Author's Note from Mat49324: Well, folks, I've returned for another oneshot (this'll be #7) of Totally Spies! on my page. I'll also be having assistance from my writing partner, The Blue Time Ranger, and this oneshot is a parody of one of the newest shows on USA Network (in my home state of Hawaii anyway), Cannonball. It is an hour-long show hosted by Mike Mizanin (AKA "The Miz"), Rocsi Diaz, and sidelines reporter, Simon Gibson. A total of twelve regular people battle through four water-related challenges for a cool $10,000, and one of the spies is a contestant. You'll find out who... So, for now, here's The Blue Time Ranger if he's got something he'd like to say.

Author's Note from The Blue Time Ranger: Man, just when I think game shows like this can't get any crazier after everything I've witnessed on Ninja Warrior, we get something like Cannonball. Just to note, I'm not as well-versed in Cannonball as Mat probably is, but he'll be helping me with that if I feel like I need it. But, enough jabberjawing, let's cannonball!

Title: Alex Does a Cannonball

Summary: Alex has been selected as a contestant on the TV show Cannonball and has a chance at $10,000. Can Alex cannonball her way to $10,000? Watch and find out. Enjoy.

Rating: K+

Story Created: 8/16/20

11:57 A.M. – Malibu University

On another regular day at Mali-U, Mat was outside of one of the buildings waiting for one of Sam's physics classes to end. He currently sported slacks and a 2000-throwback Motocross shirt that was green and blue and read "Dowd 16" on the back, which signified 1998 125 West Supercross champ, John Dowd. It wasn't another 20 more minutes until Sam finally came out of the entrance, much to Mat's delight.

"Hi," Mat greeted as he eyed Sam in her blue tanktop with a slight peek of her midriff and brown slacks.

"Hello, honey-bunches," Sam smiled as the two exchanged a hug and a kiss.

"Done for today?" Mat asked as the two started to go back to their penthouse.

"Mm-hmm," Sam answered. "How about you?"

"Yep," Mat replied. "Sign language ended a little early."

Sam freed her right hand of her essentials and grabbed Mat's hand. Mat saw this and returned Sam's gesture up until they checked the mail and reached the penthouse. Britney and Nick were there already when Sam and Mat entered through the sliding doors.

12:04 P.M. – The Spies' Penthouse

"Hey, guys," Nick greeted.

"Hello," Britney greeted as well as she came back, having just made herself a sandwich.

"What's up, bro?" Mat greeted.

"I'm on break before my next class," Nick replied.

"I just got done myself," Britney added.

"Alex got a letter in the mail," Sam told the two of them.

"She did?" Nick asked. "I wonder from who?"

"I don't think it's from Carmen," Mat deduced.

As luck would have it, Alex had returned from her class.

"Hey, guys," Alex greeted.

"What's up, Alex," Mat greeted. "You got a letter."

"Where's Clover, by the way?" Sam wondered.

"Shift at the Mali-U Café," Alex answered.

Alex opened her letter up, and a smile formed on her face.

"What's it say, Alex?" Britney asked.

Alex looked through her letter carefully and then gave her answer.

"I've been selected to be on the Cannonball show!" Alex exclaimed.

"Cannonball show?" Sam wondered.

"I know that show," Mat proclaimed.

Nick perked up as well.

"That's the show where people compete for $10,000 through four water-based challenges," Mat explained. "I saw that show recently and it looks like fun!"

"Totally, bro!" Nick exclaimed.

"Anything else to know, Alex?" Britney asked.

"From what I've heard, the challenges are a bit crazy in places, but probably nothing we haven't seen in our spy careers, huh?" Alex replied.

"Oh, you wanna see crazy, then I have a little something called 'Ninja Warrior' to show you guys sometime," Nick quipped. "That show is insane."

"Well, what do you all say?" Alex asked. "Should I take the shot?"

"I say go for it, Alex," Mat proclaimed.

"I'm confident that you've got a chance to win," Britney proclaimed.

"Same here," Sam replied. "You're probably the most athletic of all of us, so I'd say you've got a pretty good shot."

"Same here, girlfriend!" Clover giggled after she'd returned from her shift at the Mali-U Café.

"You know what my answer is, obviously," Nick teased.

"...all right," Alex proclaimed. "That settles it. Cannonball, I accept your challenge!"

"When are you supposed to show up for the, well, show?" Clover asked.

