The Imperial Open Top 8 Round - Derry VS Striker

Striker was moments from falling and getting smacked around before she powered up her strikes. Finally scoring her hit and tossing her back before she found gravity had taken her back to the ground. The chill of energy pooling away from the immediate vicinity, she thought was just a draft of cold Arcosian air from before. Not like she didn't expect the cold. But the wind directing itself towards Derry, visibly, even with the way both of their clothes rustled, drew her mind to the idea he was drawing something there.

So precariously close to the edge, she could try ending it here. And he had similar ideas. Two giant fireballs form in his hands, slowly bringing them together. It was as if he had taken whatever energy in the form of heat was left on the planet and greedily put it into this one massive attack. The cold she felt before tugging at her suddenly started pushing the wind out in the opposite direction. Nearly flinging the diminutive alien off her feet.

"Sheesh."
She could stand there covering her eyes and waiting for the flames to catch her... OR, she could be balsy. She could risk everything here on the present, and use the rules to her advantage. Her plan required her to dive straight forwards and catch him while he was open. He was stronger than her by a considerable margin, and it would take her a considerable effort to keep from becoming burnt rodent in the long term. Her maneuver?

Go right in.

The fauxbian curled up and revved her engines for just a split second as pink flame came chasing her. And moments before she was overwhelmed by the blaze, she darted INTO it. Parting some of the energy away with the sheer momentum alone, while some of the latent electricity took the edge off the burning heat that now violated her. This hurt. This was dumb. Her body screamed as she lit herself on fire.

But she was dashing straight at Derry. Aiming to catch him in the gut and send him flying with what might she had left in her. With any luck, she could wrap this up before it got too dangerous and screwed with her chances of winning.

"CATCH THIS!"

---

Little green managed to land true, her overly zealous tactic landing her a surprised gasp from the president and a crowd's applause as she hurtled through the odds. Smashing into an absolute wall before taking even more fire around the hairs. Another hopeless sense of dread surrounded her as she just wasn't strong enough to push him around like this. He might have been stronger than Jinx at this point. Her movements approaching forced him to kneel as he just... ERUPTS INTO MORE FIRE!

"What the... heck! OW Hothothot"
Her small balled form would be covered, and she had no qualms bouncing away once she smacked against the now pink Skeletor that bolstered himself with more fire and a sick design. The foreign crowd would be in a mix of awe and cheers as they've most likely never seen such a presence coming from a human of all places. The gravitational shielding surrounding the arena shimmered in an array of blue and gold trying to keep this guy's power down. Striker had no such sense, even now, but as she unfurled and caught her breath on the ground she bore witness to this form... she shivered a little.

That electricity vanished from her fatigued form, tiredness washing over the small fauxbian. Some pink flames find themself burning the tips of her hair before dying off into her coat, leaving the fauxbian covered in burns and scrapes from her last attempt to end this. Jeez... It was going to take a while if this guy kept hiding away surges of strength like this. Her blue eyes struggled to focus on the much more imposing human now. Yet... she smiled. It wasn't often she felt like the underdog nowadays.

"Are you kidding me? Super Saiyan? You're on that level???"
The little green thing tried standing as Derry spoke, nowhere near quick enough to evade kicks from a maxed-out roid human with a fire skull. It was almost embarrassing how quick he was now compared to her. "Nooo, he even sounds cool! IRK-" Slight fascinated fangirling aside, she was in a kneel by the time she took some kicks. Derry's sheer power now had no real counterplay that didn't just take it while she gathered energy.

From his point of view, her wild movements now looked sluggish. Her body is no less a burden to toss around than a soccer ball. A few of the kicks would spike her back to the ground, where she let out painful cries. Trying to roll away would prove too slow, the one time she tried she just took another.

"There has to be something...!"
Internal thoughts aside, she would be here for a moment...

---

As fun as it was for to act as a ball for someone's sport, Striker wouldn't be able to take blows like that for long. The little girl had to push past the beatings and curl up into a ball. Putting energy back into it with the intent to dart away from him rather than strike him with anything substantial yet. Her body moved, slow in his perception but far enough away where he'd get his little boss walk. Just in time too as that green lightning seemed to amp back up around her extremities. This time when she unfurled to face him, she was able to stand out from it.

