La Sirenes Oro: Of Sirens and Hammers

[Blitzfrieg]

Zerabra Zeera certainly stood out amongst her peers. In that small clinic in the Spice merchants bazaar of the Waq Waq oasis, a seven foot tall Zebra woman was far from the norm for any of the humans present. However she ignored the stares both fearful and curious so as to better do her work. Her skills as a doctor made it easy to fill in for such small clinics like this, which were commonly overworked and understaffed. The last few days had been relatively easy, her time being spent most often treating heat exhaustion and consulting for wealthy merchants looking to avoid the absurd costs of the larger....more prominent hospitals. Zeera was addressing just such a client at the moment. She was dressed down, wearing a pair of loose, comfortable shorts that revealed much of her long, striped legs. A simple, white sleeveless blouse was all she wore on top, save for the long white doctors coat which marked her for her profession.

”No Mister Kernwist.  You most certainly do not have a parasite, a cyst, or any disease at all for that matter.”  Zeera had to suppress the urge to sigh or chuckle.  Working the rounds at a clinic could be both entertaining and exasperating at the same time.  She crossed her leg and adjusted her reading glasses, setting down a clipboard while leveling her gaze on the dumpy man sitting across from her.  It was obvious her....appearance was distracting to the human.  Which on its own wasn’t surprising.  She was a Mink.  And Minks weren’t particularily common outside the New World.  

“But what about the headaches and my heartburn!?”  Zeera had seen it before.  The man was looking for something to be wrong.  “The doctor up town said I needed more tests....he said....” Zeera held up a furred hand to stop Kernwist before he got to carried away. The man was an alcoholic and a binge eater in the realm of hedonism.....and while she could not fault him for those vices without at least some measure of hypocrisy, she at least counter balanced her own lust for life with a passion for taking care of her body. All things in moderation as she had learned in life, and all things balanced by sacrifice.

”With all due respect to the doctor uptown....he is wrong.  Mister Kernwist you don’t need any tests, you don’t need any expensive treatments.  What you need....” Zeera leaned forward.  “....is to cut back on the salty and greasy foods.  You have headaches because you don’t hydrate enough between drinking.  Your heartburn is a product of having an overly....” Zeera was interrupted by a shout from outside, and what sounded suspiciously like an gunshot.  That in itself wasn’t completely out of the norm.  Therefore she refocused on the stammering Kernwist....who was determined to convince her that he indeed had some illness.  But Zeera overpowered his babbling.  “....acidic diet Mister Kernwist.  And the reason why your neighbor can get away with it is a combination of genetics and regular exercise.  You unfortunately have a disadvantage in the former, and make no efforts in the latter.”  Zeera placed a hand on his knee.  “What I can do for you on both cases.....” Another gunshot sounded, this one closer, drawing the Mink’s attention.  “....is advise you on corrective action and promise that what you will save a lot of money and time by eating a salad every once in a while instead of binging on shark-fin soup every night....” Another gunshot, followed by screams.  “I’m sorry Mister Kernwist I need...”

”DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR!”  Zeera’s mane shook as she stood up, shivering from the desperation in that scream.  The door to the little clinic in which she was filling in burst open, a pair of people, including one young marine filled the entryway as they dragged in a body bleeding quite badly.  Zeera buttoned her coat and rolled up her sleeves, moving towards the trio.  

“What happened?”  Zeera approached, shooing away the Marine as she scooped up the body with ease, her strength carrying the older woman like a doll.  The young, blue haired soldier barely acknowledged ZeeZee, her appearance, or anything at all.  Those crystal blue eyes never left the old woman.

”Shrapnel!  She was....she....right next to me...a c..c..cannon....” The Marine, a female, young, barely twenty even stammered out a response.  One look told Zeera that the girl was in shock.  Zeera set the older woman down on a hospital bed and snapped her fingers at the nurses.  She then turned to the Marine, cupped the girls face in her hands.

”Girl.  Breathe.  No.  Don’t say anything.  Just breathe.”  The Marine’s eyes were badly dilated, and she was gasping for air.  Zeera’s fingers moved to brace her jaw, her index finger on each side massaging the youths temples.  “That’s right.  Breathe.  In and out.  In and out.”  In a few moments, the Marine’s breathing leveled out.  She was still shaking, but that would last a while.  “Now....what happened?”

