First, she tried on a pair of ripped denim jeans, a leather jacket and a black shirt. Jody did not approve of that look.
“Too rebellious,” she stated.
Raven tries on a bright-yellow halter maxi dress. It only made her look too springtime, making Jody nod no. Raven this on a green camouflage outfit like in the army, but Jody nods no to that as well. She finally tries on the last outfit: a bright-pink tank top with a matching skort and black high heels. Jody happily gives a thumbs up implying that outfit is perfect.
“Thanks, Jody,” Raven thanks her, “Now it is your turn.”
“Me?” Jody ponders.
“I collected some clothes for you too, and you’re gonna try them on.”
Raven pushes Jody into the fitting room with the clothes she picked out for Jody.
First, Jody tries on a yellow, country girl dress, but Raven just nods no to it. Then, Jody tries on a red turtle-neck sweater and blue navy jeans, but they make her look too frumpy.
“N’uh-uh,” Raven responds.
Jody tries on the final outfit: a light pink, sleeveless maxi dress.
“Now that dress is definitely you,” Raven said.
Both girls giggle together. Then, they pay for their clothes upfront.
***
That evening, Mannie is just putting some cologne on himself. He’s ready for his date with Raven. He then hears a knock on the door.
“Come on in!” he calls.
Jody comes in to let her friend know that Raven is ready.
“Raven is downstairs waiting for you, Mannie,” Jody informs him.
“Thanks, Jody,” Mannie replies.
Mannie finishes up and goes downstairs to the gym to meet Raven. When he sees her waiting at the front door in her new outfit, he is enamored by her.
“You…look wonderful, Raven,” he said stunted by her beauty.
“Thanks, Mannie,” she says, taking him by the arm.
They both walk out together to go on their date as Jody waves to them.
“Have a nice date, you guys!” she says.
Near an alley, Psikes watches from inside his limousine as Raven goes out with Mannie.
“It better be for our plans,” he growls with jealousy.
Buzz comes in through the alley with news for Psikes.
“Boss, you won’t believe who Jody and John Terrance are,” he says while getting into the limo, “You remember that cop you “took care of” ten years ago? The two humans who run the gym are that cop’s family.”
“I thought that Jody human looked familiar. Is everything all set up for the match in two weeks?”
“The equalizer machine is ready,” he said as he shows him some computer chips and wires.
“Good. I need to make sure that Kaynon doesn’t lose; otherwise, I will lose my money.”
“Just as long as Jody stays out of this. That girl’s been very nice to me. She even got me some nectar tea straight from the mall.”
“You’re not at that gym to get presents! You’re there to spy, fly brain!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Just make certain Don Kobra doesn’t win at his next match. He’s already a threat to my plans! That incident with Kaynon’s temper made him look like a hero in the papers.”
“As you wish, Boss. I have to get back to work. I’ll call if there’s new developments.”
Buzz walks back to the gym to stock the shelves he’s supposed to do. Psikes smiles grimly, knowing everything is going as he planned.
Chapter 14
While Mannie and Raven are on their date, Jody is alone in her apartment when she hears a knock at the door. She opens the door and sees Don outside.
“Hey, Don,” Jody said while letting him come in, “What brings you here?”
“Your dad went out to get some supplies and said I could keep you company,” Don replied.
“I was just about to make dinner anyway. You want to join me?”
“Sure. What are you having?”
“Torian Beast hot dogs with cheese and green tea.”
“Now that’s some healthy eating.”
Moments later, they were finishing their dinner together.
“That was a great dinner, Jody. You really know how to cook,” Don complimented her.
“Thanks. What have you been doing?” Jody asks.
“Just training on the weight machines while your pop’s out. I also wanted to stay here and get to know you a little more.”
“What do you want to know about me?”
“Everything, like what you were like in school, growing up, and…maybe…your mother.
