------------------------------- UVR2- THE DESTRUCTION CONTINUES ------------------------------- SECTION EIGHT ------------------------------- _Sub-Basement A95-23_ Cyclops paused a few seconds. He was fairly sure he had lost them. Or maybe they had grown tired of his optic blasts. Either way, he had made up his mind...it was time to head back. Adjusting Takuma Sakazaki on his shoulder, he turned...and saw Psylocke. "Scott! Thank goodness I've found you! You have to come! Magneto's going to try to take over the Rumble node!" Cyclops gasped. "Betsy, are you sure?" This would take precedence over the Haohmaru matter. Magneto was far too dangerous to be left alone. "Yes! I saw the plans when I snuck into his suite! Come on!" "Okay, let's go!" Cyclops started forward. Psylocke grinned. "Why don't you let me carry that guy for a while? You must be getting tired." Cyclops smiled in response. "Okay. Thanks." He transferred Takuma to Psylocke's shoulder. It *was* good to have the weight off. "Lead the way, Betts." "Right through this door, and then up a few levels..." Cyclops instinctively went in front, and headed through the door. Which was where Morrigan rushed him. _The Ring_ "CLARK!" (KOF95) Clark ran down to ringside. "Yep. It's always me, who gets the last draw. This, of course, is due to the fact that organizers recognize my amazing skill." "GENJURO!" (SS2) "HAOHMARU!" Everyone got that "oooch" look on their face. "I will kill you! I will stab you and slash you and pierce you and ventilate you and cut you up some more and chop you into little pieces and then I will jump on the pieces up down up down up down up down and then I will chew on the sensitive parts and then I will spit them out because your raw flesh tastes horrid and then I will cook them until they are savory brown and then I will chew on them again and then I will spit them out again because it is your instinctive loserness that makes them taste bad and then I will jump on them some more up down up down up down up down and then I will spit on them ach-ptui and then I will stomp them extra hard and then I will burn the pieces of your flesh to a crisp then I will soak the crispy pieces in a bucket of acid then I will piss in the bucket of acid then I will scatter the acid and whatever remains of you across the Sea of Japan where sharks will instinctively turn away from it and then I will laugh hahahahaha for I will have finally defeated you in the manner you deserve, most unlegendary of legends!!!!!!!!!" Birdman blinked. "Sounds like he needs a stress management course." "BAD MISTER FROSTY!" (CF2) Birdman smiled. It hadn't been easy finding the sixth mystery slot to be filled. Duck King was busy, and Yokozuna had flaked on him at the last minute. However, he was certain Bad Mister Frosty would live up to his name. Or, rather, he prayed. "DONOVAN BANE!" (DS2) "And this is Donovan Bane, one of the two newest Darkstalkers. Even if Wan-Fu hadn't switched to using a pillar, he'd still have the biggest sword in the UVR." Meanwhile, Bane looked around. Spying Bad Mister Frosty, he ran over to him. "Excuse me. Are you a monster?" "I'm bad, I'm cool, I'm no one's fool." "Is that a yes?" "Say what you like, hotboy." "Okay. DIE MONSTER! DIE!" Bane slashed at the snowman relentlessly. _Room 245, RumbleDome Hotel_ WHO DISTURBS MY CONTEMPLATION OF DOOMED SOULS? "I, Demitri Maximoff, of House Maximoff of Romania, 421 years old, of the Ventrue." WHY DO YOU DISTURB THE DARK GUY? "Power." WHY WILL I GRANT IT TO YOU, INSTEAD OF TORMENTING YOU ETERNALLY FOR BOTHERING ME? "I have taken control of your servant, Mizuki. I also control Pyron, of the Fire Plane. I am the logical choice for you to empower with dark magic, for should you give it to me, I shall reap destruction across all the nodes. All shall bend to me...in your name." Of course, Demitri was lying through his teeth. Once he had the Dark Guy's power, he planned to use it to build up his own so he could challenge for domination of Hell. But he wasn't going to say *that*. A pause. YOU UNDERSTAND THE POLITICS OF HELL, DEMITRI MAXIMOFF. VERY WELL. I GRANT YOU YOUR REQUEST. GO FORTH AND DESTROY. Demitri's aura began turning blue, as did his clothing. Suddenly, his aura erupted into flames. Demitri began to laugh. _The Ring_ "NIGHTWOLF!" (MK3) The Native warrior strode down to ringside, in a good mood for once. He had just been trading organic recipes with Storm. "STORM!" (XM:COTA) Storm flew down to ringside, ignoring the loud cheering section which was chanting "Ororo" and quickly tossed a Lightning Ball at Genjuro. "SARAH BRYANT!" (VF2) "BENIMARU NIKKAIDO!" (KOF95) Sarah just kind of walked, trancelike, down to the ring. She was completely ignoring Benimaru. (Which was a rare stroke of luck for her.) "Sarah-chan, we *have* to talk about your clothing. I mean, this whole Jane Fonda-blue leotard thing is *out*, girlfriend. The gloves help a *bit* but not nearly enough. You don't want to look like a goddamn aerobics instructor from Hell. No, dear, let me tell you, you want that I'm-a-tough-babe-and-if-you-mess-with-me-bitch-I'l-kill-you look, and right now you don't got that, honey. Now, your other outfit..." Benimaru shuddered, "that's even worse than this one...I mean, jeans are okay for that rural toughboy image that Terry Bogard has but they just don't suit you when you're trying to be feminine as well (although the open shirt and the bikini top doesn't project "feminine" so much as "give it to me right