”A cannonball.  No idea...where it came from.  I was standing right next to her.  She...she took shrapnel from the explosion...” The Marine looked at the old woman being prepped by the Nurses.  “I....she shielded me from it....I should...” Zeera sighed and let the girl go.  

“No.  You couldn’t have done anything.  But you did do the right thing getting her here.”  ZeeZee slipped on gloves and approached her patient.  “Alright.  Nurse?  What do we have?”  The woman was a mess.  And her assistant barely started talking when the door burst open again, another person staggering in clutching his bloody arm, calling for help.  Her second nurse rushed to his aid, but Zeera had to focus on the patient in front of her....though it was impossible to ignore the increasing noise outside.  “Patient.  Mid fifties....five lacerations starting from the lower left side to the upper collarbone.”  Zeera began methodically addressing the wounds.  She started with the side that was bleeding the worst, removing a large piece of jagged iron before sealing the wound and sewing it shut.  Fortunately there was no internal bleeding.  Bit by bit she moved upwards, removing fragments and sealing wounds, working her way up to the collarbone....which was the trickiest part.  “Nurse.  I’m going to need your hands.”  The last fragment was embedded in the woman’s collarbone, but a piece was jutting up against and inside her jugular.  The angle of the penetration was keeping the artery from bleeding, but the moment that piece of shrapnel was removed.....the patient would have less than a minute to live.   “Right here.  I need to put pressure on this wound, and cauterize it as soon as I can seal the laceration but I’m going to need you to remove the main fragment.”  She guided the Nurse as best as she could.  “On the count of three....two....one....” The nurse worked quite well, removing the fragment as smoothly as a trained surgeon before working to seal the wound as Zeera did her own business.  The Mink’s hands moved quickly, pinching closed the artery while she used a Lunar Caustic to seal the cut.  The few seconds felt like minutes.  But she and the nurse resolved it nonetheless.

”Well done nurse. Excellent work.”  Zeera held a finger to the patient’s throat.  The pulse was weak, but stable.  “She is going to make it...hear that kid?  You did...” As Zeera turned around to look at the Marine she found the girl was gone....but during her operation the clinic had nearly filled.  Every bed was occupied with injured civilians and Marine’s alike.  “Ok....enough congratulations....we have work to do.”

[EJ]

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1

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The Bazaar of Artisans was burning up, and it wasn’t just because of the scorching heat of the sun above that the natives of Zarzara were used to. Pirates were attacking the District of Spice Merchants, raising up an unruly riot that injured many and did worse to even more. It was an emotional sight for anyone with a heart, but for the scurvy dogs causing discord, it was nothing but fun and laughs. “Kahkahkah! Fear us! The Hammerhand Pirates!!” Shouted a buccaneer as he fired three shots into the sky before chugging down a large container of booze. “Oi! Don’t kill it, mate! Save some for the rest of us!” One of his partners nudged him. “Calm down! There’s plenty more around here! Just turn some stuff upside down and take it!!” After giving the other pirate a lesson in ‘Pillaging-a-Town 101,’ he shoved the jar into the dog’s chest prior to training his pistol in the direction of more fleeting civilians.

“ ‘Dis is why me ‘ate pirates!!” A certain little woman exclaimed to herself as she walked behind a three-story house. The owners had to be shut tight inside because all of the windows were sealed, and not a single soul came out to say anything about a stranger with a long rifle strapped to her back climbing over the gate around the back of their property. The brown-skinned girl sporting a black tank-top and baggy, dark brown cargo shorts made her way to a palm tree adjacent to the white plaster structure, scaling the trunk until she was high enough to hop from the tree onto the first level of roofing. The platform had just enough space for her to get a running start to run up the wall to the next level, stretching an arm out to grab hold of the ledge above her to pull herself onto the second tier. That level had a patio with stairs that lead up to the final level where the family had more things set up to lounge and enjoy a nice view of the streets below from a balcony. It was a perfect spot for a sniper to set up shop!

