Match 20365 Vinny vs. Them!

[Boratz]

Chapter 16: A BOOM in a Lost World

Deep under the sea and crossing over the ocean floor, the majestic Ulysses moved with an incredible speed. From within the vessel, a great many of the crew members laughed and traded jokes about what they would discover. For Milo Thatch, this was more than an adventure. He almost felt it was his life's purpose. In fact, he felt it was his family's purpose to discover the fabled lost city of Atlantis. In recent years, he had heard about the heroics of Aquaman and his kingdom below the sea and the many exploits of Namor along with his underwater kingdom. Despite this knowledge about the ocean, a great many in the academic community considered Milo and his family insane. Milo wanted to show the world that Atlantis was a part of the world's history and still a part of the world today. Thankfully, Preston Whitmore provided Milo with the opportunity to search for the legendary city on a journey of a lifetime. 

Despite setbacks before the expedition even started, Milo became acquainted with the rest of the crew. In the journey under the sea, he even started growing close with the many different crew members. He learned of the setbacks before he was even recruited on this spectacular journey. The original man that was to lead the expedition had been hired by someone else. One of the crew members, Dr. Joshua Sweet made a joke about their original expedition leader joining up with a group of space mercenaries. Another crew member, Audrey even swore on her family's lives that she saw Commander Rourke and Helga leaving on a space ship and heading into the great unknown above the clouds. While Milo heard the stories and listened to the jokes, his mind continued to circle around the lost city of Atlantis. As the vessel traveled along the sea floor, Milo heard shouts that they were getting readings up ahead. Milo fumbled around to get to his feet while other crew members raced to see what was happening. 

All around the Ulysses, there were ships from different eras scattered throughout the ocean floor. Milo's mouth dropped open as he looked over the countless ships. "It's a graveyard!" One of the crew members exclaimed while seeing the wreckage. The radar caught movement of something large. With their eyes looking out at the wreckage, the many crew members tried to get a glimpse of whatever it was that was moving throughout this horrific sight. Suddenly, the large moving object started rising up from the deep at an incredible speed. Wilhelmina Bertha Packard said that the radar showed the object moving closer to them as it was rising up from the deep. While looking out at the dark waters surrounding them, the crew could not see anything. The Ulysses shook violently as the object made impact with the underwater vessel. The vessel spun out of control as crew members raced to get it steady. Bertha shouted that the object was continuing to rise up to the ocean's surface. Milo caught a glimpse of the creature as it continued to rise. It was unlike anything he had ever seen in his life. The large beast moved as if it were chasing some sort of prey on top of the water. 

"Maybe it is going after another ship!" Milo exclaimed while trying to fathom what he just saw.

"Whatever it is, it caused some pretty nasty damage to the engine!" Audrey screamed over the radio. "I think I can fix this but we need to get it on dry land!"

"Wait, we are not even close to where we need to be!" Milo screamed.

"Settle down kid, we will get there when we get there!" The expedition leader yelled. "We will surface and find the nearest island. Let's do our repairs and pray we don't run into whatever that thing was again."

As the Ulysses rose up from the ocean floor, the unique vessel slowly made its way to the surface. Shooting up over the water, the crew struggled to maintain the integrity of the ship. Bertha shouted that a large ship appeared on the corner of the radar screen. With all the chaos and damage that was sustained to the Ulysses, the expedition leader told his crew that their priority was to find the nearest island in order to repair the Ulysses.

"What if that thing that collided with us is attacking that ship?!" Milo cried out.

"Better them than us!" The expedition leader snapped.

"They may need our help!" Milo shouted.

"We need to help ourselves, Mr. Thatch! If we don't repair our ship first, then we will all die!" The expedition screamed while trying to maintain order in the Ulysses.

As the vessel traveled through the raging storm, Bertha said something from underneath her cigarette smoke that brought hope to the crew. "It looks like there is an island picking up on the radar." The elderly woman's monotone voice was soon drowned out by several cheering crew members. Despite the high energy in the vessel, the expedition leader knew that they had to make it to the island quickly. Milo stumbled back and looked over some maps of the area. A strange feeling started to simmer in the pit of his stomach. There were no recorded islands in this specific area. Before he could voice his concerns, he heard the expedition leader shout out that they had made land fall. The expedition leader soon gave orders to several of the crew members to assist Audrey in the repairs. A few of the metal doors of the Ulysses opened up to the world above the sea. Rays of sunlight started to shine into the vessel. Several crew members ran out of the ship to see what they could find outside of the ship. Audrey and some of the engineers of the ship analyzed the damages to the outside. They were all amazed by what could have caused this amount of damage to this large vessel. Even though they were astonished by the damages, they immediately got to work on repairing the Ulysses.

