*Elektra slipped over the outer perimeter wall of the X-Mansion grounds, as the sun descended for the evening.*

*The security systems were good, better than last time, but not perfect. She moved like a shadow through the trees, sai held low, red suit blending into the dark. The mansion’s lights were sparse this late. She made her way through the trees until she reached Emma Frost's home.*

*A soft rustle behind her was the only warning.*

*Kwannon dropped from a high branch in a blur of violet and black, psychic knife already forming in her hand, sword sweeping the air. Elektra twisted, catching the first slash on crossed sai.* 

*“Wrong grounds, hand assassin,” Kwannon said, voice low.*

*Elektra gritted her teeth.* 

*They collided. Elektra’s sai flashed in tight arcs, forcing Kwannon to give ground. Kwannon to her credit was just as fast as Elektra, an elbow, knee check, and the glowing knife carving the air where Elektra’s throat had been a half second earlier. They rolled across the roof, trading blows.*

*Kwannon locked Elektra’s wrist and drove a knee toward her ribs. Elektra inverted, using the momentum to hurl both of them sideways.*

*The glass skylight on the roof of Emma's house was directly beneath them.*

*They hit it at speed.*

*The reinforced glass shattered in a violent spray of glittering shards. Both women fell through in a tangle of limbs and weapons, crashing onto the polished white marble floor of the kitchen below in a rain of broken glass.*

*Elektra rolled free first, keeping her sai's ready. Kwannon rose into a crouch, psychic knife reforming with a soft violet hum. Both of them were cut, breathing hard, still about to continue fighting.* 

Pretty Girls