FicWad

XIV



It was close to Thanksgiving, and the six were invited to dinner at Uncle Dudley's place, as well as Mai, Yuma, Nana, Poe, and even Mr. Katt. Of course, both were prepared for the fact that each would be there, and Mr. Katt promised to control himself. Poe, on the other hand was terrified, but was eventually reassured that all would be well. They would have a great time of fellowship, adinner, and then a great surprise for later that evening. Billy asked that they bring their instruments as well. On Thanksgiving Day, everyone arrived, and there was a bit of tension in the air. However, Poe busied himself with the details of dinner, and took his mind of the cat. Meanwhile, everyone else was conversing, but Ahiru felt a bit put off by her friends, considering that they no longer approached her as a peer, but treated her like a superior. She finally took them aside, and said, "Would you three relax? It's me! You don't have to stand on ceremony for me; we can be buds, like before."

Ahiru sneered, and then looked at Mai, and said, "Tomboy!"

"Quaky duck," she said in response.

"Blabbermouth," Mai said to Yuma.

"Crazy redhead," Nana said, and then they all began to giggle.

A bit later, Mary took Mai aside, and said, "Hey, you know, I've been noticing you, and it seems there is an image you want to shed?"

Mai looked down, and said, "Yes, I wish Icould."

"I tell you what: this weekend, we are going on the town, and we are going to get you a makeover, kid," said Mary smiling, "and I am going to teach you the finer arts of femininity. You won't recognize yourself!"

Mai wanted to say no, but she had to admit that it was time to shed the cocoon in which she hid. It was time to blossom. Yet she said, "Do you think there's any hope for me?"

"Hey, kid," she responded, "There is no sin in being a late bloomer. It's just time to get those petals out."

When they all came back together, Mr. Katt discussed the upcoming variety show, and began, once again, to emphasize the potential that they had together. He then gave them the warnings of how the business worked today, and warned them of the hazards they faced with greedy producers. They had to stand firm no matter what, or they would be broken up, absorbed by the industry, and leached dry. At this, Billy asked how their instruments were coming, and they said that it was rough, but they were beginning to get the hang of it. Then he said that they should mess around a bit, after the surprise. They all asked what the surprise was, and Billy announced that they all had box seat tickets for that night's big game between the Fawcett Thunderbolts and the Metropolis Metros. No one seemed enthused. The girls were not fond of the game, except for maybe Mai, Mr. Katt was not much for emotional displays, except when dealing in class, Poe had no clue what Billy was talking about, and the boys were not very fond of a game that they figured was too plodding and slow as compared to soccer. Billy said,"Nobody cheer at once."

"It's all right, Billy," said Mary, "We'll still go. We don't want to see those tickets go to waste, do we?"

She then looked at the others knowingly, and they all groaned, and conceded. Billy then said, "Hey, wait, I know a way to help you enjoy it, and I'll tell you when we get there."



There was a stretch leading up to dinner, and Fakir mentioned that, if Billy liked a rough and tumble game, he should check out Rugby. They then went on line, as the girls started to gather in a group, (not really as fond of such things,) and looked for Rugby. One of the things that they found dealt with hard tackles in that game, and they were all cringing at some of the vicious tackles. However, Billy found a film that put scenes of American football with clips from the two codes of Rugby. Now it was Fakir's turn to be amazed at the similarities between the games, and then he began to wonder if that evening's trip would not be a waste after all. He still did not catch onto the reasons why the American game "started and stopped" all the time, until Billy explained a little of the history, and then said that the best way to look at it was full contact chess. That clicked with them. Then, Billy noticed on the Ruby listing something that said "haka." "What's this?" asked Billy.

"That is a ritual dance that the Maori tribes of New Zealand do before going to war, and it is something that their national Rugby team do before they play," answered Mytho.

The word "dance" caught the attention of everyone in the room, and they all came over. Mr. Katt said that he was familiar with this, and he said for Billy to play it. Seeing it on screen did not seem to be as intimidating as what he figured it must be live, especially if you are the opposing team. Then, there was a different haka that Mr. Katt said they saved for important games. That one seemed to move more, and had more coordination. Mr. Katt then explained that all the hand gestures and movement meant things just as important as the words. The words were saying that this was going to be their turf, and they were going to defend it against all comers. He then explained some of the hand gestures. For example, there was a point where the players drew their closed fists across their chests, with their thumbs up. This meant that they were drawing the breath of life into themselves for the task ahead. Even the word "haka" lent to this. "Ha" meant, "breath" and "ka" meant "to ignite:" thus, "to ignite the breath." Ahiru then said, "Then, it almost seems like they are doing a bit of ballet right before they play."

