Clash of the Titans (Kenji)

[Zuka]

March 4th





Rumors were a way of life in her business. Someone always knew something and people loved to talk about it. In fact, if she hadn’t gone into the casino/betting business Zuka would have focused on secrets and blackmail because once you got a few drinks into the city officials, visiting nobles and heads of government they loved to talk to any pretty girl they saw. The secrets her girls had could bring down Republic City in a heartbeat and while Zuka kept most of that knowledge in her back pocket for a rainy day there was one thing she heard that caught her interest.

Rumor was that the Platinum Fist were going to be coming in to a big shipment of electro weapons that they planned on selling on the black market and while that didn’t mean much for her or the Dolls the Fist were still relativity small but they had potential to grow to huge numbers and power and if that happened it would mean a lot of trouble for her and any of the other Triads. Zuka didn’t care about the others but she had enough problems in dealing with the Kais and the Triple Threats so it was best to nip this in the bud before they could expand even more.

The drop was supposed to happen two days from now and she was going to be ready for it.

~*~*~*~

The two days since Zuka had planned out her attack, taking care to reinforce her suit to sustain some electric attack. It wasn’t much but too much would have slowed her down or made it hard to move but at least this way if she got hit with one of those batons or gloves she wouldn’t be dead on her feet and might stand more of a fighting chance. She made sure her sword was sharp, smoke pellets replenished and her wounds mostly healed from her fight in the ring the other night. Zuka quickly realized that she needed some kind of cover to explain away her injuries and while everyone knew she loved to fight she couldn’t just blame her extensive bruises on a simple street scrap. So, she entered a few underground fights, claiming it was for the challenge but in reality it saved her ass when her healers started asking too many questions.

Zuka waited until it was dark to make her move. Once again using the rooftops and alley ways as her personal highway she made her way to the Dragon Flats where the Fist held territory and where this exchange was supposed to go down. The building wasn’t hard to find, another old warehouse in a sea of warehouses. Not that original but hey, she shouldn’t complain, if this was going to be anything like what happened with the Triple Threats she knew exactly what to do.

She secured the rooftop, making sure there weren’t any surprises waiting for her. She heard that the Fist liked to boobytrap their warehouses and caches and send a nice couple hundred volts into anyone daring to steal from them. Thankfully, nothing which was good since it had started to lightly rain and once Zuka was sure the coast was clear she opened the window panel and dropped down to the rafters and got a good look at the room below. Security seemed to be light here, all she could see were three men scattered around the room but that didn’t mean there wasn’t others in a different part of the building. She supposed she should be thanking the spirits for her good luck because this was going to be easier than she thought.

Removing a smoke pellet from her belt Zuka threw the pellet at the ground and waited for the smoke to billow up before she jumped down, using its cover to come up to the first goon and lifting her hand to strike at the side of his neck.

….but something was wrong.

Instead of hitting flesh her hand came into contact with something hard and the ‘body’ began to crumble to the ground from the force of the hit, the clothes and wig that had been on the dummy going with it and resting in a pile of broken earth on the ground.

It was a trap.

Quickly she turned and looked for a exit but the only way was the way she had came and there was nothing close enough to use to climb that high. Seeing no way out and knowing whatever this was she was going to have to fight Zuka reached behind her and drew her sword, holding it at the ready and ready to attack.

[Kenji]

Kenji had a problem,and a few weeks later his problem was given a name: The Talon
.

She had been on his radar for a bit, until finally it became clear that he couldn't just ignore her any more. She was flashy, that he could handle, but she also reckless. He had seen her work enough to know that there were too many angles uncovered, which only served to shine a bigger light on her and by extension him. Which was something he did not need.


He had only just managed to outmaneuver Jaya and force her into a ceasefire by threatening to burn them both. However he knew that peace would only last as long as it took Jaya to accrue more power, then she'd make him pay for exposing her weakness. He already had enough of a ticking clock, the last thing he needed was some one adding to the pressures.


