The sun set, the world darkened, and the city came alive with lights. Cars and taxis streaked to and fro beneath towering skyscrapers, rushing towards their destinations only to be caught up in the slow turn of traffic. Pedestrians scurried about on the sidewalks, clubbing or shopping or heading home after a long day's work. Lampposts, windows, headlights, all shining bright against the darkening sky, illuminating the streets and pushing the shadows away into dark corners.

In those corners, however, there was still plenty of room for monsters to hide.

The woman came swaggering out of the dark with a clacking of high heels, the folds of her black dress swaying slightly as she walked. The cloth hugged her form, emphasizing her curves and contrasting nicely with smooth, pale skin and lips the color of blood. She had a dangerous air, but it was the good kind of danger, the kind that could attract hungry looks and plentiful free drinks at any good nightclub.

This woman, however, shied away from the multicolored lights and thumping music that beckoned those seeking a night of thrills and pleasure. Instead, the loud clattering of her footsteps drew closer to a short, wide building, dark and compact, the opposite of the gaudy structures dotting the rest of downtown. Superheroes certainly liked their bright lights and colors as much as anyone else, but this wasn't a building meant to attract much attention. The less people had eyes on the vault, the better.

And yet the lone maiden of the night made her way steadily towards it, stopping and waiting just outside the range of the security cameras.

Barely a minute later, the front gate opened, and two people walked out, one tall man and one short woman, quietly chatting to one another. Guards, done with their shifts and heading back for the night, bored and tired after a day of nothing happening. Smiling to herself, the woman resumed walking, quietly moving to intercept, following the two down a quiet alleyway as they made their way towards their cars.

---

The guards on the night shift watched the screens, a little confused, as a tall man came sprinting towards the building, running straight up to the main gate and jamming a hand in his pockets, fumbling around. After a few seconds, he produced a card, and swiped it past a reader, producing a green light and a beep. The gates swung open, and the man strode briskly towards the front doors, which remained firmly locked in front of him.

As he drew near, a speaker crackled to life. "Who is this? If you don't have authorization-"

The man cut in. "Relax, it's just me... Ben from day shift? You remember me, right?"

Deep inside the structure, the woman managing the security cameras ran her fingers through her hair. Was it him? He looked a little different than she remembered... but he was wearing the right clothes, and he did have an access card. She relaxed a little.

"Yeah, I do. But what the hell are you doing here? Isn't your shift over?"

"I left my phone inside. Just need to get in and find it, and I'll be right out again."

There was a long sigh in response. "Ben, you know we're not supposed to let people in, even if they work here..."

"Oh come on, seriously? I was here five minutes ago! Look, it's only going to take me a sec, and you can send someone down to keep an eye on me. Do this for me, and I'll owe you one, 'kay?"

There was a brief pause. "Fine. I'll send Parker down to let you in. You better pay me back for this later."

"Gotcha, thanks!"

Sure enough, the doors soon opened, and a bored-looking guard ushered his supposed co-worker inside. With a relieved look on his face, the tall man entered.

A moment later, the doors closed, and he lashed out, grabbing the guard by the throat and slamming him against the wall. Two quick punches, and he was down for the count, left to lie limp on the floor as his assailant continued into the complex.

As he walked, 'Ben' began to morph, his body growing more slender, his hair longer, his features more feminine. The work clothes vanished, replaced by a black dress and high heels, and he became a she, the same woman who had been wandering through the night mere minutes before. She stretched her arms, happy to return to a more elegant form. Now that she was inside, this would be a piece of cake.

---

Police sirens wailed as cars pulled up around the building, spilling out swarms of officers bearing guns and flashlights, ready for anything. Among them strode the bright shapes of heroes, angry and tense, ready for anything. A helicopter swooped overhead, a bright beam pointed towards the ground, sweeping the area for anyone trying to escape.

