"BZZZZZZZZ"
The loud buzzing permeated through the iron jungle. Orin looked left, then right, then straight up. No sign of them. She was safe for now. She creeped out from the corner she hid in as soon she could. She dashed forward, weaving through the unnatural blocks and curves of iron, seemingly made for no other purpose than to just get in her way.
Unfortunately, her display of quick reflexes and athletics were not enough to keep her out of the sight of the predators.
"BZZZZZZZZ" The buzzing grew louder as the predators descended upon their fleeing prey. Orin looked behind her, and there they were, descending rapidly, aiming to crush her under their weight. She wouldn't have that, and quickly dove out of the way, avoiding the weight of the enemy by seconds.
The predator hit the ground with a resounding crash, its' weight shaking the earth. It had missed its' prey, but the hunt was not over yet. Glowing red eyes tracked its' nimble target, zooming in and locking on. The predator gazed upon its' prey, taking in every detail it could. It was human. Female. Brown hair. Pale skin. Clad in black and orange. Those were the colors to track...
Orin rose to her full height and turned to look at her pursuer. The massive, iron insect that had pursued her throughout the iron jungle, its' cold red eyes never leaving her, its' metal mandibles clicking as it prepared to continue its' attack, its' wings having ceased their constant buzzing.
Orin whipped around as 2 more insects landed behind her, ready to group in on her. It was 3 against one. Now the fun could begin.
In a flash, a bug was upon her, opening its' jaws wide. But she was ready for it, leaping upwards and bringing both feet down upon the bug's head, sending it slamming against the floor. Another dashed forward hoping to bite her in two, but it would have no such luck. A fast dodge to the right prevented Orin's death by mere moments, but she wasn't done yet. She grabbed a hold of the bug's antennae and held on for dear life as the insect tried to shake her off to no avail.
Orin raised a hand and, to the bug's surprise, a glowing blade erupted from her wrist. The electrified, neon yellow weapon plunged into the bug's eye, sending it into a frenzy as it tried desperately to remove its' attacker. It eventually succeeded, but that was exactly what Orin wanted. Now was the time to test out her newest trick…
As she descended towards the open and waiting jaws of the insects, Orin suddenly halted in mid-air, as if brought to a stop by an invisible bungee cord. She grinned. It had worked. Upon closer inspection the bugs found that a pair of transparent, insectoid wings had sprouted from her back. She had gained the aerial advantage.
Nevertheless, the bugs continued their assault, taking to the air in pursuit of their prey. Both of Orin's wrists sprouted their blades as she flew directly towards her enemies, ready and willing to put them to use.
She shot her arms forward, shooting a burst of electricity from her blades directly at the bugs. The action caught the bugs off-guard and they suffered the full brunt of the attack, shocking them into halting their attack. Taking advantage of this, Orin zipped between the bugs, slashing at their sides with her blades, creating long gashes that sparked and flashed as the bugs struggled to recover.
Meanwhile, the third bug had spotted its' prey with its' one remaining eye. It's mandibles clacked as it prepared for its' attack. The bug lunged at the still-airborne Orin with its' long, barbed stinger at the ready.
Orin smirked as she watched the bugs struggle to regain their composure as they flailed and spasmed. Her weapons were definitely fully operational. Unfortunately, she was too busy admiring her work to notice the massive stinger coming straight for her. When the third bug came into her peripheral vision, panic overcame her and she only had enough time to put her arms up to block the attack. She barely managed to deflect the attack, but at a cost. Upon hitting her arm, a metal brace around her left wrist shattered and fell to the ground.
She was down one blade, but not out. She scowled as the bug went in for another attack, thrusting its' stinger in her direction. She dodged the pointy weapon once, twice, three times before beginning her counterattack. Using her remaining blade she sliced the stinger clean off the bug thrusting it forward into the bug's thorax, electricity coursing through the creature's metallic body. Then, in one swift motion, Orin chopped off the bug's head, sending it plummeting to the ground. Wires flew about and electricity sparked where the bug's head used to be as the body's wings stopped buzzing and the beast fell down, down, down.
Unfortunately, the battle was not over. The other two bugs had regained their composure and were rapidly approaching Orin from below and above her, their gleaming red eyes burning with determination. Orin stayed still as the buzzing creatures rapidly grew closer, their mandibles clacking as they prepared to end the fight, and then she darted away.
'CRASH'
The two bugs collided head-on, shattering their heads into pieces as they collapsed into a broken heap on the ground, their bodies lifeless and limp.
The battle was over. Orin had won.
Letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, Orin calmly descended to the ground and collected the remains of her brace. She regarded the pieces solemnly as she gathered them in her arms. She'd have to build a new one...again.
Suddenly, a great white light came from above. Orin looked upward, smiled and slowly hovered her way towards the light. She could take her time. Today's fight was over.
"That was a close one." Dr. Sherwood Pym observed, bending over his terminal, eyes scanning over the footage. "I knew I shouldn't have installed the stingers so early on. You could've been impaled!"
Pym whirled around in his chair to face the Iron Jungle set behind him. Ascending from the miniscule obstacle course was his girlfriend, Orin Jan, standing but 3 cm tall.
"You worry too much." Orin's voice came through the speakers next to his terminal. "Besides, I'm the one who asked for 'em! If I didn't think I couldn't handle 'em…"
"I know, I know." Dr. Pym said. "I'm just…"
"Cautious?" Orin asked. With that, the tiny Orin floated forward and, before Dr. Pym's very eyes, grew to her full size. "I know." she said, this time in person, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's shoulders. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
