4/11 Game: Mammoth Samba

[Freak]

A hot and sweaty afternoon lifted itself from the city of Ribeirao Curto, Brazil, only to make space for a hot and sweaty night. Though the people in the big hall in the industrial district barely noticed it, as they were walking in between circles where heavy fighting was going on.

Darren: Darren had his arms folded over his chest, already disguised as the middle-aged businessman as he walked with Jay into the crowd, "Now, you're completely sure about this dude?" he muttered at him.

Jay: Jay was already eying up one of the rings, once again wiping sweat off his forehead and glad he didn't have to wear tops - his wings were already being held as far off his body as he could. He was used to Louisiana summer but damn. "Damn straight." He muttered back to his 'sponsor'.

Darren: "I'll be doing my best to ... help, but I can't guarantee something won't go spectacularly wrong and you'll not end up laminated to the floor of the ring ..."

J: J eyed up the fighters in the ring, shaking hands with some of his future competitors while he waited for his fight. "These guys are big..." J looked wide eyed at the vast and varied collection of fighters, trying to pick out secret powers and techniques.

Jay: "Don't worry about it, man." Jay smirked a little, tithing a bandage around his knuckles and running fingers through his bound-up hair. "Ah never bite off more'n Ah can chew." He bit his lip and switched his voice to upper-class English. "Besides, I'll more be talking than fighting, old boy."

Hepzibah: Stepping into the shade of the giant hall, Hepzibah took off her pretty sunhat and fanned herself with it. Disguised as 'Jessica', she adjusted her native-flavoured sundress and looked about. "This is one big hall..." She saw people from every different nationality there. "It's all right J, you and Kyle are both... scrappy."

Pietro: Pietro had decided he definitely preferred snow over this. The heat was vastly more uncomfortable. Especially given his accelerated metabolism. He was stood with a heavily iced drink, watching everyone mill around the room. Making note of all the shifty looking ones so he could point them out to Monet later when she'd finished flirting with everyone.

Darren: Darren was probably the only one not suffering in the heat, the joys of being in-organic, "Yeah? Well make sure you don't wear out that voice of yours," he said, looking around the crowd, trying to see if he could spot Dee.

J: J pulled on the front of his mesh net light fabric hoodie, trying to get more of an air flow. "Thanks, scrappy... Yeah. That sounds right." He laughed a little, "Oh man... What would it take to get them to turn the air back on?..." He rooted around in his memories for someone who'd lived in a hot climate, finally finding one and bringing it to the forefront to make himself a bit more comfortable.

Jay: "Mmm. You sure the...business with Danger was taken care of?" He asked in a low voice worriedly, even as he returned a few blatant stares. Story was that Darren was his personal sponsor - though he figured the guy had only agreed to that story so that he could keep an eye on him...

Pietro: Pietro leaned against a wall and watched the sumo-style fights going on. Each opponent trying to punch each other out of the rings that were set around the room at intervals. His attention was drawn by a group so he moved a little closer to them then continued leaning against the wall. At least the stone was nice and cool.

Hepzibah: Hepz pulled the elastic sleeves of her dress down off her shoulders, trying to get herself cooler. "I don't know about you, Swan, but I am straight off to the hotel and nice cool shower after this." She hated that 'sticky' feeling of being sweating.

Darren: "Positive," Darren muttered.

Kyle: Kyle was rather a little hot under the collar as well in the heat, but the fighting were a nice distraction from the temperature.

Scott: Scott mingled with the crowd, sweating surprisingly little in the cheesy-looking white uniform that Dee guy had given him to fight in. just the mask was too much, which was the reason why he had pulled it back over his head right now. Which was great, since it allowed him to see the hot blonde girl walking by him. Rawrrrr.

J: "That sounds good... I might join you." He said absently as he watched the fight going on in front of them. "I think I could take either of them..."

Jay: Jay flicked out his wings, stretching and flexing them lazily in an effort to get some form of coolness. Yeah, that helped. "Alright. Shall we find me my first fight, eh?"

Darren: "Yeah," hopefully they might be able to find him someone slightly more weedy ... and still no sign of Dee, he wished Selene was here, she'd be able to psychically scan for him.

Hepzibah: Hepzibah looked at the cheesy guy who walked by her giving her the eye. She shook her head and caught J's line. "You're a sweet kid, but I'm not thinking that's not such a good idea..." She say Kyle across the way and starting making her way towards him. "There's Kyle...Wanna come with?" she whispered.

J: "No.... I think I can take them..." He nodded and then followed Hepz, eyeing each ring they passed. "I wonder how many fighters they have here..." He continued mostly thinking out loud.

Scott: It was times like this that he was glad that he was one of the few fighters who had free movement and interaction rights. So he walked up to the unsuspecting girl, puffing out his chest a little and putting on his platinum smile. "Why, hello there."

Jay: Jay nodded to a ring as a...bright green guy tossed another one out, to a roar from the crowd. "That one." He grinned widely at Darren before heading over in that direction.

Darren: Darren looked around the rings, "So ... anyone you like the look of to beat the shit out of?"

Hepzibah: 'Jessica' paused and looked over, her trek to see Kyle interrupted by the same cheesy guy in a uniform. "Hello to yourself," she smiled enticingly.

Jay: "Yeah. Green guy up there." Jay jerked his head. "Looks interesting at least."

Scott: "Aren't those great fights?" He gave her an even wider smile now and folded his arms. "Mind you, if you want to see something really impressive, you should watch me!"

J: J looked the guy up and down for a second, "Shiney suit... Do you stuff? It looks like you stuffed." He smirked and shrugged and turned to watch another of the fights again.

Darren: Darren followed Jay's eye line and frowned a little, "Huh .. guy looks vaguely familiar don't you think?"

