My disclaimer:
I know Disney owns "Kim Possible"...lock, stock, and Rufus. Before I get done, I will probably tick off a few more studios, too. If they want to sue me, they have to get behind all my other creditors. Since I am in south Florida, the line has formed to the right and goes all the way to Sacramento!
To all readers:
1) Because of the "hurry-up-and-wait" aspect of 'The Amazing Race', some of the dialogue may read like a play's script, the rest may read like a normal story. I am sorry, but it's the only way to preserve the pacing of the story to match that of a standard 'Amazing Race' episode.
2) The departure times, seat availability, and duration of flights are completely fictional—Please do not waste your time trying to correct me by using info from travel sites and various brochures. We are dealing with cartoons here, remember?
3) Unless I get a lot of requests to do so, the opening theme sequence will only be posted in the first chapter and referenced back to it throughout the rest of the story.
4) I did receive a few reviews questioning the story's placement in the "Kim Possible" category instead of somewhere else. I hoped the intensive focus on Kim & Ron in the last few legs took a few steps in justifying its placement. But if it didn't, I think this chapter will add a little more justification, given the open-ended twists and turns that await Team Possible.
5) Once again, I made a minor timing mistake in the last chapter. Once again, I have waited until this chapter is finished before correcting that mistake. I have mentioned in reviews of other people's stories the need to double-check the writing before submitting a chapter. Perhaps I should practice what I preach. Either way, it's up to you, the loyal reader, to let me know what you want. Review me, e-mail me if you wanna reach me! If you want to 'PM' me, that's ok! (Sorry…got carried away there, but you get the idea.)
6) In this chapter, some dangerous stunts will be performed by a certified master of Mystical Monkey Power. This includes a scene involving a certain "blade". Do not try this at home!! Enjoy!
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(Off-screen voice of Phil): "Previously, on "The Amazing Race"…after facing several surprises during the race, the teams had a surprise of their own in the 'Rebirth' vote…
"Well," said Phil, "the votes are counted and the results are final...
"…Bullwinkle & Rocky received one vote..." At this point, a replay showed Kim & Ron placing their ballot marked 'Bullwinkle & Rocky' in the wooden box.
"…Charlie & Lucy received one vote…" At this point, footage from Robin & Starfire was shown placing their ballot into the box.
"…and Brian & Stewie received one vote…" Footage of Shaggy & Scooby was shown casting their ballot.
"…With all five remaining votes, you have selected…'NONE OF THE ABOVE'!!! We saw who voted for the three listed choices, so I have to ask the rest of you…are you proud of yourselves?"
"…Some intrigue occurred just outside the reach of the contestants while waiting to fly to Argentina…
…there were dozens of pre-teen and teen-aged girls trying to fight their way through the crowds to get closer to the contestants. Many of them were holding pictures…of Ron—not Team Possible, not Ron & Wade, just Ron—and maybe three or four of him with Rufus. Just when the weirdness scale was at maximum, a flurry of men in blue and green jump-suits whisked every single one of the girls out of the airport…
"…A pleasant 'surprise' awaited teams on their long flight from Scotland…
(Voice of Phil): "Attention 'Amazing Race' contestants… With the approval of English Airways, one of our camera spheres has remained on each plane to record any personal messages you wish to send to your loved ones…"
"…And some took full advantage of it…
SHAGGY (sitting with Scooby): "Hey, Fred, Daphne, and Velma! Can you believe it? We are still in the hunt for a million dollars!! Think of all the Scooby Snacks we could buy…"
ROBIN & STARFIRE: "Stay safe until we get back!!"
KIM (smiling): "Hey, Mom, Dad, Nana, Mo, Rufus…you too, 'Tweebs'…I love you all, but now I gotta talk to Wade for a moment…(Face turning serious)…we got a uber-weird sitch, here…This is like something straight out of the Twilight Territory…"
RON (smiling broadly): "Hi Dad. Hi Mom. I know you just adopted little Hana a couple of weeks ago, so I hope she is doing ok…How's my little buddy, Rufus? You know I miss you, man…I'm also a little worried about KP. I know I was deep in meditation when I first got on this plane, but I could have sworn she was in 'Full Battle Mode'. Dad, I hope it has nothing to do with my little project you and Sensei helped me with…I figured this would pay for college or maybe that other project or maybe both...Give my best to Felix and Sensei. (Waves like a little kid) Wuv ya, Hana…you too, little buddy!"
"…In Argentina, teams answered the long-time question, 'Where's the beef?'...
SHAGGY: "Detour…"
ROBIN: "…'Herd it'…"
KIM: "…or 'Milk it'?"
