Heroic Dramatics Chapter Four
Title: Heroic Dramatics
Author:
butterflyslinky
Pairing(s): Eventual Linkara/Spoonette; Spoony/80s Chick; one-sided Linksano/Spoonette
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 17,778
Warning(s): Violence, off-screen character death
Summary: Having been rejected as an actress and with nothing left to lose, Spoonette takes her brother’s place in the US Space Corps to fight off the coming threat of Lord Vyce. Now, she has to deal with army drills, her high school stalker with the ability to hack the Pentagon, and a captain who is both way hot and way annoying. Bogus.
Author’s Note: Inspired by this prompt, though I don’t really know if it qualifies as a fill for it. Special thanks to pompoko and
ladydiskette for beta-ing, and of course
trulyamindlost,
robynred, and
lizynob for their lovely bonus content
Spoonette collapsed into a chair beside Linksano, feeling more tired and sore than she ever had before in her life. The rest of her roommates sat down across from them. They all had a lot more energy than she did, and Spoonette cursed the fact that they were all more naturally inclined toward the army life than she was.
Linksano smirked as he passed over another cup of water. “Rough day?” he asked.
“”I’m going to buy a gym membership as soon as I get home,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry, dude,” 90s Kid said. “As soon as you get used to it, you’ll feel better.
Spoonette grunted in response. She seriously doubted she would ever feel better about this sort of physical activity.
“If nothing else, your wife will appreciate it,” Linksano said.
“I think my wife will appreciate me getting home more,” Spoonette replied.
*
As the days of training went on, Spoonette regretted her decision to come here more and more. She didn’t spend much time with the other soldiers besides Linksano, and then only when she really needed something. When they weren’t training, she sought out small, private places in the ship and would stay there for hours, reading whatever books or manuals she could find, but these times weren’t many as the Space Corps did not allow much time for idleness.
Not only did she have to learn all the same skills the men did, fighting and technology and teamwork, but she had to do it while maintaining the façade that she was her brother, pushing her body to do the same tasks at the same level as all the men. Some women may have been able to do it, but being a waitress didn’t give her much upper-body strength, speed, or agility. But she couldn’t scale back. She couldn’t let on that her abilities were less than anyone else’s. Fortunately, everyone else was too busy training to notice her.
Everyone except the one person she least wanted to discover her.
It was soon apparent to Linkara where his weakest links were. Given the choice, he would have simply sent the weaker ones home, but they were in deep space and getting rid of his worst soldiers would have been horribly expensive. His time was thus spent debating with himself over whether these soldiers should be near the back where they wouldn’t die, or in the front to take the worst of the fire and protect his good fighters.
He still hadn’t decided a month into the training, so he simply settled for yelling at them in the hopes that they would improve. And the weakest got the worst of it.
“Antwiler! Faster!”
“Antwiler! Get up off that floor!”
“Antwiler! Shut up!”
Spoonette spent most of her free time fantasizing about creative ways of shutting him up. Not that she could actually harm him-he was far too strong and clever for her to ever get the upper hand.
The only time she wasn’t being berated was in target practice. There, her skills in first-person shooter games served her well, and she was able to hit the targets well, even if she didn’t necessarily get a bull’s eye every time. It helped that she usually pictured her target as having Linkara’s stupid, bossy, handsome face.
“I don’t know how long I can keep this up,” she confided to Linksano one night as they collapsed in their dorm. The other three weren’t there, and Spoonette wasn’t terribly concerned with their whereabouts.
“If I know you, you’ll keep it up as long as you need,” Linksano said. “Besides, you’ve always been good at imitating Spoony.”
“But it’s hard!” Spoonette whined. “I hate running five miles and doing hundreds of push-ups a day! I can’t do it!”
“That’s because you weren’t prepared for it,” Linksano said patiently. “You jumped from the studio to space with no training and starting doing drills most men have trouble with, all while pretending to be someone with completely different physical abilities. And so far, it’s working.”