All eyes were on the compound where the Hero's vault was housed. The place was well-guarded, with security forces and heroes usually on standby within, there to protect the dozens of devices and artifacts being stored on-site. Now, however, the alarms of the compound were blaring, and the place was on full lockdown. The police had already tried to contact the forces inside, and had received no response. Someone had tried to break in, that much was clear- but who? How? There was no way of knowing what had gone down in these, but the worst case scenario was that the Vault had been breached If this was the case, then nobody could be allowed to leave.

The front doors slid open, revealing a lone figure, silhouetted against the bright hallway within.

Everybody tensed. Was it a supervillain? A monster? A hundred guns were pointed straight at the door, and half a dozen heroes stepped forth, ready for anything.

But it was only a girl, who looked like she'd just stepped out of a bar rather than a high security compound. There was a mild sense of confusion, but nobody backed down. Whether or not she looked like it, this woman clearly wasn't meant to be here, and that meant she was a threat. Voices blaring through loudspeakers ordered her to stand still, put her hands up, informing her that she was under arrest.

She kept on walking, brazenly making her way towards the vanguard of heroes. She had to give them some credit: their security had been a lot better than she'd thought. Getting to the vault had been easy, but breaking in had triggered an alarm she'd neglected to disable, attracting the swarm of forces now around her. It was a shame, she'd hoped to pull this off quietly. Still, she had what she wanted, and it was fun to solve things with brute force once in a while...

"STAND WHERE YOU ARE! ONE MORE STEP, AND WE WILL OPEN FIRE!"

The woman stopped, hands in the air.

And then jumped, turning into a massive black bird mid-leap, and streaked into the air with a single flap of her mighty wings. Gunshots rang out, but the creature was already gaining momentum, moving too fast for anyone to get a good shot at it.

One of the assembled heroes took off, flying upwards in pursuit. The gunshots stopped as she closed in, flying even faster than the enormous bird, quickly closing the distance and grabbing one of its wings, stopping it from flying any further. "Target apprehended!"

"Not so fast."

The voice was deep, guttural, and male, a strange sound to be coming from a sharp beak. The beak, however, was already changing, becoming a massive snout filled with sharp teeth, twisted into a wide and vicious smile. The assembled heroes watched in horror as the bird grew larger, its form changing into something far, far more massive.

It was too heavy to hold up. The heroine who had caught it made a move to fly away, but the wing she had grabbed became an immense clawed fist, wrapped tightly around her arm. With a desperate scream, she was pulled down, as the beast's weight brought it crashing down in the middle of the gathered forces.

It came down like a hammer from the sky, cracking the asphalt beneath it as it scattered police officers like bowling pins. The heroine was thrown aside, slamming into a car and going limp as the monster stood up.

Vaguely humanoid, but reptilian, covered with scales black as the ocean's depths. Almost nine feet tall, with powerful arms tipped with deadly claws, sharp ridges running down its back and arms, and a tail that lashed back and forth like a whip, knocking aside all in its path. A beast ancient beyond measure, and far, far too powerful to be challenged by mere mortals such as these.

With a blood-curdling roar, Vol Lok Ra tore into the forces surrounding him, scattering them like ants as he charged his way through them, heading for the busy streets. If he was going to wreak havoc, he might as well go all-out.

---

This is an emergency broadcast to any licensed heroes in the area. A facility near the city center has been attacked by unknown forces, and we have reason to believe the perpetrator is moving towards heavily populated areas. A civilian evacuation has been ordered. We have lost contact with six heroes present on the scene, as well as two that within the compromised facility. Target is currently on 64th headed towards main street, and is unarmed but highly dangerous. Assistance is required, repeat, assistance is required. This is an emergency broadcast...

They day was not originally supposed to be anything special. In fact, Invincible Girl, nicknamed Vincy, was having "normal person" training at the current point in time as part of her rehabilitation into the real world. She was no longer to be just a tool of war against the various monsters and villains that threatened the planet. Rather than in costume, she was dressed in a light weight, white one-piece ensemble that looked cute and casual for spring or summer time; skirt cutting off at fingertip length above the knee and short puffy sleeves. She had on pink sandals and her long golden hair was styled into braids. Despite her unnaturally white skin, she appeared to be a perfectly normal girl enjoying her day off of what would likely be high school, should she age normally.

