You nearly made the biggest mistake of your life.
Well second biggest, considering you took on the last remaining powerhouses of the Secret Society without backup.
Despite how much your body ached for you to simply stop fighting, you couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. The “mission” had to continue, and you had to be the vessel to carry it. No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, you couldn’t give up.
And in this case, you may have passed up on a golden opportunity to save your life. But you knew, if you could only wear her down some more, she would become more feral and less tactical. Eventually, she’d show weakness, and you would capitalize.
But for now, you had to settle for this.
Using her hubris in extending her foot towards you unguarded, you sprang into action. Grabbing her foot, you kept her anchored towards you while also bringing a leg up, then executed a swift ground round kick to her midsection.
Exuding a loud “Oomph,” she face planted as soon as your heel collided against her stomach. Hitting the ground hard, you wrapped both legs around her ankle, keeping her anchored to the ground.
Snarling in frustration, she twisted towards you with foam oozing out of her mouths. Literally becoming a feral beast, she thrashed out relentlessly, trying to escape but you wouldn’t give her an inch.
Narrowing your eyes, you decided to restrict her mobility by bringing your elbow down hard, on her kneecap. Delivering the blow with just enough brute force to cause a fracture, you listened for her to howl in pain, and knew it had resounded.
“How’s that for an answer?” you retorted sarcastically, as she writhed in pain. Shooting you a murderous glare, she was in a raging frenzy, spitting out profanity and trying to wiggle her way free.
You were determined on twisting her leg all the way clockwise, when she managed to score a desperation move in the form of a simple kick to the face. The kick was strong enough to knock you on your backside, while also reintroducing you to her sweaty aroma.
Scrambling to her feet, she let out another high-pitched shriek when her finger accidentally brushed against the angry blotch quickly blossoming on her thigh. Now limping on one leg, she spat at you with vehemence.
“You’ll regret that!” she growled, before bringing her other leg up. Then, as her foot eclipsed her in height, she aimed the axe kick towards your grounded form.
Your eyes bulging in sudden realization, you rolled to the right as her heel impacted the ground where your face was mere seconds before. Her foot actually managed to penetrate the floor, only showcasing her full, unhinged brutality.
When she brought her foot back, she found a souvenir in the form of a flashbang grenade you instinctively unclipped from your utility belt while rolling.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, the grenade exploded in a blinding light that incapacitated her.
Shielding her face, she stumbled back blindly, giving you ample time to recover. Finding the very last adrenaline reserve somehow, you stumbled to your feet.
You were on your last legs, but you weren’t down, yet.
Just as she managed to clear away at the black spots in her vision, you lunged at her, connecting with a one-two combo: first, a right cross to stun her, then a swift uppercut to her lower jaw. Both blows succeeded in knocking Cheetah off her feet, and to the ground.
Suddenly overwhelmed by a sudden feral rage, you lunged head over heels after her, not even taking any precaution.
Reacting out of sheer instinct, she barely managed to fend you off with a grounded round kick to the chin, knocking you back a few yards. Cursing yourself for thinking too much with your fists, you wiped another trail of blood from your mouth.
Snarling, she began racing towards you on all fours, before suddenly springing into the air. Maneuvering her body so that her feet would land first, she aimed a flying front kick your way, a game changer if any.
Unfortunately for her, you had smartened up to her tactics, and your response was a game changer itself.
Digging your heels in, you held firm as she lunged at you, timing your counter just right. A second too early, the kick connects. A second too late, well, lights out.
As her foot descended towards you, you closed your eyes, relying on your training in Nanda Parbat to guide you the rest of the way. Cheetah’s dominant smile seemed to indicate this would be the end, but you had one last surprise up your sleeve.
Then, it happened.
You caught her foot in mid-air, wiping that smug grin right off her face. What was unabashed confidence soon became trepidation as you turned the tables in the encounter.
Before she could even touch the ground, you lifted her back up, only with you following suit. Launching into the air, you delivered a side thrust kick to her midsection, catapulting her away. Her body nearly folded in half following your kick, as it traveled down the line of machinery.
