I may've been a little too descriptive regarding the Ozai & Azula events. Apologies if you think this is so. I intended to describe the best I could so you could picture it as part of the episode on air.

Ronan was poised to inform his superior that his efforts weren't fruitless, "Supreme Intelligence, your Accuser is on the verge of victory." A screen-like comm. device on his right wrist revealed the face of the Empire ruler.

"Silence, Ronan!" he boomed. "You have put the entire Kree empire at risk - by entering this contest. I will aid you. But if you should fail, your punishment will be severe." The Accuser's hopes seemed far from robbed.

"The Thing versus Impossible Man."

Ben thanked the heavens: a staring contest. Nobody could picture Impy passing through a single round of such a game. The Thing's eyes were solid globes that painstakingly bored into his opponent's; the poor Poppupian's eyes on the other hand, itched to rove about his surroundings along with his really twitchy body.

"YES! Sorry, kid…no one beats Ben Grimm in a staring contest!" Ben slammed down a fist. Impy was so unable to control himself that he blinked hard to stop the sweat drops from stinging. The little alien disappeared, & stayed trapped in a stasis field next to Annihilus.

"Leopard X versus Diablo. The taming of borg hounds."

Scores of members of the Kree race rolled all kinds of sounds in their mouths, as they looked to the contestants as a source of mere entertainment. Once Ozai & the alchemist were transported to the colosseum, it roared with an out-of-this-world euphoria. Five borg hounds were released into the arena from their unlit chambers, crystalline eyes shimmering in the light.

Ozai was smart enough to give way to Diablo - who struck first at one of the admirable, sleek animals. He'd decided on the Potion of Fire, thus making a special flame whip he could use. Lashing out at the hound, the whip cracked…but left no burns or scratches on its metal plated frame. The creature was pounding the earth with defiant hooves.

Leopard X's turn came; he thrilled the onlookers by mounting another borg hound as it began to canter about wildly. It bucked & finally broke into a violent gallop whilst Ozai hung on for dear life. He was searching for a 'soft spot' on the metal of the animal's neck…but the frustrated hound rammed him into the perimeter of the arena with rapidity.

"My turn," Diablo uttered. He was in the middle of getting up, for another hound had just charged into him. His aged body couldn't muster enough physical endurance. Two of his chalices had gone missing - those containing the Earth & Water potions - possibly flung to the far end of the battlefield after he was attacked. The alchemist dragged himself on the sand to reach for the Air potion chalice: his last straw. A growling noise rumbled above him, followed by the opening & closing of metal fangs. Then some robotic snarling & slashing.

Ozai clawed at the same threatening hound's face with extra ferocity. His opponent turned to look at the pair of other animals readying themselves to pounce. Diablo found himself unable to speak, stirred inwardly by something foreign. The circumstances got exceedingly bad when Leopard X fell head over heels off the creature, the rubbery protective material of his neck now in its toothsome jaw grasp. Maybe the borg hound found that hard alloy wasn't its cup of tea. It rose on its heels & tossed its victim far out into the shocked crowd.

"The match has resulted in a tie-breaker. Ben Grimm, Ozai Chen & Diablo of Earth advance to the final round. Should Ronan lose the next match, the Fantastic Four & their two affiliates automatically win."

"Can you still use your powers?" Reed whispered over to Sue.

"Yes, I've tried. But I can't break the stasis field."

He concluded, "That's okay. I have a plan as a last resort, in case of trouble."

"Could we be in any more trouble?" her eyes widened.

It was time for Johnny's last event. He balled up one fist, "Come on, Grandmaster funk! Hit me with whatever weird game you got!" Azula's gaze was locked on him, wanting to see as much of him as she could before he vanished. Ronan let out low cackles, as if he saw it coming. Both of them were zapped away to a region covered only by wide ocean, & they stood on floating discs that separated them from the wet.

"Why did it have to be WATER?" screamed Johnny, still as stone.

"The last event in the elimination round: Kree Water Ball. First contestant to score a hit wins."

A curved piece of equipment appeared in the competitors' hands, meant to shape & hurl a waterball at his opponent in the hopes of knocking him cold. "What kind of sick game is this?" whined the Human Torch.

Ronan growled & threw a projectile his way. Johnny dodged it with sweet timing but almost fell victim to the water below. He flamed on to land back on his disc before trying the same move as his adversary. Ronan swerved to the side to evade the attack; the two battled it out with more misses than hits, until Johnny finally thought up a strategy. Attacking from a height would give him a better view of the area, so he rose up on the highest wave he found.

"Now!" he heard Ronan give an order, & a blasting sound followed. All of a sudden, a cold numbing current washed over him, nearly making his heart seize up. Terribly frozen & fragile he felt while he saved whatever air he had inside. Luckily he managed to resurface before his oxygen depleted. Another waterball hit him smack in the face to get him truly cross. But he was drained, tired & beaten.

"What was that? Ronan cheated or something!" he snapped at the Grandmaster when they returned. The Elder actually smiled & said no word. Johnny pointed his finger at him, "Shenanigans man!"

"There's only one match left. The fate of the earth quite possibly rests on the outcome of one competition. Susan, I think now's the time," Reed alerted softly. Sue focused her mind on removing the gem from Grandmaster's forehead; that caused all the contestants to be freed form their stasis fields.

"Take down the Grandmaster!" Reed barked. However, the Elder stopped the group short with a mere hand flick.

"While I admire your tenacity, human…I AM an Elder of the Universe. This contest will not be disturbed."

Before long, everyone apart from the last four contestants was trapped again.

"The final match begins. The Thing & Leopard X versus Ronan the Accuser & Diablo, in a tag team competition. The event is as the challenger requested: fair & honourable combat. The last side standing is the team that gains victory."

Reed tensed up, "Ben?"

"Hey Stretch, how 'bout a little faith here? Don't worry. I've taken Ronan out before. I'll do it now - I'LL WIN."

"Now!" Ronan abruptly issued an order. A pool of light from a bright beam formed around him. With that, the Accuser's form was changing, sinews & muscles thickening to a monstrous extent. Still, Grandmaster did not take action. Reed's thoughts were being peppered by arising suspicions.

Ben was taken aback, "Oh, boy…"

Leopard X remained on all fours & decided, "Ronan's all yours. I'll work on thrashing the 'magician' before helping you out later." He crouched & hissed to spring at the alchemist.

"Sure, doc…provided I'm still standin' by that time," said Ben.