Best of the Best 2006, Scene 2

March 16th. Best of the Best V: Strength Competition

Coliseum

As you enter the Coliseum, the sheer vastness is the first thing to catch your attention. Thereare seats lining every side of the arena, making an oval shape. Lights shine down on the arena below. There are four twenty foot screens to show the audience images of the competitions below.

The Coliseum is set up for the Strength Competition today. There are various masses at the edges of the competitor's field. There are large vehicles such as cars, trucks, tanks, boats, space shuttles etc. In the middle of the stadium, there are two sections for the Tug O' War. A muddle center is set for the both the sections. Near the entrance tunnel are the Refreshments and Medical tents.

The judging tables are near the Tug O' War areas. The media boxes are located in the middle of the stadium seating. A large blimp flies overhead with that advertises for Covington International. It is responsible for aerial footage of the events.

Characters: Fox Fire                 Titan                     Spirit                    Fuzzt                     Haze                      Midnight                  Rebound                   Barricade                 Dancing Coyote            Kibin                     Asylum                    Wasp

Objects: Tug O' War Rules

Obvious Exits: Exit 

Fox Fire: What stands before you at 5'0" is woman in a black hooded body suit with a Japanse styled vest over their upper body, the vest seems to be armored as it moves stiffly. On her wrists appaer to be some sort of odd mechinisms as well as around their ankles appaer to be another set of the same bands and mechisim. Over this person's Face is a Japanese Fox mask done in shades of white, blue and red. Her slitted eyes glow a pale red as they stare at you. Her voice is soft and sultry and usally monotone when she speaks. Every now and then though small balls of fire float around her shifting slowly in colors.

Titan: This man stands about 6 feet tall, and probably weighs about 230 lbs...and looks very muscular, like someone from the cover of 'Muscle and Fitness' magazine. He looks fairly young, like he's around nineteen or twenty years old. His shirt is black shiny silk, with a flat black pattern of some kind. On his lower half is a tight pair of dark denim jeans, and on his feet are a pair of black leather boots.

His short hair is jet black, and it's styled well, looking quite sharp. His face is picturesque, his bright blue eyes that seem to burn with a certain intensity that is hard to describe. He's a very good looking individual...with that sort of GQ look to him.

Spirit: This man...assuming that's what it is...stands about five and a half feet tall. His body glows constantly, giving off light...in fact he appears to be made of pure light, or some other kind of energy. No facial features can really be made out. There's no clothing on the figure...but then again, there's nothing that seems offensive that's visible, either.

He almost looks angelic...the glowing body, the slightly disembodied voice...but there are no wings.

Fuzzt: Take a beach ball and blow it up to three feet in diameter. Now cover it with luxurious long soft white fur much like that of an Angora rabbit. Add varying numbers of sinuous light gray tentacles. On the surface of the sphere add two pale blue remarkable human looking eyes and a small pink lipped mouth. That's Fuzzt the alien.

Haze: Haze stands about 5'6" tall with her jet black hair tucked neatly in a bun with chopsticks in the back. She has a slender and athletic build, common of most heroines. Haze's outfit consists of a black domino mask, matching black boots. Her suit, deep purple with black trimming, covers her body.Haze completes her look with nice black gloves.

Barricade: Barricade stands five feet, nine inches tall. His face is covered by an SG helmet. This man looks pretty athletic, weighing in about one hundred seventy pounds. The Starguard uniform is made of some protective, insulating material, but it isnt bullet proof nor is it a form of protective gear. It does allow for free movement of the body and helps protect agains minor environmental inconvienances.

Barricade wears a large bluish metallic gauntlet over each hand. This makes his hands and forearms look diproportional to the rest of his body. These gauntlets are the source of Barricades powers. They glow with energy whenever Barricade uses them.

Midnight: At first glance, Midnight resembles a three-dimensional shadow... black, featureless, fading a little at the edges. Closer inspection reveals more distinct features, including fully articulated fingers and toes... more like a human covered in light-absorbing paint, with wispy tendrils of darkness drifting from the surface.

However, he doesn't seem to invite close inspection. He carries himself with an air of barely restrained violence, as if looking for an excuse to pound something into the dirt.

Rebound: Rebound stands a little over six feet tall in a form fitting uniform that leaves his lanky form on display. The costume is rather pedestrian, seeming to prefer function over form. It's blue in color, alternating with dark blue for the arms and on the thighs of the suit. The mask covers his scalp completely, but leaves the lower half of his face uncovered. He wears a pair of large goggles over his eyes. He's also got a belt on with a couple of pockets and pouches on it.

Dancing Coyote: Although DC can adopt any form he wishes, he is by default a handsome Native American man in his early 20s. He stands 5'10", lanky, with pale reddish skin, dark brown eyes, and long black hair braided down to his waist. He radiates an almost palpable presence: likable, easy to talk to, easy to follow. From time to time he strokes the sleek fur of a large dog that isnt quite there.

