Kyle nodded calmly to her words, having expected as much a response from her. It wasn't so much that he didn't expect there to be a real deep meaning behind it, but rather that even if there was, Isabel wouldn't tell him it. For the moment, just getting her to speak was success in its own right.

"Those are good reasons. And you seem to have a hand for it too, which makes it all the more worthwhile."

The journey to the paint store didn't take long, the place being a few blocks away from Sanctuary itself. One glance at the shop told Kyle it was one of those places that wasn't a major hit, but managed to get by enough to remain in active business. In a city like New York, there were thousands of places like this and always was there the competition to remain one of them instead of washed up down some alley.

Isabel went in first, with Kyle right on her heels, pausing for a moment to take a gander around the shop interior. Surprisingly enough, the place was well stocked, with plenty of different colors, all labeled, lining the walls, with various other paint supplies placed up here and there. For a second-hand business, the place was better stocked them most.

Coming to stand beside Isabel, Kyle smiled and made a motion with his hand to gesture at the paints around them. "I need to come with you places more often. You seem to know all the right spots to visit. So then, what colors would you like? There's plenty to choose from it seems, so pick to your artist's content."

"I've been shoplifting for a long time. It's not too hard to find spots with good stuff close to home," she commented. It was important to be able to have somewhere to retreat to after the crime had been committed and the Sanctuary was about as secure as it got. It helped that the humans in the area lived in a perpetual state of fear, as it was now necessary to pay the Order for protection. She hadn't personally collected any fees thus far, but the fact that no one really knew who was in the Order or how many members there were, it was fairly safe to do whatever the hell she wanted by playing off that existing fear.

She didn't bother listing any colors when prompted to do so. She really wasn't entirely sure what she wanted yet. She hadn't exactly been planning on doing any shopping, and as such hadn't made herself a list of what was wanted or needed. He could just deal with it while she meandered through the isles and made her selections.

Acrylic was the paint she wanted, particularly since it was really just her walls she painted nowadays. Watercolors could work, but she had no patience for building up the layers of paint needed for any sort of stronger colors, and oil paints dried much too slowly. Acrylics were plenty vibrant, dried quickly, and were plenty satisfactory for smearing on the walls.

Grabbing one of the collapsible net bags by the entrance of the shop, she proceeded to locate the Acrylics section and browse through the most expensive and high-quality options that were offered. She grabbed a tube of vibrant yellow, a shade of red that closely resembled blood, a few different greens and blues, and a smaller tube of orange and purple. She wasn't so sure she'd ever use the colors, but she liked them, so she'd have them purchased. She also browsed for a few new brushes and a new container to put water in, since Forte had made her smash the last one.

The mention of shoplifting would have brought an eyebrow up on Kyle's face...if it were someone other then Isabel. Seeing as it was, however, Kyle merely grinned and shrugged his shoulders, acknowledging the fact that he expected no less from bone hellion. Taking another glance around the shop, Kyle nodded to her as she started off on her quest to find paint colors.

"That's a pretty good point; it is New York after all. Anyway, I'll be around, so just come find me when you've got what you need."

With that said, Kyle watched her wander off among the shelves before moving himself to admire a few of the trays that let one sample some of the colors on display. Always he kept one eye on Isabel, partially out of worry she might just run off on him, partially because she was just one to look at. Plus, in her element here, it was worth watching her go through the various paints with what looked to be real contemplation on her face.

Movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn to the shopkeep, who was just an old man, coming to approach. Raising an eyebrow, Kyle gave the man a little nod and a word of greeting. To his surprise, the man was looking at Isabel, but his face didn't show any anger or fear, two things Kyle would expect on the face of someone who knew who Isabel was. When the man realized he was looking at him, he turned to face Kyle, smiling lightly.

"She's a devoted girl that one. Oh yes, I know who she is and what she does. It's no bother really...I've got plenty of supplies to make up for it."

