Ken fumbled with the bags. His body was recuperating after the battle with Evan, and he was almost fully hydrated again. Thijs, next to him, had thought to bring a backpack; they had gone down to the concession stand at the break between the first round of matches, and were bringing back chips for the class. 

“I think this may have been a waste of money, Ken” Thijs commented, “I don't think they'll appreciate it, they probably have other things to focus on, like their upcoming bouts.”

Ken huffed. “Well! Then there's more for us!”

The two rounded into a quiet corridor, the ones that led to the classe’s section in the stands. Not too many casual tournament goers went here, since the events and concessions were on the other end of the stadium. 

As they paced down, two more figures turned a corner at the far edge. They were 2 girls; one had thick but silky black hair, and small insectoid ridges sticking out from her temples. Her eyes were lacking an iris, a full iridescent green. The other girl was significantly bigger; she had blond hair and long krill-like antennae arching back over her head. Her right sleeve was ripped away, giving space to a massive blue armored claw. The two girls noticed Thijs and Ken, and adjusted their course. 

“Ken Hill” the blonde one said, antennae flicking slightly. She put her human hand on her hip, and the boys saw the outline of large muscles pull against her sleeve. 

“Hi there! Have we met?”

“No. But I make a point to know the names of Class’ A’s strongest.” Her voice was foreign; slavic, it seemed. It reminded ken of the Paragon’s #2 hero, Wyvern. 

“Oh, ah thank you!” Ken stammered, feeling odd to be holding a pile of chips without explanation. “I'm so sorry, I didn't catch your name…”

“Veronika Nikipelova, of Class B.” She stated, full of pride. “Call me Vera”. 

“Oh, so you two are from Class B?” Thijs questioned.

Veronika peered at him, confused. “Who are you?”

Thijs answered, annoyed- especially given her comment about Class A’s strongest. “Thijs. Van der weg.”

“Ah,” she muttered. “German?”

“D u t c h”. Thijs corrected, fuming.

“All same to me.” Veronika smiled, turning her attention back to Ken. “Do me a favor, get through the semi-finals. I wish to face you for final show.” 

“Oh- ah, Sure-?" Ken laughed nervously, having a hard time coming up with an appropriate response. “I'll give it my best!”

Veronika smiled an odd grin, and walked through them. The other girl leaned in; Thijs noted her hands were insectlike and green, with only 3 fingers each. “Hey” she sighed, almost seductively. Her voice wasn't as accented as Veronika’s, but definitely had a latin tint to it. “Have you guys even bothered to scope us out?”

Thijs leaned back, uncomfortable. “Uh, no, why?”

The girl smiled. “Because a good fighter knows their opponent before stepping in the ring.” She flicked her hair, and started after her friend. “Tell Jett that Andressa said hi. And I'm looking forward to him.” 

The two girls strode away without turning back. 

The boys stared after them, before Thijs’ eyes widened. “Wait,” he said. “Veronika,,,, she's up against Hannah next!”

“Oh, right!” Ken snapped out of it. “We should get up to our seats, otherwise we may miss it!” 

The boys started moving again, and Thijs muttered under his breath. 

“Hannah’s gonna destroy her.” 

---

The boys sat at their seats, just as the announcer was queueing up the competitors.

“Ladies and gentleman! Welcome back! Are you readyyyy for the next fight?”

“First; fighting out of the left corner! She's the girl from Class A with a ton of bark and twice as much bite! Her spinning blades make her a formidable challenge for any competitor to overcome today. Introducing the voracious, Hannah Hendrix!”

Hannah paced onto the stage, smiling her usual confident smile. She bounced on her toes at her place at the platform, seeming ready to get started. As the crowd died down, Ken and Thijs saw Vera pacing out from the other terminal, calm as could be. 

“And fighting out of the Right corner, I bring you, Veronika Nekipelova! She's a strong contender of Class B, reining out from the harsh tundra of Siberia! Her quirk packs a mean punch, in more ways than one! It'll be an exciting match to pick us up, folks!”

Vera squared off with Hannah, both menacing. But Hannah with more of a wild craziness, like a vicious animal. Veronika had more of a calm menace, like a hunter determined to tame it.

“Begin!”

Hannah and Vera moved towards each other. Hannah stuck out her arms; the spikes that floated over her skin rotated around her arms in long loops, forming her signature chainsaw-like attack pattern. Hannah jumped, striking out with her right saw. 

Vera planted her feet and struck out with her massive claw, colliding with Hannah’s spikes. Sparks flew as blades met armor, and Hannah was thrown back, landing on her feet. She returned for a counter attack, and Vera raised her claw defensively. 

