Survivor: the Initiative: Episode 1

Survivor: the Initiative: Episode 1
Setting up Camp

DAY 1

TEAM JOYCE

Captain America would be horrified. Eight grown women, all applying to be heroes with the Fifty States Initiative, all already heroes in their own right, arguing pettily over basic daily tasks. In front of the cameras.
Cathy Webster, Free Spirit, was definitely horrified. And she definitely couldn’t take anymore.
“Quit it! Stop acting like children and get to it already!”
Gladiatrix and Valkyrie, who’d been arguing, nearly at blows, about who had to fell trees for their shelter, turned and looked at her in fury and amusement, respectively. Gladiatrix, a snarl on her face, took two steps and was suddenly inches from Cathy’s face.
“And you, blondie, are suddenly elected leader of the girly-girl team? Or were we offending your delicate ears with our big grown up words?”
Cathy felt cold prickles of tension run down her spine and she found herself standing straighter and suddenly breathing through her nose in short, angry bursts. “Listen, Gladiatrix, no disrespect intended—“
“No disrespect? You butt into my affairs, think you can finish my fight with your little peace-making speech, and then you tell me you meant no disrespect?”
The woman’s breath was surprisingly stale. Cathy took a step back and looked around at her new tribe mates. Gladiatrix, snarl in place, only feet away from her. Nocturne, her wings spread wide, standing near the top of a tree. Phantom Blonde, her arms behind her head, relaxing against the same tree. Ion, floating eerily, inches off the ground with no expression on her face. Number Nine and Tempo, both looking uncomfortable in their own skins. And Valkyrie, arms crossed under her metal bra shells, sword in her belt, with—was that a smile on her face?
Cathy took her place in the middle of the group and gave a speech that would do Captain America proud.
“Listen, we are all here to make the best of ourselves. Just hear me out! We have a unique opportunity to be here in the wilds of Symkaria on this beautiful mountaintop, next to this beautiful lake, and to prove ourselves as heroes and as powerful women! Let’s not waste our time with in-fighting! Let’s use our talents to build our camp and get things in order! Let’s be the best heroes we can be!”
Cathy wasn’t sure who started laughing first, but she felt her face turn bright pink and it was all she could do to stand her ground.

The water fetcher? Puh-lease. Not that she could blame the other girls. When they’d divvied up tasks to set up camp (after Free Spirit’s lame-o speech), they’d sent Wanda Mason, the Phantom Blonde, down to the lake with the water bucket. Wanda didn’t actually have super powers, so she couldn’t do what the other girls could by any means. Ever since she’d become a super hero, capitalizing on her mom’s fame as the Blonde Phantom, of course, and the Invisible Woman had designed this babe-ilicious costume for her, Wanda had had very few adventures as a heroine. Sure, she’d time-traveled with She-Hulk. Sure, she’d single-handedly (well, almost) stopped a nuclear bomb from going off in Las Vegas. And now, here she was in the Initiative! Wanda didn’t care where she ended up getting stationed, though she’d prefer Florida. She’d get paid to be a sensational super hero, look amazing, and occasionally swoop in and save the day when all her super powered teammates couldn’t do it themselves! She’d make an amazing hero, and who needed super powers to do that.
Wanda looked out at the small lake, several yards away, that bordered their camp area. It was pretty here, she had to admit. Surrounded by deep green trees and—
Wanda looked down and saw her water jug suddenly full. Full? But she wasn’t even close to the lake! It had just been completely empty! How the—
“Stay on my good side, and my powers can help. Don’t, and see what happens.” The hair on the back of Wanda’s neck stood tall as the voice whispered in her ear. Wanda jerked her head suddenly and saw Tempo’s gold-domed head right in her face. Wanda blinked and suddenly Tempo was floating away, four feet, eight, then gone, just a glint of the sun off Tempo’s golden armor visible on the horizon.
Wanda, with a shriek of horror, threw the bucket at the lake, letting the water splash out onto the ground. Tempo. Wanda had never heard of her before now. What were her powers? Maybe hanging around with heroes wasn’t always such a great thing…

