Description: NESTS has decided to extend an offer of employment to Elle Belmounte, and Zero goes out of his way to prove the power of the NESTS cartel. Rocker chi is thrown, people are beat up with skirts, and in the end, a fun time is had all around!! Hurray everybody wins!!
Springtime for Metro... and America! Metro City is a metropolitan network, and thus, it has the same benefits and drawbacks as any large American city. While it's true that the concrete jungle provides another economic engine that keeps the greatest country on Earth chugging along at it's unstoppable pace, the drawbacks can be enormous.
One of these drawbacks is that Metro City has a crime problem that makes all three Robocop movies look like the latest episode of Sesame Street. Anywhere outside of 'The Hills', where the rich live, or anyplace not in the heavily policed business district tends to be overrun by crazed, drug addled punks, ganglords, pimps, prostitutes and the occasional very lost Mormon. In other words, Metro is a veritable hellhole.
Not for lack of trying, though. Haggar is a good mayor, and the crime has definitely taken a dive since his instatement as mayor, and the fact that he seems to have abolished stupid things like 'term limits' until every punk has been given a spinning lariat to the face leaves most bad guys running scared whenever the mayor takes a road trip out to the outskirts.
And yet, this is where people like Elle hang out, looking to get a peice of the American Dream: Getting rich without actually working. After a long hard day of attempting to raise interest in her gang, she stands at the battered subway terminal and watches as the rattling cars rush by, coated in fifteen kinds of spray paint with everything from 'MAD GEAR RULEZ' to something that looks like 'ROLENTO IS ELVIS'. It's hard to tell, given that many punks can't spell very well. Or read. Or manage to pee in the bowl.
Unfortunately, not being a big name, recruiting is hard. She's got enough pull to be left alone in the scummier part of the subway... but not enough to get a flock of no-names to absorb punches on her very own stage. She's not even good enough to be World 1 boss. That's the kind of thing that annoys her as she lights a cigarrette ant waits for the world to turn.
Springtime brings with it the characteristic, rejuvinating warmth that seems to infuse the general populace of American suburbia with a sense of life and happiness; a revitalizing feeling that most people would term as 'pleasant.' The winds are brisk, a little dry, and the skies above Metro City are clear for the majority of the day, leaving the sight of the bright blue sky for people to wonder over. It's a nice day for suburban Metro City.
It's unfortunate, then, that most people don't have the benefit of living in the suburbs in what could have very well been a great and prosperous city, once. Springtime isn't exactly enjoyed by the bulk of Metro City's inhabitants. It's instead a matter of survival from one day to the next, and looking for profit in the most illegal of ways. For criminal cartels, it's a varitable gold mine. Whether they be the large, classic criminal societies like Southtown Syndicate, or the profit-seeking industries of 'R,' Metro City has long been a substantial cash crop to gather up fundings from. And some, like NESTS, find within Metro City... a splendorous wealth of hardened guinea pigs and tools.
It's for these aforementioned resources that they come today. NESTS work is small, simple, and usually undetected... and almost always carried out with a minimum amount of personelle. Such is the case now. As night begins to dawn upon Metro, dark clouds loom, the first drops of rain beginning to fall as a single, tall man descends into the dank, dimly lit depths of Metro's subway system. Lights flicker, and the screeching of a subway passing by roars as shiny shoes path down to the entrance of the terminal.
He looks distinctly out of place here; dressed in a black, three-piece suit, a red tie, and a long, form-fitting black coat with an air about him that suggests he simply does not belong /anywhere/ in Metro City. Slowly, gray eyes turn to regard the whole of the terminal, until finally... they fall upon a single person.
"Elle Belmounte," It's not a question. Zero knows well enough who she is. "I would like to take up a minute of your time."
Well, there's something you don't see every day. A suit in the Metro Subway on the bad side of the tracks. That tends to mean one of two things: 1) This guy is clearly lost and is likely a Mormon, or; 2) It means he is a fighter. Now, Elle doesn't have analysis. She's not the kind of person that can pick out whether or not someone has traineed in Karate under the dutiful eye of an ancient master, or if they sent away for leaflets in the mail offered in a cereal premium. What she can do, however, is deduce.
