You Ain't Bigger than Bourbon [Alex, Natasha]

Alex wasn't a member of the Vandenreich, but it didn't stop him from keeping an ear to the ground about what it was doing. After all, he cared about the state of the city they were headquartered in, and despite no shortage of differences between himself and the new Grandmaster, he respected that guy plenty. That was why when one of the members of the Vandenreich had sent out an open challenge to anyone who wanted to throw down, he sent word via text message to meet him on the beach at sunrise.

He wanted to be home before his little girl woke up, after all. Couldn't cut into time with her.

Cigarette in hand as he watched the ocean, Alex simply waited for this lady to make her appearance so they could get this show on the road. He didn't really know what to expect, but that was fine. Last time he'd gotten into a fight, he'd been caught off guard. Had to start adapting if he wanted to stay on top of things.

Natasha didn't know who would take her up on her open challenge, but she definitely didn't expect someone outside the Vandenreich's ranks to take her up on her ambition. Of course, that didn't mean she was against it. Far from it, in fact; A showdown on the beach with a veteran suited her quite nicely. After all, she could never evolve if she wasn't challenging herself.

Most, no doubt, would likely claim she ought to be content with where she was, but that was a close-minded view. From her perspective, it didn't matter how strong you were if you ended up ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face the next biggest threat waltzing into your city. That's the only motivation she needed to throw herself to the wolves. Adorned in an outfit comfortable enough to allow for ideal ease of movement, Natasha traversed the golden sands until she met the crimson-haired man of the hour. Strong lookin' fella. Muscular build. Tall, too. He looked mighty imposing, but she wasn't sweating him much. The time for battle was near, but southern hospitality demanded she at least give him a proper greeting first before she pulled any stunts.

"Evenin', sugar. Glad ya took me up on my challenge. From the looks of it, ya look like yer prepared to throw down. Good. Don't think we need to talk too much over my particulars, right? Show me anything you feel's reasonable for a battle like this, and try not to hold back. Now that that's outta the way... Let's dance, partner!"

Reishi coalesced and formed around her palms and feet as she set into a stance. There was a clear window of opportunity to form her spirit weapon, but part of this whole thing was learning what else she could employ without it. Spirit gun? Why, she had her fingers to rely on for that. Swinging her hands upward, she begins the duel with the first strike, releasing a numerous wave of highly compressed reishi bullets. Their trajectory was such that she intended to leave him scant space to evade, but she was wholly prepared for that plan to backfire, preparing multiple other scenarios in her head as she flashed forward.

"Reasonable for a battle like this, huh?"

As the reishi bullets flew toward him, Alex thought about how he should respond. The smart thing to do was dodge. He didn't actually know what this lady was capable of, after all. But that wasn't playing to his strengths, either. Besides, she'd said not to hold back. So, he exhaled the smoke from his cigarette, before glancing over to Natasha and putting it out on his own hand, the reishi bullets simply slamming into his body without making him so much as budge an inch.

"I'll letcha in on a little secret, lady. You asked me not to hold back, so whatever happens probably ain't gonna feel very 'reasonable.'"

A small purple flame lit itself on each of Alex's fingertips, his muscles tensing visibly under his clothing. Despite the fact that each little ember was hardly much bigger than the flame of a lit match, he'd pumped a lot of flame into each one. If he had to guess, they probably each weighed a few hundred pounds, and likely had enough flame to engulf a house or two when they made impact. Inhaling, he brought his hands downward, fingers curled under his thumbs, before flicking all right of the small purple embers toward Natasha. Despite the weight, they rocketed forward like bullets, a technique he'd put together on a whim after those fights in Africa.

Not having any options at a distance had really pissed him off. He sure as fuck wasn't going to make that mistake again.

'Reasonable or not, I did sign up for this, sugar, now didn't I? Wouldn't be much of a woman of manners if I start runnin' off at the mouth with complaints, now would I?"

Above all, Natasha wholeheartedly recognized how dishonorable it would've been to shame the man for letting loose however he desired. Again, she would never evolve if she wasn't challenging herself. None of her enemies would restrain themselves to spare her any mercy, so why demand that from a man who was the equivalent of a stranger? Whistling softly at the way her bullets did little to move his frame, Natasha readied herself into a defensive stance, locking onto him with a laser-focused gaze.