TEAM HAMMOND

Gomi hardly ever thought of his real name, Alphonsus Lefszycic. Ugh. He hadn’t used his real name in years. When he was a teenager, right before he’d gotten his cyborg telekinesis powers (the same ones that made him super-cool), he’d been given the nickname Gomi, and he’d gone by that ever since, who cared that it was Japanese for garbage. No one else knew that. Plus, it sounded awesome and it was unique, two words that described Gomi quite well.
Gomi was roasting a few fish over the fire. Big fat ones that Bill, the super strong lobster that Gomi shared an empathic affinity with (and the same lobster who happened to be Gomi’s best friend) had pulled out of the little lake by their camp. They’d set up camp and MAULER had started a fire with something called a “blaze cannon”, and Gomi had been keeping it going all day, trying to make himself useful to his teammates.
Team Hammond’s camp was set in a deep set of the Symkarian woods on a mountainside. Brother Nature, who was ultra cool Gomi’d decided, had used his crazy powers to bend a bunch of trees into a big ole dome in the woods, giving them the coolest shelter Gomi’d ever seen. Living in the woods here was going to be way more comfortable than all those months he’d spent as a runaway on the streets. Easy street here, man.
As Gomi pulled the piping hot fish away from the fire to let them cool, he began wondering where the rest of the group was. What a weird group of guys they were, but Gomi was proud to be a part of them. A good mix of skills—strength, flight, agility, energy-wielding. Gomi was obviously the misfit around here, but that was nothing new to him; his big glasses and skinny frame had never lent him to making friends easily. But Gomi wasn’t going to let anything stop him from making himself the best, the coolest, hero ever!
As Gomi walked farther into the woods, he heard whispering. He looked around him, through the thick copses of trees, and saw Derwyddon a ways away, on his knees in the leaves, his head thrown back, his arms spread wide. Derwyddon was muttering softly about something, but Gomi could only make out the phrase “Father Hu grant me providence.”
Gomi turned away, a confused look on his face, and adjusted his glasses. Maybe he was weird, but at least he wasn’t old and addled.

From his vantage point, Ollie Osnick, the Steel Spider, craned his neck to better hear the voices of his targets down below. He willed his metal arms to hold himself flush against the side of the tree top.
Below him, MAULER was out of his armor, walking around in a pair of shorts, his orange beard already long and unkempt. Walking with him was that Biohazard kid, a skinny 18 year old who looked way too nervous and far too unhealthy to be here. MAULER was speaking in a thick Irish brogue, Ollie noted, and he wondered if they allowed non-Americans into the Initiative.
“Ye stick with me, boyo, and you’ll find yuirself with an alliance right ta the end o’ the game, ye understand?”
Biohazard looked uncomfortable. Almost queasy. “I, uh, I definitely don’t have any friends out here, Mr. Doyle, so th-thanks for the alliance. Do we have—“
“Yuirs is nae ta ask questions, Fletcher m’lad. Yuirs is ta follow. I’ll let ye know what our moves are ta be, and ye just keep yuir eyes open and yuir mouth shut fer now.”
As Ollie watched, MAULER (Doyle, he now knew) walked one way while Biohazard (Fletcher) walked the other. Day 1 and alliances were already being formed. If Ollie could discover all the secrets of his teammates, who were also his opponents, he could master this entire game and finally be recognized as the hero he knew he was. Finally make Spider-Man proud. Finally forget all the crazy that was his life. Finally get his girl back.
Ollie moved down the tree deftly, willing the metallic spidery legs attached to his harness to take him to the ground without a sound. Ollie clutched his prosthetic arm tightly to him with his good hand, and remembered what the cost of crazy was.