Drawing her flintlock sniper rifle, Papi, into her dominant left hand, the woman with the curly, medium length, white mop crouched low behind the wooden paling of the balcony, peeking over it with her exposed left eye. “Bastards!” She muttered to herself as her free hand dug into one of the pockets of her shorts, pulling out a black ball a bit bigger than your average lead pellet. She fed it to Papi before leaning the long weapon over the railing. “Er’ybati like tuh shyoot, but no wahn can aim!” Sure, the pirates hit people with their bullets, caused casualties even, but their accuracy rate was no better than a person gambling with dice! It was a sickening sight for an esteemed marksman to see such fodder degrading a tool of her art! The fiery, little chick snapped her fingers, bringing her hand over her heart before putting it in its proper place to hold Papi steady. It may have looked like some sort of ritual salute, but was actually the girl activating a supernatural power she had been cursed with! This power was... Well, time would surely reveal what the extraordinary power of the sniper was! She took aim at the men below as they went about their business, unknowing to the fact that someone was watching them from above.

“Kahkahkahkah!!” More shots rang in the streets from a staggering, drunk raider as he and his group of buddies shared laughs at the expense of the innocent’s anguish. “The capn’s name should gain more fame after alla this!!”
“I think you mean ‘in-famey,’ ” one of his cohorts tried to correct him, but was pronouncing the word, “infamy,” very much wrong. “At least, that’s the word he’s been using...”
“Shut up!” The drunken gunman wobbled around toward his crewmate. “I know what I’m saying!!” He took a few steps toward the man, his inebriated face showing that he had more to say to his friend before out of nowhere, he dropped to the ground as if someone had clocked him hard upside the head!

“Bahahaha!!” His boys laughed at him. “The fool is so drunk, he just passed out!” One of the men went to sit on the side of the road with the jar of booze in hand while another went to pick up their comrade’s gun. “I guess that’s a sign for us to take a lil’ break,” the guy said, starting to chug the alcohol sloppily. “Hey,” the new gunman began to speak, “Now that that greedy bastard is out, wanna take turns with the–” His words were cut short by the sight of a jar shattering to pieces right in a man’s face and said man slumping backwards as if he had fallen asleep! What tripped the guy out even more was that he didn’t even hear any sound coming from the weird situation! “Wh... What the he–” he was interrupted yet again by a rubber bullet to the head laying him out on the floor. The rest of the pirates looked at each other, inquiring what was going on. At first they were in control, but now fear was starting to settle in their hearts. What the hell was even in the booze of the Waq Waq Oasis?!

“Shiihiihii! Idiots...” The sniper laughed to herself, but no one would have heard; for she was the “Nullification Woman” who ate the Silent-Silent Fruit! She slipped another 41.1mm rubber bullet into Papi as she took aim at the other fools that were now looking like headless chickens. “Ay, Papi~! Tear ‘em up wahn by wahn~!” She continued to put bullets to pirates’ heads as they ran around wondering what was happening to them, though there were still some who were too busy pillaging to notice the dilemma of their mates. None of the men currently in her sights were the target she was after, but saving the lives of the faultless always came first to the bounty hunter many back in the Ciudadela Queendom knew as “White-Haired” Taylor!

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[Blitzfrieg]

It didn’t seem to matter how many people were treated. The chaos outside grew louder, and the injured just kept pouring into the clinic. Zeera’s fur was getting slick with sweat, her focus and concentration being pushed further and further with every passing minute. It was only by some meager fortune that most of the patients suffered superficial wounds. Lots of blunt force trauma with a few cases of burns and gunshots. Her fellow doctors were being worked to the bone, and the nurses were practically moving non stop in order to comfort and care for the wounded as they waited for surgery.

It didn’t take a genius to see that things were bad. It certainly didn’t take one to see that they were going to run out of supplies in short order. The small clinic wasn’t ready to handle such a load. If whatever was happening outside wasn’t handled soon, then things were going to get far worse. Zeera lost count of how many bones she set, bullets removed, and wounds stitched. Even as she washed her hands her mind was set upon the source of this chaos. She hadn’t had time to go outside. From what was explained by the few victims conscious enough to do so, it seemed the city was under attack by pirates. It was certainly troubling. And now that Zeera had finally helped enough to find a reprieve, she strongly considered going out and seeing what she could see.

“Who is the head surgeon here?” The voice dragged the striped Mink back from her thoughts. Turning her head Zeera looked down on a set of three Marines that had entered the clinic. The various doctors and nurses looked between each other, then to ZeeZee. She sighed. Even though she was filling in, she had quickly established her skills in her short time working today. She had already been taking on the responsibilities of the head surgeon out of necessity. The Marines followed the looks to Zeera, and approached. All three’s eyes showed briefly their surprise and confusion at her appearance. But all three quickly contained those feelings, replaced with a business-like demeanor.