"In a sense, they are," said Mr. Katt, "at least, in their own culture. Dance is always something that tries to tell a story without words. Ballet is just one form that developed as it did for its own reasons, but really, any dance designed to tell stories and convey messages are just a derivative of that."



Dinner was served, and they all generally conversed. Poe and Mr. Katt were actually becoming a bit chattier, as Mr. Katt was trying to reach out to Poe, and Poe knew that predators like him were not so eager to kill you on a full stomach. After this, there was some time before they left for the game, and so they brought out their instruments, and started to experiment some more. They were still not quite sure of their instruments, but it had shown that they were practicing. Billy figured that they would have it down before the show. In addition, Billy was thinking about an encore, just in case, so they were not caught off guard again. Billy then suggested the song "Seasons of Love" from the musical "Rent." They could actually do some dancing as they sung. "But Billy, how are we going to do that?" asked Ahiru.

"Well, I think we are fit enough to do this, and today's technology made it easy. These days, there are mics that are like those Bluetooth phones. They are light, and pick up well. As long as we are not trying to do any heavy moves that would shake our voices at the points we need to sing, we can do this, and not run out of breath. Do you want to try it?"

Everyone agreed that this would be good, and Mr. Katt agreed to help with the choreography.



Then it was time for the game. When they got there, the girls did not seem too happy. It was then that Billy enlightened them. He said, "Okay, this game is sometimes called beefcake ballet."

They all laughed, and looked at him funny. He then said, "The reason for that is all the coordination that goes into the game, and how the players are so agile and light on their feet, and how everything seems to be in sync when executing plays. In fact, did you know that some of these men actually take ballet in order to play better?"

They all turned their heads in surprise, except for Uncle Dudley, Mr. Katt, and Poe, (who could have cared less.) "That's right: imagine some of these guys in tights, dancing a manage around the room, or doing pirouettes. They do this, because it gives them flexibility and agility in a way they never had it. They do whatever it takes to get that edge, and often end up enjoying ballet outright. You've heard of the Nutcracker Suite, well get ready for the Helmetcraker."

With that knowledge, they began to watch the players to see if any of this would come out. They actually began to hear the Nutcracker Suite in their minds as the game progressed, as if they were doing a ballet instead of playing football. They began to be mesmerized by the precision of the teams as they ran their play, especially on the special team plays. They were amazed that such large men were able to shift and move lightly on their feet as if they were walking on air. By the middle of the second quarter, the boys were into the game, trying to predict what things the teams should be trying next, commenting on the athletic abilities of certain ones in making their predictions. By the middle of the third quarter, the girls were into it, now seeing that the game was more than just a bunch of brutes trying to kill each other. They were talking to each other, trying to guess which ones looked like they had some ballet experience. It came down to the last play, and a field goal tied the game for the Thunderbolts, sending it into sudden death. Since this game had aplayoff spot riding on the results of the game, they were acting as if this was the championship game. The two teams were about to make the coin toss for the sudden death, when Mytho stiffened, and looked back as he watched a man rise up from his seat and start to walk for the tunnel. His empathy detected an extreme rush in his heartbeat, and anxiousness to his person, and it was not good. He quickly nudged Fakir, and pointed him out. Fakir could not help but be curious why someone would walk away from an extra time session that was the equivalent of a golden goal situation in a soccer match. They quickly got the attention of the other four, and they indicated that they needed to meet by the concessions.



