[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

319 words

@aaron

The place was a hole. Greasy tile walls would greet the eyes of anyone who bothered to step through the door, its paint peeling from rotting wood. The table tops were splitting, the chairs bolted to the floor, when they were still intact that is. A man half-heartedly pushed a mop around the floor. No one had the heart to tell him that he should have a bucket with it. Three cooks stood behind the bar, conversing in a foreign language, apparently arguing over something.

There were two reasons why someone might come into this place. It was out of the way. People only came in here if they knew it was here, or if they stumbled off the beaten track. You rarely saw cops down here.

The second reason was even simpler. It was cheap, dirt cheap. Probably because it was involved in the recipe somewhere. Ten bucks had bought Sonnet three burgers and three large fries. Plus a large milkshake on the house. Although that was probably because she'd only broken one finger the last time she'd come in asking for protection money. They hadn't expected her to appear behind the counter and slam their head into the wall. She pretended not to notice the younger of the three cooks making a sign to ward off evil whenever she entered.

She was halfway through the third burger, the wrappers balled up and abandoned on the greasy tabletop. The other tables were crammed with people, and Sonnet was the only one with other seats available on her table. Most people tended to avoid sitting with her after they'd been here before. This was the kind of place that people visited a few times, and most of them knew better than to bother the petite Japanese woman.

She barely glanced up as the bell above the door rang, and a bulky figure entered the confines of the burger shop.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"I'll see you on the other side, drink in hand, smile on my lips."

And in he walked. Not body builder builky but more....former soldier bulky. Resting on his left shoulder was the strap to the duffle he was carrying, inside which was money, clothes and his hero gear. He was taking some time away from home, exploring the parts of the city that mattered to his new role as a...Hero? Was he a hero? He'd had to give a statement for the people he maimed and killed but they never seemed to stop him. He always thought that, when it finally came to action, they'd balk at the body count. But so far they seemed rather...passive about it. As though they had been waiting for someone like him all along. Glancing down at his watch, he'd look back up at the pitiful shit hole he'd just stepped in to. Almost every bench or table was broken, the place was a run down heap.

The only table that seemed stable was taken, but what appeared to be a small asian woman. Or man. Woman? Maybe neither. He didn't stop and stare to find out. Instead, he'd walk up to the counter and look at the board. Aaron didn't usually eat this shit, but truth be told he'd missed it. Since leaving for the middle east, it was one of his biggest dreams to seat down and grease up his arteries a little. He ordered a triple cheeseburger and fry, handing over four bucks and some change for tip. Turning around, he'd walk over to the table the other one was eating at and sit down across from them.

"Sorry, other tables are a little....unsanitary."

He set the duffle down and looked over at her. Taking in her face, eyes, figure, he decided right then and there that this was someone he should probably take a beat for. Something was just...off. I mean....who eats THREE monster burgers in one sitting? She had an apetite almost as great as his was. Sticking his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he'd lean back in the chair and give a very small but not altogether unwelcoming smile.

"I'm Aaron. That's a lot of food for a single sitting. Should probably spread meals throughout the day to avoid that problem."

Now his smirk would develop into a little chuckle. Damn if he didn't crack himself up.

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

####

@tag

Sonnet had ignored the newcomer, giving him a cursory once over when he entered, then, deciding he was not a threat, concentrating on her food once more. It wasn't great food but it had enough flavour and grease to at least fuel her power. She liked to eat well, but sometimes she just needed calories, which was when this hole came in handy, providing vast quantities at more than reasonable prices. She was momentarily surprised to discover that she was shortly to be provided with company.

She looked up, seeing the man walking over to sit down at the table, in one of the last available seats. She glanced at the other tables, all of which were occupied.

"The surfaces or the occupants?"

She licked her fingers before starting on her fries, enjoying the heavy tinge of salt meant to disguise the flavour of stale potato. She didn't much care, and proceeded to wolf them down with gusto. She returned his curious gaze perhaps a little too bluntly, inspecting him even more obviously.

"Why? You trying to lose weight princess?"

Her accent was American, but there was a strange clarity behind it that gave away that she had learned it as a second language. It was just a little too correct. A little too mechanical. She dropped the empty paper bag on the surface of the table, then reached out, pulling the next one in front of her.