Kyle stared in absolute astonishment at the man for several moments before he managed to find his voice again. "Oh well...today sir, you'll get paid for your generosity. Best keep that other stuff to yourself though; I don't know how she'd take that." The man smiled at that and nodded before going back to the counter to attend to another customer, who was obviously looking to flee as fast as possible.

Kyle shook his head chuckling, then turned back to waiting for Isabel to finish her shopping.

Isabel lingered in the isles and along the walls for a while, even after she was pretty sure she'd grabbed everything she wanted at the moment. Occasionally she'd stop and ponder over something that caught her eye, wondering if she'd ever use the thing. She'd either shrug and grab it or decide it wasn't worth it. She didn't mind burning through Forte's money, but she didn't really need things cluttering up her room if they would ultimately turn out to be useless.

In the end she wound up with the paints, a few brushes, a jar for holding water, and another pad of wax paper along with a small round pallet with eight little wells along the edges and a shallow mixing area in the center. Sometimes paints turned out to be a bit runny and wouldn't cooperate on the paper. That's where the pallet came in handy. Plus it was easier to hold while she was up on her step ladder so she wouldn't have to climb up and down to refill her brush.

When she finally got tired of looking through what the shop had to offer and then tired of stalling, she made her way over to where Forte had moved off to. "Here. These," She said simply, shoving the net basket in his direction. She'd let him buy her things, but she didn't have to be civil about it.

Kyle was in the midst of admiring what strange color came from mixing one called Salmon and another called Moss when the sound of footsteps approaching prompted him to look in the direction of the sound. He had a suspicion before his eyes even lifted to the person who it was and sure enough, Isabel was stalking his way, her basket full of painting supplies.

Before he could even say anything, she thrust the basket his way, the basket leaving her hands and gliding through the air for a brief moment. Gasping a little, Kyle reached out and caught it, temporarily juggling it as his hands fought for a sound purchase. With a grunt of effort, Kyle secured it with both hands just above a display of paint, sighing in relief when he did so.

Turning towards the counter, Kyle glanced at the array of supplies she had bought. "Wow...for someone so reluctant before, you sure grabbed a lot of stuff. Coming here was a good idea it seems, don't you agree?"

Stepping to the counter, Kyle put the basket down and nodded to the old man, who went about the business of ringing up the items one by one, giving Kyle a chance to glance at the price as each item was scanned. His eyes widened at the number went up, but a smile slid across his lips anyway, chuckling to himself. Well, he did say it was his treat after all. When all was said and tallied, the man looked back at him, then at the price and smiled lightly. It came to an even 183 dollars.

Whistling, Kyle reached into one of his pockets and produced 200 dollars, handing it to the man and then waving a hand to stop any attempt to give him change. "Consider it a thanks for being...well, you know. Thanks." Taking the items, which the man had put into a bag, Kyle turned and held them out to Isabel, grinning. "There we go. Paint supplies, are promised. Shall we find something to eat next? I've still got some money you can burn, after all."

Isabel sighed impatiently as the old man at the counter took his sweet time processing her order. He appeared to be trying to give Forte a chance to refuse purchasing something, pausing momentarily after each item was rung up, which only irritated her more. She was just debating whether or not to tip over a few displays to get her displeasure across when a final tally was announced and her companion shelled out the cash for it.

She snatched the bag out of the hand that was offering it to her and was just about to turn and head out the door when the young man's sudden offer caused her to pause. "What?" she asked, casting a sidelong glance at him over her shoulder. She suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and her desire to return to the Sanctuary doubled.

"I never agreed to lunch," she stated, the grip she had on the handles of the thin plastic bag tightening. She might have to leave him bleeding on the floor after all. "I don't care how much money you have left, I don't do lunch with people. I go home, drop my things in my room, and go about my own business."

"Well, it would be mighty hard to agree to something I never asked after all."

The tension in Isabel's body didn't go unnoticed. Hard to ignore it when the hand holding the bag was strangling the life out of the thing. Still, Kyle expected this natural suspicion that Isabel had about anything he said or did, so it was calmly nudged aside in favor of continuing on. Worse come to worse, he had enough faith in his abilities to avoid taking any serious damage today.