DAY 2

TEAM JOYCE

Angela Cairn, Nocturne, spread her wings wide and flew in the early morning light over the mountainside. This really was a beautiful place, not so different from America except for the climate. There were different animals here, a different political structure, Angela supposed, but Symkaria had already started to feel like Angela’s natural habitat. Much more comfortable than the tunnels she’d lived in in New York after her transformation. Then again, she’d had more purpose in New York. More people who needed her empathic understanding. More—
Angela came to a stop when she saw Ion floating only a few yards ahead. She thought she’d had the skies to herself. She was rarely surprised, not when she could sense the emotions of those around her. The desperation in Tempo, the self-righteousness in Gladiatrix, the shaky resolve in Number Nine, the drive in Valkyrie. But Angela could read nothing off of Ion. It didn’t frighten Angela so much as baffle her.
Ion reached out a hand and her voice carried across the morning breeze with an airy edge to it. “Nocturne? I am Ion. I am Dr. Voletta Todd. I, too, have little need for sleep. I was wondering if you’d be willing to speak for a few moments?”
Angela, her wings flapping occasionally to keep her aloft, felt a wave of compassion move through her. Her eyes focused on Ion intently, trying to get a reading of any kind off the woman. No heartbeat. No emotion. No scent.
Angela answered Ion with a soft smile. Angela was capable of speech now, yes, though she hadn’t been shortly after her transformation, but she found that speech simply took too much effort. Angela let a wave of warm friendship pass out of her towards Ion. Perhaps, despite being immune to Angela’s senses, Ion would be able to experience Angela’s emotions and share in it. But if Ion felt the calm, she didn’t acknowledge it.
“I see you smiling, yet you don’t answer. Are you capable of speech?”
Angela nodded her head lightly once, but still remained silent.
“I—okay. I simply wanted to extend a hand of friendship to you. We both seem to be outsiders in this tribe and we will need friends as we move forward in the game.”
Angela nodded once again and Ion, after waiting for a response, moved away in the air, floating without a sound. “We’ll speak again. Thank you for your time, Nocturne.”
As Angela flew on across the sky, she wondered if a being she couldn’t feel was capable of feeling.

Number Nine finished her jog around the camp, a bright smile on her face. She’d offered to lead all the ladies in a morning exercise routine, but they’d all declined. “Women are supposed to stay fit and enthusiastic!”, Number Nine had cheerfully reminded them all, but they’d all just rolled over and gone back to sleep, the sillies. Number Nine, her red, white, and blue leotard still looking clean and pristine, engaged in a series of energetic stretches back at camp, which was now empty save for the Valkyrie.
Number Nine looked up at her teammate with a grin. “You have the most beautiful hair. You shouldn’t bind it in those pigtails all the time, you know.”
Valkyrie smiled back. Number Nine felt thrilled! She was making a friend! “I like pigtails.”
“Well, maybe you could braid my hair some time! It’ll be fun! We could use some girl time, even here in the woods!”
Valkyrie, her boots off, came and sat next to Number Nine and looked at her sincerely. How sweet. “You don’t have to try so hard, you know.”
Number Nine arched her back in another stretch. “What do you mean? This is hardly difficult!”
Valkyrie snickered. “To get people to like you. You don’t always have to be cheerful and smiling. You can be moody and tired and frustrated like the rest of us, after sleeping on the ground for a night. It’s completely okay.”
Number Nine laughed good-naturedly. “Don’t be silly, silly! Sleeping on the ground was a wonderful adventure! And a good woman is always in positive spirits.”
Valkyrie, her eyebrows raised in confusion, looked appalled. “Who taught you that? ‘A good woman…’ Whose good woman?”
Number Nine felt her eyes fill with tears, unbidden. Oh, she hated getting emotional! She turned away in sadness. “I—no one taught me that. I was just p-programmed that way.”
Valkyrie moved in closer and put her arm around Number Nine’s shoulders. It felt good to have human contact. So many people shied away from Number Nine when she got emotional. “Programmed? You were programmed? Listen, sister, we’ve got some serious talking to do. We need to get you UN-programmed.”
Number Nine tried not to cry, she really did, but the tears started flowing down her cheeks. Valkyrie pulled her tighter. “Let’s start over here. My real name is Samantha. What’s yours?”
And with that, Number Nine lost it. She buried her face in her new friend’s shoulder and began sobbing. “I d-don’t know my name!”

