The ring lights dimmed until only the corner where Bio-War loomed remained lit. The massive wasteland-styled machine stood like a monument of destruction, its gas mask hissing in slow bursts, the glowing biohazard sign pulsing in time with the crowd's chants. Finn, standing in the middle of the ring, spread his arms wide, his voice booming over the sound system.
"And as for the challenger…" Finn's voice dipped low, pulling the crowd in. "A newcomer to the Crash Palace… no rep, no fear… and a bot built with the hands of his own pilot."
The lights snapped toward the far side of the arena, a single spotlight cutting through the haze of cigarette smoke and engine oil. A slow hiss of hydraulics followed, and from behind a rusted metal gate, Midas stepped forward.
Golden armor gleamed under the lights, every plate polished to a mirror shine. His fists were encased in heavy red gloves, his feet in reinforced "boots" of the same crimson steel. A bold, jagged mohawk of red metal crowned his head, giving him the defiant silhouette of a spartan warrior forged for war.
The small crowd on that side immediately booed, shouting over each other.
"Where's his rep?"
"Tin can's gonna get melted!"
"You brought that?"
But Midas didn't flinch. Arms raised in a calm, deliberate gesture, he walked forward with a swagger in his step—one that wasn't arrogance so much as a promise. Behind him, Dexter trailed with a smirk tugging at his lips, his remote control hanging loosely in his hand.
The chain-link gate groaned and rolled aside. Midas ducked his head under the frame, stepping into the ring with the patience of a predator. He moved to his corner, knelt slightly to adjust stance sensors, then looked up without a word.
Finn turned in the middle of the ring and roared, "Who's ready for DESTRUCTION?!"
The crowd exploded—ROOOOAAAHHH! The roar bounced off every sheet of metal in the building. Finn pointed from one bot to the other.
Finn pointed from one bot to the other.
"We've got Bio-War versus Midas! Midas versus Bio-War!"
"You've been waiting all night for this matchup, Crash Palace!"
The two bots began circling, CLANG-CLANG! of metal feet against steel planks. Then—
DING!
The bell rang.
They closed the gap fast, but Bio-War made the first move a straight, piston-driven right punch that connected THUUM! square with Midas's torso. The impact was so violent it rattled the chain barrier and sent Midas skidding back to his corner.
"Get up!" Dexter barked into his mic, flicking the controls.
Midas rose, servos whining, but Bio-War was already on him. A flurry of punches—one-two!—the right-hand meat tenderizer slamming into Midas's head with rapid-fire pak-pak-pak! sparks flying off the helmet plate.
Bio-War clamped both arms around Midas's frame, pivoted, and hurled him across the ring.
WHOOSH!!
Midas hit the opposite ropes with a teeth-rattling clang.
The crowd went insane as Bio-War raised his right arm in the air, basking in the violence.
"BIO WAR! BIO WAR! BIO WAR!"
Dexter's eyes narrowed. "…Alright. Let's start getting serious."
Midas straightened up again. Bio-War shifted into his stance, the meat-tenderizer arm rotating with a deadly hum as he charged. He swung for a killing blow—
"Got you," Dexter whispered.
Midas sidestepped, his left arm snapping out in a brutal counterpunch that caught Bio-War square on the side of the head. The hit sent the bigger bot flying into the corner, the steel buckling behind him.
"Now it's my turn," Dexter grinned, twisting the remote.
Midas advanced with a smug, measured walk. Bio-War tried to push off the ropes, but Midas met him with a clean shot to the head.
Then—CRACK!—a foot stomp to Bio-War's leg actuator, followed by a sharp elbow drop to the back.
"Now we're seeing the Midas touch!" Finn yelled into the mic.
Bio-War staggered, but Midas didn't let up.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Hammering him with a storm of body punches, the kind you felt in your own ribs just watching.
"Get in there, you bitch, and take a whooping like a man!" Finn bellowed, the crowd screaming in agreement.
Midas gripped Bio-War's mask, yanking him forward, and SLAM!—drove his face into a raised knee. The sound echoed like a gunshot.
Bio-War reeled, but the eye-patch man was shouting commands, slamming his own control rig. Bio-War lunged back with heavy swings, but Midas weaved around them, answering with low hooks to the body.
Then like a street brawler gone dirty, Midas dropped low and slammed a punch right into Bio-War's groin plating.
KLANG!!
"OHHHH!" the crowd groaned in unison.
Without missing a beat, Midas began targeting Bio-War's legs, chopping him down with quick stomps.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
But Bio-War lashed out with a wild left and caught Midas on the side of the head.
SMACK!
The bigger bot followed with jabs, forcing Midas back.
Midas dipped under one last swing and unleashed a brutal uppercut to Bio-War's jaw.
BANG!!
The wasteland bot's head snapped back, and for a split second, its movements went sloppy.
Dexter saw the opening. Midas clamped his right hand onto Bio-War's shoulder joint and then
BANG!
He tore down hard, and the entire arm ripped free in a spray of oil.
The crowd exploded—YEEAAAHHH!
"Hahaha!" Dexter's laugh was sharp, electric with adrenaline.
Bio-War staggered, still trying to fight one-handed, but the leaking hydraulic oil splattered across Midas's faceplate.
"Did Bio-War just spit his juice on Midas?" Finn shouted. "No you did NOT spit on Midas's face!"
"It's party time now, Crash Palace!"
Midas pinned Bio-War's remaining arm against the ropes and began drilling punches into his face. He kicked the leg actuator, forcing the bigger bot to drop to one knee, then grabbed Bio-War's torso in a crushing grip.
With a violent lift, Midas raised him up and slam.
BANG!
Smashed Bio-War headfirst into the corner post.
The crowd's chants shifted
"MIDAS! MIDAS! MIDAS!"
Dexter's eyes glinted. Midas stepped back, pointed one arm at Bio-War, and drew his other hand across his neck in the universal gesture for "you're finished."
"Somebody ready to serve the decafpuccino!" Finn roared.
Midas stepped in, coiled his arm, and BANG!
A devastating uppercut launched Bio-War's head clean off. It sailed over the ropes, clanging against the floor outside.
"We have a NEW champion!" Finn screamed. "That's a home for Midas—and so long for Bio-War!"
Midas raised both arms to the air, then crossed them into an X as the Crash Palace crowd chanted his name like a war drum.
"MIDAS! MIDAS! MIDAS!"