The inside of the tent consisted of two circles chalked onto the concrete. In one corner sat Paper, Scissors, and a face familiar to Mistress Stunlock.
"Happy Rabbit?"
"You know him?" "You know her?"
Li Bao and the hero team asked their questions simultaneously, instantly creating an awkward atmosphere.
"Ooh, boyfriend drama! Someone get me some popcorn... Never mind, I can't eat that," Paper commented.
"Aren't you guys not supposed to drive customers off? Her and I just sparred once, nothing more."
"Does that mean all three of your are competing in the tournament," Scissors inquired.
"This game should be extra fun, then. Let's explain it."
Mistress Stunlock, Li Bao, and Logan found themselves holding hands in a circle not but five minutes later. Rock, Paper, and Scissors were in a similar formation in the circle opposite them.
"So this is a team game," Li Bao commented.
"That's right," Rock replied.
"When the music stops, whomever faces our circle must block the attack of the person facing your circle."
"But we can't decide a winner with this kind of game."
"I have a suggestion, as your rent-a-teammate," Logan said.
"Whoever reveals more of their power in defending, loses. Does that work?"
"Ha! You might as well crown me the winner now, then," Li Bao retorted with a sneer.
"Hey, save the trash talk for us," Scissors commanded while pressing the play button on a nearby boombox. A nursery rhyme played, the two groups now spinning to its melody.
Rock, Paper, Scissors! Which shall I play?
My twitching hand can barely steady, stay.
3, 2, 1! throw out the winner without delay!
SHOOT!
The two circles stopped, with Logan facing Rock.
"Get ready for this," she yelled while throwing a haymaker with the force of a car slamming into a brick wall. The air pressure from it alone was terrifying, but Logan showed no fear. With a slight turn of his head, he dodged the punch entirely.
"Rats!"
"Don't throw a tantrum, now. Our real targets are the other two, anyway."
Scissors' tone felt particularly malicious when delivering that last line. With a press of the button, another round began. This time, it ended with Mistress Stunlock facing Paper.
Without delay, the two dimensional girl charged Mistress Stunlock. She unfolded in mid-air, increasing the angles of approach for her grapple.
Stunlock, thinking at accelerated speed, weighed her options. Of course, electrifying her entire body would block this attack with no problem. But, considering the terms of the side bet, this method was unacceptable.
Thus, the sidekick only electrified the tips of two fingers. She thrust them at the incoming Paper, each containing the speed and ferocity of a rapier stab.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
With every stab, a section of the this giant paper net would retreat. Overall, however, it continued its slow surrounding of the sidekick.
"Did somebody order a wrap?"
With this quip, Paper tightened the net. She completely covered Mistress Stunlock, winning the round.
"HA HA! With this, I win! Right?"
"Do you want me to be the judge," Logan asked the excitedly cheering Li Bao.
"What do you mean? She was the first to get eliminated, so I should be the winner."
"No, you should have to take a hit, too. There's still scissors left, after all."
"Fine! Let's get to it. No need for another spin, right?"
The two circles rotated upon this comment, until Li Bao faced Scissors.
Logan thought to himself as they prepared to face off.
"Paper should be the most powerful out of their group. I wonder what Stunlock's penalty will be?"
Scissors, as if sensing this, made a bold comment of her own.
"I suppose it is about time I remind everyone why I'm the leader, here."
She took both hands from her hoodie pocket, and pointed them forward. The two transformed into blades, rapidly approaching Li Bao.
He withdrew a flip knife from his pocket, and entered a parrying stance.
CLANG! STAB!
He parried the first blade, only for a third blade to sprout from it and impale his shoulder.
CLANG! CLANG! STAB! STAB!
The second blade approached. He parried it and, expecting the surprise blade, parried that too. What he didn't expect, however, was two additional blades to sprout from the surprise blade. He took a hit in his opposite arm and shoulder.
"There's more where that came from!"
Scissors' chest exploded, a storm of blades erupting from it.
"URRGH! I MUST BLOCK THESE!"
Li Bao's eyes turned red, steam rose from his skin, and his muscles bulged. A flurry of clangs erupted from inside the tent, as if an entire kitchen's worth of utensils suddenly fell on a tin roof.
Li Bao successfully blocked the remaining strikes!
"Huff... Huff... Did I win?"
"Well you did block the shot, but wasn't your bet predicated on who revealed the least of their powers?"
"Shit! But I blocked it, and she didn't. Surely that counts for something."
As everyone descended into contemplation, it was eventually Paper who proposed a solution.
"Why not just have a tie?"
"Plague Doctor's Cupid Crush Finder it is!"
Mistress Stunlock, ignoring the suggestion, proposed her own.
"There's no more time," Li Bao countered.
"If a tie is that bad, why not just make me the winner? I was the one who revealed the least of their power, after all. What was this bet even for?"
"Winner decides the loser's costume."
"Perfect, let me pick both your costumes, then."
"Oh! That could work. I was kind of having trouble figuring out a costume more embarrassing than her current one, anyway."
With neither side wanting to give in to the other, the two sidekicks eventually agreed to this compromise.