The van reeked of synthetic steroids and desperation as Victor swerved into the meat district. Leo's claws tore through the faux leather armrest – three days since his knuckles stopped looking human, two hours since his jaw started cracking like rotten timber. The bracelet's glow seeped through layers of athletic tape, its hunger dulled by mercury stolen from dying thermostats.
"Swallow these." Victor tossed a Ziploc bag of chalky pills. "Might buy you ten minutes of normalcy."
Leo crushed the tablets between teeth sharpening by the second. His reflection in the passenger window warped unnaturally – left eye fully lupine with slit pupils, right eye hemorrhaging black veins. The "Blood Eagle Club" neon sign bathed the street in crimson as they parked behind dumpsters overflowing with biohazard bags.
"Ground rules." Victor's cybernetic eye projected bullet points onto the ceiling: 1. No blades (fangs count)2. No corpses (delayed organ explosions exempt)3. Bets in BTC or molar gold
The bouncer's python necklace hissed, venom dripping onto NYPD body armor. Leo heard the mutant reptile's triple-chambered heart.
"Fresh meat?" The snake's tongue flicked at Leo's pulse. "Doc wants a blood deposit."
Victor shoved a USB into the bouncer's palm. "Satoshi's genome code. Decrypts to the original Bitcoin white paper."
The door slid open to sensory hell – roaring crowds, electrified cage walls buzzing, and the wet crunch of shattering bone. Leo's claws unsheathed instinctively as cigar smoke and blood mist filled his lungs.
"Next gladiator crawled from Rikers' septic tank!"
Spotlights revealed Leo's opponent: a seven-foot Muay Thai killer with titanium kneecaps. The stench of necrotic muscle and holy oil made Leo's nostrils flare.
"Sixteen confirmed kills!" The announcer screamed.
Leo rolled his neck, vertebrae popping like gunshots. The bracelet hummed with anticipation.
Round 1
The Thai fighter's kick would've decapitated a bull. Leo caught the titanium-reinforced shin mid-air, sparks flying where flesh met metal. The crowd erupted as he slammed the man into electrified bars.
4:1 odds flashed overhead
"Stay human," Leo muttered, dodging an elbow strike that cratered concrete. His claws retracted painfully, leaving crescent bruises.
Schickt
A masked figure in front row loaded a crystalline bolt into a wrist-crossbow. Leo smelled silver nitrate and funeral lilies.
6:1 odds
Distraction cost him. The titanium knee connected with his solar plexus, sparks flying as bracelet absorbed the impact. Leo tasted bile and mutation.
"Finish him!"
Leo's vision splintered:
Mercury flowing through opponent's veinsBlockchain hashes scrolling in Victor's cyber-eyeThe crossbow's heartbeat syncing with his own
Schickt
A bolt buried itself near Leo's boot. The crowd cheered, thinking it staged.
"Enough."
Leo grabbed the next kick, thumb finding the pressure point behind titanium plating. With a wet snap, he dislocated the joint, tendons popping like overloaded cables.
The Thai fighter collapsed. Leo panted as cage doors opened.
"Exquisite violence."
A gloved hand entered his vision. Leo looked up to see stiletto heels made of flight recorder black boxes, legs sheathed in bulletproof silk, and his mother's eyes staring from a stranger's face.
"Irene." She offered a circuit-board tattooed hand. "Let's discuss your... condition."
Victor appeared with a bloody envelope. "She wants you collared."
The uranium-etched collar clicked shut before Leo could protest. Runes glowed, synchronizing with the bracelet. His claws fully retracted for the first time in weeks.
"Temporary suppressor." Irene lit a cigarette with a fingertip plasma torch. "Next fight in fifteen. Try not to fry my equipment."
As she left, Leo spotted crow-masked figures exiting. His claws itched with phantom pain.
Round 2
The Siberian giant's spiked mace tore through steel floor. Leo dodged, catching a handful of thrown caltrops mid-air. Blood dripped from his palm as the crowd gasped.
10:1 odds
With a whip-crack motion, Leo returned the volley. Three spikes pinned the Russian's arm to the cage; the fourth severed a Tesla coil, electrifying the flooded floor.
The giant's cybernetics melted, face dripping molten polymer. The bracelet feasted on stray voltage as the crowd chanted "FINISH!"
Leo's uppercut connected in a cobalt spark shower. As the Russian fell, he glimpsed Irene whispering with crow-masked figures holding a wolf-heart staff.
"Intermission!"
In locker rooms, Victor handed him a coolant-dripping USB. "Her collar tracks you. Also..." Holograms displayed DNA altering Bitcoin's code. "...each win auto-mines 0.3 BTC."
Leo stared into a cracked mirror. Collar runes pulsed with the bracelet, his human iris now 30% devoured by gold.
"Memory tax." Victor tossed a fading Polaroid of Mom. "Next payout erases her smile."
A crossbow bolt exploded into nano-worms, dissolving concrete. Leo ripped off the collar, veins bulging black as healing factor fought invaders. Through the chaos, he heard Irene escaping and Victor cursing "wallet keys."
The dead crow-masked assailant's helmet revealed Leo's own cloned face – decayed and wired with fiber optics.
"Round three," Victor muttered, harvesting data chips. "We're so fucked."
Beneath the arena, Tesla coils began humming a Norse lullaby.