2736/WMAT BQ1 Reina Kinney vs Franken Stein

WMAT BQ1 Reina Kinney vs Franken Stein
Date of Scene:	05 August 2015
Location:	WMAT Arena - Spinach Wastes
Synopsis:	Franken Stein and Reina Kinney face off in their qualifier match for Bracket B. Two shocking opponents have an especially charged match during a thunderstorm!
Cast of Characters:	22, 127, Reina Kinney, 848
Tinyplot:	WMAT 2015

---

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    The Spinach Wastes are a rather expansive battleground, and don't seem much like wastes given all the greenery. But naming aside, it's ideal for mobile combatants who do best when they aren't being caged in or restricted to a 'ring' or similar. The stands have plenty of room for spectators, and hover cars with mounted cameras are in the area to provide television viewing for people at home or elsewhere. There's a lab table nearby and a man in a white labcoat and opaque-looking eyeglasses standing next to it with his hands in his pockets. An assortment of scalpels and knives and such are laid out on it.

    He doesn't... Intend to USE any of this in his match does he? He's smoking on a cigarette, and seemingly waiting for his opponent to arrive, or to be ready if she's already here. The sun is shining overhead, though there appear to be storm clouds approaching. Wind sweeps over the hills, rustling the grass in green waves. Even with the looming weather change on the way, it's a rather nice setting for two people to beat each other up.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Reina Kinney is used to fighting in a variety of locales, some harsher than others. If there's one thing this elite operative has learned, though, it's that you should expect nothing and be ready for anything. Which is why the Spinach Wastes aren't a surprise in terms of how the actual appearance is a contradiction to their name. No waste or anything like that. Not that it bothers Reina.

    After a few moments, Reina makes her entry, wearing her usual attire. She waves to the crowd a little, although her facial expression is rather neutral for the time being. She tends to have a stoic attitude when things are going to get heated, and this is definitely no exception to the way things are. She looks around then spots her opponent and narrows her eyes a little as she slowly approaches. There are no personal hostilities, it's just Reina's way of getting herself mentally focused.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    A group of men come running up to Stein after a little while, huffing and puffing and sweating. One of them wheezes out, "It's no good, doctor! We can't chase down that super-fast ostrich chicken on foot!"

    Stein just stares blandly at them with his cigarette hanging out of his mouth at an angle, his eyes not visible beyond the reflected light upon the lenses. "Oh, I see. That's unfortunate. It seemed to be an unusual specimen. Well, it doesn't seem like I'll have time for that right now anyway." The doctor turns to face Reina. "My opponent has arrived."

    "We still get paid, right?" one of the men asks.

    Stein waves dismissively and says, "Sure, sure. Just wait until this is over." He takes a pull on his cigarette and then lets it out, the smoke forming into a skull before it disperses. Then he drops the cig and grinds it under his shoe. "One way or another."

    With that, he advances to within speaking range of Reina, and waits... While the surroundings darken gradually thanks to the clouds starting to blot out the sun. Thunder rumbles in the distance, echoing over the plains.

    "Ah, so... I'm your opponent. Let's have a good match." he offers.

    A referee walks up, standing off to the side of the two combatants. He mops his brow a bit with a handkerchief, more out of nervousness than being overheated. He holds up one hand and says, "Qualifiers for bracket B of the World Martial Arts Tournament... Reina Kinney versus Franken Stein..."

    Then he drops his arm and calls out, "Begin!"

    Stein pulls his hands out of his pockets and waits for his opponent to make the first move.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Not all fights are equally interesting to watch, really. But then again... few of them have particular people in them.

    Among the people watching the qualifying matches is a certain witch who is more familiar with the Shibusen teacher than most people are. Even as the two fighters get ready in the arena itself, Medusa Gorgon finds herself a seat and sits down, a devious smile on her lips as she looks over one of the fighters. Well... this ought to be interesting.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    There's not a lot to be nervous about when fighting with Reina, as long as you stay out of her way and don't piss her off harshly enough to make her use one of her TECHNICs on you. Then again, in a place like this where there's lots of fighting going on and you don't know what to expect, the nervousness is understandable all the same. She stares at Stein, watching his little 'interaction' with his 'friends' and a sarcastic look appears on her face as she watches him dispose of his cigarette.

