"What are the events? The rules? Is our safety guaranteed? Where is the Contest held? What happens to the losing team?" was a list of Reed's questions.

"Is there a trophy? Any prizes?" Johnny butted in. In bygone days, he had been far from this hyper.

"The winner receives one wish, granted by the Elders. Anything the victor can imagine."

Reed intelligently hinted to Ronan specifically, "Like the Kree Empire ruling the universe?"

"That would be an excellent start, human. The destruction of you & your friends is another option," the Accuser smiled darkly. Inwardly was he elated at the suggestion, especially after being denied leeway to have the rules his way.

"Sheesh…most people would just wish for a pony or something," came Ben's sarcasm. Azula sighed. "Or a bicycle."

"Decide, Reed Richards. You lay…or you forfeit."

"The Fantastic Four, Leopard X & Blue Dragon accept entry into the Contest."

First to be conveyed to another location was Sue. She was stranded on a random New York street in a moment. Gasping, she dodged a truck speeding in her direction. Furthermore, she had to put a field around a fast moving cab before it hit her.

"Invisible Woman," Grandmaster called, "your first event is a Kree sport: the running of the borg hounds."

"The what?" she balked.

"You're opponent: Annihilus." The perpetually angry-looking beast appeared, & fixed his deadly eyes on her.

She questioned, "And…uhh…what's the goal of this event?"

"Survive."

"My hate for you & your clan will not be put aside my some game…," Annihilus hissed, as if not bothered by the uninviting sight of the Kree animals creeping toward them. The creatures were particularly large, sapphire & golden in colour, resembling robotic lions that mastered the skill of litheness.

It was a race & a game of life or death. Sue got onto one of her flying discs & sped toward the beam of light far ahead that signified the finish line. Annihilus attempted to kick her off course, to no avail. A borg hound threatened to pounce but it did not achieve the height to snap her up. Not long after that, an idea was ignited: Sue jumped off her platform as they neared the light beam - seeping into the white energy before her opponent could.

"Thing, your first event is an insectoid sport: consumption."

Impossible Man & Ben were met with platters spread out on two long tables. "Waitaminute…you want me to eat that? That ain't food! I don't know what that is!" shrieked Ben. He stared at the tentacle-like objects squirming about in each platter.

"Do you forfeit?"

"I can't believe I'm gonna do this."

Elsewhere, on a planet shrouded in green & purple terrain, Ozai confronted Attuma in their first 'd been beamed to Impy's home planet, & stood atop a large rocky structure untouched by the Poppupian aliens. "Leopard X, you compete against Attuma in a Poppupian memory game." In front of them, a holographic screen suddenly appeared with at least fifty square tiles. There were twenty-five pairs of matching images, & in about five seconds all the tiles flipped over. The contestants were to guess which tile was where.

Attuma said, "So, feline. We meet again. What say you if I take the upper hand in this Contest?"

"How do you know you will?" was all Leopard X replied with. The barbarian from Atlantis was unaware of Ozai's unmatched visual intelligence.

"Human Torch, your event is Kree Disc Jousting. Your opponent: Super Skrull." Though quick to end, the match was nothing short of high-octane.

"Oh yeah baby, this is what I'm talking about! Bring it on, Green!" Johnny yelled, voice travelling all over the huge cavern they were in. For a while the two sparred with their jousts; Kl'rt grew increasingly impatient. Johnny's tactic was to give him a wide berth before springing with his best move.

The Human Torch mixed his martial arts skills with extreme sports. A mid-air somersault provided him with height to strike Super Skrull in the back - hard enough to make the alien lose his balance & topple over.

"Mr. Fantastic, you & Ronan will compete in the Skrull sport: Deception. Your goal: avoid detection."

"Detection from what?" asked Reed. He had just noticed the whale-like monster he recognized from Atlantis, splashing by the dock he & Ronan stood on. It looked peckish. Immediately Reed shaped his figure into that of a pole, & placed himself in line with the other wooden ones. Ronan, though, yanked & hurled him high up while the sea beast reappeared out of the water. It opened its jaws: letting Reed fall right in.

"Blue Dragon, you will participate in the Earth event of kickboxing. Your opponent: Diablo."

She smirked & lightly commented, "Kickboxing? That's breezy enough for me." Around the boxing ring were onlookers who buzzed with energy, cheering with unintelligible sounds.

Her adversary prepared his four chalices to use to his advantage. On the other hand, Diablo had his own brand of confidence, "You forget, girl. I have control over the elements...not just fire, but also air, water & -"

"Like I never knew that, Pajama Party!" Azula made the first attack with a flame wave. However, the alchemist was ready with his air shield & blocked her move. This was half a magic show & half a classic kickboxing tournament; Diablo wasn't restrained from using his floating potions to create an arsenal of nasty attacks.

He tried blowing the Blue Dragon out of the ring with a strong gust but she timed it well to cling to the ring poles. Then she swung herself back in with azure streams spewing out of her mighty kick. Diablo hit the edge of the ring real hard, now semi-conscious.

Azula destroyed his chalices using her slashing flames following that - all except the one he used to command water. Unfortunately, he recited a spell very quickly, sending a mass of water smashing into her. He morphed the element into a rising whirlpool that flung her beyond the ring's perimeter. She landed upside down by the spectators in a heap of her wet, unkempt hair. "Great…"

"The exhibition round has ended."

Before long, all twelve competitors wound up back on the game board.

Reed said, "That explains why Ben, Azula & I are still here. We were lucky. Given the penalty for forfeiting, I can only imagine what happens when we lose."

"This is nuts, Stretch! What kind of contest is this?" his best friend let out some frustration.

Johnny teased mildly, "Maybe the kind where you get your tail kicked."

"I hear you. For the second time," a vexed Azula wringed the water out of her hair. Ben muffled some laughter.

Johnny twirled around, "Zed! You okay? -"

"It's cool. Impy, could you dry my hair, please?" she called the alien over. "Me? Really? Sure!" Impy jittered. Instantly he morphed into a large hairdryer to help her.

In another corner of the board, Kl'rt remarked on Ronan's motives, "You were a fool to petition the Grandmaster, Kree. He's an Elder of the universe; they play by their own rules."

"As do I, Skrull," the Accuser got defensive.

The remaining trio of baddies comprising Annihilus, Diablo & Attuma was actually engaged in a conversation:

"How will we crush them ALL? They thwart my plans to NO END!" spat Annihilus.

"Quiet, you monster. Have patience," Attuma was ticked off even at that.

"Patience is one thing…for another is your array of weapons," Diablo cackled quietly, fashioning another set of chalices out of thin air as if by a miraculous force.

Moments later, Grandmaster shone his bright light to alert them all, "Let the elimination rounds begin."