JohnnyDee: Walking through the lines of cheering and gasping people, Johnny couldn't help himself but be very satisfied. People were having fun, that meant that people were losing money...to him, obviously.

JohnnyDee: But then his eyes stumbled over a bored-looking young man. Now, we couldn't have bored people at this tournament, could we? So he approached him. "Nothing to tickle your fancy, young friend?"

Jay: "Yeah, sorta like Kyle on steroids." Jay rolled a shoulder, wings hitching with the movement. "Worth a shot, if I lose I lose and get a broken nose, right?"

Hepzibah: "J, be polite." 'Jessica' chastised her 'entry'. "I apologize, he's a good fighter, but I'm still trying to get him house broken." She looked over an saw JohnnyDee. So, there you are...

Kyle: The green guy in the ring gave a roar. Kyle grinned and waved at him. He was kind of funny.

J: <It is Swan here remember...> He sent to her idly, as he watched the fight.

Pietro: Pietro looked up, "Oh, no it's the heat I'm afraid," he replied with a polite smile, "It's a lot warmer than I'm used to and I'm taking longer to adjust than I'd like."

Hepzibah: <Sorry... still new to the super spy gig> She sighed.

Scott: "Ah yes, I see." He gave the 'entry' a sly smile. "He doesn't look very impressive, mind you. I hope he has got an ace up his sleeve."

JohnnyDee: "Ah yes, I see. I am sorry that we can't do this at the beach with some cool drinks being served. The 'law', you understand." He actually made the air quotation marks.

J: "I keep a whole deck up there mister, you just be glad you ain't inna ring wit me!" He smirked again. "Jus don't tell the lady I cheat at cards or she wont play strip poke-her wit me no more if ya get my meanin" He laughed.

Pietro: "Oh yes I understand," He nodded sympathetically, "But I'm sure it's just a matter of time."

Hepzibah: "If he weren't impressive, we wouldn't be here would we?" She smiled back, emitting a few pheromones. She had to be careful in such a crowded area. "You work for JohnnyDee I take it?" She smiled again looking at his 'uniform'. She turned to J at his comment. "I know you cheat... what you don't know is that I let you win." Her smile turned predatory.

JohnnyDee: "Hopefully, Mister...?"

Pietro: "Tompkins." Pietro replied, offering his hand for a shake.

Darren: "Okay, let's do this then," Darren said, leading Jay over to the side of the ring.

JohnnyDee: He shook the hand with a wide smile. "Well, young Mister Tompkins, just let me know if you need anything. Anything at all."

Pietro: "I will," he smiled politely back, "Thank you." he gave him a nod.

Jay: Jay smiled, following Darren and tightening the bandages that protected his knuckles again, using the time that Darren spent negotiating his fight to study the opponent. Claws and fangs...yeah, keep his distance from those. He stretched his wings in nerves.

Scott: Awww, did this mean the hottie was making out with the little punk? Too sad then. "Aye, I work for Mister Dee. I used to play for my college's rugby team, you see. But when they found out about my mutation, they kicked me out. Mister Dee was so friendly to show me a new...ahem, opportunity."

Hepzibah: "Well, I am all for exploring new 'opportunities," she smiled and sidled up to him, trying to ignore that her skin was crawling. "So, you used to play rugby, how interesting..." She turned back to J. "Come along, Swan." <Quick! Tell me what you know about Rugby!> she winked at him discreetly.

Darren: Darren had made sure that Jay put an earpiece in before they came out, [Jay? Can you hear me dude? Scratch your right cheek twice if you can.]

JohnnyDee: Dee looked over to the ring where...ah yes, the bird boy was here too. "You should watch this next fight. I have seen the boy fight back in the USA, he is quite impressive."

Jay: Jay did so, still eyeing up the guy and starting to get the same feeling he did when Jill used to get him into bar fights.

Scott: "Ach, you know about it, lady? Isn't it the greatest sport ever?"

Pietro: Pietro turned his head to look at the ring, "He should certainly make for an interesting spectacle, at least."

J: J laughed at nothing in particular, <Got it, up load coming in.... 3, 2, 1... Done. Have fun, I can delete it later if you want.> He followed behind, keeping his eye on the fighters.

JohnnyDee: "May i ask you what leads you here, Mister Tompkins?"

Darren: [I'm sensing a lot of electricity around this guy, so keep on your toes dude,] Darren said, his technopathic voice speaking into Jay's earpiece.

Hepzibah: Hepz felt her brain overload a little at the intake volume, then after a second began conversing with Scott about his favourite pass time. One of his favourite pass times anyways, giving the way he was looking her up and down. After a few moments, she turned back to J. "When are you schedule up?" she asked, trying to hide her nerves at the thought of him or Kyle or Jay in the ring with those thugs.

Jay: Jay barely nodded as he got the go-ahead, boosting himself into the ring and eyeing up his opponent again. "Thanks for the heads-up." He projected to Darren's shoulder in a whisper. "Keep feeding me." The hand was dropped, and the pair started to circle warily.

Pietro: "Honestly? Curiosity." Pietro turned his head a little out of politeness so he could still see the match and talk to Dee at the same time. "Mutants are everywhere these days but you never see them doing anything..."

Scott: "Oh, good that you mention it. I am up next!" He held his arm out to her. "Want to see me fight?"

Darren: [Sure thing, and remember to go easy on your voice, you're still technically sick.]

Jay: Jay ducked a swipe, feeling his feathers rise as electricity crackled over the guy. Damnit. A buffet from a wing drove the snarling green thing back.

JohnnyDee: "Oh, really? That was exactly what made me start this tournament!" He made a gesture that included the whole room. "All this untapped potential drove me crazy, can you believe it?"

