“You have got to be kidding me,” Max muttered in incredulity as she straightened in the ring.
It was her third fight, and all three opponents had been over six and a half feet tall. All of them.
She could have killed Variable at that moment. It was her third fight in an hour, and she was hurting.
But she could still think.
Variable had picked all of these women out for her specially. He was trying to test her, see how good she was.
This was one of her final tests; and Max didn’t intend to disappoint.
“Fight!”
She had dark chocolate skin and was a madwoman; bright gray eyes stared at her psychotically.
As she charged, her long arms swung towards Max, going in for the punch the exact second that the announcer left the ring.
Max ducked and lunged between the woman’s legs, sliding through them easily. A moment later, she was behind her opponent, standing strong.
She whipped around and snapped her heel down on the back of the behemoth's knee. Her opponent roared in pain and rage and turned around, injured knee slightly bent.
Max punched; two jabs from the right, one from the left.
They connected with the other woman's forearms as she protected her face..
She danced on the mat; floating, lighter than air.
She spun and kicked her leg out towards the woman, aiming for an open spot in her neck.
The behemoth shoved Max’s leg away and sent her sprawling on the other side of the ring.
The behemoth dropped her arms just as Max had begun to launch her kick. As her foot neared the other woman's neck, the behemoth grabbed her ankle, squeezing it painfully.
Max froze, unsure of what to do. The behemoth lashed out with her free hand, slapping Max's face with cruel strength. The force of the blow sent her head snapping to the left, and blood sprayed onto the mat.
She stumbled as she took steps and fell to the floor, knocking the breath out of her.
She twisted her head to the side and saw the behemoth walking up to her.
Using the only path that she could see, she rolled to the side.
The world spun sickly as she panted for air.
Still rolling, Max struggled for breath as the behemoth caught up to her in long, stalking strides.
She bent and grabbed Max’s leg and heaved.
Max lost her breath as the behemoth yanked painfully at her ankles. Her stomach flip-flopped as suddenly, she was upside-down, her head only inches from the mat. Then her world blurred as her opponent whipped her violently.
She landed hard on her hip and rolled, rolling almost out of the ring. She reached her arms out and her hands turned to claws as she struggled to keep herself in the ring.
Max struggled to get to her feet, and was immediately slammed into the corner post.
She was losing her breath. She needed to breathe, needed to calm and focus herself.
Her opponent came toward her, her ugly face screwed up into a mask of anger.
“You stupid bitch,” the other woman spat in her face.
Max looked at her with anger.
“You did not just call me – “ her words were cut off as the behemoth rammed her fist into Max's stomach.
