Owner Pose
Cain Marko These sort of places aren't exactly an unknown thing but doesn't stop it from happening. Generally - 'fighting for fun' is, kinda sorta, an illegal offense in most places although there are exceptions to the rule where things like mutual consent is concerned. Throw in the meta, mutant, super, alien, or whatever looking to blow off steam and make some money in circuits that will cater to their talents since normal combat sports are off to them..and you've got a little circle of business going on that can sustain the willing and even attract the attention of certain organizations with less then clean reputations.

Such is the case here in an abandoned subway somewhere in New York but not to disconnected from the seedier areas and even Mutant Town. A massive abandoned subway station is the perfect place for the type of shenanigans and it is open and welcome to all comers be they human, mutant, meta, alien or otherwise. The place stays hopping and one never knows who they might run into given the ability for any all types to it in around here. A combo gambling hall, ring and bar, the place is large enough to hide just about anybody if they want. At least at first. There's no accounting for persistent tracking of infamous figures. The nature of its setup makes it easy to put up and take down as well, allowing for speedy dismantling should authoritative eyes look this way.

Bets are being placed and two metahuman bruisers are going at it in the ring. Very low tier as such powers are considered but even so the force of their punches can be felt all the way through the fifth row seats.

In the back lurks an immense presence. Cain Marko is used to this place, having visited it once or twice. A corner table reinforced for his massive weight is dominated by his hulking physique and he watches the proceedings with a look of utter, irredeemable boredom. Cyttorak is unsatisfied. Therefore he is unsatisfied. A tee shirt sporting Godzilla looming over a skyline, stretches across his gigantic torso, swelling visibly and stretching under the behemoths heavy breaths. A sign of his slowly bubbling and boiling ire and dissatisfaction at the entertainment this evening.
Stella Roundtree      Sometimes you just want to go where absolutely no one knows your name, and Stella is one of those people this evening. She seems to almost vibrate with anger, the brunette mutant woman immediately making her way to the bar. Shots to start.
     "Fuck it," she says, "I'll go on in. Gimme one of those big boys, I can knock 'em down," she says. There's a short argument and a discussion, and it seems unfair. But hey, maybe some guys like to watch a girl get beaten up. But the two in the ring don't last long. At least one of them doesn't, out cold with a few hits.
     "Lady, unless you have something up your sleeve, you're gonna end up in the morgue, but it's your funeral," says a rat-like mutant taking bets. But as one man is pulled from the ring, Stella tosses off her winter jacket and even pulls off her t-shirt, letting them bunch by the stage and standing there in a sport bra, jeans, and boots. There's whistling, and as she moves, one can see the sternum tattoo that trails from under her breasts and curves down around her ribcage, moths and moons. Honestly, it look like someone's moderately attractive older sister just got into the ring. There's whistling and laughing.
     "Bets on the broad!" the sound rings out from a barker. "Or bets on tonight's champ, his third round? DO you think he has what it takes to not break her neck?" More laughter. "Maybe the other two tired him out!"
Cain Marko Now really fellas. They should know better. In a world where folk built like super models can throw a trawler into space, the very real potential that they are about to be trolled should be on somebodys mind but it also could be exactly what it looks like with a young girl getting in way over on her head and thinking she's got more to offer then she actually does. It's happened before. Itll happen again.

"This some sorta joke??" snarks the thick necked bruiser across fro Stella as he looks her over while leaning against the far end of the ring. His expression becomes a full on sneer as he drags himself up and begins to saunter over towards the waiting gal, fists balling up and waiting on the imminent signal to begin.

"Don't go cryin' when you wake up in Urgent Care." he drawls out evilly.

