The Sorcerer's Apprentice {Stephen Strange}

Forty

Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile) by Santana

"Oh,  you piece of shit," the sergeant snarls with blood pooling in her mouth. She spits it at the man's feet, causing him to take a step back.

"Moore has won the match. Next up she will be fighting world-renowned "Backbreaker"! It is time to place your bets. Five minutes until the next round starts," the announcer informs everyone. The sergeant wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, sweat and blood stain her skin. She rubs her shoulder in an attempt to alleviate the bruising pain that resides there. It wasn't an easy fight-- she'll give the man that. She took almost the same amount of beating as her opponent did. The only difference is she's determined to win. Any winnings go to her with no consequences other than a few angry crowd members. She refuses to do any fights that require her to lose.

Her opponent climbs into the ring, teeth bared and ready to fight. The sergeant has to admit; he is a bulky dude. He could easily take her out if she weren't so agile. Or if she didn't have the mystic arts on her side to help her out a bit. The sergeant has a vicious grin plastered on her face, ready to beat the absolute hell out of this "backbreaker". God, what a cheesy fucking name. It has the same ring as "skull crusher" or "leg snapper". The sergeant can't wait to break his damn back.

He takes his stance across from her, hollering in an attempt to get the crowd hyped up. The sergeant stretches her hands before rewrapping them and pulling on her sparring boxing gloves. She slips in her mouth guard still tasting the saliva from the last match. The bell rings, signaling the start of the match.

"Come here, girly. I'm not gonna hurt ya," the man chuckles as he takes a step forward, his fists raised. The sergeant braces herself, putting her arms in front of her face, ready for a hit. The man swings and the sergeant blocks. She uses his recovery time against him. Emerson slips under his arm, coming behind him and landing a punch on the back of his head. He doesn't budge in the slightest. Instead, he turns around, facing the sergeant with a scowl on his face. "What was that for, huh?" Without a moment to waste, the sergeant sends a kick his way only for her leg to be grabbed. She balances on one foot as he pulls her forward. With his one hand gripping her ankle, his other fist comes flying at her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. He drops her leg as she doubles over, trying to catch her breath. He takes that time to throw a couple of punches at her head that she fails to block. With every hit she can feel her skin splitting. A burning sensation swarms her face and the blood trickling down her face manages to cool the burn. She quickly backs away from the big man, not ready to give up a good fight. He barrels towards her albeit a tad slow considering how large he is. Grinning, the man throws a punch that the sergeant catches. She uses his momentum to throw him over her shoulder as she ducks. He lands with a thud and the crowd goes wild. Emerson tunes them out, not needing any sort of distraction. While the man attempts to pull himself off the ground, the sergeant sends a kick directly to his face. The blood from his now broken nose splatters on her feet. He lets out a bellow and immediately reaches for his face. That was a detrimental mistake for him. Now with the rest of his body exposed, the sergeant jumps over him, pinning his shoulders to the ground with her knees. Her fists ball as she throws punch after punch at his chest and gut, knocking the wind out of him just as he did to her. The man launches her forward with his lower body, knocking the sergeant to the ground beside him. He climbs on top of her all while she's punching and kicking. He straddles her while pinning her down before throwing one powerful punch to the side of her head. Emerson's vision begins to blur as the man throws another punch at her face, his fist landing on her cheek. The blood from her brow trails down her eyelid and spills into her eye, making her vision red as well. Red and cloudy. She can't see a thing, only the flesh from his fist coming down at her face.