Isabel didn't hear any screaming and she continued to expand her bony brambles, which was both irritating and disappointing. She was sure that no one could resist uttering some kind of sound once they had gotten caught up in her nasty tangle of barbs. That could only mean that the kid had managed to keep out of their range for the time being. She'd be upset if he managed to skitter out of the alley before she could catch him, but she also figured he'd be back for more once she'd settled down if that was the case. He seemed determined to make a pest of himself.

An odd scraping noise was the only thing she could hear above the racket her brambles were creating as they upturned boxes, trashcans and bags of garbage that had been left in the narrow space between buildings. The thing that really caught her attention was that the noise was gradually getting louder, at a somewhat alarming rate. The rat was up to something, she just didn't know what and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to risk opening up a hole in her defenses to allow herself a peek into the alley.

She could feel the shifts in her offense growing rapidly as her control over whole sections of bone was broken into pieces. She didn't bother trying to regain control over the fragments. Whatever it was that was creating the splinters was what had her worried. Rapidly she brought the tendrils back toward their central point, trying to catch and tangle up whatever it was that was heading in her direction. Her arms remained outstretched to keep her palms against the bone before her. The rest of her scooted up against the back of the dome.

Before she could count to ten something hit her, and it hit her hard. Some big chunk of metal careened into her shelter and shattered a good portion of it. Using the contact she had with the splintering bone, she used it to push herself back away from the moving metal as quickly as she could. She didn't get very far, but she at least avoided getting run over by the dumpster. She ended up tumbling ass over teakettle right into her own brambles.

The vines around her shifted to curl around in front of her to make a rather poor makeshift shield. One hand went to her head as she waited out the dizzy spell the tumble had given her. Her fingers felt hot and a little sticky as a shallow cut in her forehead made itself known.

Seeing that pest coming at her again, she threw her arms up in front of her in hopes that she could catch the brunt of the attack without it doing any serious damage. At the same time the brambles and any and all splinters of bone that were overlapping each other and ultimately lead back to her body sprang into motion. She splinters shifted and grew into nasty looking spikes, jutting in every direction and the brambles covered and large gaps between them. They were moving from both of the alleys openings toward the middle. The rat wouldn't get away this time.

Forcing the dumpster down the alley was no easy task, though the thing having wheels made it a bit easier then it should have been. Kyle knew he was likely pushing his limits by choosing such an unorthodox attack method, but amongst the few options he had open to him, this plan had the most merits compared to its drawbacks. Sure, it would take a fair amount of energy to work, but less then it would take to hammer that shell open directly. That, and the metal mass he was moving would create its own momentum and strike with more force then he could, allowing for more damage at once. All in all, it was worth the extra energy spent to follow through.

The dumpster did not disappoint. Powered by his energy and having gained speed as a result of it, the metal battering ram slammed into her bone shell with a heavy clang that echoed throughout the night. Garbage was flung clear of the dumpster, bags and all sorts of nasty surprises landing opposite that circular shell. The dumpster broke right into that bony plate in its path, sending pieces of it scattering across the alley.

Movement caught his eye as this happened, turning his eyes to gain a better perspective on what was happening exactly. It didn't take a genius to suspect what he had seen, but clarification was always good. It was the woman, rolling and tumbling away from her protective shell as the dumpster cracked through it and came to a screeching halt about halfway through. Had she not evaded as she did, the dumpster would have made a very nice impression on her body...a bone crunching impression much like it had done to her shell. At least she has the mind to know how to avoid danger. Huh, wonder if I'm that smart. Probably not..I'm still here after all.

She landed in a heap of her own bones, several of them appearing to accidentally harm their wielder. Either way, Kyle was already moving on her, the hand that hadn't been pushing the dumpster already swinging around with an energy blast at the ready. The blood dripping from his head blinded him for a moment in his right eye but he didn't falter, swinging his arm around to unleash that bolt upon her.

The cracking sound of bone extending made him look to the side, just in time to see bones striking out from every which direction towards him. Each of those bones lead back to her, a fact that Kyle took careful note of. Something to remember should he get out of this situation. One spike stabbed through his right shoulder, which he quickly shattered away with a quick bolt of energy, while another grazed his leg, forcing him to shift his angle. The woman had caught his bolt from before, using her arms to take the brunt of the blow...but he wasn't done. Ignoring his stressed limbs, he brought enough energy into his right hand as he'd used to shatter her shield....and taking the chance, he shoved his way in close. The bones came again, his hand swung forward......

