Nine Volts short of an Electrocution
Summary: In the third episode Cavennaugh mentions he's sucked on a Nine Volt Battery. Because it's perfectly obvious that normal people suck on Nine Volt Batteries. Cavennaugh's normal, right?
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Threshold, or there'd be a lot more cheesy situations involved, I promise you that. I do not support the use of Drugs. This story is M for Drug Use, Sexual Situations and Swearing.
Explanation 1: The Tough Guy
Cavennaugh stared at the complete idiot in front of him.
"We're in the army dude, surely you can take a little pain…" A stupid Army Core member needled. Cavennaugh could take pain. But this guy….
"What, are ya chicken? Bawk Bawk!" As Cavennaugh stared at the man in front of him, no, the Cadet, and shuddered. God help him if he ever turned out like that. The man insisted on ridiculously attempting to mimic a chicken, elbows up and 'flapping', head bobbing forward.
Unfortunately, the rest of the youngest recruits were behind him, cheering him on.
Calculating the situation quickly, he realised he would indeed, bizarrely enough, lose their faith if he didn't 'suck' on this stupid battery. Weighing up the pros and cons (he really didn't know whether it was permanently harmful or not) he decided to go for it. After all, while Cavennaugh was intelligent, he never backed away from a challenge.
"Fine. You got a battery?" he waited, arms folded. If he'd had to make a wager, he'd bet that this idiot, this C. Bensfourth, did not.
"Uh…. No." (Bingo). Bensfourth had the grace to look guilty.
"You talked me into this for nothing?" The recruits picked up on Cavennaugh's moderately annoyed face. Bad things were sure to follow swiftly after that facial expression if the situation were not altered swiftly.
"No, I know someone who does though…" Bensfourth suggested, a gleam in his eye.
The silence descended swiftly, the recruits sensing uncannily that this was likely to be half the fun.
"Drill Sargeant Rosko has a Nine Volt battery in his torch. I say we use that. It doesn't have enough power to kill anyone." Bensfourth laughed at the shocked looks of the recruits. Drill Sargeant Rosko was not a pleasant person to mess with. His sleeping quarters were always kept immaculately clean, his possessions never to be touched by outside hands. He was strict, respected (and very, very much feared) and always on the straight and narrow. He was also known for giving tough punishments for pranks, especially ones concerning him.
Cavennaugh raised an eyebrow.
"You're going to steal something from D.S. Rosko?" He sounded more than a little disbelieving.
"Nope. You are." Bensfourth notified him, to a cheer from the fast gathering crowd.
Cavennaugh shook his head. Bensfourth didn't mind if Cavennaugh got caught- he wasn't antagonistic but he would laugh with the others if it happened. Bensfourth was going to learn that it was detrimental to your health if you attempted to mess with Cavennaugh.
"I will do this, if you switch the polarities on D.S. Rosko's bike before he charges it tomorrow." Cavennaugh continued. Rosko had a motorbike with a flat battery, due for charging tomorrow. It was already set up.
"Agreed." The recruits cheered again.
Sneaking into Rosko's tent was easy. Finding the torch was easy. Cavennaugh even left the hair in place. Rosko often placed hairs in draws. If they were opened, the stand of hair fell and Rokso knew his belongings had been tampered with. Revenge swiftly followed and Cavennaugh new he did not want to be on Rosko's 'list'.
Cavennaugh took the battery out of the torch and looked at the set up Bensfourth had. It was then connected to a series of wires, allowing the electric current to flow into anything it touched when the switch was turned on.
"Suck it!" Bensfourth laughed as he threw the switch. Cavennaugh touched his tongue, later his mouth to the battery. ZZZZZZZT. Cavennaugh felt his hair stand on end and the recruits laughed, enjoying the normally serious Cadet mucking around. The buzzing increased and his tongue started to heat up. It stung. His whole body tingled. Cavennaugh realised, with some concern, he couldn't feel his toes.
Bensfourth threw off the switch laughing uproariously.
"Should have seen your face…" Bensfourth declared to the other recruits. Cavennaugh smiled, thinking along the same lines. Wait til you see your face tomorrow…
The next day dawned bright and early, the recruits more so. At 500 hours the group snuck around to Rosko's motorbike where Bensfourth turned and laughed openly at Cavennaugh.
"The batteries are connected the wrong way anyway, positive to positive. No wonder this thing needs charging. Sucked in Cavennaugh, whatever you had planned for me failed!" Bensfourth smirked at Cavennaugh, who gave a serene smile as Bensfourth triumphantly swapped the leads. A short time later, Drill Sargeant Rosko went to charge his motorbike. Who knows, when the battery exploded from being charged positive-negative instead of positive-positive, Cavennaugh might even be able to keep a straight face and offer his condolences...