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The remaining thugs closed in; Jessica charged like a tiger among sheep.
Anthony's hellish training hurt, but the results were obvious—she was faster, her reflexes sharper.
Before, she'd swung wild and raw; now she knew how to spend the least effort for the most damage.
One brute tried to stab her in the neck from behind.
Without even turning—as if she had eyes in the back of her head—Jessica backhanded him.
Smack!
The thug pin-wheeled away, slammed into the wall, and wedged between bricks so tightly you couldn't pry him out.
She weaved through the crowd, every move fluid, violence turned art.
Barely two minutes.
The floor was littered with groaning thugs.
Only one was left, a heavy-caliber energy cannon trembling in his hands as he aimed at Jessica.
"D-don't come any closer!"
Jessica stopped, adjusting her breathing.
She didn't rush him.
She glanced at Dave, giving him a look.
Dave instantly zoomed the lens, framing a tight close-up of her face.
Slowly Jessica raised her hand and, just as Anthony had taught her, gave the leader a single, vertical palm-heel lightly pressed downward.
Grandmaster poise.
"Drop the weapon," she said coolly, "or lose a few bones."
The thug flung the gun aside and hugged the floor, hands behind his head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Heavy footsteps echoed nearby.
From the shadows loomed a colossus.
O'Neil Black, the "Bone-Cruncher."
Even uglier in the flesh than in the photos.
Over two metres tall, muscles bulged like grotesque tumours, skin lava-black shot through with throbbing cyan veins. Blood-red eyes, drool at the corners of his mouth—something straight out of hell.
"Hun… gry…"
The Bone-Cruncher fixed his gaze on Jessica and slurred a growl.
"Ugly as sin," Jessica judged. "Your mom must really love you."
"DIE!!!"
The Bone-Cruncher thundered straight at her!
His speed bore no relation to his bulk—fast as a runaway tank!
Jessica instinctively raised her arms to block.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening blast.
Jessica felt like she'd been hit by a fully loaded freight train.
Even with her bracers absorbing the blow, the kinetic energy blasted her off her feet!
She punched through a brick wall, smashed a generator to scrap, and finally crashed into a heap of junk metal.
"Ugh…" Jessica spat bloody saliva.
"fuck… that thing's got some serious horsepower."
Her current limit was around twenty tons; the monster's charge had delivered at least thirty.
The Bone-Cruncher gave her no time to breathe. He snatched a multi-ton forklift and hurled it like a toy!
"Crap!"
Jessica rolled away in a frantic dodge.
CRASH!
The forklift cratered the floor.
Roaring, the monster leapt. Fan-sized fists tore the air, raining wild hammer-blows on Jessica.
All she could do was turtle behind her shield. Her proud strength meant nothing against him; head-on would only get her broken.
WHAM! WHAM!
A punch clipped her shoulder—pain so sharp she almost screamed.
"Where're you runnin', my little turkey?" the Bone-Cruncher sneered, grabbing her arm-shield.
Jessica was flung, slamming into a pillar.
Her organs felt scrambled.
Far away the cameraman's hands shook, but he kept shooting, chanting: "Get it! We need that hopeless vibe!"
Jessica struggled to stand.
The Bone-Cruncher loomed, fists raised high for a finishing strike.
"Guess I've gotta chug that green crap after all?"
Her fingers brushed the T-VEX on her belt.
"No."
The blond bastard's voice echoed in her head, back on the training ground.
"Your heart's racing, Queenie."
"Calm it."
"Empty your mind—be like water, my friend."
Jessica's hand left the vial.
She exhaled stale air.
In that instant the clamour faded.
She watched the giant fists descending.
Fast—
—yet in her eyes… they slowed.
"Focus…"
Jessica looked up, panic gone, only serenity left.
CRACK—!
She snapped her arms across her chest!
Vibranium bracers shifted form!
A silver round-shield snapped into place!
The Bone-Cruncher's fists hammered the shield!
CLANG—!!! A deafening metallic peal.
At the instant of contact Jessica bent her knees, twisted her waist; her body became a precise bearing, redirecting the force with a slight spin!
Dissolve!
The monster's terrifying power slid along the curved shield, guided aside!
His balance broke!
His massive frame lurched forward uncontrollably.
"Now!" Jessica's eyes flashed.
Borrow force, return force!
Instead of retreating she stepped into his centre-line!
The shield snapped back, then, powered by her hips, rammed upward!
The blow fused the monster's own momentum with Jessica's near-twenty-ton limit!
The rim smashed square into the Bone-Cruncher's jaw!
CRACK!!! Bone shattered.
His huge head snapped back; broken teeth and black blood sprayed sky-high.
"Aaaargh!" He staggered, howling.
"Not done yet!" Jessica pressed the advantage.
She disengaged the shield, hands forming palms.
"Parting Wild Horse's Mane!"
Her left arm parried his frantic swing; her right, a knife-hand, chopped his larynx with a howl of wind!
"Ghk…" Clutching his throat, the monster could make no sound.
"Single Whip!"
Jessica spun; her left arm whipped like steel, slamming his temple!
THUD!
The blow wrecked his equilibrium.
The mountain of meat toppled, dust billowing.
"Finisher!"
She sprang high, waist taut, arms extending into twin shields—body curved like a drawn bow.
Using gravity plus the combined shield impact—
SHUNK—!
The rim bit deep where neck met shoulder!
Bone cracked loud in the empty warehouse.
The monster's roar cut short.
His huge frame twitched, more air leaving than entering.
The cameraman trembled with excitement.
"G-gorgeous! This clip hits the front page for sure!"
Jessica stood over the fallen titan, catching her breath.
She stared at her own hands, hardly believing it.
A grin tugged at her lips. "That blond bastard's stuff actually works!"
"M-mor…"
The Bone-Cruncher suddenly gripped Jessica's ankle—still alive, tenacious as a cockroach.
"What?" Jessica frowned. "What are you trying to say?"