In the basement hall of the tower, twenty-one Vindicators were present. "Alright, we're about to start. If you're not competing, you'll be watching from the second level," Kara pointed out. "Since we have an odd number that means...,"
"I'll forfeit," Lemnos said immediately.
"Oh, well, very courteous of you, Lemnos. That makes the math work out a lot easier," Kara said gratefully. Lemnos then walked away from the group creating a formation of just twenty. "You win by knocking out your opponent or forcing your opponent to concede," Kara said simply. "Also, no energy attacks, or else the whole tower will fall down upon us."
"The names of the applicants will be chosen randomly and displayed on this TV monitor," Kara pointed out on the wall. "So, let's get started." The names for the first fight suddenly displayed as Mara-El and Josh Michael Allen aka Parasite.
"Well...shit," Josh realized.
"The two applicants come forward. Everyone else, move to the upper gallery," Kara ordered. As everyone left, Kara gave Mara a pep talk. "Don't go Super Insane or I'll have to disqualify you. Good luck." Kara then walked off with the others.
As the match began, Josh and Mara got themselves into a combative hold on the floor. Mara had her leg around Josh's neck and held out his arm across her torso in a move to break it. However, Josh took advantage by absorbing Mara's power weakening her and strengthening himself. Josh released himself and slammed his arm down on Mara's ribcage stunning her. He then leaped away with Mara still on the floor.
Josh then went for another attack by grabbing Mara by her scalp and absorbing her power. He kept her down on the floor while he continued to absorb her Insane/Kryptonian powers.
"What do you think you're doing?" Mara asked him.
"You just noticed?" Josh mocked.
During the battle, Lemnos took a mental note of what was happening. "Soon, she'll have no choice but to unleash her Super Insane power."
Mara kicked Josh away and went to a sitting position. "Amazing that you still have strength left. Relax, I'll end this right away," Josh taunted as he quickly recovered.
Mara evaded Josh's strikes as she attempted to recover her strength. "I can't win in a close-quarters fight," Mara realized as she kept her distance from him.
"Is this really the best an Insane Kryptonian princess can do?" Rokk asked disappointedly.
"Hey, Mara, you call yourself an Insane? What the fuck is wrong with you? Stop looking so uncool. Give everything you got!" Kon yelled at her.
Mara evaded Josh's strikes once more and then saw an opening. She got close to him and then kicked him to the chin so hard he went sailing into the air. Mara then met him in the air with a glowing gold aura. Mara's hair fluctuated between black and gold, her eyes from dark brown to aqua green. Kara and Lemnos watched closely as Mara was about to give into her fighting rage and go Super Insane. Mara then held back at the last moment returning to her normal state and did a midair spin that slammed her backhand into Parasite's face. With her other hand, she backhanded him hard to the torso. Finally, she rotated herself so that her leg slammed Josh to the floor. Mara then skidded across the floor just in case Josh wasn't finished. As it happened, Josh was clearly knocked out. Even with some of Mara's power, he wasn't able to get anywhere close to parity. Mara had won the first round.
"She totally stole one of my techniques," Val noticed. "Good thing I have another million left."
"Look at you all beat up, idiot!" Kon shouted from the second-floor gallery.
"I'm hungry," Chuck grumbled.
"It wasn't that impressive," Brin scoffed.
Josh was taken away by medics. Mara also left the floor to get checked out. Kara gave a sigh of relief as her tournament idea hadn't resulted in any Vindicator fatalities or permanent damage to her daughter.
2nd Match
In the next match, it was Echo up against Lonna. "That girl is creepy as fuck," Echo remarked. Lemnos watched intently as a second one of his followers competed.
"Is she really going to be okay?" Ayala asked uncertainly.
"Probably, maybe," Brin said unconvinced.
As the fight began, Lonna remained casually standing. "Withdraw now. I can't guarantee you'll recover after I'm done with you," Lonna told Echo.
"Bitch, please," Echo said as he charged her. On both of his hands were holes he could channel sound energy through. He went for a punch which Lonna managed to block. Echo then fired off a sound explosion from his right hand tossing Lonna along the floor. Lonna took a very long time to get up making Echo wait. "Come on, get up," he demanded impatiently.
When Lonna did eventually get up, an army of bugs surrounded them both. Many other bugs were crawling all over Lonna's body. "My bugs can infiltrate anywhere, take your energy, and tear you up from the inside. That's why they call me the Insect Queen. Give up."
