Description: The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls is an international bridge that spans across the Niagara River gorge that separates Canada from the United States. Two masked fighters meet up at the center of the bridge to partake in their first exhibition match of the Strolheim tournament. Will the butterfly fly to victory? Will the skeletal man reign supreme? Will the pain each suffers explode with bursts of energy and a nice cup of tea? (Draw Match)
The Rainbow Bridge certainly lives up to its name when the mist is rising from the Niagara River gorge. Sunlight hits the water just right on this crisp, nearly-Autumn day causing small rainbows of light to flitter around under the bridge. It is here, on this world famous tourist site, that a fight is about to take place. With the leaves on the trees lining the bank already begun to turn to bright yellows, reds, and oranges, the bridge has been sectioned off in a large square that marks the mid-way point. At the apex of the arch, in the middle of the nine-hundred-and-fifty foot span cameras have been set up at the edges, with a helicopter circling above to provide a few overhead shots of the fight and scenery below.
Coming in from Niagara Falls, Ontario, the little gymnast bites on her lower lip. Maybe she should have asked for one of the cars to drop her off, but she may as well play the tourist -- especially when she's sticking out like a huge, sore thumb. A teal facemask with a butterfly motif covers her visage from view. Accompanying the mask is a complete outfit, including a halternecked top, a pair of form-fitting female wrestling trunks, and a cape that encircles her body that bears silver wing-like patterns threaded throughout.
Here she is! Ready to fight! In a televised tournament no less!
Here's hoping she's able to keep herself hidden for at least a little while, or there's likely to be Hell to pay.
The bridge is silent for many minutes as Alexis waits patiently for Skullomania in the center of the suspension bridge. But eventually the sound of someone can be heard flip flopping mightily down the length of the wooden and theoretically sturdy structure!
The noise is expected a bright light indicating the form of Skullomania comes along, casting bright white and shadows along the thick mist as a black shape performs multiple front flips, legs kicking up over hands and then the reverse, ad nauseum towards the skimpily dressed woman. But before too long the skeletal pattern of the Fighter's costume becomes fully visible as he slows down landing on his feet a good distance away, waving for Alexis to come at him.
It's quiet as the man stands up black eye glancing firmly at the opponent from between wide white socket circles on the 'skull' of the mask. "GOOD EVEEEENIIIIIIIIIIING!" He greats cheerily, flapping his hands around through the fist in an impromptu wave to his opponent. "I Believe You Had Something You Wanted to Show Me?" He asks casually, chests vibrating with laughter's pace, but not visual chi manifestations arrive to punctuate the 'Heroes' words today, allowing the natural visual effects of their location, today, speak for themselves, here on the rainbow bridge.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania has started a fight here.
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Skullomania 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Alexis has joined the fight here.
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Skullomania 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alexis
COMBATSYS: Skullomania gathers his will.
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Skullomania 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Alexis
"WOAH!"
Alexis had promised herself not to allow her opponent to distract her, but... but he made an /ENTRANCE/! She's quite ashamed that she didn't make such a flashy entrance herself, but she was trying to stay under the radar a little. At this point though, she can't help it. She flings herself into a no-hands frontflip and then strikes a pose of her own.
"You bet'cha!"
Feet lift off the bridge a she flies toward the skeletally-dressed man, in order to land upon his shoulders. Managing this, she's got every intention of locking the man in a headscissors before performing a graceful backflip that is designed to throw him over her and onto his stomach.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania blocks Alexis' Backflip Full-Twist.
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Skullomania 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Alexis
Skullo "All Man" Mania gasps as Alexis agrees with and amply flips herself up onto her her chest, her legs wrapping tightlu around his chest ub ab effort to lock his head and smash him down across the Rainbow Bridge! But the thin japanese man instead reveres his momentum, cherging itno Alexis!
"SUPER PUNCH!" HE shouts aggressively thrusting both hands towards his opponent before sucking them back towards his chest as he following them aggressively, twirling and swinging slow, bracing his back on the narrow briudge gently before swinging his heels up for the woman's throat.
"HA HA!"
COMBATSYS: Skullomania successfully hits Alexis with Dangerous Heel.
Glancing Blow
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Skullomania 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Alexis
A flip and an almost miss for the acrobatic gymnastic wrestler-type girl! As she twists to avoid the fists being thrust her way, Alexis tumbles upon the hard pavement of the bridge. Grimacing at her fall, she lifts herself up to full height and whisks off her beautiful winged-looking cape. It is as she's removing this that the heels clip not her throat but her shoulder. They press her arm backward, causing the material in her hand to flutter away.
But not lost to the deep waters below! Oh-ho! Not a chance! A nice little fan manages to grab the cape and folds it neatly. Thank goodness for small favors!
