I got a review in regards to my analysis last chapter stating Gwen Stacey was not the only example of a superhero's closest person dying on them. That doesn't change the fact that it's still a minority. I don't read comics a lot, so maybe a fact or two is off, that's all I can say. Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama.
Chapter 7: The Canoes
In the movie Kill Bill, Bill himself stated that Superman was the real identity and Clark Kent was the alter ego. This is both true and false. In point of fact, Superman is the alter ego of Clark Kent, but Clark Kent is the alter ego of Kal-El, Superman's Kryptonian name. True Clark has his powers twenty-four seven, but so does Spider-Man. So does Mr. Fantastic. So does Flash. The only time a superhero needs his costume to use his powers is if said powers come from an external source, such as Green Lantern or Dr. Fate. A superhero doesn't need the costume to be that hero, it just makes it easier to identify that hero.
The campers were set up for their next challenge. Martin and Frank looked around the area. "Hey, where's Beth?," Frank asked. "She had to use the bathroom," Lindsey said, "She should be here shortly." Chris walked up to a small map set on an eisel. "Okay campers. Today you will partaking in summer camp staple... A canoe trip. There are several canoes behind me, and each canoe can hold up to three people. You will be paddling these canoes to nearby Boney Island, an untamed and supposedly haunted island. From your landing site, you will portage your canoes through the dense jungles of the island to the other side."
"Excuse me," Geoff said, "What does 'portage' mean?" "It means we have to walk while carrying the canoes over our head," Frank said. "As I was saying," Chris said, "Once you reach the beach on the opposite end of the island, you must build a rescue fire that will be judged by me. Once it has been confirmed, you will row back to this island. The first team to get all their campers back to the dock will win invincibility. One final warning, legend has it that anyone who takes something from Boney Island shall be cursed until the item is returned. Now let's get moving!"
As the campers headed for the canoes, Beth finally emerged from the bathroom. "What did I miss?" "Canoes," Chris said, "You can get the details from the others." Once on the beach, Gwen tried to get a canoe with Trent, but got sidetracked by Cody. It didn't help that Lindsey and Beth insisted on Trent canoeing with them. Martin and Frank got their own canoe, as well as Leshawna and Izzy, and Heather and Owen. "This is gonna be so fun," Owen said. "Try not to capsize," Martin said, "I'd prefer my girlfriend not drowned." "You heard him Owen," Heather said, "You rock this boat even once and you'll regret it."
On the Bass side, Duncan got a canoe with Harold and Sadie, Bridgette with Courtney, Sarah with Megan, and Geoff with DJ. "Hey Geoff," DJ said, "Do canoes tip over a lot?" "Naw man," Geoff replied, "You're thinking kayaks. Canoes can be pretty stable so long as you keep still. And the water doesn't get too rough." DJ gulped. "Water can get... Rough?" "You'll be fine," Frank called out, "The lake water is pretty tame this time of year." Martin raised his eyebrow at Frank. "What?," Frank said, "It's just some helpful advice." Once the campers were well out on the lake, Chris sounded an air horn to start the race.
In the middle of lake, Cody was trying to put the moves on Gwen. "So," Cody said, "You wanna go out sometime?" "No," Gwen said flatly. "Friday's good for me," Cody said, "Or maybe Saturday?" Gwen responded by slamming her paddle into Cody crotch. "On second through...," Cody said, "Maybe not..." Meanwhile, Geoff was talking to DJ about a gift he had made for Bridgette. "I thought it would be a great idea," Geoff said, "But ever since I left it in her cabin, I've been getting weird vibes from her." DJ groaned. "Seriously, Geoff man, that's so bad. You need a new word for how bad that is."
"So where did I go wrong?," Geoff asked. "Simple," DJ said, "Dating is a bit like feeding a bunny. If you make any sudden moves, all you're gonna do is make that bunny run from you." "So basically," Geoff said, "I screwed up." DJ nodded. Back with Cody and Gwen, Cody simply sighed. "You know, I think I get it. The fact is, you're too into Trent right now. I can understand that. And to tell the truth, I think he feels the same about you." Gwen looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "How about this," Cody said, "I'll see if I can get the two of you on the same canoe for the return trip."
"That'd be cool," Gwen said. Just then, the campers all noticed a murky fog rising from the lake. "Guys," Martin said, "I think we've arrived." He pointed to an island barely visible through the fog, which had a mountain shaped like a skull. "Wow," Izzy said, "That is so cool!" Both teams grabbed their canoes and held them above their heads and started running in pairs, Owen heaving his canoe by himself. As the teams began racing, the Gophers suddenly got stopped when a tree fell down right in front of them. "Somehow I don't think that's wood rot," Beth said warily.
At that moment, several large beavers with tusks emerged from the brush. Judging from the look in their eyes, they were hungry. "Aren't beavers supposed to eat fish?," Lindsey asked. "I don't think that'll be enough," Martin said, "RUN!" The Gophers quickly ran in the opposite direction, but soon hit a dead-end near a cliff face. Fortunately, the beavers seemed to back off shortly afterward. "That was close," Trent said. "Did anyone bring a change of underwear?," Owen said. "I'd be more concerned about why those giant beavers left," Martin said, "Predators don't back off from a prey unless said prey wanders into another predator's territory."