"…But another unpleasant 'surprise' awaited one team…
PHIL: "…As regular viewers of our show remember from Season 10, our first leg of that race was a 'double-elimination' leg, with the first elimination going to Bilal & Sa'leed pulling the "Last" tag in China…Arnold & Gerald…you have been eliminated from the race."
"…At the 'Road Block', racers looked for a clue in a haystack…
…Kim finished her third bale at the same time Shaggy finished his second bale, Starfire finished her first bale, and Elmer began his first bale. Starfire, Shaggy and Kim opened up their envelopes at the same time…
…"Alright!! '…Make your way to the next 'Pit Stop'!!' Let's go, Scoob!"
…"Another 'Try Again!'?? Arrrrgh…This is getting ridiculous!!" growled Kim…
…"Oh, no! 'Try Again!'? This is not good!" said Starfire as she ran up to another bale.
"…In the end, yet another team was sent packing…
PHIL: "Bart & Homer…you're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to tell you, you have been eliminated from the race."
BART (during a 'post-race' interview): "Man, this really bites! Over half the teams are gone and they only ran three legs of the race? Just what is going on here, anyway?"
"…What does await our remaining five teams on their quest for One MILLION Dollars?? Find out NEXT!"
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'Amazing Race' opening theme begins... (Please go to chapter 1 for theme sequence)
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So The Reality: 'Amazing Race'-Buenos Aires (Leg #4)
(Off-screen of Phil): "This is Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. At the heart of this South American jewel lies Casa Rosada, Argentina's presidential palace. The balcony on the northern wing of the palace was where Eva Peron gave her impassioned speeches to unite all of Argentina. It also served as the third 'Pit Stop' on a race around the world…
"…After 'checking in' at the 'Pit Stop', teams stayed for a mandatory rest period to recharge and prepare for the unknown that awaits them."
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Shaggy was discussing the current race situation with Bender. Ron and Robin were at different ends of the rest area, but both in deep meditation—Robin using techniques taught to him by Raven, and Ron implementing the lessons he continued to learn from Sensei. Fry was sharing a salad with Bugs, while Elmer was playing 'Fetch' with Scooby. This left Kim to seek some advice from Starfire…
"Star," she asked, "Do you get the feeling we are being followed?"
"What makes you think that, Kim?" replied Starfire.
"Just before we boarded the plane in Scotland, I saw dozens of girls holding up pictures and screaming for Ron. I also saw a lot more of them just outside the gates here at Casa Rosada. I nearly ran over some of them just before I pulled into the parking lot. I hope they're okay."
"Well, you two do get a lot of publicity. Who knows? Maybe Ron's just finally getting the respect you said he rightfully deserves."
"Perhaps…but why were they all holding pictures only of him? Okay, just a few of him with Rufus, but none of the entire team or just Ron and myself."
"I believe the next question is, 'Are you jelling?' I mean, you have had the spotlight for so long…"
"I am SO not jelling," declared Kim. "I know some gals only go after that which they cannot have. Now that Ron and I are dating, they probably think he can do better with one of them—just like his mother keeps telling him!"
This drew a puzzled look on Starfire's face. "His mother?" he asked. "What does she have to do with all this?"
Kim lowered her head and explained. "She thinks I'm not right for him because I'm what she calls a 'shiksa'. What does that mean, anyway?"
Starfire gave a nod of understanding. "It means 'a non-Jewish girl' in a non-flattering way. I found out all about that after I kissed an Israeli boy when the Titans were in Tel Aviv…"
"Hold it!" scorned Kim. "What did Robin have to say about you kissing another boy right in front of him?"
"Oh, no no no, Kim," chuckled Starfire. "You don't understand…all people from my world can learn any language on any planet by kissing a speaker of that language just once. That was my first kiss with Robin, as a matter of fact—when I needed to learn English. Of course, he has been the only recipient of a second kiss…and third…and fourth...and—"
Kim held up a hand and gave Starfire a sly look. "Alright, I get it!! Just so long as you don't try to speak 'Ron', okay Star?"
Both girls giggled at that request, and then Kim's face turned serious again. "I wouldn't worry so much if it was just Ron's mom. I know his dad and Rabbi Katz have my back. She'll come around soon enough. But there's more to this than just an over-protective mother."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there were these guys at each venue who whisked away the girls with the stealth and precision of a 'Special Ops' team. They wore blue-and-green jumpsuits, not the familiar red-and-black colors of Global Justice or the red-and-yellow scheme of the race officials that drove around those other teams. No…the shades of blue and green match those of two of our arch-enemies, Drakken and Shego! I was reassured they were both locked up in max-security cells, but I can't help but worry they may have broke out and found a new target—Ron!"