So let's deduce!
Zero is a big man, and clearly not of the kind of 'big' that suggests lower-level toady. No, he's not a hulking, slavering, slobbering deformed ninny that looks five times inbred that Elle can outmaneuver in the brains department. Instead, Zero is a hair's breadth away from 'manpretty'. While that's sort of her thing, it's not enough to defray the fact that he's got on the 'death merchant' outfit, and has a voice that sounds like it's rattling up from a coffin.
She blanches visibly. it can't be helped, really. Fear is a good response when you're a minion-level person. However, irrational fear isn't, and grovelling and scraping isn't really her thing. Still, she calms her nerves with a cigarette, tapped out of the pack she pulls from her jacket. "Hell, I've got a while until the subway hits," she says, shaking her hand out as she lights her cigarette with an electrical burst. "You're cute. I'll give you five. Ten, if you keep it interesting, and a whole twenty if you don't crush my head like a dried pea."
Sometimes Zero wonders why things like 'has an attitude' isn't included in reports on fighters.
Fortunately, it's nothing he hasn't dealt with before.
Words are met with a that same, icy expression as Elle makes her response. Hands lift, slowly clasping gloved fingers together behind the tall man's back. Distinctly out of place amongst the gang art sprawled across dirt encrusted walls, Zero is no less intimidating a presence. It is helpful, in situations like this. Authority like Zero's makes people more inclined to listen -- even if they have a penchant for wise cracking.
"Good," He begins smoothly, advancing through the subway system as his eyes sweep once more through the terminal. Grimy, but not exactly unfamiliar. "My organization is interested in employing your services. We've had our eye on you for some time." Much as they have many fighters who enter official tournaments. Some stick out, however -- and though Elle's participation in sanctioned fights have been minimal, her capacities with chi and the information gathered on her has made her an object of slight interest."
'Crush her head like a dried pea.' He makes no response to this; the answer should be clear, at least. However this meeting goes will yield that result. "Elle Belmounte, a musician and fighter who uses chi to manipulate soundwaves. You have noteworthy talents, Ms. Belmounte. We could make use of those talents -- and expand upon them. You have great potential." It's a simple statement. Her abilities have within them the potential to go further. However --
"Wouldn't you prefer to work for someone who can tap into that potential, rather than let it rot on the vine?"
Elle takes a drag of her cigarette deeply. Promises of power. Everyone gives them, not many of them deliver, and a good deal of them do it so that you'll be in front of Ryu's fist instead of them when the chips are down. Zero's got the goods on her, obviously, and Elle knows zero about Zero. It's one of the sad truths about being a bottom-scraper. You don't get all the hot bulletins until everyone else with a super suit does, and by that time, you're facing down the twin demons of Lose and Fail.
"Sound and electricity," she corrects. not pompously, just as a clarification. Sometimes the exec types don't read all the stuff their flunkies put on paper for them. "And as for who I'd rather work for and why? I like to put up a few rules of engagement before we get started. It may not mean much in the long run, but it gets a lot of this Dr. Doom act out of the way."
She counts off on her fingers: "I do mostly cash transactions. I can get paid in goods or services, but I like to be given the option. I do flat fees for one-shot jobs, and charge a rolling fee plus expenses for retainer." One finger up. "I ensure confidentiality. I didn't stay alive this long by having loose lips." Another finger goes up. "I'm really not that sweet on propoganda. That includes: Nation building rhetoric, exhortions of superiority, rabble rousing, or religious dogma. That is, it'd be best if we cleared up right away that I'm not some emotionally damaged teen with a hate on for the world and a need to exact generic, nonspecific revenge. If you've got my interest,t hat means you've got cash. Green's the universal language. The more of it you can put where your mouth is, the more loyal I am." The last finger goes up. "So that out of the way, what are you putting on the table?"
Promises of power are nothing new, it's true. But Zero is also aware that promises need to be proven through deals and contracts; it's not worth the effort expended to try and win people over with charm, charisma and false promises. So what does he offer?
