Mannie walks over to Raven before she can leave.
“Hellooo. I am Mannie,” he smoothly introduces himself.
Raven is not easily impressed by him as she rolls her eyes in disbelief.
“I know. I was at the Opening Ceremonies,” she says.
“So what is your name, Tall, Dark, and Beautiful?”
“Raven, and I don’t go for guys who flirt with the first girl they meet. If you excuse me, I have to get ready for work tomorrow,” Raven snubs him as she leaves.
“What did I do wrong?” Mannie asks.
“Honest opinion: you moved in on her way too fast,” Don replies.
Mannie hangs his head to ponder his next move on Raven.
***
At the mall, Jody is looking at the Women’s Apparel at a department store. She is looking at dresses to wear when Kaynon and Psikes both see her while looking into athletic equipment not far from there.
“Is that her?” Psikes asks Kaynon.
“That’s my Jody,” Kaynon replies.
“I suppose she’s beautiful in a way.”
“I’ll go in and see about helping her pay for anything.”
Kaynon walks over to the Women’s Apparel just Jody gathered three dresses she likes and puts them at the cash register. The cashier scans the clothes and pushes a few buttons to determine the total amount of money.
“That will be $75.99,” the cashier says.
Jody digs through her purse to get her debit card out, but Kaynon shows up with a one-hundred dollar bill.
“No need, Jody,” he says as he stops her from using her card, “I got you covered.”
He hands her a one-hundred dollar bill and receives $24.01 in change. Then, he tucks the change into Jody’s purse.
“What are you doing here?” she sighs.
“Getting some things for my training.”
Jody gruffly walks away with her dresses without saying another word to him.
“Jody, I’m sorry about what I did to Mannie a few years ago,” he apologizes, “I want to make it up to you sometime.”
“Kaynon, I’ve moved on from our relationship,” she lectures him, “I’ll never forget the good times we shared, but our relationship went bad because you changed from the jock I feel in love with. I’m sorry, but you became too violent and dangerous. I just hope you’ll understand one day and move on.”
Jody walks out with her purchases to the next store. Kaynon angrily knocks a display down, scaring some of the staff and customers. Psikes takes him outside to prevent him from making a scene. They both get into his hover car to talk.
“That girl is stubborn, but perhaps we could use her for our plans,” Psikes says while pondering.
“What?” Kaynon asks him.
“We’ll have Buzz and Raven spy on her. If they befriend her, they will be able to have more access on John Terrance’s training method.”
“I don’t want to use Jody to cheat my way up!”
“You will, or the cops will know your “secret to winning.”
Kaynon gruffly nods yes.
***
Two hours later, Jody makes it back home with two bags of her new clothes. She goes up to her room and puts her three new dresses into her closet when she here’s a knock at the door.
“Come on in!” she calls.
The door opens and coming in is Don with something behind his back.
“Hey, Don,” Jody greets, “How did training go?”
“It went very well. Mannie and I gave one-hundred percent according to your father,” Don informs, “I also got something for you from the arena.”
“What?”
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”
Jody does what he says. While she is holding out her, Don takes what he has behind his back and places it in Jody’s hands.
“You can open your eyes, Jody,” Don says.
Jody opens her eyes and sees a backstage pass to the Fights in her hands.
“These are backstage passes to the Intergalactic Fights!” she exclaims ecstatically.
“I pulled some strings and got it for you,” he explains, “Your dad already has access to the fight since he’s my coach, so you can invite a friend if you want.”
“Oh thank you, Don!” Jody says.
She jumps and hugs Don without thinking. When Jody realizes what she did, she sheepishly lets go of him and blushes.
“I-I’m sorry,” she says.
“That’s okay,” he says, “I know how much going to the Intergalactic Fights means to you, and this is better than front row seats. Anyway, how’d your shopping trip go?”
“Good. I got three new dresses and a nice aromatherapy set, but I had another run-in with Kaynon.”
“He was there?!”
“Yeah. I feel like he’s following and spying on me.”