Two other girls who were her friends, a redhead and a brunette, giggled as they walked by her side, holding onto her hands to make sure she didn't try walking out into the street again or try some other equally lethal thing that she had no self preservation instinct for. Not for her own safety, but for those around her. She seldom had to follow the rules of pedestrian traffic or the like when fighting dangerous beasts, after all.

"You're so funny, Vincy!" The girl on her left said with a smirk.

Really? Vincy was just talking about the time back at her apartment trying to make chicken noodle soup. She almost had it too. Well, guess the outcome was...interesting enough to warrant a laugh or two. She returned the smile.

"It's not my fault I thought that-"

A loud commotion caught her attention off in the distance and a police car speed past the group a mere moment later. Then another. Then a helicopter.

The other two girls took on worried expressions, although Vincy's face retained a stoic look. A pager buzzed in her pocket in accompaniment to the sirens. She knew what that meant.

Play time was over. She speed up her pace, her hands slipping out of her friend's grips as they were no match for her strength.

"Go somewhere safe. I got this," she said to them as her power walk turned into a jog that would carry her to the scene faster then even a car would be able to, given the speed limit. The emergency broadcast filled her in on the details that her pager did not as she ran. The last bit caught her attention the most. Heading towards main street. Well of all the luck.

A large lizard man entered the sidewalk almost directly on top of her at the intersection. She planted her right foot down and skidded forcefully to a stop within ten feet of what was in all likelihood the target in question. Not that she stereotyped lizards as evil, but this one certainly looked up to no good.

"Excuse me, but if you're the bad guy, I'm taking you down," she said to him, cracking her knuckles while standing there calmly. This wasn't just an act. She didn't fear any personal harm to herself, so him being so close was a good thing for her. Hopefully she could get him to direct his full focus on her while the other heroes and humans could evacuate everyone else in the area.

Feet pattered against the ground, a half-dozen quick staccato beats of rubber on asphalt as the few officers lucky enough to get away from the battle ran for their lives. They were sweating, panting hard, fear and adrenaline pushing their bodies to the limit. It was likely that none of these people had even run so fast in their lives- but still, the steady pounding behind them kept on getting louder. The beast was closing.

Tired, outmatched, and terrified, it was only a matter of time before one of them broke. Unable to run any further, the last officer turned around, drawing a handgun and getting off three desperate shots before the lizard slammed him aside with a single swipe of its arm.

Without missing a beat, Vol Lok Ra prowled onward, caught up in the thrill of the hunt. This was supposed to be his escape, but the forces trying to corner him had been thrown into chaos by his attack, and none of them seemed powerful enough to pose him a threat. He was as mighty as he was ancient, a god in the flesh, and these mammals may as well have been insects before him.

The shapeshifter slowed a little as he approached a wider street, his head turning slightly as he took in his surroundings, planning a way forward. Hunting was fun, but it would not be long before he was far enough away to make his escape. He stopped entirely, however, when he heard a voice, too loud to be anything but someone addressing him. He blinked, turning his head again to face the source of the sound.

A mammal girl. Ha! Vol's huge mouth opened ever so slightly as a deep rumbling noise rolled out from his throat, a strange hybrid between a growl and a laugh. When his voice came, it was low and guttural, like the grinding of iron against stone. "Oh really?" His head quirked a little to one side. "So kind of you to let me know."

And then he was moving, his towering bulk becoming a blur as he stepped forwards, almost halving the distance between them. For something so huge, Vol could move incredibly quickly, and by the time his clawed foot hit the ground his arm was already in motion, swiping out in a vicious backhand aimed at the mammal's midsection, as if he were swatting away a mere pest.

"Oof!" Vincy grunted as the impact struck true, although from the forced expulsion of air from her lungs and perhaps a tad bit of surprise of his sudden offensive rather than any cry of pain. She was knocked backwards a couple of feet as her stomach caved, backpedaling and waging her arms around until she was able to regain her balance and come to a stop. She stood up straight, eyes focused on him. No wonder he gave everyone else a hard time. Now that she was ready for him she could have an easier time keeping up with her greater mobility, but his strength was enough to knock her around a bit.