He wears a red robe made of some durable, well-weathered fabric, stitched through with arcane symbols in many colors. The robe is belted at the waist by a yellow sash, and open in the front to reveal animal tattoos on his chest (bear, coyote, wolf, snake, and raven), so realistic they seem to move as you watch. A large pouch hangs from the sash. The robe hangs down to just under his knees, and a pair of leather sandals wrap around his calves. The outfit seems entirely impractical for wintertime, and he definitely seems to feel the cold.

Kibin: A bipedal velociraptor, standing at about 5 feet. He has a snout filled with pointed teeth and a powerful tail behind him. His hands have three fingers and an opposable thumb, all ending in claws. His feet likewise are much like a velociraptor's feet, with two long toes ending in claws, and one smaller toe with a long curved claw on the inside. His scales are thick, and a deep red color. His clothing right now is long pants and a shirt, black with gold stripes down the side, and several pockets to store things on the front of his pants.

Wasp: What is it that about Wasp that first draws attention? Is it her size, or more accurately the lack of it? Wasp is barely a foot and a half tall. Perhaps it's the quietly buzzing multi-hued dragonfly wings upon her back. Then there's her eyes, faceted like an insect and gleaming iridescently with all the colors of the rainbow. She is slender, with long light reddish-brown hair falling well below her shoulders. Her movements are graceful and fluid yet somehow indicative of a notable strength for such a diminative figure. She looks young, no more than eighteen or nineteen years of age.

Wasp is dressed in a almost skin-tight costume covering all except her head. The torso and upper limbs of her costume are white, while the arms, legs and vee fronted collar are a sky blue. There's a glowing blue dragonfly silhouette on her chest and back. Being her size makes carrying items tricky. Wasp has pockets sew into her costume on both thighs, no larger than a normal pocket but looking bulky on her. Pinned to the costume above her heart is a silver brooch shaped in the form of a small wasp.

David: He looks to be the average punker with the sides of his head shaved with the top long and tied back or when he wears it down it falls around his face in waves of golden brown. He has a sharp face that is very handsome his eyes are wide and almost almond shaped, light brown in color with the edges touched with a gold color. His lips are usually curved into a small closed mouth smile that shows he has the lightest of dimples. His nose is kind of pointed but not so much it looks unnatural. He is tall and lean standing at about 6'0". The way he carries him self shows he knows he is good looking though he doesn't flaunt it horribly. His skin is very pale and slightly clammy.

David today is actully dressed oddly today in a plain grey sweater as well as a pair of old fadded jeans that look like they have seen better days with their knees worn off and patchs on the pockets and a hole right across the right side of his bum. Of course David is still badly scared from his enounters with the forces of evil and other heros. The right side of his face and what you can see of his torso is scarred with old burn scars, but as usal they just enhance and make more exotic his beauty rather then ruining it. Of course we can't forget David's Pink flip flops and Silver anhk.

Dark Horse: This man stands just about five and a half feet tall, but his posture seems to indicate that his stature is a bit larger than his mere size. His costume is a deep green, with a matching top and pants. The shirt fits a little loosely, as do the pants, which are also covered in several pockets, like BDU pants. The costume itself seems to be made of a thick material...perhaps it's made out of some kind of kevlar-like material. His boots and gloves are a solid black...matching the insignia on his chest, which is a black horse rampant, covering from about his collarbone to where you think his navel might be. Attached to his belt is a metal stick, about 6 inches long. It seems to be attached to a coil of small cable which is also attached to his belt. His face is covered is a green mask which has two eye holes, but no other openings...but it does leave his hair uncovered, which is a dark brown. He does appear to have a half-headset attached to the mask, though...there is a single earphone, with a wired microphone which swings down along the right side of his face, and then in front of his mouth.

 Rebound says, "Ok. Team is Midnight, Titan, and me"

 Fox Fire says, "sounds good to me"

 Haze says, "That's good. I'll cheer"

 Fox Fire says, "hey haze, shall I get the food or you?"

 Haze says, "Sure!"

Fox Fire having been talking on her mic bout food makes her way to the concetion stands getting food for her team

Black Mamba has arrived.

Fox Fire makes her way down to her New blood's team area laden with junk food of every type for the young super group

Haze says, "Alright!"

Rebound waves Titan over to the rest of the team.

Titan heads over to New Blood's area as well. He actually has a costume of sorts on now.

Barricade says, "Fuzzt, Kibin, you ready?"

Barricade says, "If Random Doesn't show up, I'll take his place."

Kibin nods at Barricade. "I guess so."

Dark Horse shakes his head, and heads over to DC. "We couldn't find someone better than me for this?"

Wasp arrives just in the nick of time and flies down to join her SoJ team

Rachel glances at titan "Ello and you'd be?"

Eel has arrived.