Starfire placed her hand on Kim's shoulder. "Before you get too wrapped up in this, consider the following facts…
"One, the closest these girls came to you, reckless driving aside, is what…30 feet? Seems like a safe enough gap to me…
'Two, these guys wore blue-and-green jumpsuits. While they may be the colors of these two villains, are they not also the colors of your 'Team Possible' logo? These men have had several opportunities to come after you or Ron, but instead they decided to keep these females away from the two of you. Maybe it's just like the song from 'Evita'…if you keep a promise to stay focused on the race, they'll keep their distance!"
"I don't know, Star…"
"Think of it this way…if they do come after him, Robin and I both have your back, ok?"
"Thanks a lot, Starfire." sighed Kim as she hugged her fellow red-head before returning to Ron to resume the race.
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(Off-screen voice of Phil): "Shaggy & Scooby arrived here at 8:05 AM. They will depart at…
8:05 PM—Day 5
Shaggy & Scooby opened their clue envelope. It contained not only a standard blue "Route Info' slip, but a purple brochure as well…
SHAGGY & SCOOBY: "Grab a charter flight to…"
8:09 PM
KIM & RON: "Rio de Janeiro…"
8:12 PM
ROBIN & STARFIRE: "… Brazil!"
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "Teams must travel by taxi to an airstrip just outside Buenos Aires, then sign up for one of three charter flights to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—two teams are allowed per flight. From there, they must travel by taxi to the ticket window of Maracana Stadium, where they will receive their next clue."
8:41 PM
BUGS & ELMER: "Because all flights and marked cars were provided at no charge in the last leg…"
8:48 PM
BENDER & FRY: "…you will receive no money for this leg of the race—What a rip-off!"
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Instructions on the cover of the purple brochure informed the competitors not to open it until they boarded their respective cabs. Once Shaggy entered his cab, he opened it to discover…
SHAGGY (from inside his cab): "Huh?? 'Swap & Payback'?? Looks like 'Writer Boy' is at it again!"
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "Yes, another specially-designed 'surprise' from the makers of this epic cartoon clash is the addition of a new feature called 'Swap & Payback'. Any two teams can agree to swap positions in the race, as well as racing time elapsed…but there are some restrictions to this feature…
"…First, 'Swaps' can only be initiated once per team. To initiate a 'Swap', we have included in your brochure an adhesive picture of your team. Just trade pictures with the team you want to 'Swap' and stick the other team's picture in your brochure. Our cameras will pick up the transaction and automatically switch your flight tickets, charter times, starting order, elapsed racing time, or any other scoring designation, at the producer's discretion.
"…Second, once the 'Swap' has been performed by two teams, the team initiating the 'Swap' is subject to 'Payback' by the other team at any time during the 'Swap & Payback' period. This 'Payback' restores the running order of the two teams in the same manner as they were before the 'Swap'. To use 'Payback', all the 'Swapped' team has to do is look directly into one of our camera spheres and say 'Payback, please'. At that point, our staff will switch the two teams back as described earlier…
"…Third, 'Swaps' are valid only during the fourth and fifth legs of the race (meaning this one and the next one). After the fifth leg, any unused 'Swaps' or 'Paybacks' will become null and void…
"…Finally, neither 'Swap' nor 'Payback' can be used by any team once that team has been declared as eliminated. They can not use it to have another team eliminated in their place."
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All five teams hailed taxis and arrived at the airstrip and signed up for their charter flights. Mystery, Inc. and Team Possible signed up for the first flight, scheduled at 7:00 the following next morning. The second flight, set for 8:00 AM, went to the Titans and Looney Tunes. Team Futurama took the final flight, set for 9:00 AM. This was enough time for each team to spend some of their money to stay in a nearby hotel for the night. Because of restrictions enforced by race officials, there were no TV sets in the rooms. Otherwise, the suites were luxurious.
It was just before the 10:00 hotel curfew when a call was placed to Kim & Ron's suite. The phone was right next to Kim's bed, and Ron's bed was in the other room of the suite. She answered the phone with an anxious tone in her voice…
"What up, Wade?" Kim asked.
"Wade?" answered the caller. "Who's Wade, Kim? And does Ron know about him?"
This made Kim's voice turn indignant. "Of course he knows Wade! We're all together in Team Pos—Hey, wait a minute!" Her voice grew angry with a fire that nearly melted the caller's ear. "WHO…IS…THIS???" she demanded.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kim!" said the caller, fearful for his life at that moment. "It's me, Fry. You know…from the race?"
This revelation made Kim retract most of her verbal claws. "Oh…Sorry, Fry." She was still slightly annoyed, given the track record of his team. "It's getting late. What do you want?"
"You know we have the 10 o'clock flight, right?"
"Yeah…and that concerns me how?"
"I was wondering if we could use our 'Swap' to change times with you."
Kim was surprised to hear a 'Swap' offer so soon after it became available. She knew about all the times teams have been 'bunched up' due to available flights or operating hours for a task. "Are you sure about this? You did hear all the rules surrounding this, didn't you?" she inquired with an uneasy tone.