"The letter says the next taping is in five days," Alex replied. "That should be plenty of time to prepare, right?"

"Take however long you feel you need, okay?" Nick stated. "You should probably hit the pool if you feel like you need to practice."

"You know, that sounds like a good idea!" Alex proclaimed, taking Nick's hand and yanking him off towards the pool.

12:58 P.M. – Malibu University Pool

Nick couldn't help but marvel as he watched his girlfriend twist through the pool in ways some swimmers would probably be jealous of.

She's gonna kick some ass on Cannonball, no doubts about it, Nick thought.

Once Alex surfaced, she glanced expectantly at Nick, who quickly got the message and dove in after her.

"So, Nick, do you think I'm ready?" Alex asked her boyfriend.

"Oh, you're going to kick all the butts, I'm sure of it," Nick replied. "I wouldn't be doing my job as your boyfriend if I didn't encourage you to show all those posers how it's really done."

"Awww, thanks, Nick," Alex giggled, leaning in to kiss Nick.

"And remember the most important rule, too," Nick stated. "No matter how well you do, just have fun."

"You got it," Alex laughed. "By the way, what's 'Ninja Warrior'? You mentioned that earlier."

"Oh, man, do I have something to show you after all of this," Nick responded. "Basically, it's a Japanese game show about the world's toughest obstacle course, and..."

Five days later...

10:30 A.M. – Cannonball Bay - Hansen Dam Recreation Park, Los Angeles

Alex glanced up at the tower that served as the playground for Cannonball. "Wow, it's huge," Alex quipped.

"Looks even bigger in person, doesn't it?" Mat stated.

"Well, everyone, I'm off," Alex proclaimed, ready as she ever was.

"Good luck, Alex!" Sam and Clover exclaimed.

"Show those posers how it's done!" Nick proclaimed.

Alex looked around. She was in her classic yellow sporty bikini. Counting her, there were 11 other contestants who were just as hungry for $10,000 themselves. Alex could feel some nerves arising, but she tried to block it out. After exchanging some friendly words, all got to meet the two booth announcers, Mike Mizanin and Rocsi Diaz, and sideline reporter, Simon Gibson. The Cannonball staff all got to the twelve contestants to harness them up for safety purposes.

"I sure hope Alex has it in her to win," Mat told the others.

"She's the sports buff among us," Clover deduced.

"One thing's for sure, bro," Nick told Mat. "This DOES look like fun!"

"Totally," Mat replied. "I admit, I'm almost jealous Alex applied for this and got accepted."

Sam had an inquiring look on her face. Mat immediately noticed this.

"I bet you agree, eh, babe?" Mat asked.

"I wouldn't mind trying it, Mat-honey," Sam admitted.

"I can certainly imagine you or Clover or Britney taking part in this," Mat replied, and then turned to Nick. "Same goes for you, bro."

Nick couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Before long, the show was about to begin.

"Come on, Alex," Britney quipped.

Challenge #1 was called "The Speed Skimmer". It consisted of a GIANT water slide and three rows of orange, yellow, and blue buoys at the bottom. The first row had 2 orange buoys near each other; the second row had 4 buoys (2 blue and 2 yellow); the third had 4 orange buoys with two side by side in the middle.

"Holy geez, I'm getting a little nervous for Alex," Nick told the others.

"I know," Mat stated. "I hope she doesn't chicken out though."

"Surfing didn't go well for her the first time around," Clover replied. (A/N: Remember S1's The Getaway?)

"Clover, let's stay positive," Sam stated. "If anyone can take home this money, I have a strong suspicion it's going to be Alex."

"Seriously, I'd pay money to see you try it, Sammy," Mat quipped.

Sam chuckled at that; she had a sneaky suspicion that Mat just wanted to see her in her green bathing suit again.

"We'll have to see, won't we?" Sam giggled.

Of the twelve athletes, Alex was the 9th one to take her turn. Currently, Alex wore a black harness over her bathing suit and a helmet with a GoPro camera built in. She then saw the big drop down and gulped a bit.

Good thing I'm not jumping down from this height, Alex thought.

After a countdown from three, an air horn sounded as Alex took a blue sled. Alex took a breath and executed her slide down, keeping her feet from touching the flowing water. Going down at 68 MPH, Alex screamed like there was no tomorrow as she glided across the water. Her foot clipped an orange buoy, which she certainly felt.