When they were a safe distance away, Mytho and Fakir began to mention their suspicions. As this was happening, Mytho noticed another man with the same emotion set take a position at one of the tunnels, and he looked down the exit tunnel as another was taking position. He pointed this out to Fakir, who knew what he was seeing. He had seen terrorist attacks in Europe before, and these were the kinds of things that would happen if they wanted to take a place hostage. If this were so, then this was much bigger than what he had ever seen. They told everyone to take certain positions, and be ready for action. The Batsons went down the ways a bit, and decided to make the change when something happened that would cover the sound of the thunderbolts. Fakir took a position around the corner of an opening that led to the stands, near one of these men, as did Mytho. Claire waited at the top of the exit tunnel in the shadows awaiting a move in action that would cover her movements. Tutu was the bait, to try to flush them out into a trap to the others. If they were going to hold these people hostage, it was going to be avery bad day for them. Suddenly, over the PA system, a man with a foreign accent came on and announced that the entire stadium was wired to explode, and if their demands were not met, all would die. No one was to attempt to leave or resist, or else that one would be shot. One fan tried to be a hero and tried to take the weapon from the man standing guard on the opening that led out of the stands. However, he was quickly knocked down, and then killed. The gunshots were just the kind of thing that the Batsons were waiting for, and called out the wizard's name. Of course, everyone was on their face, all the terrorists at the openings around the stadium, shouting at all the people to stay in their seats, roughing up one or two to get the point across. The death built rage up in the team, and gave them more incentive now to act then ever before. It was at this point that Princess Tutu stepped out and greeted the man at the opening. He wheeled around, and pointed the gun at her as he went to fetch her and drag her back to the stands. It was his last action. Suddenly, a sword found its way through his heart, and he fell to the ground with a whimper. The one at the bottom of the exit tunnel saw this and leveled his gun at Fakir, which was all the Claire needed. She transported right behind this man, and whipped him hard into the wall. She then bound him with his own shoelaces. The one near Mytho entered the tunnel to aid his friends when he found a pommel introducing itself to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. Another from another direction came ready to fire, and did so-right into the chest of Captain Marvel. Mary Marvel came from behind, and threw him out the opening. Everyone was wondering what the commotion was in the tunnel, and they got their answer as one of the terrorists came flying over the crowd, screaming all the way, landing hard on the field. If he were not dead, he was probably wishing that he were. At that, the crowd cheered, knowing that it just had to be Captain Marvel. The man in the box began to scream for silence before he set off the bombs. It was at this precise moment that the Secret Six were interrogating the one that Claire had captured. Mary and Captain Marvel took positions on either end of the tunnel, as Claire opened a fan, and placed it at his throat. She commanded very concisely, "Now, you are going to tell us exactly how many of you are here, and where you are."

"I will never talk I..." but that was all he got out as she took the fan and easily cut a lock of hair off his head like ahot knife through butter. "This is not paper: I can take off your head with this. NOW TALK!" she said, as she pulled up his head and now pressed it on this throat. She then said, "All it will take is another fraction of a Newton of force, so you'd better start talking!"

"There are only so many at the tunnels, you have already dispatched three of them," he then said rather rapidly, "and all the exits are covered."

Black Knight then pointed his sword to his chest, and said, "Where are the bombs?"

"I don't know," he responded.

White Knight cocked his head, and said,"He is lying."

"We can't kill him yet," said Black Knight, "We need this information."

Claire sighed, and said, "Tutu: he's yours!"

Oddly enough, she approached with her usual gentle demeanor in cases like a mind contact. However, after all he had seen, he was not sure what was going to happen. Claire held his hand down, as Tutu gently reached for it. Stark terror was all that could be seen on his face...



After stripping him, and duct taping him to the wall as he slept peacefully and soundly, Captain Marvel was already after the bombs, which had been strapped to each load bearing structure in the stadium. He had to act fast. They also could not believe how this man soiled his underwear right before Tutu made contact. "He must have been terrified, the poor dear,"said Claire sarcastically. However, Mary, (whose hearing, though not super, was still better than the average person's was,) heard the approach of two men. She immediately sprang into action, and said to the others, "See to the exits: I have these two!"

She flew to the right as gunfire and ricocheting bullets were heard. The others saw one of the terrorists follow right behind her, telling her to stop as he went by, and a second later, he, and the other terrorist, went flying by. Mary was in hot pursuit. Black Knight said to the Swans, "We can handle the exits: go after the clown or clowns in the booth."

Quite quietly and systematically, the Knights took exit after exit. They did not want to gain the attention of all the guards at once, lest they invite afight greater than they wanted to face at that moment. Mary was scouring the lower part of the stadium, looking for more guards, but could find none. Meanwhile, the Swans were making their way up to the booth. Tutu rounded the corner, and ran smack into a guard. He was about to scream out, but she got her hands to his lips, linked, and he locked up, as she said, "Shh: there's no talking in ballet."