In the back, the behemoth stirs. Leaning forward with sudden interest and a narrowed gaze as these proceedings take their unusual turn. He says nothing but simply rests a heavy elbow on his table and massive hand against the side of his head, tapping his finger there repeatedly as he watches these events begin to unfold.
Stella Roundtree      "I'm good!" Stella waves, almost too cheerfully for the situation. Could go either way. Is there some latent monster under her skin, waiting to transform? Or did she snort the wrong line off a mirror and think she's a god? Hard to say down here, and the man in the ring doesn't care either way. "Go ahead bud. I bet I can beatcha without you landing a single hit," she taunts. Dangerous, dangerous, and she she's definitely not sober.
     The bell rings. The girl isn't even in a fighting stance, she's just sort of looking around the ring as the man descends upon her. There's a strange tension in the air around her, and she just gut punches the man. Barely looked like she moves, but it sends him both back a few feet and into a rage. "Shit, sorry. Isn't that how Houdini died?" the brunette asks. "I'll try to punch higher next-" But her snark gets her in trouble, because he's ON her in a matter of seconds. She's under him, knocked to the ground, but it's absolutely silent, no noise from their bodies. And then there's a displaced CRACK! sound near the male combatant's head, and he covers his ears as he's kicked back off.
     The girl rolls back to her feet. There is nothing trained about this, no form, this is a like watching a wine mom get up from yoga.
Cain Marko The male bruiser emits a string of expletives that would peel paint from walls. The sentiment is echoed by those who had been mocking the newcomer and deriding her with slurs and jeers. Now their colective confusion causes a building uproar of activity around the ring as the tenor of the situation shifts and the entire room becomes electrified from the antics that are underway. In a split moment it's gone from a joke to a guessing game on just how this is going to end to things being quite visibly in favor of the girl.

Off balanced, furious, embaressed and quite injured and disorientated, the bruiser staggers back up to his feet and then lunges in for her, sreading arms wide and dipping down low and then back up again in an attempt to envelop her in a massive crushing bearhug.

The crowd continues to roar. Dismay and cheers intermixing to produce a raucous noise.

Looming over it all, the behemoth in the rear continues to watch with a sort of dispassionate interest. Cain Marko's lips tight but slowly pulling into a mildly lopsided smirk at the violence on display.
Stella Roundtree      She lets the grip happen. But the man can't quite get his arms around her. She's not a large person, but the more he squeezes, the more she smiles. It's like something has clicked for her. She doesn't move too quickly, as if figuring out her footing, her grip. And then she's holding one of his wrists and swings him like a ragdoll over her shoulder.

     It's like he weighs nothing. He hits the floor with a loud smack, this one actually audible, and she just sits down next to him and puts one boot-clad leg over him. The more he struggles, the more she presses down, and now her attention is fixed as she watches his face. It's getting very red. The count begins, the man's eyes bulging.
     "Oh, sorry," the woman says. The bruiser pats on the mat, gasping for breath, and, the bell rings. The crowd has mixed feelings about this one. But the lady is smiling, feeling rather good about herself in this moment. Who knows how the night will go from here!
Cain Marko There are a lot of unhappy people here. Boos, shouts of dismay and confusion and other assorted cat calling is the order of the day but intermixed with all of that is a loud set of cheers, applauds and the noise of very happy people who were savvy enough to read the room and smart enough to realize that there was more then meets the eye to this woman once she was bold and ready enough to get into the ring with a person twice her size if not moreso.

"Huh."

It's the first rumble from the giant red head seated in the back. His ice blue eyes sparkle with curiousity and also mischief making. Cyttorak stirs in his blood, urging the monster-brute on to some degree of violence.

"ALright then." he rumbles, speaking to himself both literally and figuratively. He looms up to his full height, muscles bulging and tightening under his flesh and garments like tectonic plates. Bulging out and straining his clothing to nearly the ripping point as he stretches up and up and up and begins plodding towards the ring slowly and inexorably.

The crowd parts for him like a stream letting a boulder roll through. They barely reach his ribcage for the most part and his foot steps seem to rumble the ground just from the pressure of his steps. The room briefly goes quiet before breaking out into a chaos of roars and jeers as he nears the ring His huge shadow falling over the front row,
Stella Roundtree      Look, twice her size? No big deal. But more than that, and it gets a little complicated. And this approaching dude is much more than twice, three, ten times her size? Uh oh.

     But a lot of people can get into trouble when they're just looking for a bit of fun, and Stella seems to have done just that. "Oh... oh no," she says, blue eyes wide. "Buddy, you're way more than I can handle, I know my limits," she says, her eyes darting around the room. "And that dude-" she points to her former opponent, "I think was about it. Uh. Maybe one or two more of him," she squeaks. But she does seem to be trapped in the ring, and he is still outside of it.

     She may have made a huge mistake. "I don't suppose I can just buy you a drink?" she asks, toned legs tense in her jeans.
Cain Marko The ring shakes as the goliath steps one leg over the top ropes and then brings the other in to step down firmly in a ring creaking, earth rumbling settle. As her ptoests begin, Cain's eyes hood slightly and his mouth quirks abit into a sardonic sneer before he shakes his head and reaches a hand up to rub at his nose, sniffing a little bit before finally answering,

"..You backing off already? It looked like you were here to have a little bit of fun... Girl out to prove somethign to daddy and her boyfriend about being able to handle 'erself and proving that she could.."