"You will be given cash payments for successfully completed missions contracted to you buy us. Should you prove yourself as capable enough, then we may seek to keep you on retainer." Zero's arms unfold from behind him, hanging simply at his side just as stiffly as the rest of his posture. He continues in that deep deadpan tone, lifting a single hand upwards as the rumble of an approaching subway train begins to rise in the background. "You will find I do not seek to enlist you to the ideals of my organization, nor do I have any interest in swaying you or charming you with useless propaganda. All I ask from you is loyalty. Whether it to be a cause or a paycheck, I do not care."
The sub blazes by. Metal screeches, everything else drowned out in its wake. Zero now stands directly in front of Elle, stone-like gray eyes focusing on the white-haired woman intently. "... What I am putting on the table is what you want. Money, a substantial amount of it should you prove yourself worth it. Should we elect to keep you on retainer, and should you choose to accept, there is a wealth of other opportunities available to you. We at NESTS are capable of making 'empty promises' of power a reality. It is not just words to make us appear more alluring. Join us, and genetic and cybernetic alterations will be made available to you that will be able to exploit and enhance both your physical capacities, and your abilities over the manipulation of the world's power -- chi. Nothing handed down from some obscure, godlike figure. What we offer is power through the most reliable source of all." A pause.
"Science."
"Well, as much fun as it sounds to get lasers attached to my head and have the ability to either self fertilize or make my own gravy when added to water, why don't you just give me a job docket, and we'll talk about stapling bazookas to my ta-tas at a later date?" Elle's rational if anything, and even if her interest is piqued, she's not going to show it. And let's be fair: if someone offered to enhance your right out on the street and you don't even blink? You're living in some William Gibsonesque nightmare, or you're Candy.
Most assuredly, Elle is not, and is not.
"So what is it that... NESTS you said?" Weird name. Makes her wonder what the acronym means, if it is one. Or if there are competing companies named 'BIRD' and 'EGG'. It probably isn't bright to go straight to mocking a potential employer, though. At least, not off the bat. "I also have a few people I like to work with, so you know. "Anyhow, what is it that NESTS needs? I mean, I've worked for a few big names in my day, and you guys always come up with something new and unusual. Everything from weapons caches to Athena's nose hairs, I swear."
"Given the expenditure of budget used on genetic enhancements, it is not an offer that you need concern yourself with even remotely at the moment." Is Zero's simple reply; he's not particularly interested about whether or not Elle accepts that aspect or not. But it comes with the basics of an offer in the long term. Not only that, it allows him a better chance to see what, exactly, piques the woman's interests. Clearly money is the key motivational factor for this one; Zero observes calmly, keeping these things tucked away in his mind for later use. He need not bother with offering less solid things like 'power' anytime soon. Which is likely for the best.
Igniz is more skilled at winning people over with grandiose promises.
"We are extending an offer to you, not any 'partners.' If you have others that you work with, we will review them ourselves to determine whether they are worth employing or not." That's it. Zero says this with some form of undeniable finality; it's not something open for debate. The anonymity of NESTS is something that must be preserved, after all. "Provide us with names and we will take care of the rest."
Zero's hands slide into his pockets, eyes rotating upwards. The rain beyond makes barely audible pitter-pattering sounds against the ceiling as he speaks once more. "Our needs right now are nothing of great concern. At the moment, you would be employed to overlook weapons transactions and act as a guard for transportation of other, equally sensative materials." He does not expand, nor does he feel the need to. It's not her place to know. "If you prove yourself worthwhile enough, and should more pressing matters come up, we will employ you for other missions." It's a relatively simple deal, or so Zero would like to think. He's not particularly fond of overcomplicating dealings with potential subordinates.
Ah hah. This one's the cloak and dagger bit all over. Elle can dig it. Granted, she'll most likely be on red alert all day long now. "Well, I have a drop box and some dummy accounts. Just give me a ding when you need a deed done, and I'll be there with bells on. Half cash up front, half cash on completion?" That's how most people like to do it, but every so often there's a series of complicated maneuvers that people like to enter that makes the lambada look like the hokey pokey.