Echo recalled how Lemnos had discovered him from the slums and given him power over the sound through body modification. He not only had to represent himself but the Church of Scientificity. He was also looked down upon as the #2 sound user behind Tyroc. He would be damned if he let some weird insect girl defeat him. Echo pointed one hand at Lonna and the other against the bug army approaching him.
"No...don't do it...no," Lonna rolled her eyes.
Echo let loose a sonic attack from both arms. Immediately, his arms were internally ruptured, and his bones shattered. His arms were now Swiss cheese with numerous holes where the air had escaped. "I placed my bugs inside your armholes. Situational awareness is key, idiot," Lonna mocked him.
Echo went to strike her even with his broken arms. Lonna bitch-slapped him to the floor knocking him out. To add insult to injury, her bugs swarmed over him.
Kon eyed Lonna with his X-ray vision and saw bugs swarming inside Lonna's body, in her skin, muscles, vital organs, everywhere. "Holy shit," he said amazed.
"Lonna comes from a clan of insect users. They form a symbiotic relationship. The bugs help them to attack their enemies and spy and the bugs are fed life-energy," Kara explained to him.
Echo was taken away severely injured but not dead.
3rd Match
The third match was between Brainiac 5 and Ethan Kramer aka Elongated Kid, another disciple of Lemnos. "Once I use my technique, it will be futile to win," Ethan said confidently.
"Show me," Brainiac 5 allowed.
"There's nothing to show. I'll win in the first strike," Ethan said with a punch. Brainiac 5 blocked his punch but then Ethan quickly snaked around his arm and then his body. Ethan's legs were now snaked around Brainiac 5's legs, his arms snaked around Brainiac 5's shoulders, arms, and neck. Brainiac 5 quickly found himself unable to move at all.
"Wow, that's fantastic," Kon rolled his eyes.
"I'll constrict your body until I break it to pieces," Ethan told Brainiac 5. "Give up."
"No," Brainiac 5 refused.
Ethan then broke Brainiac 5's neck supposedly deactivating him. However, cables soon wrapped around Ethan's body completely. Brainiac 5's head rotated around so he was facing Ethan. "This is some demonic shit," Ethan said surprised.
Liquid metal then flowed off of Brainiac 5's body forming a puddle. It then formed into a second liquid metal Brainiac 5. This Brainiac 5 then formed blades with his hands and threatened to slice Ethan to pieces. "I give up," Ethan conceded.
"Is that really fair? It's two against one," Kon said to Kara.
"It's no different than your clones," Kara pointed out. "I want to see the extent of everyone's abilities."
"Nothing but weirdos," Kon remarked.
"Look who's talking," Kara reminded him. "You're one of two Insane Kryptonians in the galaxy, the multiverse."
4th Match
The TV monitor then showed Kara vs Imra, the ultimate catfight. "Shit," Kara and Imra both said as they went to the floor. "I never thought I'd be fighting you so soon, Kara. Mostly because I thought the Supreme Leader would be above this petty bullshit," Imra said to her.
"I know you've been having a lot of fun with my husband. Now, I'm going to have fun with you," Kara said dangerously.
"To think it would be those two," Tasmia mused. "If the battle becomes serious, we're all dead."
"Good luck, mom! Don't lose!" Kon shouted from the gallery.
"How embarrassing," Kara winced.
Kara and Imra engaged each other in martial arts fighting. Kara kept up to Imra's pace keeping it to a draw. Imra punched Kara to the gut and then slapped her to the face good. "Really?" Kara asked annoyed.
"I'm not apologizing," Imra said quickly.
"At this point, I'm done fighting with you over Mon," Kara declared.
"You're delusional and a crazy bitch," Imra told her.
"I am so much stronger than you that you...don't even exist," Kara said.
"The fuck you think you're talking to? I'm the princess of Titan and the most powerful telepath in the galaxy," Imra told her off. "I could make you queer if I wanted to."
"We're all queer, Imra. We simply choose to not act on it," Kara argued.
"Free will is an illusion when I enter a room," Imra said seriously.
Kara formed illusion clones of herself and charged. Imra sensed for the right one, but Kara was too fast. The real Kara punched Imra to the floor as the other two illusions faded away. Kara and Imra engaged in martial arts until Imra started to tire out. Even when they got hits on each other simultaneously, it affected Imra a great deal more.