Spirit waves to Wasp, "Hey there...just in time. I was afraid I was going to show how weak I was."

Eel You see a masked man in a gray-black costume. He's athletic, standing roughly six and a half feet tall, with a muscular build. His clothing is form-fitting, with a texture similar to that of a wetsuit, and with seams where the boots and gloves end. A yellow stripe starts at the forehead of the costume and runs over the top of the head and down the spine of the suit. The same color is used for the 'E' on his chest. His mask doesn't cover the his mouth and chin -- you can see that he's cleanshaven and darkskinned. A pair of goggles complete his costume.

Eel skates in and over by Dancing Coyote.

Rachel smiles at haze "What do ya want, I got wenners, popcorn, candy bars, and soda?

Haze tells Rachel, "I'll have some popcorn and soda, thanks!"

Dancing Coyote startles a bit when Dark Horse talks to him, as if he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open. "Um... well, it appears not." He waves to Eel, and to everyone else.

Fuzzt is wandering around looking curiously at all the colorful humans.

Fox Fire hands haze the food smiling

Barricade says, "Fuzzt! Over here! We need your help!"

David walks over towards DC and smiles some "Still tired hun?"

Titan looks to Fox Fire. "I...am Talos." He grins good naturedly.

Rebound says, "My bad. Everyone this is Titan."

Rebound talks to his team.

Dark Horse chuckles, and glances to DC, "We're hosed. You know that, right? I'm just a normal guy."

Fuzzt bounces over to Barricade is two 20m long leaps. "Hello Starguard Barricade. I am here to give support."

Eel laughs. "There's free pizza afterwards, right?"

Dancing Coyote smiles a little more genuinely on seeing David. "You have _no_ idea. Or... well, maybe you do. There's a reason I've hardly seen you all week... it has been busy. But it's good to see you."

The day have been filled with lots of fun! The teams have demonstrated their strength by lifting various objects in the stadium. The crowds are roaring with anticipation! Its down to the final four teams, New Blood, Star Guard Gamma, Spirit of Justice and Black Sheep Samaritans. The Green were upset in the competition and won't be in the semi-finals. The teams are called to the rules area where they are allowed to look over the rules.

David smiles kissing DC's forehead "I know hun, some time we need to learn how to allow you to draw energy from another

Dancing Coyote shrugs to Dark Horse. "It hardly matters, really... it's just important that we make the effort." Why, he's somewhat forgotten.

Barricade tells Fuzzt, "Thanks! You are a life saver. We'll need you to anchor our team for this final leg of the competition."

Dancing Coyote scowls a bit in David's direction. "That is... not my way. You know that."

Fox Fire sighs "What if some one willing to give energy rather then sit there watching you over exert your self?"

Midnight introduces himself to Titan/Talos. "Hey. Midnight. You joinin', or just helping us out with the rope?

Fuzzt says, "I will anchor as you request."

David looks starled as the fox person says that

Fox Fire looks over Titan after saying that "I'm Fox fire"

Dancing Coyote looks over at Foxfire and shrugs.

Titan says to Midnight, "I'm not sure...I only know what Rebound asked, and well, he asked me to help out here." He looks to Fox Fire, "Nice to meet you."

At this time the judges ask the heroes to look over the rules and ask if they have any questions.

Fox Fire says, "a pleasure"

Rebound says, "Any thoughts on strategy?"

Titan grins, "I figured...just dig in, and pull. There doesn't strike me as being a huge strategy to it."

Haze is busy munching to think about strategy. Plus she's only cheering this time around!

Kibin says to Fuzzt, "Don't be afraid to use all of your strength for this, by the way."

Barricade tells his group, "Make sure we all pull together. Don't waste your energy pulling out of sinc."

Midnight nods. "Yeah... that's kinda what I was thinkin. We pull together, though.

Rebound claps his hands. "Sounds good."

The judges asks again to see if there are any questions.

Midnight raises a hand.

The judges ask, "Midnght, what is your question?"

David looks at spirit "So we follow me?"

Midnight says, "No fair flyin' off with the other team on the end of the rope, or makin the ground slippery under 'em, or clever stuff like that, right?"

Spirit nods, "I won't be out there...and I think that both Black Mamba and Wasp are fast enough to follow your lead."

Midnight invites Taltos to do a bit of sparring to determine relative speeds and strengths. Rebound, he already knows.

The judges tell Midnight, "Right, you are not allowed to fly off with the other team or change the ground conditions. No attacking other team members. All these things will result in disquialification.

Titan shrugs, "Alright."

David looks at spirit "So we pull when I pull and in sink?"

Spirit nods, "That's the plan."

David nods mummbling something to him self

Wasp nods to David

Kibin says to Barricade, "Seems like the other team are getting plans together for themselves. And our plan is?"

Black Mamba also nods to David.