TEAM HAMMOND

Brendan Doyle lay back on the wide raised tree root that served as his bed and up at the thick branches that served as the roof to their shelter. Nearby, he could hear his teammates breathing, sleeping, in their own cots; well, four of them anyway. Who knew where the other three had gone off to. They’d worked hard today, getting camp cleared, exploring the area, foraging for food. What an odd assortment of misfits, loners, and losers this bunch was. Brendan never expected, when he was selected for this little survival game, that he, a self-proclaimed loner, would be the biggest team player on Team Hammond. Well, except for Battle Star, who everyone was deferring to as leader of the tribe. Brendan was pleased with that; easier to let someone else take the fall when they made a mistake. But few of the tribe were sharing their ideas or opinions, or even speaking up at all.
Brother Nature, on the first day, in the first few minutes, had created this crazy shelter, with cots for everyone, out of soft-wooded trees right in the middle of the camp. Then he had promptly disappeared; no one had seen him in since the morning of day 1. Brendan assumed he was off… communing with nature, perhaps?
Brendan, over the last few days, had already approached some of the loners on his team and put them under his thumb. Brendan had been a military man, a soldier-for-hire, a mercenary, and, finally, a super-criminal. He was used to strange and tense situations. But a boy that talked to lobsters? A misguided skinny 18 year old with acid powers? An ancient druid? These guys were weird. Still, that was nothing after being pursued across the whole of Canada before having your rear handed to you by an armored lady.
Brendan looked over at his MAULER armor, standing just outside the shelter, where he’d had it charging in the sunlight. When he’d made the decision to steal that armor from Edwin Cord, it had seemed like such a good idea. He’d increase his value as a mercenary, increase his profits. But truly? It’d made him a bully. And he’d gotten kicked down by heroes a dozen times, both before and after he’d found out about Daniel.
Daniel. He had to make everything about Daniel now.
Brendan closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Lemar Hoskins, Battle Star, laughed softly, keeping his voice down so as not to wake the others. He was stripped down to his boxers now, letting his costume, boots, and mask air out next to his shield over by the shelter. Across from him sat Tony Trainer, Sandstorm, a younger black kid who reminded Lemar a lot of himself as a youth, before he’d had his strength augmented, before he’d been trained by the government as a hero. Trainer was a kid with all this untapped potential and misguided anger, just like Lemar had been for most his life.
“So let me get this straight. You were in college working on some freak weapons project having to do with living sand. You got mutated by the sand and it gave you some pretty powerful ‘grit armor’. And so, ever since, you’ve been traveling around the world covertly destroying weapon systems and projects?”
Trainer smiled as he looked into the fire. Since his mutation, his skin had turned as black as night and the light shining off his eyes and teeth were a bit eerie. “Yeah. It sounds so simple when you put it like that. But let me just say, there are lots o’ bad folks out there and I did my best to make the world a little less dangerous.”
Lemar leaned forward on his knees. “How long you been at this, man? And what made you decide to register now?”
“Been a couple years now. I don’t think my family even knows I’m alive. I just got… sick of being by myself, y’know? I guess I did some pretty bad stuff and wanted to come home again. I mean, I’m only 22, y’know? I got a whole life ta live.”
Lemar had an onrush of memories of his own adolescence and his wayward years in his 20s. He didn’t get his powers in some accident, and he’d squandered them for most the time. He was dramatically opposed to the whole registration act in the beginning; he hadn’t had much luck with the previous administration and didn’t expect good things from this one. But if it gave kids like Trainer a chance to straighten his life out? Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all. “All right, listen, kid. Me an’ you? We got a lot in common. And we’ve got a bunch of crazies and former criminals on this team, in this game. Let’s me an’ you stick together and get this game under wing. I’ve got your back, you understand?”
Lemar smiled again as Trainer extended his hand. The two shook and Lemar was surprised at how good it felt to have a friend in this game.

