Jun, Thursday 13, 2007 - Nighttime 11:32 PM

“Well, it seems like we have a party on our hands,” Paradox joked, his eyes glinting with mischief.

“Yeah, a party of losers I'm going to kill, starting with the one who hit me with that hammer,” Norika growled, her gaze fixed on the newcomers.

In front of them stood three individuals. The first was a well-dressed man exuding confidence and charm. He wore an expensive suit in shades of black and blue, paired with a crisp white shirt and a matching tie. His perfectly styled hair framed his handsome features, and his deep brown eyes were both captivating and calculating.

‘Hmm, from the looks of him, he seems to be the boss. As for the other two...’ Paradox mused, taking in the appearance of the man's companions.

The second was a mountain of a man, standing well over six feet tall with a physique sculpted from years of hard labor and intense training. His face bore a perpetual scowl, and he wore loose-fitting clothing and sturdy work boots.

‘That must be the one who hit Norika, judging from the hammer in his hand,’ Paradox thought, then shifted his gaze to the last of the new arrivals, a strikingly beautiful woman with a severe, almost sinister beauty. She stood around 5'7" with long, raven-black hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her pale skin contrasted sharply with her vivid green eyes, which seemed to glow eerily under the moonlight. She wore a dark, flowing robe that concealed her lithe figure, giving her the appearance of a mystical sorceress.

‘Appearances aren’t everything, I guess. Better be careful of her,’ Paradox thought warily.

“Well, Norika, it seems like these three came to play. Mind entertaining our guests?” he asked with a knowing smile.

“You don’t even have to ask. I was already going to fight them myself. You stay out of it, Father,” Norika replied, an evil glint in her eyes promising pain and suffering.

Without further hesitation and not letting the newcomers speak, she took off with lightning speed, launching a deadly knee strike toward the face of the man with the hammer. The blow caused his head to turn slightly.

“Ha, got you,” she smirked, only for her expression to turn into surprise when the man grinned, seemingly unfazed by the strike. He grabbed her by the leg and slammed her into the ground, then raised his foot to crush her.

‘He’s strong but slow,’ she thought, deftly evading the strike by jumping into the air, spinning around, and launching multiple kicks mid-air, all yielding the same result.

‘Just how sturdy is this guy?’ Her instincts kicked in as a dart filled with a purple liquid flew past her. ‘That was close. I better watch my back.’

“Ha, this girl is pretty good,” the man in the suit said. “Why don’t you join us? I'll make it worth your while.”

“As if I would join people like you. I have morals. Besides, I just want to kill you and rip you limb from limb,” Norika retorted.

She took off even faster than before, coating her leg in the intense heat of her flames before delivering a devastating kick to the chest of the man with the hammer, sending him flying.

‘With the increased power my flames give me, I can at least deal some damage to the big guy,’ she thought, preparing to launch another attack. Then, a thought crossed her mind about what she had discussed with her father.

‘Why don't I just scan them with the watch?’ With that, she proceeded to scan them with the Omni-Watch without them knowing, finding out their names, abilities, and memories.

‘Hmm. These guys will be tough to beat, but nothing I can't handle,’ she confidently told herself.

‘She is doing quite well, but if she doesn’t stop holding back, she will lose this fight,’ Paradox noted, shaking his head. ‘She has a habit of playing with her food before finishing them off.’

The man she had kicked away, now identified as Marcus, or "The Hammer," made his way back toward her with no visible injuries, except the burned imprint of her foot on his chest.

“That was quite the attack, girly, but let me show you what a man can do,” Marcus taunted.

“Yeah, and what can you do, big guy?” she retorted tauntingly.

Angered, Marcus raised his hammer and slammed it into the ground, causing it to shake as if an earthquake had hit, creating a crack leading up to Norika.

‘Okay, maybe the big guy does have some power to back up his boasts,’ she thought, jumping into the air but instantly leaning back as a bullet whizzed past her.

‘He’s still up, and how can he shoot with one arm and this accurately?’ She lost concentration, trying to figure it out, when a hammer slammed into her chest, sending her crashing into a tree before falling to the ground.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

She struggled to stand, feeling the strength of the hammer’s blow. ‘So this is how it feels to get hit by a 20-ton hammer. It feels good,’ she grinned, her lust for battle growing.

‘Oh no, she’s going to drag out this battle even longer, isn’t she? Going by the look on her face, and is she drooling?’ Paradox shook his head in disappointment.

Coating her hand with fire, Norika heated the ground beneath her, creating magma. She picked up a ball of magma and launched it at high speed toward Marcus, who knocked it back at her, forcing her to jump to the side.

‘He’s getting a little faster. Don’t tell me that the longer the fight drags on, the faster and stronger he becomes. He must have a limit; he’s only human after all,’ she thought.