She sprinted forward to try and capitalize on her opponent's possible confusion about her not being out for the count. She was much shorter than him so she couldn't get to his face easily, so she did the next best thing and went for the groin uppercut right off the bat. Perhaps lizards didn't have them, but this guy was humanoid so that could overrule this fact.

The moment his strike made contact, Vol could tell something was wrong. Why did he not hear the cracking of bone as his strength battered ribs, why did the mammal girl not collapse from the pain? His eyes narrowed. He should have been able to guess from her clothes: the ones who tried to fight him clad in bright colors had proven trickier than their fellow mammals, some possessing minor magic. Either that white suit of hers was a form of disguised armor, or she was simply tougher than the others. The thought pleased him. His brief conflicts here had barely been enough of a challenge to get his blood running, but perhaps this one could actually take a few strikes before falling.

The shapeshifter's reptilian form did in fact have genitalia, though they were different from those of humans. These were covered by a tight-fitting pair of shorts made out of the lizard's own shed scales, which made it appear as if it wore nothing at all and was simply sexless. A blow there would certainly have hurt, if delivered with enough force, but Vol had not been caught completely off his guard.

The girl's resilience had been unexpected, but the moment she took to regain her balance gave him time enough to reconcile this. Vol was not one to stand around sputtering at a simple surprise, not after having lived so long and seen so many strange things before. Though he did not immediately follow up his initial blow, when the counterattack came, he was ready for it.

He didn't know exactly where she was aiming at, but he could hazard a guess. The sheer height of his current form made it difficult for smaller creatures to target his head and shoulders, and because of this they tended to aim for his knees, stomach, or groin. Those were actually somewhat difficult to defend with his powerful arms, but his legs, on the other hand...

An advantage in height also translated into an advantage in reach, and Vol made full use of this as his prey came running towards him. He leaned back slightly as his right leg came whipping forwards, his knee moving up and to the left before his lower leg snapped outwards, kicking hard at the girl's side. Unlike his previous swiping blow, Vol put some effort into this one, knowing that more force would be necessary to hurt the girl. If all went well, he'd knock her aside with his kick before she got a chance to land whatever attack she was making, and break her with the impact of his full strength.

Her attack was interrupted, Vincy could tell, before she could properly reach him, as his legs were far longer than her arms. Her surprise attack didn't cut the mustard here, as humans would say. She never cut mustard before, but that was besides the point. Her arms instinctively reached out not to defend herself, but to begin wrapping around the incoming limb; her left over the top and her right underneath. Her body bent at what appeared to be an uncomfortable angle at the point of impact against her side muscles at the moment her arms crossed against each other behind his knee.

She began to fly off to the side but snagged forcefully against his knee, coming to an abrupt stop as her arm muscles strained against the outward force. It helped that her arms couldn't rip out of their sockets like a normal person. All of this happened so fast that she was unsure what would have happened to her opponent during this time until she felt her feet touch down again, having the briefest of moments sailing through the air.

Again, Vol landed a direct hit, and again, the girl was merely winded by his assault. Now this was honestly perplexing. He could understand a well-trained and tough mammal being lucky enough to withstand a hit from him, but this had been twice in a row, now, and the second time he'd actually been serious. This one was on a different level than the others, even the ones who had used powers beyond their ordinary capabilities. Either she was using a very old and very powerful magic, or she was, like him, a different being than her outward appearance would indicate.

His foot came down again with enough force to crack the asphalt, but his challenger managed to hold on nevertheless, and was still within his reach. Vol knew he could hit harder than this if he used his magic as well as his strength, but if she took this little damage from a powerful hit, then adding more brute force probably wasn't going to do much. Time to start using his head, then. She could take blunt blows from him without any serious injury, which meant a very high degree of shock absorption. But how could she handle cutting edges?

Hissing like a snake, the lizard king lashed out at Vincy with his left arm. Instead of a fist, however, he struck with an open hand. He'd grab at her head, curling his fingers around it with crushing force, and try to dig his razor-sharp black claws into her skull.

