Round 1: Harper / Mueller vs. Jung / Waterson

The sun felt nice on the exposed skin on his arms. Matty closed his eyes for a moment and let it soak in. For a brief second, this didn't feel like complete insanity. He was a new student. This was only his second day. Unlike most of the others, he knew next to nothing about what was happening. All that he knew is that he had been chosen to compete in a tournament with the other student. He also knew that none of them were ordinary kids. In fact, supposedly, he was extraordinary too. However, Matty still had yet to discover how. The only clue was the instant he had at school, when a kid picking on him had been tossed across the room. It was said that he had been the one to do it. But again, he had no idea how or what that meant.

His eyes snapped open to glance at his partner. The girl that stood next to him twirled a spear. She certainly seemed to have some deadly qualities about her. A slight frown worried its way onto his lips. Juliette was far more experienced than him. She at least probably had some idea about what was to come. To him, this all seemed a little barbaric anyways. Fighting was never something he had quite gotten into, despite being the subject of several punches at school over the years. Matty knew he would not be much of a threat here. After a brief moment of thinking through these things, he looked at Julie and laughed a bit nervously, "I really hope I don't hold you back." His fingers ran through his slightly messy hair as he waited anxiously for it all to begin. Between his lanky frame and lack of power, Matty knew that he would be completely screwed.

Man, what a dream come true. Sun on her skin, that cool sea breeze, the Summer Tournament. She'd been wanting to join this ever since she'd first heard of it. Her mom had never even thought to mention it, and what did she say when she was finally old enough to join? No. No way. Mom had always been the killjoy type, but she'd never seen her that vicious before when she'd first shut her down about this whole thing. They always argued about that kind of stuff, like not being allowed to dorm with the other students, or tutoring in the same classes, or not being able to go on missions, but she'd never brought up the Summer Tournament again after that first time. It was a secret fantasy she'd held in her head, clinging onto all the news and gossip that surrounded it year after year.

Well, with mom out of commission, there was nothing stopping her now.

Addison narrowed her eyes against the light that glinted off the Asian girl's blade, swallowing. Now that she finally had her shot, it felt like she had a mouth full of cotton. The thought of that thing cutting into her flesh left her queasy. Who would've thought? Suddenly this whole thing was very real. Even if this was a simulation, she'd remember the pain, and she'd remember the blood.

Oh, she was nervous. Butterflies. Funny how she never expected that. Addison had her few near near-scuffles, but she'd always bailed before she got in any serious trouble. There wasn't any running here. They were in a death match, an actual-kinda-sorta-for-real death match, and if she didn't want to die, she'd have to kill first.

Spears, swords, bows and crossbows, maces and axes and knives. Some old dude in town forged the school a whole arsenal, and it was normal for kids to open-carry all over campus, even in class. Mom always complained about it to the other Guardians, but they always blew her off. Addison had all those options, and she still went with an old baseball bat she'd dug out of her closet, slick gray metal with a black rubber grip, spotted with red and white paint. "NEBRASKA YOUTH SOFTBALL" was printed in faded blocky letters up the side. A bit barbaric, but you had to go with what you knew. She wasn't a swordsman, and she'd look like an idiot charging in with a hammer she couldn't lift or shuriken she couldn't aim with. This was light, but effective. There wasn't any technique, no proper stances or footwork, just swing the fucking thing and it'd shatter a femur. That was enough for her.

Would she be able to crush somebody's skull in with this? Addison planted it down against the smooth stone between her feet, leaning against the metal, not taking her eyes off the two on the other side of the fountain for an instant. It wasn't real. That's what she had to keep telling herself. Well, it wasn't permanent anyways. She was capable of hurting people, and they'd all signed up for this, so no hard feelings, right?

Addison's mouth twisted in a wry smile. Still, some of these people were fucking crazy. This could get out of hand fast. She finally glanced over to her partner in crime, rocking back and forth on her soles, the tip of her bat scraping against the stone. Short, although still almost a full head taller than her. Cute as a button. They were screwed.