"Second meal of the day anyway, plus the donuts this morning. Why? Worried I'll lose my figure?"

She winked at him, smirking. She hadn't seen him here before, and she knew most of the people who came in here. It wasn't the kind of place you just wandered into looking for a bite to eat. The disreputable looking patrons and general smell of rot tended to scare away casual diners. This guy must be something else.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"Like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object."

He laughed.

"Bit of both I guess, though they look about right for the area."

He watched her proceed to inhale the entirety of her food, his brows raising a little but saying nothing. She had a healthy appetite and a penchant for being snarky. Coming from the Marines it was an attitude he was not just used to, but comfortable with. He noted her slight accent, indicative of one of two things. Either she was born in another country and came here very young, or she was taught her traditional language first and english second but was native born to the States. Someone might mistake those two as the same thing- like, why does it matter? English is her second language either way. But it mattered a great deal. It gave background and history. Let you understand both their perspective and what they were doing here.

"I get enough exercise to keep the weight off. But a man like me, advanced in years....gotta watch them arteries. Keep chowing down like that on grease piles like this, you'll see exactly what i mean when you get this old."

He gave her a slightly confident smirk. This one started out with the tongue gun blazing, dripping with cynicism as she asked about her figure. He liked it.

"Well I mean....yeah, but that's besides the point."

He'd hear the bell ding as his burger was up, standing and walking over to the counter as their strange little game of both mocking and what- flirting?- came to a pause. He'd grab his food and come back to sit down, staring with a slightly turned stomach at the sight of literal grease sliding his bun to the side a little. He poked it, unsure if it was about to come alive and leap off his plate to attempt to digest him. He wondered which of them was going to be harder on the colon. Ah well. With a sigh he grabbed the burger and took a monster bite, the fat and squishy meat sliding over his tongue. He shook his head as he chewed.

"Gross."

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

####

@aaron

She chuckled as he prodded at his burger.

"Hey, don't give it a warning, it might get away if you take too long."

The worst part was that she believed it when she said it. The food did have that quality that suggested there was some life still in it. At least McDonalds would have had all of the life totally squashed out of it before it was served. She enjoyed the burgers nonetheless, they might have been greasy, but they were filling, and once you covered them with enough cheese and sauce it didn't really matter what the meat tasted like.

"And yet you're still eating it. There's something about it that just demands it be eaten."

She leaned back, taking her time with her last packet of fries, licking the salt from her fingers as she did so. His warning might have been accurate for him, but it wasn't for her. It didn't really matter how much she seemed to eat, donuts, burgers, pizza, sushi, all of it just vanished into the bottomless pit of her stomach. Some had joked that she was just teleporting it elsewhere instead of eating it, but she knew better than to skip meals. The last time she'd done that and tried to jump she'd come out the other end short twenty pounds. Great if you were trying to lose weight. Not so good if you were already thin enough.

"You're new."

It sounded almost like an accusation. This wasn't the kind of place where new people were welcome, and he had brushed off the hostile glares of the patrons and the cooks as though they were nothing, and then he'd sat opposite her. She kind of admired his balls.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"I'm friends with the monsters in my childhood. Maybe I'll add you to the list."

He spoke around his second bite.

"Ish."

Grabbing a fry, Aaron would proceed to look around the bar with his mouth full, filling the gap each swallow produced with a bite of fry. He slowly and methodically met the gaze of each person that looked his way. It was an odd sensation to know you were the most hated individual in a full room. At the same time, it was almost comfortable for him. He wasn't unfeeling enough to say he didn't care, but it was just...a normal thing. In Afghanistan, he'd had plenty of moments like this. Surreal stares from every face that wished to break out of their booth and lay the unholy beatdown on his American ass. He understood that anger- he was the enemy, in their land. Trying to help them, on a personal level, but kinda fucking them over on an international one.

This was different, but the same.

