The Autumnal season drew near its end and with it, the semifinal matches of the tournament The Metal participated came, too. These final rounds were what he looked forward to more than anything to each year. He was so overzealous about it all that he insisted that Buck and Sentri be there when he received the name of his opponent. Being that he acquired the most points in the competitions, no matter who his opponent was they had the right to select the location since it was assumed the lower-scoring fighter deserved the advantage. It is a stupid tradition that has never made a difference in the performance of either fighter before, but since it was harmless no one on the committee felt there was a need to remove it. The air was still as they stood there waiting for the last ten minutes. A swift gust of wind passed by nearly knocking all but The Metal down.
"Finally it is here!"
He held a small slip of paper in his hand that no one else had noticed appeared until he mentioned it. Buck looked around every corner trying to find who dropped it off, but he saw nothing.
"Don't bother, the papers are handed out by The Metal's favorite delivery service. To this day I've still yet to see the couriers and I only believe they exist simply because he keeps getting packages from nowhere."
"Eh, I'm sure I'll order something that requires them to stop so I can sign for it someday."
"Pray then I am around on such a day. Whose name is on the slip anyway?"
He unfolded the piece of paper and his eyes grew wide with anticipation the instant the name was visible. The Metal didn't even answer Sentri's query, he just simply started laughingly in a hysterical fit and walked in the direction of the fight. They pestered him the entire walk from the Uptown Village in Cedar Hill to the destination. It wasn't until they reached downtown Duncanville that Buck realized what was happening.
"No… No. You have to be kidding me."
"Sadly my friend, this hardly surprises me at all. You planned this, didn't you Metal."
"What? No. I can't say I ever intended on fighting him, but at the same time, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. This should at least be fun."
They strolled up to a nice-sized house that would otherwise look completely normal if it weren't for the edifice affixed to the rear. All that you could make out on the building were large letters that succinctly read "The Lab". Waiting for them at the front door was none other than Kavikaru, today not wearing his overcharged skates.
"I guessed you'd be here."
"Ha, like I'd miss this if it'd kill me. I even brought snacks and a drink."
"Kavi, do you think this is a joke?" asked Buck genuinely concerned.
"Not yet at least. Come on in, he's waiting in the back."
The troop avoided walking through the domicile to prevent unneeded chaos to those who did not require it. There was a front entrance just past the house, which probably wasn't the best one to use if he was in the back since there were warehouse doors back there, but The Metal always enjoyed the detour and touching all the things labeled so people wouldn't. When they finally passed all the potential inventions and improvements he was sitting backward in a metal folding chair with one arm over the shoulder of the seat and the other raised to his mouth as he carefully sipped his tea.
"I'm ashamed in myself that I didn't notice your name in the list of registrants."
"Come on, there were like 500," the large man stated while rising from his seat and grinning. "You're getting sloppy."
His opponent stood just above six feet tall with more than enough weight to back it up. To most, they assume it was mostly flab, but anyone who knew the man well enough was aware that it was just a thin layer disguising the bulk of his muscle which was only really apparent in his arms due to his sleeveless lab coat. He had long, blondish brunette hair on the crown of his head and short, scruffy facial hair that was unkempt from spending too much time in the laboratory. He had the look of a mad scientist who was a little too into fighting to fit his career path.
"So Pitaya, how do you want to do this, first to give or total blackout?"
"I told you time and again, it is Lord Pitaya."
"I'm not going to call you Lord no matter how much land you buy. It is ridiculous, isn't it guys?"
While The Metal's back was turned as he asked the others, Pitaya grabbed his folding chair and hurled at the back of his head with enough force to send him sliding across the ground fifty feet back.
"Total blackout it is," he said bouncing to his feet and running to his massive foe.