Barricade says, "We pull when I pull. I think I'm the slowest of us all."

Titan grins to Midnight. "I'm quite strong. I don't really want to hit you...I might break something."

David says, "Okay," slowly he closes his eyes taking a breath"

Barricade says, "Resist the pull when the other team tries to pull us ok?"

The Judges ask if there are any other questions.

Midnight nods to Taltos after a bit of wrestlingy footwork. "OK. Strong but slow. You lead off, then."

Dancing Coyote seems to have fallen half-asleep again.

The judges ask the team captains to come up to determine who faces who.

David watches his lover a worryed look on his face

Eel laughs. "We're gonna get creamed." He looks around at the competition. "Well, let's try not to be DFL."

Midnight shoves Rebound forward.

David shoves spirit forward

Dancing Coyote looks around at DH and Eel, looking hesitant, then shrugs and walks up to join the other captains.

Fox Fire sits with haze chomping down as she actully slides her mask up to munch

Haze says, "Fox Fire, You think we'll win?"

Dark Horse mutters to Eel, "I'm tempted to let go of hte rope, and let them fall backward. We can't stop these guys from pulling us."

The judges consult the complicated dice rolling determining method..

Fox Fire nods "I know we'll win, Remember we have rebound, and midnight working togeather, AND that muscle man."

Haze says, "Yah, He's cute, huh?"

Fox Fire nods quickly "Both of them are, but rebound is such a stickler

The Judges tell the teams, "Alright. It will be New Blood vs Black Sheep Samaritans and Starguard Gamma vs Spirit of Justice!" The crowd cheers!

The crowds wait for the teams to get to their positions.

David looks around waiting for where he must go

Midnight looks over at the opposition. "Great... Sparky, the corpse-lover, and who the (bleep) is the Jolly Green Midget over there?"

Dancing Coyote nods to the other two. "All right... let's get this over with."

Fox Fire snorts into her soda as she hears midnight say that

David nods and gets ready

Eel says, "They are going to be slow with that big guy... maybe we can get a little edge by pulling hard and fast at the beginning."

Barricade sighs. "Looks like we got unlucky in the draw. We'll do our best. Ready, Fuzzt, Kibin? Fuzzt you be anchor. Kibin you take middle, I'll be front. Listen to when tell you to pull to pull hard"

Fuzzt bobs up and down and takes her place as anchor

Fox Fire says, "Wasp you'll take tip and I'll anchor, black take middle"

Dark Horse shrugs a bit, and heads over to where his team is supposed to be.

Dancing Coyote nods pleasantly to Rebound as he anchors his team's rope. He's not quite sure who the other two are.

The crowds quiet down as the competion gets ready to start.

David goes to set him self up as anchor just in case where something goes wrong and he must stick

Dancing Coyote adds over his shoulder to DH: "Do you have any special abilities it would be useful to know about?"

Rebound stretches and offers a handshake to Dancing Coyote. "Good luck."

Barricade goes to SoJ and tells them Good luck. "Good Luck everyone."

Dancing Coyote takes the hand briefly and grins. "You, also."

David smiles at Barricade "Good luck man,"

Wasp nods and settles on David's shoulder as the team head out to the tug of war area

Fox Fire looks at Haze "Hey haze, may I ask why ya like Rebound so much?"

Haze says, "I don't like rebound THAT much. What are you talking about?"

Midnight chuckles

 Midnight says, "Hey, ladies... you do realize there's pickup mikes on you, right?"

 Haze says, "Midnight! Shut up and focus on the event!"

 Midnight says, "Yeah, yeah. Don't get your panties in a twist, haze. On it."

Fox Fire laughs some taking off her mic

Kibin gets in the middile, then, using the claws on his feet to dig in and help resist being pulled.

Haze frowns and throws popcorn towards the New Blood Competitors.

Fox Fire says teasingly "Yea right your always talking bout him non-stop"

Barricade tries to get a good grip on the cable with his Gauntlets.

Haze denies it. "No I'm not."

David wraps the rope around him self before taking a firm grip

The judge raises a pop gun to start the competition.. *POP*

Fox Fire says, "Yes you are! Rebound is so cute so amazing," she pokes at haze "You really got it hard for him don't you?""

Haze teases Fox Fire back. "Now those are your words, Not mine!"

Wasp hovers with her arms wrapped around the rope and waits for David to give the command for the whole team to pull.

Fox Fire says, "only when I'm talking bout midnight, you say those bout Rebound all the time and I've heard you.""

Rebound grumbles at his teammates. "Guys..." Is he blushing?

Fox Fire thinks. o O (thank god I got a mask so she can't see me blushing)

Dancing Coyote realizes this is a little more complicated than he thought... he's both the slowest _and_ the fastest. He waits for Eel to give the word.

Black Mamba also waits for the word from David.

Eel shouts. "Pull!"

Dancing Coyote heaves backward.