Vincy wasn't bothered by the grasp onto her head and didn't make a move to dodge it. She was still within her own attack range and he was doing something futile against her, so the situation was in her favor for the time being. She gripped onto the forearm belonging to his grasping hand so that she could raise both legs off the ground while curling her stomach, entering into a crunch position so that her shoulders were leaning backwards while her elevated hips were closer to him.

She bent her knees to extend her feet upwards and try to jam them up into his chin. Thanks to being able to pull herself up a bit, her scrawny legs could clear the distance now. It was hard to kick with any force given her position, but felt like, with her feet under his chin, she could be pushing up against it continually with powerful leg muscles that would do more irritation to him than his claw hand would do to her, and perhaps push his head back enough that he'd be loosing his grip on her if it brought some of his upper body back with it.

This time, Vol Lok Ra was ready for failure. He had seen, even felt Vincy's toughness firsthand during his last two attacks, and had doubted it would be so easy to pierce what was looking more and more like an unbreakable defense. Still, he had to try, and now he understood his opponent just a little more. Both blunt and piercing trauma had no effect on her, and that meant he could probably rule out cutting as well. Hm. Something different, then.

It was starting to become quite interesting, figuring out whether the girl had weaknesses, but she wasn't just letting him attack her all day. Her legs swung up, kicking out at his chin from below.

A human, seeing such an attack coming, might try to move their chin out of the way, and indeed Vol would have done so in human form. Right now, however, he was a gigantic lizard, and his reaction was the opposite. He moved his chin down, tucking it and cocking his head to bite at her legs with his massive jaws as they came in.

One of Vincy's feet would land a glancing hit on Vol's jawbone, provoking a muffled grunt from him- her strength was pretty impressive as well. Her other foot, however, would be caught between Vol's sharp teeth, which clamped down hard, holding her leg in place. The shapeshifter knew by now that even his mighty bite couldn't do much damage to her leg- but how well did she stretch?

He moved his head to the right, and his arm to the left, pulling Vincy's leg one way and her head the other. One eye gazed balefully at her body as he did so, watching to see what would happen- would she elongate? Break in two? He knew he couldn't just flee this battle now, his curiosity was overtaking him. One way or another, Vol would find a way to make her die.

Her body stretched, but not unnaturally so, stopping at the point where tissue would begin to tear. At this point he would feel the resistance become insurmountable to overcome no matter how hard he tried to exert his force upon her. The worst of his attack was the possibility of slobber getting on her toes. Why'd she have to wear sandals today as part of her casual attire? In any case, even that worst case scenario was not all that troubling, all things considered.

She used her free foot to begin pounding into his snout and eyes repeatedly with full force to perhaps do some damage as long as he continued this strategy.

The girl's joints were stretched and twisted almost to breaking point- but no matter how hard the enormous lizard strained and yanked, they would not move any further. Vol's beady eyes gleamed with excitement. Incredible! This human was not protected by skin or clothing, she was simply unbreakable, inside and out.

It was clear that, strong as he was, brute force at close range wasn't going to work here. He needed to regroup, change his tactics, figure out a way around this seemingly impenetrable defense. And stop her from kicking him as well.

The first two kicks landed hard on his scaly snout, forcing him to open his jaws and release Vincy's other leg. The sharp teeth parted, and he hissed like a snake as her foot fell away from his mouth, slightly coated in saliva. However, he still had a hold on her head. Pushing through the dull pain and gathering his might, Vol swung her around and moved to hurl her with devastating force into the nearest building.

He doubted, now, that the impact would hurt her much. But he only sought to slow her down, buying him time to call on his stranger talents. Raw strength was not his only trick by any means, and this was an opponent he could unleash his true power against!

Vincy became understandably disoriented as she was sent colliding into a nearby building with enough force to crash through the brick wall next to the doorway, spraying broken-up blocks as shrapnel all around her that would have killed any normal mortal in it's path had they been foolish enough to be huddling that close to the entryway while a fight was going on just outside. Luckily, then, that the only casualty was a wall and the furnishing of what appeared to be a high class establishment of some kind that she never would have visited under other circumstances.

