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that.
    “Do you have homework?” his mother asked, stroking Halie’s hair and trying to sound upbeat.
    “Most of it’s done,” said Hector attempting nonchalance, and his mother frowned all the more.
    “You know the rules, Hector,” she scolded. “Homework before games.” It wasn’t going to work, and she knew it as well as he did. Not with Halie crying over Dad.
    “Mom, the shrink said …”
    Helen rolled her eyes but mom’s gaze had already dropped to the floor, and her voice lost any of its admonition. “Of course. I just would like you to get your homework done first … when you can,” she said softly and carried Halie out of the room.
    “I can’t believe she buys that load,” his sister said in disbelief, and turned her attention to her endless stream of text messages.
    Hector couldn’t believe it either. Not that his mom bought it – but that the shrink had. Mom had made them all go when they moved here after their father was killed. It was a waste of time. The guy wanted Hector to talk, talk, talk or cry like a baby – like Halie was now – and gave him a bunch of pills to dope him up. After the first one, he didn’t take any more. He didn’t want to go back, but the second visit went better than he ever could have planned. The prissy, balding shrink asked him why he wouldn’t take the anti-depressants.
    “I don’t like feeling out of it,” Hector had explained. “That’s not me. I feel like I need to do something, not sit around zoned out. I can’t stand it. It’s like … I’d love to go get the bad guys who killed my dad and hurt them or kill them or something. But I can’t. I can’t do anything about it, and being too stoned to move makes it worse.”
    “What makes it better?” the guy asked.
    Hector had thought for a moment, at first uncertain what to answer, but then it leapt into his head. “ Omega Wars? ”
    Those proved to be the golden words. The psychologist talked to him awhile longer, then told his mother that the game was a good outlet for Hector’s frustration – a place where he could act out what he couldn’t do in real life. The shrink actually recommended that Hector play every day. Unbelievable. So now, Mom bugged him to do his homework first, but when it came down to it, she wouldn’t refuse him an opportunity to go online and play. That made for at least one part of Hector’s life that was sweet. And while Mal-X had certainly played no part in his father’s death, pwning a guy in a turban had felt good. Very good.

Ch. 2

     
     
    Hector slipped back onto the couch, hoping to squeeze in a quick match if anyone was around, but a message was waiting for him in the game. He clicked on the flag-icon at the bottom corner of his screen, opening a window that read: Private message from Mal-X.
    Hector froze for an instant. What could that turban-wearing noob possibly want? He glanced over his shoulder to make sure neither Helen nor his mom were around to see him accept the message from the total stranger. How could he pass up the chance to rub Mal-X’s face in his victory?  
    So you think you’re good? the message read. Good enough to meet me in single combat? A duel. Your sniper rifle for my Nexus Blade. Hector blinked and read the message again. Although less valuable than his Vera , a nexus blade was rare, and the best melee weapon in the game for vanguards. Far better than the more common arc-sword he used. And he would have no trouble with Mal-X. He grinned with relish and pressed Yes .
    A pre-match setup screen appeared with the two vanguard character-types facing each other. Izaak was clad in a full-face helmet and non-powered battle armor with refractive camouflage. Mal-X appeared on the other side of the screen. He was like no vanguard Hector had ever seen. Instead of a helmet, he wore a tight-fitting turban and sunglasses and the rest of his face was covered with a veil. The people who’d killed his father would have looked like that. He was