As for some of the other crew members, ship's the mineralogist and excavation expert gazed over the beach with widened eyes. He quickly ran to look over the surrounding sand and rocks. He muttered several things under his breath as he began taking samples. The expedition leader glanced over at Mole and was about to give him an order but shook his head with a sigh. 

"Mr. Thatch and Vinny, you're with me! We're going to search this island for any resources or supplies! Dr. Sweet, you're in charge until I get back! Oh, and make sure Mole.... Well make sure Mole doesn't wander off too far." The expedition leader ordered while picking up a rifle from one of the crates.

"You sure we need that!" Milo said as he pointed at the weapon.

"Trust me, Nemo, it's better to have something than nothing. That's why I am bringing these!" Vinny said with a smile while opening his bag of explosives.

"Uh, what?" Milo said in disbelief.

"Mr. Thatch, we don't know this island. I'd rather be prepared." The expedition leader said while hiking forward into the nearby woods.

Vinny followed close behind while Milo stayed back for a second. He glanced off in the distance and saw the storm clouds surrounding the island. It was as if the island was shielded by the storm. Milo shook his head and ran to catch up with Vinny. While trying to catch his breath and adjust the large glasses over his eyes, Milo said, "My name is Milo by the way."

"What?" Vinny asked while chewing on the end of a match.

"Oh, uh before you called me Nemo. My name is Milo." Milo replied as he put out his hand for Venny to shake.

Vinny quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of dynamite. Instead of shaking his hand, Vinny placed the small piece of dynamite into Milo's hand. Milo immediately dropped it onto the ground and lunged back. 

"Relax kid, it's one of my small ones. Think of it as a sparkler." Vinny laughed.

Milo shook his head and rubbed the back of his head. He gave off an awkward smile while Vinny continued to follow behind the expedition leader. Milo soon ran back up to Vinny's side.

"So, what's your story?" Milo asked.

"My story?" Vinny responded.

"Yeah, uh how did you become a demolition expert for an expedition such as this?" Milo asked.

"I just like to blow things up! Well, eh I guess full story is my family owned a flower shop. We would sell roses, carnations, baby's breath, you name it. One day, I'm making about three dozen corsages for this prom, you know, the one they put on the wrist, and everybody, they come. "Where is it?", "When is it?", "Does it match my dress?" It's a nightmare. Anyway, I guess there was this leak next door of gas or what. BOOM! No more Chinese laundry. Blew me right through the front window. It was like a sign from God. I found myself in that boom." Vinny recounted as he had done many times before with others. "I started doing different jobs and eventually found myself in a handful prisons. Mr. Whitmore busted me out one day from this one nasty prison. Hired me, and well, here I am."

"Oh... That's interesting." Milo said while adjusting his glasses one again.

"Nah, you want to know what is interesting. Some of these plants and flowers have been extinct for... Well for a long time. A very long time." Vinny said while pointing down at some of the vegetation.

"How do you know that?" Milo asked.

"Like I said, my family owned a flower shop. They had us know anything and everything about flowers before we could even walk." Vinny replied. 

Before Milo could respond, the expedition leader yelled for them to hurry up. Vinny and Milo ran up to the expedition leader. They stood before what appeared to be an entrance to a large cave in the ground. Taking a large swig of water from his canteen, the expedition leader knelt down to look over the cave. He wiped sweat from his forehead while glancing over at Vinny and Milo. 

"Stay here." The leader ordered. "I'm going to take a quick look inside." 

Vinny nodded while leaning back against a tree. Milo looked curiously over the entrance of the cave. There was something that caught his attention as the expedition leader walked into the cave. Milo gazed upon what appeared to be markings that were etched into the cave's entrance. He leaned in close and almost gasped. The markings were symbols from an ancient language. It was not Atlantean but it shared a great many similarities to the ancient race. 

While exploring this large, the expedition leader's eyes wandered in all directions. There was a strange stench in the air that filled his nostrils. The cave was warm and humid. There were markings that were carved into some of the cave walls that dated back thousands of years. There was a strange substance on the ground that caused the expedition leader's boots to become stickier with every step that he took. His eyes then fell upon something that almost caused him to fall back in terror. There were skeletal remains scattered throughout the cave. He recognized many human bones but what really caused him to stumble back were the much larger bones. There were skeletons that appeared to be almost as large as a house. "What the hell?" He mumbled under his breath. Suddenly, he heard a rattling sound from within this terrifying graveyard. Several of the skeletons and bones fell over as a shadow emerged from deep within the cave. The leader's mouth dropped opened as his dark eyes widened with pure horror. He stepped back on a human bone which cracked under his foot. He looked down at his feet and then glanced back up at the black shadow. 