“Did you ever tell the police?”
“No, but he hasn’t done anything violent against me yet, so there’s no way they can help. Besides, he seemed like his normal self.”
“As long as you’re alright. The first of the preliminaries are at 7:00 PM tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.”
Don is about to leave when he notices the picture next to her bed. He wonders about the police woman in the picture.
“Jody, who’s the woman in that picture with your dad and that girl?” Don asks.
“That girl is me when I was six. The woman was my mom. That was the last family photo we took together before she died,” Jody tells him.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. We can talk more after your first fight tomorrow. You just get some rest.”
***
Don leaves the room. What Jody doesn’t know is that Kaynon has been watching the two from below the fire escape the whole time, and he is growing more jealous.
“He better not take her away from me,” he mumbles.
Chapter 8
The night of the first preliminaries has come. Jody is in one a pink maxi dress. She and Don are backstage together, waiting for Don to be called to the ring. In this round, he is going up against Bludd, and he is very nervous.
“Don’t be nervous, Don,” Jody reassures him, “Just remember what you have learned on the first day of training.”
Suddenly, Kaynon comes in to hit on Jody in front of Don.
“Hi, Jody-girl,” he seductively greets her, “Come to see me win in tonight’s preliminary round?”
“No. I’m here to watch Don fight,” Jody tells him.
Kaynon growls to hearing that. Then, the MC shows up in the middle of the ring.
“Welcome to the preliminary rounds!” she says through the microphone, “For the first round, Don Kobra goes against Bludd!”
“Wish me luck, Jody,” Don says.
“Good luck,” Jody says.
He pecks him on the cheek for good luck, making Kaynon even more jealous.
***
Don walks out and walks in from one direction as the crowd cheers for him, whereas Bludd stomps over from the opposite direction and lets out a huge roar. Both competitors step into the ring and face each other as the referee, who is a grey alien.
“These are the rules,” the ref informs the fighters, “There will be no weaponry of any kind, no kicking below the belt unless it’s self-defense, no choking, and no killing your opponent no matter what species they are. You may tap out to surrender, but you will lose instantly if you are pinned and can’t get up after I count to ten. Winner makes it to the next round. Now shake hands, take your corners and come out fighting when you hear the buzz.”
Both fighters shake each other’s hands as a sign of good luck. Then, they walk over and stand in opposite corners waiting for the buzzer to go off. Jody is nervously watching from backstage with Mannie at her side, while Kaynon is leaning against the wall, sneering.
“I hope the Rep loses this round,” he mumbles.
Finally, there is a loud buzz indicating it’s time to fight.
Don walks toward Bludd ready to fight. Both fighters circle each other. Bludd charges at Don, but Don slides under him. Bludd tries to swipe him with his claw, but Don grabs it and throws him over his shoulder. This makes Bludd furious while he gets up. Then, Bludd bear-hugs Don to crush him.
“Oh no!” Jody exclaims as she covers her mouth.
Don feels his grip getting tighter until he realizes something he remembers from training- Bludd’s kind can’t stand light or heat. He looks up to the ceiling lights above and gets an idea. He jumps up high enough for Bludd to be near the lights. The lighting and their heat are enough for Bludd to weaken, causing him to let go of Don. After that, he pins the Fridgian down on the canvas floor as the Ref counts.
“One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten! Winner of the first round is Don Kobra!” the ref called as the crowd cheers for Don.
***
Even Jody and Mannie are cheering for his first victory. Kaynon, on the other hand, was not cheering. He just leers at Don, seeing him as not just a rival for the title, but also for Jody’s love.
“John’s training is paying off,” he grumpily says, “I’ll have to make it to the final if I am going to make him suffer.”
All of a sudden, Kaynon’s vision went blurry from the recent dose of Waspite he got from Psikes. He rubs his head like anyone would with a headache. Don returns back stage as he is congratulated by his friends.
“Congrats on your first win, Don,” Jody says as he hugs him.
