The familiar glowing blue screen popped up right in front of Nash’s face.

[Special Quest: Team Unity]

Objective: Defeat the opposing team while contributing less than 50% to your team’s total actions and effort.

Reward: Team Box x1

Nash’s mouth twitched into this slow grin. Like when you find money in your old jeans. Without even thinking, he made a fist and pumped it once at his side, real quick.

And of course... Jinzo saw it.

Jinzo’s eyes got all squinty right away. His smug face slipped for just a second. That stupid fist pump... He’d set this whole thing up so Nash would look like an idiot in front of everyone, no shooting, no passing, basically handcuffed, but now Nash looked... happy about it?

"What the actual fuck...?" Jinzo muttered. Did he just screw himself over somehow?

Too late now though. The other guys were already hyping themselves up like idiots around him, completely missing Jinzo’s sudden panic.

"No way, Jinzo! You’re a genius!" Mac yelled, smacking Jinzo’s back so hard it stung. "No shooting, no passing? You turned him into a fucking mannequin!"

Drex cracked his knuckles with this ugly grin.

"He’s done for. We’re gonna wreck his ass this time."

The three background guys nodded like bobbleheads, puffing out their chests and talking big. They’d been nervous before, but now they were acting all tough. Like... sure, a tiger’s scary, but what if it had no claws or teeth? That’s what they were telling themselves, at least. Easier than considering what they were in comparison.

They started walking to their side of the court, tossing the ball between them and talking shit under their breath.

Jinzo tried to shake off the bad feeling, but when he looked back, Nash was already heading toward the girls’ side with that same stupid calm smile. It made Jinzo’s spine feel cold. He clenched his teeth and followed his team, but kept glancing back the whole time like someone might stab him.

Meanwhile, up in her office, Victoria was sitting alone.

Her fingers tapped slowly on the desk as she watched a video from last match, the Baby-Boom girls and Blacklist girls all crowded around Nash, laughing, pressing up against him...

Victoria’s red lips curled just a tiny bit.

"It’d be perfect..." she whispered. "But they won’t just hand it to us..."

Before she could finish, the door opened.

Dahlia rushed in.

"Ma’am—"

Victoria didn’t even look up.

"I said alone, Dahlia."

"My apologies, Ma’am," Dahlia said fast, shutting the door but staying right by it. "I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important."

Victoria finally looked up, raising one perfect eyebrow.

"And yet here you are."

Dahlia took a quick breath.

"Ma’am... Nash is back. He showed up for training... and... you really gotta see this yourself."

Victoria’s little smile disappeared fast.

The two women walked quickly through the halls toward the training area. When they got close, all the staff people saw Victoria and freaked out, parting like the sea in front of Moses.

Victoria stopped at the railing overlooking the court.

Down below, everything was ready.

On one side: Jinzo, Mac, Drex, and the three NPCs, all lined up looking tense and serious.

On the other side: Nash, standing there all calm, with the girls behind him and Aiko in the mix.

Victoria’s golden fingers gripped the railing tight.

"What the hell are you doing...?" She murmured.

Down on the court, Mac was the first one to move forward. He pointed his finger straight at Nash, making sure his voice carried across the whole arena.

"Remember the rules, Blaze!" Mac shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he got worked up. "No shooting, no passing! You screw up with that ball even once and you’re a fucking pussy!"

Nia rolled her eyes so hard you’d think they might get stuck. She planted her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to one side as she looked at Mac like he was something gross stuck to her shoe.

"Oh please," she said. "You guys are the real pussies here. There’s more pussies on your team than on ours. You’re so scared of Nash you gotta make up stupid rules just to feel like you’re some shits."

The boys started grumbling angrily, shuffling their feet and clenching their fists. You could practically see the steam coming out of their ears.

Nash stepped between them before things could get worse, raising his hands like he was calming down a bunch of rowdy dogs.

"Easy, girls. I’m the one who asked for the handicap." he said, and immediately the girls’ shoulders relaxed just a little. Some nodded slightly, others looked away but you could tell they were listening.

The power he had on them was just terrifying.

