[center][h2][color=DarkKhaki]Wolfram[/color] & [color=Magenta]Vera[/color][/h2][/center]
[center][@Letter Bee] [@Crowvette] [@Bartimaeus] [@Dezuel][/center]
[hr]

[center][b]. . . A Few Hours Ago. . .[/b][/center]

[color=Magenta]"Well, that was a painfully long trip. Come on, Wolf! Hurry up!"[/color] A young, pink-haired (natural, believe it or not) girl shouted to her lackey, err, [i]boyfriend.[/i]

[color=DarkKhaki]"Coming, Vera..."[/color] Her victim, Wolf, replied weakly, throwing on a backpack. He'd learned to pack light and never take luggage that required hands to carry. Why? Well, because next he hefted Vera's two suitcases. He'd have said it was nice to have a girlfriend who could afford to spontaneously send them on a trip to another country, but trips like that just reminded him how high-maintenance she was.

[color=Magenta]"Hmmm,"[/color] Vera stopped, stroking her chin thoughtfully as they stepped outside the airport. [color=Magenta]"I'm bored. That plane ride put me to sleep. You go carry that stuff back, I'm gonna go find a party!"[/color]

[color=DarkKhaki]"What!? You can't, we just got back!"[/color] Wolf's jaw dropped.

[color=Magenta]"Yeah, and I feel like shit after being stuck on a plane for 5 hours! I need to loosen up!"[/color] Vera scowled at him.

[color=DarkKhaki]"A-anything but the nightclubs, that never goes well!"[/color] Wolf argued back frantically. Vera had an addictive personality, he'd learned that quickly enough. She [i]adored[/i] the nightlife and the club scene, but she also tended to give in to less savory indulgences. It had almost been nice the first time it had happened. Apparently Vera was very affectionate when high on... whatever the hell she'd been on, but she'd also been twice as nasty when it had worn off and she'd been hungover. That and, well, drugs are bad.

[color=Magenta]"Uuuuugh, you're such a buzzkill."[/color] Vera tried staring him down, but he swallowed hard and held his ground. [color=Magenta]"Holy hell, [i]fine![/i] I'll think of something else."[/color] And so they stood there, him laden down like a pack-mule, while Vera scrolled through her phone. [color=Magenta]"Oooh, that's a good tip!"[/color] Suddenly she had a devious grin on her face. [color=Magenta]"Just how badly do you wanna keep me out of the clubs?"[/color] She was like a predator eyeing up her prey, and he felt so very, very small...

[center][b]. . . Midnight Fight. . .[/b][/center]

[color=DarkKhaki]"Umm, uhhh, it's my next fight, so, wish me luck?"[/color] Wolf looked at Vera expectantly.

[color=Magenta]"Yeah, whatever, just don't embarrass me, OK? At least a few people probably know we're dating,"[/color] Vera rolled her eyes. [color=Magenta]"But, you know, no pressure."[/color] Her look told him there was oh so very much pressure indeed.

[color=DarkKhaki]"Right..."[/color] Wolf's shoulders slumped and he shuffled into the fighting arena while Vera made her way to the stands to watch. [color=DarkKhaki]"I won my first fight, didn't I?"[/color] he mumbled to himself. And of course he hadn't even been congratulated.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen! Let's get ready for the next round of bracket two!" The MC called out. "On one side we have Maxwell Booster, and on the other, Wolfram Koenigsmann! Do we need to hear anything else? No, we just wanna see some violence? Agreed! BEGIN!"

"All right, I hope you put up a better fight than my last opponent!" Maxwell cracked his neck. "Wait, is that a sword? You're not planning to use that are you? Come on, be a man!"

[color=DarkKhaki]"Huh? Oh, it's... just a... normal sword..."[/color] Wolf pouted and looked down at the weapon on his hip. [color=DarkKhaki]"I mean... OK, I won't use it..."[/color] In a  world where some people could shoot actual lasers, a sword didn't seem like a big deal, but... OK. 

"Ugh, geez, what a downer. This won't take long. Must have had a real loser for your first fight, huh? I'll let you have a real fight! Try not to die, OK?" Maxwell rushed in, hand extended like a claw. 

