Starlit Savages - [Carnage/Split]

Salvo grinned as her wave of power smashed right into the lamentable lizard and sent him packing for a spell. In that time, though, someone Salvo had mostly dismissed earlier popped up and started nagging for her attention. As the Arcosian recovered, Salvo crossed her arms and turned her head towards Zerori, who had popped up and blasted her full power level up like a blinding spotlight, completely blotting out anything else nearby that Salvo could have sensed. "Gah," Salvo complained and gestured dismissively for Zerori to buzz off. "Git that blimin' power 'a yers outta here! It's cloggin' up all me senses like a dump that ain't go down e'en after three flushes!"

Sure enough, Zerori's sudden appearance and what amounted to a flash bang for Salvo's energy sensing kept her distracted long enough for Verst to not only recover, but power himself up and prepare a nasty strike back. In an instant, Verst blitzed towards her, and she immediately knew she needed to respond with considerable force if she still wanted to be conscious after this exchange!

In a flash, the Heran drew her blade from her side and slashed down with it to meet the Arcosian's incoming strike. Her blade clanged against the lizard's hands in a furious and powerful impact, the force of which was so great it blasted out a shockwave that shattered the windows of several nearby buildings, and blew both Salvo's hair and the end of her coat back as if they'd just been hit by a powerful gust of wind. Despite the massive impact, though, Verst's full power strike proved superior to Salvo's hastily-concocted defense, and so her sword was swatted aside, and the Arcosian's fists clashed up against her chin. 

Salvo's teeth were immediately forced shut against each other, her jaw clenching so tightly and suddenly that one of her teeth cracked straight down the middle. Her head was then snapped back with enough force to fell a tree, and she hurtled through the air in a stunned spin for a moment - but she recovered quickly. As Verst appeared above her, she swung out with her blade once again and clashed with his fists, this time repelling his strike entirely. The Heran quickly flew a few dozen meters back and righted herself, a trickle of blood pouring from her now-chipped tooth, and a mighty bruise along the underside of her chin.

"Ha!" she cackled, apparently unperturbed by the strike. "Ye caught me lackin'! Not bad, laddy! But ye'll never git a chance like that again, so keep that in mind as I spend th' next few minutes pummelin' ye!" Salvo then turned to furrow her brows at Zerori. "As for ye," she continued, "Don't ye have anyone else in this city ye can bug? I've got a grudge match t' settle, 'ere!"

Unfortunately, the lizard seemed as though he'd live to see another day. Salvo's attack was caught midair by Jinx before it could hit its mark, and in the blink of an eye, the Majin's fist connected with the Heran's cheek at just the right angle to rocket Salvo down into the ground, where she smashed into the dirt outside the city with enough force to shake the ground and form a Salvo-shaped crater where she impacted.

Not one to stay down for long, Salvo quickly shot up out from her hole, her hair a tad more disheveled and her brow furrowed over her burning crimson eyes, with her similarly crimson-colored lips curled into a snarl at Jinx as she condescendingly explained why she actually was perfectly evil in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. She wanted to know why Salvo had to kill Verst - but did she even really need a reason beyond him standing against her in defiance? Even when her strength eclipsed his at the tournament, he'd turned up his nose at her, and how that they stood on more even ground, that cocky attitude of his had only worsened. She needed to pummel him. No one dared consider her their lesser, certainly not another pirate.

And yet, Jinx had already taken him out. Even if Salvo killed him now, there was no joy or glory to be had in it. Nor was there any joy in Jinx's so-called 'conquest' of this planet. Walking into some city and just making some announcement over the telecoms that she was in charge of the planet now, like some sort of radio host? That wasn't how planet conquering was done...

Salvo was ready to throw all of that at Jinx, alongside some punches, but... Her heart wasn't in this thing anymore. "...Ferget it," she grumbled in resignment. "Had me fun with ye and yers playin' dress up this last year, but it ain't workin' out fer me anymore. Ye can play President and get all cushy wit' th' Empire all ye want. I'll be goin' me own way, now." As for Striker, it wasn't exactly a surprise she was siding with Jinx - the two of them were obviously more aligned with one another than Salvo. Hell, they'd both gone together to Arcose for that tournament thing while they'd made Salvo have to camp out on her least favorite planet in the galaxy alone for a bunch of months. Never even thanked her for all that time she'd spent trying to put the Nova Corps name out there, of course.

Far as Salvo could see it, Jinx was mighty fine at acting nice while she made you give up things for her - but wouldn't budge an inch once you wanted to take a few things for yourself. "Next time I see ye, I'll be gittin' ye back fer that suckerpunch," Salvo warned the Majin with a glare. "And then some." With that, she stuffed her pistol back in its sheathe, and then blitzed away from the pair, who she didn't imagine would follow her anymore - either way, it was once again Salvo against the universe on her own, just the way she liked it.