***
Meanwhile, Jody is backstage, watching out for Kaynon should he try to harm her again. She was looking at the ring when she is suddenly approached by the bat-alien Don will be fighting.
“Lost, my little flower?” he asks with a flirty tone, “Perhaps I can point you to my direction.”
“In your dreams, Bat,” Jody moans while walking past him.
Jody is about to walk away when she is grabbed by the bat alien.
“My name is Myotis, and you are…?” he introduces himself in a seductive tone.
“Not interested!” Jody yells as she struggles to get away.
Luckily, Don shows up just in the nick of time and sees what is happening.
“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you, Myotis,” he said smugly.
“Why not?” Myotis asks.
“She is Jody Terrance, the human girl Kaynon has eyes on.”
Myotis suddenly shows a look of fear on his face and lets Jody go.
“I have to get to the ring now,” Myotis says as he flies to the ring.
“Thanks, Don,” Jody says.
“No problem, Jody,” Don replies, “Jody, after my fight, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Okay. Meet me back here, and you can tell me then.”
Don feels very excited to finally ask Jody out.
***
A few minutes later, the MC appears in the center of the ring.
“Welcome to the Semi-Finals of the Intergalactic Fight Club, everyone!” the MC greets the audience, “The next two fights will determine which two fighters will face each in the Final Round and be declared the reigning champion of the Intergalactic Fights! For our first round, we have the Bat Warrior of Aero 9 and ladies’ man, Myotis! And of course, our recent fan favorite, the one who valiantly saved Tegro along with a friend who we will see later, DON KOBRA!”
Don and Myotis come out together as the crowd cheers for them. The girls who are holding up support signs for Myotis and wearing his t-shirts are cheering and shouting to the bat as he blows them a kiss. The rest of the crowd cheers for Don as he passes by some people who wish him good luck as he high-fives a few. Jody is watching him from backstage giggling at how he is greeted.
Both fighters step into the ring and get to their respective corners. Raven is watching from the front row while waiting for Mannie’s round when she is approached by Bludd, who, while is a fighter, is also one of Psikes’s men.
“Raven, the boss wants to see you,” he informs her.
Raven does not have a choice. She knows that saying “no” to Psikes is often a death sentence. Raven gets up and walks to where his private suite is.
***
Psikes is watching from his private suite when Raven comes in.
“Bludd said you wanted to see me,” she says as she closes the door.
“Yes, my dear Raven,” he says as he gets out the remote and locks the door.
“What the-?!” Raven exclaims as she grapples with the door knob, “Psikes, what are you doing?”
“Making sure your new “friend” takes a beating graciously, and showing you what happens when those within my circle betray me.”
Raven gasps.
***
Back in the ring, Don and Myotis face each other in the center of the ring while waiting for the buzzer to go off. When it finally does, Don stands ready to fight Myotis. Myotis flew into the air, far from Don’s grasp. Myotis swoops down and punches Don from behind. He does the same thing to Don as he did to Athena: fly in different directions and strike. Don is getting bombarded until he realizes how to turn the tides. He just has to wait for his moment and strike. As Myotis is about to zoom him, Don steps back to the left and pile drives him. Myotis then swipe kicks him, but Don lands with both hands and double-kicks him to the electro rope. Myotis gets angry at his humiliation and unleashes a sonic screech to weaken him. Don is on bended knee while covering his ears when he unleashes his own roar, causing Myotis to lose it due to his ears also being built-in sonar, debilitating him enough for Don to pin him as the MC counts down.
“1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10! Don Kobra is the winner!” he announces as he raises Don’s arm to the cheering crowd.
Even Jody is excited, and so is a proud John who has been watching from the third row.
***
Back in Psikes’s private suite, he has his mouth opened with fear as Raven becomes excited.
“I guess Kaynon won’t stand a chance against John Terrance’s champion,” Raven gloated, “I know Mannie will do better.”
“Don’t count on it, my dear,” Psikes chuckles, “Mannie’s loss is guaranteed. That is why I asked you here.”