"No kidding... "
Her body was covered in ki marks and bruises, a little swelling blocking up her right eye. Her energy was a lot different from most, some would even call it magic from how innate it was to her being. How she was this strong right now? Hardly a fruit of training labor, or some untapped power that needed batteries. This was just... her. And then the President went on about the true nature of this power, why he had it, no doubt what Jinx told her personally was the case. More and more of these guys would just get stronger and Jinx was desperate to make sure she could keep pace with them.

Striker only had her own references from 'Super Saiyan'. And, well, Super Jinx, but she hardly could copy forms as well as her majin friend could. It would be far easier for Derry to punt her out of the ring, but he instead gave her some moments to breathe and take in the awe of his form. Coaxing the little green fuzzball to take her first move against him like this as a 'demonstration'.

"I... know. All of that."
It would be up to her grit and luck if and when she'd get such power herself. As it always had. "But until I get that... I will continue to fight and to deck every single last enemy of my home. Every enemy of my friends, my family... And yes, every enemy of my own. You might have a new cool look and powers, but I won't stop! Striker gets what she needs to do DONE!"
Taking his offer, she'd spinning up into a ball again. Slowed from his perception, it was still quick enough to blur her features into one homogenous ball that would rip into the tiles on her way to him! With any luck, she would hit him with the same force as last time.

---

Can't knock a girl for trying, huh? The small pinball of an alien would hit and bounce off the President with minimal impact. Launching herself a few meters back. The green rodent would unfurl midair to catch her fall back to earth, preparing for what was sure to come next. The best she got out of that was scratching his jacket a bit, so all hope was not lost. She'd smirk with those sharp teeth and chuckle a bit. Her own clothes weren't looking too hot, with some holes in them from the pink flames smacking her a few times.

"Oh, yeah, that'll buff out."
She was about to lose, wasn't she? he was moved maybe a foot or so from one of her stronger dashes. She can't just give up though. Those gloved hands ball up into fists as she raises them again for the next attempt. It was Derry's turn, and it would be swift by his own calculation. She was hardly stronger in form than one of his weaker strikes like this. "I'm NOT DONE-" As strong as she was, blocking this incoming strike wasn't on the schedule for today. Nor was dodging, or anything. Her poor arms were batted away with the flurry of booted kics at her face.

She was struggling to stand then, but after? That last kick found itself planting her straight to the ground. The crowd gasped in fear of the girl's well-being as she was put down. Flames threatening to roast a poor soul who for a moment's vision flashed white. This feeling of helplessness and being overpowered... It was familiar to her. She couldn't recall any memory of it, but Striker knew this feeling. Was it... The Mother speaking parting words to her? Was she really going to lose here?

Derry would feel his foot stop suddenly. Green lightning was, all the while, entwined with the pink flames. A flash of gold sparking a similar gold lightning that seemed to jolt the Fauxbian back to her senses. In all of what took a moment to stomp her, time seemed to slow and allow the Fauxbian to spin into a ball. A sudden burst of a golden aura surged around her as she not only could suddenly beat away the stomp, but continued to grow in power as she spun on the ground. Before Derry could back off from the girl, this explosion of golden energy would permeate and bleed into her hair, changing her hairs from dull green to vibrant gold.

"No! I... PROMISED!"
her voice boomed as a sudden rainbow blast of energy threw off that assaulting kick, the bouncing yellow ball suddenly launching itself at Derry. His scouter would be hot as the containment of the Arena struggled to keep her energy to that of the standard 1,300,000. With two warriors in that range, the gravitational shell was putting in overtime to keep them in check. Hit or miss, she'd bounce away from Derry. Gaining her unique quickness against insurmountable strength once again. As she unfurled, she opened her eyes to the golden warrior she had become.

That simple glow of red in her eyes turned to bleed into her pupils, and the golden aura of a super warrior surrounded her now. It did look explicitly like it pulled from a similar fury the legendary super saiyan did, down to the actual color. Striker looked at herself for a moment in disbelief. Something that would last all of three seconds before her grin returned. A loud cackling coming from such a small form resonated with the crowd absolutely losing their shit at TWO super warriors now.

"It's like I said, Derrick! I punch over my weight class!"