Finally, she crashed against another generator, nearly slumping over upon impact. Running at her, you reached into your belt and tossed a steel bolas at her.
The bolas wrapped around her torso without incident, tying her forearms down by her sides. Feebly struggling, she had another thing coming when you were suddenly upon her.
“Hah!” Summoning a Herculean effort, you knocked her back against the generator with a momentous haymaker, one that resounded throughout the entire factory. Then, before she could even bounce off the wall, you palm slammed her into the surface.
The back of her head dented the generator with a metallic screech. Now slumping down, she fell weakly on her knees, almost in a symbolic pose.
Taking this moment to catch your breath, you grabbed her by the throat, ignoring her weakly scratching at your glove. Her eyes were nearly glazed over, and her legs were wobbly from the blood loss. She was literally one punch away from being done, and you had just about one more left in you.
Cocking your fist behind your shoulder, you tightened the ironhard grip around her throat to ensure the punch wouldn’t miss. Her eyes, now bulging in fear, were pleading at you.
You merely gave her the same stoic glare you gave the rest of the criminals, before you put them to sleep. Cheetah, no matter her former identity, was the same as the rest.
Then, just as you were about to end her threat for good, a violet mallet suddenly slammed into your side, knocking you away.
With a cry, you flew across the basement level before finally colliding hard on the ground. Instantly cradling your bruised shoulder, your eyes were livid with rage as Star Sapphire came into view.
Her ring hand stretched towards you, she clutched her bruised midsection sorely. Her hair was an unkempt crow’s nest, yet the smile she wore stung more than her construct.
“Even you can’t escape love’s true light, Batman!” she grinned, another construct materializing out of her quite vivid imagination.
Reaching into your belt, you threw yourself to the right as a buzz saw construct tore through the ground you were just on seconds prior. Now running along the generators, you hurled an explosive Batarang in response.
The Batarang hit the ground near her, before suddenly exploding. Shrieking in surprise, she was forced to conjure up an energy bubble to shield her from the flying debris and smoke.
Producing your grapple gun, you fired it into the air. Feeling the cable tighten, you were propelled into the air to gain a better vantage point. You had to rethink your strategy, but it was not to be.
Just as the smoke dissipated, she spotted you trying to retreat, and aimed her ring at you.
“Leaving so soon?” she taunted dryly, before a violet whip suddenly wrapped around your ankles. Jerking you back down, you grunted as you flopped back to earth.
Face planting hard on the ground, you tried to get up, but a set of iron chains suddenly constricted across your chest. Struggling fiercely, you were soon overwhelmed by the serpentine metallic links, snaking across your torso and preventing you from accessing your utility belt. Inevitably tightening, you screamed into the ground.
“I don’t think I’m finished with you yet, rodent!” she spat, now lifting you off the ground. With your boots dangling helplessly off the ground, you were at her complete and utter mercy.
Then, she made a sweeping motion with her ring hand, and the chain construct slammed you against another generator. The machine actually rocked off its foundation as you collided against it, barely withstanding your weight.
Feeling the construct vanish, you grabbed sorely at your midsection as she sauntered towards you, her hips swaying ever so slightly. She was starting to become a violet blur as you leaned against the generator.
A battering ram construct streaked towards you at a breakneck speed, taking you completely off guard. At this point, she was playing with you. She merely bided her time until you exhausted yourself fighting Cheetah, then made her move.
Bracing yourself, you could only gasp in pain as the battering ram barreled into you with the force of a big rig, knocking you and the generator over! The machine, croaking in protest, toppled over as you clung to it.
Making a loud thumping sound as it hit the ground, you rolled to the floor groggily. Sapphire’s hubris would soon provide to be your saving grace.
Crawling on your palms and knees, you winced as you felt around your torso. No doubt the construct broke ribs, possibly punctured a lung.
Merging with the shadows, you smartly kept out of her sight, at least for now. Clutching your midsection, you coughed rather incessantly into your forearm, feeling your fractured ribs crunch against your stomach. It was excruciating, yet bearable.
Finding it harder and harder to breathe, you instinctively fired the grapple gun at the ceiling, and shot off into the air.
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