24 Back to School

Waze lumbered through the school yard. She was tired. Very tired. Bad decisions were made. It was Monday, so she had had yesterday off from training. To pass the time, she had ended up binge watching a new anime she had found. Until 3am. Now, she dragged her feet through the school as she approached her usual lunch spot. Waze paused for a moment. She had a bad feeling all of a sudden. Had someone finally come to bother her? It had been almost three weeks since her little outburst at school and the start of everything. Of course, eventually someone would come to disturb her peace. Not that she minded. She could hold her own now, even without her ability.

"So you're the magic cripple, huh?"

Waze turned around at the sound of the voice. A boy with grayish hair stood with a smirk on his face a few feet away. He had a few friends surrounding him. People were starting to gather. Waze could only assume the event would be something of interest, the cripple who had taken down a high step vs. another high step. That's right, Waze remembered. This was a high step. Collin Russet: step 6. Gift: the ability to harden his skin to a stone like texture. Waze looked him up and down. He didn't seem particularly strong. She could probably beat him. She would still have to be careful, though. Underestimate him and she could get her ass kicked.

"That's one way of saying it." Waze faced him fully as she spoke.

"There's been a rumor going around that you went to a reading shop and got a zero." Waze stiffened. How had that gotten out? Helma must have mentioned it to someone. One person hearing about that, and the rumor would spread like wildfire. Or maybe Josh had something to do with it.

"I did. You want to know anything else or is that it? Ask me anything. No promises I'll answer, though."

"Well, I was thinking. If you really are all you've been cracked up to be, you could easily beat me right? And if not, if you did get help from someone the day you beat James, don't you think you could use a beating to be put in your place?"

"Hmm... I think the answer to those may vary depending on who you ask. Considering we've never fought, I can't say whether or not I could beat you. And personally, I don't believe I really need to get my ass beat, but if you do, you're entitled to your own opinion." Waze smirked slightly. The questions were rhetorical, so it was fun seeing him grow annoyed at her legitimate responses.

"Shut it, cripple. Let's just do this." Collin tossed his backpack to a friend as they all backed away. There was a solid circle around them, giving them plenty of room to fight. Waze looked at him as he prepared for the fight. No fighting stance. He wasn't taking this seriously. Waze threw her backpack down by the tree where she usually sat. She mentally declared that if anyone touched it she would abandon the fight and kick their ass instead.

Waze walked away from the tree until she stood a few feet away from Collin. She settled into her fighting stance, making sure her form was perfect. She examined Collin and started formulating her plan.

One hit from him, and she would be out. She could probably take a couple on her arms and legs, but if he caught her on the torso or face she'd be on the ground immediately. She had to keep her defense up and stay strong. If she could catch him off guard with a hit to the torso or face, she'd be able to knock him out.

"Let's start."

Collin lunged forward. Waze was almost surprised by it. It was so slow. She easily stepped to the side and Collin stumbled past. He threw another punch toward her face. She ducked to the side. Marco's were faster. He swung out his leg in an arc, aiming for her side. She slid backwards, his leg whipping past her. Sable's were stronger. Another punch, Waze moved her head to the side as it whizzed past her face. Duke's were more powerful. He sent a kick flying toward her side again. He didn't seem flexible enough to reach her face. Waze spun out of reach of the kick. Cassidy's were more accurate. She sidestepped him like this for a while, watching him fumble around. Michelle's defense was much better. He was nothing compared to the beast she had been training against.

Collin stopped for a moment and Waze paused, a couple feet away. He was panting profusely and Waze hadn't even broken a sweat.

"You bitch... you think you can just keep dodging like that?!" Perfect. She needed him to get angry. He threw all his weight into his next punch. Waze grabbed his arm with one hand and the collar of his shirt with the other. It was the move Norris had used on her when they had first met. Waze spun him over her shoulder and slammed him into the ground. She watched as his lungs crumpled and all the air left his body. He stumbled to his feet, but once he was standing Waze didn't give him a chance to rest. Before he could harden his weak spots, she slammed her fist into his stomach, right where his liver was. Collin coughed out in pain and started to topple. To finish him off, just to be sure, Waze brought up her foot in a high kick into his face. He crumpled on the ground. She hadn't even needed to use her gift. Waze stepped back and looked around. Everyone's faces were painted with something between shock, fear, and anger. Waze cleared her throat and spoke out loudly.

"Let this be a message. If you got a problem, we can settle it without fighting. If you really want, I'll take you on. I won't go easy. This wasn't luck. Try me one more time, and it'll happen again, got it? I'm not a hostile person, I don't go around starting trouble. You leave me out of your drama, and I'll stay out of it. Ok?" Waze glanced at the people in the crowd. Most of their faces had twisted more into anger and fear now.

"Ok. Well, I'll be on my way." Waze walked over to the tree where her bag was and scooped it up. She really didn't feel like dealing with the backlash of her little fight, so she walked straight out of school. No one stopped her.