No time to worry about the item now though. Not a chance! She pings a little smile for the cameras and pivots in a sharp, swift manner. Her left leg extends behind her as she twists, then comes in tight to her body as she pirouettes around before snapping the leg through the air toward the skeletal man with a cracking motion reminiscent of a whip.
COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Skullomania with Petite Fouette.
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Skullomania 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Alexis
Skullo "All Man" Mania grumbles as he nimbly dances around the furious kicks of Alexis, and dances straight into the foot. His head makes an awful cracking sound as his whole head snaps back violently before he begins to fall away from here, carried by the force of the blow. "Snaps. That trick never works. Did you know that? I knew that. but I tried it anyway."
The left eyesocket design on his mask turns white, winking impossibly as his legs ignite with yellow orange chi fire! "Here is a better one though!" He flips over, kicking his legs out above his head like a Capoeira star, spinning them ever and ever closer to Alexis' face. "SUPER KICK!"
He shouts and rolls forewards, back onto his legs for support, his hand snapping out to punch his opponent in the belly, a distinctly dirty move from the Buddy Bones. "WHATAAAAAH!" He then yells and the flames form mostly around his fist and he snaps his forearm back to magnify the blow with a second POP!
COMBATSYS: Skullomania successfully hits Alexis with Skullo Punch EX.
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Skullomania 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Alexis
Dangit!
As the kicks come toward her face, arms come up and she starts to tumble backward in order to avoid them.
THAT is when Alexis is punched in the stomach, and it bowls her over onto her back. "Yeeeeek!" Okay, that hurt more than she's willing to let on. Thankfully the pained expression on her face is artfully hidden behind the butterfly mask! While she lays there like a smushed insect, she takes a few deep breaths before suddenly springing to her feet. Flipping backward toward the crowd closest to Ontario, she pulls a cane and ribbon from within the folds of her cape.
"Haha!"
Flicking her wrist to unravel the the ribbon, she grins brightly and closes distance. With each step, the ribbon flows out beside her. Oddly, the material does not catch in the wind. Instead a watery blue energy seems to run along the edges of movement as the ribbon creates a snake-like pattern. Leaping forward to close the remainder of the distance, she snaps the ribbon forward while the two ends of the ribbon act like teeth which point toward his arm and angle as though they are about to bite into the flesh.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania blocks Alexis' Serpent de L'eau.
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Skullomania 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Alexis
Skullo "All Man" Mania throws his hands above his head, he laughs and cajoles, mugging for the camera as Alexis strikes. "I hope you know that my milk snake ees beeggur than your water snake? Child!" He okes in his best, worst french accent. He then backflips away from Alexis, three times! Putting a fair bit of safe real estate between himself and his first round matchup.
He keeps laughing his accent eventually reverting to his usual costumed superhero voice andhe leaps down the bridge causeway! He floats impossible as he does so, his legs curled up uunderneath him as he levitates across the didstance impossible, not touching the rope handlegrips even slightly, first outstretched ahead of him as he slames towards Alexis with the uncertain suddenness of Shamrokc shakes in March.
COMBATSYS: Alexis interrupts Quick Punch from Skullomania with Aqueous Illusion.
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Skullomania 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Alexis
Psh. Making fun of her accent is nothing new to her. Not when she's lived in India, Russia and Southtown! Besides, that little jaunt to France earlier this year just made her even /more/ proud to be a French Canadian by birth than anything else. So all the man gets for his efforts of bad accents and teasing is the butterfly sticking her tongue out.
"THHHHHHHPT!"
So very ladylike. Alexis' mother would be quite proud of the fact that her daughter is behaving in such a manner. If she realized that this /was/ Alexis anyhow! Thankfully, that secret is going to remain carefully guarded... FOR NOW!
Once she sees the fist rushing toward her from the oddly levitating skeleton-figure, she just laughs. The ribbon is whipped up above her head in a frenzy of figure eights and swirls, no movement imitating the last. A watery energy builds up along the edges of the ribbon again, though this time instead of striking out at her opponent they form a protective bubble that absorbs the fist and slows it down just enough to lessen the blow. As an added bonus, when the fist crashes against the watery wall, it shoots a small burst of chi-damage along with it.
"I really, totally do not want to think 'bout'cher snakes, kay?"
Skullo "All Man" Mania gets smoked by the gymnastifantastical ribbon assault and finds himself launched across the way by the final burst of chi-power. He digs his heels in, can't reduce his momentum, flips backwards uncontrollably spinning into a few catwheels and finally leaping high in the air to flip several times and land on his feet hands outstretched above his head victoriously!