"Now now, don't need to be so defensive about. If back to Sanctuary is where you want to go, that's where we'll go. I was only..."

Something glinted in Kyle's eye then and before he knew it himself, his body was moving. One hand took hold of Isabel by the shoulder and moved her aside, not roughly but enough to get her out of the way. The other was already rising, the energy surging to life even before his hand was fully up. He poured a fair share of energy into the bolt that snapped out and aimed it at the door...

Just in time to catch the blue fireball that had been heading straight for them. His bolt stopped the fireball, but it caused it to spread its blue flames out in either direction just outside the door, causing the windows to burst and shower glass into the small shop. Moving his attacking arm to shield himself, he turned away from the debris and waited till it had subsided a moment later before turning his head back to the burnt out front.

A man was yelling out there, and from the sound of his voice, he was not a happy man at all. "ISABEL DUSKMOOR! I know you're in there. Come out and answer for the crime you committed on your knees and beg that I shouldn't roast you alive!"

Raising an eyebrow, Kyle glanced back to Isabel. "You're quite popular, aren't you?" Part of him was angry, but the other part was amused at this development and it showed through his carefree grin.

Damn right she wanted to go back to the Sanctuary. She didn't do lunch with people, especially not people that were doing their damnedest to invade her privacy and throw a wrench into her plans for the day, however vague and relaxed they may have been. She was just about to interrupt him by saying the Sanctuary was exactly where she wanted to go when he stopped himself mid-sentence, grabbed a hold of her shoulder and yanked her to the side.

A sound of protest issued from her as she was pushed to one side. The hell was wrong with him? What, was he trying to start another fight or something? Because if that's what he wanted, she was more than happy to oblige without needing to be literally pushed into it. She was just pulling her arm back to show him just how much she appreciated such gestures by breaking his nose when a ball of flames nearly made its way through the door, but instead was forced to settle for shattering the nearby windows.

She just sort of stared at the broken glass on the floor before redirecting her attention to the street outside as some unknown individual shouted a challenge. She couldn't help but cringe as her last name was spoken. Or what used to be her last name. She'd only given her first name for years now. The surname connected her to her lineage, which she no longer felt herself a part of and as such had discarded the name. Lisa used it every now and again if she wanted the girl to know she meant business. Zephyr did, too, though she was sure he used it just to irritate her.

She heaved a sigh and straightened herself out. So much for heading back to the Sanctuary. She wasn't even sure what crime it was she was being accused of. Most people seemed to have a whole laundry list of offenses she'd committed, most of which she didn't think were all that bad, really.

She could see the fool standing not far from the storefront, seething and sorta panting, both of his fists ablaze with blue flames. He did look kind of familiar, but she didn't think she'd ever seen him before. It took a moment before she realized he resembled the mob boss Zephyr had helped her to dispatch. Dotsenko. She remembered hearing that he had a son somewhere. She'd also heard that they were adamantly anti-mutant. The guy must have been pretty damn pissed if he'd dosed himself with M. At least, that's what she had assumed he'd done. His father probably would have had him drowned like the runt of the litter if he'd turned out to be a mutant.

"Ugh! I don't wanna deal with anymore idiots today!" she declared, not bothering to be at all quiet about it. She didn't care if Mob Man Jr. heard her or not. Fire was not something fun to play with, but she was willing to assume he wasn't going to be very proficient with his borrowed powers. It wouldn't be much harder than offing his hospital-confined father.

Amusement littered Kyle's face at the man outside, mainly because of the reaction his presence seemed to be inciting in Isabel. It was a reaction he was beginning to familiarize himself with, the act of throwing her temper whenever something annoyed her to that point. It was almost cute in how childish it was, if he ignored what that child could do if he wasn't careful. Still, the frustration was always worth seeing.