Pitaya carefully set down his glass of tea on a nearby counter so as not to spill its valuable contents. He caught The Metal's fist in mid-swing with a hand large enough to grip the smaller fighter's skull firmly. This is why The Metal was so excited about this fight. Pitaya isn't like most people he gets to tango with, he is a bit beyond the capacity of the normal human. Like himself, Pitaya has a genius-level IQ, which makes it very difficult for them to blatantly out-think each other being that both can normally find a counter solution to most situations. Not only that, but Pitaya is enormous by comparison, which generally comes with sacrificing speed for such a size. This was not the case for he trains against Kavi regularly and has adjusted his physical reflexes to match his mental reaction time and the agility of his speedy sparring partner. Worst of all, Pitaya's favorite method of combat was grappling and throwing, such as in most wrestling arts, and he is considered an expert in this craft. All these factors made it extremely dangerous to get within his reach, which was the only thing The Metal could do to fight having more than half a foot under him.
The scientist grabbed him by the throat and tossed The Metal clear across the lab. He crashed through many yards of titanium shelving covered in parts and scraps, coming to a stop on a prototype for a hoverbike Pitaya worked on last year. Confident, Pitaya walked back to the workbench and resumed sipping his tea.
"Ha, this about how I thought it'd go. Can't believe The Metal thought he was a match for Lord Pitaya."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that Kavi."
"You wanna place money on it?"
"Yeah. Two hundred says Pitaya doesn't win."
"Fine, you're on."
"Sentri, you just lost two hundred dollars," Pitaya calmly said still drinking his tea. "There is no way he still has much stamina left after that."
Hearing the sound of clanging steel and noticing the shadow eclipsing the overhead lights, Pitaya leaped to the side narrowly avoiding his own hoverbike prototype from planting him in the ground.
"You almost made me spill my tea you asshat-"
Pitaya's speech was cut off as he was nailed in the jaw by something much smaller than the bike flying through the air with enough velocity to knock him off his feet. It was his folding chair he threw at The Metal earlier. He peered into his empty cup and sprang to his feet enraged.
"Okay, it is rude enough to throw a man's own chair at him, but my tea man. For the love of Thor, my tea!"
Pitaya ran at The Metal who was already doing the same to him. Once they were within arms reach Pitaya went to grab the lean fighter but missed when The Metal slid under his legs. He kicked the back of the muscular inventor's knee and punched him in the spine. It wasn't enough to drop him to the ground, so Pitaya took The Metal's collar and launched him at the nearest wall. He hit it hard but bounced back and struck Pitaya in the sternum on the rebound. He tried grabbing the little irritant again, but this time The Metal struck Pitaya's arms away swiftly with a second counter strike to a pressure point with the opposite hand after each attempt. Pitaya enjoys throwing people and grew increasingly upset between the damage he was taking and the grapples that were being deflected. Coupling his hands together, Pitaya hammered them down upon The Metal and drove him to the floor. He gripped his ankle and began whipping The Metal around across the ground back and forth like a child who ran out of interesting activities for his slinky.
"Why is he letting Pitaya grab him so much?"
"What do you mean Kavi?"
"I've fought The Metal plenty of times because of business. No hard feelings, it just happens due to the nature of both our work. Pitaya is fast for a big guy, abnormally so, but I know speed and The Metal shouldn't be getting touched. He isn't still wearing his… oh."
"Hey Metal, take off your damn weights!"
"What… are… you… nuts…" he replied while still being slammed about.
"What does he mean by that?"
"I understand."
"You must be insane as well. It is too late for you Sentri, you've known Metal far too long."
"Not at all Buck. Normally The Metal leaves his training weights on because he doesn't respect his opponent's ability to fight, but this might very well be the first time that he's left them on because he does."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The Metal is faster by far, but he knows that this match isn't about who can outbrawn or outspeed the other. It is about who can out-think the other. Pitaya is exceptionally good at recognizing patterns as they emerge, so The Metal didn't want to risk relying solely on speed and possibly falling into a repetition that could be exploited. No, he came into this with a plan because obscure plans almost no one can follow are his strong suit. He is actually relying on Pitaya grappling him."
"That doesn't make any sense at all."
"Doesn't it. How much weight does The Metal currently wear on him?"
"I don't know, a hundred and fifty pounds."
"Not since over a month ago. He had his old weights replaced with an especially dense cast-iron-filled set because they just weren't doing it for him anymore. Between him and his weights, Pitaya has to be slinging around five hundred pounds right now."
"The hell… how does he wear all that, get thrown half the length of a football field, and still remain conscious?"
