Week 33.1 – Powerless

Previously: Digger, Twain and Cole were all prisoners in the Cobalt Czar’s dungeon, when Twain said that they could potentially rob the Czar of his powers. And now…

“Why the hell would we want to do that?” Cole asked.

“Yeah, seriously, why?” Digger agreed.

“Are you crazy?” Twain asked. “He’s got you imprisoned. He’s planning to kill you.”

“Yeah, so escaping would be a great plan,” Digger said. “But taking away the Czar’s powers? Disaster.”

“Why?”

“Can you imagine the power vacuum that would create?” Digger asked.

“Double vacuum,” Cole corrected.

“Oh yeah, you’re right, double vacuum,” Digger agreed.

“What are you guys talking about?” Twain asked.

“Okay, look,” Digger explained, “the Czar has basically created his own little country here by terrorizing the locals and bullying neighboring countries, and no one’s been brave enough to take him down. He has an army, but really, the main deterrent has always been him. If he were to suddenly disappear or lose his powers, China and Russia would invade in a second. Then they’d end up fighting it out while the regular people got caught in the middle.”

“All of Mongolia would be screwed if China and Russia got into a fight,” Cole added.

“So is that the double part?” Twain asked.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]The Czar is not just a political entity, but also the most powerful super in the world. If he were beaten or killed, can you imagine all the super-strong low-lifes emerging from the woodwork to try to claim that World’s Toughest title?[/blockquote]“No way,” said Cole. “The Czar is not just a political entity, but also the most powerful super in the world. If he were beaten or killed, can you imagine all the super-strong low-lifes emerging from the woodwork to try to claim that World’s Toughest title?”

“It’d be a super-powered free-for-all,” Digger said. “Not just here, but all around the world. Every major city on thge planet would be thrown into chaos.”

“I’d come out on top, of course, eventually,” Cole said. “But it would take me a while to travel around the world and beat down all the challengers, and by then, the damage would be done.

“Oh my God, Rev,” said Digger. “He’d be impossible to deal with if that happened.”

“But what if somebody else took over for him,” Twain asked, “someone just as powerful?”

“Well first off, no one’s that powerful,” said Digger, “other than Rev, maybe.”

“Hey,” Cole said.

“The only other two guys I know that could have challenged him are both gone,” Digger said. “But even if he was as powerful, no one would take his word for it. You’d have a steady flow of challengers coming here for a year or more, looking for a shot at the title. The world would be safe, but this place would be devastated.”

“Besides,” Cole added, “if the Czar lost his powers, there’d be no bragging rights in beating him.”

“You couldn’t beat him anyway,” Twain said. “You just tried and got your ass handed to you.”

“He took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting him to show up that fast,” Cole said. “Next time, I would come in with a better plan than ‘shove stuff up his nose,’ and I’d win. Believe that.”

“Yeah, I don’t,” Twain said.

A door slammed open. “No talking!” shouted a guard in heavily-accented English. The door to Digger’s cell opened. “You come. The Czar wants you.”

What could the Czar possibly want from Digger, now that he has lost his powers? Join us for the next exciting episode!

To read from the beginning, click here…