DAY 3

THE IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Jasper Sitwell stood before the 16 contestants and looked them over. A diverse group indeed. Team Joyce stood to his left, all beautiful women in their own right, all in full costume. Team Hammond, on the right, looked a little bit more motley and unkempt, but formidable as well.
“I trust you’ve all been able to acclimate to the beautiful terrain of Symkaria over the past two days! That you’ve gotten to know each other, your teammates, your capabilities! As you are here as part of your training for the Fifty-State Initiative, most of our challenges will be themed in helping you test your skills, your limits, and your readiness for deployment once your training is complete. Right now, the challenges will be focused on teamwork. Later in the competition, on individual skills. The winning team in this challenge gets immunity, meaning every person on that team is safe for another three days in the competition. The losing team joins me tonight at tribal council, where one member of your team will be voted off and returned to the States to continue their training. Now let’s get on with the challenge!”
Jasper told the group that they would be pitted against each other in a series of seven competitions testing various sets of strength. He told both teams to select a leader before proceeding. On Team Joyce, Valkyrie and Gladiatrix argued over who should lead, but Free Spirit stepped forward and announced herself as leader, much to the annoyance of Gladiatrix; the others didn’t seem to care. On Team Hammond, the group unanimously agreed that Battle Star should represent them. Jasper then explained that, without consultation, the leader on each team would need to select one teammate to represent the team in each of the following categories: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Speed, Swimming, Balance, and Endurance. Then the two individuals selected for each category, from each team, would race to complete their challenge first, and the team to win the most individual competitions would win immunity. Free Spirit made her decisions quickly and on instinct. Battle Star was a bit more selective, moving players from his team around multiple times before making his final selections. Then the games began.
In the Strength competition, the contestants were instructed to smash through several boxes of stone until they found one with a Symkarian coin inside one. While Gomi smashed multiple boxes with his wide bursts of telekinesis, his lobster Bill pried open several others with his powerful claws, but Team Joyce pulled out the victory when Gladiatrix smashed all the boxes with her raised fists, quickly finding the coin.
In the Agility competition, the contestants were placed into a complex course of hoops, hooks, platforms, and ropes and told to get from one end to the other as quickly as possible. In a bizarre turn, Phantom Blonde (who possesses no powers) and Biohazard (who transforms into an acidic monster) battled across the course. Phantom Blonde did a decent job of holding herself aloft and moved painstakingly, slowly, across the course. Biohazard quickly learned that his acidic body burned the ropes, so he had to compete in his human form and fell repeatedly. Phantom Blonde cheered and pumped her fist in the air as she won for Team Joyce.
In the Intelligence competition, Ion and Derwyddon were placed in front of a complex puzzle which was tied in a group of knots. Though Ion quickly burned through the knots with her ionic energy and quickly began working through the puzzle with her scientific brain, Derwyddon seemed to almost will the knots to come undone and the puzzle to come together with a series of magical gestures. Everyone was amazed when he completed the puzzle in less than sixty seconds, scoring a point for Team Hammond.
In the Speed competition, the two contestants were instructed to race a total of ten miles, and flight was allowed. Tempo quickly used her powers of perception over time to slow down MAULER. As she sped forward flying, however, MAULER was out of her power’s range, and he used his armor’s jet-propulsion system to fly past Tempo to the finish line in a matter of seconds.
In the Swimming competition, Number Nine and Brother Nature were instructed to race, by swimming of course, across a three mile lake to the other shore. Number Nine, with her enhanced strength and endurance, thought she could easily win, but Brother Nature seemed to command the very water to propel him forward and he arrived on the other side in only three minutes.
In the Balance competition, the contestants were instructed to move their way over a series of steadily decreasing balance beams, from one of the field to the other, and they were told that they must remain in contact with the beam at all times. As Steel Spider used his metal legs to grab on to the beams and push himself forward at high speed, Nocturne seemed to lithely dance across the course, her wings flapping to keep her upright as she speedily reached the other end.
With the teams now tied at three points each, the pressure was high on Valkyrie and Sandstorm in the endurance competition. They were instructed to hold themselves up by their arms by two extended handles attached to a raised board as their feet hanged loosely beneath them. The first to fall would be out, and the other team declared a winner. The teams were initially tense, then bored as the competition stretched on for two, five, then nine hours before Valkyrie finally tired, her arms throbbing as she fell to the ground. Sandstorm, who’d willed his grit armor to solidify around his form, was cheered on by his teammates for the victory.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