"There's no way you're my equal, Imra," Kara insulted.
"All you're concerned with is your sexy looks and beautiful blond hair," Imra smirked.
"You, making fun of me?" Kara asked uncertainly.
"I'm going to end this now," Imra said confidently.
"Your telepathic abilities won't work on me. I'm faster than neural snaps in your mind. Before you can even think to possess me, I'll take you out," Kara said to her.
"We'll never know until I try it," Imra replied. "I'll make you give up."
"I'd like to see you try against a moving target," Kara said as her body's image shifted rapidly showing her speed. Kara's boots suddenly became planted to the floor by Imra's telekinetic power.
"Got you," Imra smiled as she entered Kara's mind.
Inside Kara's mind, Imra found herself in a dark void. Suddenly, she found herself in a hanger bay, then saw a planet's surface turning into a molten sea, and then the planet exploded. Kara appeared wearing her blue and red Supergirl uniform. She walked up to Imra with an upset expression. "How could you leave me? Everyone I know is dead. You left me! You left me alone! How could you do that!"
"What the fuck?" Imra whispered.
Kara grew to monstrous size and took hold of Imra in her hands. "You lied to me. You said you would never leave," she accused.
"I'm getting the fuck out of here," Imra said as she released her hold on Kara's mind.
In the real world, Kara wiped away a tear and her manic expression immediately became calm. "I'm not going to give you another opportunity like that again." Kara advanced on Imra with a look that could kill. Imra stood her ground and waited for Kara to reach her. As Kara got closer, she began to stumble, and her eyes became heavy.
"That's right, sleep," Imra said to her. "If I can't possess your mind, I can tweak it here and there."
Kara looked as though she was about to collapse. Imra smiled victoriously. She was going to defeat the most powerful being in the universe right here. With her last conscious movement, Kara headbutted Imra. The two fell to the floor unconscious.
There was a long awkward silence from the gallery. "Yeah! Whoo!" Kon cheered obnoxiously.
The match had ended in a lose-lose draw, but Imra had held her own against Kara. The two were then placed on stretchers and taken out of the hall. With the Supreme Leader and the #1 Vindicator out of the tournament, anyone could win now.
5th Match
In the next match, it was Tinya Vs Berta. "Seeing Kara and Imra both out of the tournament has me fired up," Tinya said confidently.
"Another female-on-female match. Should be interesting," Garth smiled.
"Do your best!" Val shouted to Tinya from the gallery.
As the match began, Tinya suddenly jumped back to give herself some distance. "What was the point of that? I can create a hurricane the size of countries," Berta said confused.
"So, I can get out of the blast radius of grenades," Tinya said as they materialized in her hands. She then threw several of them at Berta. The grenades went off course and bounced away from Berta where they exploded. The noise stunned everyone in the room and created craters in the floor.
"Holy shit," Berta realized.
"Alright, try this," Tinya said as she phased becoming translucent, and then phased back into the room with two machine guns in her hands. She fired them off at Berta with precise aim.
Tinya held up her hand and stopped the bullets in midair before they could hit her. The bullets slowly lost speed and energy as the air held them in place. Tinya then allowed the bullets to drop to the floor harmlessly. "One might get the idea you're trying to kill me for real," Berta said slightly alarmed.
Tinya smirked at that and then phased. She returned wearing an armored suit filled with onboard weapons. A virtual Iron Man, she activated two palm plasma cannons, shoulder missile launchers, a chest plasma emitter, back missile launchers, laser eyes, and machine gun turrets on her wrists. Tinya then fired off her entire arsenal at Berta. The bullets and missiles were deflected away as Bertor avoided the plasma and laser beams. Bertor retaliated by blasting Tinya with super-powerful gusts of wind that threw her off her feet and slammed her into the wall.
Bertor then placed Tinya, still in her armored suit, into a tornado. The wind became more and more intense as armor and weaponry were stripped off gradually. The tornado died down with Tinya having a wrecked suit. She phased through the broken suit unharmed. Bertor then threw rotating wind shurikens at Tinya. The wind shurikens merely went through her and slammed against the wall.