So he decided to use her recklessness against her. All it took were some good sounding rumors about the Platinum Fist Triad and osme weapons, and she no doubt would come running. Of course what no knew but him was that the Platinum Fist weren't there.


He had shut the place down just two nights ago


Which made it the perfect place to spring the trap.

*** 

Kenji lay in weight crouched in the shadows, waiting for her to show up, he knew she would, he just had to be patient. He was good at patient, but it didn't mean it still didn't have it's moments of mind numbing boredom. He could hear the rain lightly pitter pat on top of the room, almost daring him to fall asleep, however he ignored its siren call.


However it seemed the boredom was over as suddenly smoke filled the room. He heard her drop from the rafters and go after one of the dummies he had set up. he still waited and as the smoke cleared.


The Talon was standing there, her sword drawn.


Unfortunately for her she was facing the wrong way.


Kenji moved from the shadows quietly, until he was right behind her then a blade extended out of his gauntlet pressing lightly against her neck,just enough to let her know a sudden move would cut her, as he then said " I see you got my invitation."
In the distance thunder rumbled as the rain picked up.

[Zuka]

Zukas eyes bounced around the room and her ears strained for any signs of movement. If this was a trap then where were the people? Who had set it, had the triads finally caught on to her? The police? Whoever they were either they liked hiding or were waiting in wait because she saw nothing. Zukas grip on her sword tightened as she slowly began to turn but before she could get too far she felt something sharp come up against her neck, followed closely by a body behind her and then a voice.

" I see you got my invitation."

Zuka swore to herself, she should have known it was him. After she had escaped their last encounter the Ghost had remained oddly silent even after the papers had christened her with a name. The Talon, it had a nice ring to it and Zuka had decided to embrace it, after all, she was wearing a owl spirit mask so something like the Talon just…fit.

Clearly he was not liking sharing that spotlight.

Zuka stood there, not making any sudden moves as she thought of a way out of this. Above her she could hear the rain pick up which was good, she had a feeling she was going to need that soon. If she made any sudden move Zuka knew she risked injuring herself on his blade but the longer she stood here the better the chance was that he did something to where escape would be impossible.

It was one or the other.

Slowly she reached her hand into the pouch at her side and pulled out another pellet, dropping it once she had and bringing her heel down on it. As the smoke came up Zuka pushed back against The Ghost and freed herself but not without sacrifice as she felt the skin on her neck split and warm blood start to flow down her neck. Thankfully the cut wasn’t deep so she wouldn’t bleed out. With herself free Zuka turned and brought her sword up, striking down through the smoke to where The Ghost had been standing.

[Kenji]

Her need to not give in would be admirable if it wasn't so damn annoying. He expected her do to something, but he hadn't expected her to take the cut in order to cause another smoke pellet to burst. Luckily his mask had originally been an equalist mask before he modified it, so it filtered smoke just fine, so he was able to keep quiet.

Didn't make it any easier to see though.


He knew that she would make a move to try and get past him and back out the way she came. So he prepared himself.He was former Dai Li, his training was second to none in the Earth Kingdom. He also had spent enough time out in the criminal world to pick up plenty of dirty tricks of his own.


However seismic sensing was never a trick he learned, though he wished he had the knack for it, as he heard her move. However the smoke hadn't cleared yet and so he was forced to guess where she was going to strike as he raised up his arm.


However as he felt the swords edge slice into his arm, he knew he  had guessed wrong. He didn't make a sound though and swept out his leg to trip her forward. However his move would also cause her to go closer to the exit, which he had no doubt she'd take advantage of.


So much for keeping this contained



However this time he had prepared for that , he knew this area backward and forward, even if she tried to make an escape, this time she couldn't slip him so easily. She was beaten ,she just didn't know it yet.

[Zuka]

When her sword made contact with something soft Zuka knew she had got him, where or how bad was still yet to be seen but at least she had landed a hit. Pulling her sword back Zuka went to strike again, this time jutting the sword out in front of her and aiming for where she assumed his midsection would be. The smoke was still thick so little did she know that he had moved from where he had been standing before and her thrust was met with nothing but air. Not only that but with herself extending like she was it gave him the opportunity to strike at her, which he did.

