Survivor: the Initiative Episode 4

SURVIVOR: THE INITIATIVE episode 4
Holding Council

DAY 10

TEAM HAMMOND

Fletcher Traynor, Biohazard, looked around at the members of his “team” and felt angry and grateful and bitter and relieved all at once. But mostly bitter. A few days back, Brother Nature had kicked him out of their team’s shelter, basically just for existing. Fletcher had had to just rough it in the woods of Symkaria for the following days. No one, not even the great hero Battle Star, had really tried standing up for him. They’d just followed Nature’s edict. Fletcher was definitely bitter, at all of them, except for Derwyddon and Steel Spider. Those two had taken him in, given him a place in the woods to relax and sleep, given him fire and food. They were the only ones in this game who would get his loyalty. But now that Brother Nature was gone, Battle Star, the supposed team leader, had called a team meeting.
They stood and sat in a circle at the place where Brother Nature’s giant shelter had stood. Now it was just regular ground like the rest of the woods. Battle Star was in full costume, orating to the gathered group. MAULER, looking a bit too callous, and Sandstorm, a stupid grin on his face, stood on either side of him. Gomi was holding his ridiculous lobster off to one side. Fletcher and Steel Spider sat on either side of Derwyddon, who had his robes gathered around his knees, his walking stick laying to the side as he stroked his beard and listened.
Battle Star was just wrapping up his speech. “In conclusion, I’m aware of the divisions among us, the various alliances. In a game about outplaying, outwitting, and outlasting, that is to be expected, but I hope we can all keep our eye on the true prize. We are here to show the world that we are heroes, that we can be the best heroes that we can be, and that we’ll fight for our country when we return to its service, wherever our assignment should be.”
Derwyddon spoke softly. “Tell me something, Mr. Hoskins, do you believe this government you represent to be unbiased and honest of intention?”
Battle Star looked around at this group. “No. I don’t. In fact, I don’t think anyone here completely, or blindly, trusts the government. Despite my having worked for them for a time, I spent a long time overseas as a mercenary, and I didn’t learn the prettiest things about politics, ours or anyone else’s. And when the Registration Act was passed, I opposed it. But we’ve got to start somewhere. If they won’t be trustworthy, then at least we can be.”
Derwyddon looked up intently. “And yet nearly all of us here were forced into registration. Few are here willingly, besides, perhaps, Gomi.”
Gomi smiled faintly as his cheeks turned pink. MAULER stepped in now, angry and frustrated. “What’re we doin’, havin’ this conversation about the evils of government when we’ve got us a shelter ta rebuild! What’ll we do when it rains, eh?”
As the members of the team divvied up the various assignments for the rebuilding of the shelter, Fletcher couldn’t pay attention. He tried, but he just couldn’t focus his thoughts. Sometimes it felt like there was this green and disgusting acid monster just rolling around inside him, just waiting to have an excuse to get out. How was Fletcher ever supposed to learn to control that? The scientists at Project: PEGASUS had tried to help him, but he just couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t…
“Fletch? You okay?” Fletcher swallowed back some vomit in his mouth, and it burned his throat. He turned to see Steel Spider leaning over in concern.
Fletcher, struggling to keep the beast inside of him, leapt to his feet. “I won’t forget what you all did to me! I won’t ever forget it!” And he rushed away.

