Everything is Not What it Seems- Match 2 {Smith}

[Veronica Knox]

For the most part, Veronica had kept her head down at this new school of her’s. She had little intention of making a new set of friends and getting comfortable. Perhaps one or two to get by without going insane, but for the most part she was attempting to keep tabs on the gang members who she had discovered were here and trying to find the most effective way of getting off without getting involved with the feuding sides on the island. However, this mindset changed the moment she heard the announcement about the tournament. After all, an opportunity to see who ran the show? It wasn’t one she was willing to give up easily.

So, she had entered and now here she was about to go into her first fight. In all reality, she didn’t really believe that she would make it past the first round. The students in this school were far more versed in their powers than she was, and she could accept that. It was either that she advanced and got one step closer to seeing what would actually happen to the so called ‘winners’ or she’d lose and still find a way to take a look around while the prefects were minding the rest of the school’s population. One way or another, she’d find a way to make this tournament work in her favor.

She kept this in mind as she shook out her hands, waiting for the gates to open to let her into the arena. She kept it simple with her clothing options, something so she could be as mobile as possible. Mesh track shorts, sneakers and a form fitting tank top. As for her long white hair, she braided the mass in such a way that it curled nicely along her head, the brunt of it was the base of her skull. And, of course, her signature black, fingerless gloves that clung to her pale hands. It should be enough so no cheap shots could be taken, at least that was the goal in mind.

As the gates started to move she hung back momentarily, taking a breath as she calmed her energized nerves. Silently she reviewed the rules, laughing slightly at them. She wondered how many matches it would take until someone slipped up and did something to break them. With a small smirk she strolled into the arena, keeping her chin high as her red gaze searched for her opponent. It was only a moment before she recognized Smith, her persona falling for a second as surprise took control of her features. Regaining it quickly she slipped herself in a defensive stance, “May the best man win, right?” She called, watching for the slightest hint to what attack he’d begin with.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

"A tournament, huh?" such a thought intrigued him, a battle of brawn. He nearly smiled at the thought. It was a perfect chance to prove maintain a status among Prefects and Battlefront of who shouldn't be messed with and who has earned the ability to smoke in the school. Damn prefects kept preventing him from smoking in the school and the battle front were worse about smoking around the west tower. 

He signed up, in actual hope to leave not to mention the reward if he didn't win the whole thing. Respect. The carrot for many asses.

He prepared with an extra cigarette. Something his sister couldn't prevent on account of her absence of the event. Something he had mixed feelings about. He knew she had it in her but he also knew that she wasn't the type to take pleasure in a fight.

He rolled his shoulders, stripping down all layers he had down to a pair of gym shorts and disposable white t-shirt. Everything on his person he was willing to lose for the sake of the match, even taking the time to remove his mother's image ingrained into a necklace. It was for the best. He wrapped his hands in a white fighter's tape, matching his paler complexion by complete accident. He was ready for a brawl. His demeanor was common for him. Blank as raw stone. The gates opened, it was time.

Upon entering the match he immediately took note of his opponent. It was none other than a member of Rex's gang. V specifically. This was a pleasant surprise for him. He calmly contained his smile, that of a sinner. He nodded in response to her odd statement, taking on his metal form as he extended his arm forward. "Sure." 

Smith's style was a brutal one, not one that was approved by a trainer or any type of coach. Smith learned it dirty cause it was about survival. If she took the hand he'd tighten his grip, hoping to crush her hand followed by pulling her in. She would have little resistance for such an attack, seeing as he weighed just over a ton and she appeared to be 120, tops. If that work he'd clothesline her. This was personal in an extent. Anything casual was out of question.

[Veronica Knox]

Cautious and calculating. Those two words summed up a large deal of Veronica’s personality and they were clearing showing now as her eyes continuously ran over Smith, attempting to analyze every movement. Everything from his odd smile to the seemingly friendly extension of his hand, and of course his shift to his metal form. As soon as he made that movement, as far as V was concerned the fight was on and she was in no means going to get close enough for him to grab. Aside from the fact that she worked better from a distance, she was aware that Smith outweighed her and was much stronger than she was. Falling into a simple trap like that would have been beyond stupid.

However, this didn’t mean she couldn’t use it to her advantage. Offering a small smile to the boy she nodded her head, easing out of her stance and began walking towards him. Playing it off that she was going to accept the gesture of good will. That in itself was fairly simple as she kept her face void of all emotion and her body movements appearing casual, as if they weren’t about to fight at all. Once she felt she was a good distance, about a foot or so from his extended hand, her gaze switched briefly from analyzing his body language to look directly at his face. In all reality, her mind was working beyond the physical structure of his face, and even his skull.