Hepzibah: "Of course," she smiled as charmingly as the Maximoffs had programmed her to and took Scott's arm. "Coming Swan?" she called over her shoulder.

Darren: Darren folded his arms and watched Jay, keeping his face carefully impassive.

Kyle: "Yay! Go J--er...guy with wings! Get him!" Kyle cheered from the sideline.

J: "Coming." He smiled, "I fight in just a bit, miss. Just scoping out the composition." He laughed and followed behind her.

Darren: "Icarus," Darren hissed at Kyle.

Pietro: "I can, I'm quite impressed actually... and a little disappointed that I did not think to do such a thing myself." He sipped his drink, so much ice. Lovely. "I assume it's already proven its worth?"

Jay: Jay just nodded at what Darren said, catching the guy's wrist and punching him solidly in the gut - before being kicked hard enough to wind him in the gut and stumbling away from him, arms wrapped around himself as he wheezed.

Scott: He lead the hottie and the nottie over to the place of his next fight, where a masked guy already was waiting. He looked expressively slim and unmenacing. "Awww, and I thought I could show off in front of you..."

Jay: He recovered as quickly as he could, black spots dancing in his vision as he clumsily avoided another swipe, hissing at the snap of electrical discharge. "Back off!" He shaped the words into a physical force, rewarded with the guy being bowled over.

Kyle: "Woo! Go Icarus!" Kyle cheered again.

Darren: Darren winced, but Jay was holding up okay ... and turned to Kyle, "Looks like a real free for all out here, huh?"

JohnnyDee: "More than that, I can assure you. Mind you, I have got an eclectic squad of fighters too."

Darren: He just hoped Hepz wouldn't find out about this ... seriously, and clapped 'Kevin' on the shoulder, "So how do you feel about this so far son?"

Hepzibah: Jess put her arm on J's shoulder. "It's the little ones you have to watch out for," she winked at him, flirtingly. If word gets back - Hector's gonna kill me... She watched Scott getting ready to climb into the ring and then turned to see Kyle as something seemed to pass over him. "You ok, Fido?" she whispered.

Pietro: "Is that so?" He smiled, "I must admit, I too have a fighter whom I sponsor - she's not here today however."

Scott: Scott stretched a bit in front of the other guy, who just stood there, silently, waiting.

Darren: "He's fine Jessica, a little over stimulated I think," Darren said quickly, oh shit oh fuck!

Jay: Unfortunately that made him cough hard, throat raw. He clamped his mouth shut, watching as the green guy picked himself up, sparks crackling off his fur. He cracked his knuckles grimly, wings flared, watching until - the sparking stopped, and he leapt, a fist going into the guy's face.

Darren: [Nice one, cockatiel!]

JohnnyDee: "Oh, really? Who would that be? Just out of interest, not that I'll try to snatch her away under your nose." He laughed.

J: <I wont tell if you don't.> He grinned, "Wonder if this flashy chump got any moves..." Couldn't hurt to watch at least.

Kevin: "Dude, when the test results come in, and it's positive you're my dad, then you call me son." Kevin told Darren, and then turned to the hot chick. "Yeah, fine...you call all the guys Fido you like?" he winked.

Jay: A crack and a howl rewarded him, but it didn't knock him out like Jay hoped. He followed it up with an uppercut that lifted the green guy off his feet - but not before a discharge made him arch back and shudder, staggering back and shaking his head groggily.

Pietro: "You'd know her to see her - she looks like a walking corpse." He winced a little as Jay's fist hit the other guy's face. That looked like it hurt.

Scott: Then the referee, carefully standing outside the ring, gave the signal. And the masked man just leapt at him, fucking claws growing out of his knuckles!

JohnnyDee: "Ouch!" He made a satisfied smile. Violence equals money, baby! "A corpse, huh? That sounds pretty interesting."

Darren: [You've probably already figured this out but that's some kind of energy field he's got going on there, stay away when you sense the static since I think he lacks the mental capacity to be able to use it and move at the same time.] Darren told Jay through the ear piece.

Jay: Jay caught a punch on the jaw before he could recover, before he slammed a wing into the thing, fingers burying in the guy's fuzz as he did the move prized by all good bar fighters - slammed his knee as hard as he possibly could into the green man's groin, then kneed him in the face on the way down. The guy keeled over, curled up in a tiny little ball.

Pietro: "It takes some getting used to." He shook his head, "She has a very skewed idea of 'fun' - she'll fit in fine around here, I'm sure." he gave Dee another smile.

Kevin: "Oh hot damn, check the claws on that guy over there." Kevin said, moving a little off to watch the fight in the other ring.

Jay: Oh yeah, Ah'm fuckin' good. Jay backed off, but it was obvious the guy wasn't going to get back up and he raised his arms, panting hard, wings flaring at the cheers. "Fuck yes!"

Teagan: "What's that about my idea of fun there, Pietro?" Teagan asked, poking him in the shoulder rather hard.

JohnnyDee: He rose an eyebrow at the...walking corpse. "Pietro? Who?"

Pietro: Pietro jumped and turned around, rubbing his shoulder, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Teagan: "Pietro? You must have bugs in your ears. I clearly said Peter." She smiled.

Hepzibah: Jess turned and gave 'Kevin' an alarmed look. That didn't even sound like Kyle. Then her eyes narrowed a little at Darren. "Fine, is he?" she muttered. "Know who your going up against yet, Swan?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder watching Scott with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

Darren: [You only had to knock him out of the ring, not knock him out,] Darren gleed inwardly but only allowed a thin smile to show on his disguises face.

Darren: "He's just really getting into character," Darren hissed back, well .. it was technically the truth ... sorta.

