Both teams got to work, pulling out the long folding table from the laundry room and setting it up in the kitchen where spills were easier to clean up, then setting up ten red plastic cups on each side, each filled about a third full of cheap crappy beer, with lots of extra cans standing by. Plus, a water cup per team to wash off the multiple ping pong balls that Nathan pulled out of a cupboard.

“The hotter team starts!” Natalie shouted, snatching up a ball.

“You’re too kind,” Nathan replied, tossing the ball he had already palmed. He aced the lead cup. The spectators cheered and laughed in equal amounts.

When Nicole threw her ball, Jak reversed the gravity on it and smiled as it bounced off the ceiling.

“Interference! Drink a penalty cup!” Nathan gloated cheerfully. “AND we get the balls back for another turn since we count both our throws! Which ALSO means you have to drink a THIRD cup!”

“Damn. My bad, buddy,” Jak said to Natalie, picking up two cups.

Natalie chugged her own cup. “No worries dude. We’re still gonna kick their asses.”

One minute into the game and it was already looking a little one sided at ten cups to seven.

Nicole stepped up to shoot. Natalie blew a thin stream of white fire almost too bright to stare at over their cups to confuse her older sister. Nicole tried to trump the move by throwing the ball directly into the flame and calling another interference, but Natalie saw it coming and clapped her mouth shut just as Nicole swung and released. The ball sailed over the table, which was a penalty. Nicole chugged a cup while Natalie and Jak high fived, the other heroes whispering about how cool the fire looked.

Nathan took advantage of the lull by sinking another cup.

Nine to six, and Jak and Natalie finally got a turn.

Nathan ignored his power for the moment and tried to throw them off by dancing (thrusting, mainly) and singing lewdly. His act garnered laughs from the crowd but fell short in the game, as Jak and Natalie both nailed the same cup. Nathan and Nicole had to drain three cups and hand the balls back, turning it into a tie game in one fell swoop.

“You bastard!” Nathan shouted as Jak stepped up to throw again. Jak smiled, not about to be put off by a little yelling. He was put off, however, by Nicole clapping her hands over her head and releasing a little energy at the contact. The effect was a miniature sonic boom. Jak stumbled as he threw, and the ball went over the table. Penalty.

Natalie saved the turn by sinking her shot, keeping it at a tie of five to five.

The next round Jak tried reversing his gravity and flipping up to the ceiling, where he did a handstand and waggled his tongue at the other team. Nicole laughed and missed, but Nathan sank another.

And so it went, back and forth, until it was down to a tie at the final cup. Jak and Natalie had the advantage, it being their turn.

Unfortunately for them, Nathan decided it was time to bring out the big guns. He slowly drew a three-foot strand of white/blue, wiggling energy from his palms, sweat beading on his forehead as his heart beat faster and faster with the strain of pumping pure electricity through his veins.