Of all the ideas Edward had had for this situation, this was undoubtedly the best. The only problem was that that didn't necessarily mean it was any good. @spidergirl  had made it clear many many times that if Edward wanted to lose the nickname 'Pup' and get something that hinted at any respect. If he was honest, he didn't actually hate 'Pup' that much. Sure, May was meaning it at least as much as an insult as a term of affection, and sure it got him sniggered at occasionally, but it wasn't the worst name in the world. He just wanted something better.

And so he'd devoted a fair amount of time to thinking of how to best tilt the odds as much in his favour as he could. Obviously, in a knock-down, drag-out fight, May would stomp him into the dust. He'd tried it once with the other version of May and he'd gotten maybe three hits in and wound up split nearly from balls to throat with snapped ribs, and that was just the most serious injuries. So that was out of the question. He'd considered other strategies, from firebombs to tasers to god knows what else, but they'd mostly been crazy, unlikely to work or just plain wrong. Which left him with this. It had taken some time investment, a fair bit of money and some help, but he was sure he'd stacked the odds his way as much as was possible without too much investment.

The problem with going for the most extravagant now was that he'd never be able to use it again, and if she curb-stomped him now, he'd stand even less of a chance next time. If he was honest, he wasn't all that confident he'd win. Even with the environment favouring him as much as he could make it, she was stronger, faster, had the tougher skeleton, and had her spider powers. He was limited in other regards except his healing. And if 'their' first round was any indication, he was going to need a lot of it. 

To try and even the odds, Edward had needed the use of the Danger Room. He'd paid some nerd a hundred bucks to configure it exactly the way he needed, and if it wasn't such a pain he'd have been proud. The lights were turned to a level that had nearly blinded him at first and was still far too bright to not be painful. He'd compensated by binding cloth around his eyes. He could see, but the light was reduced. Next was the noise. Edward had exposed himself to two seconds of it before reaching for the noise-cancelling earbuds, almost whimpering. Not only was it deafening, but it was everything that he thought would have an effect. Car alarms, drilling, screaming, heavy bass. To normal human ears, it would hurt. To Lupine ears? Agony. He'd just have to hope the Danger Room door was soundproof enough to not give him away.

The noise-cancelling earbuds had cost more, but he was thankful for them. He'd lose the advantage of hearing in the fight, but he'd be able to avoid deafness. Those were the main tricks to overload her senses, but he'd also keyed the room to be filled with a variety of smells, as overpowering and sickly as he could make them. They were set up to switch off two minutes after the fight began, so he wouldn't need to gag if he started having to breathe through his nose. Even the nerd he'd gotten to mess with the controls hadn't been able to do much about taste, but Edward felt like the sight, noise and smell, coupled with the element of surprise, would overload her senses and incapacitate her for enough time for him to make a good start. He'd also hopefully increased with the purchase of a stab-proof vest that was now under his shirt. Rather than his typical cotton button-up, he was in a simple muscle shirt now, with the vest adding some bulk. It wouldn't stop her claws, but it might help reduce some glancing blows. God he was glad Celeste had started giving him money. 

And last of all was the environment. Countering the bright lights, the room was filled with a series of tunnels, forcing them to fight at close range. Something he'd learnt against Kayleigh was that, in an enclosed space, her speed and manoeuvrability didn't mean that much. In an open space, both Kayleigh and May were liable to destroy him. His margin for error would be reduced at such short ranges, yes, but so would May's, and she wouldn't be able to make use of her webs or her greater speed. He'd sent her a message to come to the Danger Room a minute and twelve seconds ago, now he just needed to wait for her.

((NOTE: Edward wanted the element of surprise for this, hence it coming out of nowhere, but if you want it to be delayed until after stuff, I can save this post and repost it later))

May was finishing up one of her classes when she heard her phone vibrate. It wasn't too important she figured, just a message. Were it an emergency they'd call or use another communicator. With the class done she grabbed her phone and checked. A message from Ed, listed as 'Pup'. He wanted to see her in the Danger Room, curious. While it could be an attack, which she'd been expecting from both him and Kayleigh any time now, it could easily be anything else. There had been talk about double team moves. May figured he was just watching too many movies or playing too many video games.

She changed quickly and began making her way towards the Danger Room. There were an odd number of people in the Sub-basement today. She shrugged and stopped in front of the Danger Room. She hadn't brought her web shooters and whether it was paranoia or training she was beginning to second guess it. She opened the door and was blasted with sound and light. She unleashed the top claws on her hands and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She needed to focus and go above the sound, lights and...smells.

"Clever Pup..."

She squinted her eyes, needing to be able to see. If it were just light she could rely on sound but he was betting on distractions and disorienting her. She needed to calm herself, take a deep breath and find him. He wasn't ready to graduate just yet. No, she'd win, she'd make sure she won. She noticed a tunnel with no way around it. Also smart. A normal warrior would be waiting just inside. But if he'd listened to her training she'd be going awhile before encountering him. Lure the enemy into a false sense of security.