"Sure thing!" He high pitched and grating voice rings out challengingly. "No more gross displays of personal indulgence! ALL BUSINESS!" Just to prove that he's lying fireworks explode from his feet, chi manifestations resulting in a ridiculous pyrotechnics display! But if you let that distraction take your eyes off of him for even a second--
---Skullo taps Alexis on the shoulder from behind. " Excuse Me Miss. But... Hi-yaa!" He excuses his next action politely in that manner, in a quiet and gentlemanly tone and then begins walking up a plastic step ladder that is conveniently placed in front of his feet, legs dangerously straddling gaps in the boards, his fist glows with bright white CHI as he delivers a potent punch to the bottom of Alexis' jaw.
COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Skullomania's Stepping Upper.
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Skullomania 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Alexis
That's gotta hurt, right? Fireworks exploding from your feet? Alexis watches for a moment, but she's learned that this guy is a trickster of sorts. So while her eyes appear to be focusing on the distraction, she's watching him enough so that she spots him circling behind her. Feeling the tap to her shoulder, she twirls around with an easy grace and just smiles at him.
"Hiya yourself," she chirps out, her arms coming up to cover her face and take the brunt of the blow, leaving her ribbon to dangle at her side.
Even dangling ribbons can pose a danger though, for the very second his arm begins to pull back she whips it out toward him. The ribbon swirls, looping in on itself in order to lasso about his feet. Should the ribbon latch on as tightly as she's hoping, she'll give it a nice big yank in order to draw him down from the ladder and onto the bridge.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania interrupts Snare Whip from Alexis with Skullo Dream.
- CRAZY Hit! -
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Skullomania 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Alexis
Skullo "All Man" Mania takes the ribbons in his hands. They wrap around his wrists and his fingers close around the bands of fabric. "OoooOOooh!" He says woozily his head bobbling around on his shoulders, like distortions caused by waves of heat but more formally patterned, a visual distortion surrounds the two fighters and then an image of a sunny day, on orange rocks with a pink sky.
Nope, Nothing strange about that, within shis visualization there is an enormous pole, it is barberstriped and two adorable children, dressed exactly as Skullomania and Alexis dance with maypole ribbons around it. Then they are seen to be wrapping ribbons around an enormous tree. Then using a tire swing on that tree. And then...
The adorable child-sized Skullomania has Alexis in a figure-four leg lock on the branch that holds the tire swing! She's turning red in the face, the branch cracks loudly, and slowly,
slowly....
ssssllloooowwwlllyyy...
Then it just falls.
The imagery dissipates, and Skullomania seems to impossibly suplex Alexis out of the tree, coming back into reality. He lands on his feet. his scarf billows in the wind and he places his hands on his hips as he thrusts his belly out and shoots a bright red laser beam from his navel and into his opponent to finish the attack.
There is one thing about visualizations that the gymnast hates more than anything. They remind her of that time in the park, with the creepy kid and the woman that tried to naum on her soul. She's still not certain if that incident was just a really bad nightmare, or a very frightening reality, and she doesn't want to think much on it.
Oh, she tries her best not to let this imagery catch her up.
Figuring she's almost got a handle on it, Alexis stands still. She just keeps telling herself that it's not real. There's no mini-Alexis running around a maypole. There's no pretty little pink sky as a backdrop. There's just the roar of the falls, and the feeling of the bridge...
... then there's a girl who's flying across their blocked in fighting area with a ribbon trailing after her, screaming in pain from what was just supposed to be a dream-reality. A girl who /crashes/ into the barrier and bounces off of it to land face first upon the bridge with a groan. Her body twitches a few times, pain shooting through every limb and wanting to keep her down. Letting out a whimper of frustration and pain, she begins to push herself to her feet.
Releasing her hold upon the cane of the ribbon she takes two deep, calming breaths. These should allow her to focus a little. Her legs feel wobbly though. She's not certain this can be done. But she tries anyhow. Pivoting about, she launches into a roundoff back-handspring, her legs shooting out toward the masked man's neck. Her intent is to choke him with her legs momentarily before flipping over and attempting to feed him to the same barriers she just hit.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania blocks Alexis' Yurchenko Toss.
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Skullomania 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Alexis
Skullo "All Man" Mania gets his neck all wrapped up by some legs. He pretends to fight it for a while but then just pretends to go to sleep. You can tell he's pretending because the orange chi-manifested ZzzZzzs above his head are accomponied by him talking incessantly.
"So, I just remembered, in biology class, that we learned skeleton men don't have tracheas and they can't breath. So..." He grins his gap-toothed leer and rolls harmlessly to his feet after he his brutally thrown down the way by the neck with a horrific SNAP!.
"HuzZzZZAH!" He shouts, jerking thumbs to his hips, fanning his fingers out and taking an enormous inhalation of breath, obviously through his windpipe bone and not a trachea at all. "HuzzzAAAAAAAAAAH!" He croons in more epic fashion, as though accompanied by a choir. The darkness brightens behind him, an eerie pink glow.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania gathers his will.