now, babe"). The boots are good, though- high boots are *always* sexy. Don't worry, after the Rumble I'll take you shopping and we'll get you a new look- one that'll make all the boys happy and all the girls jealous bitches." Benimaru's speech was accompanied by grandiose gesturing. _Control Booth_ Birdman was staring speechless at Benimaru's entrance when the com clicked on. "Yo, Birdboy." "John, don't call me that. I hate being called that." "Whatever. Get your ass in here." Birdman stood and walked down a corridor to the UVR Magic Authority Office. Opening the door, he saw Misty John, the UVR's Magic Authority Officer, floating in a lotus position in front of a huge glowing 3-D blueprint of the RumbleDome. A large blinking light was present on the second floor. "What is that, John?" "Dunno. But it's big. Real freaking big." "What room is that, anyway?" "Room 245." "245? That would be Pyron's room...and surveillance cameras did spot Mizuki there previously." "If she didn't leave, I'd say that the kid is prolly having a chat with the Dark Guy...he's the only thing big enough to leave that kind of signature on this grid." Birdman looked at the Akashic Brother. "Dangerous?" "Nah. Best guess is that she's talking...the Dark Guy doesn't give power out more than once to any individual, and she's already gotten hers." "Fair enough. Anything else you need me for?" Misty John smiled nastily. "Well, if you could send Candy and Bunny up here again..." Birdman rubbed his temples. "Yes. They told me about that. Please, don't get me involved in a sexual harassment suit, John...I have enough problems..." "Hey! I didn't touch anything! And I promised to lead them to enlightenment, too!" "Uh-huh." Birdman's com beeped again. "What?" "B-b-b-Birdman, this is T-t-t..." Birdman interrupted. "What is it, Tristan?" "W-w-well, we've got some d-d-damage in one of the sub-b-basements, apparently caused by fighting. W-w-we don't know who did it yet, but I'm going to take a team in...but I'd like a Security escort." Birdman nodded to himself as he strode back to the booth. "Right. I'll call Scott and tell him to send somebody." _The Ring_ "RYOKO!" (WHP) "It was worth it. It was worth it. I'm not cute anymore!" Ryoko was dancing down in joy. Her physical appearance hadn't changed, but something was...different. She jumped into the ring and tapped Donovan Bane on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir. Am I cute?" Donovan Bane looked at her. "Well, I guess. I don't really see it, though." Ryoko jumped for joy. She ran over to Guy. "Am I cute?" "Well, I saw some tapes of you at the DT...and you were cute then...but now, for some reason, you aren't. It's weird." "SHURA!" (WHP) "Ha! Now that I've sold my soul, *I* will be recognized as the mightiest of Muay Thai fighters!" Mantazz muttered to Sasquatch, "What iz it with theze Muay Thaiz anyway?" "JUGGERNAUT!" (XM:COTA) "And this would be Juggernaut, one of the largest fighters present. He lists his interests as "destroying", "conquering" and "gardening", for those ladies interested in a relationship." "LIU KANG!" (MK3) Lucky Glauber yelled out, "Hey! How come you have such a high voice?" Liu Kang did not deign to answer. _Eliminated Seating_ "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'M NOT LISTENING!" Kyo Kusanagi's quiet argument with his father had regressed into a shouting war. Sasquatch stood between the two, recognizing that playing peacekeeper might hurt when both fighters had weird crackling energy in their hands. "You have no choice! You will turn to the Dark Side of the Source!" "Never!" Kyo stormed off and out of the Eliminated seating. Saishu sat and fumed for several minutes, then tapped Baek on the shoulder, motioned for him to follow, and left the Eliminated seating as well. _The Ring_ "CHARLIE!" (SFA) Running down to ringside, Charlie quickly ran over to Rose. "What's the 411, magic lady?" Rose looked at him. She was getting tired of talking so much. and, the final fighter of the section... "RYU!" (SFA) The entire crowd began cheering loudly for one of the most popular fighters in the whole Multiverse. Ryu, of course, had no idea what was going on. _Sub-Basement 119-A5Y_ Kyo was punching the wall in frustrated anger. He had wanted to take Saishu and ram his head against the chair. That hadn't bothered him. What *had* bothered him was the desire immediately thereafter to touch the Source, to burn his father until only smoking remnants were left... "So, the Dark Side is close to claiming you. How fitting." Kyo whirled to see Saishu standing, stroking his beard. "I won't turn, father. Never." "Oh, you will, my son. It is only a matter of time." The Source sprung to Saishu's hands. "Defend yourself." "I won't fight you, father." "Then you will die." Saishu motioned, and suddenly three kicks slammed into Kyo's head. Baek grinned. "Because of your unworthiness, I shall allow Baek to stomp you into the ground as he has asked to do. Then I shall touch the Source, and your body will be burned away. Perhaps my next son will be a suitable replacement." Kyo managed to flip away from Baek before the Tekkeneer could slam him with another kick. "You'll have to do better than that." Saishu smiled. "I can AGGGGGH!" Saishu was suddenly slammed forward. Jon Talbain was directly behind him, looking *very* angry. "Welcome to the fight, kid. I'll fill you in later. First, let's whup these losers." WHO WILL LIVE? WHO WILL DIE? IS DEMITRI GOING AFTER O.J. NEXT?