“Are you sure?” Kevin asked. “Really, really sure?”
“Yeah. Positive. You’re dead.” Matt replied.
“No way! Reinforcements!” Kevin shouted, as Katie and Dylan rushed the room, making short work of Matt.
“Looks like we win.” Dylan said, as he tossed his controller down.
“Again.” Katie added, with a grin.
They could hear sounds of rage, as Mosley swore and threw things in the next room.
“Guess he didn’t like that.” Kevin shouted.
“Nope.” Matt shouted back. “Team Deathmatch does that to a person. Of course, if we hadn’t been saddled with Jay and Silent Bob, we wouldn’t have had the problem.”
“Hey, we play Halo, not Modern Warfare 2.” Tom argued.
“Yeah, not our fault the controls are all messed up.” Mac agreed.
“Uhhh… You guys do know you can change that, right?” Ally asked. “It’s in the main menu. Of course, it won’t stop me from whupping you both every time. Just like with Halo.”
“Oh, that’s just harsh.” Mac said.
“And anyway, we had Katie and Kevin. It’s totally even.” Dylan said. “They’re total amateurs.”
“Guess who’s never getting a mission with us again.” Kevin said, smacking Dylan on the back.
“Looks like you guys could use all the help you can get.” Dylan replied.
The door opened, and Mosley, Matt, Tom and Mac filed into the room. “Hey, we were only three kills behind.” Matt said.
“And if this jackass hadn’t hit me in the back of the head, I’d have killed Katie, and there would only be one kill in it.” Mosley added, pointing a thumb at Tom.
“Dude, you were totally in my line of fire.” Tom argued.
“Well, if this was supposed to improve our team-work skills, I’m not sure it worked…” Matt said.
“Of course, it doesn’t help that half of each team doesn’t actually go into the field with us.” Katie observed.
“True. Ok, new teams. Me, Katie, Matt and Mosley on one. Dylan, Mac, Tom and Ally on the other. Me and Ally as Team Captains.” Kevin ordered.
<><><>
“Gotta admit Jockstrap, you’re not half bad.” Mosley said.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” Kevin replied. “Watch your three o’clock.”
“Got it.” Mosley replied.
“How are things on your side?” Kevin asked.
“We’re holding our ground. Got a good spot here, for now. Katie keeps taking some pretty serious damage though.” Matt replied.
“That’s my job though. Draw fire while you take them out.” Katie replied.
“Crap, they’re on top of us!” Kevin shouted, as he manoeuvred his character behind a wall, bullets raining down from all four of his opponents.
“Dude, how did they all get together like that?” Mosley asked.
“Teamwork. Those guys have been playing videogames together for years. That’s why we’re against them… Matt, you can see where we are?” Kevin asked.
“Yeah, sure, if I screen-cheat.” Matt said, looking down. “You think you can hold them off?”
“We can keep them from killing us. If we take them all out, we win. If they take us both out, we lose. We need your backup now.” Kevin replied. “Mosley, keep the two on the left behind cover, I’ll take the two on the right.”
“Got it.” Mosley replied.
“You guys are screwed!” Tom shouted from the next room.
“Ahh! What the hell!” Mac shouted, as Katie and Matt both busted in, guns a-blazing.
Chaos ensued, as Kevin and Mosley both used the distraction as a chance to leave their cover, blasting the hell out of all four opponents.
“And that’s how it’s done.” Kevin shouted, as the game ended.
<><><>
Fisher stepped down into the kitchen, where the other team-members were busy eating their lunches. “I trust your teamwork exercise was a success?” He asked.
“Looks that way. It’s about time we got on the same page.” Kevin said.
“We’ll see how long that lasts.” Mosley said.
“Gave us a chance to work on tactics too.” Matt added.
“Although, military tactics go out the window when superpowers get involved, I suppose.” Katie said.
“Well, yeah…” Matt said.
“Tell that to Cal Richards. That guy is like, a general.” Kevin said.