And paused with his hand almost close enough to grab her, the energy pointed clearly at her head and throat. From this distance, his attack would have no problem reaching her before she did any protective barrier....but he found himself in trouble as well. Bone spikes were inches from him, several of them having already caused some fairly nasty cuts along his body. With a final little rip, his mask tore as he smiled, the ragged remains falling to the floor. The trail of blood from his head was fully visible, coming from a gash on his forehead down past his eye and over the corner of his grin. And grin he did.

"My my....what a twist of terrible luck. One wrong move and I'm shizkabob, but then again, one wrong move and that face of yours won't look so nice either. Its a lovely little stalemate...don't you think?

Since I didn't get the answer before and since my face isn't hidden anymore, perhaps we can now exchange names? I'm Kyle Albatross...a pleasure to make your fearsome acquaintance. And that name behind that fear would be?"

This time she'd managed to get him. Unfortunately she'd only managed to skewer him a little bit, instead of killing him. Isabel really would have preferred a killing. She could have gone home and nursed her injuries and then crawled into bed for the night if she'd killed the kid. She was starting to get a little tired. Fighting will do that to a person, even a mutant used to such scraps. The idiot was faster than he looked and it was beyond irritating that he kept dragging the fight out. Why couldn't some people just die?

She'd managed to avoid the worst of the blast, just as before, though the abused skin of her arms had finally begun to split and bleed after sustaining so much damage. She could feel it seeping into her sleeves and gave a small shudder. She hated the feeling of wet clothing with a passion. It was the one downside of spilling blood. Well, that and having to scrub out the stains before they really set.

Unfortunately, because she had only managed to injure and not kill the kid, he was able to get right up close to her again, or at least as close as the brambles she was surrounded by would allow him. He'd still been able to work his arm through them, though, and get his hand within an uncomfortable distance of her face. She knew where that was heading and she gave a sigh. She really would have to go to the Infirmary after this, no matter how much she disliked it.

She was surprised when he spoke instead of trying to blast her nose off or something. That cocky little grin that his shredded mask revealed as it fell away only made her angrier. Apparently he though they were in a stalemate, and was yet again demanding her name. Fine. He wanted to know so badly, she'd tell him.

"I'm Isabel," she replied, a sly little grin of her own spreading across her face. From behind him a small barb stretched to place its tip against his neck, right where the base of his skull met his spinal cord. He apparently expected her to play nice and surrender. He'd also assumed the spikes in front of him were where the danger was. "And I suggest you back the hell off."

From the very short distance between the two of them, Kyle could cleanly see how much damage his constant attacks on her had done. He knew his blasts never really did visible damage unless they constantly hit or one of his stronger and more focused blasts hit, so the fact that anything showed at all was a testament to how many times his attacks had gone through. In a way, it proved himself just as effective as she in inflicting damage on the other.

Still, even he could tell that he was slightly worse off then her. His attacks burns and peeled skin away with time, as well as causing painful bruises wherever they hit enough times or hard enough. Her's cut skin, stabbed through flesh like better and could have easily left him impaled six ways to Sunday in that alley. Plus, they could defend as well as attack, which meant more of his were knocked aside while her's had hit home. The blood dripping from his various wounds proved this...it was a miracle he'd lasted this long.

And thus here they stood. Kyle with his energy ready to erupt and rearrange her face for good, maybe even kill her if he got it off long enough, the woman with her bone spikes posed to skew him from every angle possible. The second one moved, the other would act and more then likely, both of them would end up either dead or heavily crippled. Not exactly the outcome Kyle was seeking at the start but he'd strike her down at the cost of his own life if he had too.

That silence and tension was finally broken when he elected to ask for her name once again while his mind pondered any way he could get out of this mess with the less possible damage. He was in the middle of thinking of something when her response to him came, catching him surprisingly off guard. That already decent grin grew at this, though he fought off the urge to reach in with his other hand and offer to shake her hand. Mostly because he doubted she'd do it, but also because he knew that if she did, she'd likely extend bones from her hand and shred his hand.

That's when he felt the prick. His guard had broken for a moment due to his surprise and in its place, there was a slight pricking feeling at the base of his neck. Kyle didn't need to look to know what it was; Isabel had extended one of her bone spikes to touch the base of his skull, where it intersected his spine. That froze him as the situation clicked. She had him cold. Despite that...despite the threat of death not an inch away...Kyle started laughing. There was a slight darkness to the laugh, but there was also solid amusement in it. Laughing in the face of absolute and total danger.

"Well Isabel, it's my pleasure to meet you. You've been a barrel of endless fun. I, sadly, cannot do as you ask. After all...should I back off, your little needle back there will pierce my neck and I can't have that, can I?" His tone showed he was being a smart ass but it was honestly true. For now. An idea came to mind then, a very risky idea, but one that might buy him the time to get out of this trap. And more to the point, avoid trouble for those sirens in the distance to get closer. Leaning forward a little more, he smiled again.

