But before the battle could really get underway...

Max: So... how about this?

He swiped his hand at super speed, blasting him with an electric bolt and therefore knocking him down.

Max: Gotcha.

Those who were watching the fight had these thoughts....

Tiffany: (thinking: Firing electricity while using his super speed.... If he does that, it's almost impossible to dodge.)

At that point, her eyes turned to Max's mother.

Tiffany: (thinking: Combine that with those force fields and...)

The answer was obvious to the teenage girl.

Tiffany: (thinking: Protonites are a truly formidable alien race.)

Back at the battlefield...

Max's celebratory smile was cut short by Ken getting up almost immediately, patting himself down.

Max: Mmmmmm....

Ken: You were holding back, weren't you?

Max remained silent.

Much as he liked the battling, he was always careful not to use too much of his own power. He, as his mother had shown him, was well aware of how powerful his electric bolts were.

Ken: Well... you're still gonna have to do better than that.

Max: Tch...

It was just as Max had earlier expected. Ken wouldn't be an easy opponent. And, of course, not a staright forward one.

If Ken kept slowly healing from damage, then taking little jabs at him would never work.

As for Ken, the biggest question to him was this. How do you hit a target that can react to everything you throw at him and dodge before your attack can connect?

Not only that, but a target that can also hit faster than you can react?

Ken: (thinking: Well.... I didn't think taking you down would prove to be such an entertaining puzzle.)

And so both fighters remained silent again.

Back with those watching the fight...

Rose: Wh... what's going on?

Tiffany: They're considering their next moves. (thinking: And they're doing it a little too much.)

And then, without warning...

Max swiped his hand again and fired yet another bolt at Ken. One more powerful than the last.

And consequently, it took Ken down.

And as for Max, he simply stayed put.

The electric bolt hed fired at him was quite a bit stronger than the last one.

But that was the least of his worries.

There were two things keeping him on his toes about him.

One thing, Ken's abilities were still unknown to him, and another, and perhaps more importantly, from experience, he knew Ken tended to have a backup plan of some kind.

For that reason, he waited patiently for Ken to get up, rather than attack right away.

And, as one would expect, he did.

Ken: Hmmm... not bad....

And as for Ken....

Ken: (thinking: And if he keeps hitting me like that... this fight will end real quick.)

Max: Hmph.

The pair remained silent for a mere moment before....

Max: Whelp. This is going nowhere.

Ken: Hmm?

Max changed his stance, lowering his pose.

Max: I guess I'll just blast you over and over again till you go down.

Ken: Hmmmm.

That was the obvious conclusion to this fight.

Max had super speed, and so nothing was really stopping him from just overwhelming Ken with attacks. Ken knew that well.

Ken: Sure. Go ahead.

Max: Huh?

That was the last thing Max had expected Ken to say.

Ken: Something wrong?

Max: Tch. No.

And so his previous concern about Ken's other abilities made Max question himself for a second.

But then, electricity started to spark out of his right and left hand.

Max: Y'ready?

Ken: Hmph. Yeah.

Back with those watching the fight...

Luke: (to Tiffany) Hey....

Tiffany: Hmm?

Luke: Think Ken can win?

Tiffany looked back at the pair. So far, Ken had taken some damage here and there, and Max was relatively unharmed, not counting his fatigue and damage from the previous two fights.

Tiffany: I dunno. However....

She looked back at Ken.

Tiffany: ... I wouldn't put it past either of them to win.

In her mind, the winner of this match was up in the air. Whoever would win, to her, was a coin flip.

Rose, meanwhile, watched with earnest interest. Her eyes never leaving the battle.

Julianne: (thinking: Well, sweetie. Show 'em whatcha got.)