"Yeah, sure I did," Fry sheepishly said. Of course, his mind was actually wandering while Phil was talking about the whole thing.
Kim was not convinced. She asked, "Fry, have you ever even watched this show before?"
"Uh, no…I was cryogenically frozen on New Year's Eve 1999 and was unfrozen on New Year's Day, year 3000. But I remember hearing about it in the ancient archives. So, how about it? Shall we 'Swap' places, Kim?"
"If that's what you and Bender really want, meet us at the airstrip just before 7:00 and we'll be glad to 'Swap' with you."
"Okay…We'll see you then. Good-bye."
"So long, Fry," Kim said as she hung up the phone. 'What a bonehead!' she thought. 'If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was wearing one of Drakken's "silly hats" when he called.'
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6:51 AM—Day 6
Shaggy, Scooby, Ron, and Kim were starting to place their 'Amazing Race' backpacks on the charter flight when a car was heard roaring toward the plane. This put Kim into 'Full Battle Mode', with her entire body prepared for a fight to the death. When Ron saw Kim's reaction, he assumed a similar posture next to her. If there was ever a chance for them to become equal partners as he wanted, there was no way he could let her take on whatever was coming without him.
The taxi came to a screeching halt no more than ten feet from the side of the plane. Before Kim was able to start her first round-house kick, Ron recognized the passengers and stopped her kick…two inches from Bender's face.
"RON!!" yowled Kim, surprised not only at his speed but the firmness of his block and the calm look on his face as he prevented her first fight in nearly a month. Given the events of the past few days, part of her soul seemed to feel cheated by being deprived of such an opportunity to vent all this frustration.
Ron's voice was absent of his usual whiny candor. It projected a sense of eerie depth and calmness Kim would expect from her kung-fu dojo master, or perhaps Sensei or Yori—but never Ron.
"Kim," he began as he eased her foot from its close proximity to Bender, "do not lose control so quickly. Consider all the factors involved before you act. His tri-density galvanized titanium alloy would have only been slightly dented. However, every bone in your foot, along with most of the bones in your leg and hip would have been permanently mangled, with very little chance of you ever walking normally again…
"…For quite a while now, I have had a heightened ability to sense true danger as it approached. How do you think I could always warn you just before Shego would deliver an otherwise paralyzing burst of plasma your way—even when my back was turned to your fight? I knew this cab, regardless of its reckless speed, posed no real danger to us…
"…Long before I acquired this ability, I trusted you with my life numerous times on our missions. Now, I ask you to trust me as I have trusted you. Can you do this for me?" A shocked Kim could do nothing but nod obediently. He thanked her by giving her a warm, comforting embrace and a brief kiss before turning to the duo now out of the cab.
"Now," queried Ron in the same tone as before, "how may we be of assistance to you this morning?" This whole turn of events made Fry reconsider his offer for a moment, but he decided to go ahead as originally planned.
"C-c-could you please 'Swap' your departure time with ours?" said Fry as he opened up his 'Swap' brochure and held the picture of Team Futurama toward Ron.
Ron held the picture, but did not yet place it in his brochure to complete the transaction. "Are you completely sure you want to do this?" he asked.
Bender impatiently cut in between Fry and Ron. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let's get this done before we all miss the plane, okay?"
"As you wish," said Ron. He smiled and handed Fry his picture of Team Possible for insertion in their brochure. The following was immediately recorded by the camera sphere…
SWAP TRANSACTION
TIME OF TRANSACTION: 6:58 AM
INITIATED BY: BENDER & FRY
SWAPPED WITH: KIM & RON
OBJECT OF SWAP: CHARTER FLIGHT TIME
STATUS BEFORE SWAP: BENDER & FRY 9:00 AM; KIM & RON 7:00 AM
STATUS AFTER SWAP: BENDER & FRY 7:00 AM; KIM & RON 9:00 AM
TRANSACTION COMPLETED
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After the completion of the 'Swap', Shaggy & Scooby and Bender & Fry boarded their charter flight. As the plane began take-off, Bender leaned out a window and shouted, "So long, suckers!"
'Right back at ya, suckers!' thought Kim and Ron.
"Jinx" proclaimed Ron's thought into Kim's mind, still in his calm, serene tone. "You owe me a soda!"
"Hey, wait a minute," pleaded Kim out loud. "That shouldn't apply to thoughts…and just how did we hear each other's thoughts, anyway?"
Ron sensed Kim's uneasiness in this method of communication, so he spoke in his normal voice to answer her. "I found my center of calm and you openly trusted me. Actually, we've been doing this on a lesser level since middle school, when we started…"
"…to complete each other's sentences," Kim proclaimed as she embraced Ron once again. "I finally get it!"