“So is that why Linkara is yelling at me all the time?” she asked. “Because it works?”
“He hasn’t learned the truth,” Linksano pointed out. “And trust me, that would result in a lot more than yelling.”
“Whatever,” she grumbled. “Doesn’t change the fact that army drills suck.”
“I have been thinking about that,” Linksano admitted. “And I’ve devised an additional training program for you.”
“When am I going to do additional training?” she snapped.
“When you wake up at the crack of dawn,” Linksano answered.
“So you want me to get up, do your program, then go in and do the even harder work?”
“It will get easier,” he insisted. “I have devised this plan specifically to meet your needs without overtaxing you.”
“You mean you specifically designed it for me six years ago,” Spoonette said. “I have changed since high school, you know.”
“I’ve noticed,” he said. “The Spoonette I knew six years ago wouldn’t have bothered to try. Now do you want to survive training or not?”
“Fine,” she muttered. “Where do we start?”
“We start with your diet,” he said. “You’re still eating like you’re in Hollywood trying to play and ingénue. But you aren’t. You’ve been cast as the leading man, so you have to act like it.”
“Okay,” she said. “Then what?”
“Then, you and I are going to be up at four AM tomorrow so we can finish in time for you to change without being seen. After we start, we’ll see how it goes and adjust accordingly.”
“All right,” she sighed. “I’ll trust you, Schlumper.”
*
At four the next morning, Spoonette was awake and ready for Linksano in the gym. It was eerily silent and she shivered a bit.
Linksano came in a few moments after her, carrying a file and a stereo. “All right,” he said. “First things first-go to the changing room and take off that binder.”
Spoonette stared. “What?”
“You’ve been wearing it for more than eight hours a day since we got here and it’s not good for you. While we’re doing this, you go without it.”
“I can draw a full breath.”
“I’m not having your ribs collapse on my watch.”
“But…I don’t have any…”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re focusing on your exercise, not the bounce.”
“What if someone walks in?”
“Unlikely. They value their sleep too much. And no offense, but there are men here with larger breasts than you. No one will think anything of it.”
Spoonette sighed and then acquiesced. When she returned, Linksano had turned on the stereo.
She groaned. “1980s? Really?”
“Hey, it’s good workout music, even if it is ancient. Now let’s go.”
*
Spoonette stared up at the flag hanging limply from the post. There had to be a way to reach it, and since she had started doing extra training with Linksano, she desperately needed that day off.
Not that it wasn’t helping. Linksano had been right-once she started eating more and working earlier in the day, the training had gotten easier. She was gaining strength, albeit slowly, and Linkara was only yelling at her every other day now, which was a huge improvement.
She felt someone step up beside her and she instantly jumped to attention when she realized it was the captain. “Evening, sir,” she said.
“Evening,” he said. They stood silent for a moment before he spoke again. “There is a way, you know.”
“I suppose there must be,” she agreed. “But I haven’t figured it out.”
“No one has,” Linkara said. “That’s why it’s a challenge.” He looked at her for a moment. “Walk with me, Antwiler.”
Spoonette swallowed heavily. Did he know? What would happen to her if he did? What would happen to Spoony? But she had no choice but to fall into step beside her captain.
“I have noticed an improvement in your training lately,” Linkara said after a moment.
Spoonette blushed. “I’ve been working harder,” she mumbled.
“And training earlier,” Linkara added. At her surprised look, he smiled. “Don’t be shocked. Nimue informed me of your determination this morning. She does have access to the security cameras in the gym.”
“Oh,” Spoonette said. “Well…I had to do something and Dr. Schlumper-from engineering-offered to help.”
“Interesting,” Linkara said. “Why him? Why not one of the other fighters?”
“We grew up together,” Spoonette admitted. “He had a crush on…my twin sister all through high school and…well, it’s just nice to have someone who knows me to work with.”
“Understandable,” Linkara said. There was another moment of silence. “I didn’t know you had a twin.”