"Is she..." Clover started.

Alex screamed as she flopped off the board and splashed in the water between the second and third rows of buoys. The crowd applauded at her effort.

"That was good!" Mat exclaimed.

"I think she's gonna make it," Sam deduced during the applause.

The group of friends saw Alex be brought back near the audience. Alex's distance was tallied at 96'3"; she cheered at hearing she was moving to round two.

"I think that puts her around third or so," Nick replied, after hearing other contestants' distances.

Of the twelve contestants, the six lowest scores were out; Alex's distance was enough for third overall indeed, just as Nick guessed. Nick got Alex's attention and they shared a high-five; Mat extended his arm out and shared a high-five with Alex, too; Sam, Clover and Britney did the same thing.

Before long, Alex went back for round two.

"Ooh, what's this one?" Britney asked.

"It looks like it's called 'Surfrider'," Nick quipped. "From what I can gather, you have to ride that surfboard up there and see how far you can ride it without falling off and without touching the board with your hands, 'cause that deducts some distance from your run."

"Man, talk about a drop," Mat stated. "That looks like at least thirty feet down."

"If I was a little younger, I'd probably be scared out of my mind," Nick responded.

"I'm willing to bet that balance is the key to winning this challenge," Sam noted.

"You got this, Alex!" Clover called out.

Once it was Alex's turn, she couldn't help but look down, feeling a momentary flash of fear...

...until she looked back down and saw Nick smiling up at her from the stands.

I can do this. Believe in the boyfriend and friends who believe in me, Alex thought, steeling her nerves as she prepared for her ride.

Once the countdown resounded, Alex hopped onto the board and tried to keep her balance as best she could.

"Look at her go!" Sam exclaimed.

"Oh, man, she's got this in the bag!" Clover gasped.

"Am I the only one who'd want to see that Frankie Dude guy try this course if he wasn't a nutball?" Nick asked.

Eventually, Alex finally did lose her balance and tumble into the water below, but not before scoring a pretty impressive 83'2" score. Once the results were tallied, five of the six athletes were selected to move on to the next round, and, among them, Alex came in second place.

"See, Alex? I knew you could pull it off!" Nick exclaimed as Alex briefly returned to the spies.

"Man, that was fun!" Alex laughed as she hugged Nick. "But man, balancing is pretty tricky up there..."

"Or you could be that one guy who pratfalled off at the very beginning of the ride," Mat chuckled.

"Big oof on that one," Nick quipped. Mat had shown him some previous episodes of Cannonball before they'd arrived here at Cannonball Bay. "Fortune was not smiling on him that day."

"But it definitely smiled on our little sportie!" Clover proclaimed.

"Hey, it looks like it's time for the semifinals," Britney noted.

"Kick some butts up there, Alex," Nick stated.

"You got it," Alex replied, giving Nick a quick kiss before heading back upwards for the next event.

"Alex is doing pretty well for her first time here, huh?" Sam proclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure this is where things are going to ramp up, though," Nick responded. "But, like I keep saying, if any one of these people can pull it off, it's Alex."

The others looked at Britney, who was obviously pulling for Alex, but with Alex being someone Britney looked up to, this was extra special to the friends.

"I wonder what we're gonna see now," Clover stated.

"Hopefully Alex can win a challenge before making it to the finals," Mat replied.

"I hope so, too," Britney replied.

Mat looked at where the remaining 6 athletes were, and there was a giant beach ball to their right. "Oh, looks like a target-related challenge," he told the others.

There was a target laid in the middle of the water.

"Oh, it's called Beach Ballin'," Mat told the other spies. "Closest to the target wins."

Of the five remaining athletes, the one athlete furthest from the target would be sent home. The spies hoped that one athlete being sent home WASN'T going to be Alex.

And speaking of which... Alex was the first one up, so the others didn't have to wait long.

"Go get 'em, Alex!" Britney cheered.

The air horn sounded, and Alex had taken off from her starting spot before any objections could be made (if any).

"Come on, Alex," Clover proclaimed.

As the target got close to Alex's proximity, she bailed off the beach ball.

"I HOPE IT WORKS!" Alex screamed as she splashed in.

It turned out Alex's run was a VERY GOOD one! The spies then saw Alex being returned and sidelines reporter, Simon Gibson immediately coming in to talk to her.