Soon after the embrace, they slowly walked hand-in-hand to the tin-roofed shack that served as the airstrip's 'terminal'…
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8:00 AM
Robin & Starfire met Bugs & Elmer at the airstrip and promptly boarded their charter flight to Rio. As their flight took off, Kim watched through a window while she sat on one end of the bench in the 'terminal'. She then turned to face Ron. Once again, he was deep in meditation. This time, however, Ron was doing something she hadn't seen before during these sessions. His feet were in the standard 'Lotus' position, but now he was floating a good six inches above the bench—and rising!
Kim hated to disturb Ron, but his floating drew him close to the ceiling fan. It was running full speed and provided the only cool air in the building. Kim opened her mouth to scream for Ron to look out, but she was unable to make any sound before his hand reached up and grabbed a blade of the fan, freezing it in place. The rest of his body did not even break away from its trance as his hand held the blade for about five seconds. As he slowly lowered himself to the bench, his hand let go of the blade. The fan then resumed its full-power spinning motion.
The most fascinating part of all this took place after Ron concluded his meditation. He smiled his usual ear-to-ear goofy grin and showed Kim the hand that touched the fan. It was completely unharmed! This astounded her almost as much as that moment in front of their lockers on the last day of school.
(Please refer to 'Interlude' later on for details on that moment)
Once Kim regained her composure, she had a few questions for her ever-surprising sweetheart.
"Ron," Kim inquired, "did you really know the fan blade was that close to you?"
He maintained his grin while he looked at her and laughed. "Of course, KP—although I admit the deal with holding the blade was just to show off a little."
"Riiiight," said Kim as she rolled her eyes.
Ron moved along the bench to place himself next to Kim and declared, "You know, there is only one thing that brings me more peace and calm than Sensei's meditations."
"And what's that," she cooed, almost certain of the answer.
"This," Ron said as he took Kim into his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder. They spoke not another word or moved another muscle until…
9:00 AM
…when they stopped long enough to board their plane. After they took their seats and fastened their seat belts, they leaned into each other and resumed their embrace all the way to Rio.
9:32 AM—Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "This is Maracana Stadium, home of the track and field events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2007 Pan-American Games. Here, 42 nations from North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean converged for 18 days of intense athletic competition. Teams must come to the front ticket counter to receive their next clue."
Mystery, Inc and Team Futurama made their way to the ticket window at Maracana Stadium. After they received their envelopes, they opened them to discover a brown brochure…
SHAGGY: "Aw, man! Not another one of those 'surprises'! (Reads brochure title) 'Relay'?"
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "You got it, hippie—yet another specially-designed 'surprise' from the makers of this battle for domination in animation…
"…'Relay' combines different facets of the standard 'Route Info' (blue), 'Detour' (yellow), and 'Road Block' (red) clues. It's brown because, as any artist can tell you, a mix of equal parts blue, yellow, and red become brown…"
BENDER (angrily): "Hah! Maybe it's brown because 'Writer Boy' is so full of—"
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "Watch it, 'Metal Man'!! Anyway, teams must decide which member will go first in the performance of a task. Once that task is completed, the other team member performs the next task. Team members will alternate tasks until the 'Relay' is completed…
"The first task of the 'Relay' is actually simple (Phil chuckles). Teams must choose one member to look for any one of the 20 randomly-hidden clues in this 73,916-seat stadium. Once the clue is found, they must meet their teammate standing at the marked spot on the stadium's track before opening the clue envelope."
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Bender was chosen for his ability to detach his head so he can look under an entire row in a matter of seconds. He chose to start at the back row of the lower deck at the south end of the stadium. He casually strolled down the aisle, pointing his head left, then right, under each row. After about 15 minutes, he paused, looked again, and found a clue half-way down the row…
…Scooby was chosen for his ability to look under seats without having to stop and stoop over all the time. He started at the nearest seating entrance, a tunnel half-way up the rows of seats on the east side of the stadium. He proceeded down toward the stadium surface. After looking under each row until the railing, he went to the next section and went back up away from the field. After going up another 30 rows, he found a clue envelope…
…Bender was closer to the stadium tunnel, but moved slower than Scooby. As such, they met their teammates at nearly the same time…
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9:53 AM
FRY & SHAGGY: "It's time for the Heptathlon…"
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "For the rest of this 'Relay', team members must alternate completion of all seven events in the Heptathlon, each to a required standard. If a teammate fails to meet the standard, that teammate must perform that task again, with a maximum of four attempts per task…
"…Due to the potential for up to three events taking place on the same area of the track, only one lane will be open for each event, except for the 800-meter run, which will have two lanes open. Thus, if more than one person is waiting to attempt an event, turns will be taken so that no one team will not have to wait for another team to try all four attempts…
"…The requirements are not 'world-class' results, but respectable at most high-school track meets…the 100-meter hurdles in under 20 seconds, with a 3-second penalty for each hurdle knocked down…a High Jump of at least 5 feet (just over 1.5 meters)…a Shot Put distance of 35 feet (nearly 10.7 meters)…a 200-meter run in under 40 seconds…a Long Jump of at least 20 feet (nearly 6.1 meters)…a Javelin Throw of 100 feet (just under 30.5 meters)…finally, an 800-meter run in under 3 minutes…
"…Because of the grueling nature of the last event, the teammates can alternate attempts to complete that one event, rather than have the same teammate make all four attempts like the other events. Once a team completes the 'Relay', they will receive their next clue."
