Never Party The Night Before A Tournament...

After a seemingly endless week battling Legion henchmen, the Universal Defenders returned to their headquarters on Friday night completely exhausted. Their leader, Fusion, knew that his comrades needed some well-deserved relaxation, so he broke out the champagne, cranked up the music, and told the Universal Defenders to let loose. The weary heroes suddenly seemed to transform into college kids at a kegger. The dancing, jokes, war stories, and games of beer pong lasted well into the night. At last, sunlight began to peek in through the windows, and those still awake knew it was time to hit the sack. Briefly, headquarters was silent.

Suddenly, the ground trembled, and energy blasts crackled in the air. The sounds of battle woke Fusion from where he lay passed out on the ground. He stumbled out to find his right-hand man, Solarius, in lone combat against a team of heroes. “I didn’t issue a challenge,” Fusion muttered, rubbing his head. “What the hell’s going on?”

Solarius laughed as he smashed his fists into the ground, knocking several attacks to the ground. “Mornin’ boss. Glad you could join me.” Talking was never his strong suit. As he threw another attacker into the wall, Solarius said, “Is anyone else going to join us?”

Realization hit Fusion like a ton of bricks, cutting through his hangover—how had he forgotten about the tournament today? “You hold them here. I’ll wake the rest of the team.” He ran through headquarters, shaking his exhausted, drunken team members awake as he found them. Once he’d found all the others, he hustled back to the entry hall, where he found Solarius leading the fight. The other Universal Defenders had joined the fray, though many of them looked like it was taking all of their superpowers just to stand up straight. “Take that!” Solarius said, tossing the last of their opponents out onto the street. 

Suddenly, tremors shook the house. It was a Legion attack, Fusion knew. “Grab some aspirin and energy drinks, boys and girls,” he shouted to his team. “Fasten your seatbelts—it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”