“But his team isn’t as powerful as ours, and they use guns and stuff. Squad tactics make perfect sense for them.” Katie explained.
“Well, yeah… But it would still help.” Kevin said, before changing the subject. “Fisher, anything come up on the scanner?”
Fisher shook his head. “It’s a slow day. Nothing major happening within our emergency scanner’s range.”
“Good. Gives us time to get some more training in. Time to hit the gym.” Kevin said.
Matt groaned. “But didn’t we do that yesterday?”
Mosley laughed. “You need to do it more than we do nerd. Let’s go.”
“Fisher, you can go join them, I’ll keep watch on the scanners, I’ve got homework to do anyway.” Katie said.
“We’re going to head over to band practice, if that’s cool.” Ally said.
“How come they get out of weight-training?” Matt asked.
“Do you have any other responsibilities? Do you have anywhere you need to be?” Kevin asked.
“What about Mac and Tom?” Matt argued.
“When was the last time they went into battle?” Kevin asked.
“Hey, we totally beat Rose that time!” Mac joined in the argument.
<><><>
“There is no way you’re not using your powers to lift that.” Matt said, as he stared at the barbell Kevin was pressing.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Kevin asked, lifting the 180 lb weights with relative ease.
“You should see him do a leg press.” Mosley added, as he hefted a pair of dumbbells.
“I’m pretty sure that thing weighs more than I do.” Matt said.
“It does. Way more than you do.” Kevin said.
“Yeah, you really need to bulk up.” Mosley added.
“Working on it. My parents think I have a tapeworm.” Matt said, drawing laughter from Mosley and Kevin.
Fisher, on the other hand, lifted weights in silence, focussed entirely on his workout.
“Hey Kev, he’s lifting more than you.” Matt pointed at the barbell Fisher was lifting. 220 lbs.
“Look at him. He’s a tank. Of course he’s lifting more than me. Fighting for survival after the apocalypse will do that to you.” Kevin said.
“Any excuse, huh?” Mosley teased.
“It wasn’t the apocalypse. It was a dystopia.” Fisher said.
“There’s a difference?” Kevin asked.
“The apocalypse is when most of the people of the world die off, or the world ends. Dystopia is like, the opposite of an ideal society.” Matt explained.
“The more you know.” Mosley muttered.
“Ok… Matt, I think it’s time you started on cardio.” Kevin said.
“Damnit, I hate that stupid treadmill.” Matt moaned.
<><><>
“Ok, who wants lunch?” Matt asked, opening the fridge.
“There’s no food in there, Fisher and me ate it all.” Mosley said.
“Fisher and I.” Katie corrected, as she rejoined the group.
“Whatever. Let’s order pizza.” Mosley suggested.
“1…2…3. Not it!” Matt said.
“Not it!” Kevin, Fisher and Katie chorused.
“Damnit.” Mosley said, heading upstairs to find his Firestorm costume.
“Who’s bright idea was it to announce this was our base?” Matt asked, looking square at Kevin.
“I just thought it would be good if people had a way to contact us.” Kevin explained.
“And after that fight against those sand people on our front doorstep, it was a dead giveaway.” Katie added.
“Still, makes it a pretty big effort to get a damn pizza delivered.” Matt complained, switching on the TV.
The team stared at the message appearing on the screen.
“Mosley… Cancel the pizza, but keep putting your costume on.” Kevin shouted.
“Why? What’s up?” Mosley shouted down the stairs.
The TV kept playing in the background, repeating itself:
“This is a Public Service Announcement. Moments ago, an unidentified group of super-powered individuals began an assault on Guantanamo Bay. Repeat, there is a break-out in progress at Guantanamo Bay. The US Government requests that any available super-teams please make their way to the scene as soon as possible, in order to contain the super-powered prisoners. This is not a hoax. This is not a drill.”
“Call Ally, tell her to suit up, we’ll pick her up on the way. We’re heading to Guantanamo Bay.” Kevin ordered.