“Greetings. My name is Lieutenant Case.” The center Marine spoke, a lithe, tall, and rugged looking fellow flanked by a pair of younger, female soldiers. He pulled off his cap, running his hands through thick brown hair. “We are Medics. We received reports from a Private that this clinic was seeing to the wounded and badly over worked.” Zeera raised an eyebrow. She wondered if the blue haired girl had been the one to report.

“Well we won’t turn away help if that’s what you are offering. We’ve had a lull, but the injured still need a lot of care.” Zeera dried off her hands, waving over a Nurse with a clipboard with the details of their patients.

“Help and supplies. We’ve got a wagon outside with whatever we could spare.” Zeera took the clipboard and handed it to the Lieutenant, who then handed it to one of the Corpsman at his side. The pair began going over the injuries, noting the supplies that would be needed, and marking down the most gravely injured for transport to a larger hospital. “Where can we be of the most help?” Zeera opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a loud crash and an aggressive bellow.

“OI! Take the wagon! Captain want’s whatever supplies these suckers got!” There was a scream, and another crash, the sound of wood splintering. “The clinic too! Crack any skull that gets in yer way!” The Lieutenant turned to rush out the door, drawing a cutlass as he did.

“You two! Stay here and protect the clinic! Everyone else stay inside!” Zeera rolled her eyes. Not likely. She brushed past the pair of Corpsman, slipping off her doctors coat and dropping it to the side as she approached the door. The pair of marines moved to stop her, but she was too fast, and far to strong for them to do anything without getting violent. As she pushed aside the door the Mink was faced with almost a dozen burly, drunken pirates forming a line closing around the Lieutenant who was defending the wagon. The lieutenant flashed her a concerned look. “You get back inside! This is no place for a doctor!” One of the pirates took advantage of the Marine’s distraction, lunging in with a heavy war Hammer swinging over his head. The Marine moved to block, but his cutlass would do little to stop that weighty weapon.

“Time to die tough guy!” The pirate shouted. His brutal bludgeon barely made its way into the air before Zeera’s iron shod hoove snapped across his cheek, spinning the criminal around in place several times before he crumpled to the ground with a broken jaw. Slowly lowering her leg back to the ground, ZeeZee took up a position next to the Lieutenant, then raised the other one threateningly. She took up a fighting stance and adjusted her glasses.

“Doctor or not. You need all the help you can get. Best get ready.” Zeera spoke calm and cool. She was not easily flustered, especially by weak chumps like this. She could probably take all of them by herself. But not while keeping the Clinic and that wagon safe. Making sure no pirates snuck inside while she was fighting would be a problem. “If you really want to help. Watch the door. I will handle the rest.” With her knee raised up, hoof dangling threateningly waiting for a target to strike, she held out her hands, letting her Electro arc between her fingers. The Lieutenant looked at the display and made the judgement that he was the weaker of the present fighters.

“Alright doctor. I’ve got your back. But be careful. Don’t take any unnecessary risks!” With that the marine slowly worked his way backward, putting the clinic behind him and readying himself for whatever came.

[EJ]

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2

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Silently picking off the pirates in her area made the remaining group of raiders run off down the road in a panic. With no sounds of gunfire alerting them to a shooter dwindling down their numbers, the ones present lacked what it took to figure out that they needed to search high and wide for their mystery assailant. Landing rubber bullets on those goons was like taking candy from a baby to White Hair. Her real challenge lied in making sure no other civilians became casualties. From her current position, she had to move to find more pirates causing an uproar, but before she could make her move, a loud crash compelled her to throw her body against the wooden rail of the porch to get a better look at where she heard the noise. Leaning over the rail, Papi gripped firmly halfway up its barrel, Taylor’s lone cocoa eye scanned the area until the next batch of ruffians were spotted.

“OI! Take the wagon! Captain wants whatever supplies these suckers got!”

The Hammerhands were now harassing what appeared to be a medical clinic. ‘Ow low cyahn ya get?! A scowl overtook Trippy’s mug as the urge to shoot more pirates grew increasingly stronger. Oh, how she wished she didn’t have the morals to not use live rounds! While even a rubber bullet from Papi could break bones and lead to death with a well-placed shot in the right spot, TayTay didn’t have it in her to take a person’s life. She had to keep her composure and make due with the notion that the criminals would be locked away and dealt with accordingly once in the hands of the World Government.