Stay light on your feet. If she could handle the crazy bitch in the infirmary, then she could handle this. Hit 'em hard and get away. Yeah. First key to any fight. Don't get skewered ass to ponytail like a kebab, and she'd probably be fine. As for the other guy, she wasn't sure. Anybody could have anything in this school. For all she knew, he could shatter all her bones by poking her, or light her on fire with a snap, or maybe he was one of the useless types, with underwater breathing or night vision or something ridiculous like that. If only things were that easy, but since he'd signed up for this, she wasn't counting on it.

She clicked her tongue, sucking in a deep breath through her teeth, and exhaled. "I don't want to be one and done," she said, standing up straight to stretch like a cat, twirling the bat like a baton around in her hand. "So let's win this thing, okay? The whole thing."

He had never expected to be involved in school activities, let alone sign up for one on his first day.

Within seconds of his tour, Lowell spotted a bright sign resting on almost every wall of the academy. Curiosity being his middle name, he immediately approached one of the posters, skimmed the words, and scribble his name down. The Summer Tourney, huh? A test of strength and endurance. This was perfect to showcase his talents. If he could win this... Nobody would mess with him.

Within the week, the dark-haired initiate was standing beside a stranger in what seemed to be a tropical vacation getaway. A sweet ocean breeze wafted past him, sending shivers down his spine. If he wasn't here to punch in someone's skull then he would have lounged against sand with a drink in his hand and his eyes exploring the scene. Unfortunately, there was no time for sightseeing.

The young boy stood still while adjusting his padded gloves. His head was down, focused only on his fists. This is where his training would pay off. With a nod, he pulled the straps tight and turned to his teammate. She was shorter than him by more than he would like. The girl held a tight grip on her baseball bat as she prepared herself for the coming battle. The mixed look of desperation and cynicism threw a pit into Lowell's stomach. Would she be able to handle herself? More importantly, would she be able to support him?

While the boy across the way seemed more or less beatable, a deadly aura surrounded the girl with the spear. He could already tell she would pose a challenge. He couldn't even begin to visualise what she could do with that spear in her hands. Shaking the thoughts from his head, Lowell huffed and punched his fists together. "I'm here to win. Don't hold back, okay?"

That was all the reassurance she needed for just then. They gave the signal, and she sprung forward, zipping around the fountain in a wide curve to hit them both from the flank. There was no coordination or quick strategizing between her and her partner; to be honest, she didn't even think about it until she was already off and running. Addison could feel the gears turning in her head, time slowing around her, the air thickening around her arms and legs. It was like running through water for her, but this way she could see every movement, and to them it would've looked like the whole world accelerated, time streaming forward impossibly fast.

Don't hold back.

Okay, she got it.

Addison sprang, planting a foot against the fountain ridge, and pushed off, flying toward the tall boy with bat swinging.

Matty barely had time to blink as the girl from the other team was on him. Everything happened unbelievably fast. A grunt of pain left his lips as something struck his side. He doubled over in a reaction to the burst of fire in his ribs. Already someone else had gotten a hit in. I'm screwed... I'm so screwed... he thought over and over again. Apparently, this 'Addison' had the ability to screw with the speed of things. There was no way he could compete with that. Instinctively, his hands instantly went out to grab at the source of the blow, even if there was no way he could really grab for it if she kept up this act. Grimacing, the blonde haired boy tried to focus on the situation. So much was happening. He knew next to nothing about this school, these people, or his own 'power'. But, they had to fight. He had to try.

"Ah!" He yelled, lashing out with his fist as he had done many times at school. There wasn't a ton of power behind the blows, he wasn't a strong boy. Althought, he had been forced into many instances of fighting in self-defense. Matty's fists flew through the air wildly in the space around him where it seemed someone now was, hoping desperately to connect with something.