Tinya calmly walked toward Bertor with no fear. Intense wind gusts didn't affect her as she phased. Bertor went into a defensive stance and powered up a ball of wind energy designed to slice up a body on the cellular level. Tinya was undeterred as she got closer and reached out to Bertor's chest. Bertor tried to strike at Tinya in vain with her ball of wind only for it to not have any effect with Tinya still phased.
"Give up before I give you a heart attack," Tinya threatened.
Bertor's back was against the wall and none of her air-bending attacks had any effect on an unblockable. Tinya was about to finish Bertor by reaching into her chest when Kara stopped the match. "Stop!" she ordered as she returned with Imra.
"Something wrong?" Tinya asked innocently.
"You can't bring equipment and weaponry you didn't bring with you. That's cheating," Kara told her. "Bertor wins."
"Oh, come on! That's bullshit!" Tinya protested.
"You really put your second self in an armory on your home planet for this?" Kara asked shocked and appalled.
"I actually prepare for battle. I'm a lethal as fuck assassin," Tinya rolled her eyes.
"Decision's final," Kara said dismissively.
Bertor gave a confused shaken look as she could have easily been killed during this match.
6th Match
The next match was Tasmia Vs Luornu. "Don't lose, you're the God Butcher's daughter, after all!" Imra said to her.
"That girl manipulates shadows," Kara warned Luornu, her brilliant secretary. "If you lose, you're fired."
"You threaten me with getting fired every day," Luornu rolled her eyes.
The two went to the floor, another female Vs female match. Tasmia began by extending her shadow to Luornu's feet to lock her into place. At the same time, Luornu created multiple flesh and blood copies of herself, a squad of herself. "Clones? Which one is the real one," Tasmia wondered as she withdrew her shadow.
"You're under a false assumption. We're all me," Luornu replied. "We all have the same abilities, memories, soul, so to speak." "I can even replicate clothes, weapons, and equipment this way."
"Don't bother to even try explaining the science to me. I know it's bullshit," Tasmia said slightly intimidated.
Luornu took out throwing knives from her pocket. "Give up?" she asked.
"I have you now," Tasmia said as she extended her shadow over the entire squad and stopped them from moving. "Had you spread out, this would have been really difficult."
The Luornu squad struggled against the shadow hold in vain. "But how are you going to win this way?"
"The limbo," Tasmia replied as she violently swung her head back and bent her back backward.
The entire Luornu squad also swung their heads back but this time they smacked the back of their heads to the wall. The whole squad fell to the floor in a heap unconscious.
"Clever girl," Kara sighed. "Had Luornu spread herself out more or not been so close to the damn wall, she could have won."
"These poor people show promise," Rokk considered.
7th Match
The sixth match was Kon-El Vs Brin. "Time to shine," Kon said confidently.
"You go super, you're done," Kara reminded him.
"If he's not allowed to go super, I should have the advantage. On one hand, beating the shit out of a kid is dishonorable. On the other hand, he is a royal prince, the heir to the throne, and a little snot," Brin considered.
"Show us how you've grown and don't embarrass me," Kara ordered.
"After your performance, you can't talk," Kon said dismissively.
Kon and Brin took to the floor. Brin had a smug look on his face. "Don't think you can beat me, dog," Kon said to him.
"Why, you little monkey," Brin shot back.
"Mara has already won. You don't want to be the sibling that lost, do you?" Kara taunted from the gallery.
"I'll end this quick with one swipe," Brin said to Kon.
"Oh, really?" Kon scoffed.
Brin went to all fours and went through a partial transformation. His teeth became longer and sharper, the same as his nails. Brin then shot toward Kon and elbowed him to the gut. Kon slammed into the wall with a thud.
"Prince Kon-El, that was uncool," Val said disappointedly.
"His power level is at human level," Brainiac 5 said to Kara as his eyes analyzed Kon's prone body.
Kon then got back to his feet. "I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you."
"You're intentionally lowering your power level to lure me into a false sense of security. Don't waste my time, brat," Brin told him off.
"What? No...," Kon denied.
"Don't bullshit me," Brin scolded. He charged Kon and threw some smoke grenades on the floor. The grenades had lead in the smoke obscuring Kon's vision. Within the smoke, Brin slapped Kon around a bit. With his keen sense of smell, Brin didn't need to see to make a hit. As Kon tried to get out of the smoke, Brin kept him back in and kept beating him. Kon then bit Brin on the arm and blasted the smoke away with his aura.