    "That stuff's bad for your lungs, you know," Reina says, the sarcasm easily detectable in her voice. "There are many great ways to help you stop though." She cracks her knuckles and rolls her neck around. "But I ain't the one to be talking about medicine and crap like that. I'm here to fight YOU! And let me tell you, I may have learned to fight on the streets, but GUARDIANS taught me even more valuable lessons. So prepare to face a true elite!"

    When the referee gives the signal to begin, the sarcastic look turns into a slightly sarcastic smile. "Ready? Here we go!" She yells as she goes in fast, attempting to deliver a swift elbow strike.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    The presence of Medusa in the stands, if noticed, goes unremarked upon. If anything, having her here will keep him sharp and alert, rather than distracting him. Speaking of distractions, Stein doesn't outwardly respond to the verbal goading or the sarcasm from Reina, about his smoking habit or anything else. Instead he's studying Reina's mannerisms, and movements. The signs that she is showing both consciously and subconsciously. When she charges in, and slams an elbow into his chest, Stein skids back, plowing up the grass and dirt beneath his feet...!

    But he doesn't skid too far, because one hand is attempting to seize hold of the arm used to strike him, and use it to pull Reina after him... And into a fist aimed at her face.

    "A good first strike," he compliments. Despite the impact of Reina's blow inflicting damage to him that sends pain throughout his ribcage, he doesn't seem to be hampered by it. The stitches all over his skin, and his love of dissection... Well, you have to have a high pain tolerance if you're going to be operating on yourself.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    There's no escape once someone has a hold of you. Unless you know Aikido or Judo or something like that. While the GUARDIANS style of fighting is similar to many traditional martial arts, it's more similar to CQC and similar military-styled fighting methods. Nevertheless, all Reina can do as the fist comes at her is squeeze her eyes shut and tense her face as the fist comes at her. And then it connects.

    "OWW!" Reina exclaims as she places her hand over her face, primarily her nose. It seems that the blow didn't hit her in the nose, thankfully, hitting more near the forehead and the eyes. "Oh, my head..." She mutters, before shaking it off and remembering how pain like that is meant to be trivial.

    "That was pretty good yourself," Reina says, her voice possibly sarcastic as she shakes off the dazedness. "Unfortunately, there's still a lot more to be happening here! So don't get too cocky!" She finishes this with a swift kick at Franken's ankle, attempting to either take him down or at least cause him to lose his balance.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Reina's leg sweep tears across the field where Stein is standing, leaving a gouge in the land... But there's an empty space that appears between when Reina begins her attack and when it reaches where her opponent should be. Stein leapt up into the air, just over the sweeping leg, and now nearly seems to hover in that moment of slowed time where it all clicks together. Then he reaches down with one hand, attempting to grab hold of Reina's leg, and then use it to whip her up and then back down into the ground once he lands.

    "If it was over after one blow, I'd be very disappointed," he answers. "You haven't shown me anything yet, right? So keep going. I want to learn more and more about you." If he succeeded in grabbing Reina's leg, he lets go at this point, but doesn't move too far back. He's not much of a ranged combatant, so moving too far out of reach would be counter-productive.

Kirikou (127) has posed:
    This is gonna be good.

    It's been a while since Kirikou's seen Stein in combat. The reputed best Meister of Shibusen is a bit of a legend, and also creepy as all hell. Still, a Meister fighting without a Weapon... well, Kirikou's intrigued. There's a distinct possibility they could fight in this tournament, and while he might have been no match for his teacher in the past, by the very nature of the tournament rankings he's actually got a decent chance should they come to blows!

    Of course he's still wounded from his own fight. Nothing that won't heal within a week or so, but he's supposed to get rest. Still, he just HAD to come out and see the fight. Fortunately for him, or perhaps NOT so fortunately, he knows a nurse who might have been willing to sign off on him attending the fight in person. IF, that is, she could supervise him personally to make sure he didn't aggravate his injuries.

    He's not really doing anything to aggravate the injuries yet. Just sitting in the stands and yelling himself hoarse. Not yelling anything in particular, just releasing adrenaline. The two kids with him are also yelling if not as loudly. Their voices are entirely drowned out by the crowd in face. Well okay, they've just got their huge mouths wide open in a semblance of yelling... but it's close enough to cheering right?

Reina Kinney has posed:
    "Damn it!" Reina exclaims as her attack misses. This, however, proves to be the least of her worries at this time. Instead, she's found that her leg has been caught by Franken Stein, and it's put her in quite a bad predicament. Is he going to kick out her leg instead?