Her mind focused on a section of his brain, the cerebellum. It was there that she instantly created the illusion of a small form pressing into it. The cerebellum was the part of your brain that controlled your balance and muscle coordination. Having the small pressure there should have been enough to throw off both of those things, opening him up for an attack. Within a few seconds of her planting the illusion, V stepped onto the balls of her left foot and swung her right foot up in a round house kick. If her foot connected with his side, or any part of him, she’d amplify the pain of a normal kick by tenfold on the area she made contact with.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

The construct was physical, tangible. Putting pressure on Smith's brain. Smith's brain wasn't much. In fact it was average in intellect, maybe even a bit lower on the spectrum of average intellect. Nothing about intellect or will could prevent a solid construct within his brain from doing as it was intended. However, the face that his brain, much like the rest of the large one ton young man was bronze. The construct was built on the intent of creating the pressure to disrupt a brain made of flesh. V was simply going to have to make a stronger construct.

Smith hardly knew she was doing anything, in fact his expression was rather mute as she approached. Her refusal of a handshake and the replacement of a kick made the event a surprise. But what could he expect from one of Rex's own?

His arm, extended out to her, could only clamber to his side in attempt to catch the leg. The hit had caused the sound of a hammer hitting sheet metal.Smith would've felt just the tap and the ringing vibrations that came with every hit. But it was off. He felt as if the vibration was intensified, as if she had hit harder than she had. It was rather unnerving even oddly painful. Something he had not expected.

If he had caught the leg he would pull it upward while pulling her closer just to bring his left arm around to strike her in the gut. It wouldn't be a knockout but it would cause pain (from what Smith knew).

If he had not he'd step forward swinging at her chin as the girl would need to recover from such a wide and swinging kick. This moment was one to strike, no delays should be made.

[Veronica Knox]

As V approached Smith, her mind was whirling with different outcomes and possibilities. What would happen next if she managed to throw off his senses on the first shot? The move following afterwards. The goal at hand was to merely knock unconscious, with his bronze form she was better off knocking out any threat to her body first and then approach the finishing blow. What would happen if he avoided? A dodge would throw her off balance in a way that would leave her too open for her liking. If he caught her leg there was a verity of ways that he could deal out a counter strike, something she’d have to react to quickly as it was occurring.

However, she maintained with her momentum in the kick. Her movements fluid and powerful as she launched her surprise attack, knowing full well that it would catch him by surprise to some degree. She felt the vibration and impact rattle her slightly, yet the pain that Smith was feeling never came for her. Momentarily, she felt a degree of displeasure as she felt his solid arm latch onto her leg. The one outcome she didn’t want to occur as she was tugged forward, and consequently received a blow to the gut. A brief puff of air left her lungs as she looked up at him, her red eyes watching him carefully, “You know, for a man made of bronze, I would have expected a bit more force behind that.”

Her voice had been even, almost as if she had never received the blow at all. In a way, she just felt the force of the blow as it struck her abdomen and had the privilege to skip the pain aspect. Knowing that she couldn’t do much about that blow also gave her the few milliseconds to recognize that her illusion implanted in his brain hadn’t done much at all. She couldn’t have that, but as her eyes ran over his face it made sense. His entire body, organs included were most likely made of bronze as well. So, as she spoke she reinforced the illusion, making it the same consistently as the rest of Smith’s body.

However, she refused to let her counter attack cease there. Just throwing off his balance and muscle control wouldn’t help her get the complete upper hand against the boy after all. With her right hand, she shot her palm forward, her fingers slightly curled, as she made a strike to his nose. Had his nose been constructed of the normal cartilage, it could have been a kill shot with the amount of force she applied to the motion. Yet, since she was dealing with bronze it would be a little more than annoying, until she aided the strike and applied another healthy dose of pain. All she was aiming to do was distract him to a point where she could free her leg away from his grip.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

And she looked too as if she couldn't take a hit from a bronze man. One thing was for sure at ashford, everything is not always as it seems. Besides the air rushing from her lungs in a slight cough the girl appeared unharmed. It may have been obvious to an analytical mind but this was not Smith. He saw it as a taunt and not a display of power. He tightened his grip on the girl's leg, pulling her closer, the hand holding the leg growing as hot as a frying pan. This was accompanied by what would be another strike to the girl, this time on the temple.