TEAM JOYCE

Using her elemental awareness, Dr. Voletta Todd, Ion, sensed someone behind her. Someone slight, small of frame. She turned her head, if you could call it a head, and looked through her eyes, if you could call them eyes, at the approaching Phantom Blonde, all sass and swagger. Voletta cooled her temper and turned back to her task of cleaning the fish she’d captured from the lake, using her ionic field to slice them open and take the guts out of them.
“That isn’t going to help you, you know.” Phantom Blonde was standing only a few feet away now, her hands on her hips. “No matter how hard you work, no matter what you try and do, it’s not going to help. Cause you are still going to be the next one to go, no matter how you shake it, baby.”
Voletta felt the ionic energy in her containment suit bubble slightly in annoyance. She suddenly had memories of her days in college, those endless days, when she would study and the flighty females around her would mercilessly egg her on about having no life. Then, just as suddenly, memories of her male coworkers at Alternative Resources cat-calling at her when they thought she couldn’t hear, calling her prudish because she was driven and focused on her work. Well, those girls in school had all ended up floozies and housewives while she’d gone on to make newfound scientific strides. And those men… well, she didn’t know what’d become of them after her accident. Maybe they were killed in the explosion that transformed her into ionic energy.
Clearing her thoughts and unwilling to be taunted, Voletta set the fish down on the ground and turned to face Phantom Blonde. “Are you looking for a particular reaction out of me, or are you just being a #####?”
Phantom Blonde scoffed and looked like she’d just been slapped. “Look, I’m just trying to be open and honest with you.”
“If you were seeking to be open and honest, you wouldn’t be taunting and cajoling. Listen, chippie, I’m a nuclear physicist. I admittedly don’t have the physical advantages that you do, but I have power and drive and I bring something to this team. I don’t ride on the coattails of my parents, like some others I know of. So go somewhere else to feel tough. I’ve got work to do.”
Phantom Blonde was sneering at Ion as she turned away. “You—agh, you are such a weirdo! A weirdo and a nerd! Next time we lose, you are gone, girl. Gone gone gone.”

“They are so useless!” Wanda Mason, the Phantom Blonde, had the attention of the three sane people on her tribe, the same who also happened to be the members of her alliance: Valkyrie, Number Nine, and Free Spirit. They were the most beautiful of the contestants, the most trustworthy, and the most blonde. Wanda liked these girls and was glad to be a part of them. They had already gotten rid of two weirdos on her team, Gladiatrix and Temp, now they just had two to go. Ion had to go first. Then that weird winged lady, Nocturne. When Wanda was eventually assigned to a super hero team, she hoped she had normal heroes on her team, not weird ones.
Free Spirit was looking up at the sky, her hands behind her head. “Wanda, we know how you feel about the rest of our team, but honestly, they are effectively our allies at this point. Shouldn’t you be more focused on our opponents on Team Hammond?”
Wanda thought about it for a moment, then laughed. “Well, there are a bunch of weirdos over there, too. A couple of nice physiques, I guess, especially that yummy Battle Star, but they’ve got old men and skinny kids, too. We’ll just have to pick them all off til we are the final four fabulous females.”
Number Nine gave out an awkward giggle, but stopped, cheeks pink with embarrassment, when no one else laughed. Valkyrie looked a bit worried for some reason. Free Spirit spoke up again. “I really think we ought to be focused on pulling together rather than falling apart. We are already down a member.”
Then Valkyrie spoke up. “And as much as Wanda hates to admit it, Ion really is pulling her weight around camp. And I had a recent… intervention with Nocturne. I think with a bit of persistence and follow-through, she’ll stop avoiding our tribe so much. I think the combination of being around others and in an unfamiliar place has just put her into a bit of a funk. She’s a very emotional creature.”
Number Nine laughed out loud again. “Showing emotions is only natural, so long as it is done in a controlled way, and so long as one recognizes that the male is the stronger species.” She sometimes did and said things without thinking about it first, a result of her programming by that disgusting millionaire. Number Nine put a hand over her mouth. “Sorry! It just comes out sometimes!” Wanda rolled her eyes. These girls may be beautiful, but they were definitely definitely not normal.