[center][b]. . . Meanwhile. . .[/b][/center]

Vera sat in the stands, a phone in each hand. One was Wolf's. She had taken it to "protect it" but in reality it just allowed her to browse to social media sites at once. She probably should have been watching her boyfriend's fight, but then again, why would she bother with that? The crowd would let her know if anything worth watching happened.

[i]BLIP![/i]

A message popped up, but it was on Wolf's phone, not hers. How odd, Wolf didn't have many friends, Vera had made sure of that. Couldn't have anyone taking his time away from her. She paused for a moment. That sounded extreme. She would never... She shook her head. Such thoughts weren't worth worrying herself with.

[color=Magenta]"Ah hell, seriously? We just got back."[/color] It was from King, because of course it was. [color=Magenta]"Already with the freaking jobs!?"[/color]

She read it, and it actually sounded somewhat interesting. Maybe this would be more amusing than even the tournament. 

[i]K.[/i] She responded [i]concisely[/i]. King would no doubt realize it wasn't Wolf answering, but that was fine.

[center][b]. . . Back in the Fight. . .[/b][/center]

Wolf just sort of flowed around the incoming attack, his own hands flashing out to grab the arm and twist it behind him in a triangle-lock. "Wh-wh- OW!"  Next, Wolf kicked him in the back of the knee, dropping him down.

Finally, Wolf spun to build momentum and swung his buckler around into Maxwell's face in a brutal, steel-meets-face, backhand. 

"Ugh... guh..." Maxwell lay there, nose bleeding, trying to breathe more than anything. Wolf took a moment to assess the situation. He was pretty sure he was just sad enough for his next trick. That was... good... he supposed. With a defeated sigh, his net and trident popped into existence in a puff of dark smoke, his net soon dropping over his opponent. After a few moments of struggling, Maxwell realized there was no way he was clawing free of the impossibly heavy netting. "N-no fair!"

[color=DarkKhaki]"But... I didn't use my sword..."[/color] Was all Wolf had to offer in response.

"That didn't take very long! Come on guys, at least give us a show! Oh well, we have our winner! THE WOLF!" The MC called out.

[color=DarkKhaki]"I-it's just Wol- OK..."[/color] Wolf sighed, knowing no one really cared and quickly made his way out of the spotlight.

To hid surprise, Vera was waiting for him when he exited the arena. Was she there to congratulate him this time? It had been a flawless victory!

[color=Magenta]"Your, um, [i]boss[/i] messaged you,"[/color] Vera told him. So no congratulations. No... that made sense...

[color=DarkKhaki]"King?"[/color] Wolf was able to pull out of his emotional slump a bit as curiosity took over.

[color=Magenta]"Yeah, wants you to play bodyguard or something I guess,"[/color] Vera explained. [color=Magenta]"Someone named William? Alex is here, but I guess they need a bit more muscle."[/color] She then smirked. [color=Magenta]"Unfortunately I guess you're the only one available in the area."[/color]

[color=DarkKhaki]"Ha... haha... good one..."[/color] Wolf just wished he could shrink into nothing.

[color=Magenta]"Anyway, they should be here somewhere, so lets get going."[/color] Vera began walking. It didn't take them long. They spotted Andras first, but she was with a few others. Vera held up Wolf's phone. [color=Magenta]"Yep, that's him. The little nerdy one."[/color]

[color=DarkKhaki]"Hey, Andras! We're here too! King wants us to join up with you guys,"[/color] Wolf announced with a forced smile as the two walked over. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see a fellow Vigilante or that he had anything against the job... it's just that Vera had long since made smiling a foreign concept for him. 99% of his smiles were forced these days.

[center][h2][color=007236]Vernon 2.0[/color][/h2][/center]

[color=007236]"Hmm, what's this, love? Your big brother works fast it seems. Might need to get a few tips from him,"[/color] Vernon smirked. Michael was putting his family's men to shame with his efficiency. [color=007236]"Well I do hope you two are ready. We're gonna be doing some real crazy shit here."[/color]

[color=Magenta]"Ooh, I like crazy. Keeps me awake."[/color] Vera grinned.

[color=DarkKhaki]"Errr... define crazy?"[/color] Wolf was suddenly concerned.