J: With Jay's fight done it was now his turn, so he turned to Hepz, "That guy over there with the ninja outfit. Wish me luck?" He grinned and started to make his way toward, <Ninja... Oh man this is going to be fun.> He laughed and climbed in at the same time his opponent teleported into ring in a flash of smoke and fire.

Scott: "Holy shi-.." Before the crazy guy could spear tackle him with his claws, Scott shrunk down to maybe seven inches, a height his opponent surely had wished for him to reach the old fashioned way by chopping him down.

Pietro: "No, that would just be you..." Pietro patted Teagan's shoulder a little more forcefully than strictly necessary in return for that near-fatal slip-up.

Jay: "I got over-excited." Jay projected back as he was led out of the ring, panting and grinning at his sponsor. "Told you I'd do you proud, boss." He stuck to the upper-class English accent like glue, nodding politely to 'Jess' as he unwrapped bloody bandages. "I need a cigarette."

JohnnyDee: "Bugs, huh? that reminds me, I have got a contestant you maybe shouldn't meet too early, young lady." He looked around the hall. "Unless you don't have a problem with maggots, that is."

Darren: Darren pulled the packet out of his pocket, "There you go, for being a good boy," he smirked.

Darren: [Dude, isn't it hot for you? You really must be an addict to want a smoke now if so.]

Hepzibah: "Good luck," she whispered tightly watching J climb up in the ring. <Don't do anything foolish... this isn't worth your life.> Her eyes widened as she watched Scott shrink to the size of a pencil. "And you made fun of Swan's size??" she smirked

Jay: "Oh, woof." Jay gave him a look and took one, fishing out a lighter. "And who's the lovely lady this time?" He winked at Hepzibah, before raising an eyebrow at Darren. "Chainsmoker." He project back.

Hepzibah: Jess smiled at Jay as he came out of the ring, grateful he wasn't any more damaged than he was. She really wanted one of Jay's cigarettes.

Teagan: "Why is everyone sweating so much?" She asked Pietro. "Is it hot out? I feel abnormal. I hate when people sweat, it makes me feel less human."

J: <Foolish!? I don't know the meaning of the word!> He grinned, and as soon as they bowed to one another both went into a blur of kicks and punches, none connecting but feeling each other out as the fight got started.

Pietro: "Yes, it's hot." Pietro told her, he plucked an ice cube out of his drink and dropped it onto the floor so she could see how fast it would melt.

Darren: "Jessica. Jessica this is Raphael, also sometimes known as Icarus.@

Teagan: "Oh wow." She looked at her skin. "That must be why I'm so dry." She picked what was left of the ice cube up and pressed it against each of her eyeballs, giving them moisture. "Muuuuch better."

Jay: Jay dropped the slightly bloodied protective bandages into the bin and flicked his aching hands out. "A pleasure, madam. I'd prefer just Raph, if that's alright by Mr Mercer."

Scott: "Ha. Ha." he didn't even dare to look at the girl, out of fear the fucker would go and cut him. "You know, unlike the little boy, I can get better." And that he did. Not only started he to grow back to his own size, but even bigger and bigger, the size of a bus. And when the nutcase leapt at him again he simply flicked him out of the ring...and into the hall's wall, leaving a little crater.

Scott: "There."

Pietro: Pietro grimaced, "That is disgusting. How many times do I have to remind you not to do that in front of me?" He hoped Teagan wouldn't take this personally. Even though it was truly disgusting, he didn't mind it outside of the tournament.

Kevin: "Aww, that's it?!" Kevin yelled. "That's not fighting, that's flicking!" Kevin turned back to the other ring. "Ninja...Cool!"

Hepzibah: "It's lovely to make your acquaintance, Raph," she smiled. "May I?" she nodded to the package of cigarettes, keeping one eye on J and Kyle.

Darren: "What you call yourself is up to you, kid," Darren said dryly, "Kevin, seen anyone you like to look of to match up against?" he asked quickly.

JohnnyDee: "You are a very strange person, you know that?" he pointed at Teagan.

Jay: "Of course!" Jay grinned, offering her one with a wink. "Having fun so far?" He added in a much lower voice.

Scott: He came back out of the ring, pulling his mask off again. "So, impressed?"

J: J moved his head to the side to avoid his opponents punch, grabbed his wrist and twisted impossibly and threw his opponent, certain it would be enough distance to clear the room. While flying through the air though the ninja yelled, "SECOND ROUND!" And a snake like rope flew from his palm and wrapped around J's leg, and he pulled and landed just on the edge of the mat. "Oh wow... That's cool..." J admitted and got set to continue.

Hepzibah: Jessica made her smile turn flirty again. "Very impressed, Scott. I can see why JohnnyDee keeps you in his employment." She took the cigarette from Jay. "Loads of fun..." she whispered back low enough that the others could hear.

Kevin: "What?" Kevin looked back at Darren. "Oh, umm, hell I don't know, how about Ghandi over there?" He said, pointing at an Indian guy who was a bit more muscular than what Gandhi seemed in the history books.

Teagan: "I did, but thank you." She gave him a curt bow as she walked over to the ring and climbed in. "So this is like sumo right?" She asked... well anyone. "Is there a time limit? When's it start?" Before she could ask anymore questions she heard a quiet hiss, a sound of slithering behind her, and she promptly turned around and punched at it. "Guess we're starting?"

Jay: Jay looked Scott over and quirked an eyebrow. "I don't believe we've been introduced, sir." He half-purred, still in his English accent. Jock... "You are...employed by Mr Dee? My sponsor has had nothing but good things to say about him."

Pietro: Pietro settled back against the wall again. "I did mention her sense of humour being odd, didn't I?" He checked with Dee.