These people were used to the same faces, the same attitudes, the status quo. Aaron was not any of those things. He was clean. Well built. Trimmed beard, dark blue jeans. His clothes didn't have a single hole in them and he didn't look the type to deal with shake downs for money. But like fresh meat in a prison school yard, Aaron would make sure each one knew that he was well aware of their ill attitudes. Ill itentions. Yet still, he ate. Either he was arrogant, or knew something they didn't. He fancied himself just enough of both to be dangerous, with a dash of level headed in there. He'd take another bite and stare at the cook who was standing behind the counter, also staring. Like the bar had gone silent to stare at the first new person walking through those doors in weeks. Or months. He took another fry, still staring, before slowly bringing his eyes back to her.

"And here I hoped it was my ruggedly good looks that garnered so much attention." He took the last bite of his burger before rolling up the wrapper and dropping it onto the tray. Absolutely disgusting. He'd have some serious indigestion for that. "I also note not a single person has cast a glance in your direction. You'll have to tell me your secret. You a daily visitor or just not someone people usually stare at?"

He stared, to make his point.

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

368

@aaron

Well he wasn't stupid at least, he had picked up on the hostility that had filled the air as he'd entered the place. It would have taken someone genuinely stupid to not have noticed the stares he was getting. His casual dismissal of it suggested that he wasn't even slightly phased by it. He'd clearly been in a similar situation before, maybe an ex-con.

Unfortunately he was also sharp enough to pick up on the fact that everyone in the room was careful to avoid looking at her. That was probably her own fault. She seemed to have earned something of a reputation for being unstable. It was probably something to do with her habit of excessive violence in reaction to things. The cooks had not been the only ones on the receiving end of her ire. That and her connections. It was unspoken, but common, knowledge that she was a member of the Yakuza, and nobody here wanted to get messed up in that kind of crime. Petty crime yes, but organised crime got a whole lot dirtier a whole lot quicker.

"You could say I'm a regular, I come in here often enough. When you have an appetite like mine you look for deals. There aren't many places cheaper than this."

She avoided the question of why people were so determinedly not looking at her. Probably her lack of answer would give him hint enough. In places like this people only avoided looking at you if they were afraid of you. That left only a handful of possible options for her, few of which were particularly respectable.

She raised an eyebrow at his stare, unimpressed. This guy was clearly confident, and that could carry him far enough, hopefully for him he wouldn't push it too far.

She was interrupted by the buzz of her phone. She pulled the small Motorola flip phone from her pocket and flipped it open, holding up a figure as she snapped into it in Japanese, slipping easily into her native language. Clearly it wasn't good news, and she gave the guy a smile.

"Fun though this is I have to go. Sonnet," she gestured to herself. "Was nice to meet you..?"

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"I'll see you on the other side, drink in hand, smile on my lips."

He let out a little hum as he settled in for the long haul. This one was going to be like that, huh? Playing coy. He didn't need a map to lay out why she wouldn't answer his questions. Dodging bullets was the name of the game, after all, and he so loved to play. The obvious answer was that they knew better than to stare. But why? Did she own the place? Unlikely. If she did, he was unlikely to get so many stares. The owner of an establishment can sit with who they like, after all, and all sorts of new faces might be coming and going. The other more obvious but less likely answer was that they were afraid. She didn't permiate the "Don't fuck with me" attitude that was normal in people who were to be feared.

Then again, the most dangerous kinds never did.

He glanced at her phone as it buzzed, realizing as she spoke that their little escapade was coming to an end. He felt disappointment creep over him, but made note of the shop name and the fact that she ate here a lot. He'd be back, specifically to speak with this one.

"Aaron. A pleasure."

As she left, he pulled out his own vibrating phone and scowled. An arms bust. Interesting. Why would they call him? He stuffed the phone in his pocket and stood, leaving the tray where it was as he walked out, heading toward the alley behind the building. He'd look around- no cameras, no bodies. Good. He quickly dressed down, pulling on his gear and bandana. The skull on the front clearly present. He opened the finger paint bottles and quickly squirred designs over his arms and torso before pulling on the bullet proof vest. He'd stuff the duffle under the dumpster and take off at a jog, noting the sirens in the distance. He'd slow as he came close, walking up to an officer and looking at the building.

"Tank, Hero Program. I got an alert- what's going on?"

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

452

@aaron

What was going on was Sonnet. Shortcut, true to her name, had gotten there first.

---

Eight minutes earlier.

