Rafferty watched as the God paced the floor of its little prison. It would take three big steps, stop in front of the wall, then turn and walk along the next wall. Rafferty wondered if it would do this forever if they let it.

The was a Class One, so it wasn't very dangerous. Blaspheme said that fighting a Class One was like fighting someone's tall uncle, if he were really slow and shiny. Sometimes even the Class Ones had nasty accessories, but Rafferty didn't see any here. It looked like it might have had one of those sonic pulse things on top of its head at one point, but someone had knocked it off.

Rafferty stood with Katrin on the ground floor of the building, looking down into the lower level where the God was trapped. She noticed that its metal was dented and scraped in lots of places, and wondered how often Katrin came here.

"How did it get here?" Rafferty asked.

"Fell through the hole in the floor. Couldn't get out," answered Katrin.

"So how does this work?" Rafferty asked.

In answer to the question, Katrin jumped into the pit. The God approached her, still indifferent. Katrin balled her fists, and squeezed tightly. Her bright white elbow guards shone blue, and she uncoiled a couple of punches to the God's midsection. The second lifted it off the ground, and it slid backwards after it landed on its feet.

Rafferty winced as Katrin attacked with her bare hands. Striking God metal without special gloves was a good way to break bones, but Katrin didn't seem to mind.

Katrin had its attention now, and the God lurched after her, grabbing for her with its long arms. She ducked under those arms as she backed up. Rafferty was a little nervous as Katrin neared the wall. The room was small enough that she could be cornered. If that happened, even a God this size could be dangerous. Rafferty wondered at what point she should jump in, and exactly how Katrin would feel about that.

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When Katrin backed into the corner, she waited for the God to reach for her with its left hand. She jumped, just a bit, stuck out her left foot, and pushed against the wall. She bounced off each wall twice as she rose to the level of its head, the Blue spreading from the sole of her boot until it pulsed in a spot on her right knee. She delivered a perfect kick just under the God's neck that knocked it across the room.

All before it could finish its sweeping attempt to grab her.

That was beautiful.

Katrin jumped back out of the pit, landing near Rafferty. The God was already getting up.

"Your turn," Katrin said. "Don't break my toy."

Rafferty hopped down to the God's level. It came after her right away, apparently not differentiating between Rafferty and the person who had actually attacked it.

She ran straight at it, and then slid hard across the floor, gliding between its legs. The God groped for her, but missed. Class Ones had trouble with things low to the ground. They didn't bend very well, and didn't kick like the bigger ones.

Rafferty sported a big smile as she popped up off the floor.

I always wanted to do that.

The God was turning toward her, but much too slowly. She waited for it to get about halfway through the turn, and jumped. Her bracelets sparkled as she struck the God in the face.

OWWWWW!

The blow had sent it sprawling off balance, but damn did that hurt. If she'd cracked a knuckle, she was going to have a hard time hiding that from Trevor.

Her dander up, Rafferty dashed after the God, and jumped again, intending to deliver a two footed kick to its chest that she thought would lay it out flat.

She flew a little too close, and felt the big metal hands close around her shoulders.

Stupid long arms!

"Need help?" she heard Katrin call.

Rafferty tried to force herself to stay calm. After all, she had, like, at least three whole seconds before its grip crushed her clavicle.

Her legs were free. She tapped her feet together, hard, and pushed against the God's chest. The burst of Blue sent the God flying across the room, and Rafferty flying in the other direction. She slammed into the wall, sliding down it in a way that she assumed was not rife with dignity.

She looked across the room. The God was down, and wasn't getting up right away. Her head ached, her shoulders burned, and her right hand throbbed.

It was the best she'd felt in two weeks.

"You're right," Rafferty said. "This is great."