DAY 11

TEAM HAMMOND

Genora. Derwyddon remembered Genora, his one and only true love. It had been nearly three thousand years since he had last seen her. On the night before he was scheduled to undergo the sacred rituals for Druidism, before he was to be sent out to sea on his own to be judged by the gods. He’d been worried that he wouldn’t survive, that he would never see Genora again, and he had lain with her. It was with a guilty conscience that he went on his quest the next day. His boat had sunk and Derwyddon had been taken by the sea sprites and put into a deep sleep. A sleep that lasted centuries. And when he’d awakened, Genora had been long dead. And if that punishment by the gods hadn’t been enough, Derwyddon had found his very religion a thing of the past, replaced by the worship of new gods and by a world-spreading religion called Christianity. Derwyddon had been furious and had lashed out against the world for a time, creating monsters who would aid him in destruction, but he’d had a change of heart. He’d spent centuries hunting down those monsters. And now, here he was on his new path, the very path he expected the gods wanted him to be on. He’d been guided to the Initiative. He’d been led here, and he knew why now. He knew what his purpose was.
Derwyddon pulled the fish off the fire and set it on a cooling stone. Gomi eyed it through his round glasses, blinking and obviously hungry. “You may have some if you wish.”
Gomi grinned and thanked Derwyddon. “Bill usually catches fish for me, but he hasn’t really been speaking with me the past few days. He’ll come around, I suppose, but thanks for the fish anyway.”
Derwyddon smiled. He’d done next to nothing to ingratiate himself with his teammates, yet they kept coming to him and forming allegiances one by one. He was slowly finding himself in a leadership position among those of his tribe. “The animals do not think the same way we humans do. But your Bill, he is a special animal indeed.”
Gomi’s face lit up as he put a small piece of fish in his mouth. “Yes, he’s the most special. He’s my best friend.”
Derwyddon adjusted his robes over his knees. “I find that most creatures in the wild have a special and unique place of belonging. It seems this lobster has found its way into your heart. In my days of communing with the naiads and dryads, I found similar companionship and acceptance.”
Gomi took a few more mouthfuls of fish and began opening up about his long history with the lobster. And Derwyddon reflected upon his newfound place of power. Biohazard trusted him implicitly. Steel Spider was rarely far from Derwyddon’s side, and had even begun dressing and speaking like Derwyddon. And now this lost young boy was with him as well. It felt wonderful to sense the path of power before him.

Brendan Doyle, MAULER, fired off an electronic burst from his armor’s chargers and watched it give off a massive electric shock in the lake, dissipating with a violent zap sound. The armor, the Mobile Armored Utility Laser Emitter, Revised, had been upgraded a few times since Brendan had stolen it. He could fire most of his weaponry several times before having to recharge for 24 hours. The laser units, the electro-shock, and the flight capability were all solar-powered, and he’d had to leave most his offensive weaponry back at home.
When Brendan had first occupied the MAULER armor, he’d been so impressed by it. A streamlined fighting machine with offensive weapons! He’d been thrilled, and it had made his job as a mercenary much more exciting. To have a villainous identity and a powerful reputation to go along with it, he’d figured he could be a billionaire and retire on a private island somewhere by the time he was forty. He had definitely figured it would beat out his soldier-for-hire days; he’d nearly winded up dead too many times to consider more mercenary assignments without the armor, that was for sure. But then the defeats had started piling up. Fights with Iron Man, Spider-Man, Guardian, even earlier cadets in the Initiative; they just kept leaving him defeated and ashamed. His reputation became a joke, not something to be lauded.
With another cry of fury, Brendan fired off more electric pulses and watched them, with his arms wide, cascade over the lake surface before going out. He remembered the day he’d learned about his son. Young Daniel. He’d been so angry, he’d tried to kidnap the boy. He was determined to raise the child on his own, to bring him up to be a man. But then he’d realized, with Spider-Man’s help, that he had no idea how to be a father, or how to take care of a baby. With the discovery of his son, his whole life had changed. He stopped caring about profiting for himself, and started caring about taking care of that boy’s future. With the Initiative came the chance to become lauded as a hero, receiving payment for it as well. He could think of nothing he wanted more than to see his boy proud of him.
Brendan landed on the sandy shore of the lake and pulled off his helmet, taking in the crisp Symkarian air. All of his plans on pulling in the stragglers and forming an outsider’s alliance, they didn’t seem to be working very well. The group had all formed tight connections to others around him, without him. He had, in essence, become the outsider. It was time for him to switch tactics. He needed to win this game.
It was a few minutes later when Brendan approached Sandstorm with his plan.