So does DH, more than likely.

Dancing Coyote seems thoroughly unsurprised by the rope's complete lack of any tendency to go anywhere.

Eel digs in his feet and start pulling for what he's worth.

Fuzzt has set herself firmly to anchor the rope. pulling hasn't entered the quation yet. He was asked to anchor.

Fox Fire waits for Haze's reaction to her comment

Midnight holds on against the unbelievably LAME pull from BSS, then waits for Titan, whom he's just figured out is stronger than him and Rebound put together.

Barricade glances back to his teammates. "Make sure we don't get pulled either ok?"

Rebound waits to Titan as well.

David yells out "READY?" and as he gets the yes, responds by yelling "HEAVE!" and pulls

David's team pulls with him.

Unfortunately for SG Gamma, Kibin's talons slip in the ground and SG Gamma is pulled 7" Forward!

Spirit claps, "Go team!"

Barricade grimaces, "Argh! Damn, they are strong!"

David says, "We have them! Keep it up!""

Dancing Coyote seems a little distracted by the SoJ/SGG competition. Well, OK, a lot distracted.

Wasp is flying her little heart out with wings buzzing really loudly.

Barricade yells at his team. "Come on! Pull Back!"

Fuzzt is already pulling in its effort to return the rope to the anchor point

Midnight yells out "Hey, what's with the flying over there?" Geez, what a jerk.

SG Gamma pulls back, but doesn't seem to gain anything back...

Barricade frowns. "Gar.. They are soo strong.."

Titan digs his feet in, and starts to pull backward finally...."Now....heave!"

Midnight pulls

Rebound heaves.

Dancing Coyote plants his feet and holds tight...

Dancing Coyote slides inexorably closer to the center, his feet digging furrows in the dirt.

Haze cheers her team on. "Come on! That's not enough!"

Fox Fire says, "come on you can do better boys!""

Midnight pays careful attention to Titan and snorts. . o O (Heh. Maybe he ain't so tough, after all... I pulled just as hard as he did!) Poor, deluded Midnight.

Dancing Coyote yells "Pull!"

Midnight resists...

David says, "READY PULL!""

Barricade frowns. "Get ready everyone.. This is our last stand.."

Wasp waits for David's call and pulls.

David heaves

While the Black Sheep Samaritans fail to pull the New Blood team any distance, SG gamma shows resilience in resisting the pull of the Spirit of Justice! The crowd goes wild! They cheer their teams on!

Titan continues to pull backward, his shoes digging into the ground.

Dancing Coyote resists...

Barricade breathes heavily. "Good work Fuzzt, Kibin.. We just need to get some distance back.."

Haze jumps up and cheers! "You almost got them! Good Work!"

Fox Fire just smiles under her mask yelling "Keep it up boys!"

Midnight sneers unpleasantly. "Yeah, that's what I thought... we've got 'em!" as he walks backward, dragging the rope a full move away from the center.

Dancing Coyote digs a 12-meter trench in the dirt with his heels. Wow.

Titan starts stepping backward, helping his team pull back about 12 meters. "Hmmph...not even going to compare favorably with Hercules' trials. This is too easy."

Eel shouts "C'mon men, pull!"

Dancing Coyote shrugs to Titan, somewhat apologetically.

Wasp pulls again with her team

Barricade pushes his strength and tries to pull back.

Barricade says, "Come on guys.. we can't lose now.."

Fuzzt feels the rope starting to move and roots solid

Midnight blinks a little, watching Wasp. That little girl's got more moxie than she seems to... cool.

The SG Gamma team is no match for the Spirit of Justice team. Barricade and Kibin are pulled right into the mud!

David lets out a woot!

Spirit claps loudly..."There we go..."

The announcer declares, "And going to the finals is.. The Spirit of JUSTICE!!!!"

 Midnight says, "Hey... as long as we're recruiting the teenagers... what about Wasp?"

 Haze says, "Wasp is a teenager?"

 Midnight says, "Well, _look_ at her!"

Wasp grins delightedly and flies around to congratulate first her teammates and then the SGG team members.

Barricade sinks into the mud. "Argh.."

David walks over offering barricade a hand "need some help man?"

Barricade tells the SoJ members. "Good job. Thanks." He accepts a helping hand from David.

Dancing Coyote smiles in David's mudsplattered direction. "Nicely done."

Barricade says, "Good Work Fuzzt, We'll see what happens next."

David looks at fuzzt finally and blinks "woa, a tribble with tenicals

Fuzzt looks a bit deflated, literally, "I sorry. Not anchor rope for you."

 Rebound says, "Focus, Midnight!"

Dancing Coyote pulls again. He looks like he's trying to summon up the energy to _really_ pull, but it just isn't in him. ...or, maybe it is...

Barricade smiles to Fuzzt. "Don't worry.. It's just a game. Random, our strongest member isn't even here. Just look at the new fans of yours, Fuzzt! Wave to the audience!"