As she expected, he was no mere opponent to scoff at in terms of capability. Those flames generating around his fingers might have appeared harmless from an observer's point of view, but her refined intuition immediately discerned that whatever he was building was hardly the type of attack she ought to ignore. Part of her wanted to test how potent his firepower was, though, and so she prepared herself for what came next.

Azure lines animated along every part of her skin, blut defaulting to its defensive activation. She wasn't content with her battle against rollinragged. Intense heat was a wicked mistress that left her burned before, but she wanted to dance with it again, test her limits, and go beyond what she broached out of desperation that day. No, even more than that.

Natasha charged forward. Reishi roared to life around her fists. Purple embers rocketed forward, much like her bullets prior, but the moment they connected with her body? That was where the comparison ended instantaneously. What she felt before the heat was something akin to heavy weights slamming across her body at a breakneck speed. They were shot forward like bullets, but they felt this heavy? Sweet Mother of Christ.

As her body was sent barrelling backward in that instant, set aflame by his attack, she felt as if the wind had quite honestly been knocked right loose out of her, reorienting her position in midair to quickly employ her prowess with Steigen, bursting forward to gain the momentum necessary to gain some measure of distance to evaluate her battle strategies. Yep, there was no doubt about it. She was by no means aware of the full scope of his ability, but he was definitely not the sort of opponent she ought to go underestimating. Employing testing blows against this guy was also out of the question.

Were she allowed at least a moment of reprieve to gather herself, in that next instant, her spirit weapon would materialize above her shoulder in the form of a modified cannon that did little to hinder or impede her movement. If not? Well, she simply had to deal with what she signed up for.

"Keh...! For a bunch of tiny little embers, those bad boys pack a nasty punch. Ngh... Sheesh. Guess I'm gettin' my money's worth and then some, huh?"

"It's a pretty neat trick, eh? Learned it a decade or so ago when I was in South America. Been meaning to head back there and learn more, but I owe the Vandenreich more than a few favors, so I wasn't gonna pass up the opportunity to help someone train."

Alex wasn't a fast guy, by any stretch. In fact, speed was the one thing he'd always neglected. But that hadn't served him too well in any of his fights, and he was pretty sure the wife and kid wouldn't have really thought it was too cool of him to go around shambling on the battlefield while everyone zoomed around. So even if he wasn't gonna become some speedster any time soon, he'd managed to come up with a few short-term solutions. Taking one step forward, purple flame detonated underfoot and behind him, sand on the beach instantly turning to glass from the outright catastrophic heat and pressure. In that brief moment, Alex was pretty confident that running into anything would've hurt like a bitch, but then again, who knew what it'd to to someone on the other end?

Well, he wasn't willing to find out in this little bout. He simply came to a stop far closer to Natasha, flame coalescing at the end of one foot as he all at once swung a brutal skyward kick toward her. The burning violet rocketed upward at speeds that seemed outright unreasonable, considering how heavy the flames themselves actually were, but Alex had gotten well used to using them, and practiced with them for years by now.

"My wife and daughter live here, you know. The wife could probably beat your ass even more than I could, but I can't say the same for my little girl. So if you're gonna be one of the people keeping her safe, I'm not gonna let you be some shitter half-wit who can't kick it on the battlefield. Get me?"

"Small sparks of flame that launch as fast as a bullet but hit like a ton? It's mighty impressive indeed. Didn't expect someone as strong as you for my first dance at this open challenge thing, but I thank my lucky stars ya were thoughtful enough to oblige."

In truth, Natasha was unaware of what connection the man shared with the Vandenreich outside of occupying a place in the City of Lights. Did he know a member or two? Maybe Helle? Maybe someone else? It was food for the thought, certainly, but no such thoughts occupied her mind at the moment other than trying to maintain some measure of balance in this battle. Hell, the sight that graced her hazel eyes next had certainly left her awed and dumbfounded all at once. His flame transcended anything she had seen in her lifetime up until this point in that they went beyond burning the battlefield to reshaping parts of its appearance altogether. A what in the tarnation moment if there ever was, and their duel was still fairly early.

To turn sand to glass was no small feat, but Natasha focused her attention on trying to regain the momentum in an attempt to fight him from a distance. Surely, there had to be some weakness she could exploit with her technique. Wishful thinking, she reckoned, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? The window of opportunity to form her mobile cannon had been presented, but in so short a window, it was difficult to secure an ideal time frame to lock in on him, even with her steigen serving as one of the topmost boons in her arsenal.

