Arkdone outweighed Meg by seventy pounds and stood eight inches taller. His custom-made dress shirt concealed his enhanced physique compliments of a version of the Infinite serum predating Meg. As he clenched his fists, the muscles in his tan forearms rippled. Meg studied his movements looking for a pattern she could use to predict where and how he would strike.
There was no pattern.
He shifted from left to right fluidly showing no dominant preference.
His movements were predatory.
Arkdone basked in the attention. A smile etched itself across his smug face giving Meg pause.
His attack was swift and severe.
He reached out and grabbed her hair, yanking her head down.
Instinctively, she grabbed his hand with both of hers, gouging her fingernails into the pressure points between his knuckles and took two giant steps back, dragging him down with her.
He had to let go and catch himself before he hit the ground, but Meg had other plans. She grabbed his head and smashed his face into her knee repeatedly before throwing him down to the ground and kicking him in the ribs.
Arkdone was still grinning through the blood smeared from his shattered nose.
He flipped onto his side and sent a powerful kick into her knee. Meg felt a sharp pop before buckling to the ground. He sprung up and moved to pounce. Meg rolled away barely escaping his landing.
Praying to God that her knee would still support her, she leaped to her feet, spun in the air and used both feet to hammer him in the chest. On impact, Arkdone’s body flung back and whacked against the front grill of a parked Jeep.
He casually moved to stand, but not before grabbing a handful of earth. “That wasn’t very nice,” he hissed as he flung the dirt into Meg’s face.
He hit his mark. The earth stung her eyes angrily, blurring her vision and throwing off her concentration.
“Come on Meg! You were doing so well. Don’t let the momentum stop!” he taunted.
Tears choked her vision. She tried to keep her fists up, desperately working to blink the barbed granules from her eyes. “Slinging dirt, Arkdone? Really? How childish,” she chided, stalling.
“Ah, but technically still within the rules.” He stalked her like prey.
Meg could only see a blurry version of him grinning deviously at her.
“I know I really must wind this up,” He sucker punched her in the gut and watched her double-over, blind and breathless. His elbow came down hard between her shoulder blades, slamming her to the ground. “But hurting you just feels so right!”
Meg flipped over a second too late. Arkdone was on her. His hands wrapped like hot steel around her throat, thumbs gouging painfully into her trachea.
“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed in you, Meg.” He spoke between clenched teeth. “I was expecting so much more fight out of you.”
Meg’s hands clutched his. She raked at Arkdone’s knuckles, desperately trying to claw them loose before raising her hips and slamming her butt down, crunching her forearms over his. The move had him off balance and no longer able to use the weight of his body to press into the vulnerable flesh at her neck.
She used the momentum to jerk her knee up hard, kneeing him in a way that would have rendered any other man immobile.
The pain she caused only seemed to enrage her attacker.
Not letting up, she fought to shift her hips and pulled her knees tight to her chest and kicked against his rock-hard chest.
Arkdone was thrown back just long enough for Meg to get to her feet. Though her eyes still stung, her vision was returning.
Dark bruising in the distinct shape of his hands blossomed on her neck. She shoved aside the panic she felt knowing how close she’d been to blacking out.
Arkdone lowered his head and ran full-speed at her chest. Her body slammed into the side of a supply truck. A half-dozen metamonarchs and metahumans, who had been using the vehicle as elevated vantage to enjoy the match, cheered at the crunchy, wet thwack her head made against the solid metal.
Arkdone’s attack was unrelenting. He sent a barrage of blows to her core, aiming for vital organs. Dizzy with pain, Meg knew she needed to break away from him so instinctively she shifted away from his next strike causing the Senator to land his punch into the metal truck. A fist-shaped dent was left in his wake.
Meg flung herself into a backflip, kicking Arkdone square in the jaw as she went. She landed crouched before springing into a roundhouse slapping his ear with the sharp edge of her boot.
Still desperately trying to catch her breath, she retreated to the other side of the clearing.
The roar of the crowd warned her he was on her heels.
His hot hand grabbed the back of her head and propelled her forward, smashing her face into the gnarly trunk of the oak tree. Meg felt the scratchy bark dig into her face and tried to keep the scream from escaping her open mouth.
“You’ll never cross me again.” He yanked her arm back at an impossible angle and stomped on the backs of her knees, forcing her to collapse, bark raking itself into her flesh as she went.
He twisted her wrist with a vicious yank. One move and several bones in her arm and hands would snap beneath his bear trap.