The first to burst laughing was Jay, and soon after everyone else joined in.
"That has got be the funniest thing I've heard all day." He was laughing so hard he could feel slight pains in his ribs. Even Flu who mostly stays silent was laughing a little.
"No frickin' way, you're serious?" Jay said after he saw the serious look on Tai's face, causing him to laugh even harder, even wiping a tear from his face.
"That's enough, Jay. Let's finish this quickly, I think have a date today." Chuck pulled out his short swords and began to walk forward.
"Sure thing, bro." Jay followed behind while still laughing.
Chuck began to run in Tai's direction. He was fast, but not at a speed she couldn't handle, she was more worried about Flu.
She had looked in his direction and confirmed that he was still standing, so she expected him to use his talent again.
"Tai!" she heard Wyatt shout.
When she looked back at Chuck, she was surprised to see that he wasn't just in front of her now, he was also ready to swing his swords at her.
She had only managed to dodge due to her good reflexes and Wyatt's call. She jumped back to where Wyatt was standing. if that attack had landed that would have been fatal.
Chuck was still quite a distance away when she looked at Flu, and even then all did was take a quick glance, there was no way Chuck was that fast. So how did he do it?
"Teleportation." Wyatt said as if he knew what she was thinking about. "He teleported the moment you looked away."
They didn't seem to be attacking now for some reason. They were huddled around that Flu kid, so she used the chance to ask "Wyatt, you can follow their movements?"
"Not exactly, but I heard the short guy snap his fingers both times that it happened although there was a slight delay." He replied with a sad expression "But even if I can it's not like there's anything I can do."
Tai on the other was all smiles, it looked like Wyatt's incredible senses would come in handy. "Wyatt, wanna help?" she asked with a smile, leaving Wyatt more confused.
It looked like Chuck and his friends had finished whatever they were doing, but they weren't the only ones.
"Okay, breaks over. Let's try this again shall we." Tai had told her Wyatt plan, and if it goes well then they wouldn't have to worry about Flu's talent anymore. And to them he was by far the most troublesome of the three.
The three of them rushed in after Tai said those words, while she also ran to them, and they all met in the middle.
The first to reach her was Chuck, he swung the sword in his right hand, Tai dodged by moving back a step.
"Snap!" Wyatt yelled.
Instantly, Tai's eyes darted around like lightning, scanning for a opening- and she found it. He was coming from behind.
Sure enough, Flu had appeared behind her ready to attack. But to the the surprise of him and everyone else, Tai was the first to strike, she had back kicked him away the moment he appeared. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it still hurt like hell.
After booting Flu out of the way, the others froze—just long enough for her to land two brutal kicks that launched them like rag dolls.
Flu Teleported back to where his friends where. "How'd she do that, Flu?" Chuck asked as he stood up.
"I-I don't know." Flu was shivering with fear. The only reason he was strong was because his ability was hard to counter. If she truly found a way to pinpoint his teleportation then he was useless to friends.
"Don't worry." Jay patted his shoulder. "It was probably a fluke, let's try again. Right, Chuck."
"Yeah. But try to make them less noticeable, maybe that's why she can counter them."
Tai on the hand gave Wyatt a thumbs up, the plan was working perfectly.
**
"You're sure you can hear his fingers snap from this distance?" Tai was shocked, just how good was his hearing to be able not hear it, but also pick out the sound from the chaos.
Wyatt just nodded like it was something everyone could do.
"Well in that case I have an idea." she said. "If you can alert me every time you hear me, then I can try to counter."
"Are you sure? The delay is barely a second." Wyatt asked worriedly.
"A second should be more than enough." She boasted. "Just who do you think I am." she continued.
Wyatt eventually agreed, it wasn't like they had any other ideas. It this had even a small chance of working then they would take it.
**
"Hey, shit heads. I'm not getting any younger here, are we doing this or not?" Tai continued to taunt them, goading them into attacking again. And it surprisingly worked.
Chuck, who had had enough of her taunts and insults, ran in, enraged, Flu and Jay close behind as usual.
Tai finally had a plan—and it looked like it might actually work. But she couldn't get sloppy. Jay still had his magnetism talent, and she had no clue how powerful he really was. Then there was Chuck, quiet as ever, still keeping his abilities close to the chest.
Chuck stormed forward, closing the distance in a blink. His blade tore through the air in savage arcs – no form, no finesse – just raw, unfiltered fury. The swordsman was gone; in his place, a beast with steel for hands.
Tai weaved through every strike with effortless grace—not a single move wasted
Jay came in with his large shield in front of him, he activated his talent, the power of magnetism. It drew Tai into the shield against her will, the slip up didn't go unnoticed by Chuck, who swung his blades with all his might.
"Snap!" Wyatt shouted again, sudden and sharp. No one paid him any mind—no one knew why he was yelling. But he wasn't shouting for them. The one who needed to hear it? Heard him loud and clear."
Tai scanned the landscape again – sharp, calculating. Her side was exposed, a perfect blind spot for an ambush. And just like that, flu blinked into place beside her. But he wasn't the only one with a trick up his sleeve. In one smooth motion, Tai snatched his collar and yanked him into the path of Chuck's incoming blade. Surprise.
It all happened in a second, neither Chuck or Flu had time process what happened. One moment Flu was ready to attack, the next second he had received two giant slashes from Chuck's blade.
"You b*tch." Jay snarled venomously. He had witnessed what happened, but he too was to slow to do anything. "I'll kill you!"
One brutal shield hit launched Tai across the field—but before she could recover, his magnetism snapped her back, and he drove her into the ground like a hammer.
She coughed up a mouthful of blood when she hit the ground. She didn't even have a moment to rest, immediately after handling Flu, Jay had assaulted her with his shield. Not even giving her a moment to breathe.
Chuck just stood there over Flu. The wounds weren't that deep, but they looked bad, if they didn't find a healer it would leave quite a nasty scar.
His hands were shaking, he had hurt his own friend, that stupid b*tch made him hurt his own friend.
His rage boiled over, twisting his face into something unrecognizable. All he saw was her—and the need to destroy her. He wasn't holding back anymore.
Jay's shield came at her again and again, merciless, unrelenting. Tai could barely keep up—fatigue clawed at her limbs, her mind slipping into fog. The earlier fights had taken their toll, and now it was catching up to her fast.
Chuck moved in slowly, calm as ever, with that quiet kind of menace. Jay didn't let up—his shield slammed into her again and again, every hit driving her closer to the edge.
"You'll pay for what you did b*tch." Chuck said as he slowly inched towards her.
Suddenly a dagger flew through the air at an incredible pace and lodged itself right into Jay's shoulder.
The pain hit him hard—enough to make him pause mid-swing. Tai didn't waste a second. She drove the dagger deeper into his shoulder, then launched him back with a kick, finally buying herself some space.
Chuck's head turned fast, straight toward whoever threw the dagger.
There stood Wyatt—one arm extended from the throw, the other gripping another dagger, ready for round two.
Beside him lay Taffy—unconscious, bruised, and beaten.