Spoonette nodded. “She’s an actress,” she said. “Well…trying, anyway. But she’ll make it…somehow.” She was surprised how easy it was to talk to him. It almost felt bad to lie.
“I’m sure she will,” Linkara said. “You must miss her.”
Spoonette nodded again. “Every day,” she admitted, her mind on her brother. “Her, my wife, my yet-to-come daughter…all those girls I have to protect.”
“Those girls we all need to protect,” Linkara agreed. “What are their names?”
“My wife is named Laura,” Spoonette said. “But everyone calls her 80s Chick. And my sister is called Spoonette.”
Linkara raised his eyebrows and she sighed, knowing she couldn’t keep her name from him. “Eleanor,” she confessed. “But in middle school, people started calling me Spoony and she was just a girl version of me back then, so she’s Spoonette now.” She blinked back sudden tears. “I wish I didn’t have to leave them.”
“We all wish that,” Linkara said. “Everyone has someone back home…a wife, a mother, a sister, a brother, a child…a father…none of us wanted to leave them. But we had to. They need us out here.”
Spoonette nodded. “Yes, sir,” she muttered. They reached the bridge and stood, looking out across the stars. She took a moment before she dared to ask. “What about you, sir? Who did you leave behind?” At his surprised look, she blushed and added, “If…if it’s not impertinent of me to ask…”
“I lied,” he admitted. “We don’t all have someone…well, not back home.” He sighed sadly. “My parents were both in the Space Corps when it first started, so I was always going to join up. They died in the Mech War when I was sixteen. After that, Admiral Finevoice took me in. He trained me, and I saved him in the war…he’s my only family now.”
“I’m sorry,” Spoonette said.
He shook his head. “Still,” he said. “It’s something. I’m not alone…remember that, Antwiler.” His eyes bore deep into hers. “You are never alone.”
She met his eyes and nodded, and she thought that maybe he wasn’t as annoying as he seemed in training sessions.
*
“You’re awfully quiet,” Linksano commented later that night.
“Just trying to figure out that damn flag puzzle,” Spoonette muttered. “I think Captain Lovhaug gave me a hint, but I can’t figure out what.”
“What were you two talking about?”
She shrugged. “Stupid shit. Families and tragic backstories and such.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of anything,” Linksano agreed. “Maybe he was just trying to be friendly.”
“Maybe,” Spoonette said. “I still want to figure it out…not to have time off, but just because it will drive me crazy not being able to do it.”
“And you always hated not winning,” Linksano said with a smile. “To the point where you paid Wayne and me to help with your science fair projects…which you didn’t have to do, by the way.”
“I know,” she said. “You would have done it for a blowjob.”
Linksano blushed. “What I meant was that you could have done the work on your own,” he mumbled. “You’re much smarter than you let yourself be. When we did those projects, most of the research and ideas were yours, you just needed some help with the execution-or you were trying to preserve your reputation.”
She shrugged. “Being smart never won me too many points,” she said. “Being pretty was all I’ve needed so far…and I don’t even have that anymore.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Linksano said. “You’re still pretty to me…besides, being pretty doesn’t matter now. So it’s time to start being smart.”
“But…” She broke off as the door opened and their other three roommates came in. They waved lazily, but didn’t pay them any attention. “You’re right,” she said. She was quiet for a moment as the boys laughed about some joke. “Do you know how tall that pole is?” she asked Linksano.
“Twenty-five feet.”
“Right.” She thought for a moment. “We can do that.”
“We?”
“Don’t worry, Schlumper. I’m not gonna make you climb it.” She smiled and turned to the other boys. “Hey, guys. Wanna try something?”
*
“You sure about this, dude?” 90s Kid stared at the pole apprehensively. “I mean, it would be cool to get the flag, but I didn’t train for the circus.”
“You got a better idea?” Spoonette asked. “Besides, Linkara said yesterday that we’re a unit. That means we have to work together.”