---

The collective cries of the crowd paled in comparison to the President's shocked expression. Striker took another moment to feel the crackle of gold lightning and the aura absolutely feeling like a high. She'd never really felt so energized before, it was like a kid jacked up on way too many sodas. The previous fatigue, the injuries that slowed her before? Tucked away in the back of her mind as her body seemed to forget them for the moment. A thumb comes up to point at her own chest.

"I don't rightly know myself! Maybe my subconscious mind liked the look of a Super Saiyan! Whatever this superpower is, it's all-natural, as easily as I breathe. Just the next step for me, Striker! Does that make me Super?"
She'd try a few other names in her mind before snapping her fingers. "SUPER STRIKER! That sounds cool. Looks like those blondes too, so bonus points!" Derry wasn't having any of this though, quick to pull more flame into his hand and hurl it her way. Unlike her last few attempts to barrel straight through his attacks, this golden fauxbian opted for a more refined approach.


"Not this time!~"
Her golden form moved suddenly, natural as walking, and sidestepped the duo blasts of flame gunning for her. Rather the let there be any spinup for the attack, Striker suddenly hopped into the air and tucked herself into a ball. The air surrounding the cold arena was thrown around from the blitzing speed of the near-instant wind-up of her spin. Moments later, she'd be diving at Derry with a renewed sense of self and confidence that no doubt was only helped by the super saiyan-like energy now incorporated into her body.

---

Now THAT was what she was looking for. for a while, her hits have been soaked up by this guy as he just kept growing in ferocity and vigor. Shaking off most of her hits like someone just tossed a basketball his way rather than a speeding doom dot that was Striker. The golden fauxbian would fling him across the stage in a single hit this time. Rolling away from the point of impact and unfurling with enthusiastic jumping and shouting.

"Booyeah!"
The crowd's going wild, and nobody could really blame them. It took the Arcosian top brass to even come close to these two's power and techniques. This was exactly what they were holding this for, Striker reckoned. And she was already getting more out of it herself than some fame and prize money. "Say, Mister Prez! Why not me and you talk biz afterward? Win or lose, you must see now the power I hold!" Even though she had been spending loads of energy, her aura and posture begged to deny her rest, seeming to pump her up even more after such a successful attack.

Which meant she would be in the lead to take initiative again. With Derry on the back foot, possibly cursing to himself, Striker was at the ready to lunge forth with her attacks again. Opting to, instead of jumping straight up at him, disappear momentarily from sight to reappear right beside him. Already propped up in the air and poised to deliver a kick right into the back of his head. What time he got to catch a breath probably wouldn't give him much recourse to stop her. And not letting up after that, she'd drop to the ground and throw a double-fisted hammer strike to his back. Should he not be able to turn to either of these, she was on her way to putting him into the tiled dirt.

---

Striker was clean in her recovery from the kick, spinning with the motion of driving the human back to the center stage with an elegant roll back to her feet. The girl did indeed just have the sort of punk look that made her stand out as some sort of musician or thrash artist. Which, he wasn't wrong to assume, but her looks only factored into one of her aspects. The girl would rub a gloved hand through her spiky hair and pull one of the large bundles back straight into a place where it was previously bent from the engagement.

"Yeah, I'm a musician. Play in a band, all that stuff. But you know what else I do? Well, let's call in contract work."
She knew most suits liked keeping a public image of sorts. Even if she didn't know how far the rabbit hole went, sh figured he was shadier than he put on. Maybe it was just embezzling money and taking corporate bribes, but who couldn't use a super-powered merc for some odd jobs? The vagueness would let Derry keep the thought without having to out himself as anything just yet. They'd continue their main focus until then.

With blasts now pouring down range at her, the best thing she could try is outrunning his aim. He perhaps figured she could be tracked, but it was time to put that to the test. Dipping low, she'd ready herself to break out in a supersonic sprint. Dashing around the arena and in circles both away and around Derry. She was most curious to see just how well he could time any shot. As of right now, all these little peashooters fell behind her.

"Keep trying!~"
She'd shout beyond the absolute cracking air she he bursting from her speed, creating more rips in the cold Arcosian environment that would shake the boundaries of the ring itself with their bout.

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