And truth be told, it's better that Zero approached her. The man is a lot more businesslike, if not a little too close to the source of power to truly meet her on common ground. People like Igniz just make her dismissive and flipant. It's a little difficult for her to follow people with messianic tendencies. They do tend to get crucified often. "As for my men... I'll keep them in the dark for now. No sense paradigm shifting or whatever on them."
"A reasonable deal," Zero intones, "When we need you, we will contact you and deliver the first half of your payment." A basic system, really. If NESTS needed to rely on complex methods of payment in order to maintain secrecy, they wouldn't be all that efficient an organization. Things like this are beneath them; money is not their primary concern, after all. It's just an interest of those on the lowest of rungs.
"Very well. You will typically be accompanied by a NESTS agent until we are sure we can trust that you can operate on your own." Both an issue of trust and competence; not that Zero speaks of Elle as if she's a complete dunce. The way he speaks suggests it is just not in his policies to trust anyone off the bat, on any level. It's something to be earned. "I trust everything is in order, then. If you have any other questions, then I will answer them -- dependent upon the question posed." Some information, after all, is sensitive.
"Yeah. See, I have this thing," Elle says, reshouldering her bag. "I like to know what kind of shit my bosses have got going for 'em. Now, I know you didn't come down here without breaking a few heads. The 17th Street Comanches call this their turf, and a guy like you isn't going to get three feet in without getting a knife pointed at you." She slips her guitar out of it's carrying case, and starts to tune it. "So how about it? Got enough left in you to indulge some minionly curiousity?"
Elle knows she can't take Zero in a serious fight. Zero Should know that Elle knows, too. So why the hell would she do this? Well, Elle's smart. She has her reasons. She could be doing it to test if Zero is worthy to follow. She could be doing it for the research. or she could be just stark raving insane.
Any of those three is about as close to the truth as any other, to be fair as she starts a buildup of Chi, her playing a few random riffs starting up the charge as well as masking the crackle of electricity.
COMBATSYS: Elle has started a fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zero has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zero
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Zero
"... Hm." The NESTS Vice President muses aloud as his body makes a very subtle shift. Black cloth swirls about him in the wake of moving legs as the tall man maneuvers with a cold, ominous sort of grace. Legs spread shoulder-width apart, and his left arm rests snugly up against the small of his back. It is not a standard combat stance by any means, and to some it might be disarming -- but Elle shouldn't let it fool her. His eyes say everything he does not.
"Very well."
As soon as the words leave Zero's lips, there is the sudden flare of something 'off.' Something icy, chilling settles over the expanse between himself and Elle, heralded with a strange, royal purple glow that burns in Zero's eyes. His aura swells, violet chi flaring out from all around him just as Elle begins to build up her energy. The intent is to startle her, to freeze her in place --
"I will indulge you."
--/Just/ long enough so that Zero can attack. His right hand thrusts forward, and in his wake sprouts a sudden onrush of invisible force. The wall of unseen chi rips through the subway terminal, cracking cement beneath it and crushing a nearby garbage can like tinfoil as it makes one single path to crash into Elle. He knows her capacities. But it's just as well he shows her a glimpse of his own.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Zero's Shikka Koujin.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Zero
Sometimes power can be defined. it can be tremendous. It can be malicious, destructive, or world consuming. But sometimes power transcends words altogether, and it ends up coming out something along the lines of 'Gkpthtqh' or maybe 'Barflgphlp'. This is one of those times. The sheer destructive chi force dwarfs her own by magnitudes, and she knows it. It's even more sobering than facing down Vega in some respects. At least in his case, she can write it off to the overwhelming force of psionics. In Zero's case, she can't really say anything more than the following:
"FUCK! CHRIST ON A GODDAMN CRUTCH WITH A STICK UP HIS HOLY ASSHOLE."
Obviously, a woman of good breeding and refinement. The concussive force blows her backward despite her ability to defend herself, and she's launched across the subway into a wall, dumbling ass over end into a pile of garbage. "Ugh. Okay. That smarts," she says calmbering to her feet. Obviously, shooting this guy with her own pea-shooter power is going to be like attempting to pee a hole through a mountain. She hurls herself across the distance, attempting to one-arm the big man with a grab-by throw, and then blast him away from her with a concussive sonic blast hurled from her fingertips.