Throwing her rifle over her back, securing it in place, the mocha minx hopped over the rail, being sure to carefully land her feet on the other side of the wall while still holding onto the fence. She dropped down onto a tarp serving as protection from the sun to the ground below, bouncing up off of it into a pile of hay sitting in a wagon in front of the house. She was still under the affect of her Akuma no Mi’s ‘Silencio’ ability, so none of her actions produced a single sound! Slowly, the long nose of Papi peeked its way out of the hay as Tay took aim at the Hammerhands in front of the clinic.

‘Im is ‘boutta attahk a marine! The hidden girl made a mental note to herself concerning the pirate making the initial move toward Lieutenant Case. As she prepared to fire a hushed bullet at the invader, someone had beaten her to the metaphorical ‘punch’ with a swift but powerful kick! What in ‘da... The silent sniper was baffled by who she saw the intervention come from. Is ‘daht a human zebra?! Zeera’s mighty figure towered over most of men who crowded around the clinic, making it easy for Taylor see her from the chest up from where she was positioned. The Ciudadelan native had little knowledge of the world beyond her country. While she knew about Devil Fruits because of her own situation, she knew nothing about the different classes and types that existed. Zoans were still a foreign entity she had never encountered, and one could forget about asking if she knew what a mink was.

Since the zebra mink appeared to be at the assistance of the marine, it was now two squared off against eleven. Lemme even ‘da odds a lickle... Taking aim at one of the Hammerhands’ head, Taylor got ready to shoot before another man decided to take a crack at the mink. “You’ll die for that, zebra b****!” He exclaimed, raising his large, two-handed hammer into the air. Without a moment of hesitation, Taylor switched her target and sent a rubber bullet directly into the buccaneer's rib cage. The bullet struck with such force that it caused the scurvy dog to jerk to the side and relieve his grip on his weapon, driving the head of the hammer to drop down onto his skull and send him plummeting to the earth at his feet! Without a cue of sound – and the bullet moving at speeds the normal eye couldn’t track – none of the remaining ten Hammerhands knew that their comrade was just shot from a distance, so they attributed the occurrence to being Zeera’s strange doing.

“What in the world was that?! We need to take out this zebra chick fast and all at once!!”

With that command, most of the group began contemplating who was going to make the first move on the zebra mink to create an opening to take her down, but neither her nor the lieutenant had anything to fret; for whether they knew or not, they had a sniper supporting them from afar!

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[Blitzfrieg]

Always of calm and careful demeanor, Zeera was in no way impressed or made nervous by the exclamation of one of the pirates, who raised his club threateningly whilst bellowing a shallow and weak-minded insult.  The muscles of her powerful legs tensed in preparation, her hip twisting slightly in order to provide the fulcrum that would generate enough power to reduce the man to meat should he come within range of her dangerous hoof.

And yet no kick was required.  If Zeera was not such a rational and logic driven individual she might have believed the mere threat of her counter attack had struck the man down from pure suggestion.  After all she had just dropped one of his friends with a single, casually thrown strike.  And yet, such an idea was ludicrous....all the same, she had to doubt her own eyes as he snapped as if struck by an invisible attack.  Her keen eyes narrowed as he crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, his mind no longer providing the means to keep him upright.  Something had struck the man unconscious.  Though it had not been Zeera.  

She cast a glance at the Marine, who appeared as surprised as she was.  However his expression showed no sign of revealing the source of the attack.  He had no firearm.  And none had been heard.  For all she knew he probably, like the pirates believed she had used some trick or technique to render the man to his current state.  That was when her attention was called back by the exclamation of the raiders intent to rush her all at once.  

”Come then.  Allow me to show you what this Zebra B***h is capable of!”  The men’s hushed whispers died out and knuckled clenched their weapons with knuckles white from nervousness.  All had seen how swiftly she had taken out one of their number, and none had seen how she’d taken out the second.  The tension grew as moments passed into minutes.  Zeera remained perfectly still, that leg still hanging as an idle threat to anyone who had ill intent on her person.  The silence had grown maddening, even the Marine becoming restless waiting for the pirates attack.  

Then in contrast to the agonizing pace at which the silence had grown, it was shattered by the explosion of a cannonball.  As if it had been the inciting shot at a horse race, the pirates broke into a frenzied battlecry and roared to life, charging the Amazonian Mink with all their brutish fervor.  Like wild bulls they closed in on her baring their weapons menacingly.  Zeera smirked.  