Without a word, Addison went flying across the clearing. With a startled jump, Lowell followed suit, rushing towards the fountain. The muscles in his legs bunched up as he bent his knees and his power began to manifest. Pushing a large portion of strength into his lower body, the boy kicked off, sending him up into the sky and over the fountain.

He needed to get a few quick jabs in before his opponents knew what hit them. With his partner flanking, he would head straight into action. His green eyes narrowed in on the girl as he began falling towards her.

Within seconds the power left his legs and shot straight to his arms. His hand closed into a fist and the initiate threw it forward towards her knees as he landed in a crouch.

I got you! There was a satisfying heft to the blow as the bat cracked him across the ribs, and Addison went stumbling forward after him, carried by the momentum as she pulled back for another strike. Somewhere in the background, she could hear the spear girl's cackle. Matty. So this was Matty. He flailed out his arm in wild desperation and she caught it on her bat, gritting her teeth, but another blind fist came swinging up and—....! "Ack...!" There wasn't anything she could do but watch it fly toward her in slow motion, twisting her body to avoid the worst of it, but the wild swing still managed to catch her on the waist.

Time snapped back to normal for a brief window as pain flashed across her side. Nausea welled up in her gut as time's normal pace all rushed back at once, but she pushed through it, sneakers pressing against the smooth stone. The blood roaring in her ears seemed to amplify as time slowed back down again, raising the bat over her shoulder, ready to bring it back down.

Lowell let out a small groan as an ache entered his ankles. He hadn't given much thought to softening his landing. His main focus was on landing the first hit. But it seemed he was already failing that job.

His arm swung forward, fist colliding with air. Tsk. The wind flew past his arm, only bending over a few weeds in the courtyard. The boy's back straightened as Jules bounced away. She seemed more confident than he anticipated as she blurted out what seemed to be an insult directed at him. With a furrow now deeply set in his brow, the dark-haired student bent down into a defensive stance.

Before he could approach more cautiously, the girl began her retreat towards her partner but not before sending a dagger his way. With a quick roll forward, Lowell easily dodged the oncoming weapon. Addison, on the other hand, was preoccupied. The boy's eyes dashed towards her as she recovered from a wild hit. While she seemed capable enough, there was no way she could handle both of them on her own. Frustrated and desperate to win, the boy once again loaded his strength back into legs.

"Where you running off to, pussy?!" Lowell cursed, accent thick and palpable as he shot towards Juliet with senic speed, aiming to grab her and pull her down into the pavement with him.

There was a brief crack in Addison's insane speed as soon as his fist connected with her side. He took a deep brief, realizing he had forgotten to breath in the chaos of it all. The whole scenario seemed like a dream. Matty half expected to wake up at any moment, but that never came. This was reality right now, some how. The blonde haired boy was barely able to register his partner's encouragement, but he heard his name and managed to pull a crooked smile for all of half a second. Then, it was back to action. His opponent was once more a whirlwind blur. All he could do was react to it. Due to the shock of her insane speed, it was something he had trouble reacting to very quickly. The bat was coming down again, this time over top. It was all he could do to block by throwing up a forearm. Wood cracked against his arm and sent pain shooting through his body. This wasn't the first time Matty had sustained such a hard blow.

There was a second in which he was stunned by the pain. Matty stumbled backwards from the hit and almost fell back to the ground. He just barely stopped himself short of being flattened completely against the ground. There was no way he could compete with Addison's speed. Blocking and less than well aimed blows would have to be the only attempt at defense, and maybe a little bit of offense. As he fell backwards, Matty remembered something. He cursed internally for not having remembered it before. Trained in next to nothing, Matty had decided on a quaterstaff as his weapon of choice. In what little free time he had before being thrown into this mess, he had carved the wood with intricate patterns. Now was the time to ruin all his hard work.

