Hope could nearly feel the recoil from sending The Room careening across the ground as she did, though there was none. What she did feel were spiky metal caterpillars crawling on the insides of her scalp, and the familiar throbbing pressure against her skull. It was an intense kind of dull throb growing into a crescendo of a loud sort of pain that made her ears ring and her stomach flip. Blew a gasket, at least that's what she called it. The young heroine had felt it a handful of times before, and always in situations like these. She would become determined, focused, intense, and she would overextend her abilities. The doctors had warned her that it could potentially cause her brain damage if she happened to tax her mind like that too often, and she even had medication prescribed for it and professional visits twice a year. It never slowed her down, though. The more it happened, the less intense the pain. Hope couldn't remember the first time she blacked out from trying a stunt like that... or about a week before and afterward either. She got lucky this time.

A copper taste entered her mouth as she limped on. The Room got up. Well that was a twist, but Hope shouldn't have been as surprised as she was. He was tough, he could last, and she hadn't really touched him until just now. The amateur hero was more shocked that she'd blown a gasket and couldn't keep him on the floor. A fog surrounded her as he charged her, and the surroundings became fuzzy when she tried to access her power again. But it wouldn't come. It was like a car engine struggling to turn over when the starter was broken. Except it felt like someone was driving nails into her skull with their thumbs. She winced and lost the vision in her left eye just before The Room struck her with a flurry of quick blows. Hope was in no condition to defend herself and could only pathetically attempt to shield her body with her arms, but she took a couple shots in the face anyway. He was throwing his punches without any weight behind them, he was probably just as tired as she was. But at least he could still fight, could still move his body on his own. Hope was only now still standing due to sheer stubbornness and a refusal to stay on the floor. If she couldn't get her powers back soon, he'd overtake her. And then she'd fail.

Hope wouldn't allow that to happen.

[color=fff79a][Hope takes the barrage of punches, unable to defend herself effectively after having her hand injured, brain fried, and muscles cramped like they are. She attempts to use 10 POWER to defend herself, but fails from BURNOUT][/color]