In a panic, the leader turned around as fast as he could and ran. Running through this strange cave, he slipped in the sticky substance that cover the ground beneath him. His arms and face became covered in a sticky dark ooze. He pushed himself up and grabbed his rifle. The leader glanced back and saw the black shadow closing in on him. He screamed out as he pointed his rifle at the black shadow and fired his rifle. The leader turned around and ran back in hopes that he would be able to see the rays of the sun from the outside world. Despite the heat and the agonizing humidity that pressed against his skin, the leader ran as fast as he could. Lines of sweat ran down his face. His eyes burned with the sweat that drained down into his eyes. Tears ran out of his eyes and over his cheeks. In the distance, he could see the sunlight at the entrance of the cave. He could almost make out the two figures of Vinny and Milo looking into the cave. His heart pounded fast with each step that he took. As he ran closer to the light, he could see Vinny and Milo more clearly. A smile formed across his sweat covered cheeks as the sunlight pressed against his face. Before he could yell out what he discovered, he felt an agonizing pain come across his entire body. 

Milo and Vinny almost staggered back as they saw the expedition leader being picked up off the ground by what appeared to be large mandibles. Vinny's eyes widened as the match that he was chewing on fell out of his mouth. Milo watched in terror as the expedition leader was being devoured by a large ant. Vinny quickly grabbed Milo's shoulder and pulled him back. He nodded at the young professor, "Yeh, we got to go!," Vinny yelled as he pulled Milo out of the cave's entrance. 

"What about..." Milo said as he looked back at the giant ant finishing off what was left of the expedition leader. 

"If you want to stay, be my guest!" Vinny shouted as he pointed his thumb back at the large ant. 

Milo followed Vinny through the woods. They could hear the clattered trees from the large beast from behind. Vinny grabbed Milo and slammed him against a tree.

"Hey, Marlin, get back to the crew. Tell Sweet and the others about this thing!" Vinny ordered.

"Again, the name is Milo. Uh... Wh... What are you going to do?" Milo asked while struggling to catch his breath. 

"I'm going to see if I can add exterminator to my resume." Vinny smiled while stepping back with his pack of explosives. 

Milo looked over the large pack and then back at Vinny. He shook his head and then disappeared into the trees. Vinny reached into his pocket to take out another match. He slipped the match in between his lips and smiled. 

"Let's see what you got!" Vinny said while reaching into his pack of explosives.

******************************

The battle takes place in a large forest area. 

Vinny is armed with an assault rifle and a pistol. He also has a large pack of dynamite, grenades and other explosives.

There is only one giant ant.

This takes place during/after the events of Deathstroke vs. Octalus. 
 

[Callisto]

Learn More About
Vinny
Read more about Vinny at Wikipedia
Official Site: Disney Links: Wikipedia Disney wiki Atlantisthelostempire wiki

Them!
Read more about Them! at Wikipedia
Official Site: Warner Bros Links: Wikipedia Monster Archives WriteUps.org

[Boratz]

Hope you all enjoy

[leroypowell3]

Ants are very durable. My house had an invasion a few years ago when a neighbor cut his tree down. They must have been using it a hideout.

Even just one giant ant will be deadly. But Vinny has the tools to do it some damgae so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt throw a vote his way.

[patrickthekid]

Great story btw. I feel like you nailed the characters down.

[Mercenaryblade]

Great work Boratz! 

Characterization is on point.  

[JohnnyChany]

Vinny is a great, underrated character. I am rooting for him and fully believe he can win this. Great match Boratz

[Pizzaguy2995]

My guy Vinny takes this. Maybe if the ant was sentient to recognize that it needs to kill Vinny as soon as possible it’d have a chance, but unfortunately ants as a whole just don’t have the situational awareness to always recognize when they’re in danger, so I see Vinny being able to use his explosives to kill Them!

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
4.70 - broadwaybeyonder
5.00 - JohnnyChany
5.00 - Pizzaguy2995
5.00 - Mercenaryblade
5.00 - patrickthekid

FPA Calculation:
5 Total Votes cast
24.70 Total Combined Score
24.70 / 5 = 4.94 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
Vinny: 6
Them!: 2