Unfortunately for Smith, the punch had never landed. Not only would he miss his mark entirely but he was swiftly interrupted by a punch to the nose. His face rung with as the girl's hit his nose, though luckily not producing a knock out with Smith's durability on top of his metal form. The bronze man wobbled, much like a toddler would when first on their feet. The only thing he could hope to control was his grip on the girl's leg as the top heavy young man started to fall backwards. This he tried to secure at his best finding that the girl didn't even wince at the heat against her flesh.

The pavement cracked at his impact.

If the girl had slipped from his grasp he would be mostly to her bidding, only with a wobbly attempt to roll to his side and get to a knee and hopefully get back in the fight.

If the young woman had not then Smith's first action would be an attempt to grab around the girl's torso, an attempt at securing the back and her body as he would begin slamming her against his body, Hoping to hist the girl's head in the process.

The girl's ability had not yet sunk in with Smith who began to heat up his entire body like an oven. He aimed to cause the girl pain as well as even catch himself on fire if he felt the need. It was doubtful that the quick temperature change had any effect on the construct inside his mind, for which he still had no clue that it had been placed there. This fight was very much still anyone's, but the question remained. How would either of them manage a knock out?

[Veronica Knox]

In a way, it was almost amusing feeling the other teen begin to wobble from her attack. With someone like Smith, who was more durable than the average human, V knew that she’d be in trouble. Flesh and bone were far easier to break apart and induce pain upon, unlike a certain metal composition that she was facing now. So, getting that wobble, knowing that she made an impact was slightly satisfactory. Yet, the thought only passed through her mind for a moment as she felt an uncomfortable amount of heat begin to build around her leg. That odd feeling was quickly followed by the smell of burning flesh. ’Wonderful, that’ll be lovely to deal with afterwards.’ She thought idly, maintaining a level gaze on Smith.

However, she couldn’t worm her way free of his iron clad grip. Instead, Veronica was forced to fall with the heavy metal teen soon to be underneath her. Not wasting a moment or any momentum, she constructed a heavy, steel glove around her hand. Pulling back her arm, she launched it forward in time with the fall. Aiming to have it connect with his bronze covered face the moment his head rebounded from its impact on the pavement. The double hit impact on both of sides of her skull should rattle him slightly, at least in theory. Yet, she didn’t go unscathed as the motion of the fall and the force of her own attack caused her whole body to slam against his hard metal stature.

Knowing that she wouldn’t have much time to defend an attack from Smith in this position, she figured she might as well ignore taking inventory on her own injuries and throw another curve ball at him. Even with her mind being momentarily scattered from the impact, she could still feel him heating up beneath her. Each area of skin touching him was quickly becoming a very large weakness. A second or so after she regained her senses from her fall, V sent a shock wave of pain up his spine. It travelled from the very base of his tail bone all the way to the base of his skull. She added a little extra kick, making sure it felt like a nail had been hammered into each of his vertebrae.

Seeing as the construct in his brain wasn’t working as well as she had hoped, Veronica figured she may as well try to overload his brain with pain. Any creature, whether they were momentarily made of bronze or not, should have a negative reaction to pain. If the white haired girl could find his limit and press just a little bit beyond that, then maybe she had a chance. Otherwise, she was fairly sure that she wouldn’t be able to hold off Smith much longer, possibly not even another counter attack if he managed to get his arms around her or landed his own punch.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

The iron clad fist had hit it's mark perfectly, drawing a gash in his face. He gritted his teeth, this girl knew what she was doing. She was hitting harder than others had and was causing more damage than others that worked with constructs. He was sure about the construct thing but he could not place the loss of balance or the amount of pain he felt. Nor did he try to explaining it. What good would explaining it do, the problem was right on top of him, hitting him in the face.

He returned the favor by keeping his grip on the girl's leg, quickly bringing his other hand around her back, an attempt to hold her against him. This attempt was quickly interrupted as the sensation of a million bone piercing needles had their way his vertebrate. He dug into the girl's leg, his body increasing in temperature naturally in agony. Much like many gifted who felt such a powerful feeling.

He brought the hand intended to slam her into his body, to his mouth. He bit his knuckles as his shirt caught fire. The metal was growing softer as the heat grew in strength. Perhaps it would assist in V's attack. Maybe it would quicken her to a defeat.