Jody is too nervous to talk about herself, including her late mom. She is very tearful, not wanting to reveal how her mom died, and Don notices the look on her face.
“I understand if you don’t want to talk about your mom,” he said as he lifts her chin up to look at her.
“No. It’s about time I tell somebody about my mom,” she said while wiping a tear from her face, “She was one of New York’s finest cops. She busted a lot of bad guys in her life. Then, ten years ago, when I was in high school, she was working undercover to stop a drug trade belonging to Rex Psikes, the most notorious crime lord. She disappeared soon after, and a week later, her body was found in Central Park.”
“I’m sorry, Jody,” Don said as he comforts her.
“That’s okay. It’s about time I told someone. Strangest thing is, she started that assignment after I told her about Kaynon’s expulsion. She said that he had symptoms of something, but she wouldn’t tell me what.”
Don suddenly had an expression of nervous realization, and Jody knows that something is wrong.
“Don, what’s wrong?” Jody asks.
“Jody, I didn’t want to tell you, but I think there’s something you should know, but what I am about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone else,” he makes her promise.
“Okay. I’m listening.”
***
Back at Madison Square Garden, the arena is completely empty. Night janitor-bots are cleaning the aisles to get it ready for the next event. At the back, Athena was sneaking into the empty Men’s locker room and headed toward Kaynon’s locker. Athena gets out the keypad-override device and attaches it to the keypad of his locker. The device randomly selects numbers until it has the right combination of Kaynon’s locker, unlocking it. Athena searches through the locker until she finds a secret compartment. She opens it and looks inside, finding Kaynon’s vile of Waspite. She presses a button on her watch, revealing a glass slide like the ones used for microscope. She pours a drop on the slide and preserves it.
“I got a sample of some orange liquid in Kaynon’s locker,” she says on her headphones, “I’ll send it to the lab for analysis.”
Suddenly, she hears someone coming in through the door. A night guard is coming in to check for intruders. Athena turns on a cloaking device that makes her invisible. While the guard checks the bathroom, she sneaks out through the door.
***
At Manhattan, Raven and Mannie are enjoying a nice dinner together at an Elfenheim restaurant. Raven is impressed with Mannie treating her to her favorite cuisine.
“This is great, Mannie,” she compliments, “I’ve always wanted to come here.”
“To be honest, Don pulled a few strings for me,” Mannie sighs.
“Still, you brought me here.”
“Order whatever you want, Raven. It’s on me.”
***
Outside the restaurant, they are being watched by an angry and jealous Rex Psikes from his limo.
“That wretch better not go soft on that bug and betray me,” he gruffly complains under breathe.
***
One hour later, Raven and Mannie are finishing up their dinner as Mannie pays the bill with his debit card. Raven is getting up when she sees Psikes limo outside and gasps.
“What’s wrong, Raven?” Mannie asks with concern.
“I just see an unwanted admirer outside,” she nervously lies to him,
“I’m gonna go and shoo him out.”
Raven goes outside and towards Psikes as Mannie pays the bill.
“Psikes, what are you doing here?!” she says agitatedly.
“I was going to ask you the same question,” Psikes says while crossing his arms.”
“I’m just acting regular so nobody would get suspicious of what I am really doing.”
“You look like you are flirting with another man. Just remember, Raven! I was the one who took you in while you were scrounging for scraps after you ran away from your tiger father!”
“I haven’t forgotten that, Psikes,” she says with a heavy heart.
“You owe me for taking you into the high-life and getting you all the finest everything. Just keep your mind on your job, unless you want to wind up like your new best friend’s mother!”
“How did-? Buzz!” she growls after realizing, “Keep Jody out of our business please!”
“I will as long as you get me more information on that bug’s race.”
“I’ll email it to you tonight,” she sighs.
Psikes rolls up the window and drives off. Raven goes back into the restaurant and acts like nothing happened so that Mannie won’t be suspicious. Mannie comes out of the restaurant and senses something is wrong with her.
