Shark Attack!

“Huh? WHAAAAAGH!” Before I could really react, I was suddenly dragged underground. Rocks and other bits of debris battered my face as I was pulled through the darkness. Thank goodness the ring’s magic also gave me extra durability from all the practices or I would have been cut to pieces. That still didn’t solve the problem of being dragged through the ground.

“Hera! What’s going on?” I heard Rose’s voice through my earpiece as I was pulled.

I wanted to speak, but as soon as I tried to open my mouth, dirt and rocks would have gotten in.

“Where’d she go?” This time it was Regina speaking in the earpiece.

“I think she was pulled underground,” Rose said.

“Underground? Shit!” Shayna said as I heard them scrambling around. “That means that it’s-”

Suddenly, light came from everywhere as I was brought to the surface. Before I could really think about what to do, I quickly put on my Ringmaster costume. Then, I felt myself crash through several trees, the splintering of wood cracking in the air.

“Fuck,” I groaned. Slowly, I got to my feet as I looked at my captor. “Yeah, it’s Land Shark.”

Standing there in a battle stance was a woman that was around 25. Her publicly available profiles were well known to be manipulated just enough to hide personal information. At 5’ 2”, someone with her physique should be more cute than menacing, but she was an exception. Just like how Paws has a cat theme, Land Shark had a shark theme.

Since she was the second fastest of the 12 (just behind Cyber Wing), she wore sleek body armor that was designed to cut down friction as she moved. She had a special visor which covered her eyes, its futuristic tech meant to help her navigate underground better. As well as a half face mask over mouth to help her breath by preventing dirt from getting inside mouth. And while no confirming proof existed, many theorized that she hid some razor sharp teeth under her mask.

More immediately relevant than anything else were the objects she could use to put me in a world of hurst. She wore special gauntlets that helped her cut through the ground with greater ease. They also helped her to punch bad guys harder. 'Bad guys' being a group of people to which she currently felt I belonged to.

“Man, you took a while to find,” Land Shark said as she stared down at me. “So, you’re the one who took down Friendly Paws, huh?”

I hovered a bit in the air as I mentally began to prepare myself. “I know you aren’t yourself right now, Land Shark. Let’s just calm down and talk things through.” I tried to push my influence onto Land Shark, but I felt the same preventative barrier as with Felicia. There was no use really talking. I was gonna have to wear her down.

“Don’t let her get away, Hera!” Shayna said in my ear. “We’re on our way to help.”

“Now then, you’re gonna do one of two things for me,” Land Shark said as she crouched down. “Either you’re going to give me that ring and tell me what you did to Friendly Paws.” Her fingers began to dig into the dirt. “Or, you’re coming back with me.”

“How about neither?” I said as I clenched my fists. I really wasn’t hoping to fight another one of the 12 so soon, but it looks like I didn’t really have a choice. Though, I’m sure that Shayna and Mark had something that would be able to defeat Land Shark, so all I really had to do was stall. That, and I had to make sure that she didn’t just leave and get help.

“So, the second one it is.” Land Shark quickly dove under the ground, disappearing.

“Shit, where’d she go?” I said as I flew up higher to the tree line, trying to get a better view. Having brought us to a forest, Land Shark had more places to hide. We hadn’t practice much with trying to find my enemies in such a crowded place like a forest, so my skills for reconnaissance were lacking, if not outright abysmal.

From behind me, the trees rustled and out from one of the trunks jumped Land Shark. She threw a powerful punch at my back, knocking me down a few feet before she landed in the trees and disappeared.

“Ha! You think that you’re the first flying foe that I’ve ever faced?” Her voice rang around the forest, seemingly coming from any direction. “Just because I’m LAND Shark doesn’t mean I’m stuck there!”

“Ugh, I knew she was strong, but dammit,” I said as I rubbed my back. Her punches were no joke. I really had to keep on edge. If I just retreated, she would probably get help, so that wasn’t really an option. “Is that all you got, Land Shark?”

“Oh, you’re one of them masochist types, huh?” Land Shark leaped towards me from the side, grabbing me by the ankles. In one quick maneuver, she flipped and threw me down towards the ground. “I can handle you!”

“Shit!” I shouted as I braced myself to hit the ground. There was an audible thud as my body made a small crater in the ground. “Ugh, durability still hurts.” I groaned as I tried to recover from the attack. “Okay, think Hera. How can you beat her?”

“Keep up! Keep up!” Land Shark jumped at me again, this time from underground. She gave me a swift uppercut to the jaw, then disappeared under the surface. “You’re getting boring! How the hell did Friendly Paws lose to you?”

“Dammit that hurts!” I said as I rubbed my jaw. “Come on Hera! Think! You’re a huge fan of the 12! You’ve read and blogged about them plenty! Think!