Darren: "Sure? I'll go make the arrangements while you prepare yourself," Darren gave him a smile, [Jay, watch him for me and try and keep him away from Hepz, okay?]

Hepzibah: Her eyes got bigger as J was snagged and pulled down. She hoped her anxiety passed for a woman looking after her investment.

Scott: "Aye, I am." he held out his hand at Jay. "Though, his taste in fashion is a bit flamboyant, to say the least. Oh, and in names too. I am Micromax."

Jay: "Sure." He projected back with a sigh."

Teagan: The guy's costume was quite frankly ridiculous, not the least bit intimidating. He looked like a luchador meets some kind of... pokémon. Snake like outfit with a helmet shaped like the head of an adder and two large fangs, each one stained with dry blood. "Oh, you look fun." She said, smirking. "Hssss!" The opponent replied as he lunged for her. "Whoa-fast!" She leaned left, allowing for an attempt to counter strike--

JohnnyDee: "Let's hope she fights better than she tells jokes."

Jay: "Icarus." Jay took the hand and smirked. "A pleasure, I'm sure. There are many fighters he directly employs then?"

Pietro: "Oh she does, believe me." Pietro smiled and nodded to the ring.

Scott: "Oh, quite a lot. About half of the tournament consists of his own fighters. I guess he gets more out of the bets that way."

Teagan: But he was already behind her as she went to chop at what should've been his neck. The snake-man grabbed her from behind and suddenly she found herself being compressed. "Ooohman!" She coughed. "My head's so gonna pop off like toothpaste cap!" She slammed her head back, nailing Mr. Snakey-Snake in the face. He released his grip and she fell to the ground sucking in air.

Hepzibah: Jessica leaned against Scott a bit, emitting more pheromones, trying to get him to be more forth coming with info, but it was difficult in this much of an enclosed area. Last thing they needed was a full blown orgy. "Half? Really? Did he recruit them all himself?" How big is his operation?

Scott: "Most of them. He is a busy man."

J: Another blur of attacks and defensive spins moved across the plat formed fighting stage as J and the ninja duked it out. J made some space as he flipped over the ninja, kicking at his head, but his opponent turned and yelled, "GET OVER HERE!!!" And the snake rope flew at him again like lightning.

Darren: Darren came back over, "Okay Kevin, it's all set up, you're up in five," he told him.

Hepzibah: Her tightened on Scott's arm as she watched the rings. "They are both very good..." she noted, holding her lit cigarette to her lips. "How long have you worked for JohnnyDee?"

Teagan: "Gah!" She spun on her back and watched as he came back down on her. "So what're you? Mad Adder?" She rolled away from him as he slammed to the ground. "The Rattler? Anna Conda?" The snake man clawed at her and used his tail to grab her by her right leg. She went down on her but and began to be pulled in. "Jake the Snake!" She decided. As he pulled her close enough, she stuck both her hands out and grabbed the fangs off the helmet. Breaking them off, she slammed one into his arm. "Ha!"

Kevin: "Five? Five minutes? Aw man, I'm gonna miss the show. I'm hoping for the ninja to win." Kevin said looking between Darren and the yellow ninja guy in the ring.

Jay: "Most...by most, how many's that? How many of the fighters today are from outside?" Jay leant a little against Hepzibah almost unconsciously.

Scott: He shrugged. "Maybe a year or so. Not that long, really. Most of us haven't. That's what those say that are allowed to talk with the other fighters, at least."

J: He smiled, he was like lightning too, side stepping the snake head he grabbed it with both hands and sent a blast of fake telepathic electricity down it and stunned him where he stood. The rope pulled back of it's own accord and J jumped and flew with it back towards the dear in his head lighted ninja opponent. The momentum added to his flying kick and sent him sprawling out of the ring, landing on the ground in electric spasms.

Darren: "Just get your ass in gear, kid," Darren said, putting a hand on Kevin's shoulder and steering him towards his own fight, away from Hepzibah.

Jay: "Oh?" Jay frowned, looking at Micromax. "You don't talk freely with each other?"

Jay: He took a deep drag from his cigarette, content with sticking with Hepzibah for now. He could find another fight in a bit.

J: J threw his hands up in triumph, "Woot! I am the bestest!" He laughed and jumped down off the platform, his chest heaving from the spent energy, but a grin wide on his face. "Hey guys! Did you see that!?"

Kevin: "Aww...crap." Kevin pulled off his shirt and balled it up, throwing it at Darren over his shoulder and headed towards the ring with the Indian guy waiting for him.

Scott: "Nah, not all of us. Stops us from cutting deals and cheating."

Teagan: "Hsssaaaagh!" 'Jake The Snake' roared as he slashed out and clawed at Teagan's face. "Whoa!" Teagan grabbed at her face and tumbled backwards, being sure to stop herself from tumbling back completely out of the ring. When she opened her healing eyes, she saw that snake like... body? Tail? (Some kind of crazy contortion of incredible degree) come for her and wrap around both her ankles. In seconds he was upon her, wrapping all the way up. "F-fucksake!" She still had the second fang.))

Jay: "I see." Jay nodded.

Darren: Darren caught the shirt with a small sigh.

Teagan: She took the fang, and slid it up the coils, ripping into the skin as it did. "HSsrraaah!" The snake-man fell to the ground, holding his side as his contorted coils began to shrink back to legs. "Oh no! Not yet!" She grabbed his frayed ends and swung him up and out of the ring. "Boo-Yeah!"

Hepzibah: "Seems reasonable," Jess nodded at Scott, hiding a grimace. Her expression turned to a smile as she applauded J as he came out of the ring. "Convinced about Swan now?" she took another drag off her cig, smiling at Scott.