As if on cue, several pterosaur-like geese appeared from numerous nests along the cliff. "Oh man," Owen said, "I am definitely gonna need new underwear." The Gophers quickly ran away from the cliff. Cody quickly grabbed a loaf of bread from his pants and threw it to the ground. Immediately the giant geese stopped to enjoy the meal. "Where did you get that?," Gwen asked. "I had planned to use it to make a romantic picnic," Cody said, "But since the odds of that happening are zilch, I figured I shouldn't waste the bread." "Let's hurry up and find the beach," Heather said, "Our little adventure here gave the Bass a big lead."
The Bass had just up to a fork in the road. "Which way do we go?," DJ asked. "I'd said left," Courtney said. "I dunno," Geoff said, "I think we'd have better luck going right" "It is the wider path," Bridgette said, causing Geoff to smile at her. As they headed down the path, the Gophers spotted them. "They went right," Frank said, "So let's try the left path." However, the path proved to have a hidden hazard. All of a sudden, Trent wound up stepping in quicksand. "Oh, just great," he said. "Hang on, Trent!," Lindsey said, and she tried to pull him out. However, she got stuck herself.
Cody, spotting a nearby vine, quickly swung on it to try and pull them out that way. "Hey look," Frank said, "Cody's Tarzan." However, Cody missed and hit a nearby tree hard. "More like George of the Jungle," Heather said with a giggle. Luckily, the vine landed near Trent's hand, allowing him to pull himself and Lindsey out of the quicksand. As Cody hobbled over in a daze, Trent placed his hand on Cody's shoulder. "Thanks man, you're a life-saver." Cody snapped out of his daze. "Really?" Lindsey gave him a quick hug. "You're a hero, Cody. But where did you learn to do that?" Cody chuckled. "Action movies."
Meanwhile, the Bass were continuing along the beach, when Geoff suddenly dropped to the ground and grabbed his leg. "Man down!," Geoff said, "My leg! My leg hurts so bad!" Bridgette, out of concern, quickly went to check on him. "Is it bad?," she asked. Geoff nodded, but the other Bass couldn't really see what sort of injury Geoff had. "Just go on without me," Geoff said. "No way," DJ said, "We're not leaving any man behind on my watch." And with that, Geoff was perched on top of one of the canoes, now being carried by Harold and Duncan.
Both teams got the beach and started setting up their rescue fires. The Bass gained a quick lead thanks to Duncan's lighter, but the Gophers caught up quick thanks to Martin's knowledge of campfire making. As the Gophers continued to gather firewood, Beth spotted a tiki idol in a bush. As she reached out for, Martin pulled her hand away. "We were told not to take anything from the island," Martin said, "There's supposed to be a curse on those objects." "Oh," Beth said, "Man, glad you stopped me." Meanwhile, Cody walked up to Trent. "Hey listen, I was talking with Gwen earlier."
"Let me guess," Trent said, "You tried to hit on her, and you struck out." "Big time," Cody said with a chuckle, "Thing is, she's really into you. So I told her I could get you two on the same canoe on the way back." "Cool," Trent said, "But what about Lindsey and Beth?" "Easy enough," Cody said. Back with the Bass, Bridgette was tending to Geoff while the others were still working on the signal fire. Sarah giggled. "I think Geoff may have finally gotten his foot in the door with Bridgette. Good job, DJ." "Well," DJ said, "Geoff helped me get over my fear of water. I owe him one."
"We need more wood guys," Courtney said, "Otherwise we'll never get off the island." Harold, without thinking, grabbed the canoe paddles and tossed them onto the fire. "Nice going!," Megan said, "Now we won't get off the island anyway!" Izzy finally finished the Gophers fire using a sap-covered fire starter ball, giving them the advantage going home. Cody made good on his promise to get Gwen and Trent on the same canoe by suggesting Trent and Lindsey split up to "get over the jitters" from the quicksand incident. "You know," Izzy said to the Bass, "If you really need to get back, you can have someone push the canoes from behind." The Bass looked at each other, before DJ declared, "I'll do it."
As the Gophers neared the shore, Martin looked behind them and gasped. "Incoming Bass! And not the fish!" The others to see the Bass canoes stacked on top of each other, with most of the team sitting in the top canoe and DJ pushing the canoes as hard as he could. "Wow," Izzy said, "I never thought they'd go for it." The Gophers were so stunned, it allowed the Bass to pull ahead and win the challenge. Martin facepalmed. "Great, back to Loserville, population eleven." "Soon to be ten," Heather said, glaring at both Frank and Izzy. Chris chuckled. "Yeah, it looks like the Bass win this one. I'll see you Gophers tonight."
That night at the campfire pit, Chris began calling names to see who was voted off. "Beth... Trent... Gwen... Cody... Owen... Heather... Leshawna... Martin... Lindsey..." He looked at Frank and Izzy. "This is the last marshmallow of the evening. The person who does not get it has been voted off and must leave the island." He looked at both of them before saying, "Izzy." "Woo-hoo!," Izzy said as she grabbed her marshmallow. "Sorry Frank," Martin said, "But it was a toss up." "It's cool," Frank said, "Just make sure to take it the rest of the way." As the boat left, Frank casually dipped his finger in the lake, and the water somehow began to freeze behind him.
To be continued...
Yeah, no way to be subtle about that power. And for those of you who are confused, I have this to say: Do you really think I wouldn't kick my own original characters off the show? Read and review.
