THUNK… THUNK… THUNK… BOOM

Metal impacts against stone, thunking in a mining symphony, its crescendo an explosion that rips through the walls, sending dirt and dust falling to the ground. Underground, a few hundred feet deep, a girl punches her gauntleted fists into the walls over and over, sweat beading down her forehead, mixing with the dirt and grime as it treks down the expanse of her face. She exhales slowly, allowing herself a moment to wipe her face, her hand running gliding across her glistening, bronze skin to the short, auburn curls that tumble down just above her shoulders. Her eyes flit back toward the cavern she's created, a long expanse of broken up stone and dirt. It's nearing a mile, though it needs a bit more than a final push to go over the edge. She works her gauntleted hand, wincing a smidge as she does. Her forearm aches, her knuckles unhappy with the long hours of fisticuffs with an uncaring stone wall.

“I reckon I could…” She mutters to herself, her head turning side to side before looking down at the gauntlet with trepidation. She knows when she takes but one step back, they'll start to nag her. Trying never hurts, though. She takes a tentative step away from the front of the tunnel, her breath hitching in her throat as she gets on her tiptoes, each step creating small crunches as the stone shifts beneath her feet. She makes it about three steps before that voice rings through her head, her steps freezing as she suppresses the urge to slam her head into the wall with all her might.

“There is more work to be done,” The voice speaks. The same pitch, same tone, same monotone everything as per usual, ”Get back to it, Liv.”

Liv mumbles under her breath, looking down at the gauntlets. They're a dusty metal, covered in the same dirt and grime as Liv. Despite all the abuse Liv has put them through, not a single dent or scratch has made its way onto its surface. She's debated the damn thing so may times, but she always does what the damn thing asks of her. She hasn't given up yet, but every loss stings a bit more than the last. Debating it is all she can do, however, so debate she does.

“I don't wanna.” She says simply, glaring down at the left gauntlet with a challenging glare. She swears she can feel it staring back at her in times like these, times where she tries to put her foot down. She doesn't know if it has eyes of any sort, she never studied what type of creature she had on her hands.

“It's imperative you continue to dig.” It says, its voice as impassive as always. Same opening, same tone, same everything. If she hadn’t gone through every argument she could possibly think of, she’d think it was an automated response. Just going through the same motions as always.

Liv rolls her eyes, her tongue clicking against her teeth. She would kill for a break in the monotony, for someone else to speak to, for a light to shine through and free her from her solitude. Sadly, she knew there was nobody at this point, she had checked more than once. What she wouldn't do for someone else to talk to. “Been 'bout ten years, and you still ain't speakin’ on why I keep diggin’. Ain't ya gonna share... I dunno, any day now?”

Without a second's hesitation, the boss’s voice rings through, not a hint of emotion bleeding through. Typical for the damned gauntlets. “When the time is right, you will be made aware. Proceed.”

“And what if I don't wanna?” She shoots back, a gruff frown on her face. Her other hand rests on her hip, her mind working to find ways out. She just wanted to rest, to sleep in for one day.

“It would be incredibly inefficient of you,” It responds, “Seeing as you’re already nearing completion of today's allotted mile.”

“My muscles’re killin’ me, though,” She responds, shrugging her shoulders. In actuality, she wasn’t all that tired. Sure, it wasn’t exactly easy punching through stone for an entire mile from sunrise to sunset, but she’d gotten used to it at this point. It's not an untreaded gambit– one she's liberally abused to minimal success; although, her back did ache a bit, and her forearms have certainly been better. She continues, reaching up to rub her trapezium muscle with a groan. “Don’t think I’ll make this one… Mighta tore a muscle, boss.”

Her boss doesn’t speak for a moment. Liv stares, hope bubbling up in her chest. Rarely does her boss ever freeze or pause, let alone for this long. Did she actually have some sort of injury? She already incurred three just today, so that would give her at least a day to work with. Early rest was more than rare, and she could argue she completed a mile when she came back for this one! It was genius-!

“Highly unlikely,” the boss interrupts her merriment, its infernal, grating voice raining on her parade. “I have done an extensive scan on your body. While there are a few microtears within your lower trapezium, it's hardly something that would constitute a true ‘tear’. Resting for the night will fix them, so it makes no difference if you go for an additional dozen yards with such minimal injuries.”

