the team. “Who died and made you team captain?” Tiffani said. Stuntman agreed with her, which finally gave them something in common.
The Black Team didn’t fare much better. Drummer Boy didn’t have a nice word for any of his teammates—nothing new there. Not even Holy Roller could make peace.
Both teams started with a Humvee. The Black Team decided to get as much of a head start as they could, driving to the designated hideout in the Hollywood Hills. However, the Red Team took a side route and really turned on the speed to get ahead of them. Jade Blossom floated above as a lookout and signaled the Black Team’s approach. The Reds had an ambush waiting and stopped the Black Team’s Humvee in its tracks when Earth Witch raised a five-foot-high barrier across the road and Jade Blossom increased her density to anchor herself to the rear bumper. The Humvee was trapped.
Curveball handily got her team past the Black Team’s first line of defense: Dragon Huntress’s stuffed elephant. Poor Tusker was shredded by an onslaught of explosive marbles, and a distraught Dragon Huntress was out of the fight.
Then, it was face-to-face combat like we’ve never seen before on American Hero. Holy Roller and the Candle went on the offensive against the attackers—Holy Roller rumbling down them like an avalanche, and the Candle shooting flames of fire and ice to stop them. But nigh invulnerable Tiffani and Stuntman held them off and led them away from the target while the rest of the Reds went for the VIP inside the Humvee. Rosa Loteria drew Las Jaras—the Arrows—and became an archer raining arrows on her enemies. The Blacks seemed doomed when this offensive drove them back, but Earth Witch—with Tiffani and Stuntman shielding her—stopped Rosa by shackling her in a pillar of dirt.
Jade Blossom slipped inside the vehicle to take charge of the VIP—by this time, Digger was hiding under the dashboard and had to be coaxed out. Then Drummer Boy took the stage to fight his way past Stuntman and Tiffani. Curveball stayed behind to cover her team’s escape, pounding the space between them with missiles to prevent DB from approaching. The Red Team’s secret weapon might have been Drummer Boy’s aching heart. The rock star joker didn’t seem to have it in him to use his full strength to confront his former teammate, Curveball, and the Reds succeeded in bringing Downs to the hideout. The judge had this to say about his ordeal: “You guys are crazy! I thought I was going to die!”
The winner this time was clear, even before the exhausted teams faced their judges in the final reckoning. The Black Team had lost the person they were meant to be protecting. The Red Team had fought and stolen him away. For once, the judges—except for Downs, of course—had positive comments for both teams. Both teams performed well, worked together, and used their powers, and it was a close contest.
But the results were clear. The Red Team won immunity, and Digger informed the Blacks that the price of defeat was even higher than expected—this week they would have to discard not one but two of their teammates. When all the cards had been played and counted, Drummer Boy and Holy Roller learned that they would be the Week Eight Discards.
Twenty-eight began; now only eight remain. As the field is winnowed to the last few aces, more responsibility rests on the remaining players. Some of them have risen to the challenge, but others find their faults emerging even more glaringly.
Who will overcome? Who will shine brightest?
Who will be the next American Hero?
Keep on the lookout for this week’s confessions:
Joe Twitch, Jade Blossom, Blrr, and Drummer Boy!
Confessional: Joe Moritz aka Joe Twitch
Hello, hello, ’lo.
Bet you didn’t expect to see me again, since I got voted off after the first challenge. The powers-that-be want the loser POV too, I guess.
First off, I was wrong about this show. I thought it was a contest for people with wild card powers, which was stupid of me. The truth is, it’s a [bleep]ing beauty contest, with a talent portion thrown in. I didn’t expect to be the last man standing, but they tossed me right away, my friends in the Diamonds, because I was ugly.
And if you’re putting money down on who the winner is going to be, pick a pretty boy or girl. Take it to the bank, numero uno will be headed for GQ or Playboy. Unless that [bleep] Tiffani wins, she’s