Either position was not good. V, possibly choking on the quick burning shirt. Or Smith, who was in such pain that bronze blood ran down his knuckle from biting so hard. V's leg remained in vice for now. The rest of her seemed free to roll off of his now writhing body, though that may put her out of punching distance, and without a free leg the action may be pointless.

She had him on the ropes. His body was burning, His spine in a stiffened, errect state as he pushed it off the ground and shifted on his side. He didn't even pay attention if it was the side with V's leg or not. And truth be told he didn't care. Nothing was comfortable, his clothes had now burst into flames and may have caught onto V's. V may have been able to slip herself out of Smith's grip at this point, Smith only wanted to end this. Whatever it meant.

When Smith would look back to this moment, he wouldn't recall how loud he moaned, even shouted out in pain. Insults, terrible words, all loud but muffled by the fist he bit down on and the blood that now ran down his throat. Tears ran from his eyes just to become steam. This was not a good position for him. Not at all. This was truly draining, both physically and mentally. It would only be a matter of time before he would wear his abilities down like this.

[Veronica Knox]

Focusing on her pain inducement, she let the steel fade away from her fist. Her eyes momentarily focused passed Smith and to where his spine would be. Veronica pictured each nail slamming into the nail and consequently, increasing up the pain even more. She could already feel her own counter results, the numbness beginning to creep into her outer most extremities. A numbness that would linger for hours and only continue to creep further into her body the more she used her pain inducement. A small price to pay for a possible win and an attempt to wiggle free from a very durable, strong human being.

However, her part of her attention was quickly taken to the flames sprouting underneath her body. She had realized that his body temperature was burning her own skin, but she hadn’t been expecting his own shirt to catch. ’Shit,’ She thought, rolling off of him in a coughing fit. Veronica remained close by as he held tight to her leg. This was very, very bad. She had to either finish him off right now, or somehow manage to get completely free. Yet, only a few seconds later he rolled onto his side, his grip causing her leg to bend in a way that it wasn’t supposed to. She heard the snap and saw the bone pop under the skin, the very sight almost caused her to want to vomit.

She swallowed back feeling and starred at Smith for a moment. She couldn’t leave him like this for long, it was borderline torture. Shifting a bit, so that she was propped up on her hip and looked over at Smith curled on his side. Taking a breath she moved closer in a swift movement, forming the steel glove over her hand once more, and made a strike at his temple. If he didn’t move, it might be a knockout blow. Delivering a punch like that to such a vulnerable place normally lead to a loss of consciousness. As soon as the punch was thrown she fell back to her spot next to him, unable to handle the smoke for long.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

Never had Smith felt such pain. He felt as if he was on fire, both from the pain and the fact that his metal form had begun to partially melt, weakening his defense. He was vulnerable. It was either by this opportunity or sheer desperation that cause Veronica to strike his temple. His head knocked against the ground as Smith laid motionless for a moment. He was exhausted. All that pain had exhausted him physically and his metal form had to give.

The bronze faded from his skin and the rest of him for that matter. He moaned a near growl as his senses readjusted. He shook his head, as if manually clearing it before the pain all rushed back. "Gah!" He gritted his teeth as he realized his whole body felt like it was cooking. On fire, unable to coordinate himself, and in agony, it was easy to say Smith was not in a good place.

(OOC: this next part can be changed and altered by V's actions directly. Any move she can insert is fine by me.)

He began to get up, his head throbbing and his balance cut by the construct in his brain made it a painful sight to behold. He grit his teeth, trying to fight through the pain as he began to bring himself up to a knee. He used one arm to stable himself against the ground the other hand ripping at his shirt. Red swelling burns covered his back. If he could just think he would've cooled himself down with his temperature manipulation. But neither of his main abilities seemed to work. His mind was just not working and his bronze had quit on him as well. He brought his arm up onto the edge of the fountain, attempting to lift himself to his feet despite the pain and the exhaustion.

He huffed a moment, a sad attempt to catch his breath among an endless stream of pain. "You and Rex must get along perfectly." It was spoken in anger, through pained and heaved breaths. V had been holding her own quite well, it seemed like a damn good, even match between the two of them. Smith, realizing his shorts had caught fire as well, reached his free arm back, Patting himself as he tried to extinguish the flames.

All Smith had going for him at this point was his innate durability. But not even he knew if it would hold.

(OOC: Veronica can attack anywhere during that minor recovery. None of what I wrote is set in stone.)