Zuka’s feet were taken out from under her and she fell forward, landing on her stomach on the ground below. As soon as she landed Zuka saw a opening for escape and quickly she got to her feet and ran for it. She didn’t like being boxed in like they were and since he had set this trap for her he had time to get the layout of the place and know all of the ins and outs which put her at a severe disadvantage. No, if she could get out and into the open then that put things on a more even level and she liked those odds better.

[Kenji]

 And she was off.

Kenji let her get a little distance, before leapng out after her, he needed to sell it. However  soon enough he was out and on the chase. He gained ground catching up close to her, when they came to it. It was gap between buildings, that was larger than the others, if she really put on speed, she might just make it.

Except...

Cutting through the silence was he ever steady wheels of the Republic City transit, moving down the tracks right in the middle of her path.

This city may be a corrupt place sometimes, but the trains always ran on time.

If she stopped, he had her, if she tried to make the leap, the train would catch her in flight. There was only one other option, and by the looks of things she was taking it. Kenji mirrored her leap as they landed squarely on top of the moving train. 

On one had she was cornered, this train was moving too fast to jump off right now. On the other hand, he was just as cornered. It was a calculated risk, but one he was willing to take. So on to the next problem: that damn sword. It was made of platinum so he couldn't bend it, so he had to get it out of her hands the old fashioned way. In order to that he had to bait her into attacking him.

Yeah, that'll be really hard i'm sure. he thought

Slipping into a fighting stance he then said with a mocking tone " You know if you just wanted to ride the Republic City rails, there are a lot of easier ways to do that. I have to admit if I knew you were a tourist I'd probably have taken this a lot less seriously."

That should do it.

[Zuka]

Knowing her window for escape would quickly close if she didn’t move fast enough Zuka climbed back up to the rafters in record time and made it back out to the roof top before she started running once more. She made it a ways before he was right behind her which made all of this seem familiar. Their last encounter had gone just like this and while she had managed to escape she did so by the skin of her teeth and this time they knew what to expect so she needed to put some distance between them and fast before he found a way to trap her.

Up ahead Zuka could see the next building, it was some distance away but nothing like the other she had tried to jump the first time, if she ran for it she could make it. Zuka pushed herself and started picking up speed to make the jump when not far in the distance she could see the lights from the train which would pass right through her exit. Even at her top speed Zuka knew she couldn’t out run the train and either she would miss completely or get crushed on the tracks…

There was a third option but it was just as insane and while none of her options were ideal at least one gave her a chance.

”I’m really going to do this..” Zuka said to herself in disbelief at her own stupidity but she kept running, trying to time it right and once she was ready she leapt for the top of the train car and landed. Landing on a fast moving object was difficult if you weren’t a metal bender and while she managed to stick the landing she stumbled slightly but regained her footing just as she was joined by her unrelenting shadow. As he landed Zuka once more drew her sword.

He just wouldn’t give up! What was worse is that he was taunting her and Zuka knew that he was just trying to get under her skin and you know what? It was working. She was pissed that she had been set up, pissed that he had gotten the drop of her like he had and now here he was again and you know what? She was tired of it. Zuka steadied herself once more and then lunged at him but as she did the train curved on the tracks which caused her to lose her footing and with the rain making the traincar slick she slipped, one leg going over the edge. Before the other could fall Zuka took her sword and plunged it through the roof of the train to keep her from falling over and she pulled her leg back which kept her at a kneeling position. While she may have saved herself from falling it put her in a vulnerable position and Zuka felt a sharp pain in her chin and she fell back and once more nearly over the edge of the car.

Her jaw was screaming at her from the kick but her self preservation took over and pushed the pain aside and Zuka grabbed the edge of the train car and held on.

Pulling herself up Zuka got back to her feet.

Ok, it was time to end this.