“What do you mean?”
“At this very moment, Kaynon is delivering a message to your new friend. Perhaps you’ll think twice before two-timing me.”
Raven shows a look of fear and helplessness knowing what is coming for Mannie.
***
In the locker room, Mannie is getting his vest on when Kaynon approaches him from behind with smirk on his face.
“Ready to lose, Mutt?” Mannie remarks.
“I think you’ll be the one who will lose this match, Mannie,” he arrogantly says.
“Why’s that?”
“Because my manager, Rex Psikes, has someone you know very well with him-your girlfriend with the elf ears.”
“Raven?! What have you done with her?!”
“Nothing so long as you do your part. You will fight me as long as you can, but only for 15 minutes of the match, after that, you will take a few beatings and lose. Otherwise, Psikes will beat your special friend until she is lifeless.”
Mannie growls at Kaynon for getting Raven involved in his mess, but he is not going to let Raven be harmed, so he nods yes and agrees to the deal.
“And here I thought you were bad boyfriend material,” Kaynon says as he laughs.
Mannie is now nervous about his next fight, but not about how physically hurt he’ll be. He is more worried about Raven and her safety.
***
In the backstage, Jody is with Don checking his hearing with a bell. Don shows Jody that he can hear the bell by raising the hand of whichever side the bell is next to him.
“Your hearing is still okay. Doesn’t appear to be damaged,” Jody states, “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I wanted to ask you out, Jody, if you’re not too busy,” Don says.
“You-you’re asking me on a date?” a shocked Jody says, “I don’t know. What if Kaynon finds out about us?”
“I’m not afraid of him, Jody, and you shouldn’t be either. Don’t let your fear of what he might do control your life.”
Jody sighs because she knows that Don is too determined to quit on her, but she is glad that he asked her out despite Kaynon.
“Okay. We can go after your next training session.”
“You won’t regret it.”
Then, Mannie comes out with his head hanging, causing concern among his friends.
“Mannie, what’s wrong?” Jody asks him.
“Why are you so down, Buddy?” Don asks also.
A smug Kaynon comes and puts his hand on his shoulder.
“Ready to take your squashing like a good bug, Mannie?” he mockingly says.
Both fighters walk to the ring, leaving Jody and Don very suspicious about Kaynon.
***
The MC is at the center of the ring again to introduce the final fight.
“And now it is time for the final fight that will determine who will take on Don Kobra in the Finals!” the MC announces, “Will it be our reigning champion Kaynon? Or will it be our favorite Insectoid Warrior MANNIE!?!”
The crowd cheers hoping the fight will start soon.
***
Back at the locker room, Athena has snuck in to analyze Kaynon’s latest batch. This time, she comes with an instant analyzing device that could do in minutes that a forensic lab could only do in hours. T
he data reveals something sinister within the latest batch of Waspite.
“I gotta warn Mannie right away!” she says, “I hope I’m not too late!”
She gets up and runs to the arena to stop Mannie.
***
Mannie and Kaynon get into the ring and to their respective corners. Mannie looks around to see where they have Raven captive until he sees her banging on the window of Psikes’s private suite box.
***
Raven is banging on the window trying to call Mannie.
“Mannie! Mannie!!” she continues.
“Give it a rest, Raven love,” Psikes gloats, “Your new friend won’t be able to forfeit in time. Besides, it won’t matter if he manages to deliver a few blows to Kaynon. I added an extra ingredient in Kaynon’s latest batch of Waspite: neurite.”
Raven gasps and with good reason. Neurite is a chemical that numbs nerves without paralysis, making the person unable to feel any pain.
***
Backstage, Don is watching when Athena comes in breathy.
“Athena, what’s wrong?!” Don says as he runs to her.
“I found something in Kaynon’s latest batch of Waspite,” she informs them while catching her breathe, “It contains neurite.”
“Neurite?!” Don says in shock, “That substance dulls pain completely!”
“That means Kaynon is practically invulnerable. Mannie won’t stand a chance! That’s why I have to warn him!”
