubbled jaw. He drank zily from a beer bottle, but I could tell he was watching us warily.

  "Where'd you find him?"

  "We were robbing a spot, found that big bastard. And he only went and bonded with Toymaker here," Cheshire said, jerking a thumb my way.

  I sighed. "Like a baby bird." Much to my own annoyance.

  There came a shocked gasp from the crowd outside, and I turned back to see Grave smashing against the wall of the pit. The bone ptes on his chest were cracked, and the club he used had been cracked open. Rover was leering at him, and I could see a few frills had sprouted on his shoulders and forearms. Even at a gnce his skin looked tougher.

  This time when Grave unched his spears, they shattered like gss against Rover's hide.

  "Hm. So you guys are new on the scene?" Impact asked. "Can't say I've ever heard of you."

  "Only started retively recently. I'm Cheshire, and this is my crew," she said, motioning to each of us in turn and mentioning our names.

  Impact set her sights on me. "Toymaker huh? Thought I heard a story of the local street gangs running around with weird toy weapons. You know, if you want to make real cash, you should try selling in Lux. The gangs there have deep pockets."

  "I'll keep that in mind," I said. And I did at least partially mean it. Money wasn't my biggest motivating factor, but it was better to have and not need than to need and not have.

  I gnced back to see Grave unching himself up with an explosion of bone matter under his heels. He leaped high. Avoiding a ssh from Rover's cws. Gooey clumps of grey matter were unched from his hands, striking Rover's feet and swiftly hardening. He snarled and thrashed, trying and failing to pull himself loose.

  Grave nded behind him, forearms becoming coated in another yer of spiked armour. He swung and smashed at Rover's back, and while he made the creature hiss it was not enough to harm him. Rover strained his muscles, thews briefly growing rger, and shattered the restraints.

  His hand whipped back and Grave only barely managed a block that sent him skidding back to the far end of the arena. The clubs on his arms broke and shattered, debris tumbling to his feet.

  "Grave is one of our regur winners," Impact said, folding her arms. "Fifteen wins. Nine by knockout, six by death. Guy loves his money. Couldn't cut it as a vilin, started dipping into pit fights after he got roughed up by Raptor back in Lord's Port. Watch out for him, cuz he has some tricks up his sleeve."

  I watched as Rover stalked toward his quarry, who had pressed his back to the wall. Suddenly a slew of spikes sprouted from the ptes on his chest, turning pitch bck. They shot forward, each one faster than a bullet.

  Some of the shots went wide, but a few of them managed to pierce into is chest. Bckness spread from the points of impact and Rover shrieked, recoiling. Suddenly his movements were sluggish, and Grave was able to effortlessly duck and weave under a few clumsy swipes from Rover.

  I narrowed my eyes. Some kind of poison... the little bastard.

  He regrew his clubs and hammered at Rover's legs, driving him to his knees. Then he hit him again and again, smashing him across the face and rapidly regenerating his yer of bone whenever they began to crack.

  But if Grave thought that toxin would st long against Rover, he was sorely mistaken.

  I saw it happen, only barely.

  Rover's eyes snapping open with renewed focus, and he swung round on Grave mid-attack. His punch was like a thundercp, smashing into Grave and driving him harshly into the nearest wall. The cheers and shocked gasps of the crowd grew rapidly in volume, and Rover pressed the attack by repeatedly smashing Grave into the wall until the corrugated metal bent and warped behind him.

  Grave managed to slip under him, barely avoiding a kick. His bone armour was cracked, fking off in great chunks, and the surrounding skin was already bruised and darkening. He turned, shouting at the top of his lungs, and firing another slew of poison needles at Rover. This time, however, they snapped against his hide.

  And, frankly, I doubted the poison would work this time.

  A hard punch cracked Grave across the face, shattering the helmet he wore. He fell ft to the sands and did not rise again. But I could see he was breathing, at least. In truth, I didn't much care if he lived or died, but it would be inconvenient if Rover got a taste for human blood.

  Shouts and jeers rose from the crowd outside, and Rover stared dimly up at them, then back at is fallen foe. I allowed myself a smile. "Attaboy."

  "Well, shit. There's an upset right there," Impact said, settling her hands on her hips. "Still, a win is a win. Welcome to the arena, newbies. Keep the crowd invested, and don't make me regret welcoming you in here."

  "Ah, don't worry." Cheshire gave a small chuckle. "We'll put on a hell of a show for them."