“As much as Harley strutted her stuff, that Iron Man armor was spot on. Plus, the lights?”
“Yeah,” I agree again. “The chest light was so bright I thought it was an actual arc reactor.”
Everyone laughs.
“I agree,” Ryan says. “Sounds like we got our winners in place?” He looks at us and we all nod.
Ryan calls over the MC and tells him our results.
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the results are in!” The crowd responds with another round of cheers. “Coming in at third place…I Am Groot!”
The crowd erupts, and Groot makes his way back up on stage.
“Coming in second, the judges said this one was a tough call, but she’s definitely not one to mess around with. Harley Quinn!” Another round of cheers. “And finally, our first-place winner tonight, and this year’s Big Apple PopCon cosplay champion…” the crowd goes silent as the MC looks at the line of cosplayers. “The Armored Avenger, Iron Man!”
The crowd lets out the biggest cheer yet, but Iron Man doesn’t move. He’s looking around, unsure what’s going on and I see the little Ninja Turtle standing next to him jumping up and down in excitement. He pulls on his arm and screams at him, but I can’t hear over the roar of the crowd. Suddenly Iron Man stands straight and looks around. He must not be able to hear very well with the helmet on, and just from his movements he looks seriously surprised. He walks over to the MC and waves to the crowd. Ninja Turtle stays behind and looks at whoever Iron Man is with reverence.
“What do you say, Iron Man? We all know Tony Stark came clean at the end of the movie, so what do you think? Let’s take a peek under the hood.”
The crowd cheers more, and Iron Man plays up to the crowd, acting like he isn’t sure if he should. He shrugs and then lifts the front of his helmet, then completely takes it off. His back to us, he waves to the crowd, soaking in the adulation.
“Congrats, Mr. Stark,” the MC says, before motioning back to us. “And let’s give it up for our fabulous guest judges this year!”
I look out to the crowd and give another wave, taking all the admiration in. Sure, most of it is for the other judges, but this is just too much fun. Groot, Harley Quinn, and Iron Man both turn around and start to give us applause. I look at them, smiling, when my eyes meet with Iron Man’s. Suddenly, a shocking smile makes my jaw drop. Iron Man isn’t Tony Stark. It’s Matt Hillard.
I can’t keep the smile from my face. He stares back at me, almost in horror. And shock. In horrified shock. Our popular, student council president is a cosplaying nerd. No. Freaking. Way.