COMBATSYS: Zero just-defends Elle's Live Wire!
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Elle 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Zero
Elle's sudden string of swears is met with nothing more than an absolute impassive expression on the face of Zero. If not for the sudden movements, the swell of chi that encircles and wraps around him like a cloak, he might make a passable statue. The expulsion of force has done as intended; both given Elle a good glimpse as to just what Zero is capable of, and effectively testing the upper limits of her defenses. Pleased or not by the results, Zero continues on, just as Elle finally pulls herself up out of the pile of refuse beneath her. Unseen, Zero is fed data on the woman; her rate of speed, the exact amount of energy output in her assault. And he smiles. A cold, dead smile, but a smile nonetheless.
The very second that Elle is within melee distance of Zero, he grasps the edges of his coat securely. In what may seem to be an odd gesture at first, the NESTS exec sweeps his coattails /upward/ to intercept Elle's charge with what seems to be mere, fragile cloth. But the second that arm swings, she'll find she is striking something far more dense then simple cloth. THe moment of impact, unseen force ripples around the cloth, briefly revealing something different beneath the surface; a dull gray, far more dense material. The concussive force meets this material head on, as chi swirls around and disperses at either side of the white-haired executive. And throughout it... he remains completely unharmed.
"Passable manipulation of chi." He remarks. In the same moment, his body twists, and before Elle can move out of range, Zero literally LEAPS into the air. It is a simple hop, that sends Zero somersaulting a short distance through the air. Yet, in that moment, his coat tails swing straight towards Elle... and instantly, what was once a simple coat, is fully revealed for what it is. Zero's entire outfit washes over with unseen energy as, instead of a simple coat, the hem of a long, dark cape comes flying at Elle, dangerous, metallic 'teeth' seeking to saw into her from left hip to right shoulder in what will certainly be a brutal, quick attack if it succeeds.
COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Elle with Ouga.
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Elle 1/=======/=======|===----\-------\0 Zero
Pain. Pure, flat out pain. Elle's pratically ground into hamburger by the hideous assault, the slicing blades seeming to eat flesh and tear away at her body like a series of wildly flailing chainsaws. The attack has the simultenous effect of both damaging and keeping her imobile, so that when all is said and done, she crumples to the floor like a rag doll. She lets out a ratcheting cough. "'Passable'. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were coming on to me," she says with a wry smirk. Say what you will, some find her irreverace likeable. Others, just annoying. And Zero? Well, he probably doesn't care.
Still, there's a grim acceptance on her face. She'll do her best, but she doesn't keep any delusions that she'll win. No indignant shouts or rallying cries for her. No, she's a realist. Whipping her guitar back over her shoulder, she rolls her neck, and pounds out a single chord. Normally, there's a buildup. The flashing light show and slow rumble of sonic power isn't there this time, though. When faced with a power like Zero? All you can do is fire off the best you have. The single stroke lets off a single blast of sound, rolling like a shockwave towards Zero, kicking up dirt and debris everywhere.
Still, underneath all the ruckus, she can't help but hum a faint tune under her breath. "You... shook me alll night long..."
COMBATSYS: Zero catches ACDC from Elle with Forcefield.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Zero
Thankfully, there is little to no sign of caring either way from Elle's witty commentary on the part of Zero. Others might become offended, hit her harder for the gall of it. Zero? Continues to put out exactly the amount of force necessary in order to overcome this particular obstacle. His only words? "It is a good thing you know better." For whatever it means, he hardly sounds annoyed. One might even wonder if he has the capacity for something like 'annoyance.'
But there's little luxury of time to be afford towards thinking such things. Almost as soon as his attack connects, there comes a distinct swelling of chi from all around them. Usually a prelude to a maximum expenditure of power that Zero knows all too well. Taking a step back, just as Elle releases all that power with naught but the strum of a chord, she might notice -- the sudden change of appearance in Zero's outfit. The full, strange battle regalia of the NESTS VP, issuing the softest chime of metal striking metal that is drowned out with the single pulse of sound from all around them. It resonates, shaking the terminal, but as soon as it advances on Zero...