"The fuck?" Brin wondered as Kon had a good bite grip on his arm.
Kon released Brin and wiped his mouth. "You look like a dog, smell like dog, and taste like dog."
"How would you know how dog taste?" Brin questioned.
"Funny bastard," Rokk said of Kon.
"I'm not holding back now," Brin said pissed off. He rapidly transformed into his wolf form.
"That's crazy as fuck," Kon remarked of the transformation. "But this isn't the furry convention. That's down the street."
"It's over for you now!" Brin said with a snarling voice.
Brin charged Kon and tried to swipe at him. Kon merely dodged his swipes without much difficulty. Brin finally went into a spin and swatted Kon to the face sending him to the floor. Kon felt his blood from the side of his head, intrigued. "You're not ready for the big leagues, kid," Brin said to him.
Kon got back on his feet slightly ruffled. "If you go up against an Insane prince, you're going to lose."
"Kid, you're annoying," Brin scoffed. "I'm just going to have to beat the shit out of you in front of your mother."
Brin threw more smoke grenades on the floor and rushed Kon. This time, Kon focused on his super-hearing and dodged Brin's slashes. Still, Kon was getting hit multiple times in the smoke. Brin finally smacked Kon hard tossing him out of the smoke. Brin eyed Kon prone on the floor not moving. Suddenly, another Kon in the smoke kicked Brin to the chin stunning him. The Kon on the floor evaporated into smoke.
"Clones," Brin realized.
Kon's injuries healed immediately from his Kryptonian powers, and it was clear he was just toying with Brin up to now. Brin kept his cool and proceeded to give Kon a good beating with swipes to his face and arm. Brin then went for a finishing move to take out Kon's legs from behind. Just as Brin was about to make contact, he was forced back and grabbed his nose.
"Did you just shit yourself?" Brin asked stunned.
Kon smiled sheepishly. Brin gagged and vomited as his sense of smell was even superior to Kryptonians. Kon took the initiative and formed clones of himself. They surrounded Bin and then kicked him into the air. The real Kon slammed Brin midair with his foot. Brin hit the floor knocked out and went back to his normal form. Kon then evaporated his clones and went back to the gallery.
"Kon, what the fuck was that? Did you really shit your pants? God, I hate kids," Kara scolded.
"Perfect victory," Kon said proud of himself.
"That was the farthest thing from perfect. You shammed yourself, me, and the entire royal family," Kara raged. "Go clean yourself up and change your clothes."
"Fine, whatever," Kon said dismissively and walked off.
The medics then took away Brin.
8th Match
By an amazing coincidence, Garth and Ayala were up against each other. "This is bullshit," Garth muttered.
"A battle of the Winathians. Should be interesting," Kara said to herself.
The two took the floor. "I never thought I would be fighting you, sister," Garth said apologetically. "Forfeit, that's an order."
"Fuck you, brother," Ayala told him off. "I'm here to change our world, the galaxy. I want to be a hero."
"You're a spoiled little girl. Don't make me beat your ass," Garth warned. "People can't change. I'm older and a male. My strength will always be superior. You're fucked."
"No...," Ayalan objected.
"You can't fool my eyes. Your line of sight drifted to the upper left as you recalled all the times I gave you mental and physical suffering when I beat your ass as children. You were imagining yourself getting TASED repeatedly under my foot. Your defensive posture indicates you want to keep your distance from me, afraid of what will happen when this match begins. The way you bite your nails, to soothe your nervousness," Garth said.
"You done talking shit?" Ayala asked unimpressed.
"I'm not responsible for what happens next," Garth told her.
The two engaged in close fighting careful not to use energy attacks as per the rules. The two clashed repeatedly hand-to-wrists back and forth. With each impact, they sent shocks through their bodies. A hit to the torso could result in a knockout blow. After several blows between them, Ayala was exhausted and dumbfounded. The two hit each other's chest at the same time.
Ayala was devastated as she felt a shock go through her heart. Garth remained unaffected. "During our battle, I hit the energy pathways running up your arms. You're practically disabled now," Garth revealed. Ayala pulled back her sleeves and realized there were burn shock marks up and down her arms. She looked like a heroin addict.
"Oh, shit," she realized.
Garth then punched Ayala to the floor. "Forfeit," Garth pressed.