Liv groans, running the hand that was just on her back down her face, doubling as a way to get some of the extra sweat that's collected on her face. It's blazing down here, it is every time she stops mining, seeping into her skin, making her body sluggish as a sloth, every breath filling her lungs with air hot enough to evaporate water. She considers arguing for a bit, but ultimately goes against it. Once again, the damned things had convinced her, and arguing with it in the heat would just make it even more annoying a chore to do.

With a sigh, she shrugs her shoulders a final time, allowing both her hands to fall as she loosens them, jittering all the aching muscles from her arms, to her shoulders, and all the way in her back. Just a bit more, and she’s done for the day. Hopping from one foot to the other to loosen her legs, she begins forming that mind-muscle connection to generate more power before planting her feet, priming her fist as her hips twist.

THUNK

Her gauntleted fist slams against the stone causing large chunks to cascade down, thumping to the floor like a… Well, stone. Her expression hardly changes as she shakes her hand, trying to ease the dull ache that runs across her nerves with the impact of her fist. One down, three to go. She primes that same fist once more, pulling it back before she allows it to fly loose.

THUNK

Her hand slams back into the stone once more, causing more of the dense stone to chip off, falling to the floor as the entire cavern shakes, the vibrations reverberating through her body. Strange… It's never that powerful. She can swear she feels the reverberations farther above ground, causing loose dirt to rain down like a haze. She thinks for a moment of how she could’ve caused that reaction, but quickly shakes it off. If anything, she’s just getting stronger– she might be able to complete these miles quicker. The thought makes her smile; after all, more time to relax is always welcome. Maybe she could get into that reading business. She was never much of an academic. Two done, two to go. She primes her fist again, putting a bit more pizazz into it– might as well show off, even if nobody’s going to see it.

THUNK

Her hand slams into the stone again, the fault lines within her gauntlets glowing a bright orange, the heat within the cavern increasing. The reverberations were far stronger that time, causing the cavern to rumble as if the earth itself was ready to split open. She stops for a moment, her brows furrowing, unable to ignore the shaking beneath her feet. That impact was certainly more concerning. Was she hitting something above ground? It couldn't be, she was hundreds of feet down, far enough to make ladders impossible to use. She shakes her head, equating the quivers of the earth to her punches. Getting stronger was good, right? With a final breath, she twists her hips a final time, letting loose a final swing of her fist.

THUNK

…

BOOM

Her fist suddenly detonates, the wall blown to smithereens as stone dust billows out in all directions, cascading down like snow on a winters day. The power of it blows back at her, her arms raising to shield her body, her planted feet skidding on the floor. Liv can swear she hears a snap, the reverberations stopping for a split moment. For a single second, she considers if her strength was a placebo, if it were some sort of earthquake... That didn't explain the snap, but she could've been hearing things. Maybe she broke a bone? No, she didn't feel any pain, and her boss would immediately comment if she had some sort of bone break. She had dug hundreds of caverns, and not once had she heard a "snap" before. What could it have been then-.

CRASH

Liv jumps as a massive crash sounds out, the world shaking for a horrifying second as her cavern forms a massive sinkhole, the earth above her crashing downward into it. She covers herself, preparing to shield herself... But it proves unneeded. None of it seems to come into contact with her, most of it focused behind her. Liv slowly opens her eyes, looking around at her cavern, The entire back of the cavern has caved in, just a bit of it sinking as horrible smog seeps down, its tint unmistakable.

“Boss? The hell did I just do?” She questions, her voice filled with awe and a hint of fear. Had she done that? She sure as shit hoped not. Despite her earlier musings on her strength, that was perhaps too much strength. She sure as shit didn't want to get herself killed just because she couldn’t control the power in her punches.

For the longest moment of Liv's life, her boss doesn't say a word, panic running rampant in Liv's mind. Once it does give its assessment, however, Liv's panic is subdued.

“I believe you hit something quite large. Perhaps a support on a building? Either way, it is of little consequence.” They say slowly, though they don't seem as clear and confident as usual, a hint of doubt creeping in their voice. "You'll just have to be more careful when digging."

“Huh… Aight,” She responds slowly, her eyebrows furrowing, “I'm gonna go above ground n' check.”

“For what reason?” It responds, confusion lacing its usual pragmatic voice.

Liv smiles, real pride and giddiness entering her voice as she responds, “If I knocked down a buildin'... I kinda wanna see.”