Underpants worn on the outside were perhaps the predominant feature of a Nansemond-Suffolk Academy event Thursday supporting the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.

Split into teams, Upper School students have been competing in weekly games to earn points. Activities have included races with balloons, Kin ball and capturing opponents under a parachute, schools spokeswoman Ashley Greene says.

Before the entire school in the cafeteria Thursday, 10 teams came together for Project Runway, a superhero event coinciding with the school’s Relay theme, Up, Up and Away with Cancer.

The teams were challenged to create a superhero with the ability to cure cancer, and the resulting characters — Huggy Hug Dawg, Captain Cure, Dwight Goodman, The Sonic Conch, Blazing Bianca, Commander Chemo, The Gladiatorus and Birthday Boy among them — were able to strut their stuff on the stage.

It made for good entertainment. Parading through the center of the cafeteria, The Sonic Conch sounded his siren, Birthday Boy coaxed along his canine sidekick, The Gladiatorus traveled in her slave-powered chariot, and Goodman, apparently packing strategically placed socks, pumped up the crowd with his dumbbell and dodgeball moves.

Assistant Head of School for Finance Edie Higinbotham announced the event, and a member of each team also grabbed the microphone to explain the special powers of their respective superhero.

“The cancer goes away with just one hug, instead of the patient going through various treatments,” a student claimed of Hug Dawg.

Captain Cure launches a radioactive web that “eliminates cancer cells from the body,” and the handlebar-mustachioed Goodman “knows how to build muscle to fight cancer.”

“Patients with higher muscle density were found to have significant benefits over patients with lower muscle density,” it was also said of Goodman.

Teams were rated on concept, music, props, backstory and flair, Higinbotham said, and Team Verendi Gladiatores won the day, while Team Haitian Nation, led by the indomitable Sonic Conch, leads the contest in overall points.

With five weeks left until the Relay, NSA students have raised $2,000 toward the cause, she also said.

The teams have more fundraisers planned, such as a car wash, bake sale, and in Goodman’s case, a dodgeball tournament.

The Relay For Life is on May 17 at Bennett’s Creek Park. For more information, visit www.relay.org/suffolkva.