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Skullomania 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Alexis
"So then..." Alexis is hurting, she knows she's hurting, but she's still trying to talk and play normal. Something entirely different for her, really. She should maybe move to the side, take a small little rest /then/ get back into the swing of things.
Only she doesn't.
"So then... you shouldn't need to breathe at all, right?" Biology is not her best of subjects, but she's fairly certain there's no such thing as skeletons that need to breathe at all.
Forcing herself into a cartwheel despite the pain she's suffering, she flips toward him. Hands lash out on the second cartwheel, and she attempts to grab at the odd, girlishly pink glow of a man. Should her hands make purchase, she flips him with her until she comes to a stop and simply tosses him away.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania interrupts Quick Throw from Alexis with Skullo Dive.
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Skullomania 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Alexis
Skullo "All Man" Mania cackles, "YES! NOW YOU GET IT!" And seems rushes in to meet his opponent! Her hands wrap around his neck, and he keeps on running, he ignores the pain, and leaps into the air, carrying Alexis with him as he begins to spin like a drill, smashing into the bridge and shattering it as he pushes them back to the base of the gap, chi manifested white flareups and orange sparks spiraling away from the pair.
Does she? Does she get it? Well, she gets the 'gimmick' at least. Alexis has been watching fighting in different formats for a while, and she understands that there are some fights where things happen because they're staged, and she understands that some things happen in fights that aren't staged. The gimmick, she's sure, is staged. The insane chi-drill-whatsit that he's doing, is just painful and not staged at all.
"GAH!"
It's a good, one word response to the whole mess, right? Works for her!
As the fireworks of energy flare off around them, she rolls along the bridge until her fingers touch against something. No, not something naughty. Something very, very useful. Grasping the end of the ribbon, the gymnast gives a little tug causing the cane to come flying back toward her hand where she lays.
At this point, she can barely move. Her body just wants to lay there and is fighting against her. She knows that the chances of her coming back from this are next to nothing, but she flings the cane out like a boomerang anyhow, hoping to catch the masked man in the face. Should the cane crash against the man, a wave of watery energy splashes forward to hit him before she pulls the ribbon back to her and lays there in defeat.
COMBATSYS: Alexis can no longer fight.
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Skullomania 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Skullomania with Boomerang Throw.
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Skullomania 0/-------/--=====|
Skullo "All Man" Mania is allready bouncing off to land on his feet, and throws his hands up to the air to assume victory! He then runs along to help his opponent back up, since he's genuinely a p. nice guy, and is caught off gaurd when he sees a flung boomerang cane whipping towards his face as he bridges the gap.
WHACK! It cracks of his mug, and his feet lazily catch up to the rest of him and stars and meteors explode around his head. "Did somebody get the number on that truck?" He singsongs in a daze before collapsing to his knees.
His head whips rapidly as he tries to shake it off. He reaches behind his back and produces a tea cup with a sigh of relief. He takes a sip, settles back on his haunches, seeming to relax and then points an accusing finger at Alexis. "WHoah Lady! That hurt. Whoah. Like, Remind me never to say hello to you if we happenstance to run across eachother in a dark alley or something okay? But..."
He waves his hand over the table that is suddenly resting in front of him, a cup of tea ready for Alexis, steaming invitingly. "We can still be friends I hope!"
COMBATSYS: Skullomania takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania can no longer fight.
It... it hit? IT HIT! Alexis would likely jump up for joy... if she could move more than a few muscles at the moment. Wait, wait, it hit and he's afraid of her? The girl actually giggles at that. It may seem a bit insane for her to be doing that in this instance, but she can't help it. Imagine, being afraid of /her/ in a dark alley. That's the funniest thing the tiny little gymnast has ever heard! She's got the most delicate look about her normally, and that particular imagery is just silly!
Spying the teacup, she blinks. Blinking again, she raises up on her elbows and glances around them. Huh, no wires. So it can't just be special effects or something like that, right? Flipping over onto her stomach, she pushes herself up to her feet. Staggering backward a little, reaches her hands out for balance and stabilizes herself.
Then, as if there's absolutely nothing weird about a Mary Poppins-esque feat, she carefully makes her way to the table and nods her head. "Uh huh! Sure we can!"
Hey, she'll be friends with anyone that's not out to actually kill her.
"Thanks for the fight," she offers, not really ready to take the cup of tea since she's not sure exactly where it came from. "Good luck with your next one!"
Skullo "All Man" Mania tips his teacup towards Alexis letting a little slosh out and he merrily waves her on her way.
Log created on 18:38:00 09/26/2008 by Alexis, and last modified on 14:07:15 10/09/2008.