Pietro: Pietro watched Teagan's fight closely. Then clapped for her when she won, he turned to Dee. "See? What did I tell you?"

Kevin: Kevin just stepped inside the ring and his starting bell rang. He really wasn't completely ready, but it seems like they just wanted to get things finished as fast as possible to get all the winners' names.

Teagan: Teagan pushed a rib bone back in and re adjusted the alignment of her spine as she mosied out of the ring.

Scott: "Well, maybe we could talk about his fighter more thoroughly later on? Over a nice dinner?" She received the most handsome smile.

Jay: Jay grinned at J. "I saw you in there, in the parts I wasn't in the ring." He caught Scott's request. "The lady probably has prior engagements." He said icily.

JohnnyDee: "Nice, very very nice. I see, your girl makes a grand addition to my little tournament." He got his notebook out and scribbled something down.

Hepzibah: Jessica hesitated for a mere moment. Sorry Hector. I swear I won't let him lay a hand on me. "I'd love to," she smiled enticingly.

Scott: "The lady can speak for herself, can't she?"

Kevin: Seconds after the match started, Kevin's face was met with a fist, from the guy who was standing across from the ring. It almost knocked him out of the ring, but Kevin grabbed hold on the long arm, holding himself in.

Scott: Jay received an incredibly snotty smile.

Pietro: "She knows what she's doing." He frowned at the scribbling, "That depends entirely on what she's speaking about."

J: J grinned, "Oh man, yeah, that guy was fast... Had to shock him into submission, stop that rope and teleport thing... Where do they find people like that?... Like he was a ringer or something for this type of fight, ya know?"

Jay: Jay very, very nearly punched the smile off the man's face, but was able to control himself, merely taking an extra-deep drag off the smoke.

Hepzibah: Her expression turned puzzled, then she leaned in towards Jay, and petted his wings a bit as she whispered in his ear. "It'll be fine, Jay. I can handle him. Thanks though."

Teagan: "Snake, Snake? I dunno no Snake." She joked as she raked a finger through her short hair. "And in all seriousness, I think I lost a fingernail back there, clawing at the ground. That guy is one of the few who could probably actually kill me. Wow."

Jay: Jay muttered something under his breath, but the petting - and voice - soothed him a little. "Just looking out for you." He gave her a tight smile.

Scott: Scott returned his bristly bright smile back to Jessica, ready to talk about a place and a time, when his face went stone cold and every ounce of life seemingly vanished out of it.

Scott: "Ohcrapheishere..." he forced out in between his teeth hastily.

Pietro: Pietro smiled at her, "Well you handled yourself brilliantly."

Darren: Darren had complete confidence in Kyle, obviously he was the best fighter at the school, but Kyle came in a close second, and folded his arms, feeling kinda bored now ...

Jay: Jay shivered at the breath before he caught what Microtwat had muttered, leaning a little into Hepzibah without realising it and slipping an arm around her waist as he looked in the direction the idiot was. "Huh?"

Mammomax: The front gates of the hall had opened noisily and revealed the bright night sky...which shortly after got darkened by the humongous figure that had entered, overlooking the spectacle in front of it.

Hepzibah: "And Hector will thank you for that," she smiled, still with her lips almost touching his ear so no one could hear them.

Jay: Her mouth against his ear nearly distracted him terminally.

Scott: "I gotta go, talk to you later..." He hurriedly made his way towards the way, WAY other end of the hall.

Kevin: Kevin wanted to lunge himself at the Indian guy, but stopped himself when the Indian guy disappeared for a second, and then he felt a punch in his side.

Pietro: Pietro looked over at the sound of the gates opening and blinked. What the hell was that?!

Kevin: Oh come on, that's unfair, the guy goes poof from one side to the other. How the hell am I supposed to hit him?! he thought.

Darren: Darren caught the draft ... and the very large bioelectric signal behind him, and made a show of turning to look and let out an appreciative whistle, "Woah ..."

Teagan: "I am brilliant yeah." She watched Scott book it and then turned back around to see why. "Jimminy Crickets." She exclaimed in a whisper.

Mammomax: Slight, scared whispers reached his ears, but he was unimpressed by them. Instead he stepped in further, now revealing skin that seemed almost being made out of plate, greatly covered by a wide kimono that might as well have been a comfortable tent.

Hepzibah: "What..." If Hepz had had her tail, it would have been going crazy watching this... thing coming in. Good God...

Kevin: That was when even the Indian guy stopped and stared at the elephant man. Kevin luckily didn't actually pay much attention and lunged at Stretch, knocking him out of the ring.

Pietro: Pietro allowed his eyebrows to raise but showed no other emotion.

Jay: Jay shook his head. The hell was wrong with him? He pulled himself together enough to stare at the huge...thing. "...Duuude..."

Darren: Dude ... if he's a mutant I really hope for his mom's sake he manifested as a teenager ... seriously ...

Kevin: "Hey, I won! Man that was easy...holy crap, what the hell is that?!" Kevin said aloud as he saw the elephant guy.

J: J kept up his babble, and turned to see what the crowd was looking at, "And that green guy you fought?... Oh.... ... " He stopped midsentance, seeing the biggest living thing he'd ever seen in his life. "That is a large person. I don't think I could even fit in the ring with him..."

Teagan: "That.... is a Heffelump."

Hepzibah: Jessica began looking for J and Kyle. It was time to go!

JohnnyDee: "What are you doing here!" Johnny walked over to the humongous man-thing and stood there, right in front of him, nearly arching backwards, though not the slightest bit impressed. "I told you, you will see the other fighters soon enough!"

Pietro: Pietro watched Dee wander off and looked at Teagan, "I'm not sure I want to see what happens to the person that makes that thing mad...."

