THE MOMENT
"Do you have heavier ones?" 23 asked as she set the small black orb gently down on the floor. She was a 10-year-old girl, and the weighty ball was about the size of a grapefruit, which required both hands. The weight was easily one of the heaviest things in the entire gym, and the little girl was one of only two people in the weight room at the time who could lift it.
"We have a training room for Calaveras," Majesty, 23's tour guide, nodded. The towering woman was the other person capable of lifting the dense metal ball. "We leave a couple of Voidsteel weights out for the public," she said as she started walking again. 23 fell in step and followed her. "Every new customer with Super strength thinks they're the strongest until we ask them to lift one." 23 giggled at the thought. Calaveras were the peak of physical strength in the multiverse. Even the lowest-tier among them could break an entire Earth, and 23 copied the strength of one. They left the weight room and walked into an open space with possibly hundreds of treadmills, each one was occupied.
"This is one of the Cardio bays," Majesty gestured at the runners as the pair kept walking through.
"Wow," 23 was genuinely surprised at the number of people. "I know it's a multiversal gym, but that's still a lot of people," she giggled.
"It's a seasonal rush," Majesty nodded with a smile. "As much as Chroma herself might wish it, it won't stay like this all year. September and January are our biggest spikes."
"September?" 23 asked. Majesty walked quickly with large strides, and they were almost through the Cardio section. "I understand January, but why September? Is there a special promotion or something?"
"Well, did you notice anything?" They'd reached the door to the next section, but Majesty paused and turned to look back at the warehouse they'd crossed. 23 looked back at both sides of the path. Two rows of treadmills filled each side with 50 columns evenly spaced. She hadn't given them all her attention, but her first assumption was correct. Every single one of the treadmills was in use, though not every runner was human. Men, women, undead, and even a handful of humanoid figures that the girl couldn't quite identify. Then, 23 looked down at her own hands as she wiggled her fingers.
"There's no AlterNet here... so they're real people, really running?" Part of her assumed there was no way every machine was filled. It was common practice to make businesses look busier with NPCs.
"All of them," Majesty nodded with a smile. "It's not a special promotion. In fact, we actually have to raise our prices during September to make sure paying customers get in to use the equipment."
"Really?" 23 asked. "Why?"
"With Halloween just around the corner, the aspiring slashers out there decide to get in shape for the season."
"Oh wow," 23 repeated the phrase with a different sort of surprise. "They're all killers?"
"No," Majesty shook her head, then turned around again to continue the tour through the door. "It's the same thing every year. Despite their aspirations, very few of them actually succeed."