“Yeah! Good going, Buddy!” Mannie says while he slaps him on the back.
“Thanks, Guys,” Don says, “and good luck on your fight, Mannie.”
“No problem!” I aim to win!”
They suddenly notice Kaynon looking sick. The three friends went to see if he is okay.
“Kaynon, are you okay?” Jody asks.
“The lights are just bothering me more than Bludd,” Kaynon lies to her, “Why do you suddenly care?”
“I care when my friends, no matter who they are, are really sick.”
“I just need some rest before my time to fight.”
Kaynon walks to the men’s locker room, and goes through the door, leaving Jody and her friends looking at each other with worry.
***
Back at the ring, a spider alien and a crocodilian alien are fighting each other. The spider alien spits web at the Crocodilian’s feet and kicks him in the head, knocking him out cold. He is declared the winner by the ref.
In the next fight, Athena takes on an Ogre-like alien. The Ogre alien tries to grab her, but she jumps over him. Then, she quickly grabs his legs, pulls on them hard, and trips him from behind. He puts the Ogre in an arm lock, making him tap out while he screams in agony. Fighter continue to fight until only eight make it to the Quarter Final rounds.
In the second to last round of the preliminaries, Kaynon is going up against Minos. Above the ring, Buzz is turning off the Equalizer, a machine that powers up or lowers the fighters until they are at equal strength. This way, neither fighter can be hurt.
“Kaynon and Psikes better appreciate this,” Buzz complains.
Both face each other, ready to fight to the Quarter Finals. The Buzz suddenly sounds, and Kaynon grabs Minos by the horns, and throws him to the floor. He is about to pin him, but Minos kicks Kaynon off out of self-defense. Minos charges at him, but Kaynon is too fast for him. He grabs Minos in a really tight half-nelson, and slams him to the floor head first, knocking him out cold. The ref counts to ten, but Minos will not get up on time. The ref has declared Kaynon the winner of the round as he advances to the Quarter Finals. Infirmary Robots bring in a stretcher and put Minos on it; then they take him to the nursing station as Jody, Don, and Mannie watch.
“Man! Minos really got KO’ed,” Mannie states.
“That’s the kind of aggression that Kaynon showed when I was dating him,” Jody informs him.
“Up next is Mannie versus Cru!” the MC announces.
“It looks like it’s my turn,” Mannie says, “Wish me luck, Guys.”
“Good luck, Mannie,” Jody says.
“We’re with you, Buddy,” Don says.
Mannie goes into the ring as well as Cru. The both face each other and shake hands like the other fighters did, except Cru’s grip is tight on Mannie’s hand.
“I am going to enjoy this fight, Mantis,’ he whispers.
“Until I win,” Mannie remarks.
They both go to their opposite corners and wait for the buzzer. When it finally sounds, both insect fighters stood in stances, ready to fight each other. The Antion charges at Mannie and slams him against the floor. Mannie is about to kick him in the lower thorax like he did in simulation, but Cru is wearing armor plates all over himself, even the lower thorax.
“Don’t try to hit me there, Mantoid!” Cru brags, “I came prepared.”
Cru picks him up and throws him toward the laser ropes. Mannie looks at the ropes and gets an idea how he can beat Cru. As Cru charges at him to deliver the ultimate blow, Mannie flexes up his wing and reflects the light of the laser rope with it, blinding Cru long enough for Mannie to punch him in the face. Cru is now on the canvas floor with Mannie pinning him tight. The referee counts to ten. Cru struggles, but he could not get up in time. Mannie is declared the winner of the next round.
***
Don and Jody became so excited over his win, that they hug each other. When they both realized it, they let go of each other and blush. However, their hug only fuels Kaynon’s jealousy and rage further.
“I hope I’ll be the one who pairs up with him in the Quarter Finals,” he grumbles to himself furiously.
Mannie returns backstage, where he is hugged by Jody.
“You did it, Mannie!” she says with excitement, “You won!”