*I agree,* the Ninja Style Dancer wrote. *We are a team and we will succeed or fail together.*
Boffo nodded in agreement and 90s Kid sighed. “Fine. But I don’t see why I’m on the bottom.”
“I checked your records and you’re the heaviest,” Spoonette said. “You can hold the pole for support.”
90s Kid move forward and gripped the pole, bracing himself.
“Boffo, you next.”
It took a bit of effort, but Boffo managed to climb up onto 90s Kid’s shoulders. The Ninja Style Dancer was next and he climbed up easily enough. They looked rather precarious, but they were at least steady.
Spoonette took a deep breath and put her hands on 90s Kid’s shoulders. It was difficult to pull herself up without hurting him, but easier than climbing the pole itself.
The boys made no sound as she used them to climb up. Finally, she managed to lift herself up on Ninja’s shoulders. He helped her remain steady as she reached out and took the flag off the pole.
Naturally, that amount of motion caused them to overbalance. 90s Kid’s grip slipped and the entire operation toppled over, one on top of the other.
Spoonette was grateful that the other three were there. If she had landed on the hard steel floor from that height, she probably would have broken her neck. It still hurt, of course, but she knew she’d recover.
They lay silent for a moment, eyes closed, the only sounds their heavy breathing and 90s Kid’s groan of “Dude…not radical.”
“But you did it,” came another voice from the doorway. Spoonette slowly opened her eyes to see Linkara standing over them, looking amused.
They hastily got up, straightening their uniforms. Spoonette handed Linkara the flag defiantly.
He raised his eyebrows as he took it. “And what have we learned?” he asked.
“To ask for help when I need it,” Spoonette answered.
“Very good,” Linkara said. “And what else?”
“Don’t attempt dangerous tasks without a mattress?”
Linkara shook his head. “There are no mattresses on a battlefield.” He looked at them. “Right. You can all go back to bed if you wish.”
Spoonette glanced at the other three, who all gave her the same small nod. “With all due respect, sir,” she said. “We have too much work to do.”
Previous | Next | Masterpost
Author:
butterflyslinky
Pairing(s): Eventual Linkara/Spoonette; Spoony/80s Chick; one-sided Linksano/Spoonette
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 17,778
Warning(s): Violence, off-screen character death
Summary: Having been rejected as an actress and with nothing left to lose, Spoonette takes her brother’s place in the US Space Corps to fight off the coming threat of Lord Vyce. Now, she has to deal with army drills, her high school stalker with the ability to hack the Pentagon, and a captain who is both way hot and way annoying. Bogus.
Author’s Note: Inspired by this prompt, though I don’t really know if it qualifies as a fill for it. Special thanks to pompoko and
ladydiskette for beta-ing, and of course
trulyamindlost,
robynred, and
lizynob for their lovely bonus content
Spoonette collapsed into a chair beside Linksano, feeling more tired and sore than she ever had before in her life. The rest of her roommates sat down across from them. They all had a lot more energy than she did, and Spoonette cursed the fact that they were all more naturally inclined toward the army life than she was.
Linksano smirked as he passed over another cup of water. “Rough day?” he asked.
“”I’m going to buy a gym membership as soon as I get home,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry, dude,” 90s Kid said. “As soon as you get used to it, you’ll feel better.
Spoonette grunted in response. She seriously doubted she would ever feel better about this sort of physical activity.
“If nothing else, your wife will appreciate it,” Linksano said.
“I think my wife will appreciate me getting home more,” Spoonette replied.
*
As the days of training went on, Spoonette regretted her decision to come here more and more. She didn’t spend much time with the other soldiers besides Linksano, and then only when she really needed something. When they weren’t training, she sought out small, private places in the ship and would stay there for hours, reading whatever books or manuals she could find, but these times weren’t many as the Space Corps did not allow much time for idleness.