The next moment saw a brutal flaming kick striking her clean in the back, burning through the clothing that covered her back, creating another burning mark that made her grit her teeth. Even with her maintaining blut to soften the blow, the immense heat rattled her system something fierce, sending her body forward. Forming a pair of reishi platforms at her feet to avoid touching the ground in full, Natasha grinned from ear to ear at his words, wiping drops of sweat from her brow as she repositioned her cannon at her hip, slipping her free hand into the personalized quincy tool pocket around her waist.

"From the sounds of it, you must really adore yer little girl, huh? Ain't nothin' wrong with that. I get it. If anything, I respect ya even more for being such a straight shooter. I got three youngin's I've been lookin' of my own I've been lookin' over for some time now. They ain't my blood, but they still mean a lot to me, and I'm willin' to go to hell and back to ensure their safety as well as those of these civilians, your daughter included."

Conviction emanated from her tone, but words meant nothing without action, and she wanted to show that she wasn't merely blowin' smoke up the guy's ass. From her pocket, she pulled out what could only be described as the equivalent of a reishi grenade with a silver and azure color scheme. Throwing it into the air to create a diversion, the grenade exploded in earnest, filling the air with reishi. Drawing from those wisps of reishi, Natasha's palm shot forward to execute a spell.

"Qualkreis!"

Five constructs of reishi formed in the air at her call, flashing as lightning before reforming into holy arrows modeled into the form of personalized bullets. Surrounding Alex, she sought to overwhelm(or attempt to, if that was even possible), and bury him with her own collection of firepower and tricks. At the very least, she aimed to buy time to launch a devastating shot with her cannon. If any of this proved a worthwhile distraction, she would use her enhanced focus to look beyond her attacks and lock onto her target, generating reishi within the chamber of her cannon.

"Heh. Nah, that one I just came up with not too long ago. Only thing I learned back then was this heavy-ass fire. Everything else is all me."

Briefly, Alex thought to go easy on this lady. He felt like in most cases, that'd be the right thing to do. Hell, in some senses, he couldn't help but go easy on her. Actually cutting totally loose in the City of Lights would probably get him in trouble, and even if he didn't really care too much about that kind of thing, he had to figure the people who lived here, friends and family included, probably wouldn't appreciate that much destruction.

Then again, maybe this was just a good opportunity to be a little more precise with the full scope of his capabilities.

"That's why I dig you guys here at the Vandenreich. Always willing to throw a helping hand for people in need. I was there in Africa, you know. Saw what you guys went through. I used to live there, so it meant a lot."

As Natasha cast a remarkably impressive spell, the firepower crashing down onto him, Alex took a deep breath inward, focusing only on himself. Evasion, even if he wanted to use that approach, was out of the question with this scope of offensive, and his own mediocre level of speed. If he couldn’t do that, then he’d just have to hit back. A purple ball of flame quickly formed in Alex’s left hand, no small amount of fire condensing into it. He tossed it gently into the air a couple of feet, weathering the onslaught of attacks that crashed down onto him, even as he felt his body begin to strain just a touch.

Then his right hand rocketed up to crash into the fireball as it fell, the flame bursting upward toward Natasha in a bright purple beam. He was adapting, at least. Learning new tricks. That was what he’d come here to do.

"Glad to hear we've been able to make an alright impression on ya, sugar. The Vandenreich took me in when I was at my lowest. I hate that we haven't been able to make the finest impact in Africa, but It's nice to hear those efforts bein' acknowledged. Fought there twice, ya know. Hate that I couldn't do more, but that's precisely why I'm throwin' caution to the wind and pushin' myself past my limits. I want to be a member this city can rely on in times of danger."

Indeed, that was where conviction truly lied. The Vandenreich, and the City of Lights as a whole, provided her a home where there was none. Reinvigorated her purpose when she felt as though she were truly at her breaking point. Each spell she executed, every measure of reishi employed, all of it was in the name of displaying how grateful she was to be a member of this city. In truth, some inner part of her soul recognized that this was a bout that felt almost unwinnable. She was a veteran soldier, after all. The diligent type who could recognize when she was outmatched. The spiritual pressure radiating off of his form, coupled with that otherworldly display of fire, enough to alter the beach's landscape, illustrated their gap in power quite clearly.