TEAM JOYCE

Samantha Parrington, Valkyrie, looked at her teammates with a cold, calculating stare. Though they had balked at the idea, she had lined them all up like they were soldiers in her army and she was walking back and forth in front of them like the toughest drill sergeant they had ever had. Valkyrie stepped in front of them, one by one, meeting each of their gazes, not saying a word, not breaking eye contact until she was ready. She was almost waiting for one of them to break ranks, so that she could show them who was boss. Free Spirit. Nocturne. Ion. Number Nine. Phantom Blonde. Her teammates. Who would break first?
Of course it was her. Phantom Blonde threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “Valkyrie, what are you doing? Why are we just standing here?”
Valkyrie ignored her and kept walking a few more steps. She then stepped back and surveyed her team. “It is long past time for someone to whip this team into shape. Not with words and impassioned pleas, but with brutal truth, honest intentions, and decisiveness. I’ve taken it upon myself to do so.”
The other five members of Team Joyce glanced around uncomfortably, wondering what was going on. All except Free Spirit, who looked a little bit hurt.
“Free Spirit, I see the pained look on your face. I believe that you have thought yourself the leader of our little tribe, but your skills are simply inadequate for that particular station. You are young and idealistic, and your inexperience does not lead well for a group containing former criminals and lost souls. Your ideals do not mesh in this tribe. You would do best to focus on sharpening your own skills and working harder to understand the human spirit.”
As Free Spirit fought back the light tears running down her cheeks, Valkyrie continued down the line. “Nocturne, this is our eleventh day of association and I have yet to learn anything about you except that you are an impressive fighter with a vast array of skills. You are either incredibly timid or incredibly wounded. Regardless, it is long beyond time you started bonding with the team and participating in camp life. If you are going to thrive as a hero, you can’t expect to flit about the trees mysteriously.
“Ion, I have appreciated your attempts to ingratiate yourself with the women here, supplying food for us and working hard. It has not escaped my eyes that you have no need to sleep or eat yourself, and yet you have avidly worked on the shelter and supplies for the woman around you. Though I can not yet ferret out your true motivations, you have proved yourself a valuable ally, and I look forward to associating with you for a long time to come.
“Number Nine, I’m not sure what is going on in your brain. From what I can tell, you have been entirely programmed to be the way you are, but I think you merely need the courage to face your past self and to truly embrace your memories and life goals. You must find that courage within yourself, as the rest of us can not do this for you. You are a skilled and beautiful woman, my friend, now you must grow past this.”
Valkyrie moved past the three women she’d just addressed, gauging their varying responses, then stood before her last, and most unworthy, ally. “And now you, little Phantom Blonde. You have no powers, you have no work ethic, and you have low regard for others. Help me understand why you were even allowed to come into this game, no less to enroll in the Initiative. What value are you to me?”
Valkyrie stifled the mirth she felt inside as she watched Phantom Blonde squirm before her, looking to the others for support and noticing their eyes were all averted. Valkyrie wasn’t afraid of pushing buttons when she felt it would help achieve potential; her parents, and her experiences with the Defenders, had taught her that much at least.
Phantom Blonde stammered. “B-but I’m your friend! Why are you talking to me like this?”
Valkyrie leaned in so that she could be nose to nose with Phantom Blonde. “You are not my friend. You are my ally. And the least worthy one that I can see thus far.”

DAY 12

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

As the two teams gathered before him, Jasper adjusted his glasses on his nose, then folded his hands, waiting for them all to be in place. When he announced that Brother Nature had been voted out, he noted that Valkyrie was really the only member of Team Joyce to convey surprise; the others seemed uncomfortable, tense, and disinterested. Then men still seemed to be grouped in their alliances, even in the way they stood, but the power balance seemed to be shifting. Jasper noted these facts to himself as he announced the upcoming challenge.
“Our challenges thus far have focused on your ability to divide tasks among your team, and your ability to remain unified as a team. I know that this has been difficult for many of you, to not be able to rely on the talents of others, and for some of you to have to rely on others at all, but that is all part of what being in a super hero team is all about. At the end of your training, you will be deployed to a state team and required to participate in super heroics on a military level. Not for profit, not for self-gain, but for the sake of others. As we move further on in the competition, you’ll be learning more about your own ability to rely on yourself and others, and the challenges, trust me, will only be more difficult as we go along. Today’s challenge will require you to select a leader on your team, something that seems to be changing for both teams.”
As Jasper waited, Valkyrie brashly stepped forward to represent Team Joyce, ignoring Free Spirit’s small protest. Derwyddon and Battle Star seemed to face each other uncomfortably before Derwyddon indicated that Battle Star should step forward, and he did so. Jasper showed them across a complicated rope course, and let each team leader know that the other members of their team would be blindfolded and lead through a complicated rope course, guided only by the instructions of their leaders, who would have to manage, vocally, all five of the other members of the team. Battle Star chose Gomi to sit out this challenge.
After the individual members of the team blindfolded themselves and Jasper gave the go ahead, Valkyrie and Battle Star began shouting out orders chaotically to the members of their team. As the blindfolded heroes stumbled around the rope course, occasionally colliding and/or falling, the two leaders struggles to maintain control. Battle Star creatively had Derwyddon, Steel Spider, and Sandstorm use their powers at various places in the course to get around obstacles; Valkyrie, catching on to this tactic, had Ion and Nocturne use their flight powers on the course to aid their teammates and avoid places in the course. The entire competition lasted nearly ninety minutes and the exhausted contestants showed little enthusiasm when Team Hammond pulled out a narrow victory.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

