Switched

Chapter Sixteen: M i n d b r e a k

Isabell raced for the centre of the room. The best survival chance lay in the open ground, where she had freedom of movement. Jamie had anticipated this and sent three grenades straight her way. Isabell bent over backwards, dodged two, and smashed the third, exploding on her nunchucks. Her circlets flared and she grinned cockily at Jamie, cracking her knuckles.

"Stay bloody still," he snapped with a grin and dashed at her. Caught off-guard, Isabell was barely able to dodge and commando-rolled in the sand.

Weakness. Exploit the opponent's weaknesses. Isabell locked her eyes on Jamie. He left his right side a little less protected by force of habit because that was the side that had the best survivability, so that was exposed. He didn't have good enough mobility and if she could get around behind him fast enough she should have a clear shot.

"Three hundred!" Reinhardt shouted.

"Would you two stop upping your bets?" Winston hollered at them. "Your paycheck doesn't cover this and the Overwatch funds aren't yours to blow on betting on your own teammates."

Isabell went low for a nunchuck sweep to the gut and feinted left. But he saw straight through it and sent her flying with an uppercut into the stomach, winding her and landing her six feet away. She wheezed, struggling to get her breath back, and staggered backwards with the flash of a challenge in her eyes. This was going to be more difficult than she'd thought.

Jamie went total apocalypse and started launching bombs everywhere. Isabell dodged them, but his strategy was working - without full mobility, he was forcing her back towards the wall, advancing on her. Something caught her eye in the corner of her vision, but she was too late to avoid the rebound shot which caught her right in the side and exploded. Blinding her momentarily and sending pain rippling up her side, she dove and rolled, just missing out on the follow-up concussion mine he sent her way.

"Forgot how quick you were," Jamie grinned, paused in a crouch in the sand - with a detonator in hand. Isabell quickly glanced around at the walls and spotted a concussion mine just within her line of sight to Jamie's right. Of course - he'd anticipated her going for his right side and he'd set up accordingly.

"Not bad - for a pyromaniac," Isabell acknowledged, breath finally back and the pain in her side subsiding a little. She snapped her nunchucks out twice. "But not good enough!" She zipped to the left, aiming to knock him off his feet. If there was a concussion mine to his right, then his left would be--

SNAP.

Pain rippled up Isabell's legs and she shrieked as the trap's teeth snapped shut over her legs, biting through the fabric and sinking into her skin.

A split second before an explosion rocked her head back and sent her to the ground, she remembered.

Two mines. He has two mines at any given time.

Weakness. Find their weakness.

Jamie strolled over and leaned down, jamming his grenade launcher into Isabell's head. He grinned. "Easy. I wi--"

"No you don't," Isabell smiled, and leaned two inches closer, kissing him.

Caught completely off-guard, he didn't notice his trap breaking - just stared in total surprise until she rolled backwards. Her foot snapped up and caught him right on the jaw, probably sending his vision out of commission for a few seconds. He staggered backwards, firing to keep her at bay. Isabell was at enough distance now that - if she made sure she didn't move the wrong way and kept her legs still - she could deflect them. One by one, she smashed them against her nunchucks, until she was glowing white like a star and Jamie had to reload.