"Alex, how do you think that went?" Simon wondered.

"Given the circumstances, I'd say that went pretty well!" Alex laughed.

"Well, I got your results now... you tallied at 9' AWAY FROM THE TARGET!" Simon exclaimed.

Needless to say, Alex was above and beyond excited that her chances of moving on were great.

"YES!" Alex shouted, doing a little hop.

"9' away – THAT'S REALLY GOOD!" Mat exclaimed through his applause.

"I'll say!" Nick exclaimed.

"I'm gonna say Alex just penciled herself in," Sam deduced.

After the other five athletes had their turns, none of them got close to Alex's mark. It was unanimous that Alex had won that challenge and had advanced to the finals for $10,000. As it turned out, Alex was the ONLY girl to advance to the finals. Three other men made it in.

"Well, sure hope Alex can win it," Sam replied.

"I think she can," Nick stated.

"Personally, I hope this doesn't go unnoticed back at Mali-U," Mat quipped.

"You think anybody will know?" Britney asked.

"Honestly, I don't know who else at Mali-U watches this show besides us," Clover replied. "But I'm sure a lot of people do. Just call it a hunch."

"Okay, so this is the final challenge?" Sam asked.

"The Cannon," Mat explained. "This one's always the final challenge regardless of what else is featured on the show. From what I can gather, the Super Slide's twenty feet longer, and contestants have to jump out of that tunnel at the end of the slide to get as much height and distance as they can."

"Like that guy?" Nick asked as the first of the final four took their run on The Cannon. "Look at him fly!"

"That looked like a good one," Britney admitted.

"When's Alex taking her turn?" Clover asked.

"I think she's up after this guy," Sam answered as the second contestant took his turn, not scoring as much distance as the first, but getting a good bit more height on the jump.

"That looks like it could be tough to beat," Mat stated.

"But, and again, I reiterate," Nick laughed. "If anyone can show these posers how it's done, it's Alex, without a doubt."

When Alex readied herself for her own run at The Cannon, she realized that she was a little nervous. After all, there was still one more contestant after her, and she knew that they could still knock her out of the competition.

But when she looked back down at the crowd, she once again saw her friends waving to her, and that was all she needed to banish her fear and nervousness.

I can do this, Alex thought as she prepared for her run. Time to show off.

Once the air horn sounded, Alex began sliding down the Super Slide, preparing for the trip through the dark tunnel.

She knew she needed to time this perfectly to have any chance.

Once Alex saw the light at the end of the tunnel, she leaped off of her sled, sailing through the air and even managing to do a couple stylish flips before she finally landed in the water.

"Look at her showing off," Clover giggled.

"Hey, I'd do that, too," Nick admitted.

"How'd she do?" Britney asked.

It turned out that Alex had leaped for an impressive 28'2" in height, and an even more impressive 39'3" in distance.

"Wow!" Sam gasped. "I think she's got this in the bag!"

"There's still one more contestant," Mat replied.

"It all comes down to this," Nick proclaimed.

At last, the final contestant began sliding down the Super Slide. The spies all watched with bated breath as the guy made his leap.

Time seemed to run in slow motion for the spies, especially Alex, as they watched the guy soar through the air. He seemed to come up just short of Alex's attempt, though they waited for the official tally just to be sure of it.

In the end, the last guy tallied 26'7" in height and 34'7" in distance.

And that meant that Alex had won.

And she didn't hesitate to finally allow her excitement to burst free.

"YES!" Alex shouted just as Nick rushed over to hug her, the rest of the spies not too far behind. "I did it, Nick, I actually did it!"

"I told ya you'd show them how it's done, Alex!" Nick exclaimed.

"Way to go, girlfriend!" Clover laughed.

"We never doubted you for a second," Britney stated.

"Congratulations, Alex!" Sam and Mat proclaimed at the same time.

"Thanks, Sammy and Mat!" Alex cheered.

Some of the audience even called out to Alex for extra congratulations and some even motioned to Alex for high fives for a job well done on winning. Alex was happy to oblige and return the favor.

4:08 P.M. – Malibu University

After the taping was completed, and all the spies left for Mali-U, Alex found out her check for $10,000 would be in the mail.

"I wonder if Alex's appearance on Cannonball would be known around campus," Sam stated.

"That's a good question," Nick told Sam.