As Team BSS pulls with all their might, there is no budge from New Blood.

Fuzzt does as Barricade suggests and extends a half dozen hands on elongated arms to wave in all directions.

The crowd cheers the lovable losers. They seem to enjoy watching SG lose.

Haze cheers on New Blood! "Ha you can't lose!"

Midnight sticks his tongue out at Dancing Coyote. "You're going _down_, loser!

David turns to watch New blood yelling "Come on beat that panzy Midnight!"

Barricade goes to the refreshment stands to recover. That took a lot out of him.

Dark Horse grumbles, "Why'd I agree to this again?"

David says, "I know you can do it Coyote""

Dancing Coyote blinks in David's suddenly schizophrenic direction. How... odd.

Haze whistles at Titan. "You go you hunk!"

Midnight looks over at Haze, then back at Titan, and shrugs. . o O (Well, at least it ain't Alex. That's somethin'.)

Again.. The samaritans are unable to pull the New Blood team anywhere.

Midnight feels a little foolish... he'd meant to really exert himself when pulling, not resisting. That's what comes of trying to show off...

Titan continues trying to step backward, putting his full strength into it.

Barricade watches the two teams still at it. "I wonder how we would have done if we had Random here."

Barricade pats Fuzzt, "REst up for the 3rd place fight, ok?"

David relaxes watching

Team New Blood shows who's strongest by yanking the BSS team into the mud. The crowd stands up cheering the young upstarts!

Rebound pumps his fist then turns to slap five with Midnight, then Talos. "Nice job guys."

Haze jumps up and down and blows kisses to the victorious New Blood.

Titan smiles, and waves to the crowd.

Dancing Coyote slides into the mud, tenacious but futile... then slumps there, exhausted.

Barricade hrms. "Looks like we are up against the Samaritans."

Rebound waves to the crowd too.

Midnight does an annoying little end-zone touchdown dance.

Dark Horse manages to avoid sliding into the mud. He chuckles as he sees his teamates get all dirty.

The announcer announces. "There will be a short break time for the contestants to recuperate. Then it will be SG Gamma vs Black Sheep Samaritans for third place! And New Blood vs Spirit of Justice for First Place!"

(bleep) (bleep)." Eel:stomps out of the mud and trudges towards the tunnel. on his way he blasts a water cooler into a smoking puddle of plastic.

Midnight shouts out after Eel "Yeah, Sparky! You show that water cooler who's boss!"

Titan listens to Midnight, but doesn't say anything. He just shakes his head quietly.

Rebound puts his hand on Midnights shoulder. "Sportsmanship. Would it kill you to show some?"

Midnight shrugs. "Probly not... but why risk it?"

Dancing Coyote smiles in Rebound's direction. Good kid. Annoying partner.

Eel stops as he hears Midnight's words. He points a finger at the young hero. "This is just one event, son."

After the resting period, the announcer calls the teams over for the finals and 3rd place battle.

Midnight points a finger back at Eel, mocking... "Yeah... better pace yourself, or all that losing's gonna tire you out by the end of it, old man!"

Titan looks to Midnight, "Learn to keep quiet, before I toss you in the mud."

Haze cheers Midnight on, "You tell'm Midnight!"

Barricade tells his team, "Alright, let's try to get third place."

Eel shakes his head and looks to Dancing Coyote. "This one has jokes, doesn't he?"

Rebound says, "Don't encourage him, Haze!"

Haze nods to Rebound and sits back down to munch on candy.. hmmm.

Midnight looks Titan up and down, very carefully, and doesn't say a word. At least not audibly. He heads over to the next ropeline.

Barricade lines up in the front again with Kibin behind him and Fuzzt at Anchor. He tells the Samaritans, "Good Luck."

Wasp takes her position

Eel looks to Dark Horse and Dacning Coyote. "Come on guys, you don't want to be last do you? Pull until your arms fall off!"

Dancing Coyote smiles encouragingly to Eel. "Were those jokes? Ah... further language difficulties, I'm afraid. I thought humor had to be involved." He drags himself out of the mud, where he's been lying during the break, and takes his position.

Black Mamba takes up the rope.

Dancing Coyote nods to Eel with a weary, resigned sigh.

The crowd silences again as they await the start gun.

Eel psyches himself up clapping his hands before grabbing teh rope and taking his position.

Dark Horse takes up his position again, looking to Eel, and chuckles quietly...knowing this isn't really an event he shoudl be competing in.

Dancing Coyote smiles over his shoulder at DH. "Sometimes, what's important is simply being present to make the effort."

Titan doesn't seem concerned about the look Midnight gave him. He confidently heads over to the rope, and grabs it, getting himself set.

Rebound coils his arms around the rope several times before grabbing it with his hands.

Dark Horse chuckles, "Oh, is that what was important? I missed the memo on that."