“YOU IS MINE!”  One shout came as a particularly brutish fellow reached her first, his gauntleted hands outstretched with his Hammer held sideways in an attempt to force her backward.  Zeera turned on her hoof and aimed a kick straight for the handle of his weapon, intending to snap it in half.  Her aim was true and like a bullet her hoof smashed the wood handle with ease.  Her intention was to snap over to her other leg and deliver a rapid procession of strikes up his midsection to halt his momentum, yet simultaneously as her foot connected with his weapon, she saw his head jar violently to the side.  Her eyes narrowed.  Another invisible strike?

Though confused, she took advantage of the opening that strike made and shot her leg straight up as his weight barreled down on her.  Her iron shod hoof carried up under his jaw lifting him up into the air before she spun around fully to follow up with a second kick to his chest.  Like a cannon it impacted his center mass and carried him straight back into his fellows, knocking several over with his immense size and weight.  With no time to think due to the procession of brutes rushing in on her, Zeera prepared for her next attack.

Three men staggered around the large pirate and the fellows who had been toppled by her first victims weight, hurrying towards her with weapons raised.  The striped amazon lowered herself ever so slightly, readying herself to rush the one on the left first.  As if whatever force was attacking her foes anticipated her intention, her targets leg jolted at the ankle.  The man shouted in pain as his leg shot out from under him causing him to slide forward into a painful front-back splits.  Zeera only slightly changed her plans, bolting forward like a flash.  With her height she simply had to carry her weight forward, lifting one leg up so that her knee collided with the splitting mans face in an impact that sent him to the ground.  Spinning from her momentum she focused on the next enemy, and once again as if reading her movements the man whom her eyes leveled upon howled out loud.  Clutching his hand the pirate flailed about.  Zeera noted a pattern, though she didn’t waste time thinking on it yet.  Instead she bolted forward again.  While his partner moved to intercept the Zebra slid beneath the horizontal stroke of his heavy cudgel, bringing herself up and sweeping the legs out from under the pirate still clutching his hand.  No sooner did he hit the ground did she swipe her hoof across his face decisively, dropping yet another foe.  Sure that the other man was incoming, and desiring to test a theory, Zeera raised herself up to meet him with a crouching spin that placed her at the desired angle....with the wagon behind her.  She raised her hand and pointed her finger at him mimicking a pistol.  The sudden action took him by surprise, ending his momentum as he froze in anticipation for some strange attack.

”Bang.”  She said calmly, and the man’s head was thrown back violently.  The invisible strike knocked him cleanly unconscious.  Smirking once more, Zeera raised her finger to her muzzle and feigned blowing the smoke from her ‘weapon’.  Five men had fallen, yet more still waited.  But now she was sure of her suspicion.  During her fight she noticed that the angle of the invisible strikes always came from a certain direction.  It had only taken repetition for her to notice, and the simple gamble to prove.  However her little display had quite an impressive effect.  She was now sure that she had an ally, a sharpshooter of no small degree of talent supporting her from the wagon.  If Zeera hadn’t done something, even dumb pirates would have eventually grown suspicious.  However now....

”Be warned!  I am Zerabra Zeera!”  Zeera was not prone to dramatic displays or grandstanding.  But as she was outnumbered and needed an advantage to press, this one would do quite well for her purposes.  She pointed at one of the pirates that had been halted by her swift destruction of their comrades, eyeing him intensely.  “I have mastered martial arts that you could only dream of!  The power of my blows has no equal!  They will rain upon you with such swiftness that you can no more see them than you could a bullet!”  She grinned a menacing expression.  “In fact....”. She mimicked the “BANG” expression and cocked her hand backwards as if resisting the kick of a gunshot.  The man she was pointing at staggered as if struck by just one such blow she was describing, crumpling and holding his gut in pain on the ground.  His fellows looked shocked and reconsidered their position as they observed her speech.  “....I need not even lay hands on you.  Such simpletons as you I can destroy with will alone!  For my will is as strong as any fist!  My instincts harder than the iron on my hooves!  Test me at your peril!”  Whether or not the men would be scared enough to flee was left to be seen.  At the very least she had planted the seeds of fear and doubt, which would be as devastating as the gunman who was assisting her.  If they attacked, she and her ally would take them apart one by one with surgical precision.  If they left, then all the better to reserve her strength for when it really counted.