"Hey, if you want," Mat told Alex. "I can kinda tip off the Newsroom of the Mali-U Paper since I'm starting there soon; one of the reporters there is a friend of mine I made recently."

"That would be okay," Alex quipped. "You all saw how good I did, and I'm kinda-sorta eager to share it."

Before long, Clover parked their car and the spies all hopped out. When they walked through the Mali-U campus, things seemed to be normal and nobody knew or cared where Alex went.

"I'll talk to him, Alex," Mat replied when they got to their penthouse.

However, something seemed to be on Nick's mind, and it wasn't his Ninja Warrior show.

"Tell him I'm willing to talk anytime," Alex added.

"That's great," Mat replied and got out his phone.

"Nice job again, Alex!" Clover exclaimed. "Way to show those guys who rules Cannonball that day!"

"I'll say!" Britney proclaimed.

"Thanks a lot, guys," Alex replied. "That win sure felt great! Oh, and the best part is... I won't have to wait long for my episode to air – this coming Thursday!"

"Awesome!" Sam exclaimed.

Mat then returned with his phone. "Alex, he wants to speak to you," Mat told Alex. "My friend, Dave... he's interested in the story; turns out he's seen the show, too."

Alex took Mat's phone and went away to talk to Dave. "Hi, this is Alex..."

"Looks like Alex is getting her time in the spotlight," Clover grinned.

Sometime later, she returned with Mat's phone.

"Interview's two days from now," Alex told them as Mat reclaimed his phone and found out Dave had hung up.

"Well, congrats, Alex," Mat replied. "You've made us all VERY proud."

"By the way, Alex," Nick stated. "I was wondering if... you'd like to have a swim with me in the penthouse pool to celebrate your win? We could go to the Mali-U pool if you want to?"

"Oh, Nick, you don't even have to ask!" Alex giggled.

It didn't take long for Nick and Alex to start having fun in the pool, most notably when Nick attempted a trick he'd previously pulled on Clover, what with trying to surprise her from under the water. Sadly, Alex was too clever for that and responded by diving and pulling Nick underwater by his legs.

Now I know how Haruka felt that one time in swim class, Nick thought.

After another water chase, Nick and Alex were taking a break before continuing their antics.

"Hey, Nick?" Alex asked.

"What's up?" Nick wondered.

Alex leaned over to kiss Nick, one he gladly returned.

"Thank you so much for believing in me," Alex giggled.

"Hey, I told you that you'd show those posers how it's done," Nick laughed. "And I'd like to think I know my girlfriend pretty well."

A little while later, Mat returned to the den of the penthouse with his delicious spaghetti to celebrate Alex's Cannonball win when he noticed Nick and Alex coming back in holding hands.

"Hey, bro," Mat replied. "I just finished making dinner; don't you have that Ninja Warrior show to tell us about?"

"Oh, right!" Nick gasped.

With that, after everyone got some spaghetti, the six spy friends all got to dinner and listening to Nick talk about Ninja Warrior.

Totally Spies: Alex Does a Cannonball

~The End~

Final Note from Mat49324: And my 7th Totally Spies one-shot has come to an end. Honestly, this was WA-AY too tempting to pass up as a one-shot. Alex partaking in this seems so appropriate since she's the sports buff. And thanks once again to jettmanas for the cover art. I have to admit that when I first relayed this idea for a one-shot to Nick, I was surprised to hear that Cannonball aired on his NBC affiliate myself. I later found out that besides USA Network on Thursday nights, Cannonball airs on my local NBC affiliate on Sunday evenings as well. Unfortunately, the first season concluded recently, but you're able to watch every episode on demand. Overall, it felt good to go back to the old days of some game show parodies like I did with Dog Eat Dog, The Weakest Link, and LINGO. Anyway, I'll hand this off to The Blue Time Ranger if he has anything he'd like to say.

Final Note from The Blue Time Ranger: There's a lot of wacky and crazy game shows out there today, huh? Don't even get me started on Ellen's Game of Games, especially when those poor people start acting like Ellen's gonna murder them or something, and especially, like I've been mentioning, Ninja Warrior. If you think the current American Ninja Warrior is crazy, just wait until you see the original Ninja Warrior. (I miss you, G4, please come back swiftly!) Also, did you guys know that The Weakest Link is coming back?!

Either way, that's all for this one-shot! As always, have a fantastic day, don't listen to the screeching morons, and we'll see you next mission!