"Well, Metal is the most stubborn person I've ever met. The real question is whether his tenacity will hold out longer than Pitaya's torment. Right now I can't tell who is taking more damage, Metal from being thrown around so much or Pitaya from exerting himself so hard to deliver it."
The Metal hit the ground again, but this time as he was getting slung up he grabbed the leg of a nearby desk. Once in mid-swing, he slammed the table across Pitaya's cranium forcing him to release his ankle. They each took a step back and faced each breathing heavily as the fight had clearly been taking its toll on both of them. After a second or two, The Metal grinned and let out a big laugh before engaging in combat again
"Look at that wackadoodle, he is actually enjoying this."
"He actually hates this."
"That's not what it looks like to me."
"You should know by now that you can't trust The Metal's body language or his tone of voice. While most of us do the majority of our communication that way his body lies just as well as the rest of him. It's one of the things that makes him such a scary fighter. His body gives away nothing, but that's not to say he is incapable of being read."
"I know what you mean Kavi. I couldn't ever really place it, but The Metal -feels- loudly if you know what I mean."
"Not sure I get that."
"Like, as long as I've known him, even if he seems calm as after a big storm or as happy as a sunny day, you can feel when he is sad or even hear him scream internally; believe me it is deafeningly loud. It is like he has this presence to him that if you deeply pay attention to your environment you should be able to tell how he feels despite the way he acts. It can even have an instant effect on a room when he walks in if he feels strongly enough."
"Exactly, and in all the times I've fought The Metal because of business, all the times he has assaulted me with a grin on his face, I could feel the fear."
"I can't really believe Metal is afraid to fight anyone."
"He isn't afraid of me when we fight; he fears the possible end. You can feel that he doesn't enjoy fighting his friends because he values their company and doesn't want to lose the relationship, but his internal ego is too big to take the loss."
"The Metal tells me all the time that it is a terrifying place inside his head and the more I see these encounters the more I understand. He probably came into this fight wanting to hold back, but knew he couldn't and still win."
"This can't end well."
The Metal kicked Pitaya into a collection of shelves and crates, taking out main support in the process. He sprinted over and hopped on the fallen scientist's chest, pounding into it hoping to incapacitate him through sheer physical shock. Pitaya balled his fist and punched his opposition clear through the forty-foot ceiling. He jumped up, catching The Metal in mid-air, and began taking him down with him like a professional wrestler.
"GRAVITON SLAM!" he screams in a deep roar as they strike the ground with The Metal positioned beneath him.
The entire laboratory came crumbling down on top of them as all that remained was a large crater filled with technological rubble and chunks of foundations. All that stood was the adjacent house completely unscathed. There was no sight of anyone for minutes until Sentri and Buck dug themselves out of the wreckage, dragging the resistant Metal from the area. Just after they could see Kavi help Pitaya out from under a large boulder. Both combatants were still conscious and The Metal was not pleased with this result.
"Let me go you assholes," he screamed squirming in their arms. "It's not over, I still have to win!"
"Shut the hell up! Do you see what you've done, all that senseless destruction? Just take the draw today and finish it some other time!"
"But I can still beat-"
Then, before Buck could holler at their friend again, Sentri gave The Metal a look while shaking his head which emotionally hurt the guy.
"Fine. I'll finish this later, but I won't take this sitting down."
Meanwhile, Pitaya was taking everything much better than his irate foe. He was not without his fair share of battle wounds, but it seemed nothing went too far from the plan.
"Huh, for someone who just lost his entire laboratory, you sure seemed pleased."
"A minor setback, but I held it here expecting as much. The entire lab was insured to Helheim and back with coverage that'd payout even if an extinction-level event flattened the entire area."
"So this was the plan?"
"Not entirely, I expected to win and much sooner at that, but this works just fine. To The Metal, a draw is just as bad as a defeat, and having never actually lost a fight he'll be back more heated than ever to rectify this issue. When he does, I'll crush him so hard it'll knock him off that pedestal he thinks he sits on."
"Wow, is that really necessary?"
"Everyone that gets like that needs to be taken down a notch. If that ever happens to me, I'd like to count on you to find a way to set me in check. Until then, I've got some building to do."