... it's stopped.
There's no real explanation for it at first. Sound chi is literally rebounded and washed off around Zero approximately a foot away from his body. It's only apparent the moment that those large chunks of dirt and rubble strike that invisible barrier; purple chi ripples like waves from all around Zero as debris strikes, caught in the field like an insect in fly paper. Any solid debris that catches hovers for a moment, before the powerful vibrations of chi simply render them into nothing more than powder. The sound chi? Rebounds off harmlessly, dispersing in the aftermath of the assault to reveal Zero... unharmed.
"An interesting display."
Well, interesting is a way to put it. If Elle hadn't half been expecting Zero to just stomp through her attack as if it wasn't there, she'd probably be crestfallen right now. As it is, she only straightens back up again and takes stock of her wounds. Zero's making it one hellacious experience that she's not going to be forgetting any time soon. Nevertheless, it's not like her to give up now,. Walking off without managing to land a single hit on Zero would be some kind of major disappointment.
So it's a quick step forward. So far, everything she's been doing thus far has resulted in her attack being negated or avoided. Her hands charge up as she attempts to clap them around his ears and give him a good jolt to the brain, in a sort of lesser version of electrigger.
COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Elle's Rock Me Amadeus.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Zero
Landing a hit would be something of an accomplishment. But at least Elle can take solace in landing something of a partial hit. The forcefield constructed by way of artificially enhanced chi slowly fades away the very moment that Elle steps in to attack once more. As she launches herself in, his arms snap /upward/ in a simple blur of motion. Her hands close in, but strike forearms instead of ears, letting electric energy be nigh-harmlessly discharged around the protection of his suit. Slightly unpleasant, but really... more uncomfortable than painful.
Zero's response is simple. A direct, lightning-fast physical assault; his right knee lances out, to bury itself firmly into Elle's gut. While fast, it carries with it an almost unholy amount of force. The strength behind it would almost certainly be enough to send Elle flying through the air like a ragdoll to land a solid distance away from the NESTS executive once more.
COMBATSYS: Elle endures Zero's Light Kick.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zero
It's interesting. Elle's entire combat stye is radically different than most female fighters. Most 'girls' are speed queens, zipping about and attempting to dodge and parry all the incoming attacks. Grace and delicacy seems to be the keyword when it comes to combat with a woman. It must be that concession to feminine beauty and finesse.
Elle, on the other hand, fights in a much more straightforward fashion in that she doesn't seem to avoid the pain as much. It's not that she likes it. In fact, pain is right there on the number one spot on things she hates. Even so, she spreads her feet apart, and as the kick shoots forward? She simply takes the hit like a steel bulkhead. Rather than go flying, she lets out a sharp noise of pain and irritation, and a grimace flashes on her normally bland face for a moment.
"Come on now... you've got to have some kind of weak point," she says, almost grousing to herself. She takes a firm step forward, and nearly falls flat. Even though she takes the punishment, it doesn't seem like she can simply swallow the effects. Her stumble segues into a roll, and she's soon leaping at Zero, attempting to catch the big man by the arm in a takedown maneuver copied from Raiden. It worked on her, at least.
COMBATSYS: Zero counters Quick Throw from Elle with Forcefield.
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Elle 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Zero
A weak point?
"I believe you're making a fatal error."
It's all he says as Elle takes the hit, and makes that bold declaration. It's that very obsession over finding a weakpoint, and trying to exploit it, that ultimately does her in; another throw comes his way, but by this point Zero can predict it, and see it coming. He is not particularly impressed. Watching her close the distance, he does not move an inch. Instead, as soon as Elle leaps at him--
--She'll find herself striking a tell-tale invisible wall of force.
He says nothing. Standing pristine, Zero's cape swirls only briefly as his forcefield shimmers with tell-tale purple chi. She might be willing to take pain, but it seems to have not availed her this time.
Before Elle can properly respond to it, Zero introduces her to another of the forcefield's features: as soon as she makes contact, the barrier hums with audible power, before it releases a massive /discharge/ of electrical force straight through Elle's body, lancing arcs of violet power channeled into the punk rocker's small frame.