Darren: ... Okay, that was hilarious! That giant mammoth of a mutant being scolded by a tiny bantam hen like Dee, "Meh, he's probably just as pansy, Kevin."

Teagan: "I imagine it's a bit like the Olyphant scene from Return of the King...." She said from the side of her mouth to Pietro.

Jay: Jay squeezed Hepz - and it was at that moment he realised he had his arm around her waist. What. But he didn't want to move it. "Uuuh...looks like one of the prize fighters came to see what the noise was about..."

Pietro: "Yeah, I'm getting a similar mental image there..."

Mammomax: He looked down at the small figure in front of him. He got ready to make on step forward, but then saw Dee reaching into the pocket of his wide coat. Instead he then looked up again and at the collected fighters in the hall. "They are weak."

Hepzibah: "Then all we need is an undead army to defeat it right?" She answered Teagan. She started to speak again, when she felt Jay squeeze her waist. "That looks like several prize fighters rolled into one!" She gave Jay a bit of a strange look.

Mammomax: His voice was so deep, so strong, it vibrated into the core of a human body.

Kyle: Kyle scratched his side where he was hit and saw an Indian guy arguing with a referee. Wasn't his problem, so he just padded back to join Darren and the rest. "That's a big guy."

Pietro: "Is anyone else worried what that guy would consider 'strong'?"

Teagan: "You might need a few of us yeah." She agreed. "And.... I'm sorta hoping this guy has a flimsy heel."

Darren: "I could take him," Darren said quietly, winking at Kyle.

JohnnyDee: Johnny shaked his head. No use crying over spilled beans, he might as well milk this situation for what it's worth. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the great, the mighty, the marvellous Mammomax!"

Teagan: "On a date." Teagan said, smirking.

Kyle: ((inner Kevin to Darren "Take him where? To Africa so that he can roam free?"))

Pietro: Pietro managed not to laugh. Just.

Teagan: "Do we applaud?" She asked, starting 'the clap'.

J: "I could... Maybe... If I can get passed his think skin..." He thought about it, "No one would believe I could beat him though..." <Can only fake so much with telepathy...>

Darren: Darren had to fight down the sudden urge to heckle at that.

Jay: "Mammo-" Jay snorted. "Well...guess a guy that big can call himself whatever he wants..." Okay, the arm was awkward. He removed it quickly...still not able to quite reason why it had been there in the first place. Or why he had goosebumps.

Hepzibah: <You most certainly will not try to take him J!> she shot back at him. She watched Mammomax carefully.

JohnnyDee: "He won't give autographs, he won't sign your shirt, BUT..." He made a dramatic pause. "He WILL shake your world!"

Jay: "...I think I just lost my asshole." Jay squeaked, eyes wide.

Mammomax: He decided to go along with this and gave off an incredible roar that sent little debris down from the ceiling.

Pietro: Pietro covered his ears. Wow. Loud.

Teagan: "Holy Crow!" She felt the ground shake beneath her as she covered her head. Karaoke night is not for this guy.

Darren: Darren made a show of leaning back and bringing a hand up to his ear at the roar.

Kyle: Kyle almost went to his knees with his hearing being abused like that. And there was the slight ringing afterwards.

JohnnyDee: "Count yourself blessed, because only tonight, I offer one million dollar to the man who manages to stay in the ring with our champion for just three minutes!"

J: J covered his nose and mouth, "Oh God, mint anyone?" <Oh I wont... I don't wanna get stepped on...>

Hepzibah: Her sensitive ears made her cringe down almost to her knees as Mammomax roared. Covering her ears, she struggled back up to her feet.

Darren: ... A million? He was tempted to see if he could do a quick change for that sort of cash!

Jay: "...One...million...oh man, that's good stakes..." Jay murmured, need to gamble warring with basic survival instinct.

J: J helped her up, "You alright miss?" He asked worriedly.

Teagan: She looked around for someone who looked like they could actually take this guy. "Think we're allowed a rocket launcher?"

Hepzibah: She accepted J's hand and between him and Jay got back to her feet. "Ears are a little tender," she whispered, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears.

JohnnyDee: "This is especially interesting for those of you who have lost already and therefore have dropped out of the tournament. This is a golden parachute if I've ever seen one!"

Pietro: "Probably not..." Pietro told Teagan, "Not sure it'd do you any good anyway...." The guy was built like a tank.

Hepzibah: "A million dollars is not worth your life, Icarus." She whispered to him. "Just stick to the job..." she breathed quietly.

J: J hacked into her head for a moment, killing the noise for her and setting her back to good. <Better?> He smiled and watched the show, "No way I'm doing it... Guy steps on me it's lights out forever."

JohnnyDee: And before he could even take down his hands from the dramatic gesturing, the green guy that had fought the bird boy earlier rose his hand. "Ah, there we have our brave fighter!"

Pietro: Pietro looked over at the guy who raised his hand. Wow he had to be crazy...


Hepzibah: <Much. Thank you J.> She smiled at him appreciatively, nodding. "Seems Swan has become the voice of reason here..."

Teagan: "Cuhrayzay." She whispered to Pietro.

Pietro: Pietro nodded, "Yeah, especially the beating he took earlier...."

Jay: Three minutes? He could do three minutes. He just needed to stay in the air. No one except Darren could catch him in the air. Still, though...he was safe. Hepz was right.

Mammomax: Mammomax made his way to the ring, hearing Dee in his head Break him, make a show out of it.

Hepzibah: Jessica saw a gleam in Jay's eye. "Don't even think about it fly-boy."

Mammomax: Then he stood on one side of the ring, opposing the green mutant that was about to be broken.