That evening at tribal council, the eight members of Team Joyce took their seats on two rows of benches with a roaring fire in front of them. Sitting several feet away, Jasper pushed his glasses up on his nose and explained to them that each of them had a lit torch now and that their torch would stay lit as long as they remained in the game. He explained that one torch would be put out every three days until the final tribal council, when the winner was selected. Jasper looked over the women and began asking a few questions.
“Nocturne, how has your camp life been so far?”
Jasper watched Nocturne’s cheeks flush lightly, then she turned away. Ion quickly spoke up for her, in her airy voice.
“Nocturne does not speak, whether by choice or inability, I do not know. But I shall answer in her stead. Camp life started out rocky. A few of us argued about the most efficient ways to do things, but Free Spirit took it upon herself to organize us and we now have a rudimentary shelter. Those of us who need it.”
Jasper jumped right in. “Tempo, what started out rocky?”
Tempo looked reluctant to answer. “Let me just say that some of our tribe are a bit more bombastic than others.”
“That’s rather vague.”
Tempo looked at him with a cold fury. “Intentionally so.”
Gladiatrix suddenly butted in. “They are talking about me and little miss metal bra back there. Valkyrie. She acts like she’s the only super strong female in town and thought she could order us all around at the start. So what, she served with the Defenders. I was in the UCWF long before! I’m not one to stand around and be given orders by some chick like that.”
Jasper watched the tension among the others as Gladiatrix rushed through her words. Despite Valkyrie’s smugness, the others were incredibly uncomfortable, and he guessed this wasn’t the first time Gladiatrix had grated on their nerves. He didn’t think he needed to go any further with this, and instructed the women to move forward with their voting. After the women all voted, Jasper gathered the votes and began to read them out loud.
The first vote was for Gladiatrix. This vote was from Free Spirit, who had discreetly spoken to the others at length about voting out the one in their camp causing the most problems.
The second vote was for Gladiatrix. This vote was from Nocturne, who disliked the feel of the negative emotions constantly radiating off of Gladiatrix.
The third vote was for Valkyrie. This was from Gladiatrix, who wanted her biggest competition off the show, and had loudly told everyone to follow her lead.
The fourth vote was for Gladiatrix. This was from Number Nine, who was asked to vote this way by Valkyrie.
The fifth vote was for Gladiatrix. This was from Phantom Blonde, who, despite really liking the tension around camp, was voting with the majority.
The sixth vote was for Gladiatrix. This was from Valkyrie, who had not been quiet about her dislike for the female wrestler and had asked for support from the others.
The seventh vote was for Gladiatrix. This was from Ion, who little cared who left so long as it wasn’t her.
The eighth vote was for Valkyrie. This was from Tempo, who saw no advantage in keeping Valkyrie around.
As Jasper read out the results, Gladiatrix surprised them all by laughing good-naturedly, getting louder as each deciding vote was read. As Jasper said the famous “the tribe has spoken” phrase, Gladiatrix, still laughing, slapped Valkyrie on the back good-naturedly, knocking her to the ground. Jasper extinguished the torch as Gladiatrix turned to face Team Joyce. “I see your strategies. Get the biggest competition out first. Well played, ladies. See you back at camp.”
And with a wink, the first heroine left the game, leaving seven behind.

Hey! Thanks to everyone who voted, participated, and made cool comments about the prologue. And with that, we get into the first episode, where I tried to include brief character introductions, introduce the dynamics, and set the stage for character development as briefly as possible. You have to trust that a lot is happening off-scene as we just little glimpses into these character’s minds and lives. I have lots of fun things planned for them along the journey, and it is thrilling to see who will make it the farthest.
Once again, you can send your votes to me at hellochadman@yahoo.com, on facebook, or as a comment here.
Due to random selection, Team Hammond wins immunity again in episode two. That means you have to, once again, vote off someone from Team Joyce. Don’t worry, girls, it’ll all even out as we get further in. J Use whatever strategy you want in casting your vote. Pick your favorites and root for them, stir it up, choose your adventures!

TEAM HAMMOND (IMMUNITY):
Battle Star (Lemar Hoskins)
Biohazard (Fletcher Traynor)
Brother Nature (Mark Diering)
Derwyddon
Gomi (Alphonsus Lefszycic)
MAULER (Brendan Doyle)
Sandstorm (Tony Trainer)
Steel Spider (Oliver Osnick)

TEAM JOYCE:
Free Spirit (Cathy Webster)
Ion (Voletta Todd)
Nocturne (Angela Cairn)
Number Nine
Phantom Blonde (Wanda Mason)
Tempo (Heather Tucker)
Valkyrie (Samantha Parrington)