She peeked around the corner of her hiding spot again and sized up the battlefield. At present, 499 Clan:LESS members encircled Alpha, still hanging on his every word. He screamed at the assembled troops, psyching them up for the coming battle.

“This coward Bugz wants to take your lives from you. She wants to take your weapons from you. She wants to force you to respawn and lose everything you’ve fought for.” Alpha paused for dramatic effect. “But will you let that happen?”

“NO!” roared the crowd.

“Are we going to fight?!” Alpha shouted.

“YES!” the crowd replied.

“Are we going to win?”

“YES!”

“We launch our sneak attack tonight!” concluded Alpha, thrusting his fist in the air.

“YEAHHH!” The crowd responded by punching their weapons into the sky and high-fiving the clanmates closest to them. They chanted Alpha’s name.

“Pro tip: don’t announce your sneak attack before you actually launch your sneak attack.” Bugz winked to her audience streaming along online. Millions of her followers watched from their own heads-up displays inside the ’Verse or on phones in the real world. Bugz crouched, bending her knees, as she prepared to leap out from her hiding spot. She felt a bead of sweat gathering on her brow in real life. The chat in her display sparkled with activity.

“Ahh, what am I getting all tensed up for?” She blew her hair away quickly, stood up straight, and stepped out of the shadows. “Hey losers, look over here!”

Some of Bugz’s viewers were warning the Clan:LESS horde an attack was imminent. The warriors who noticed the warnings took their eyes off Alpha and began scanning the horizon. They were the first to see her. Bugz—the specter, the legend, the phenom—appeared before them, all swagger and attitude. She pulled a flaming, torch-tipped spear back like a javelin thrower, illuminating her bodysuit in the process. She took careful aim and launched the projectile in a long, soaring arc that delivered its payload directly to the center of the crowd. She stood on one leg to admire her throw as the spear landed, splattering the horde of Clan:LESS soldiers with fire and flame.

Instantly dozens of soldiers evaporated into the ether.

“S3reum was eliminated by Bugz.”

“Nigel_The_Knight was eliminated by Bugz.”

“xx.GFguerilla.xx was eliminated by Bugz.”

Dozens of other gamertags flickered and disappeared into the sky.

The wounded stampeded in all directions.

“You cowards!” Alpha cried. “Don’t run! This is what we wanted. Our enemy is right here. The battle is on!”

Bugz stood on the higher ground, taking in the carnage and confusion below and feeling quite proud of herself. She looked down to see one member of Clan:LESS just staring at her, frozen. She laughed. Bugz got this sort of reaction all the time. Other gamers often seized up in her presence like kids meeting a childhood idol.