Well, that was less than pleasant. Elle hits a wall. An MAGICAL WALL OF DEATH. The fact is that she's just not used to all these damn tricks and traps that Zero can bring to bear. Maybe there's something to all this science jazz after all. As she hits the ground twitching like a brain damaged trout, a thought comes to her mind that can be best descibed as a general feeling of dread. Even shen she fights Vega, she's able to at least land a few hits, unless Vega feels particularly ass-faced and decides to hit her with the Final Psycho Crusher freight train.
Again, she finds herself clambering to her feet with a groan. Holding her head, she focuses at the blurry shape in front of her. Usually there's more of a setup to the attack, but Elle again forgoes style for effectiveness as she creates three small electrical globes in front of her. The spheres wobbles slightl wit her as her hands shape each one... and then she charges.
Bringing the nasty little surprises with her, she attempts to push them into Zero's stomach with a full tackle charge. The persuant explosion will hopefully blow her back to safety. Hopefully.
COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Elle's Dire Straits.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Zero
It's fairly clear that Elle has a particular strategy here. Unfortunately, even pitting against what might, assumedly, be Zero's weak point, the differences between them are far too great. As an individual based around a solid defense, even Elle's constant assault is not nearly enough. The forcefield once more breaks apart, the chi gathered around him dissipating in an almost beautiful display. He looks towards Elle, his face a complete blank. She's coming at him again, isn't she? And once more--
--it's not quite enough.
She charges in. A series of chi-laden electrical spheres manifest around her with a crackle of power. But it's not enough. Not nearly enough. The charge rushes on, and as soon as she thrusts those bursts forward, Zero lifts his own /leg/ up to the sudden assault. The massive burst of chi that results does not even send Zero rocking backwards, at most singing his face from the searing heat of the explosion. Elle rocks backwards from her own blow, away from Zero. But as she does...
... Zero STAMPS his foot against the ground.
It's a crude assault, but a testament to Zero's strength: the moment his foot /crashes/ into the ground, a fissure begins to crack open between them. Sheer kinetic force ripples throughout the terminal like a shockwave, sending rubble and chunks of debris flying towards Elle in an effort that should knock her /straight/ off her feet, should it connect cleanly.
COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Elle with Large Thrown Object.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Zero
Rather than retaliating, Elle knows when she's down. The fact that Zero has just thrown a subway at her is an entirely good reason to give up. Practically keeling over, she saves the strength required to be able to walk and stand as opposed to unleasihing a final super attack like most would do. After all, it's not like it's going to do much more to Zero, right? From the distance she's been thrown, she estimates that had she been any closer, the shock very well could have killed her. And that would have been pretty embarassing. Still... he's not indestructable. Hard to kill, yes, but not indomitable. Elle never walks into a deal without knowing a way out, and it becomes clear to her what she may one day have to do.
That's all for later, though. Zero is a source of income right now, and it wouldn't do to go and die just yet. "Alright... I think I'm satisfied," Selle says with a croak, sitting up and leaning on the wall to get her wind back. "Not too shabby, though i thought for sure that you'd be able to get me in only two hits."
COMBATSYS: Elle takes no action.
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Zero 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Elle can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zero 1/------=/=======|
"What would defeating you so quickly accomplish?" Is Zero's only response. Certainly, if he had tried to, he likely could have done just as she thought he would. That would have told him nothing of her fighting style, her abilities, or the levels of physical might and chi she's capable of outputting. There's only so much files and data can say; sometimes, you have to see first hand. Zero is satisfied. And having experienced the woman's power firsthand, he is ready to update the data already available on her.
Watching as Elle ultimate lifts up and leans back against a wall, Zero says nothing at first. He leaves his question to linger as his own battlesuit shimmers seamlessly back into his unassuming, though expensive-looking, black business attire. "You have an interesting control over chi. It will be interesting to see how it blooms." That is his own assessment, though he reserves any other conclusions he's drawn from this encounter to himself.
"If there is no other questions, then I assume we are done here?"
COMBATSYS: Zero takes no action.
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Zero 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Zero has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:02:21 04/26/2007 by Zero, and last modified on 02:47:07 05/20/2007.