Sonnet stood with her back to the wall, adjusting the fit of her mask. A warning shot came past her cover, and she bobbed her head out for a second, fixing the location of the ESU Officers in her mind. There were two of them, both armed with assault rifles. One of them had trained his weapon on the point her head had popped out, and the other appeared to be pulling a flashbang from his vest.

She stepped a little out from the wall, careful to stay out of sight, taking up a combative pose. Then she jumped, spinning around in a vicious kick. Her boot slammed into the side of the man's helmet, it bounced off the wall with a nasty cracking sound, and as she landed she caught the wild blow the other man swung her way. Twisting, she pulled him over her hip, sending him sprawling. The flashbang he had been holding, its pin already pulled, skittered from his grasp. He swore, scrabbling after it, but Sonnet was already gone.

There was a dull thump and a bright flash, Sonnet returning in time to stomp his helmet repeatedly against the ground until he stopped moving. She vanished at the sound of more Officers coming up the stairs, before appearing in front of them half way through a kick. One went down when it hit him in the throat. The second got off a burst into thin air, then screamed in pain as a Katana was thrust through his shoulder, Sonnet vanished again before reappearing two feet back, launching a vicious kick into the hilt of the sword that pinned the man to the wall.

A moment later a man in full ESU gear was dropped screaming from the top of the building. He was lucky it was only two stories, luckily there was a dumpster beneath him. Unluckily, the lid was shut, and he bounced off the steel lid with the crack of a broken bone. Another took three shots in the chest, at close range, from his own gun. In a matter of minutes a squad of the NYPD's ESU had been removed from the field. At least one was dead, three seriously injured.

---

The officer looked around at the Hero in relief.

"I have no idea, all I know is we had a full ESU squad in there, and now no one is answering the radio. No way it's normal gang members."

He looked back at the building, shrugging. "It's gotta be a meta, I can't see anyone else doing that to my men that quick."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"I'll see you on the other side, drink in hand, smile on my lips."

He waved him off lazily, starting inside.

"No matter what you hear, stay outside."

He'd walk up to the door and open-palm check it off it's hinges. Stepping over the threshold, his eyes looked over the bodies as he moved, examining whether any of them were moving, or faking it. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary (save for a pile of bodies) he'd make his way to the stairs. His hands were out of his pockets now as he tried to assess the situation. Men with bullets in their chest, bodies falling from buildings....hm...a speedster? Maybe. Moving so quickly they couldn't keep up. Tank let out a slow and deep breath, his nerves alive with the fire of adrenaline. Okay- if he was touched, he'd grab whatever touched him. That was the goal. He didn't know how he'd survive a drop from the top of the building- he'd fallen from two stories the other day without a mark, but this was quite a bit higher.

The prospect excited him.

"My meta brother! Olly Olly Oxen free!"

He'd start up the stairs in a sudden rush, intent to force the hand of his enemy. He'd flex his fingers and crack his neck, expecting attacks from the side or back, as only a fool would rush him from the front. But maybe he was confident of his speed and would indeed hit him in such a fashion. He'd walk further into the room, hands a little ways out from his body so he could react faster. As three men rushed around the corner he'd leap forward, bringing his knee up to slam it into the first guys chest, who screamed. A gross and deep crack was heard- the mans sternum broken like a twig. His hands would come up and palm the other two faces, lifting them up bodily and smashing their heads into the wall. It happened in an instant....and after, he'd spin around in case the super decided to sneak up behind him. The knee'd mans body would slump to the ground, while the other two hung in the wall with their heads smashed inside, blood leaking down their necks.

His eyes slowly scanned over the room, patient in his execution and confident in his mode of attack.

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

339

@aaron

There was a faint sound, like someone exhaling, and Sonnet was stood behind him. She was wearing what looked like a suit of samurai armour, albeit cut down to allow complete freedom of movement. She cocked her head slightly, her face, covered as it was by a stylised black mask, was unreadable. She stood in a casual stance, a relaxed one to the casual observer, but one that any experienced fighter would recognise immediately. It was clear immediately that she knew how to handle herself.

She looked curiously at the three dead, or dying men. Almost as if they were simply entertainment, not actual human beings. Then her dark eyes flashed back up to the Hero in question. Her voice was flat, with perhaps the barest hint of humour.