“Everything alright, Raven?” Mannie asks with a concern look.
“Everything is fine, Mannie,” she lies to him, “He won’t bother us.”
Mannie doesn’t believe her. He sees the look on her face and knows something frightened her, but he does not want to pry it from her.
“Well then where do you want to go next?” he asks her.
“How about taking me back to my home?” Raven suggests, “There’s a nice shortcut through Central Park.”
Mannie sticks his elbow out for Raven, and she clings on as they both walk to Central Park together.
***
Back at Jody’s apartment, she is shocked when Don told her the same things that Lock Claws told him.
“I can’t believe that Kaynon would take Waspite just to win, and that Psikes is connected to everything somehow,” Jody says while holding her head in shock.
“Believe it, Jody,” Don informs her, “Kaynon is showing all the signs of Waspite addiction: psychosis, severe aggression, fatigue after excursion, weakness in muscles. It’s only gonna get worse. Very soon, the Waspite will make all of his muscles weak, including his heart muscles.”
“You’re saying that Waspite risks a heart attack?”
“I’m afraid so. That is why Mannie is gonna train hard and stop him from fighting any further.”
“I hope so. It makes sense why my mom got involved. She wanted to cut off the source. What are we gonna do about Kaynon? He could collapse at any moment.”
“We’ll come up with something. Why don’t we watch a movie together? It may get your mind off of everything, and it could help me come up with a plan.”
They both sit down and turn on the vidscreen to watch their movie. The movie Don has chosen is a romance adventure movie called Stars Across, which is about two people from different worlds who fall in love despite objections from the hero’s noble family.
***
Three hours have gone by and Mannie has already arrived home. He sees his two friends sitting together on the couch as the movie continues. Jody is already asleep and resting her head on Don’s shoulder as he strokes her hair. Mannie smugly walks toward the two and startles Don.
“Guess I’m not the only one who had a romantic evening,” he teases.
“We were just watching a movie together, Mannie,” Don excuses himself, “Anyway, you took a long time to come home. You were gone for three hours. How did it go?”
Mannie sighs, “We had a nice dinner together, Don. After that, we had a nightly stroll through Central Park. It felt like sparks were flying as I took her to her apartment. The weird thing that happened though is that someone in a limo came up, and Raven acted like she knew who it was.”
“Did you say limo?” Don asks with concern
“Yeah. Something about whoever was in it made her look nervous, and I’m worried. I would have made her tell me who, but I didn’t want to force anything out of her.”
“I understand, Buddy. Best to keep an eye on her in case she’s been with some bad company. We have to get to bed now. We have serious training tomorrow.”
“What about Jody?”
“I’ll put her to bed.”
Don picks her up and cradles her in her arms as he carries her into her room. He gently puts her on her bed and tucks her into her comforter. As Don looks at her, he thinks to himself that even though Jody is shy at times, she is still very strong, especially when it comes to Kaynon, and he’s hoping she will have that strength should she become involved in Kaynon and Psike’s possible conspiracy.
“I’ll protect you with my life, Jody,” Don whispers to her.
He gently brushes her hair out of her face and is about to leave the room when he sees something in the mirror on her dresser-a shadow at the window. He quickly turns to see who it is, but the shadow has disappeared. He goes to the window and opens it. He sees nobody outside or in the alley. All he could find was a tuff of gray fur on the window sill outside. He realizes that Kaynon was there, spying on Jody.
***
Below the apartment, in the alley, Kaynon is peering from the corner as he angrily glares at Don Kobra.
“Nobody is going to take Jody away from me,” he mumbles quietly, “After I take care of the bug, the Rep is next!”
He is about to walk away when he begins to feel an uncomfortable throbbing in his chest. Kaynon gets out his Waspite-filled bottle and drinks it to make the throbbing stop. He continues to walk away, ignoring what has already happened to him.