Ayala got back to her feet to continue and coughed up blood. "Oh, God," she realized how fucked up she was.
"I'm done playing with you," Garth frowned. "Forfeit," he demanded.
"That's the point. Our parents always had us fight each other to train to be the best, but we never got to play," Ayala said bitterly. "Just this once, can we play together?"
Garth's eyes soften at that. "Sure."
As the other Vindicators watched, Garth and Ayala fought in the Winathian style evenly. As Garth took it easy on her, Ayala started to build up her confidence. Every so often, Garth would get a blow on her to remind her that this was still a real fight. Eventually, Garth blasted Ayala to the torso sending her to the floor.
"Stop acting tough. I can see that you can barely stand. You've shouldered the burden of being born female. You've cursed and blamed yourself for being weak, but it can't be helped. It's fate. Surrender," Garth told her.
"I think it's you who is suffering more, brother. Carrying the weight of the family name and all those who died under your command," Ayala shot back.
Garth angrily pointed his hand at her ready to shock her. Ayala suddenly collapsed on the floor and coughed more blood. "Okay, I'm out," she surrendered.
9th Match
Finally, it came down to Rokk Vs Val, possibly the greatest mismatch. Val bowed respectfully to Rokk. "I'm very happy to be the one to fight you, Sir."
Rokk gave Val a simple nod of respect back and uncapped the gourd on his back filled with metal grains. As the match began, Val rushed Rokk with some physical attacks. The metal swarm around Rokk blocked all of his attacks. Val threw throwing knives at Rokk only for the metal knives to be thrown aside and dissolved into nothing.
"Is that it?" Rokk asked disappointedly. "Continue to instruct me in your Karate ways." Rokk then took hold of the metal weights on Val's legs and threw him against the wall.
"Take off those weights, dumbass," Kara ordered Val.
"But that's only for protecting defenseless innocents," Val protested.
"I'm making an exception," Kara allowed.
"Okay!" Val said and then took off his weights.
Val then instantly increased his speed and managed to get through the metal swarm. As he got faster and found more openings, he managed to hit Rokk directly. Rokk watched with some amazement and a little fear as Val demonstrated his encyclopedic memory of all Karate moves that had ever existed. For Val, it wasn't just about winning but showing the Supreme Leader all of his skills. Unlike the other heroes, all Val had was his martial arts. Still, Val had a super-human talent making him stronger and faster than even the greatest human athlete in history. Despite the swarm of metal constantly getting in the way, Val was getting some serious hits on Rokk's body. Finally, Val punched Rokk to the floor off his feet.
"Congratulations on getting through my first layer of defense. Behold my protective armor," Rokk said as liquid metal quickly closed the holes Val had made. The liquid metal, transparent aluminum, was able to protect Rokk while still allowing his face to be seen.
Val was undeterred and sped around Rokk looking for an opening. "Don't make me wait," Rokk said bored. Val suddenly got through his defenses and kicked him in the chin sending him up in the air. Val leaped up with his hands and continued to kick Rokk higher and higher in the air toward the ceiling. Val then took hold of Rokk, oriented themselves toward the floor, and spun their way back down. Just before impact, Val detached and allowed Rokk to hit the floor hard.
Rokk was on his back momentarily stunned. Slightly pissed off, he got back to his feet. His swarm of metal shards hit Val shredding his uniform and skin as Rokk took the match more seriously. Rokk grabbed a hold of Val with his metal tentacle arms and swung him around the floor. He slammed Val up against the wall and then hit him full force with countless metal shards as a finishing move.
"Come on, Val, dodge that shit," Kara rebuked.
As Rokk receded his metal swarm, Val was a bloody mess but still standing. Not only were Rokk's metal shards forcefully powerful collectively but they were all razor sharp. Each metal grain was small enough that it could not be evaded. Rokk toyed with Val as he forced him to move about the floor, his metal shards after him.
"You're having a lot of trouble with just this gourd," Rokk considered. "Imagine if I used this entire island's supply of metal. Now, consider what would happen if I used the entire planet, the entire solar system's wealth of metal."
"I welcome the challenge!" Val said enthusiastically.
"Futile," Rokk told him.
"I didn't do ten thousand punches, ten thousand kicks a day just to give up against you," Val told him off. "Within the human body are eight gates that regulate the flow of physical energy. I have discovered a way to unlock those gates. I will now show you the hidden potential of humanity."