Not only did she have to learn all the same skills the men did, fighting and technology and teamwork, but she had to do it while maintaining the façade that she was her brother, pushing her body to do the same tasks at the same level as all the men. Some women may have been able to do it, but being a waitress didn’t give her much upper-body strength, speed, or agility. But she couldn’t scale back. She couldn’t let on that her abilities were less than anyone else’s. Fortunately, everyone else was too busy training to notice her.
Everyone except the one person she least wanted to discover her.
It was soon apparent to Linkara where his weakest links were. Given the choice, he would have simply sent the weaker ones home, but they were in deep space and getting rid of his worst soldiers would have been horribly expensive. His time was thus spent debating with himself over whether these soldiers should be near the back where they wouldn’t die, or in the front to take the worst of the fire and protect his good fighters.
He still hadn’t decided a month into the training, so he simply settled for yelling at them in the hopes that they would improve. And the weakest got the worst of it.
“Antwiler! Faster!”
“Antwiler! Get up off that floor!”
“Antwiler! Shut up!”
Spoonette spent most of her free time fantasizing about creative ways of shutting him up. Not that she could actually harm him-he was far too strong and clever for her to ever get the upper hand.
The only time she wasn’t being berated was in target practice. There, her skills in first-person shooter games served her well, and she was able to hit the targets well, even if she didn’t necessarily get a bull’s eye every time. It helped that she usually pictured her target as having Linkara’s stupid, bossy, handsome face.
“I don’t know how long I can keep this up,” she confided to Linksano one night as they collapsed in their dorm. The other three weren’t there, and Spoonette wasn’t terribly concerned with their whereabouts.
“If I know you, you’ll keep it up as long as you need,” Linksano said. “Besides, you’ve always been good at imitating Spoony.”
“But it’s hard!” Spoonette whined. “I hate running five miles and doing hundreds of push-ups a day! I can’t do it!”
“That’s because you weren’t prepared for it,” Linksano said patiently. “You jumped from the studio to space with no training and starting doing drills most men have trouble with, all while pretending to be someone with completely different physical abilities. And so far, it’s working.”
“So is that why Linkara is yelling at me all the time?” she asked. “Because it works?”
“He hasn’t learned the truth,” Linksano pointed out. “And trust me, that would result in a lot more than yelling.”
“Whatever,” she grumbled. “Doesn’t change the fact that army drills suck.”
“I have been thinking about that,” Linksano admitted. “And I’ve devised an additional training program for you.”
“When am I going to do additional training?” she snapped.
“When you wake up at the crack of dawn,” Linksano answered.
“So you want me to get up, do your program, then go in and do the even harder work?”
“It will get easier,” he insisted. “I have devised this plan specifically to meet your needs without overtaxing you.”
“You mean you specifically designed it for me six years ago,” Spoonette said. “I have changed since high school, you know.”
“I’ve noticed,” he said. “The Spoonette I knew six years ago wouldn’t have bothered to try. Now do you want to survive training or not?”
“Fine,” she muttered. “Where do we start?”
“We start with your diet,” he said. “You’re still eating like you’re in Hollywood trying to play and ingénue. But you aren’t. You’ve been cast as the leading man, so you have to act like it.”
“Okay,” she said. “Then what?”
“Then, you and I are going to be up at four AM tomorrow so we can finish in time for you to change without being seen. After we start, we’ll see how it goes and adjust accordingly.”
“All right,” she sighed. “I’ll trust you, Schlumper.”
*
At four the next morning, Spoonette was awake and ready for Linksano in the gym. It was eerily silent and she shivered a bit.
Linksano came in a few moments after her, carrying a file and a stereo. “All right,” he said. “First things first-go to the changing room and take off that binder.”
Spoonette stared. “What?”
“You’ve been wearing it for more than eight hours a day since we got here and it’s not good for you. While we’re doing this, you go without it.”
“I can draw a full breath.”
“I’m not having your ribs collapse on my watch.”
“But…I don’t have any…”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re focusing on your exercise, not the bounce.”
“What if someone walks in?”
