It had been about fifteen minutes since we set off from the Sanctuary...and it had been a full five minutes since Zarina grabbed my collar...and she still hadn't let go. The other X-Warriors had shown no signs of getting involved, they seemed content to just watch and enjoy this.

Well, this is fine, my lens is recording everything and uploading the footage to my cloud drive, I started recording the moment she stood up and walked over. So if she pisses me off enough, I'll be able to expose her in a heartbeat.

​​

I mean, seriously, I don't have to put up with this...I was just sitting and minding my own business when she suddenly came up to me because she didn't like the look on my face or something...yeah, fuck that.

"Seriously, could you please let go already? Do you really have nothing better to do right now?" I inquired with an exasperated sigh, looking at her disdainfully.

"Watch your tone, you little bastard!" She snapped angrily.

Yeah, I'm not putting up with this.

"Watch yours, bitch. I'll ask one more time...let me go."

Not gonna lie, I had just about reached the end of the rope of my patience.

"Wha-!? You little...!" She snapped, tightening her grip on my collar as she drew back her other fist with rage in her eyes.

"."

Alright...what should I do now? Dodge, obviously, that goes without saying, but what else? If I just evade, she might try again, but if I counter, she'll probably try to full-on fight me...that'd be a pain, and not exactly safe, considering the fact that we're in a jet.

I could grab her wrist and break it or her forearm...no, considering what her Primary Manifestation is, that'd make her useless once we get to the campsite. What if I dodge, then slip behind her and use XFE Takeover? No, I probably shouldn't poison her either. I really wanted to hurt her though...tch, fine, I guess I'll just evade and then grab her arm, slip behind her and pin her down.

I simulated what to do a couple of times in my head, as well as how to respond if she was able to react to it...alright, I think that should do it, I'm perfectly prepared to pull this off. I made sure to return to the exact position I'd been in when I activated Pause, especially the position of my head, since I was actively recording, I can't afford to have the footage look rough or choppy at all. Well, here goes...

"."

As her fist drove towards my face, I deflected it out of the way with my palm while simultaneously evading, before grabbing her wrist and swiftly getting out of my seat and slipping behind her, twisting her arm around to her back as I did. She let out a growl and clenched her other fist, but before she could try anything, I tripped her forward by kicking her shin, causing her to lose balance.

She fell onto her front, her face hitting the ground with a thump as I pinned her arm down to her back, holding down her other arm by the wrist while my knee pressed down on her lower back. She's apparently regarded as the X-Warrior with the best long-ranged skills, which is why she's an Ace.

She's also said to have decent hand to hand combat skills...well, if nothing else, my combat skills were definitely better than hers, the way she moved wasn't bad, but it could be a lot better, I was way faster, more agile and my movements were a lot more efficient, while she had a fair bit of wastefulness in her movements.

"Are you done yet?" I sighed, as she let out a slight groan.

"What just-...hey, let me go!" She exclaimed, trying to break free, before stopping as I twisted her arm close to the point where it'd break if she moved any further.

"Funny, I remember saying the same thing to you not too long ago, I'll follow your example in responding to it..."

"Don't get smart with me, you little shit, let go of me right now, or I'll-!" She threatened furiously.

"You'll what?" I inquired coldly.

"I swear, you're dead, you hear me!? I'll fucking kill you if you don't let go right now!"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I'll let go after about five minutes...that's more or less how long you grabbed me, so it's fair, wouldn't you agree? Oh, and if you keep screaming at me...I'll do this," I remarked, twisting her arm the wrong way again slightly.

"S-stop, you'll break it, stop-!" She cried in alarm.

"Then shut up."

"You fucking-!"

"I said...shut...up," I interrupted her in a cold tone, applying further pressure, as she let out a hiss of pain.

I eased up as she finally quietened down. Hm...am I overdoing it? Maybe so, but...it's not like anyone's stopping me, in fact, it looks like most of them are just enjoying the show...at any rate, it's too late to stop now.