[Veronica Knox]

Laying on the ground Veronica allowed herself to catch her breath, knowing full well that Smith wouldn’t be making a move on her in that instance. Taking the time she took inventory on what was going on within her body. Sweat was dripping down the nap of her neck, framing her face. Her chest was rising and falling in an accelerated rate. Her leg was broken in some way, shape or form. Her torso and arms were covered in burns, her clothing littered with holes as a byproduct. There was no denying that Smith possessed an amazing defense, something she wasn’t sure she would be able to break down. She was simply content knowing she had managed a big enough dent to cause his armor to fade from his skin.

Maybe, just maybe she would have a chance at winning this thing after all. Well, at least advancing to the next round. However, Veronica wouldn’t be able to manage much at all if she continued to laze about. Thrusting herself into a sitting position, eyeing her leg carefully as she continued the motion until she was balancing on one leg. Her red gaze quickly latched onto Smith’s struggling form as he pulled himself up with the aid of the fountain. She could only imagine how he must feel, the pain coursing through his system as she slowly increased the level. Yet, she didn’t think much of it, after all, he did sign up for it. “Debatable,” She replied to him in an even voice.

Almost at a drop of a hat she created a metal crutch in her hand. Finding her balance with it, she used it to spring herself forward, throwing her weight full force at Smith. She hoped that it would provide enough force to knock him into the water. Partly, because she could have edge on slipping opponent. Partly, so that it would extinguish any lingering flames. She couldn’t have her opponent burning up on her after all. After the kick, she would fall roughly to the ground. V pulled herself into a sitting position on the edge of the fountain, much like Smith had tried, but this time he could expect a blow to the jaw the moment he rose from the watery surface.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

"Debatable, e-?" his question was cut off as a stream of new pain surged through his body, turning every sense of touch similar to digging your hand into a bag of needles. His brow dripped with sweat as he dropped his knee back down, only to find little relief in his attempt to ease such pain. He bit his tongue, both in a release from the other pain he'd been feeling but in an attempt from crying out in pain. Such cries would most likely result in further provoking the girl, as she would most likely not appreciate what he would say.

He turned his head to the girl, communicating anger in his pained expression. He was exposed to whatever the girl had at her disposal. His back glistened with sweat, several scars appeared on his flanks and sides from where he had been reckless in previous fights. Several slashes that had just started to scab started to bleed when combined with his inflamed skin from the burns. He channeled all of this pain, both the induced type and the other to her. Was this fair to focus such anger and pain on V? No. It wouldn't be fair for anyone.

When she struck he could do little to prevent the pain that was coming. The impact of her body against his was amplified, as if the very touch of her not to mention her entire body rammed into his would produce the pain a wrecking ball would. Veronica had not managed to produce the hit she had wanted. If not for his dropped knee he would have fallen in. Instead she'd managed to knock his chest and chin onto the fountains edge. He closed his eyes, groaning increasingly as the moment of pain rolled through him into a closed mouth of a roar.

"Bitch." You couldn't blame him for his lack of creativity at this point. He brought his other hand up atop the edge, only to help turn himself around, towards the girl. He slumped down against the side of the fountain, feeling increasingly drained. He spat to the side of the fountain, producing blood, saliva, and a freshly freed tooth. He looked up to the girl, who was most likely still on the ground, getting back up on her crutch, or already back up and ready to strike at him again.

OOC: (This is not to say these are her only options, this is just so I can try to give her something to react to before I close the post without power playing.)

If she was still on the ground and trying to get up he would quickly hobble or crawl over to her hoping to push the crutch away from her and slam her head into the ground. His plan wasn't too good, mainly because the pain was mind rattling at this point.

If she had managed to start to get up he would match the action, getting to his feet, assisted with the fountain's edge. He would then wait for her attack, hoping that if she went for the same attack that he could clamber his arms around her and tumble her either into the water (if she'd managed to tip him into it) or back onto the ground, where the fight would continue from there.

If she had managed to get up before he had the chance to get up, he would widely be at her disposal and would have to react as best he could with whatever situation she had put him in.

[Veronica Knox]

However brief the connection between Smith's body and V's shoulder, she could still feel the jarring of her bones as he was shoved against the fountain. Renouncing off of him, she landed with a thud on the ground. Meanwhile, she could hear the crack of Smith's jaw hitting the cool, hard surface of the fountain. She was positive his smile would be slightly altered after that hit. However, as her oddly colored eyed snapped in his direction to evaluate the situation, disappointment briefly flooded her system. By no means had she accomplished what she wanted and she had no idea where the fight would continue on from here.