"Now, if your willing to retract that needle, I think I can see fit to power down my hand. No sense in both of us going down in a bloody mess, right? I'd rather not have to seriously injure a face so full of charm and beauty, masking the dangerous women beneath."

Isabel had the kid stuck between a rock and a sharp place and she knew it. She wasn't so sure he could get that blast off if she severed his spine, and she was willing to take the risk if she had to. Without the mutant controlling the mutation, it couldn't be all that dangerous, or so she believed. And she half expected this idiot to try something and allow her to put the fight to a permanent end.

She hadn't quite counted on him beginning to laugh. Most people tended to break out into sobs when faced with such danger. Only someone not quite right in the head, or much too overly confident in their abilities, would laugh at the prospect of their spine being severed. Then again, this kid had stuck around to spar with her after he'd seen some of the things she could do with her own mutation. Maybe it was some kind of masochistic thing. In any case, she certainly didn't appreciate being laughed at.

His smartass reply to her demand that he back off didn't help her temper, either. This kid was practically staring death in the face and all he offered in return was laughter and mockery. That hand in her face was the only thing stopping her from jamming that needle through his flesh. The hand and the possibility that she was wrong and he could still manage to do some serious damage after his spine was damaged. She'd really rather not lose part of her face.

The comment about her 'charming and beautiful' face earned a scowl from her. She was so sick of hearing this rat call her pretty and any other variation of the word. Taking the risk that he'd keep his word, she decided to comply. The little spike at the back of his neck curled downward in an attempt to hook the back of his shirt collar and yank him backwards. He'd be expecting the spine at his back to move anyhow, so it couldn't hurt. At the same time she sank a little further back into the tangle of brambles that she'd buried herself in, having no fear of her own bones causing her harm. She wanted a little more distance between the kid and herself.

In all honestly, Kyle had expected in the moments following his sharp words and quite utterly absurd request that he'd be dangling from a bone spear through his neck and Isabel would be doubled over in pain as his energy remolded her facial image. Isabel had an easy to pick at temper and his sarcasm in reply to her serious demand to back off likely forced another blood vessel to surge to the surface of her skin. The laugh had come of its own devices, but Kyle didn't doubt that it drew another vessel to rise.

All that added up to the conclusion that this fight would end with his death and, with any luck, her's if his energy managed to burn away enough of her skin before his body and life faded. Still, he'd be content knowing that in his death he managed to make her suffer...it would be the least he could do to assist the world when he was gone.

That was, of course, if he was planning on dying here. However, no matter what he said, he had no intentions of letting his life end so quickly, not when things were truly just getting interesting. There was still much he could learn at the mansion and, as Isabel had proved, there were people with powers on par or stronger then his own. These people he could use as a way to test himself and, considering the way Isabel acted, a way to help people in the process if he could manage to actually defeat said people.

With that in mind, Kyle had slowly been moving his free left hand back, creeping it to the point where it was in perfect position to send a small bolt from his fingers that would remove that pesky needle from his neck on the off chance, that you know, Isabel didn't listen to his request. Like said before, he really didn't think she would even consider that. And as soon as he was clear, he would make sure he was "clear" by letting the energy go. If she got hurt in the process, well, she was the one who rejected his offer. Call it karma coming back to bite her.

To his surprise though, the needle didn't pierce his neck as he expected. Instead, he was suddenly yanked backwards by an unseen force, though the slight scrapping against his skin told him her bone needle was responsible for the act. Snapping his fingers on his left hand, a small bolt of energy shot free, clipping the needle and snapping it free from his collar. As he came to a stop, he lifted his hand to aim at Isabel, ready to unleash his attack in response to hers...and saw only her retreating deeper into her maze of bones and spikes. He blinked in honest surprise, baffled...and then he laughed and lowered his hand, killing the power surge gathered there before places his hand on his hip.

"Well, that was the most surprising move of all today Isabel. I was betting my stars that we'd both be lying here for dead as a result of that...and yet, as you've done numerous times today, you've completely blown past my expectations.

Now, I can tell from that scowl that you dislike me calling you pretty of what not. Honestly, your looks don't mean a thing to me; I was intrigued by how it tweaked you into attacking. What you are, however, is both strong and fierce some. I have a slight idea now why you're considered as such...and I like that. As much as its wounds my pride to admit it, for now, your a lot tougher then me. And your bone power....wow, it is truly outstanding and wonderful, a fitting power for such a ruthless beauty such as yourself.