"Hey now, I may be a fool, but I'm no idiot." Kyle said almost casually as his eyes flicked to the man outside in greater detail. The man looked to be of good build, though at this distance that was merely speculation. He wasn't your everyday Joe either, not with that suit he was wearing. Kyle may not have been much for style or fashion, but even he could recognize that the suit was of good make and tailor. Someone wealthy then, or a thief good enough to steal something like that.

He wasn't alone either. A glance to either side of the man showed Kyle that the man had two bodyguards with him, both with weapons drawn but aimed low. Pistols were what they carried; a nuisance, but one that was easily dealt with. If Kyle was fast enough to knock their weapons away, that was.

The primary concern was, of course, their boss, what with his flaming hands and all. The man was already heaving breaths, a sign of someone that had just overexerted themselves. Maybe he was out of shape? Or was using his fire powers that taxing? Either way, it was a weakness that could be exploited. Without letting his gaze wander from the man and his lackeys, Kyle continued to address Isabel.

"I only have two questions; who's Mr Fancy pants on fire...and would you like to crack his skull?"

"That's up for debate," she growled as she watched the flaming individual through the now glass-less window that made up a good portion of the store front. She'd righted her posture by that time, having very little concern over the danger that the blue flames could cause her. If Mobster Jr. had popped some M, then he'd have very little control over his abilities. He could probably aim, but not as well as he'd like, especially with something as unstable as flames. There was also the matter of just how long his dosage would last and how quickly such a new ability would take its toll on his body. By the way he was huffing and puffing already, she figured it wouldn't be long at all.

Wearing a suit to a fight was a poor choice. It would limit his mobility and dress shoes had very poor traction. He'd be slipping on the pavement a fair bit even without the broken glass all over it to further hinder him. She could easily choke him with his tie if she could get close enough.

The two goons on either side of him could complicate things, but not by much. They weren't outwardly mutated and were more likely than not a couple of fools that he'd taken along with him in an attempt to give the muties some canon fodder to distract themselves with if he decided to backpedal and make a getaway. The two were probably a pair that the mobster didn't care about ever seeing again.

No matter which way she looked at it, she had the upper hand.

Isabel didn't bother answering the young man at her side. She hadn't wanted to talk to him when he'd first barged into her room and a fight wasn't going to make her any more chatty. Instead she stepped up into the display area that had been just inside the window, treading over and around the art supplies that had been scattered and damaged in the blast. Less than two steps had her dropping down onto the pavement outside the shop, hand on her hip, the very vision of unimpressed irritation.

She'd let him and his flunkies make the first move. She as well enough protected even if it didn't outwardly show and her obvious advantage was more than enough to make her a little cocky.

"That's a challenge I'd be willing to take. Maybe after hot stuff out there blows his top."

Kyle flicked his eyes back to the three men waiting for Isabel outside the store, their leaders flames still burning brightly in either hand. Speaking from experience, maintaining the flames was likely stressing on his body. If the man had had those powers as long as Kyle had his, then maybe that might be different, but from the visible signs of strain on the man's face, Kyle doubted that.

As usual, Isabel ignored him as she walked out of the shop to face down the man who had called her out. Shaking his head and scratching the back of it with a hand, Kyle followed out after her.

Sitting outside the shop, perched on an extended sign, another man sat. As soon as the woman his boss had told him about had stepped out of the shop(the bow and her physical description a dead give away), then man grinned and flexed his arms. He'd been loathe to take that dreaded M drug, but the new boss had said the only way to even the odds against a freak was to be a freak themselves. Besides, the stuff was supposed to wear off eventually, so if it was just for this, he didn't mind.

Besides, the drug had granted him some pretty interesting abilities. If he was going to be a freak, at least he was going to be a useful freak. With that in mind, the man nodded to his boss across the street, who nodded back in kind. Leaping from his perch, the man swung a hand at the bone lady, activating his power as he did so. When those bones came his way, he had a surprise in store for the woman.