Jay: "Sorry...that's good odds though. I could..." He trailed off, watching the fight. "I mean...a million..."

Darren: Darren winced a little ,,, green force field guy was gonna get pounded man.

Teagan: "I'm almost glad the guy is so confident. However; it will fall apart. Which then makes me feel glad I did not raise my hand."

Hepzibah: "JohnnyDee doesn't strike me as the kind of man who makes bets he doesn't think he can win, Icarus." Jessica folded her arms over herself, defensively.

J: "I don't think the ceiling is high enough... He could probably touch it.... and if you flew too far outside the ring you'd be dq'ed.... Theoretically bugs can fly out of the way of the car too... but you still have to scrape them off time to time..." He watched the fight, knowing which of these was the bug, and which the bus.

Mammomax: The referee gave the signal, and instantly his opponent jumped at his face. Electrical current started to trickle into his eyes and a painful roar filled the room.

Pietro: "I feel bad for the guy... this isn't going to be pretty..." And he couldn't shake the feeling that if Teagan made it to the final rounds of this tournament she might end up against that thing too. That was not a happy mental image either.

Jay: "I know. It's just...oh man. I felt that current, it hurts." And meant his wings were going to take forever to groom. ...Why the hell was he so distracted?

Darren: Darren gritted his teeth and focused on his training, Farouk had said these were death matches ... be if he stepped in now he'd blow the whole mission ...

Hepzibah: If Jess had been in her feline form, her fur would have been sticking out like a Persian! Instead, she took a step back and watch with far more calm than she felt. At least it wasn't any of her friends in that ring.

Darren: Sometimes in Black Ops ... you had to just look away, the guy had stepped up of his own accord after all, no one had forced him, right?

Jay: Jay pulled his hair out of the tail, forcing himself to watch, flaring his wings a little. The room had gone completely silent, watching the ring. Three minutes...

Mammomax: The world turned red, and a giant hand reached up and got hold of a leg, ripping the nuisance off his face. And then he started to crumble his victim, like a you would crumble a piece of paper. Smaller and smaller the 'package' became, all the while he was shouting "WEAK! WEAK! WEAK!"

Teagan: "Good lord...." She whispered.

Pietro: Pietro's eyes widened. That was awful.

JohnnyDee: Dee smiled a satisfied smile, playing around with a little doll in his pocket.

Jay: Jay just stared, fixated on the dripping mass in the massive mutant's hands. The cigarette dropped from numb fingers, amber eyes wide as all the colour drained from his face.

Kyle: Kyle just stared a little dumfounded.

J: J's face went ghost white, "Dear God..." He turned away, not wanting to watch it any longer, his stomach queasy all of a sudden, wanting to retch.

Darren: Darren watched impassibly, his whole face locking down as he just ... watched with blank eyes.

Hepzibah: Jessica stared at the man dying in the ring in from of them. She felt completely numb. Now, she wished she'd taken Hector's advice and stayed back home. Her half smoked cigarette dropped from her fingers.

Mammomax: After a while the horrible cracking and breaking stopped and got replaced by a slushing, slimy sound.

Pietro: "Teagan..." Pietro whispered, "I don't ever want to see you in the ring with him."

Darren: After a moment, still watching, Darren pulled out the cigarette packet and lit one for himself, Idiot ...

Hepzibah: "That goes for you too, Swan and Kevin." She looked at both of them, grateful to look away from the ring. "I have too much invested in you two. Do you understand??" She fought herself trembling.

JohnnyDee: "Ladies and Gentlemen! The Champion of X-Factor! Mammomax!" He clapped loudly and more and more spectators joined in. Dolce and Gabana moved in the by now bristling cold night air and Rolex watches reach towards the ceiling when fists got risen. This was the event of the millennium!

Jay: He'd fought that guy. Owned him, but he'd...it'd only been a fight, only...only a bit of fun...nothing else. They'd only smacked each other about a bit for a laugh. He'd...he'd fought that guy. He couldn't look away, shaking a little, completely white.

Pietro: And because of the way he had to behave here, Pietro was forced to clap even though he didn't think such an event was entertainment. Had to keep up the pretence after all.

Darren: Darren clapped along, watching the gore trickle out between the giants fingers, He must have known what he was going up against ...

J: J nodded idly, not really wanting to talk, there was nothing really to say to that.

Teagan: "I hurt my opponents. Bad.... but I never kill. You don't ever kill." She refused to applaud that. She didn't like talking to the dead, let alone watching them get that way.

Pietro: "I know..." Pietro replied, his voice still low, "But it seems like a lot of these people won't feel the same way...."

Jay: How...how could they...how could this be entertainment? His mind flickered back to the tunnels, eyes fixed on what had once been his opponent, hands fisted by his sides, breathing shallowly.

Darren: Darren took a long pull as he made his way back to the team, "I think this is where we bow out, guys," he said casually.

Hepzibah: Jess petted Kyle's head a little and turned to Jay. "Because mutants are just things to humans. To be used and exploited and then disposed of..." She pointedly did not look at Pietro. "I agree with Alex." She turned to J. "You ok?" she asked a little concerned.

Teagan: "I want to leave." Teagan said. "Before I see him...."

Darren: "... You all did great, really proud of you all," he said quietly, starting to guide them all out, the other competitors and spectators seemed to be doing the same, "drinks are on me back at the hotel, think we could all do with one."

J: "Yeah... I'm fine. But leaving would be nice..." He smiled weakly.

Pietro: Pietro nodded, "No problem, I think now's a good time to get out." He headed for the door, gesturing for her to follow him.

[Edited on 29-4-2010 by Slarti]

[steyn]

To tell the truth, I actually did go "Urp..grgh...yech" when Mammomax squished non!Blanka.