“I knew you could beat him, Pal!” Don says while patting him on the back.
“Thanks, Guys!” says Mannie.
“Now we just need to stick around and see who you guys pair with in the Quarter Finals next week.”
Ten minutes later, a monitor comes down from the ceiling with pictures of the fighters who made it to the Quarter Finals, including Mannie, Don, Athena, and Kaynon.
“Now we will randomly pair up these fighters to see who will be fighting who next week!” the MC announces in the center of the ring.
The monitor suddenly shuffles the pictures for the random pair-up. After a few seconds, the pairing is decided. Don will be going up against a crab-like alien with huge pincers to match; Mannie will be going against the spider alien; Athena will be going against a bat-like alien; and Kaynon will be going against a tiger alien.
“A cat,” he says with a cynic tone, “How appropriate for me.”
“Hope you don’t hurt him as bad as you did Minos,” Mannie said in a reprimanding tone, making Kaynon roar at him.
“Careful, Mannie,” Don warns him, “He seems a little edgy today.”
“You better hope I don’t wind up matched with you in the Semi-Finals, Bug!” Kaynon says while poking his chest with his finger, “Lest you wind up like him or wind up in the morgue!”
Kaynon walks away from the three friends, but not before winking at Jody, who is disgusted by it. Don looks at Kaynon with suspicion. He feels that Kaynon is taking something that is making him aggressive.
Meanwhile, in the private luxury suite above, Psikes is showing some other crime lords (a bat alien, a human gangster, and a spider alien) how effective his Waspite is on Kaynon. He has been using Kaynon as a demonstrator for his drug.
“Gentlemen, you now see how effective my Waspite drug is,” he explains, “Even without Buzz sabotaging the Equalizer, Kaynon would have lost without the drug. Buy my product, and you can sell to as many as you want.”
The three crime lords became very interested. Psikes smile to know that everything is going according to his plan.
Chapter 9
Mannie, Don, and Jody decide to go to the Nursing Station to check on Minos. The
Infirmary Bots are mending his arms as they have been dislocated during the half-nelson.
“What are you three doing here?” he asks.
“We came to check on you, Minos,” Jody said, “How are you doing?”
“Just fine despite what happened?” Minos says, “I have never seen a fighter that aggressive before.”
“You don’t know Kaynon. He once did the same thing to Mannie that he did to you.”
“Don told me about it in the locker room while warning me. You, young lady, are brave to tell him off. You are also smart to break up with him.”
“Thanks. Maybe I can help a little with your arms.”
“How?”
Jody looks around and sees a canister of cooling gel. She takes the jar, opens it, and gives it to the Infirmary Bots.
“Smear his bandages with the gel. It will keep the pain down and stop any cramping,” she tells the bots.
They do as she says and smear his bandages with it. Then, they wrap them around his arms. Minos already feels the pain going away.
“Thank you, my dear,” Minos thanks has the Bots take him away.
“You really knew how to help him, Jody,” Don complimented, “I’m impressed.”
“I took a major in athletic medicine during college. I serve as as part-time nurse and front desk in the gym,” Jody explains.
“She’s very good with what she does,” Mannie vouches.
Then, Kaynon comes in with a smirk on his face.
“Jody, did you come to see me win my way to the top?” he asks.
“No! I came to watch my friends win,” she says in an angry tone, “You didn’t have to hurt Minos to win, Kaynon! What happened in the ring? You were like another person!”
“I just got caught up,” he lies as he the sweat off with his towel, “It is a competition.”
“You feeling okay, Kaynon?” Jody asks
While he feels his head, Kaynon wraps one arm around her waist.
“I knew you’d still care,” he says to her as she backs away from him.
Kaynon is about to kiss her when Don and Mannie just pull her away from him.
“Keep away from her, Kaynon!” Mannie raises his fist.
“Do as he says, Mutt!” Minos says while sticking up for them, “Unless you want me to tell the Refs you are harassing young girls.”
Intergalactic Fight Club: Don the Champion Page 3