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9:55 AM
…Fry turned in a time of 17.2 seconds, but did knock down a hurdle, pushing his time to 20.2 and forcing him to try again. Before he could, Shaggy was in the starting blocks. This forced Fry to wait until Shaggy finished his run…perfect in 15.3 seconds. Soon after that, Fry turned in a slower time—18.5 seconds, but was also perfect through the hurdles…
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9:57 AM
…Scooby, being a Great Dane used to jumping into Shaggy's arms, had a little advantage over Bender, a robot of massive weight—but not enough. While Bender couldn't even jump over the height of the mat, Scooby came close to success on each attempt. His front legs actually cleared the bar. The back legs, however, kept nicking the bar just enough to knock it down. Because of the shortcomings of both competitors, they failed all four attempts at this event…
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10:05 AM
…And because Scooby went first in the alternating high-jump attempts, this meant Shaggy went first in the shot-put infield. His scrawny arms could only muster a distance of 29 feet, 7 inches. Fry fared a little better, with his first attempt traveling 36 feet, 4 inches…
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10:07 AM
…At the official's signal of Fry's success in the shot-put, Bender began his attempt at the 200-meter run. Considering he was built for strength, not speed, he ran an impressive time of…90 seconds flat...
…Shaggy was still mad at himself for such a puny effort on his first attempt. Apparently, his anger brought out an inner reserve of strength. His second attempt sailed just over 40 feet…
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10:09 AM
…Bender was crossing over the field back to the 200-meter starting mark when Scooby was given the signal to begin his attempt. If he were human, his speed would have shattered the world record. As it was, he blazed across the finish line in 15.2 seconds, giving the advantage back to the Mystery, Inc. team. Bender finally made his second attempt…and actually improved his time. However, it was still over a minute…
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10:11 AM
…Shaggy took his place at the start of the long-jump runway. He was in full sprint as he leaped forward. He seemed pleased by the distance of 24 feet, 3 inches. His smile quickly became a scowl when he turned around and saw the red flag held by the foul-line judge. This meant he stepped over the line at the end of the runway before jumping, making his attempt a failure. He made a few practice dashes toward the end of the runway, but didn't cross the line at its end. This prevented the runs from counting against his number of attempts; but it also helped his timing to prevent another 'foot foul' when he did try again…
…Bender may have been slow, but at least he did not tire easily. His third attempt was an improvement—57 seconds—but still too long to be successful…
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10:14 AM
…Shaggy made sure his practice runs were not in vain. He sprinted down the runway and soared a little more than 25 feet. Just to reassure himself, he looked back to the foul-line judge. The judge's raised white flag, signifying a clean jump, was all Shaggy needed to see…
…Bender knew this was going to be his last attempt, one way or the other. As such, he held back a little energy and completed his run in 85 seconds…
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10:16 AM
…Scooby grabbed a javelin, ran up to the line and felt it slip out of his paws. It still flew 120 feet…too far to the left, barely missing Bender as he crossed the finish line of his last 200-meter attempt. The throw was officially recorded as a foul…
…As Scooby went to retrieve the javelin, Fry made his first long-jump attempt. He ran down the runway…planted his foot on the board behind the line…then tripped his other foot under him, causing his first jump to be recorded as 6 feet, 7 inches…
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10:18 AM
…Scooby made his second try with the javelin. He kept it straight this time…but it fell three feet short of a successful attempt…
…Fry took a few extra seconds to shake the cobwebs out of his head before heading down the runway again. Once he did, he completed a clean jump of 20 feet, 2 inches—just barely enough for success…
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10:20 AM
…Scooby took to the javelin stage for his third attempt just before Bender could grab his javelin…Scooby put a little more energy into the hurl, sending the javelin 108 feet…
…Immediately after Scooby's throw, Bender was allowed to make his first attempt. With very little effort, he hurled his javelin straight ahead…and into the stands, coming within three rows of Starfire. She and Robin just received their 'Relay' clue during Fry's last long-jump attempt. The throw was officially recorded as 438 feet, but the real winner of that throw was Starfire—the javelin destroyed a seat, but a familiar yellow envelope was found in its remains…
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10:22 AM
…Shaggy and Fry took their marks to begin their first attempt at 800 meters. As they began, Elmer was seen entering the north end of the seating. Soon after that, Starfire joined Robin on the track to begin their heptathlon…
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10:25 AM
…Robin turned in an impressive 100-meter hurdle time—14.7 seconds, with no downed hurdles…Starfire easily completed the 5-foot high-jump…
…Elmer was using his hunting skills to look up and down the rows rather quickly. He only needed to travel 16 rows when he saw a flash of yellow under a chair in the front row…
…Shaggy crossed the finish line of the 800-meter run with 30 seconds to spare. Since Shaggy provided such a good pace, Fry actually kept up for the most part, crossing the line just ten seconds under the deadline. Both men received their next clue from the timekeeper at the finish line…
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10:26 AM
SHAGGY: "What the…'Have you…"
FRY: "…found Jesus yet?' What is this, a religious tract?"