What the girl did know is that Smith was resorting to poor insults and she needed to move, now. Being sure to mind her busted up leg, she reached for her crutch. Gripping it tightly, Veronica pulled herself into a kneeling position. All the while, silently cursing herself for allowing an injury like a break to take place. A moment later she was half crouched and stretching to her full height. However, she would never get there as she felt a much larger force ram into her. While she was too small to knock Smith all the way over, he was the perfect size to send her flying into the fountain.

In seconds she was partially covered in water and confined within Smith's arms, neither of which she was a fan of. Working as quickly as she could, Veronica slammed her head back in hopes of catching his nose. Furthering that hope, she tried to wiggle free just enough to swing her elbow back and nail him somewhere on the side of his body. As she continued to struggle and wiggle in his grasp, her main goal was to get out of his hold and move away. Any longer in this position and it would be bad news. Not to mention she wasn't a huge fan of being forced into a swim and being half dunked into grimy fountain water.

[Smith Ardor Knight]

He thought he could go on the offense, he grabbed onto the girl, aiming first to hit her head onto the edge of the fountain. However, his body hadn't agreed on such a plan. The construct in his mind was still strong and inhibiting his ability to move like himself. So, not unlike a couple that had both had too much to drink, Smith and Veronica both tumbled into the fountain. In a less romantic and far more violent way.

The two thrashed, Smith stunned from an intense blow to his nose as blood drained and swirled in the water. He was almost confident that his otherwise sturdy nose could inflict such damage upon her. He thrashed to get her off in what would probably feel similar to a rodeo. Except far wetter and with fewer semi-domesticated livestock.

He'd gotten a half decent breath of air before the plunge, and that would be enough for what Smith had in store. He looked up to Veronica, who was on top of him. The water distorted by the thrashing of both parties and the blood the party on the bottom. He swung his fist at Veronica's head, which was well with range. That's all it would take: one punch, one solid hit. And with Smith's luck, granted by a small little rascal named Scott, there was little room for doubt that Smith would miss.

[Veronica Knox]

Reality was setting in and V was not liking the outcome. If anything, the fight would be over in a matter of minutes and she wasn’t in a very good position of winning. The fact that she had worked her ass off to get Smith to a vulnerable state and that it might have been all for nothing did not sit well in her stomach. In a split second, she decided that she wouldn’t let it all go down the drain in a matter of seconds. She’d make this change of setting working to her advantage. She struggled against him trying to get free was they tumbled within the fountain, a mess of blurred limbs and red tinted water.

However, her struggles were futile as they remained a tangled mess and Smith was preparing for his knockout blow. Taking in a breath, she recognized the pattern of the muscles shifting and clenching beneath her wait. He was going in for a punch, and at the same time Veronica knew that this could very easily make her lose the match. Gritting her teeth, she attempted to find solid footing but came up empty and realized that Smith would be her only brace in the water. So, she calmed her movements and prepped for impact. Much to her surprise, the blow was nothing like she was expecting.

Due to the construct within his mind Smith’s muscle control was off and it was just enough to throw his aim off without the boy even realizing it. She felt the blow to the side of her head, side sweeping and roughly knocking her head to the side. While she felt the jarring effect, it wasn’t enough for a knock out. A grim smile came to her lips as she twisted her body with the movement, using the momentum to flip her so that she landed on her stomach. The game had changed, perhaps just enough for her to get back her lead and win the fight.

Veronica didn’t waste this break as she kicked off the center of the fountain with her good leg and pounced on top of Smith. Her crutch and the construct in his mind evaporated as three weight appeared across his chest, stomach, and legs. Those weights, added to V’s own as she sat on top of him would force him under the water. She had seen people nearly drown before, she recognized the sign as his body trashed underneath her. Panic setting in as the body realized there was a lack of oxygen flow. Keeping a blank expression, she watched his features carefully as she continued to hold his face under the murky fountain water.

The moment that he sent limp underneath her, the weights disappeared. Instead, a small platform grew and lifted Smith out of the water, much like a raised table. Allowing her knew construct to aid her away, she came to a standing position, leaning majority of her weight against it so that it wouldn’t affect her leg any more than it already had been. Immediately she began CPR and worked to get the oxygen flow back into his body. Seconds after it was clear that Smith had fallen unconscious, officials came in and took over for her. Two working over Smiths body until he came around, the water being forced form his lungs. One aided V out of the fountain, allowing her to place most of her weight on him.

She had done it. She had won the first round.