Taking a fighting stance Zuka planted her feet and locked them in place, bending the water from the rain the water incased her foot in ice and anchored her to the traincar. Her sword may be out of reach but she didn’t need it to fight and this guy was about to get a rude awakening. Now that her feet were planted Zuka bent more of the rainwater only this time instead of her feet the water incased her hands in ice and once she had enough she began. Punching out her fist and roating them from left to right ice began to layer off her hands and fly at The Ghost, the shards were thin but sharp and even if he was heavily protected by his gear there had to be a weak spot somewhere.

[Kenji]

Kenji kept himself focused, so far this was going well, but he knew all too well things could turn in a heartbeat if he wasn't careful. He was able to keep on the trail easily enough, granted being a metal bender helped when dealing with this rain. He was about to make a move in, when he saw the ice forming on her boots and on her fists. He then saw he lash out with the small sharp edged icicles.

Oh you've got to be kidding me! he thought as he moved.

He back flipped to avoid the first two, and  then when his hands touched the metal he then somersaulted forward. However his grip was uneven ion his way back and as he landed an ice blade slid through his armor and stuck in his side like a knife. He grimaced in pain and because of his hesitation two more sank into his upper chest and near his collarbone. He let out a cry of pain as he  crouched down. He was pretty sure that the wetness he was feeling on parts of armor wasn't rain, but blood.

Time to wrap this up.
 
He then slammed his palm down on the train and used his metal bending as he caused a hole top open up right underneath the Talon causing her to fall into the train below. Once that happened he gathered up his strength and took moved quickly until he got to the hole he made. He then balled his earthen glove clad hand into a fist and then dropped down on top of her.

She had a mask made of platinum so it was impossible to pull of using his skills, however he had a different idea in mind to use that mask against her as he descended and lashed out his fist right onto the mask using it to add to the force of his punch as the mask slammed into her face along with his fist and he heard a sickening yet satisfying crunch behind the mask.

[Zuka]

Hearing him cry out in pain as her ice hit caused her to smirk behind her mask. So, he did have weak spots and he could be hurt and after everything she had managed to do it. Though, it was a bit too early to celebrate and she needed to keep her focus on her opponent and their surroundings.

Zuka was ready to throw more ice when she felt the metal underneath her feet dip slightly before the hole opened up and she fell through and down into the train car on her back. There wasn’t much time to react when she felt a weight drop down on her and immediately felt pain in her left side that caused her to cry out and where she was sure a few ribs had broke. That pain felt like nothing compared to the pain that came next.

At first it was just a pressure as he brought his face down, her metal mask not cracking under the force but soon that pressure pushed down harder, and harder…and harder until Zuka’s face felt the full force of his hit and she cried out again in pain. Zukas vision had gone white and her head swam as she was disorientated but all of that paled to the sharp, horrible pain on her face. As her vision started to return she could feel the river of blood flowing down her face from her nose and taste the coppery taste as it passed over her lips.

It couldn’t end like this, he was still on top of her and if she didn’t move then he had her but right now she doubted if she had the strength to get him off of her. Not to mention, she was going up against a metal bender in a big metal car so the odds were stacked against her but, he had opened a hole and it was still raining…

Jutting her arms out Zuka gathered the water from the falling rain and forced it at him. The stream was enough to push him off and free her and as soon as the weight was gone she was back to her feet. Zuka’s head was still swimming and she tried to shake it off before gathering more water and sending it his way again. Pulling her arms in and then pushing them out and flexing her hands the water turned from a stream into thin, sharp needles. If he was fast enough she was sure he would block most of them but she knew he couldn’t get them all and that might give her enough time to get out of this car. While he dealt with that Zuka jumped up and grabbed hold of the rim of the hole that she had fallen through and began to pull herself up.

[Kenji]

Kenji heard the crunch and kept the pressure on. She managed to toss him off her, but he had her on the ropes, he knew that much. She tried the same water trick, but he was ready for it this time, plus he was quite literally in his element as he casually backflipped and then stuck to the metal ceiling of the car using the momentum, to bring the rest of his body up with him as the nasty ice needles passed harmlessly below him.