He lowers his hand, allowing a slowly growing grin to creak from one end of his face to the other. "..Did I peg you wrong? I just wanted to find out what your big 'trick' was.."
Stella Roundtree      "My dad's a boring dude and I don't have a boyfriend," Stella says, very stiff as she watches him. But she's watching other parts of the ring as well. "And if I do my trick with YOU, I'm worried I might make this place collapse,' she says. "I just wanted to let off some steam..." Famous last words, perhaps. But the next step he takes, there is no rumble, there is no sound. Not even any shaking. Like he's not a huge thing after all. But she's also not stepping out of the ring, or stepping back. "And I don't actually want to kill anybody, on accident or otherwise," she admits. "You sure you don't just want that drink?" she asks.
Cain Marko The subtle change isn't lost on the giant. He notes the supression of force, the lack of shaking, the silence of the ring. Between that and her words, his smirk fades and he rests a hand on his hip while rubbing his jaw in thought with his other hand.

The safety of others is usually far from his mind. He's destroyed entire buildings over what basically amounted to a spilled drink.

But he's not sadistic or out to kill anyone, though he truly has no regard for the local crowd truth be told. A crowd that is slowly getting over its anxiousness at his presence and colossal stature and beginning to get more riled up bit by bit as the delay for this match continues and Cain stands there, mulling over his options. There is certainly an eagerness for him to teach her a lesson.

"Tell you what.." he rumbles, "..You got my interest. Why don't you show me and we both get rich. I'll cut you in on the winnings and we both walk away with some cash.." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large wad of cash and holds it up, pinched between his massive fingers to tempt her into risking it or not.

"Your call." he rumbles with that grin returning.
Stella Roundtree      "I could definitely use some cash," she says. The howls of the onlookers die down, as if someone turned the volume down a few notches. "Am I winning or losing? Try not to hit me much harder than a car, wouldja?" she asks. The sound of her voice is very close, like she's whispering it in his ear.
     There's a little more manic energy back to her. Whatever sent her down here, she's still feisty, now that perhaps negotiation has taken the worry out of things. She places her hand on her hip. There's a simultaneous pat on his ass, somehow without her touching him... visibly. She certainly didn't do it with her hand. "Because I was having a shitty night and I'd really it to keep getting better." The sound of the crowd, muffled as she talked, opens back up. It's strange, like a bottle uncorking.
     She reaches for the money. It's like watching a child try to take it from a big bully.
Cain Marko THe money is pulled back out of reach as Cain grins once more, "Ah ah. Can't have a reward y'didn't earn yet, girlie. So tell you what we're gonna do. One punch. Let's see you take it and see what you do with it. You stay down, we split the take... Course if you get back up and want to try and entertain me...that'd just make it more interesting... I'll even keep one arm behind my back."

The pat on his butt does draw an arched eyebrow followed by a narrowing of them and a cheshire like grin once more, "I been around the block enough to have some guesses here. You some sorta..telekinetic? This is around Mutant Town so it's not outta the question. Or something else? You doing something with the audio around 'ere too?"

One arm is then placed behind his back and he lifts the other arm up into a flexed bicep, bulking the muscle up to give the impression of a Buick beneath his skin as he turns towards the crowd, His shirt begins splitting at the seams from the force of the massive movement. The action beginning to rile them up once more. He then brings the arm down and hands the money to a bookie, "Put this all on me."
Stella Roundtree      How cruel! At least she doesn't jump up and down like a circus animal trying to get the cash.
     "How would it be fun if I told you all my secrets. I don't think it's telekinetic, but I'm not that smart. I just put stuff in different places," she says, rolling her shoulders and backing up. "So I guess I'm somethin' else."
     She doesn't flex. But her eyes do dart around the room, as if she's seeing something invisible, and then she refocuses on him. She's not a slight woman. There's tone to her, but she's probably not even as big as his bicep.
     But hey, if he wants to put on a show, she'll indulge- if it doesn't kill her. "Granted. All depends on if you can catch me first." And yet she doesn't seem to be moving all that much.
Cain Marko "Look, I'm trying to give you some easy money while satisfying my curiousity. I was sitting back there bored when you came along and lit the place up..so I wanna know what gives."

Another time and place, tha tmight have been is version of hitting on her as opposed to -literally- hitting her but such is fate.

"You wanna start dancing around the ring and making it hard..that aint exactly 'easy money' is it. I might have to actually put in some effort and that just aint gonna be good for..you."