(Off-screen voice of Phil): "Hallelujah…I found Jesus!! Granted, He is pretty hard to miss in this city. I am standing at the summit of Mount Corcovado, next to the pedestal upon which stands the statue named Cristo Redentor, or 'Christ the Redeemer'. Recently named one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World', Cristo Redentor (with its pedestal) stands 125 feet tall and looks over Rio de Janeiro with open arms—literally, with an arm span of nearly 92 feet across…
"…Teams must travel by taxi to the base of the mountain, and then go up the mountain to meet me at the pedestal. To provide easier access for many who make the pilgrimage to this statue, elevators and escalators were built in 2003. However, it will be the honor (actually, the requirement) of our teams to make the traditional climb of 220 steps to the pedestal without those conveniences."
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10:28 AM
…While Mystery, Inc. and Team Futurama were leaving the stadium, Robin completed his shot-put attempt. It traveled 39 feet, so Starfire was allowed to begin her 200-meter run. She broke the tape in an impressive 29.8 seconds…
…Elmer was able to join Bugs on the field, where the rabbit burned up the track with a 100-meter hurdle time under 10 seconds. Because of Elmer's short frame, he found the high-jump very difficult, missing on his first attempt…
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10:31 AM
…Robin decided to be a little bit of a 'show-off' with his first long-jump attempt. Instead of a standard running start, he ran, did a handspring on the board, then performed four somersaults in the air before landing in the sand with a successful jump of 22 feet, 4 inches…
…Elmer twied and twied—I mean tried and tried—to jump over the bar. Alas, all four attempts were unsuccessful...
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10:34 AM
…Starfire used her strength to propel her javelin a respectable 127 feet. Robin then took his mark and started his 800-meter run…
…Bugs used flawless form in launching the weighted sphere 36 feet, 7 inches. Then he whispered something into Elmer's ear. Apparently, it served enough motivation to propel Elmer to a time of 37.6 seconds in his first 200-meter attempt…
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10:38 AM
…Being a 6-foot-tall rabbit, Bugs had no trouble with his long jump of 26 feet, 11 inches. He then whispered a reminder of his motivational speech to Elmer. The bald hunter used every bit of energy he could muster to launch his javelin…100 feet, 1 inch!
ELMER (during an 'in-race' interview): "That wascally wabbit said if I scwewed up again, he was gonna cwam my wifle stwaight up my—"
BUGS (interrupting Elmer): "Oh, Doc…You're such a kidder! He-he-he! (Winks at the camera, then walks away)"
ELMER (whispering after he checked to make sure Bugs was out of the room): "…then he thweatened to pull the twigger!"
…Robin thought he was setting a good pace for himself—until he saw a gray blur zoom past him. Officially, Robin's time was 2:24 and the time for Bugs was just under thirty seconds. Unofficially, Robin was getting rather dizzy and spun around a few times just before he crossed the finish line…
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10:41 AM
…If only the teams had access to a newspaper or a television in the last few days, they would have known about today's parade honoring the Brazilian national team's performance in the aforementioned Pan-American Games. Since it was set to begin at 10 o'clock, it was already in full swing when the taxis were rerouted to go around the perimeter of the city—once they could escape their current traffic jam! It was normally the longest way to Mount Corcovado, but it was necessary, since virtually all the other routes to the mountain were cordoned off by the police for the parade…
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11:17 AM
…While the other teams were caught in the tangled web of parade traffic, Kim entered the west side of the stadium to look for the clue. As she began checking rows, she noticed a group of girls forming on the east side of the stands.
"Oh, great!! Another bunch of 'Ronnies'," Kim sneered, adding an extra quarter-cup of venom to her nickname for these seemingly-nomadic females, who cheered loudly when they saw Ron take his place on the track. He tried to be modest, but relented with a wave to the crowd after a few minutes...