Then he added the magic words: "I believe in you guys. I want to prove you can wreck everyone even if I’m barely trying.I trust you girls to handle this."

Boom, a lightning bolt hit their brain. Like someone flipped a switch, the girls suddenly stood taller, their eyes lighting up.

Coming from Nash, the perfect man, their sunshine, those words hit different. If Nash believed in them, then hell, maybe they should tear the arena to prove him right.

Nash saw the change and smirked just a little, knowing exactly what buttons to push.

"Come on," he added, cracking his neck. "Give it everything you got. I want to see a good fight."

The boys groaned louder, while the girls started bouncing on their toes like excited puppies. Drex blinked rapidly, suddenly looking nervous. If Nash wasn’t even going to try today... why did his gut suddenly feel so twisted up?

As everyone got into position, the boys stood stiff as boards while the girls moved with this new energy flooding through them. Nash pulled the girls in close one last time.

"I’m playing pure center today," he said low. "Just blocks, rebounds and defense. The rest is on you."

The girls nodded seriously, but you could see the excitement in their twitching fingers and quick breaths.

The ref, a staff member pulled into duty, tossed the ball up high. Both teams jumped for it. One of the NPC reached up extra hard, like he was trying to prove something, when suddenly - whoosh - Jaz launched herself up, her long arms snatching the ball right out of the air.

The NPC just floated there gaping up at her, suddenly remembering she was the tallest girl on the team.

"Shit..." he muttered, staring at her. "She’s fucking huge."

Jaz landed with a thud, immediately lowering her shoulders and charging forward. Mac tried to body her, but when their chests collided it was Mac who stumbled back two steps, cursing loudly.

Another NPC grabbed at her arm, but Jaz just shook him off like he was nothing and kept going. She leapt up and slammed the ball through the hoop so hard the backboard shook.

[Girls 2 - Boys 0]

Jaz hung on the rim for a second, her legs swinging slightly, while the boys just stared up at her with their mouths open. They’d been so busy worrying about Nash they’d completely forgotten about the other monster on the court.

"I hope you like music!" Jaz yelled as she dropped down, landing in a crouch. "’Cause today, it’s jazz time!"

There was a beat of silence. Then Nia facepalmed so hard it made a smacking sound.

"You’d be perfect... if you just kept your damn mouth shut," Nia groaned, but she was smiling as she said it. The other girls cheered anyway, Alicia giving Jaz a quick high-five while Nia patted her back. Jaz just grinned and stuck her tongue out playfully.

The boys looked like they’d just realized they were in trouble. One of the NPCs wiped sweat off his forehead.

"She’s a goddamn beast..."

And the game went on like that, Jaz stealing rebounds, powering through Drex’s shoulder checks, shaking off Mac’s grabs, dunking again and again until the score was [Girls 8 - Boys 0].

"Fuck!" Mac cursed as he got knocked back again. "She’s unstoppable!"

The boys tried everything, long passes to get around Jaz, double teaming her, but nothing worked. Jaz was everywhere, blocking shots, stealing passes, moving faster than they could track.

"How the hell is she everywhere at once?" Drex yelled in frustration.

Finally the boys managed a long pass that got past Jaz. Jaz gasped and tore after it, forcing Jinzo to hurry. Jinzo caught it and charged toward the paint, running away from Gaia, only to find Ouranos waiting right under the basket.

Nash’s eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn’t had to do much yet, but here was his first real play of the game. He knew Jinzo, knew he always hesitated just a second before shooting. If Nash rushed him now, Jinzo would just pass off. Better to wait... force him to commit.

So Nash just stood there, not moving forward, making Jinzo sweat it out. Jinzo looked nervous, but with Jaz tailing him, he had little time to think, so he decided to go for the shot anyway.

The moment he started bringing the ball up, Nash’s hand snapped out like a snake biting and snatched it clean away.

Jinzo’s jaw dropped.

"What the fuck...?"

Everyone froze for a second in shock before Nia grabbed the loose ball and passed to Aiko for an easy layup.

[Girls 10 - Boys 0]

Jinzo just stood there staring at Nash, who smirked slightly as he looked past him. Right then, a new kind of fear settled in Jinzo’s gut.