There is a brief pause as the order to go is given and Cain just looms there, grinning still - and then with a sudden lunging movement, takes a step forward and brings an arm up. True to his word he keeps one arm behind his back while bringing his other one forward with a boulder of a fist curled up into an upward swinging motion aimed for her midsection. A sort of uppercut for the body and not the chin.

It's a dramatically pulled punch where the levels of force he works with is concerned. She asked for no more then a 'car', so he grants that.. But it'll be real close to it.
Stella Roundtree      "I'll take easy money," Stella says like a good little student. She's learning a lot today!
     Mostly how to get out of the way. She does scoot around to the side, walking while watching him, as if trying to get out of the way of that fist. And the hit seems to connect, but instead of falling back, she rides it. Her small hands press atop his fist and she goes over him, up, up over the ring, landing softly behind him. The same force he hit her with? It continues, diverted, in her control, aiming for his feet to attempt to knock him over.
     There's a whisper again, as if she's so close to him that her lips would be against the shell of his ear. "Make it three hits. I'd hate to not be entertainin'." Of course, who knows if that punch will be enough to even budge him! She's already back and away from him, leaning back against the boundaries of the ring.
Cain Marko The force ripples against him like a wave softly brushing against a mountain range. What would have been around a car crash to anyone else was less then a light jab to the giant brute who, nevertheless, narrows his eyes in mild confusion at the sequence of evnets followed by that whisper of sound into his ears.

"What the.." he rumbles, regathering his wits about him and turning to follow her movements as she lands with the casual ease of someone born to fly.

"You went from being afraid to tussle with me to having some spunk. You got some tricks up yer sleeves.." he muses before bearing down on her once again, "So do I.. I also got a rep to keep."

Cain's arm remains behind his back. The other comes again, this one in a side swiping swing with just a little more force thrown behind it as a mixture of both testing her and letting some frustration at missing the last swing come out.

The audience looks on in confusion. They had expected the behemoth to just floor her and, of course, were not privvy to the conversation. The atmosphere is excited but also disconcerted.
Stella Roundtree      "I guess a car wasn't that much," she says. She's not taunting, "But no one I've known's ever been able to punch like one, and most people don't wanna hit a woman with a car." Hopefully.

     "Maybe I'm just getting more confident," she says, the voice behind him. This may be her fatal flaw, a little too easily swayed when things go well. But for now, she tries something different. Rather than redirect the energy around him, it's mirrored back by about a factor of one and a half to its point of origin. And the tiniest bit of a shake.
     She's pushed away from him as well, stumbling. But she's smirking a little bit, keeping her face tilted down, but her gaze up. "Almost got me there," she says, slipping around to his side. One last whisper, "Ready to finish me off?"
Cain Marko The redirected force ripples back against the giant, visibly washing over him and distorting his garments like a stone breaking into and through the surface of a body of water.

The power is clear but the brute keeps coming, staggered but not pushed backwards or otherwise slowed. The force of his own momnetum pushing back and through the power of the redireced force though his eyes light up with truly peeked interest now as he closes in on her.

"Yer the one that tossed out using a car accident as a reference. Still, not bad.." he admits, "..And you're smart. You know how to work a crowd.. give 'em something to cheer for."

ANd indeed, the audience is getting more hyped now, many urging Cain on to teach woman a lesson. Others cheering Stella on as they watch her interact with, stand up to, and hold her ground against this titan.

"But yeah..it's time to bring it to a close..." He lunges forward again, dipping down low onto a strike which he then brings up towards her with considerable force that would shake the air and rattle nearby windows. It's a kindness that he holds back as much as he does but..it's still a suficient wall breaking and car flipping blow should it land full force.
Stella Roundtree
     She keeps her word, the blow striking down and the woman seeming to get just crushed with it.

     It's probably the sound that's the worst part of it, the way she hits the mat. It's loud. It's wet. It's accompanied by a painful cry. It sounds like he's killed her.

     But it doesn't feel like it. The way the blow hit, an inch away from her, the force seemed to dissolve into the air like steam, part of it pushing back against him in a wobbly, invisible cushion. Perhaps that's how she sees it, as she peeks up with one eye from the floor. One arm partially covers her face. She tries to get up, letting out a little whimper, and then drops again. Her chest rises and falls, and she's keeping an eye on him, but she's down.