11:22 AM
…Kim continued to walk down the rows, but her eyes were focused squarely on the quickly-growing crowd across the stadium from her. Because of this, she slipped on a piece of paper and fell on her bottom. Fortunately, the only serious injury was to her pride at that moment. Kim began to shake her leg furiously to rid herself of the paper stuck to her foot when she realized…it was an unopened clue envelope!!
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11:25 AM
…There was polite applause from the 'Ronnies' when Kim emerged onto the track. The cheering grew louder once Ron finished the 100-meter hurdles with a clean run of 14.9 seconds…
…Kim saw Ron's success and blew him a quick kiss. Then she proceeded to easily sail over the high-jump bar. Instead of the usual 'flop', she impressed some in the crowd with a gymnast landing—not the easiest thing with a sinking mat like the one used for this event…
…The official signal of a clean jump set Ron in motion for his shot-put attempt. He heaved the heavy ball thorough the air. The crowd let out a huge groan when the distance was posted—28 feet, 10 inches. This annoyed Ron. He couldn't seem to get the full extension of his arm he needed while wearing his usual red jersey. Without thinking of anything but his next attempt, he removed his shirt. This caused the hundreds of 'Ronnies' in the stands to match the sound of a capacity crowd after the score of a goal!! This rush of sound was enough to knock Ron out of the circle and cause his second attempt to be ruled a 'foul'. This angered Kim, because this was their first direct interference with the ability for Team Possible to compete. She was about to start shouting some words at them that would make a Marine drill instructor's jaw drop to the ground when Ron simply raised his hand to ask for quiet. The silence became deafening as he made his third attempt. The change in wardrobe made all the difference as he posted a distance of…42 feet, 6 inches!!! This made even Kim shout for joy…and added a little incentive to her 200-meter run, as the start of the long-jump runway was just past the finish line…
…In 27.9 seconds, she flew into Ron's arms and began showering him with kisses. Only after two minutes of this was he able to remind her about the three tasks yet to be completed—not that he was complaining, though…
…After she let go of him, Ron took a deep breath and ran down the runway. His jump was clean, his form was good, and his distance…23 feet, 5 inches!!...
…This drew another roar from the still-growing mass of 'Ronnies'. An even louder cheer rang out as he was shaking the last of the sand out of his pants. 'Thank heavens they didn't fall now!' thought Kim as she grasped her javelin like a vise. Her brilliant green eyes envisioned a wall at the 100-foot mark, with a poster of smiling 'Ronnies' hanging four feet up the wall in the 'dead-center' of fair territory. She ran up to the line, hurled the javelin, and shattered the poster into 4.2 million pieces. 'Daaaaaannngg,' thought Kim, 'that…felt…G-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-D'…
…After Ron completed the first 400 meters of his run, Kim heard a rumbling in the stands. By the time he hit the 600-meter mark, the men in blue-and-green jumpsuits had once again cleared the stands, leaving Kim, Ron, and the race officials all by themselves to witness the finish of his 2:23 run…
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11:52 AM
…It was only after they discovered an English-speaking taxi driver did Kim & Ron hear about the traffic jam in town. At least they did not try to venture further into the downtown traffic before discovering this debacle. This made things a little easier for their cab to take the same perimeter route as the other teams…
…At that same moment, an exhausted Shaggy & Scooby staggered to the pedestal at Mount Corcovado…
PHIL (smiling broadly): "Shaggy & Scooby, you are the first team to arrive. How do you feel?"
SHAGGY (breathing hard): "Like, totally drained, man!"
PHIL (smile growing sinister): "Well, I have some news for you…This leg isn't over yet! You are still racing! Here is your next clue…"
(END CREDITS)
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Author's ending notes:
1) Don't kill me for this 'race extension' surprise. It has been used in each of the last three or four seasons of the real 'Race' at least once.
2) I must admit this is the hardest chapter I had to write so far. I had to double-check, triple-check, and check it again just so I wouldn't have to fix these stupid timing issues. But as challenging as this was, the next chapter will probably be the most difficult piece of fiction I have written in nearly twenty years. The subject matter will be much darker than before, and I might even get more than a few people mad at me. I hope you will bear with me through it.
2) If anybody did not like that 'blade' hint I placed in the opening notes, keep in mind this is the same twisted brain that added "AG-GO" a couple of chapters back.
3) The production of this story, like that for any work of fiction, is solely dependent upon the constructive feedback of its readers. If you like it, I will gladly make more. If you think of ways to make it better, I am always open to suggestions. If you really think it's a piece of garbage, stop me before I strike again!! Once again, Review me, e-mail me if you wanna reach me! If you want to 'PM' me, that's ok!
Your friend in writing,
The Samurai Crunchbird