“Too late! His fight has already started!” Don says.
Athena snaps her fingers in frustration.
***
Mannie is sweating out in the ring, and he hasn’t even fought yet. Kaynon, on the other hand, is smirky and smug about his upcoming (and unfair) victory. The buzzer goes off and both fighters walk towards each other. Mannie delivers the first blow to Kaynon’s face and swipe-kicks him as well. He continues to hit Kaynon just as Psikes says. Mannie takes Kaynon by the shoulders and throws him down. Jody just came when she notices something is amiss.
“Something’s wrong, Don,” Jody says, “Mannie is fighting Kaynon way too easily.”
“I’m afraid the worse is yet to come,” Don faint-heartedly replies, “Where’ve you been?”
“I can’t find Raven anywhere. She’s not at her seat.”
Don is starting to wonder if Raven is the reason Mannie looked more nervous than usual. He looks around the seating until he sees her at a private box with her hands over her face. Don also sees a dinoid embracing her from behind. He recognizes him as Rex Psikes.
“That’s Raven, and she’s with Rex Psikes!” he says in a flabbergasted tone.
“Did you say Raven, as in an Elfenheim girl with short black hair?” Athena asks with surprise
“Yeah. Why?”
“She’s Psikes’s personal moll. She helps Psikes with his drug errands.”
“What? She’s his flunky? Mannie’s been set up!”
Jody gasps at the thought of her new best friend being a crook, one of Psikes’s henchmen at that. Now she is concerned about Mannie even more.
***
Back in the ring, Mannie delivers a blow to Kaynon’s head, causing him to cling to the electro-rope as he fell. Unfortunately for Mannie, he is just pretending to look hurt. The neurite in his Waspite worked, making it so he never feels pain.
“Looks like the neurite in my latest batch works well,” he chuckles.
Mannie is shocked to see him standing without pain. He tries to deliver a blow to the chest, but Kaynon just sneers to that move.
“Your fifteen minutes of fame are up, Bug!” he says haughtily as he takes Mannie by his right forearm and slams him to the floor.
Don and Jody sadly turn away to prevent themselves from seeing what’s coming next. Then, Kaynon pile-drives him in the abdomen, head butts him, high-kicks him, uses a half nelson on him, and finally pins the now beaten Mannie to the floor until Mannie taps out.
“WAIT!! I…give up!” he shouts downheartedly before losing consciousness.
“And Mannie surrenders after taking a surprising beating!” the MC announces, “Kaynon advances to the next round and faces Don Kobra in combat two weeks from now!”
Kaynon turns to the Backstage and sees Don Kobra angrily jeering at him for hurting his best friend and fellow fighter, making even more determined to win.
Jody, on the other hand, is more concern for her friend as she rushes over to his side.
“Mannie! Mannie, are you alright!?!” she frantically asks as she checks his pulse, “He still has a pulse.”
Jody gets out her phone and calls for an ambulance.
***
In Psikes’s private suite, Raven is banging on the window while sobbing for Mannie.
“MANNIE!!” she breaks down crying, “YOU ANIMAL!!”
She begins pounding Psikes on the chest until she grabs Raven by both wrists.
“Don’t forget, Raven! I own you!” he angrily says.
“Not anymore! We are over!!”
She curls up her fist and hits Psikes in the face as she runs out of the suite.
“Run all you want, my dark bird. You will still be of some use as well as your new friends, come the final fight,” he says as he wipes the glass pieces off himself.
Chapter 17
The next day, Mannie is taken to New Mercy Hospital in Queens. He is given a single bedroom as nanobots help heal his injuries while monitored by the doctor. Athena and Don are outside Mannie’s room, telling Jody what the doctor had told him.
“A few bruised ribs and a minor concussion, but other than that, he’ll be fine,” Don informs a distraught and worried Jody.
“Thank goodness,” Jody says in relief.
The doctor comes out of Mannie’s room.
“The nanobots have done their job,” he informs them, “Your friend will be fine, but he will have to spend the night here for observation. You may see him now.”