She broke contact and slipped by. He was still feeling a bit dreamy when he wheeled around...right into Claire's left foot! They reached the door, and heard muttering in a foreign language. The voice inside began to grow more frantic with each passing second. If they could have understood, what they would have heard was the leader trying to make contact with his henchmen, and not succeeding. They also discerned by the voices that there were three terrorists in the booth. Claire looked at Tutu, and said, "Let's end this!"

Both with fans out, Claire kicked in the door. Nimbly and deftly, Tutu disarmed both guards easily as Claire followed up with swift kicks, knocking out the men soundly. Both took a pose, fans extended, in front of the leader, as Tutu uttered, "Stop this malevolence, now!"

"WHAT!" was all he could exclaim. He finally found his voice, and said,"Fools! I hold the final ace!"

With that, he reached over and pressed abutton as he cackled insanely. Nothing! He could not understand what had happened, when about thirty seconds later, a notable "boom" was heard, but it sounded distant. In a panic, he reached for his pistol. Apparently, he had forgotten how quickly his guards had been disarmed. He only got his hand as far as his chest when the Swans were upon him. Each had a fan to his throat, as the each fanned him with the other, and smiled sweetly as their faces sat but inches from his own. "Naughty, naughty," said Tutu, "You're not playing nice."

He began to laugh, and said, "Ha, I never play nice, and those were not the only bombs. He then moved his hand to go for a switch in his jacket that would set off the explosives strapped to himself. However, as all this was happening, no one noticed the image of Black Adam coming from behind, outside the stadium side of the booth. He slid the glass aside, grabbed him, and said, "Then it's about time someone taught you how!"

He grabbed him by the collar and flung him high into the air. He then exploded high in the air like a poor pyrotechnic. The girls were startled at the sight, but he calmed them, and said, "Nice job in distracting him. I never could have snuck up on them without your help."

"You look like Captain Marvel...," said Tutu, but he raised his hand, and said, "I am Black Adam. Let us just say that I am the original copy. If it were not for Marvel, I would have gone insane with the old Adam's evil. By the way, I love the style of you two-hey, even the whole team! I loved how you duct taped that goon to the wall, by the way. The feds were extracting him just as Captain Marvel and I disposed of the bombs. I saw him going into the underbelly of the stadium, and when I saw what he was doing, I quickly lent a hand. We had those satchel charges about ten thousand feet into the air when they went off. I am just glad we weren't holding them when they went off. It could have drilled us into the ground. Anyway, extracting that goon looked quite painful. However, I have to admire even more the duct tape underwear. That would be fun to watch as they got that off him!"

Tutu blushed, and said, "That was Claire's idea."

At that point, the Knights arrived, and said that they were able to take more of them alive. Mary said that the others had been subdued as she arrived behind Adam. The crowd was beginning to become restless, so Tutu picked up the PA mic, and said, "This is Princess Tutu of the Secret Six. Fear not, dear friends, for the evil doers are all subdued, and all is well."

At this, the crowd thundered. Down where the others were sitting, only Mr. Katt seemed concerned about what had happened to the others. Only Poe and Dudley knew what had happened, while the three girls figured that Ahiru/Tutu got the others to safety, and then proceeded to act. Everyone was also reassured as they saw the Marvels and Adam fly over the stadium as if they were jets. Everyone roared their approval, and Tutu came up again and said, "And now, let the game resume: is there not an overtime to play?"

The commissioner was looking to cancel the game at that point, and call it a draw, but the people would not relent. They players and officials regained some courage from this, and decided to take the field. By this point, Tutu came down with the others, still as heroes, in order to assure that everyone was safe. They said that they, (in reality, their alter egos,) would be along, as they had to give statements to the feds as to what they saw. All this was happening as the Thunderbolts dazzled the crowd with a double reverse pass, which was caught close to the line. The receiver then leaned with all his might and reached the ball over the goal line just before the knee came down: touchdown. Tutu was amazed at the precision of the play, and noted how dramatic the finish was. It certainly seemed to come right out of the script of a ballet. The crowd roared, and Tutu giggled, "Now that's beefcake ballet!" The cheerleaders then signaled down the six, and the players lifted them up on their shoulders, taking them out to the center of the field, as the announcer thundered, "And here are today's MVPs: the Secret Six!"

The cheer was deafening. Even though the Metros had a tough loss, due to the atmosphere of celebration, they really did not seem to care!