     At least for now. Because she is trying not to smile. Whether or not that was her limit, she's not saying, but hopefully he doesn't piledrive her from his present position.
Cain Marko It's always been abit of game playing though, hasn't it. He picked up on this fairly early on and so did she and she played her part perfectly. There is no piledriver incoing. There is no need. The crowd saw and heard what they needed to hear and the place goes up in a roar of chaos once more. Cheers and jeers alike but, most importantly, money. Money being cried and fussed over..but most importantly, being counted and made ready for collection from those who placed bets.

Cain turns and raises a monsterous arm upwards, pumping a fist skyward and then he turns back and approaches the Stella slowly and crouches down over her as audience attention gets split and distracted by the financial fallout.

"Whaddya want, an Oscar? C'mon.." He reaches down aiming to help her stand, "..Keep up the act at least until we're behind the ring..."
Stella Roundtree      "Yes, please. It will look oh-so-nice on my mantle," the brunette giggles while she's in his shadow. But then she's back to serious. She takes her time standing, looking down, leaning against him until she's on her feet. At least someone felt bad enough to pick up her jacket and shirt, even if they are balled up near the exit of the ring.
          Stella meekly grabs them and holds them against her chest, looking more like a limping, sullen kid who just lost a match. She does want her money, though, and she starts moving around towards the back of the ring, hiding her expression behind her wad of clothes.
Cain Marko A semi truck cab with arms and legs, Cain does a good job of blocking her from the view of everyone else and those who arrive to bring him his earnings have enough common sense to not ask too many questions of him when they see her nearby and he turns away from them, ignoring them, to begin counting out the cash.

"So what's the trick?" he asks bluntly as he thumbs through the green stacks with the skill of someone well used to doing such things. Break enough bank vaults and all...

"You kept whispering in my ear and you quieted the crowd a few times and then I felt like my love taps were bouncing back on me a few times. Plus you were worried about me hitting you too hard but you assumed that I could at least output the force of a car comin' at ya. SO you've got some experience... So what gives?"
Stella Roundtree      "What, you won't believe that I'm just a dumb drunk girl who lucked out?" Stella says as she looks over the cash as it gets counted out. She puts her shirt back on, folding her jacket over her forearm. "Like I said, I can put things other places. Sound n' force are some of those things," she says, not giving it all away. "I just wasn't allowed to really do much with it. Not until recently. This, though... this was fun," she admits. "When I used to fight more, it was with normal people, so I saw how much I could really, really hurt them if I wanted. Only takes a little bit to break a nose or fingers. Sometimes they deserved it," she shrugs. "But some didn't. Here, at least everyone's in agreement that we're fightin'," she says as she watches the piles of cash stack up.

     "Oh, for you? Well... you're huge. And I can see how much force you can put out," she says, waving a hand at him. "I can see it all the way down to every dollar you're moving, or how hard your punches are. I know what a car looks like comin' at me, so... I knew I could take it."
Cain Marko "Heh..well I'll let you in on a secret. On a scale of one to ten..I'm kinda..I dunno..ten thousand. I can hit a lot harder then a car. So maybe your, uh, Power Level Scouter, glitches out at certain folk. But I aint gonna say more. I don't wanna give you nightmares and make you not want to dust up again for fun.."

Cain's grin is almost shark like momentarily. Like that Great White from that one Pixar film. Huge, friendly looking..but still a colossal great white shark of a full toothed smile..

"I got once got paid five grand just to walk through an area and not cause any trouble..so.." Yeah..he's kind of a big deal and seems to not mind talking about himself.

But there is a reward for enduring his ego, warrented or no. He finishes counting and then pushes a large stack of cash against her and her jacket. He retains only slightly more then he put in, meaning he's gifting her with most of it.

"For entertaining me." he says. "..Have a better day."
Stella Roundtree      "Oh, hah! I was just guessin'. Unless I see you in action punching as hard as you can, it just looks like regular motion, I can't see anything that's not happening in real time," she says. "I would definitely not want to fight you for real-real, if what you're telling me is true. Not yet anyway," she says with a wink. "Maybe I'll get better with age." For now, she's got a big stack of cash, and she's happy. "Thank you so much! So... should I just sneak out the back?" she asks, as if they did something far less dangerous mere minutes ago.
Cain Marko "RIght, right, well I don't suggest getting into a full on fight with me unless you got a Hulk in yer pocket but that's all I'm gonna say." No need to spill his identity after all. Having -some- social distance between himself and his costumed persona has allowed for him to be able to destress like this from time to time even if some agencies do know the connection.

"Yeah if you don't want more trouble, head out back."

Cain shrugs and gives a wave and begins to head off, moving back towards the bar area proper and the table he was skulking at previously, "See ya 'round..."