For his power was to soften anything that came into contact with him to the point of making even the hardest elements as floppy as noodle. This included his clothes, but he'd wore tight fitting clothes so that they at least stuck to his body and didn't get in the way.

Kyle, who was a step behind Isabel, saw the attack coming and managed to get a word out before the boss was flinging a fireball their direction. Or rather, at him. "Isabel, above you!" Whatever the man moving on her was attempting to do, Kyle had his own worries. Charging energy into his hand, he flung it at the fireball heading his way, then returned the favor back at the man...just as his buddies started firing at this possible troublemaker to their plan.

Cursing, Kyle ran and dove behind cover, hearing the bullets rattle against the low wall he was behind. Partially, he worried for Isabel. Then he remembered who she was and Kyle worried no more. For now, they would have to handle their own problems each.

Isabel hadn't though that Mobster Jr. would have dosed any of his flunkies with M. She figured he'd have seen it as a waste of money, especially since most, if not all, of them were likely going to die in the fight. They were distractions and obstacles to overcome and keep the bow-bedecked mutant occupied while he did his own thing and tried to burn her to a crisp. Hell, even if they did survive, he'd probably have had them killed afterward anyway. From what he'd heard M could be very addictive to those that took a liking to the abilities it manifested within them. And he certainly couldn't have M junkies and wannabe freaks in his organization. He was firmly anti-mutant, after all, and even if his reputation survived this scuffle, it could become irreparable if the M addicts were allowed to continue working for him.

And so, with that mindset having been established in her head, she had little worry for her well-being at the hands of such goons, even as Forte called out a warning to her. Nothing a few spines couldn't handle, after all, sprouting at random along her upper body, her shoulders and arms in particular so that any part of the man's body that connected with her would be impaled.

She'd seen a whole lot of mutations before, but not quite one that could turn her weapons of choice soft and malleable. She'd taken a step back and swung her arm back to bock the incoming attack, and had gotten an unpleasant shock when the spines covering her skin yielded to the man's touch and allowed his arm to connect rather solidly with her own.

Taking another step back, she brought up her other arm as his opposite swung again, the spines there reacting in much the same manner. Apparently she'd be dealing with this fool while Forte kept an eye on the others, Hothead in particular. With a sneer, she shoved against him, giving herself just enough room to maneuver her arm between his and towards his neck, a spike extending from her palm. If he was going to soften her blades, she'd just have to take advantage of it.

The man could make things spongy and useless as bladed or blunt objects. However, he apparently hadn't taken into account the possible dangers of softer objects when used properly. The blade fell limp when it came in contact with the man, as had the blades before it, but she could manipulate it just as easily as her more rigid weapons. The soft stretch of bone would its way around his neck and promptly constricted, cutting off his air intake. A quick kick in the stomach effectively doubled him over and kept his hands busy as she pulled the vine-like protrusion taught and waited for the man to fall limp and go blue in the face. He wouldn't be getting up again. Useless fool.

As the deed was done she shot a look over to Mr. Mod Man, a smug smirk settling over her features as she looked him over, waiting to see any signs of faltering or second-guessing. It wouldn't be long before he was thoroughly regretting his decision, especially once he ran out of fuel for this fight. If he even managed to stay alive long enough to reach that point.

Releasing her hold on the body at her feet, she gave her hand a shake, making a show of the limp bone snapping back to rigidity as she turned and began heading in his direction. In her other hand a larger, flat sheet of bone formed itself. She'd need some sort of shield against his little fire bolts if his aim managed to improve. She could always sidestep and dodge the others. Her pace was even and not at all hurried. She wanted this man to sweat a little before she killed him.

Whatever Isabel was busy doing with her current assailant, Kyle had no time to see if she needed assistance. Stone and debris littered the air around him as the men riddled the concrete barrier he was using as cover with lead. Unlike his violate counter part, however, Kyle was a patient man. Whoever these fools were, they were making the biggest mistake someone with a gun could make; expending all their ammo on a useless target.

It didn't take long for those automatic weapons of theirs to go silent. And Kyle was already moving the minute that silence took over.