Well, whatever, I've recorded this whole encounter, this has, for the most part, been self-defense. To be honest, though, it was kinda boring, just holding her down like this. The five minutes took longer to tick over that I thought it would.

"Alright, I'm letting you go now...I'm only gonna say this, restrain yourself," I warned her, before slowly letting go and standing up.

She muttered something under her breath as she got back on her feet, trembling with anger...when suddenly, she spun around with a look of fury and swung another punch at me. Woah, she's...really, really predictable, isn't she?

I evaded her punch, swiftly drew back my fist while running XFE into my glove, before driving it forward towards her face as fast as I could with as much force as I could generate, slamming it onto her face square in the middle, before she let out a scream as the taser knuckles on my glove electrocuted her. Her scream then faded as she lost consciousness, I let out a sigh of relief as she slumped down.

I then bound her wrists and ankles together to make sure she wouldn't attack me again once she regained consciousness, which probably wouldn't take long, since she is a Prodigy. Her nose was bleeding, but she deserves it. I'll untie her once we get there. Finally, I can just sit back and relax.

I glanced around at the other X-Warriors, flashing them a cold smile, daring them to fuck with me at their own peril. I think they got the message. It's not even been a full twenty minutes since we took off, really hope the rest of the flight is more peaceful.

I mean, I'm pretty stoked that I was able to knock an Ace out cold, but I really don't want to have to deal with her anymore. Maybe I should gag her in addition to her bound limbs...nah, I'll opt for that if she's too loud after she regains consciousness. For now, I think I'll take a nap...

...

...

"So, um...what exactly happened?" Inquired Kilella with a bemused look on her face.

We had stopped, about ten kilometers ahead of the Wight campsite, to ensure that everyone was on the same page once the attack was launched. The jets landed too, and I'd been asleep, so I didn't have time to untie Zarina. I'd gagged her like fifteen minutes after knocking her out, because she started yelling and screaming as soon as she regained consciousness.

"It was totally self-defense on my part," I replied with a shrug.

"Are you fucking kidding me, what part of that was self-defense!?" Snapped Zarina, struggling to restrain herself from attacking me.

"I've got the whole thing recorded," I responded, tapping the side of my glasses.

"We don't have time for this crap, dumbasses, we'll deal with this once we get back, focus on the Mission for right now," Sighed Kumar with an exasperated shake of his head.

"Agreed, and knowing you, Zarina, this is probably your fault," Remarked one of the other Aces with a shake of his head.

"What was that!?"

"Let's all just calm down, everyone, we're literally minutes away from a large-scale battle, after all," Reasoned Kilella, attempting to ease the tensions.

"Everyone's calm except for her, sis," I responded, nodding at Zarina.

"You little-!"

"You're just proving his point, Zarina," Interrupted Kumar, who was struggling to keep his cool and hide his frustration, guess he's stressed since he's leading this Mission, "Enough of this already, it's time to set up the attack, make sure you all have your night vision goggles on, there's a bit of moonlight out tonight, so it isn't exactly pitch-dark, but it's still around midnight right now, so these will definitely give us an advantage."

Huh, he seems to carry a fair bit of weight and influence here, no one's arguing or anything...looks like he's actually pretty respected. Zarina grumbled and muttered something under her breath as she headed back to the jet, grinding her teeth in irritation.

"Hey, can I get on a different jet than her? Just to make sure the aerial assault goes smoothly, you know?" I requested to Kumar hopefully.

"Yeah, I was just about to suggest the same...seriously, I can't believe that you knocked out and then tied up the most experienced of the Aces," He sighed with a shake of his head, "Alright, then, Zax...I'm counting on you to lead the aerial assault."

"Right, I'll do my part, no need to worry about that."

It wasn't long before we were back on track to launch the attack, I made sure that all my weapons were ready to go as we covered the last bit of remaining distance to the Wight campsite, which soon came into view. Time to begin...

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