"You're the new one aren't you? Tank? Something like that anyway."

She was carrying an M4, one of the weapons dropped by the ESU officers. It hung in loose fingers, but something about the way she stood suggested that it could be up and firing in a heartbeat. She let it swing slightly, the metal on its sling clinking slightly every time it comes to rest against the barrel.

The ESU had been little challenge. Conventional police departments were becoming rapidly outclassed by metahumans, although Sonnet had even more of an advantage than most. It was easy to just bring more firepower, but extra firepower wouldn't do much against a metahuman that could simply bend the Universe to dodge bullets. She wasn't entirely sure what this Hero would be able to do to her, but then she supposed the ESU hadn't known what they were going to be dealing with. Why would this man?

She remained standing where she was, the stairs behind her, perfectly composed, and completely unbothered by the fact that this man had apparently just broken someone's ribcage with his foot. He must be some kind of brick-type Meta, although just how tough he was might take some testing.

"So, how are we going to do this?"

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"I'll see you on the other side, drink in hand, smile on my lips."

As he turned around to see his fully decked out friend, his eyes would glaze past her, to the room at her six. Nothing shifted. Not a single piece of clothing, not a paper, not a lamp or chandelier or body. If someone was moving fast enough to get behind him before he heard a word, expected that kind of motion would shift things in the room a little. But not a single fleck was different that it was before. He also expected he'd feel wind from the rush....but nothing. He re-calculated. Okay, something took these men out faster than they could react. Dropped one off the building. His eyes refocused on her.

"A teleporter. Intriguing."

He glanced down at the gun. She wouldn't need that. Short of a tank shell she wasn't doing serious harm with a gun. But then again she probably knew that, with how she was standing. It was pretty obvious judging by the noise and the bodies what his abilities were. His brows drew down a little at her voice. Where had he heard that before. He kept his legs spread a little, shoulder length. He slowly slid his feet back a little, so that getting behind him to grab him from the rear would be an impossible task, unless she could open holes in the wall at a distance. He'd speak as he did so to keep her attention on the skull mask.

"Damn...you sound just like the woman I had dinner with..."

Same frame. Same accent and shit. Could they have been called to the same place? That would blow- he liked her. He didn't want to hurt her. Rules of the Program were clear- he couldn't just let her go. But she could, perhaps, escape if he proved too much. Still, he'd have to make the effort, else they decided to bust his chops for it. He let out a little sigh, and flexed his hands, deciding to push the envelope.

"I think it's best we both do what we have to, yeah? I'd rather not hurt you, nor would I like to be dropped off the roof. But hey....shit happens."

He's hand would snap out and grab the shirt of the one in the wall, ripping him out and hurling his body at her full on. He'd do the same with the other, ripping him out of the wall and hurling him into the other side of the room, staying aware that she could appear above him and grab him quick as a flash.

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

392

@aaron

In the time it had taken the Hero to leap to his conclusion Sonnet could probably have emptied a magazine into him, or two, in the time it seemed to have taken. She did not appreciate being ignored. Fortunately it seemed that he wouldn't be ignoring her for much longer. Unfortunately that seemed to be because yet another passenger had climbed aboard his train of thought. Him making the connection between her and the burger place was unfortunate, but not too big an issue. Worst came to worst, she would simply avoid the place. She was pretty sure her role as a Yakuza lieutenant was already known to the authorities, whether her power was known was another question.

Judging by the manner of his entrance, and the way in which he had dealt with her former colleagues he was definitely wielding some kind of strength based power. Although whether that included extra resilience she didn't know yet. Odds were it did. Enhanced strength seemed to come parcelled with enhanced toughness most of the time.

"Yeah… shit…"

She was expecting the assault, though not quite exactly as it occurred. Suddenly having a body hurled at you would have taken anyone aback. Sonnet was quick, but it was only her hardened and rehearsed instincts to jump when threatened that got her out of the way in time. She reappeared a few feet in front of where she had been standing, gun up and blazing as the body hit the wall behind her.

She emptied it in his direction, then disappeared before he could respond, leaving the gun to hang for a cartoonish moment in mid-air before gravity remembered how these things were supposed to go. She could have escaped easily. There wasn't a prison in the world that could hold her. But there was merchandise here, hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth. It wouldn't look good.

