Chapter 22
Hype Hype Hooray!
Jake stared at the whiteboard.
On it, in bold, chaotic handwriting:
LIMITED BETA. 100 SLOTS. 24 HOURS.
Underlined three times.
Barbara leaned back in her chair.
"That's psychologically aggressive."
Kara tilted her head.
"…I like it."
Jake tapped the marker against the board.
"We don't just release a beta."
He turned slowly.
"We weaponize anticipation."
Outside, Helia glowed like a marketing intern possessed by Apollo.
The Strategy (Morally Questionable, Financially Brilliant)
Barbara projected analytics across the loft wall.
"If we announce open beta, projected sign-ups exceed infrastructure capacity by 400%."
Jake nodded solemnly.
"So we don't."
He wrote:
100 PLAYERS ONLY. 24 HOURS. NO EXTENSIONS.
Kara crossed her arms.
"That's evil."
Jake smiled softly.
"Strategic."
Barbara adjusted her glasses.
"Scarcity drives engagement. Engagement drives obsession."
Jake added beneath it:
Countdown Timer.
Kara's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't."
He drew a ticking clock.
"Oh, I would."
The Announcement
They filmed it in the barn.
Helia posed behind them like a radiant mascot.
Jake stepped forward dramatically.
"For 24 hours only—"
Barbara's voice layered in calm contrast.
"One hundred players will receive exclusive access to the beta."
Kara added:
"No re-rolls. No extensions. No begging."
Jake leaned in.
"If you miss it… you wait."
Helia released a sparkle burst on cue.
Mew floated past the camera upside down.
Perfect.
The Reaction
Within minutes of posting:
Servers trembled.
Comments exploded.
Discord channels erupted.
Students at school began calculating time zones like it was finals week.
Someone fainted in the Duel Monsters club.
Bakugo shouted at three people for "being too slow."
Peter refreshed the page so aggressively Barbara had to gently throttle him.
Wednesday posted a single message:
Desire sharpens the soul.
Pugsley tried to brute-force entry.
Lurch just waited patiently.
The envy was immediate.
The itch was real.
Jake watched the analytics spike.
"…We're monsters."
Barbara didn't look up.
"Yes."
Kara nodded approvingly.
"I'm proud of us."
The Addams Approval
A message arrived.
From Gomez.
Exquisite cruelty. We are delighted.
Morticia added a black heart emoji.
Investment secured. Alignment confirmed.
The Selection
They used a randomized system.
Transparent.
Fair.
Cold.
Except—
Jake quietly added a list labeled:
Founders' Discretion – Friendship Clause
Barbara saw it.
Paused.
Then approved it.
Kara pretended not to notice.
Among the 100:
Peter (obviously)
MJ
Gwen
Felicia
Wednesday
Yang
Blake
Shirou (after Rin demanded it)
Dexter (begrudgingly)
Jimmy (already optimizing speedruns)
Dick Grayson
Bakugo (who got in legitimately and was furious about it)
Friendship without conditions deserved rewards.
The rest?
Pure chance.
Launch Hour
Midnight.
Countdown reached zero.
The beta opened.
One hundred slots filled in 4.7 seconds.
Barbara blinked.
"…That was faster than projected."
Jake grinned.
"Humans are predictable."
Kara checked the logs.
"…We have 12,000 people refreshing the page."
Jake inhaled deeply.
"Good."
The Hug Incident
As metrics stabilized and servers held—
Barbara allowed herself a small nod.
"Performance is stable."
Kara smiled.
"No crashes."
Jake turned.
Looked at them.
Really looked at them.
The barn lights were warm.
Helia glowed behind them like a blessing.
They had built this.
Together.
So he did something incredibly stupid.
He stepped forward.
Hugged them both at once.
Tight.
Warm.
Unfiltered joy.
Barbara froze for exactly half a second before relaxing into it.
Kara laughed softly.
"You're emotional."
"Yes."
He pulled back—
And before either could process—
He leaned in.
Quick.
Precise.
One cheek kiss to Kara.
One cheek kiss to Barbara.
So fast it felt like he'd borrowed the Speed Force for 0.3 seconds.
He stepped back immediately.
"…Thank you."
Silence.
Mew blinked.
Helia glowed brighter.
Barbara touched her cheek slowly.
"…That was bold."
Kara smirked faintly.
"…You're lucky we're in a good mood."
Jake swallowed.
"Noted."
Wednesday, who had been in the doorway for an indeterminate amount of time, spoke flatly:
"Affection during market dominance. Efficient."
He jumped.
"How long have you been there?"
"Long enough."
The Beta Chaos
Inside the game:
Helia scaled properly.
Zombies escalated.
Secret Latin zucchini variant unlocked at hour 12.
Bucket zombie had 97% meme adoption rate.
Someone discovered an unintended synergy between double Sunflower lanes and leyline resonance.
Barbara scribbled notes.
"We'll patch that."
Jake shook his head.
"No. Let them feel clever."
Kara laughed.
"You're evil."
"Visionary."
The Envy
Outside the chosen 100—
Students stared at greyed-out download buttons.
Forums lit up with speculation.
Rumors grew:
"Is the Latin whisper real?"
"Is there a secret boss?"
"Does the sunflower evolve?"
Bakugo posted:
IT'S NOT EVEN THAT HARD.
Which only fueled demand further.
Jake leaned back.
The itch was spreading exactly as intended.
The Final Hours
As hour 23 ticked down—
Players panicked.
Grinding.
Recording.
Streaming reactions.
Barbara's inbox overflowed with partnership offers.
Merch pre-orders began before they'd officially announced merch.
Helia plush prototypes sold out in mock pre-sale.
Jake watched it all.
"…This is bigger than I thought."
Kara stood beside him.
"You built it."
Barbara corrected gently.
"We built it."
He smiled.
"Yeah."
Hour 24
The beta ended.
Hard stop.
No extensions.
No grace period.
The servers closed.
A message appeared:
Thank you for defending your lawn. See you at launch.
And just like that—
Silence.
Then—
The internet exploded.
Demand doubled.
Speculation tripled.
Envy crystallized.
Gomez sent a message:
Cruel. Perfect.
Morticia added:
Desire ripens anticipation.
Jake exhaled slowly.
He looked at Barbara.
At Kara.
At the glowing field outside.
"We're really doing this."
Barbara nodded.
"Yes."
Kara smirked.
"And next time…"
She stepped closer slightly.
"…Maybe ask before stealing kisses."
Jake blinked.
"…So that's a maybe?"
She didn't answer.
Helia glowed knowingly.
Mew floated smugly.
And somewhere—
A certain green-clad corporate lawyer might have felt a disturbance in intellectual property law.