He then returned to the ground and saw she was trying to lift herself up, but he wasn’t going to let her escape that easy as he moved in, she was vulnerable in the position he could end it.



This was the end of the line.



Almost as soon as he said that did he suddenly feel the car suddenly screech to a stop, causing him to lose his footing for a minute in surprise



Oh crap, this was the actual end of the line.

The train slowed as it neared the end of the tracks, and because it was slowing down that meant that she could get to a nearby rooftop. Using two metal lines Kenji shot back up hoping to end this before she could jump onto a rooftop and prolong this any further.

[Zuka]

Zuka struggled to pull herself up, her ribs hurt with each movement and her mask was full of blood that it made it stick to her face and messed with her vision. Inside she heard thumps against metal and she knew if she didn't get out of this car quick she was going to be in for hell so she pushed through the pain and pulled her upper body out of the hole. As she got ready to bring her legs through the car jolted to a halt and her body went with it, slamming her side into the metal edge of the hole.

Crying out in pain Zuka somehow managed to hold on and finish pulling herself back to the top of the train car stepped to the edge and looked around for a way out of here. Not far was a building, it wasn't very tall in comparison to some of the others in the city and if she could make it up there she could make her escape through the rooftops or at least find somewhere to hide since Zuka wasn't sure how much fight she had left in her right now.

Behind her Zuka heard the sound of metal lines and she glanced back to see that she wasn't alone. Turing to face him Zuka stood up straight and lifted her right hand and pushed it out palm up. The water from the rain collected and shot at him in a wave and froze as soon as it made contact, trapping half of him in ice. Hoping that gave her enough time Zuka pulled her sword from the side of the car and put it back on her back before she jumped off and ran for the building. Jumping up to grab the fire escape as soon as she reached it and pulling herself up, begging her climb to the top.

[Kenji]

As Kenji climbed back on top the of the car, he saw her running and he made his way toward her when a wave of water shot toward him freezing him in the spot. He resisted the urge to yell out. This was getting on his last damn nerve. He paused however, took a a breath as she kept climbing and he just breathed.

It was time to end this chase.

So he slowly began to almost sink into the metal of the car as it lowered beneath is feet, the ice slowly shifting as it was forced to bend in a unusual way. Kenji could feel the ice weakening as he kept bending the metal down. Then he released as wave rippled through the metal as the depression he was in snapped back into place, the ice shattered and the force cause Kenji to rocket upwards, past the escape and right unto the roof.

He saw her trying to make a move and he took another breath and then his hand shot forward palm up as wall shot up, blocking her path forward. He then rolled his hand to the right and raised it again forming another wall. He step backward and moved his hand back toward him until it was almost center to his chest and another wall rose up in front of him. Then he finally twisted his hand to the left and a final wall rose up on the last side.

He then snapped his open plam into a fist as the walls slammed together forcing her into the box. Then clenched it again as the opening folded in on itself closing off escape from the top and denying her ore rainwater to try and make a weapon out of.

It was done. She was trapped.

He finally took a minute to pause and breath out. He wasn't sure what he was going to do next, but the key was she was boxed in, so he had time to think.

Or at least he thought he did. As he approached the box, he heard footsteps coming towards the door leading to the roof. He still was confused until the door burst open and he saw the tell tale red of the Agni Kai's.

Of course this was one of their hangouts.

Because truly the spirits thought that not enough had gone wrong tonight...

He turned to them and said " Don't suppose I can convicne you guys that I'm not here for you?"

There was a moment of silence

Then....

"It's the Ghost, get him!"

Yeah that sounds about right....... Kenji thought as he readied himself for yet another fight.

[Zuka]

Zuka climbed as fast as she could knowing that her body was running solely on adrenaline right now and if she stopped then that was game over. She had to push through, had to get somewhere safe and out of reach of The Ghost where she could rest and regroup and the only way to do that was to continue her climb and lose him. Just as she reached the top of the roof Zuka felt something shoot up and over her and she ducked a moment out of instinct figuring it was a boulder from her friend still on the train car. The figure went over and landed in front of her and when she saw him Zuka reached behind her and drew her sword once more and held it in her hands ready to fight.

