Disobey

Chapter 7- Clarity

Clearly, when challenging me to a fight, the man, who's name I didn't even bother remembering, had his own opinion about me. He thought of me as weak. Someone who spent too long in the lab and too little time outside and training. He was sorely mistaken.

The room had cleared, Black Hands who had come to train moving to the outer layers of a single area they'd formed by how they stood. Leo, Kyan, Tori, and Dante had all come to stand besides the bench I was previously sitting at.

"Watch my laptop," I told Tori as my fingers went to the first button of my official uniform. Underneath, I always wore a tank top should the occasion arise that I needed to fight. This seemed to be one of those occasions.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Dante asked, adding a ma'am at the end, as he did after I'd crushed Leo's toes. "I can stop this fight immediately. He will be punished, I swear and-"

I glanced up at him, finally reaching the bottom button. "It's fine. I don't mind a fight like this. Sometimes something as primitive as a fight to assert authority feels good." I peeled the thick jacket off my arms, revealing all of scars and burns that decorated my arms. My skin was not beautiful. My skin was a trophy for surviving.

At the sight of my mutilated dark skin, a light silence danced through the room.

Tori looked at me with pride as she handed me a ponytail holder without being asked. Kyan looked mostly uninterested, though I could see something gleaming behind his eyes. Leo looked...horrified. I guess it was to be expected. Even among Black Hand standards, I'd survived more than the average.

I didn't bother taking off my boots. I could finish the fight in the time it took to take the two heavy logs off.

I stepped in the circle, where the angered man was waiting.

A smirk reached his lips. "Well would you look at that. Who would've thought the tech girl actually had some hideous scars." In comparisons his skin was nearly perfect, untouched. He hadn't seen much combat, if I had to guess. "What, lab experiment gone wrong?"

He changed his stance so that his arms were raised and his feet were shoulder width apart. I didn't bother. This wouldn't be a real fight.

"Let me make something clear to you," I replied, letting my calm voice out, "the City is more than just a city. We are the epicenter of Black Hand society. On a daily basis, there are at least six attacks on the outer city. In her final moments, Hecate, the Queen of Magic herself, rallied the magicians to New York, who sits in ruins below us." I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Compared to the City, Miami is a walk in the park."

I'd pressed another button. It seemed to be a problem of mine.

He charged, using the full force of his overly large legs to drag his massive weight at me.

Even I had no choice but to let out a sigh. The big muscly men of the Black Hands had this idea that a girl like me, one who worked in a lab, even one as big as me, had no other options but to be weak. Too bad.

My left hand latched itself a ways above his elbows on his left arm. My right hand grappled for the waist of the back of his pants. My left knee went into his stomach, lifting him an inch off the ground. I pulled the rest of the weight with general ease, flipping him over my back and dislocating his left arm in the process.

He hit the ground with a thud and a scream, right after the distinct pop.

"Honestly, I don't like such primitive fighting styles," I looked to Dante, motioning to the man laying on the ground. He nodded and ordered another soldier to carry the other off. "Obviously, I prefer guns and such to this."