Hannah unleashed a flurry of slashes onto Vera’s large claw, scratching its tough exterior. Vera seemed to hardly move at all, and laughed, enraging Hannah further. 

---

“Damn” Ken said, leaning forward. “That claw is super strong!” 

Thijs leaned back in his seat, dejected. “Just wait, Hannah will get her.” 

---

Hannah stepped back, and changed tactics. She focused her spikes onto the ends of her hands, like spiked gloves. She struck the claw, embedding them deeply, and then rotated them up her arm. The force sent her own body up and over it, where she was in striking range of Vera’s unprotected face. Vera quickly countered, swinging her claw outwards, the force dislodging Hannah’s spikes and sending her tumbling to the ground. Their height difference became really apparent now; Vera stood an entire head taller than Hannah. The girl from Class A reset her spikes into their saw positions, no longer smiling. 

“Ok” Vera laughed, sticking her claw forward. She opened the claw, just a small amount. “Fun’s over; let's finish this.”

Hannah charged her, blades whirring faster than ever before. Just before she reached the claw, it snapped shut, and Hannah was blown back. The claw released a large SNAP sound, and fluid shot from the crevice between the claw tips. It struck Hannah in the face, and she staggered backwards, blue fluid dripping from her head. 

---

“Whoa, “ Thijs now leaned forward as well. “What was that??”

---

Vera relaxed her claw, and walked forward casually. She had completely dropped her guard. Before her, Hannah stood motionless, spikes frozen in place and body in ready stance. Her frown was locked into place, and she growled as she tried to move.

“Wow! Didn't I tell you folks? Veronika has managed to completely paralyze Hannah! That claw isn't just for hard hits; it's pressurized, and fluid within is a powerful muscle sedative! Not to mention the sound!”. 

Vera was right in front of Hannah now, and she leaned in close, teasing. “That's right” she said, right in front of the girl’s face. “Now, there's nothing you can do.”

The spike almost shredded Vera’s nose, who pulled back just in time, shocked. It wavered on the tip of Hannah’s own nose, floating motionless. Then, across Hannah’s whole body, the spikes began rotating in concentric circles, creating a buzz of rotating blades around her body. 

“And in an incredible turnaround, Hannah looks still able to use her quirk! The spikes are forming an impenetrable defense! Perhaps it'll take a bit more than that!” 

Vera growled, and struck at Hannah with her claw. The spikes rotated to block, and absorbed the impact as Hannah was thrown onto her back, close to the edge of the platform. Vera moved in, raising her heavy claw menacingly to strike down on Hannah’s paralyzed body. 

At the last second, Hannah’s body moved, sliding across the ground and avoiding the shattering hit. It swiveled; and Hannah reached her hand up painfully, grabbing at Vera’s calf. Vera tried to jump back, but the spikes raced up Hannahs arm and sliced her leg before she did. Vera’s leg started to bleed,as Hannah’s body slid to the center of the platform. Hannah, growling, started to get up, now straining on one knee.

“What what what??”, the announcer yelled. “Let's take a look at the replay, there, I have no idea what just happened.”

The teleprompter switched to a slow-motion replay, right as Hannah was falling from Vera’s hit. As she fell, you could clearly see several spikes rotate behind her, cushioning the fall for her paralyzed body. When Vera came in for the overhead hit, the spikes moved like treads around her torso, letting her ‘slide’ across the ground and reach out at Vera’s leg. 

---

The crowd cheered, and Thijs leaned over the railing in excitement. “HELL YEAH!” he cheered, pumping his fist forward. “That's some Thijs level thinking!”

“I disagree.” Chimlin laughed. “Because that was good thinking”

---

Vera winced at the pain in her leg, and turned towards Hannah angrily. The paralysis was starting to wear off. “So you can still move? Fine. You leave me no choice, Hendrix.”

Hannah rotated her blades in defense as Vera rushed her. Just before she struck her with the claw, it opened, wider this time. She punched out, and just before impact, slammed the claw shut. 

The sound was deafening, most of the front row of the crowd wincing. Those who did look on saw Hannah being struck by a powerful jet of fluid, blasting her in the gut and sending her flying off the platform. The spiked girl lay there, ears ringing, body paralyzed and aching. Vera raised her heavy claw to the sky in triumph.

“Hannah is unable to fight, and out of bounds! The winner is, Veronika Nikipelova!”

The crowd cheered, and Vera made back to her terminal, limping slightly on her cut leg. 

---

Thijs and Ken looked at each other in shock. 

“That's one tough-ass lady.” Switch chimed from behind them.