Now, I can hear the police coming and, though I'm supposed to be the good guy, I've lost this fight and have no say in whether or not you escape. However.....I can still stall you long enough for them and likely mutant backup to arrive. As you are now, that would put you in a bad spot. You can see that I'm right; so I'll make you an offer. Promise to meet me one week from today, in that building across the street and I'll assist you in escaping instead of distracting you. Of course, you'll leave me a way to contact you so I can collect on my end. And before you ask, my reasons are simple. You intrigue me. I want to see more. Now....is that acceptable or shall we continue this death dance?"

As if to emphasize his point, both hands glowed heavily with energy, his target obvious when he pointed at them; the fire escapes on either side of the alley. If he went full force, he'd bring a wall of debris down that would block her escape if she said no and the fight would continue. Till death took either of them.

The kid really thought he could stop Isabel from getting away if that's what she wanted? Cute. The alleyway was littered with brambles and fragments of bone, and he still thought he had the upper hand? He really thought she was intimidated by him after this fight? Adorable.

She got to her feet amidst the thorny vines of bone that surrounded her, the tendrils moving and shifting as she did to giver her room and avoid impeding her movement. She was literally in her element and sparky there thought he could order her around. He must have been losing more blood than she realized, because she could only classify him as delusional. She half expected him to fall over any minute.

She really had no interest in what he had to say, only really paying attention to the conditions he decided to lay out in order to facilitate her getaway. He could ramble on about how pretty she was and how amazing her abilities were all night if he wanted, but she wasn't going to stick around to listen to it.

But she did hear those sirens coming and didn't doubt the kid could at least slow her down, judging by that purple glow that encompassed both his hands yet again. She could certainly make a getaway at some point, it was just a matter of how easy it would be with him trying to drag her back down. The offer he proposed was convenient enough anyhow.

"Yeah, sure. A week from now. Got it, whatever," she replied, not bothering to pay him any attention as she directed her gaze skyward, judging how difficult it would be to get up onto the rooftop and be on her way. Not very, she decided. Besides, if she told the kid what he wanted to hear, she could be on her way without any further interruptions and forget all about the whole thing afterward. He had no way of enforcing his conditions once she was out of sight, after all.

Taking hold of one of the vines that wound its way in front of her, she severed in in two places and came away with a small chunk of bone, no longer or wider than her finger. Flattening it out and smoothing it over, she then reshaped it in such a way that her cell number was embedded into the white surface.

She tossed the bit of bone to the kid, not caring whether or not he caught the thing. If he missed and it fell in with the other white fragments, he'd just have to find it again. He would if he wanted it that badly. And once that condition was met, she hoisted herself up on a handful of the brambles and started elevating herself up toward the nearest fire escape.

The energy in his hands cracked and sparked across the palms of his hands, that strange purple aura covering them from fingertip to wrist. The energy was just begging to be let free, to unleash its fury upon whatever or whoever got into its directed path. It was only through his strength of will and control over his power that it wasn't doing just that.

The sirens were getting closer now and for a moment, Kyle actually suspected that he'd have to close off the alley and continue the fight, knowing full well that he was actually starting to push the limits of how much energy he could expend. If he had to go full tilt just to be able to penetrate her defenses, he would run out of juice very quickly and then, well, he'd be a puddle on the wall when she got through with him. He'd go down fighting if it did come to that though.

For the first time today, however, something went truly right. Instead of attacking or denying his request, Isabel....granted it. Granted, she averted her eyes and looked instead to the sky, likely judging how she was going to get away. There was a good chance she was lying about the whole affair just to escape...but the pros of letting her go outweighed the cons in this case. Besides, he knew her name, knew her face, knew to a degree what kind of person she was...if he was persistent, he could find her again easily enough.

Isabel broke free one of her bone vines, severing it into two pieces, then taking a small chunk of that and did something to the small piece of bone in her hands. Without even missing a beat, she suddenly tossed that small piece of bone his way, an act that made him step forward a bit and calmly snatch the item from the air to examine it. Kyle let that grin line his blood lined face as he glanced at the bone. And the number embedded into it.

He lifted his gaze from the bone just in time to catch Isabel starting to make a move to one of the nearby fire escapes. Kyle considered for a moment cutting her off, thought better of it since it would break his deal and pocketed the number before folding his arms across his chest to watch her go. As she did, he decided to let one more thing be said. "I know you don't think so, but it was a pleasure meeting you today Isabel. I'll see you in a week, if you find interest enough to see what I offer at that time.

And, just so you know....I do recognize that my life was sparred today. I concede this round to you and as such, now owe you a favor. Do not hesitate to ask for it as you see fit."