Dancing Coyote grins. "Fate is behind on the team paperwork these days. I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

Dancing Coyote says, "Or, someone will. In some dimension."

Dancing Coyote says, "Possibly transmuted into lasagna."

Dark Horse says, "Well, I like lasagna...so that works."

Dancing Coyote nods. "Excellent. In the meantime you can take my word for it."

Eel laughs - though there's an edge of anger to his tone. "What's important is pulling hard." This competition is rekindling some old competitive spirit.

Dancing Coyote shakes his head and sighs again. "If you say so, coach. OK. Let's do this thing."


 * POP!* The gun goes off and its off to the Tug O'War we go.

Wasp gets ready, wings buzzing, "Say when David."

Haze shakes Fist! "Go New Blood!"

David tells the team, "Pull!"

Dancing Coyote watches David outdo himself on that pull and his eyes bug out a little.

David gives Dancing Coyote a wink as he uses his vampiric abilities to pull hard.

Even with Titan and Rebound's resistance to pull, Spirit of Justice manages to lug the New Blood team 8 meters or so (4")

Midnight seems startled, almost knocked off his feet by the pull. . o O (Whoa. Stronger than I thought!)

Titan grunts, "Now THIS is a Labor worth talking about later!" His feet dig in a bit, the ground pulling up as he's pulled.

Dancing Coyote, somewhat rejuvenated, pulls...

Eel grunts as he exerts himself.

Rebound nods to Titan's words. "That's the spirit!"

Barricade hollars at his team. "Don't let them pull us around!"

The SG Gamma team is successful in resisting the Samaritan's attempt. Now its the SG Gamma's turn.

Barricade is glad that they were able to not go anywhere. He yells, "Alright, let's do this! Pull!"

Dancing Coyote watches the rope fail to move, and gives a resigned little smile. Still, the sides seem relatively even.

SG Gamma manages to pull BSS about 6meters, or 3"!

Barricade smiles and shouts, "Good work, let's keep this going!"

New Blood pulls, but Spirit of Justice is just too strong!

Haze blinks. "What? Come on you pansies! You call yerself men!?"

Dancing Coyote waits for Eel to tell them to pull.

"Pull! Let's make them work for it!" Eel shouts.

Midnight frowns but needs to keep pulling instead of yelling back at Haze.

Barricade yells out. "Don't let them pull us anywhere!"

Rebound grunts, "Ok. Everyone... give it everything you've got. We need to reverse the tide!"

Again, The Samaritans are unable to pull SG Gamma any distance. It's time for SG Gamma..

Barricade shouts out, "Now pull!"

Dancing Coyote does his best to pull back..

Fuzzt's superiour strength pulls all of BSS forward and with Kibin and Barricade's help they go splash into the mud...

The announcer announces, "Looks like SG Gamma takes third Place!"

Dark Horse again manages to avoid landing in the mud. He chuckles quietly, and gets to his feet.

Dancing Coyote smiles and lies in the mud. A mud bath feels good right about now.

Eel shrugs. "Well... it's over." He waves to the Gammas. "Well done."

Barricade tells his team, "Good job Fuzzt! Kibin, excellent work." Barricade goes to shake his opponent's hands. "Good effort guys. We got lucky."

Kibin trips and fall in the mud as well for some reason. (Bad Luck)

Fuzzt waves to the human waving at him and asks Barricade. "Anchor finished?"

Barricade nods to Fuzzt. "Yes. Anchor Finished. Good work!"

Dark Horse nods, "Nicely done."

Fuzzt bobs, and because it looks like humans are enjoying it she bounces up high and comes down in the mud pool. SPLASH!

David looks over to Wasp, "Now?"

Kibin asks Fuzzt, "Hey why did you do that?"

Wasp nods, "Now."

David shouts, "Now!"

Fuzzt rolls around in the mud. "Humans fun. I try human ways."

Kibin tells Fuzzt, "I just fell.."

Dancing Coyote tells Fuzzt, "Yes, It's not bad. Have some fun."

The Spirit of Justice team manages to pull New Blood another 2 meters! (1")

The total amount is 5" so far. It looks like they are half way there!

Haze shouts again. "Come on you guys! Put some muscle in it!"

Eel just laughs.

Midnight grunts and pulls!

New Blood fails to budge the Spirit of Justice Team!

Midnight cries out, "What the  They must be cheat'n!"

Midnight chides Talos, "Some greek god you are, Damn it! Pull harder next time!"

Titan grumbles a bit...just loudly enough for Midnight and Rebound to hear...his comment clearly intended for Midnight. "Be quiet...embarrass me again with your comments, and I'm done. Clear?"

Midnight shuts up..

Rebound says, "This is it guys, we can't let them pull us... not another inch!"

Titan chuckles, "And I'm not a god. I'm a titan."