She brushed the debris and dust off of her face as she made an effort to get a proper footing in the wreckage. Her foe was visible through the now gapping hole, likely plotting something or else he would be using this time to run away from her. She felt confident that she could defeat him from what she had seen, so his plots would likely be meaningless against her just like his previous attacks. Even if he was just trying to restrict her movements, that was only buying herself time for allies of sufficient power to swoop in. She saw no disadvantages to keeping up the fight, so fight she did. She grabbed a chunk of what was a mostly intact brick and flung it towards his head. She wasn't the best shot around, but it would give him something to think about while she began to charge his position.

While his opponent was busy pulling herself out of a building, Vol Lok Ra was searching for a weapon. He quickly found one: a thick lamppost at the side of the road, dull grey metal topped by a buzzing electrical light. Gripping it with both his massive, clawed hands, he yanked it hard, grunting as he pulled it from the ground. Wires snapped and asphalt cracked as it came free, the light blinking out and leaving Vol with a large, misshapen metal bludgeon.

He'd been keeping an eye on Vincy as he did this, and wasn't surprised to see her pick herself up and come at him again. This time, however, he was better armed. The metal post sang beneath his claws, the metal thrumming in response to his power. He was its master, its rightful owner, and it recognized that. Crude though it was, he could forge it into something strong, something that might give him a chance against this impossible human girl.

The lizard growled in her direction. "Again? Are you truly so eager to die?" There would be no holding back, this time.

As her brick came sailing towards his head, he turned, his massive body rotating to face her. He swung the lamppost like a bat, knocking the projectile away from him with a mighty clang and sending it flying down at the ground in front of Vincy. If she weren't careful, it would bounce and hit her legs, which wouldn't bode well for her charge.

Vol, meanwhile, was advancing himself, slowly picking up speed as he moved towards her. In his hands, the metal post grew hot, steam curling off it as it began to glow orange, approaching its melting point.

Vincy raised her left leg up high instinctively to avoid the brick whizzing beneath her, which shattered upon impact with the ground and sprayed rubble behind her. This dodge broke up her stride so that she was now essentially lunging forward. She planted her left foot back down as quickly as she could and stumbled a bit in the process, as it’s hard to hit the ground running with a whole lot of finesse. This was better than the alternative of completely crashing to the ground even if it did halt most of her momentum.

Her foe was also advancing towards her now with a new weapon in his hands. She could see that it was heating up but didn’t view this as worth much consideration. She was immune to any damage she has come across so it was obvious that heat couldn’t damage her either. Maybe if he got something hotter than anything she could ever imagine, but she doubted that this would be possible. He’d destroy the planet with the heat before she’d take damage, she had reason to believe. He’d need a different approach. Perhaps he was taking a different approach but she couldn’t figure out what it could be yet in the heat of battle. She might as well just keep proceeding as normal.

She regained a normal stride by the time the two would become close enough to exchange blows. With his pole he could hit her before she could hit him. She knew that the ball would be in his court until that gap could be closed. She hoped she could do something to stop any attack he’d try or else she’d find herself being knocked away again and not able to attack him.

With thundering footsteps, the lizard king closed the distance, the unbreakable human girl likewise advancing with brazen carelessness. He could understand her confidence now: not foolishness or ignorance, but a simple belief that nothing could hurt her. Indeed, she was probably right- but Vol Lok Ra would not turn down such a challenge. He had a plan in mind, one which would require him to go to dangerous lengths, yet perhaps stood a small chance of killing this unique being.

He hefted the red-hot pole, molding and shaping it with his mind even as he charged. The metal was hot enough for him to control, now, altering the unwieldy shape of the lamppost into a blazing molten war-hammer. With a loud roar, he hefted it above his head, and brought it down with devastating force, calling upon the earth's mass to make his weapon heavier, its impact more powerful.