Even so, that was precisely why she announced an open challenge to begin with. To test her and her allies' mettle. What could she do when pressed against a wall? What could they do when pressed against a wall? Finding those answers in the heat of battle was essential for progress. And now, she wanted to see the extent of her own. Of course, conviction and reality loved playing a little game called "checkmate."

Even if her current display wasn't the pinnacle of her strength, it was still some of her finer work... and he was tanking it with relative ease. It didn't crush her pride too much, but come on... even a scratch would've sufficed. Ah, well. No use cryin' over spoiled milk. Since he remained stationary, it allowed her to lock onto him in preparation for an air strike.

From the chamber of her cannon, she had consumed enough reishi particles to launch an attack. Of no small note, it was a blast employing a firm degree of her spirit power. It was no Letz Stil, of course, but it was a strike worth acknowledging at least. Of course, she was under no illusion that it would bring her any closer to victory. Quite simply, she wanted to test herself against a notable opponent.

A large beam of reishi shot forth from the cannon, meeting his purple fireball in a wild clash of rumbling energy. Under a different circumstance, she would've loved to possess that extra burst of energy to strengthen her chances, but... this was the best she could do at the moment. It might have been a futile attempt, but that was fine. She'd simply practice until she could truly hold her own against opponents like these.

Alex could tell that this lady was putting a lot into her efforts. It almost made him feel bad for being able to tolerate it so much, but really, what else could a man like him do? He'd heated up plenty already, but by now, his body just wasn't demanding he fall apart. He hadn't had to bring his hottest to this fight. Really, he wasn't even sure he should. That'd probably kill her, after all.

As the purple gout of flame crumpled beneath the onslaught of spiritual power that Natasha was firing down at him, Alex had to think quickly. Well, he could have just stood there, but he wanted this to be practice for an actual fight. One sharp breath inward, and he kicked up his internal temperatures all at once to their very limit. It was brutally painful, even for him. Everything felt like it might shatter. She was above him? Perfect.

Even his thoughts were falling apart from this kind of heat. From the Riot starting to kick in. He had to make this one quick. His fist, all at once, rocketed toward the sand below. It probably sent tremors through at least part of the City of Lights. He'd need to apologize to Nel later. At the same time, however, purple flame burst from his body with unfathomable pressure, all of it having been building inside his own body. A pillar that lit the whole area like daylight for a few moments, rocketing directly upward toward Natasha.

Alex's own body, between the Quincy's onslaught and his flames, was in shambles. That was pretty normal, though. He was used to it.

Defeat felt imminent. The immense heat he exuded was well above anything she could currently encompass in this current battle. One flame seemed to crumple, but that was no cause for celebration as he remained upright. What might have amounted to a formidable attack on the average opponent proved to be little more than a blip in the radar the moment his body released that all-consuming pillar of flame. Since she had offered her all unto the prior attack, she hadn't exactly allowed herself much time to avoid his counterattack. Rocketing up at the breakneck pace that it did, the only thing left was reflexively using her blut vene to numb the burning bite of purple fire rushing toward her like a shooting star.

The cannon constructed out of reishi vanished under the duress of his flames and now she truly felt the taste of this immense fire. God, the pain was almost unbearable. The sort of thing that should've caused her to cry out in pain, but she wouldn't dare. After all, she asked for a battle without any restrictions. To her, this was simply a symbol of her defeat. An experience to carry with her as she grew stronger and refined her techniques. Alex had done only what was asked of him. Of that much, she was thankful.

Even with her blut attempting to extend outward to guard her body - a rushed attempt at replicating a similar act she performed in Africa against that hollow - the flames proved far too great, far too overwhelming, and she was blasted clean out of the sky, her body barreling toward the hellscape below. It certainly couldn't be called sand anymore. Her ears were ringing. Her body was burning. Ah, she probably looked like a mess again. She'd probably be making a trip back to the doctor to explain why she ended up extra toasty again. Sheesh, this was worse than rollinragged.

Even so, with all the pain she was in, she couldn't lay on the ground for long. Forcing her body, racked with immense pain and burn marks, she rose from the ground as she clenched her fists, disoriented by the fierce attack. Bloodied, burned, and yet, unbowed. Coughing up blood from sore lips, she stumbled toward him gingerly, fists clenched.

"Mighty sorry to disappoint ya, Alex. It must feel like a waste of time tusslin' with someone who can't hold much of a candle to ya in terms... of... Krk.. ya know, capabilities..."