53 A Fair Figh

Sable, Duke, and Michelle were relatively quiet as they walked down the halls, navigating their way to the conference room where the other girls were being held. They had a good idea of where it was from Alec's drilling of the map into their head, but they hadn't memorized every room number, so they still had to look around a bit. The three were mostly avoiding guards, not wanting to make a commotion and draw others there, or have any unnecessary fighting. Right now, their objective was to find the girls and take them safely back to the others. Eventually, they saw a room that seemed more heavily guarded.

"The marker on the door says Conference Room 4." Sable looked intently around the corner, and though it was some distance she seemed to be able to make it out fine.

"Didn't know you had eagle eyes, Sable." Michelle grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, good for you! Some of us can't see." Duke jokingly scowled.

"Why not wear glasses or contacts?" Michelle said.

"Doesn't fit my brand. I live like this now." Duke said, seemingly in all seriousness.

"Seriously?"

"Really?"

Michelle and Sable seemed equally irked by Duke's refusal to wear glasses.

"Whatever," Michelle said. "We have to somehow get past these guards. Up until now it's been easy, but there's only three of us and about five of them. I'm sure we can take them, but we shouldn't underestimate them."

"Sable, you can hit 'em from here, right?" Duke looked at Sable.

"Yes." Her one word response was slightly unsettling.

"Ok, well, Sable will knock them out, then us two will go in and mess them up, while Sable provides backup from over here. It'd be good for her to concentrate on targeting them without having to worry about hand-to-hand combat." Duke worked out the plan.

"Ok." Another one word response.

"Well, do ya thing, girl." Michelle grinned at Sable, who nodded.

Bright spikes of light jutted out of the ground faster than any of the men could react, piercing them directly through their bodies. The spikes vanished moments later, as Sable couldn't hold them for long. But they had done their job, the men groaned on the floor in pain.

"Now!" Duke shouted as he sprinted out towards the men. Michelle quickly dashed out behind him. The men shakily scrambled to the ground, but barely had time to react. Duke sent a heated punch toward one's face, knocking him out instantly, while Michelle laid deep scratches onto one's chest. Those two were down for the count. They watched as one of the men's fists burst into flames.

"Uh-oh." Michelle grimaced before turning to Duke. "Uh, that sounds like a you problem." She dashed around the man and aimed for another man still struggling to get up. As she sent a flying kick towards his face, another bright flash of light speared through his body. He let out a howl of pain, but as he began to crumple to the ground again, Michelle's foot connected with his face. He was out, too.

"Three down, two to go." Michelle grinned and turned to the other guard before barely dodging out of the way of a slice that came way too close to her face. Taking in the man before her, she saw that his hands had morphed into sharp blades, and she really didn't want to find out what they would do when they connected with flesh.

"Two can play at this game, pal." Michelle grinned and flexed her hands as her claws glistened. She dashed toward him and swiped towards his face, and he barely dodged out of the way, pulling away with a small cut on his face.

"Pretty sharp, girly." The man smirked. "But I'm sharper." He flew back at her with his blades, and she dodged out of the way. They were throwing hits so fast it was hard to keep up, each one amassing a variety of small cuts.

Simultaneously, Duke faced the man ahead of him.

"How do you like me now?" The man sneered at Duke, before sending a flaming hit toward his face. Duke barely dodged out of the way, but the collar of his shirt caught on fire.

"Shit! You damn-" Duke quickly patted out the fire on his shirt. "I really liked this shirt!" Duke scowled.

"Maybe you shouldn't have worn it to an infiltration, then." He heard Michelle call out behind him. She seemed to be a solid match for the guard, but Duke had confidence she'd overpower him.

"How's my fire feel?" The man looked smugly at Duke, waiting to see the burn on his chest.

"Pretty nice, but I've been told I'm pretty hot, myself." The burnt part clothing crumpled away to reveal his unharmed skin below. A bright spike of light shot through the man, and before he could recover, Duke sent a searing hot hit toward his face, hitting him square across the jaw. The man stumbled, clearly shaken by the powerful punch, though the heat seemed to have very little effect on him.

"So that's how it is, huh?" The man swung back at Duke. The guard threw a flurry of hits, and though he was good, he was still shaken from the damage he had already taken, and Duke eventually overpowered him with a powerful hit to his gut. The man buckled on to the ground. Duke looked back at Michelle.

There seemed little that anyone else could do to help, as both combatants were moving so quickly neither Duke nor Sable could get a hit in without possibly injuring Michelle. So, it was all up to her to win this fight.

Michelle swiped again at the guard's face, leaving another shallow gash. The man swiped again and missed as Michelle ducked out of range. And then, she remembered the full extent of her power. Taking another step back, Michelle raised her hand and swung it in a strong arc down toward the ground. The air shot forward in a precise, powerful blast, and the man couldn't dodge at all. The air hit him across the chest, knocking him to his feet and leaving gashes on his chest.

"You little-" Before the man could climb to his feet again, Michelle grabbed his face and slammed it into her knee. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Michelle and Duke regained their bearings as Sable jogged over to where they were.

"Are you alright, Michelle?" Sable asked. She looked slightly concerned, though it was hard to tell. Duke and Sable looked Michelle up and down. She had a variety of small cuts, and her clothing was torn in various places, though upon further inspection she didn't seem seriously hurt. Mostly just completely out of breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to catch my breath. What about you, Duke?"

"Pissed my shirt got burned, but other than that, fine."

"You shouldn't have worn that shirt if you didn't want it to get damaged." Sable gave Duke a deadpan look.

"Thats what I said!" Michelle exclaimed. "Anyway, lets get in here before any guards run over here and we have to fight them again. Help me drag these bodies inside so we can rest a second inside before we bounce." Duke and Sable murmured agreement, as they used a guard's key to unlock the door. Opening it, another, smaller, group of girls sat inside. There was only maybe 6 or 7 of them. They looked frightened and had obviously heard the commotion outside.

"W-who are you?!" A girl said in a demanding way, yet she couldn't hide the shakiness in her voice. She was small, and probably about 13. Her blonde hair flowed down to her back, and her eyes were a soft grayish blue.

"I'm Duke, this is Michelle and Sable," Duke gestured to his teammates, then grinned, "and we're here to break you out."