Chapter 15
The next morning, Mannie and Don are walking into the rec room to train in the simulator machine when they see John at the controls. He is scanning and deleting for viruses while changing the password and putting in a new firewall.
“Is the simulator okay, John?” Mannie asks.
“Not sure, Mannie,” John replies, “The system shows that someone has hacked into the programming. I’m just adding some new security hardware.”
“I hope they didn’t get anything important,” Don shows his concern.
“Not to worry, Don,” John assures him, “Every bit of data is present and accounted for.”
John turns on the machine gett ready for their training.
“All set for your training, Boys!”
“Good. I’ll need it while going against Kaynon,” Mannie said with worry.
Mannie steps inside the simulator, ready to train as hard as he can. John presses a button, putting Mannie into a simulated world.
***
Mannie finds himself in a world with ancient ruins similar to Rome. He is within an arena when he sees the barred gates opening revealing a Kanite warrior in gladiator attire. It resembles a jackal humanoid with dark orange fur, and it is very vicious as it growl and roars at Mannie, scaring him. The Kanite charges at Mannie, but he jumps away from him and gets into the stands. The Kanite goes after Mannie as he tries to get to high ground. When he reaches the top of the stadium, Mannie stand his ground against the Kanite. He tries to punch him in the abdomen, but the Kanite grabs his arm and throws him back to the bottom of the stadium. The Kanite jumps at him and tries to stomp him. Mannie gains the upper hand by grabbing him by the ankles and tripping him. Mannie then grabs his muzzle, clamps it down tight, and flips him repeatedly by the head. Mannie pins him down, ending the simulation.
“Great job, Mannie,” John complimented, “Made through in record time.”
“I’ll need to be against Kaynon after what he did to Lock Claws,” Mannie said.
“Get onto the weight machines while Don has his turn.”
“Okay, John.”
Mannie goes over to the weight-lifting machines while Don trains in the simulator. He readies the
amount of weight he is lifting, sets himself on the machine, and starts lifting.
“One…two…three…four…” he said as he lifts the weights.
Raven is at her desk when she sees Mannie at the weight machine. She is very concern for him because he is the first man to treat her the way she wants to be treated. She gathers up pictures of herself in modeling poses and different clothes and walks over to Mannie to talk to him.
“Hi, Mannie,” she greets him.
“Oh hi, Raven,” Mannie responded, “Did you enjoy our date last night?”
“It was wonderful, and I may have something to motivate you to train harder.”
“I’m gonna need all the strength I can get. What’s your idea?”
“I’m gonna post these pictures of me modeling in a few places at the gym. When you see them, pretend you are training for me.”
“My kind of motivation. Not to sound ungrateful, but why would you do that?”
“I like you, and I don’t want Kaynon to hurt you either.”
Raven kneels to Mannie as she caresses his arms and kisses his right cheek.
“Be sure to let that kiss motivate you as well,” she encourages him seductively, “I don’t care if you win the Tournament; just focus on making it through. I’ll be waiting.”
Raven walks to John while a love-struck Mannie gets back to weight-lifting as he thinks about her kiss.
***
In the simulator, Don is in a cave world battling a bat warrior. It swoops and hits Don while it flies. When it tries to claw him, Don grabs his arm and slams it to the ground. The bat lets out a sonic screech loud enough to make Don scream in pain. He then puts two small pebbles into his inner ears to block the screech and keep its vibrations from hurting him. Don then pins the bat on his stomach and clamps his mouth with one hand, ending the simulated fight.
“Great, Don, but your timing seems a bit slow,” John lightly criticizes.”
“Got blocked by a sonic screech,” Don says, “Where’s Jody?”
“She went out to get lunch for herself,” John answers.
“I was gonna see if she wanted to hang out sometime after my next fight.”
“It would mean a lot to me, Don. Jody hasn’t let anyone get close to her since Kaynon and her mom.”
Intergalactic Fight Club: Don the Champion Page 6