Spirits he was persistent! He was also blocking her way out of here and if she wanted to make it out of here tonight she was going to have to go through him. If she could just make it past him then it would be home free, there was waterway access not far from here and she could use that to make her escape.

He must have been thinking the same thing. Before she could make another run for it a wall of earth shot up to her right and Zuka turned to move in another direction but as she did another wall came up, and then another and finally the last which boxed her in.

No, not good. No, no, no.

She had to get out of here! Rain was still falling and there was enough in here that she could use it to climb her way out of this box but before she could even start the box folded in on itself and trapped her inside. ”No!” Zuka yelled as she hit the side of the box with her fist before bringing her sword up and striking at the wall where she could and when space allowed, aiming for the corners and trying to find any kind of weak spot or area where she could pry the walls apart. She had to get out. It wasn’t only a matter of being captured by the ghost but now it was her own personal fear of spaces like this. True, it had only been a few minutes but there was no telling how long he would keep her in here and the idea of being in a confined space in the dark like she was was enough to make Zuka start to panic.

Panicking wasn’t going to help her right now and Zuka tried to get a grip on things. She stopped attacking the wall and took in a few slow, deep breaths to calm herself and to give her the chance to think rationally. While she was doing this Zuka could faintly hear voices on the other side of the wall and she strained to listen. Seemed like the Ghost wasn’t alone and part of her wondered if it was the police since all she could hear was ”it’s the Ghost, get him!”

This was it then, wasn’t it? Over before it even really started.

He would no doubt make this escape and leave her here for them to find and that was that. Well, no, she wasn’t just going to go quietly. Gripping her sword tighter Zuka began striking at the wall again until she was able to eventually make a small hole in the side. If she was going to go down then she was going to go down fighting.

[Kenji]

Kenjis situation had not improved.


He was surrounded by four Agni Kai's. Granted it was night and raining, so they were by no means as dangerous as they could have been, but they were smart enough to use their fire to box him in on this roof, and he had limited space to move given that he didnt want them to hit the box that currently contained the Talon, he wanted her boxed in, not cooked. That second problem was multiplied by the fact that if he just took off, that would leave four pissed off Agni Kai's with the Talon in a box.


Normally this problem would be childs play for him, but there was the other problem,. namely that he was injured and bleeding from his previous fight with the Talon and while the adrenaline of the night was helping him ignore the pain, he could not deny that he was moving slower than he normally would have and he was only barely dodging the gouts of flame that were coming at him from all angles.


He needed something to disrupt this game, something that would throw them off balance and he could find an edge, something that they....wouldn't expect.


It was then he knew exactly what he had to do.


"Damn it, damn it, damn it." He swore as he saw the Agni Kai's smile as they clearly thought they had him on the ropes. They were about to find out how wrong they were, as Kenji shifted his stance and made a beeline for the box on the roof, dead in the center of all four of them. He got the the top of the box, just as they shot gouts of flame right at him. Snarling with annoyance, Kenji moved his hands in a quick motion and a hole formed in the stone of the box as he fell into the box with the Talon.


As he landed right beside her, her sword in hand. At this distance, she could have swung and took off his head, but she seemed surprised, which Kenji rolled with as he held up his hands and said " Hello there."


He then spread his hands out and with a fast pushing movement he moved the walls of the box out, as they exploded outward, each of the four Agni Kai members that had been on the roof getting hit with large chunks of stone, as they hit the roof with a thud, and with freedom now, Kenji moved quickly to one side as the roof of the box, fell between him and the Talon.


"Told....you guys....I wasn't here for you." he said to the groaning and grounded Agni Kai. Great they were out of the fight. Now, he just had a pissed off masked woman with a sword  on the roof and possibly even more gang members down below in the building they were on.


Yeah this was so much better


Kenji was beginning to really hate this night.