As soon as her left foot touched the ground, she took off in a burst of speed, appearing in front of Marcus with a ball of fire in her hand. “Say night-night,” she said, sending him deep into the forest.

“Now, before he gets back, let me deal with the two of you,” she turned toward the boss and the doctor.

“Two? You must be blind; it's three,” the woman known as Helga retorted, only to be silenced as she saw Norika holding an unconscious Felix, or "Fox," by the collar.

“Are you talking about this guy? I took care of him right before I sent the big guy flying. You’re just too slow to notice, teehee,” Norika teased, tossing Felix over towards them. “Now, time to deal with you two.”

She took off again, using the fire on her feet to propel her forward, sweeping Helga’s feet out from under her and following up with a knee to the chest, cracking a few ribs and almost knocking her out.

“Heh, you sure are quite weak and fragile, not worth my time. So leave,” she said, tossing Helga against a tree, fully rendering her unconscious.

“Now it’s just me and Boss Man,” she smirked, knowing he was far stronger than all three of his men combined.

“My, to think you would deal with my men that quickly. I must commend you, but you are at the end of your road,” the man said.

“What do you—” she began, but was cut off as a fist with titanium brass knuckles embedded itself in her stomach, causing her legs to almost give out.

‘What just happened? I didn’t even see him move, nor did I sense him.’

“I bet you’re wondering what just happened. You see, I don’t normally get into physical fights, but I’m not one to shy away from a fight,” he said.

“So you normally just hide in the background and give orders. That’s pretty boring. And here I had some respect for you as a strong fighter,” she retorted.

“Respect? As kind as that may be, I don’t need it. All I need is power and control. And after I destroy this city with that bomb, I’m going to rebuild it and become its ruler.”

"As if I’ll let that happen!" Norika shouted, her voice echoing with defiance. She took off running, flames igniting on the soles of her feet. In a blur of movement, she circled around him, creating a wall of fire.

"Pathetic," he sneered. With a casual gesture, he reached out, grabbed the flames, and hurled them aside.

"Huh? What just happened?" Norika gasped, finding herself on the receiving end of a powerful fist, this time aimed directly at her face.

"Seems like she’s in a bit of a pickle," Paradox mused to himself. "Too bad his plan won't come to fruition. It would have been fun to see. With the constant influx of flames from Norika and the building collapsing, the bomb is destroyed."

Norika pulled out her sword and released the First Rune. "Hmm, I see. So the erasing flames I can normally use are weaker without my sword. But I can only erase what I am equal to or stronger than."

With a determined swing of her blade, she sent a crescent blast of fire at him. He destroyed it with a single punch from his titanium knuckles.

Undeterred, she followed up with three more slashes from different angles. Each time, he almost countered them, but the fire combusted, creating a massive explosion. As the smoke cleared, Victor stood there, virtually unharmed, save for his torn suit and a bloodied lip.

"That was quite a good attack. You sure are strong, and I can tell you're still holding back," he said with a grin.

"What are you grinning for when you’re losing?" Norika challenged, only to be met with a hammer to the face. She was knocked into a tree and dazed.

"Oh, I see stars and birds," she muttered, wobbling before shaking it off. "Great, he's back already."

She charged at Marcus, swinging her sword down. Their weapons clashed with equal force, her blade meeting his hammer. Gritting her teeth, she increased the heat of her flames, forcing Marcus to step back.

"Can't take the heat, big guy? Then get out of the kitchen!" She continued to raise the temperature until the ground around them started to melt. However, she was sent flying by a knee to the chin from Marcus. While in the air, he threw his hammer, hitting her square in the chest.

"Okay, maybe I should not talk so much trash, then get my ass kicked," she thought, struggling to stand and regain her balance.

"Why doesn't she use her other abilities? Does she only want to use her fire abilities, or is she still trying to maintain cover?" Paradox mused, confused by his future daughter’s actions.

"Well, anyway, this battle is about to be over."

Jun, Thursday 13, 2007 - Nighttime 11:50 PM

In a way, Paradox was right. The battle ended shortly after as Victor decided to retreat, realizing the fight was going nowhere. From what he could see of the destroyed warehouse, the bomb was no longer usable.

Norika, being who she was, tried to chase after them. Marcus had to carry their fallen comrades, but Paradox stopped her.

"Why are you stopping me?" she glared at him.

"Easy there. Don’t get mad at me. Besides, the only reason he left is because I’m still here. If you were on your own, you would have been defeated."

"Tch, fine. You’re right. If I didn’t hold back so much, I could have won."

"Always thinking about winning. Just remember, as good as winning is, having fun is also important. Now, let’s get back and report the mission."

They reported back to Division Omega-7, detailing their mission and everything that had happened while keeping certain details to themselves.

"My, it seems like these two will be far more of an asset than I initially thought," Director Rachel said with an amused glint in her eyes, watching the recording of their fights, especially Norika’s.