“Unlikely. They value their sleep too much. And no offense, but there are men here with larger breasts than you. No one will think anything of it.”
Spoonette sighed and then acquiesced. When she returned, Linksano had turned on the stereo.
She groaned. “1980s? Really?”
“Hey, it’s good workout music, even if it is ancient. Now let’s go.”
*
Spoonette stared up at the flag hanging limply from the post. There had to be a way to reach it, and since she had started doing extra training with Linksano, she desperately needed that day off.
Not that it wasn’t helping. Linksano had been right-once she started eating more and working earlier in the day, the training had gotten easier. She was gaining strength, albeit slowly, and Linkara was only yelling at her every other day now, which was a huge improvement.
She felt someone step up beside her and she instantly jumped to attention when she realized it was the captain. “Evening, sir,” she said.
“Evening,” he said. They stood silent for a moment before he spoke again. “There is a way, you know.”
“I suppose there must be,” she agreed. “But I haven’t figured it out.”
“No one has,” Linkara said. “That’s why it’s a challenge.” He looked at her for a moment. “Walk with me, Antwiler.”
Spoonette swallowed heavily. Did he know? What would happen to her if he did? What would happen to Spoony? But she had no choice but to fall into step beside her captain.
“I have noticed an improvement in your training lately,” Linkara said after a moment.
Spoonette blushed. “I’ve been working harder,” she mumbled.
“And training earlier,” Linkara added. At her surprised look, he smiled. “Don’t be shocked. Nimue informed me of your determination this morning. She does have access to the security cameras in the gym.”
“Oh,” Spoonette said. “Well…I had to do something and Dr. Schlumper-from engineering-offered to help.”
“Interesting,” Linkara said. “Why him? Why not one of the other fighters?”
“We grew up together,” Spoonette admitted. “He had a crush on…my twin sister all through high school and…well, it’s just nice to have someone who knows me to work with.”
“Understandable,” Linkara said. There was another moment of silence. “I didn’t know you had a twin.”
Spoonette nodded. “She’s an actress,” she said. “Well…trying, anyway. But she’ll make it…somehow.” She was surprised how easy it was to talk to him. It almost felt bad to lie.
“I’m sure she will,” Linkara said. “You must miss her.”
Spoonette nodded again. “Every day,” she admitted, her mind on her brother. “Her, my wife, my yet-to-come daughter…all those girls I have to protect.”
“Those girls we all need to protect,” Linkara agreed. “What are their names?”
“My wife is named Laura,” Spoonette said. “But everyone calls her 80s Chick. And my sister is called Spoonette.”
Linkara raised his eyebrows and she sighed, knowing she couldn’t keep her name from him. “Eleanor,” she confessed. “But in middle school, people started calling me Spoony and she was just a girl version of me back then, so she’s Spoonette now.” She blinked back sudden tears. “I wish I didn’t have to leave them.”
“We all wish that,” Linkara said. “Everyone has someone back home…a wife, a mother, a sister, a brother, a child…a father…none of us wanted to leave them. But we had to. They need us out here.”
Spoonette nodded. “Yes, sir,” she muttered. They reached the bridge and stood, looking out across the stars. She took a moment before she dared to ask. “What about you, sir? Who did you leave behind?” At his surprised look, she blushed and added, “If…if it’s not impertinent of me to ask…”
“I lied,” he admitted. “We don’t all have someone…well, not back home.” He sighed sadly. “My parents were both in the Space Corps when it first started, so I was always going to join up. They died in the Mech War when I was sixteen. After that, Admiral Finevoice took me in. He trained me, and I saved him in the war…he’s my only family now.”
“I’m sorry,” Spoonette said.
He shook his head. “Still,” he said. “It’s something. I’m not alone…remember that, Antwiler.” His eyes bore deep into hers. “You are never alone.”
She met his eyes and nodded, and she thought that maybe he wasn’t as annoying as he seemed in training sessions.
*
“You’re awfully quiet,” Linksano commented later that night.