She disappeared with a sound a little like a gasp as air rushed to fill the gap she had left. A moment later she reappeared clutching a small cylinder in each hand which she tossed towards Tank. They bounced metallically before she revealed the fact that she was still holding the pins for the two stun grenades in her hands. She vanished again, reappearing once she had heard the tell-tale bang in the upper floors of the building.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

 

- TANK -

"I'll see you on the other side, drink in hand, smile on my lips."

This one knew how to fight.

Since the first body missed, he instead brought the second body in front of him as she appeared firing, the bullets hitting the now-corpse as she emptied the clip at him. He didn't need to- but why reveal all his secrets right out the gate? As she dropped it and reappeared with stun grenades, he would drop the body on them, turn and leap halfway up the stairs while holding his hands over his ears and closing his eyes. As he felt the tel-tale pulse of the grenades, he'd reach the top of the stairs, his eyes open again. His back would slam against the wall, and he'd smirk down the steps.

"Now that's just playing dirty."

He'd grab a shelf beside him and hurl it down the steps, hopefully forcing the woman to appear around him- to which she would find his arm swinging pre-emptively, in a wide arc. If she decided to poof in front of him again the way she had before, she'd find a hard right haymaker heading for her skull at level, while his left would be pulling out a large Bowie knife from his waist at his lower back, flipping it around in his hand so it pointed down. His right haymaker would be followed up with a wild slash- only thing he could do to fight back was to throw pre-emptive blows thrown in ignorance. This one, able to zap in and out of reality on a whim, out manuevered him. What he wondered was- could she outlast him? If his knife strike would hit, however, his arm would stop just before hand and he'd growl. He actually...didn't wanna kill her. If that happened or he missed, he'd resheath the blade, instead bringing up his hands in a traditional Krav Maga stance.

"C'mon Nightcrawler, I got a present for ya."

He felt bad, fighting this one. If he could, he'd put her out. He'd rather not kill her or even capture her. Perhaps she was indentured to them. Perhaps she had no choice but to do what she did. She just didn't seem like the type to derive enjoyment from the death of others. She just...seemed like him. A soldier on a side.

Albeit, he knew what he was doing. Did she?

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

448

@aaron

When she had reappeared Sonnet noted that he had taken absolutely no damage, although that was more due to his fast reactions than his power. Unless fast reactions were part of it as well. It was always possible, but he didn't seem the type. Just clever then.

She hadn't expected him to completely ignore the effects of the flashbangs. She'd been absent from the room at the time, so had no way of knowing whether the flashbang had caught him or not. It was probably what resulted in her near death. She'd gotten cocky. When she reappeared it was to be greeted by a flying set of shelving. She repeated her previous manoeuvre, flashing past the heavy metal.

A fist met her coming the other way, and it was only a lifetime of training and instincts that made her pull her head back at the last second. As it was the blow was enough to make her spin. She disappeared, reappearing in a different room and out of sight still spinning. The guy hit like a truck.

She straightened her mask, grimacing when she realised his blow had cracked the faceplate. It held together, but another blow like that and it would be gone, if the blow didn't crack her skull anyway. Something to do with resilience then, otherwise his fist wouldn't have been hard enough to damage it with such a glancing blow. She wouldn't be so cocky next time.

She reappeared on the steps, yanking the Katana that had been left there out of the wall. The man it had held up slowly crumpled to the ground with a faint groan. Well he was still alive. That was something. She paused for a moment, looking up at the man at the top of the stairs. Nodding in respect she spoke with that harsh, flat tone again.

"I won't be trying that again."

She wasn't so arrogant as to think it a lucky blow. He'd outsmarted her then. It shouldn't have happened. She wouldn't be so foolish next time.

"It seems that you have the high ground."

And it was unlikely that he was going to relinquish it any time soon. Her vanishing from this position would surely lead to him whipping around expecting an attack from the other side, so she gave him exactly what he wanted. Reappearing behind him and charging… away from him?

Without giving him time to realise what she was doing she reappeared back where she had started, but halfway up the wall, and now with a whole lot more momentum. She'd jumped up before she'd teleported, aiming her heel at his chin as he turned back to face this new attack.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