fandomhigh | Summer Games, Wednesday Morning

Today the park was set up with the normal bleachers for observers, and also thoughtfully provided cheap plastic rain ponchos for people who wished to observe without being in the blast zone. There didn't seem to be a single adult manning any of the food stations, which could explain the choices: heavy on super spicy junk food and no salad to be seen anywhere.

The most noticeable difference from last week, though, was probably the weedy teenager with the, frankly, hilarious haircut wielding the megaphone today. He had a little ponytail and a braid looping down over his right ear. It was a lot of look. "Right!" he yelled. "So I woke up today with this set of instructions next to my bed: apparently I'm in charge of doing paintball today, which sounds surprisgly not-stupid for a school event! We're going to be in two teams, so listen for your name since I don't recognize...most of them."

He shrugged that off. Must be another weird Fandom amnesia day or something. And paintball was way more important than giant gaps in his memory, right? "Okay, this is Team Red: you wear the ugly red jumpsuits over there--" he pointed helpfully, "--and your paintball guns and don't forget your eye protection and blah blah don't poke your eyes out, etc. Team members are: Ahsoka, Verity, Kaidan, Miguel, Paris, Aloy, Vanessa, Peter, Jaylah, Peridot, Tip. Alec, Amaya, Steve, Cara, Seivarden, Tony, Sabine, Jason, Summer, and Theron."

He waited for those team members to get moving. "Okay. Team Blue is: Aphra, Astrid, Rosa, Jaina, Kanan, Eliot, Beaker, Liam, Hannibal, Manfred, Hera, Kathy, Sidon, Magnus, Uma, Cristina, Breq, Bobby, Wade, Reno, and me." He consulted his paper again, then made a face. "Okay, we were supposed to just stay in the park, but that sounds incredibly boring, so I'm going to give us five minutes to make a quick plan with our team and then say that the entire island is fair game for as long as it takes one team to take out the other team."

Complete anniliation. Surely that boded well for his future life choices! "Last man, woman, or--" his eyes drifted to Beaker, confused, "--other...standing wins for their team and gets to take home the--" he squinted at the paper again. "Terrifying fish thing?"

On cue, the fish flew into his hand. Over the past week, it had been modified again: now to smell like pumpkin spice, put off small fireworks and holographic projections of flowers with smiley faces as it flew, and telepathically project "The Song That Never Ends" into the minds of anyone too close to it.

Anakin hated this thing on sight.

"For the first time in my life, I'm considering losing," he said, staring at the fish. "Anyway! Teams, get together and plan! You have five minutes and...go!"

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"Just paint that's propelled outta a gun at three hundred feet per second," Alec retorted. Which was probably enough to knock this scrawny kid right over. As well Hardison knew, also being fairly scrawny. And asthmatic. "Just paint that slams into you hard enough to leave bruises. We're supposed to have safety gear! Where's my helmet! I'mma take a paintball to the eye, get all infected, probably loose the damn thing..."

"There are goggles," Steve said, handing some over. "And I always have bruises, so at least that won't be new--"

Alec snagged those like he was afraid the other kid might snatch them away if he didn't, and then fussed trying to fit them over his glasses.

They were not flattering glasses.

"Beat up a lot, huh?" he asked with the long-suffering tone of someone who understood.

"It happens," Steve said with a little shrug. "I'm gettin' better at ducking."

Whereas Alec was getting better at avoiding situations where he'd get jumped in the first place. Well, at least he had been until he'd gotten up this morning.

Ugh, that jerk.

"I find it's easier to hit back in other ways," he said. "Like hacking into the school database and tanking all their grades."

Steve was confused by your slang, Alec!

"Hacking?" he repeated. "Like with an axe?"

That was because Steve was oooooooooooooooold.

"What? No! Like with a computer!"

"A what?" Steve asked.

So so oooooold.

"A computer," Alec said, because repeating it would clear everything right up. "You know, magic box, keyboard goes clackity-clack, access to the wonderful world of the internet inside?"

Steve gave him a completetely confused look. "...no?"

"You Amish or somethin'?" Alec checked. Because who didn't know about computers these days?

"No, I'm Catholic," Steve said.

"Even the pope has a computer!" Alec insisted.

Well, probably. Someone in the Holy See sure did. Alec knew that because of reasons.

Summer Games, Wednesday Morning

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!

Re: Team Red, Assemble!