“Just trying to figure out that damn flag puzzle,” Spoonette muttered. “I think Captain Lovhaug gave me a hint, but I can’t figure out what.”
“What were you two talking about?”
She shrugged. “Stupid shit. Families and tragic backstories and such.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of anything,” Linksano agreed. “Maybe he was just trying to be friendly.”
“Maybe,” Spoonette said. “I still want to figure it out…not to have time off, but just because it will drive me crazy not being able to do it.”
“And you always hated not winning,” Linksano said with a smile. “To the point where you paid Wayne and me to help with your science fair projects…which you didn’t have to do, by the way.”
“I know,” she said. “You would have done it for a blowjob.”
Linksano blushed. “What I meant was that you could have done the work on your own,” he mumbled. “You’re much smarter than you let yourself be. When we did those projects, most of the research and ideas were yours, you just needed some help with the execution-or you were trying to preserve your reputation.”
She shrugged. “Being smart never won me too many points,” she said. “Being pretty was all I’ve needed so far…and I don’t even have that anymore.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Linksano said. “You’re still pretty to me…besides, being pretty doesn’t matter now. So it’s time to start being smart.”
“But…” She broke off as the door opened and their other three roommates came in. They waved lazily, but didn’t pay them any attention. “You’re right,” she said. She was quiet for a moment as the boys laughed about some joke. “Do you know how tall that pole is?” she asked Linksano.
“Twenty-five feet.”
“Right.” She thought for a moment. “We can do that.”
“We?”
“Don’t worry, Schlumper. I’m not gonna make you climb it.” She smiled and turned to the other boys. “Hey, guys. Wanna try something?”
*
“You sure about this, dude?” 90s Kid stared at the pole apprehensively. “I mean, it would be cool to get the flag, but I didn’t train for the circus.”
“You got a better idea?” Spoonette asked. “Besides, Linkara said yesterday that we’re a unit. That means we have to work together.”
*I agree,* the Ninja Style Dancer wrote. *We are a team and we will succeed or fail together.*
Boffo nodded in agreement and 90s Kid sighed. “Fine. But I don’t see why I’m on the bottom.”
“I checked your records and you’re the heaviest,” Spoonette said. “You can hold the pole for support.”
90s Kid move forward and gripped the pole, bracing himself.
“Boffo, you next.”
It took a bit of effort, but Boffo managed to climb up onto 90s Kid’s shoulders. The Ninja Style Dancer was next and he climbed up easily enough. They looked rather precarious, but they were at least steady.
Spoonette took a deep breath and put her hands on 90s Kid’s shoulders. It was difficult to pull herself up without hurting him, but easier than climbing the pole itself.
The boys made no sound as she used them to climb up. Finally, she managed to lift herself up on Ninja’s shoulders. He helped her remain steady as she reached out and took the flag off the pole.
Naturally, that amount of motion caused them to overbalance. 90s Kid’s grip slipped and the entire operation toppled over, one on top of the other.
Spoonette was grateful that the other three were there. If she had landed on the hard steel floor from that height, she probably would have broken her neck. It still hurt, of course, but she knew she’d recover.
They lay silent for a moment, eyes closed, the only sounds their heavy breathing and 90s Kid’s groan of “Dude…not radical.”
“But you did it,” came another voice from the doorway. Spoonette slowly opened her eyes to see Linkara standing over them, looking amused.
They hastily got up, straightening their uniforms. Spoonette handed Linkara the flag defiantly.
He raised his eyebrows as he took it. “And what have we learned?” he asked.
“To ask for help when I need it,” Spoonette answered.
“Very good,” Linkara said. “And what else?”
“Don’t attempt dangerous tasks without a mattress?”
Linkara shook his head. “There are no mattresses on a battlefield.” He looked at them. “Right. You can all go back to bed if you wish.”
Spoonette glanced at the other three, who all gave her the same small nod. “With all due respect, sir,” she said. “We have too much work to do.”
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