Midnight thinks,. o O (God, titan.. what's the difference.) However the dark shadowy hero keeps his words to himself. It won't do them any good if they lose Titan in this competition..

Barricade watches the teams compete, "Wow.. Spirit of Justice has a really strong team.. I see that our loss to them was no fluke."

Wasp manages to get a quick breath in between resisting New Blood and pulling again

Haze seems worried, "Dang.. What's wrong with our team?"

David seems to have more confidence now. "Pull!"

Wasp encourages her teammates.

Midnight pulls back!

This time around, Spirit of Justice doesn't drag New Blood anywhere.

Rebound says, "Good work... now pull!"

Titan doesn't seem overly winded or stressed...he just continues pulling, breathing normally.

David shouts to his team, "Don't give them any ground."

Miraculously, Spirit of Justice holds their ground. No movement is made..

David smiles happily, baring his fangs.

Midnight frowns. "What gives.."

David yells, "Again, Pull!"

Midnight tries to resist!

The New Blood team holds their ground and Spirit of Justice's team still has the 10 meter advvantage right now.

Rebound is quiet now, focusing on his work.

David frowns as they aren't going anywhere. "Come on.. Let's do this!"

Midnight returns the pull.

Spirit of Justice manages to yank New Blood further 1"!

Now it's New Blood's turn to pull back!

David tries to resist the pull!

Again, there is no movement. These cables are sure strong! The crowd keeps cheering!

Haze tells the competitors that's already done, "Looks like a tough battle."

Barricade nods to Haze.

David tells his team, "Let's finish them!"

Midnight digs his heels into the dirt and tries to not give any ground.

The Spirit of Justice is unable to pull Team New Blood anywhere!

Now it's New Blood's turn!

David pulls with his vampiric might!

Again, its a stand still.. The Spirit of Justice has time to recover on seg 5.

Barricade shakes his head. "This is amazing.."

Now its SoJ's turn again (Seg 8)

David howls and pulls!

Black Mamba has been silent and deadly throughout this competition..

Team New Blood tries to resist! and is successful. New Blood pulls back!

David tells his teammates, "Don't let them take our advantage back!'

It's a stalement once again!

David gathers his strength and encourages his teammates to keep pulling!

Haze worries. "This doesn't look good."

And That's it.. With a might heave, New Blood is pulled into the mud!

The The crowd roars with excitement as Spirit of Justice is the strongest team!

Rebound stands boot deep in the mud catching his breath. "Phew... Nice... Nice effort guys."

Haze sighs. "Oh No! I jinxed them!"

Barricade shakes his head. "Wow, good match you guys."

Rebound steps over to Spirit of Justice for a round of handshakes. "You guys... were tough!"

Wasp yells and waves, hugs her teammates and hugs Spirit. Then she goes over to New Blood. "That was a hussle. You did great."

Midnight is not happy. he vanishes for a while. Black Mamba also dissapears.. Where did they go?

Titan offers a hand to the other team. "Good job guys."

Rebound rubs his sore arms. He looks over to Titan. "We did pretty well. Nice job, man."

Rebound heads over to where Haze is, smiling.

Wasp settles down on Titan's shoulder if he is agreeable. "Good job yourself. Our plan was to wear you all out but you weren't even breathing hard at the end." She grins.

Spirit of Justice is offered first place medals and New Blood Second Place medals. SG gamma is given 3rd place medals and the Samaritans get ribbons.

Titan grins. "My endurance is legendary."

Titan adds, "Or should I say.. Titanic."

Haze offers Rebound a hug. "Good Job rebound. I thought we were going to win!"

Barricade tells Kibin to clean up so they can get back to work at SG. He asks Fuzzt, "Will you be here next week? We might need your assisstance once again."

Rebound hugs. "Thanks. We're on the scoreboard -- which is good." Looking back over his shoulder for a moment he says, "They're stronger than they look... and they pulled really quickly at the beginning."

Haze nods. "We better have better strategy next time!"

The Judges tell the contestants that next week will be the Danger Relay.

Wasp nods to Titan. "Deservably so. All of you did a good job. You're going to make a significant impact on the hero community. Rebound, I'm thinking of suggesting to Spirit that he gets together with you and discusses arranging for mutual assistance between SoJ and New Blood. What do you think?"

Rebound says, "That would be great, Wasp. I think we could benefit from a relationship with a team of your stature. Hey, are you coming back to Colonial Bay, or are you just around for the games?"

Wasp grins. "Just back for the BotB. Got to support the old team."

Rebound nods. "Well, it's good to see you again."

Wasp nods. "It's good to be back. This is were all my friends are."

Fuzzt doesn't rally understand why no humans want to play in the mud with her, so the mud caked furball goes off to wash in the ocean.

Haze goes to play in the mud with Fuzzt..but is too late.

Kibin's still in the mud as well. Wee!!!

Until next week, true Believers!