    No, he's going to flip her up and over, head over heels, into the ground. She yells as she's tossed into the air, then lands with a grunt.

    "Falz that," Reina curses as she rolls backwards before jumping up onto her feet again. "I should've known better." She rubs at the side of her body a little, before looking at Franken Stein again. "Pretty good, but I know a lot more than that." She emphasises this with a roundhouse kick aimed at the side of his head.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    The roundhouse kick comes in from an angle, and it seems at though it strikes no problem, right in the face! Crushed grass and dirt that may have been caught on Reina's foot fly from the impact, and the doctor certainly seems to be forced to move by the blow, but... Something's wrong.

    That something is that he brought up one arm and took the brunt of the blow on his forearm. The strength was still enough to send him skidding again, off to the side, but though his arm is probably going to be sore it didn't do as much damage as if it had hit him in the head.

    His glasses, shadowed by his blocking arm, are no longer opaque. And the eyes behind them are very, very cold and nearly lifeless as he watches Reina. But he suddenly speeds forward, attempting to move into position behind her. "It seems if I want to see you use your true abilities, I have to make the first move." He draws back one hand, fingers held almost like claws, as a small charge of electricity sparks over his arm. Then he attempts to strike her forcefully in the back, sending a Soul Wavelength-amplified blow to try to hurl her forward.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    "OOF!" Reina goes flying forwards, falling to the ground but rolling as well so it's not down for too long. She gets up and shakes her head. "True abilities? You want true abilities, pal?" She asks sarcastically. "Well, I've got a lot more up my sleeve than just martial arts. In fact, I have a few tricks just like what you just did!"

    Reina starts to advance, but then stops. She raises one hand and points at Franken Stein. "I hope you're not 'shocked' by this one too much!" She says with a sarcastic grin, before chanting the name of her TECHNIC and sending forth a blast of lightning on the ground... aimed directly at Franken Stein!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    As Stein is electrocuted in turn by Reina's own mysterious power, he staggers back from the shock, his hair lifting a bit from the build-up. As his body is caught in the momentary paralysis of muscles locking up, it seems that she has turned the tide of battle by dealing with an electricity-user with his one true weakness: More electricity. But when the attack ends, Stein just stands there, smoke rising from him and his injuries a bit, head tilted back. Then he starts to chuckle a little. The intermittent laughter is dark as he says, "That's right..."

    Then he drops his head back down and falls into a fighting stance as he says, "That's the way. Show me more like that!" He's grinning broadly, crazily. His eyes are wide as he says, "There's more right? Show it to me!" Then he blurs forward, resonating with his own soul, and attempts to place two sparking hands on either side of Reina's head. And release a torrent of electricity inbetween them. If it succeeds, the results might be fairly gruesome. Possibly bleeding from the nose and eyes. But the damage should look worse than it actually is, because he's not trying to kill Reina or do any permanent damage.

    To onlookers though? They might get a different impression.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Indeed, it's more lethal than it really is. Especially in the case of Reina, who has a weakness against electricity. However, her body has been learning to adapt to it at the same time, but it's not easy. When the first volt surges into her body, she cries out and begins shaking. Then once she gets released, she finds that she's bleeding from her nose, just like Franken Stein suggested might happen. Unfortunately, when Reina sees her own blood, she sees red in more ways than one (and we don't mean her hair either!)

    "OK, now I'm really pissed off!" Reina yells to nobody in particular, before turning to face Franken Stein again. "You've done quite well so far, but when I'm mad, I hold nothing back!" She rushes in and attempts a rising knee to the stomach.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Reina's knee strike lifts Stein into the air from the force of it, nearly bending him in half. Blood flies from his mouth, and he seems to have had the air knocked out of him. When he hits the ground, it's on his back. And he just lies still for awhile. Was he defeated? Lying there still, he calls up lazily, "You hit hard. But we're back to basics again. I don't care if I lose." He sits up, his hair hanging in his eyes, and says, "But I want to at least have some good research material. How can I have that..." He runs a hand through his hair, his glasses having been knocked off at some point. When he opens one of his closed eyes, it's deep in shadow, and looks hollow somehow.

    "...When we aren't giving it our all." He rises to his feet slowly, possibly seeming to tower over Reina regardless of height, as his soul surges around him, a huge, stitched sphere with an ectoplasmic bolt through it than probably almost no one here can see. It requires Soul Perception after all. Or whatever the Witchy equivalent is.