Don, Jody, and Athena go in to see their fallen friend. Jody walks up to him and hugs him.
“You doing okay, Buddy?” Don asks his friend.
“I’ve been better, Don, but I’m out of the competition,” Mannie jokingly replies, “My biggest concern is Raven. I have to get out of here and make sure she’s okay.”
“Mannie, Raven is the reason you are here in the first place,” Don informs him.
“I know that, but she’s worth fighting for.”
“You don’t understand. Athena told us she is Psikes’s moll. She’s been a spy all along.”
“And how would Athena know Raven?” Mannie asks as he crosses his arms with disbelief.
“Because I have been investigating Psikes and his crime ring for ten years,” Athena said revealing her cover.
“You’re a cop?” Jody asks bewildered.
“Not just any cop, Jody. I was your mother’s partner.”
“I thought I recognized you!”
“Yes, and I have been learning all I can about Psikes ever since your mother’s murder. I’ve been learning about his known operations, connections to other crime lords, and known associates. Raven and Buzz are two of his top henchmen.”
“Buzz is in on this too?” Don asks with shock, “Psikes must have sent them both to spy on our training.”
“And if they got to the simulator, the data on it could have been sent to him so he would know an opponent’s strength and weaknesses,” Athena added, “That’s not all. There have been reports of the Equalizer machine breaking down whenever Kaynon fights. There’s no way to tell if his matches were equal and fair or not.”
Just then, Raven knocks on the open door and comes in looking sad about what happened. Don and Athena jeer at her angrily now that they know the truth.
“What are you doing here, Raven?” Don growls at her, “Come to see your boss’s dirty work? Or should I say your boyfriend’s dirty work?”
“I came to make sure Mannie wasn’t badly hurt,” Raven explains herself.
“You are the reason he got put
here,” Athena harshly says, “I have a good mind to arrest you for conspiracy.”
“I knew you were a cop. I saw you snoop around one time after last week’s fights.”
“You didn’t tell your boss on me, did you?”
“No. That’s what I am trying to tell you. I broke up with him.”
“You did that for me, Rave?” Mannie said in awe.
“I had to after what he had Kaynon did to you, Mannie.”
Mannie is touched by what she did for him. Don tries to shake him to snap him back to reality.
“Don’t listen to her, Mannie,” Don tells him, “She’s trying to con us.”
“Don, I don’t think she’s lying,” Jody gives her opinion, “I saw her at that suite with Psikes, and she really wanted out. No one could act that well.”
“Listen to Jody, Don. Raven is telling the truth,” Buzz says as he comes in next.
“Buzz, what are you doing here?” Jody asks him.
“I wanted to warn Mannie, but some of the fighters are working for Psikes, and he had them guard the place so his plans wouldn’t be ruined.”
“What’s going on, Buzz?” Jody demands to know.
“Psikes has been using your ex and the Intergalactic Fights for demonstrations to the other crime lords who want to buy his shipment of Waspite. He’s been asking me to turn the Equalizer off so Kaynon could show off his strength no problem.”
“He’s using Kaynon to sell his drug?!” Don exclaims.
“Afraid so. At first, Kaynon did as he was told because Psikes promised to make a champion out of him, but the more Waspite he took, the more he lost sight. All he could think about was his girl and him finally having a happy life together. Psikes used that to his advantage in order to keep Kaynon’s head in the game. Sometimes, we even “increase his chances of winning.”
“So he’s been bribing a few of the board members?” Jody inquires.
“Yeah. Psikes had to double the payment after his disastrous bout with Tegro. It gets worse.”
“How worse?” Athena interrogates.
“After the final fight, Psikes is going to give Kaynon an overdose of Waspite if the stuff won’t already kill him. He wants to make sure there won’t be any witnesses to squeal on him and his business. Raven and I could be next.”
“If I give you and Raven around-the-clock protection, will you tell me everything about his trade?”
Intergalactic Fight Club: Don the Champion Page 8