"You're really messing with my mind here. And fucking up my body too. No hard feelings, though, right?" Matty spoke up quickly to the girl. If they had met outside of such circumstances, they could have been friends. He had nothing against her. All this was just self defense. He needed to keep reminding himself that fact. Pushing away the distracting thoughts, Matty used his uninjured arm to push up from the ground. His hands reached around to pull the quarterstaff from his back, fingers stumbling for a moment. Once he had a solid grip, Matty whipped the staff around to where he though Addison to be. If not to simply block a bow, he could maybe manage a little damage.

There was another crack of metal against bone and he went down. Hey, she could say sorry later. The brutality of it all should've caught up with her in any normal circumstances, but all she got was a blood rush, an adrenaline high, her heart pumping in her chest. Addison pulled the bat back again, standing over him, face flushed and panting.

A knife.

She only caught the flash of steel in sunlight out of the corner of her eye as it left Juliette's hand, twisting her body as it spun end over end in slow motion, throwing herself back. The dagger went whistling past, catching harmlessly on her sleeve before it went bouncing away across the smooth stone. But that was the only opening Matty needed, pushing himself to his feet, a wooden blur whipping around from behind his back. His staff thwacked her hard against her legs as she tried to jump back, sweeping her feet out from under her.

The sky lurched, pretty white clouds scuttling across a pretty red and blue sky. Splash. Cold water shocked her senses as she went flopping backwards into the fountain. Addison sputtered, rolling onto her knees and using her bat to push herself back up. There was still Matty, but right then her eyes locked onto Lowell and the spear-girl as he launched toward her like a bullet.

Addison clenched her jaw, and strained, clenching her fist, turning all her focus into accelerating Juliette's perception as her partner shot toward her.

Payback, bitch.

The world around him cleared up as Addison focused her energy elsewhere. It took him a second to notice what had caught her attention... Juliette! Panic rose up in his chest. He couldn't just sit back and let her be doubled teamed by the two other powered kids while he sat back useless. Matty found himself searching desprately for some way to help. Nothing specific came to mind. The adrenaline drove him to act and in an instant he was desprately grasping for straws. Or more accurately, his staff. Fingers fumbled around the intracate wood and pain roared in his one forearm, but he finally managed to get a decent grip.

"No!" The shout broke unintentionally from his chest. His eyes squeezed shut in some sort of attempt to ignore the pain and add energy to the blow. It rushed through the air, aiming for the top of Addison's head to break her concentration or bring her focus back to him. All he wanted was to not be useless.

He felt a sense of achievement knocking down the Asian. As much as he wanted to celebrate, his senses were disturbed as the pair knocked into the water. For a moment he found himself frozen, his mind struggling to focus on the task at hand.

When Lowell's vision cleared up, he was laying on top of Jules, the two of them in a weird, threatening embrace. Bubbles escaped his lips as he looked at her, before pulling his arms out from under the girl. Yet as he began to pull away, a sharp object grazed his back. His brows furrowed and eyes grew wide. He couldn't escape her grasp. His breath was running out. He needed a way out.

The only thing he could do was curl his fist and jab it into her side as hard as possible. Her ribs would break and he was sure some important organ would be caught in the mess but he needed her to let go before he began drowning. He needed to get out and help Addison.

Yes! She loosened up her focus as they both went splashing into the fountain, turning her had just as Matty charged, the shout bursting out from his throat. Once again the world decelerated around her, the air thickening around her limbs as she leaned back, lower, lower, lower, the staff whistling in slow motion just above her head. At this speed, from this close up she could take the time to admire all those nice carvings he'd sketched into the wood—but this wasn't the time to lay on the compliments, was it?

She was practically spinning on her heel as she contorted her body to dodge the wild swing, her knees folding beneath her. "Oof!" Her breath slammed out of her as her back hit the stone, legs pretzeled in front of her. Whatever help Lowell needed, it would have to wait. She pulled up her bat to defend herself, jaw clenched, helpless from this position.