The two men with weapons were his first priority. No sooner had he cleared his cover were Kyle's hands moving, two softball sized bolts of purple energy alive and flying in the air a moment after his exposure. Considering his distance when he threw them, the chances of those men dodging them were good. But then, Kyle never did anything halfway. Nor did he ever not plan ahead.

The moment those bolts were clear, Kyle was charging ahead, his feet pounding pavement at maximum speed. As expected, the two men rolled and sidestepped his attacks but the main purpose of his attack was to take their mind off something far more important. Reloading. Before either of them could figure it out, Kyle's fingers were there, his fingertips launching small, dart sized bolts of energy en masse at the two men. While they didn't pack quite the punch his more rounded bolts caused, they did sting something fierce. And they were excellent at playing the duty of a distraction.

The first man was still wincing under the assault when Kyle's knee shattered his nose with a single running blow. The man dead before his body hit the ground. Grabbing the man's body, Kyle did a complete 360 to build the momentum before flinging it at his comrade. The poor fool had just managed to reload his weapon before his friend's mass brought him crashing to the ground, easy prey for Kyle to grab his head and send his energy pouring through every orifice. With a single burst, the man flopped lifeless to the ground, blood dripping from every hole his face offered.

Turning back around, Kyle let his energy pool in his hands, his eyes seeking their leader. Their fireball wielding master stood a short distance away, his attention drawn not only to the killer of his men, but the grinning devil of bone that was making her away towards him as well. Lying in a heap at the storefront was her attacker, his face as blue as ice. As Kyle suspected...no need for concern.

"Well...looks like the dealer has given us the best cards on the flop and the turn. But maybe the river can save your gamble...the call is yours. Best hurry though...as I'm sure the lovely lady over there is inclined to make a different river appear."

The man, obviously unsure as to who he should spend his attention on, opted to handle the situation in the worst way possible. He got angry. Then he attacked them both. Obviously no longer caring for his own well being, the man was suddenly throwing fireballs at both of them by the handful, his angry roar blocked out by the roaring of the flames. Diving out of the way of the flaming surge headed his way, Kyle came up shortly beside Isabel, his hands alive with bolts of energy to remove the offending bolts of fire coming their way.

"You certainly have a way with people. Does this kind of party happen often or is this a rare event for a sunny day?"

Isabel had her makeshift shield up and at the ready the moment she saw Mob Man Jr.'s arms begin to move. The guy was new to having a mutation, angry and was starting to panic, three things in combination that made him entirely unpredictable outside of very obviously just trying to put the pair down as harshly and as quickly as possible. He would be entirely on the offensive. She could work with that.

She gave a huff as Forte yet again decided to trail her and refuse to leave her any sort of space. Just as quickly as he appeared and began chattering, she was moving away from him, refusing to get drawn into pointless banter when a half-crazed fire manipulator was trying to roast her alive. How could he not understand that his sticking to her was just going to make things more difficult? The further apart they spread, the further the Mobster's attention would also have to spread, making him an easy target due to his distraction.

She could feel sweat starting to bead on her forehead as the fireballs pelted her shield, the smell of searing bone filling her nose. She'd always hated mutants like him. Elemtentals were the worst. It was almost impossible to get near them to stick a knife in their back, and based on personal experience they weren't all that much better outside of a fight, either.

Making sure to keep away from Forte, she continued to press forward, though significantly less casually than she had before since the older man's assault had intensified. Still, it as easy enough to push forward just so long as she had that sheet of bone to shield herself with. The trouble was impaling him with the blade she was carrying once she got close enough and being able to properly see him in order to do so.

Pushing forward was simple enough. All she had to do was advance in the direction she was being pummeled from. No real visuals needed. When she finally got close enough to bring her blade around, however, she had to move her shielding to the side in order to accurately plant the blade in the man's chest. Sure, she could have turned the shield into a weapon, too, but where was the fun in that? She wanted to see his face when her blade slid into his flesh.