"Show me," Rokk allowed.
Val focused and powered up as he unlocked several gates. "One way or another, it ends here," he said. Val sped toward Rokk and kicked him up in the air. Val met him up in the air and continually punched him around the room. Rokk hit the ceiling, the walls on both sides and the floor repeatedly. Rokk remained in the air as Val continually kicked him back up as he began to fall due to gravity.
Kara watched closely as Val gave Rokk a falcon punch mid-air. "His muscles are beginning to tear," she said as she scanned him with her X-ray vision.
"Is this really human movement?" Rokk wondered as he was getting seriously hurt. Val grabbed him by his scarf, pulled him back toward him, and then gave him another falcon punch. The two hit the floor hard blasting it open. Rokk was on his back slightly cushioned by the metal shards underneath him. Val was on the floor, his body toasted.
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," Rokk said softly as he was hurting on the floor.
Blades erupted from the ground, metal from the island's crust. The blades then disintegrated giving Rokk a hundred times more metal shards and grains to play with. They surrounded Val and sliced him up good so he couldn't move a muscle. Rokk then got back to his feet and limped over to Val who was a bloody mess and unconscious.
"I bequeath to you the scarf of you did...good...but not great," Rokk said and then let it fall on Val's body.
Rokk then turned to go back to the exit to get medical treatment assuming he had won. Instead, Val was back on his feet looking like a pale zombie. Rokk gave him a look of disbelief and prepared for another attack to finish him off. As the metal swarms were about to hit Val, Kara intervened blasting them away. "It's over," she said.
Val was unconscious but his body and subconscious were still eager to fulfill his duty to the queen and country, to represent the human race. "Val...you're truly a genius," Kara said as she embraced his limp body.
Val was then taken away to get immediate treatment. He was in critical condition due to blood loss, torn muscles and ligaments, and broken bones. With 31st-century medicine, he would be just fine. Rokk formed a cane from the metal around him and walked off with a limp.
Match 10
It was now a forgone conclusion that the last match would be Tyroc Vs Chuck aka Bouncing Boy. "I'm going to win and go to a buffet!" Chuck said obnoxiously.
"I need to last until the main event so I can battle the princess, Mara, or I will not meet Lemnos' expectations," Tyroc said to himself. "I have a pretty good idea of your agenda now. In other words, we're just guinea pigs to test Mara's abilities. What you want is not Mara's life but Mara, herself."
"Do your best, fatty," Imra said from the gallery.
"I'm going to finish you off quickly, fatso," Tyroc said to Chuck.
"Oh, you think I'm fat now. Just you wait," Chuck said as he expanded his body to resemble a giant ball of flesh. He was now so fat his arms and legs were useless, and it almost overwhelmed his own head. In fact, he was so fat his fat covered his ears creating natural earplugs. Chuck went into a bouncing roll. Tyroc moved out of the way and allowed Chuck to slam into the wall implanting himself.
"This is the end," Tyroc said confidently as he screamed into Chuck's ass. The soundwaves from the scream rippled through Chuck's round body scrambling organs and knocking Chuck unconscious. Chuck then went back to normal size.
"Well, he sure gave Chuck a sounding," Kara frowned. She then noticed Kon searching for what she meant on his smartphone. "Do not look that up," she said quickly.
"You may be one fat fuck, but seventy percent of your body is still water that can carry my soundwaves," Tyroc explained. "Lemnos, I'll have you know I'm more than just a guinea pig," he said to himself as he walked off.
Kara gave a sigh of relief as no one got killed. "Thanks for coming and competing. Obviously...this was a horrible idea. The winners of this round will compete again next season for the whole galaxy to see so bring your A-game."
The winners were: Mara, Lonna, Brainiac 5, Berta, Tasmia, Kon, Garth, Rokk, and Tyroc. With there being nine winners instead of the expected ten, one of them would be given a bye.
Author's Notes: The Vindicators are not taking these matches too seriously and it's not a real fight. They're also being restricted. This so-called "exam" is just kind of an excuse to get to know the Vindicators a bit more and what they're capable of. As per usual, their powers are a lot more lethal akin to The Boys type of fighting. It should not be assumed the winners of this tournament are the highest-ranking Vindicators and not all Vindicators participated.