This wasn't the kind of blow he'd be able to get away with in an ordinary battle, but he was counting on the extraordinary aspects of his opponent, here. Based on what he'd seen of the girl so far, she did not fear harm, and therefore was less likely to dodge- and if the hammer strike landed, though the initial impact would be enough to crack apart the asphalt around them, its force would be the least of her worries. The weapon remained partly molten, and less than a second after it crashed down (whether it hit her or not) it would explode into liquid metal, a searing splash that roasted anything nearby- and was still under Vol's control. If he struck near Vincy's head, the molten iron would attempt to wrap itself around her face, covering her eyes and forcing its way into her mouth and nose. A blow powerful enough to flatten an ordinary human, a weapon hot enough to burn one alive, and suffocation to boot, all in one blow.

He didn't expect this to end her, but it was a start.

Vincy was forced to her knees with the unpleasant introduction of the hammer to her forehead. What she wasn’t prepared for was for it to turn liquid and wrap around her face. This was the first moment where she showed panic, clawing at the material in a desperate effort to free herself. Although still not afraid for her physical well being, her senses had been cut off and that was highly troubling. For one thing she couldn’t effectively stop this villain from wrecking havoc if she didn’t even know where he was. Her gag reflex was triggered as the liquid metal poured down her throat. Thanks to her unique biology it would have nowhere to go once reaching her stomach, where food was absorbed directly into her body.

She knew where he last was and, for now at least, could hear if the lumbering beast would make any sudden movements. That being said she decided for a change of pace. She scrambled to her feet to charge directly at his position, which wouldn’t be very far from where she was now, arms flaily aggressively forward. If she could strike him with some good blows, even by luck, she felt like she could do major damage. If she did manage to hit him then she could feel more where he was located and hit him with more and more precise attacks.

The invincible girl's grasping fingers vainly struggled against the molten iron, but it was not proving easy to dislodge. Although the hammer's head was gone, Vol Lok Ra still held the pole that had been the lamppost's shaft, and touched it to the flowing metal, commanding it to obey him. Vincy's fingers broke through the red-hot liquid easily, but each time she did, her blazing mask would reform, a little cooler and tougher each time. Before long, she'd have a mask of solid iron wrapped tightly around her face, preventing her from seeing or breathing.

The lizard king's aim had been to disable her, for it would be all but impossible to defeat the girl if he didn't stop her from attacking somehow. However, he'd only been partially successful in slowing her down. He'd fought many battles over his long, long lifetime, and now his experience worked against him: his instincts told him that an opponent who had just been hit so hard wouldn't immediately get up and strike back. Unfortunately, this was precisely what Vincy did.

Caught off guard by the charge, Vol took the first mighty blow head-on, feeling something snap inside him as his opponent struck out with surprising fury. A grow of pain forced its way out of his throat as he reeled back, surprised and hurt by his mistake. She was uncoordinated, yes, but also hitting harder than before, perhaps he'd actually managed to slow her down slightly. Worse, she didn't seem to be getting tired at all, while he most certainly was. He needed to figure out how to to pin her down- and fast.

When she flailed again, he was ready, hopping backwards with surprising nimbleness before whacking her hard with his lamppost-pole. He knew it wouldn't hurt her, so he aimed for the metal on her face, reinforcing it with his magic and calling once more upon the mass of the earth, channeling it through the pole into the mask he'd forged to bind her. Vincy would feel the metal on and inside her getting heavier, slowing her down and making it harder to move around. Vol, meanwhile, suddenly leaped to one side, prowling around her to try and get out of the way of further blind strikes and hit her from behind.

@Drifting Pollen

The spot where her opponent had been standing vacated into empty air all of a sudden, causing her flailing and the weight of her unwelcome headdress to send her tumbling down onto her hands and knees. The weight placed on her shoulders grew great enough now that she barely managed to keep her head up, facing more horizontal than vertical. Thankfully she could still hear well enough through the metal when the beast leap down onto the ground, giving her a clue on his new location.

She tried to charge towards him again like a bull looking to gouge the matador. The steel on her head and the extra weight added some power and momentum to her all out attack but did indeed slow her down somewhat. She hoped that, if she did manage to run into him, it would surely do some damage and cause him to fall.