And she did mange it, though it didn't turn out exactly as she'd hoped. Her blade was brought around, the tip aimed right for his heart, but at the last minute, the bastard twisted and she managed only to slice through the flesh by his ribs. Her balance was thrown off, and the man managed to grab hold of her wrist, her skin beginning to blister and bubble underneath his heated touch. With a cry of pain, she brought the protective sheet around to bash him in the face. As soon as he hit the ground, he'd be dead.

It wasn't that Kyle was trying to make it easier for the fire ball throwing mass of humanity to target them. Rather, he was trying to make the man overexert himself. Having both his targets in one place did make it easier for him to target them, true, but from what Kyle gathered of the man, he had only one objective today. Killing Isabel. Even from here, Kyle could see the blind hatred in the man's eyes, overpowering any other emotion that might lay beneath the surface. And as Kyle knew from fighting Isabel herself, rage could be a powerful ally...or the greatest hindrance.

Which was what Kyle was counting on against this man. Seeing the target of his ire AND the intruder who was preventing him from taking his vengeance in the same location, easy targets for his power. Kyle was gambling on him attempting to finish them with overwhelming power...and leave himself open for a counter attack. Kyle had faith that Isabel could take whatever the man threw at them, or that he himself could knock aside any wave of fire that was thrown at them. Either way, she'd be open for counterattack.

Isabel, of course, didn't give him the chance to explain that. Or catch on for that matter. Still, he couldn't blame her, since the other logical course of action was dividing his attention. It was obvious which route she had opted to take. Half shaking his head and sighing at the same time, Kyle's attention was drawn to movement just off to the side of the man. A couple more goons, ready and able to assist their boss at a moment's notice; problem was, his constant barrage and Isabel's bone shield obscured any chance they had at taking a shot at her.

And left him completely open for a surprise attack on them. Grinning, Kyle burst into motion like only he could, his muscles far from weary and still at their peek energy. He'd been in the wake of the flames that scattered upon Isabel's shield, so it took a few moments for the two men to notice him. Precious moments that on anyone else, might not have mattered. Against him, it was their undoing.

Two bolts of his energy cleared his palms the instant he was clear of that flaming trail, their objectives being the hunks of metal the two men carried. Guns...so uncivilized. Close combat was far more fun, more of a rush. And a lot harder to counter in certain situations.

His bolts succeeded without question in disturbing the weapons the men held, the one poor fool lacking the proper grip at the time to keep the weapon in hand. The other had just managed to bring his weapon back up to bare when Kyle slammed a fist into his gut before smashing his knee into the man's face when he doubled over. He hadn't even hit the ground before Kyle gave the other a fastball special into a lamp post, his energy slamming the man into it with the force of a stacked man's punch.

Still grinning at his work, Kyle turned his attention back around to Isabel and the honky tonk flaming man. The battle, as one might say, was even on that front. A red streak on the man's lower torso showed how close Isabel had come to ending the man already. On the other side of the spectrum, the man had Isabel's wrist in hand, the smell of burning flesh strong in the air.

Biting back a curse, Kyle started moving toward them. Isabel was already moving, the shield of bone she'd been using to protect herself now being turned into an impromptu weapon. The man saw it coming too, his body already started to shift to evade it or at least manage to avoid the worst of the blow. In his other hand, a fire ball of great size was already forming to repay her for the wound.

The man was quick; Kyle was faster. His hand came from the side, grabbing the man's head firmly in its grasp. Mustering enough force to budge the man's head, Kyle redirected it...right into the oncoming shield with a sickening crack. The man was out like a light almost instantly, his grip on Isabel going slack and the fire ball in his hand fading into smoke. Panting slightly, Kyle turned his eyes to Isabel.

"Mean hook you got." He noticed belatedly that some of that fireball had managed to torch his shoulder, but Kyle had always been good at ignoring pain when he needed too. Motioning to her injured arm, Kyle stepped forward to take a better look. "You okay? He didn't burn too deeply did he?"