    When he moves in to strike this time, he skids to a stop, attempting to deliver a Soul Wavelength-charged fist to Reina's stomach. It doesn't lash out only once though. It lashes out three times in rapid succession, aimed at the same location.

    "Consecutive Soul Menace Three-Fold!"

Reina Kinney has posed:
    What the hell was that just now? Whatever it was, it hurts like hell!

    Again Reina finds herself flat on the ground, and this time she struggles to push herself back up onto her feet. Whenever something like that happens, the mental voice of Laia Martinez, a.k.a. her instructor within GUARDIANS and her common superior, can be heard ringing in her head to get up and get back onto her feet. There's no giving up for GUARDIANS, no matter how hopeless it seems.

    "That was a clever trick, I'll give you that." Reina says, dusting herself off with a few expressions of pain. "But I think it's time we cooled things off a bit. I'm afraid I'm getting a bit too hot under the collar... and I bet you are too!" She points at Franken Stein and yells out the command for an ice TECHNIC. With that, a blast of ice slides across the ground, aiming for Frank!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    The ice spreads across the ground, catching Stein's ankles and legs and causing freezing damage to his skin. Rather than risk being immobilized by the ice spears that are stabbing into his appendages, he sweeps one arm downwards in an arc seemingly intend to shatter it. But the spark of his Soul Wavelength along the limb says something else may be coming. The ice melts rapidly, its damage already done, but leaving behind a line of water pooling on the surface between Stein and Reina.

    He keeps his hand in the chilled water afterwards. When he looks up from his crouched position at Reina, he seems to have regained self-control. He says calmly, "An interesting property of the Soul Menace technique is that it's conducted more effectively by water."

    His Soul Wavelength surges through the water attempting to electrocute Reina even more heavily and painfully than before.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    This time, Reina seems to be anticipating something like that, and she tries to turn out of the way while assuming a defensive stance. Turning doesn't seem to let her avoid the incoming attack, but the defensive stance does help. Her body seems to barely even feel it. It's more like a tingling sensation than anything. "What're you trying to do, give me novocaine or something?" She asks, smirking sarcastically.

    "If you really wanna fight hard, you'll have to do better than that!" Reina exclaims as she attempts to rush in and do a sliding tackle on Franken Stein!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    The tackle takes Stein down, his injured legs inhibiting his movements just enough to turn his evasion attempt into placing his arm in the exact wrong position. He lands on it, and it breaks, or at least cracks. The pain is significant, to say the least. But he springs back up quickly, somersaulting through the air, and landing on his feet. He doesn't seem to have anything further to say for his opponent, instead surging forward again and attempting to kick her in the head very, very hard, only to grab her before she can go anywhere, and draw her back in for a knee to the face, followed by a simple non-enhanced punch to attempt to knock Reina to the ground... And then that still-functional arm coming back up again, and back down, railing sparking electricity in a palm-strike aiming to do limited internal damage.

Inwardly, Stein is lamenting the rules and restrictions in place, as he always does. The world of law that everyone is expected to abide by. An imaginary morality of right and wrong that doesn't really exist. They aren't fighting to kill. And while his opponent is a capable combatant who is doing a lot of damage to him now that she's doing her best, neither of them can really fight at their utmost limit without risking death on one side or the other.

    His sudden silence in this fight is due to his inner struggle not to just say 'to hell with the rules', and start attempting to cut Reina up. But it's a struggle he has regularly, and he's in no great danger of giving in.

    Probably.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Franken Stein had best learn to control his struggles better. Because Reina has just received a huge barrage of attacks that have cut into her uniform and left her bleeding more than before. Unfortunately, her MAG, Ryulikon, a.k.a. the little fox-raccoon thing that generally floats above her shoulder, is bobbing up and down. This is an indication that its reached maximum power, and it's ready for a Photon Blast! And when it's ready for a Photon Blast, it means Reina's really angry!

    The blood on the ground makes Reina see more red than usual, and then she finds the adrenaline surging through her as she forces herself up onto her feet again. "You've really got a dirty method, you know that?!" Reina exclaims angrily. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you did!"