The six women of Team Joyce gathered in before Jasper that evening, their lit torches set to the side as he prepared to question them. He sensed a wide tension among the women.
“Number Nine, there is a palpable tension among the women of your group this evening. What do you attribute this to?”
“There have been divisions in our tribe. A core alliance of four and a group of outsiders. Loyalties were recently exposed and called into question when Valkyrie harshly challenged us on our own progress as heroes. This cut deeply to many of us and we are still working to reconcile her words within ourselves.”
“Nocturne, based on your refusal to make eye contact, I’m left to assume that you still aren’t speaking to me? Okay, in that case, Ion, if alliances are exposed in such a way, how will you be casting your individual votes tonight?”
“I could not pretend to speak for the other individuals here, so some would do, but I can speak for myself. I will be voting for the most obnoxious member of our tribe, and the one who brings the least to the table.”
Jasper was surprised when Phantom Blonde suddenly shouted out. “Listen, you floozy, I’m guessing you are talking to me, but at least I bring a face to the team! Think about that! And as far as not being super powered, I’ll remind all here that there are lots of heroes who have no powers, like Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Captain America! Who’s to say I’m not going to be the greatest hero ever?”
Valkyrie looked at her ally with scorn. “You compare yourself to heroes of this caliber? They work and practice and enhance their skills constantly! They don’t loaf about and flit and complain from person to person!”
Jasper waited for the silence to settle over the tense group, then he allowed them to go forward with the voting. The first vote was for Ion. This was from Phantom Blonde, who wanted her creepy teammate long gone.
The second vote was for Ion. This was from Free Spirit, who was going along with the plans of her original alliance.
The third vote was for Phantom Blonde. This was from Ion, who despised this false hero in her midst.
The fourth vote was for Phantom Blonde. This was from Number Nine, who was coerced into voting this way by Valkyrie, despite her own recriminations.
The fifth vote was for Phantom Blonde. This was from Valkyrie, who needed the weakest link on their tribe gone.
The sixth vote was for Phantom Blonde. This was from Nocturne, who was requested by Ion to vote this way.
As Jasper extinguished the torch of the Phantom Blonde, she turned to her teammates and promptly stuck out her tongue. “I won’t forget, and I won’t forgive.”

Hope you enjoyed this episode! Just as you were getting comfortable with the current format, we are switching things up starting next episode! We are down to seven men and five women. In Episode 5, those teams get divided and reshuffled, giving us a new (randomly selected) set of teams. And to spice it up even more, no immunity challenge next episode. Both of the new teams have to have someone voted off. So this time vote for someone from EACH team, and we’ll be losing TWO contestants next time around. Thank you for your ongoing support and feedback! I’m thrilled about where this is going.
Side note: if it seems that one character or another takes a back seat in one episode, that is a plotting issue; trust that each character has big things ahead. It’s not about me liking one above another.

The new TEAM HAMMOND:
Biohazard (Fletcher Traynor)
Gomi (Alphonsus Lefszycic)
Ion (Voletta Todd)
MAULER (Brendan Doyle)
Number Nine
Valkyrie (Samantha Parrington)

The new TEAM JOYCE:
Battle Star (Lemar Hoskins)
Derwyddon
Free Spirit (Cathy Webster)
Nocturne (Angela Cairn)
Sandstorm (Tony Trainer)
Steel Spider (Oliver Osnick)