    Reina holds out her hand, and a circular symbol appears in front of it, almost like one of ancient language or something like that. Then lightning begins to form in it, and then with a cry, she sends forth what seems like numerous bolts of electricity, all of which are aiming at Franken Stein!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Amidst all the other electrical surges, a lightning bolt streaks down from the heavens and strikes the plains. Rain has begun to fall, and it quickly becomes a deluge. Thunder rumbles loudly, following the lightning strike, with Stein taking in deep breaths to calm himself. Reina's anger over her pain is understandable. It's a natural reaction. But her declaration that his methods are 'dirty' has his eyebrows twitch downwards and a small grunt of disapproval come from him. One arm hangs at his side, hurting and twisted. He could take the time to stitch the bones back together with his own Soul Wavelength, but in the middle of battle isn't usually a good time to perform surgery of any kind.

    Madness dances within him, so close to emerging, but he has brought it back under control. Just in time for Reina's furious attack to send electrical bolts surging towards him! He takes multiple bolts despite attempts to evade, and while some are escaped, most do at least partial damage. Enough to leave his coat scorched in several spots.

    With his body aching in protest, he waits and smolders visibly from the attacks he took. The rain pelts everyone, matting down Stein's hair. He never breaks his gaze from Reina, however. "There's no such thing as dirty in a fight. But at this is a tournament match, I'll concede maybe you have grounds for thinking my fighting style does not abide by the spirit of the competition. However!" Using only one arm, he slips out of his labcoat and tosses it aside, the patchwork undershirt he wears beneath seeming to be stitched into his skin. The extent of the damage to his body so far can now be seen more clearly.

    "If you want to prove your method is the superior method, you'll have to defeat me. And that will require power. It's always those in power who make the rules, after all." Then he dashes forwards, closing the gap between them swiftly, and uses his broken arm in an attack despite the damage he has suffered to it. He thrusts two palms forward at Reina, trying to slam her with two Soul Menace attacks simultaneously! "Two Palm Soul Menace!"

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Reina was not expecting that, and finds herself very seriously wounded at this time. She feels like she could give out at any time, but she knows as long as she's not out for the count, she still has a chance. She thinks carefully, trying to formulate a last-ditch plan in her head. Then it hits her about what Franken Stein had said earlier. About water and things like that.

    Reina weakly chants the TECHNIC of ice, only this time she uses a more powerful variation. Hopefully this should keep Franken Stein away.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Reina's attack that surges towards Stein now reminds him, in a flash, of a similar situation in the past, where the only way to land a finishing blow was to risk death himself. This is not a life-or-death situation, and as he himself said, it's okay with him if he loses. But with his opponent down right in front of him, not completing the match properly at least feels a bit weak. He has seen some very interesting elemental abilities from Reina, skilled hand to hand combat, and a spirit willing to give in to anger and bloodlust when properly motivated. He is content to have learned from his opponent more of what the Multiverse has to offer. And yet...

    If he saw this much from this opponent, what might he discover from future ones? Should he just give up here and let this be the end without seeing who and what else lies in wait? No, no. His scientific curiosity demands he continue! To stop researching, to stop thinking, is tantamount to dying!

    So as a wave of ice spikes spreads across the ground towards him, Stein employs a method he did one before in the past, against a certain Witch who is here today. He simply charges straight forward as fast as he can, allowing the spikes to strike him, stab him, cut into him, and trying to bypass the lethal front wall of the attack by pushing past it and into the 'tail' of it. And there, his eye and grin wide, he pulls back his intact arm and thrusts it forwards at Reina, trying to strike her with one final Soul Menace attack. Final, because if he fails here, he probably won't get a second chance.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    That hit was not only cheap, but painful too. Reina attempts to kick at Franken Stein, but he catches her at the last second. She cries out and goes down to the ground. Struggling to get up, Reina's glaring daggers at him before she collapses again... for good.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Stein is bleeding all over, battered, bruised, with a broken arm, but he feels alive like he rarely does in a world of bland comformity like Shibusen. He has to consciously suppress the urge to laugh maniacally as his opponent falls. Instead, the referee calls out over the sound of the rain and the wind and the thunder, "That's it! This pulse-pounding match is over! Reina Kinney can no longer fight! Winner... Franken Steeeiiin!" And the doctor reaches down with his healthy arm to try to help Reina up. And if she can't get up, then he at least helps her onto the operating table he brought with them. Though to bring her to the medics on-duty, not to operate on her, of course.

    The doctor will need some treatment himself. And to retrieve his coat.

    ...And his glasses. Where did those go?