Between the noise and the earbuds, Edward didn't hear what May said, only saw her lips briefly move. Still, almost as soon as she entered and recoiled from as many assaults on the senses as he could muster, he moved in. Against someone else, he might have waited, but with May, he knew that his time was limited. Eventually she'd get desensitised, and then she'd have his arse for breakfast. In a straight fight, there was no question of who would win, so he had to make the best of what opportunities he had.

Fists clenched, he darted forwards, aiming a punch under her chin, and then attempting to follow it up with a knee to the gut. Hitting fleshy areas was essential, that much he knew. At the speed they were likely to be hitting each other, he'd be lucky to only bruise his muscles against her metal bones. So he'd be aiming for muscly areas, gaps in the skeleton, extremities, anything he could remember. He'd actually looked at Kayleigh's biology homework for this, and he was mentally working through where he was likely to hit. Ears were sensitive if a good hit could be landed. May's windpipe was still cartilage, not metal. It had to be, according to Kayleigh, for her to breathe and swallow. Abs, under the chin, between the legs, back of the knee, gap between the neck and shoulder. All possible targets, as reluctant as he would be to hit then.

Perhaps, in the interest of finishing the fight as soon as he could, he should have had the nerd create something for him to use. A metal bat or a taser, perhaps. But assuming he couldn't capitalise on his short-lived advantage enough, he was sure May would find a constructive use for anything he'd wield to teach him a lesson, and he didn't want to make that too easy for her. Still, if he was lucky, both of his first hits would connect. The tunnel was narrow and cramped, especially at the beginning. He'd had a few bits widened throughout and committed them to memory, so he could make use of them if he had to.

"Sorry about this, May," He muttered, trying to a third strike, going low and trying to slam her against the wall with a shoulder. He knew that under no circumstances should he try grappling with her, or let her try it with him. She was vastly more experienced, for one thing; his main talent lay in punching things. Add her strength into that and the fight would be over before he knew it.

She was actually surprised that he went for it right off the bat. He was changing up the techniques he'd been taught, that was actually impressive. The first shots connected and she quickly brought her hands up. She could make it his form and knew she could hit him if need be. But she needed to wait it out. Deal with the pain and let herself be de-sensitized. She was slammed against the wall by his shoulder and knew now she had no choice. She was going on the attack and he was about to realize that a fight with her wasn't something so simple and safe.

She swung her right hand open towards his face. It looked like she was going for a simple slap and in a round about way she really was. However she was also using her wall crawling skill, meaning her hand would stick to his face. Sure he could pull away or pull it off, at the expense of his skin. It was a trick her dad and uncle rarely used but in certain instances she was fine using it. She also then drove her left hand towards his stomach, but the top claws were out.

"I always warned you Pup."

She knew he likely didn't hear and would also likely not fully understand. But she'd warned them all that if they ever challenged her to a fight she would win, by any means. She wouldn't kill them, but she would hurt them. She was going to win, one way or another. She knew she could out last him if need be. But he was acting smart, going for weaker areas of her skeleton. She then followed up the attempted stab with an attempt at a headbutt. She knew with her skull if she connected he was likely to get a broken nose and perhaps even a cracked skull.

Edward was well aware that his window of opportunity to deal proper damage to May was closing. Soon she was going to adjust to the sensory overload, and he hadn't acquired means to properly disable her past that point. He knew that anything he could use, she herself would definitely be able to make him regret. Tasers, baseball bats, guns, anything. She knew far more about weapons than he did. He only knew what he'd learnt at Jean Grey, and what he'd seen people do back home. So, if he wanted to keep up the stage of the fight that didn't consist of her standing on various parts of his body, he was going to have to do something to take her out.

So as distasteful as it was, he knew what he was going to have to do. He moved to jerk his thumb into her eye in a half-poking, half-gouging manner. It'd heal, and he was going to try and take her out, not damage her eye, but he knew there was a risk he might go harder than intended. But it turned out he never got the chance. As his hand neared her face, her palm collided with his in a hit that jerked his head to the side. But worse, it stuck her to him. The last thing he'd wanted to do was let May get a grip on him, and here she'd done it without tightening her fingers. He wasn't worried about that for too long, however, as then her claws sank into his stomach. His face paled and his muscles slackened as pain exploded through his abdomen, but he knew that if he gave up now, May would make him really regret it.

Even with the adamantium slowing his healing factor, he could feel skin and flesh attempting to close around the blades. That wasn't going to happen until he slid off of them, and then he'd start bleeding one hell of a lot. Blood was already soaking into his clothes, the smell of it adding to the other jumble of stimuli. He saw the headbutt coming a second before she did it and jerked his head to one side, moving her arm with him as he did, just avoiding it. Them, screaming in pain as the claws in his stomach were jerked, he moved to slam his knee into her gut with all of his strength.
"Get off of me!" He roared

She missed the headbutt and before she could react she felt his knee driven into her stomach. Between the missed headbutt and the knee she nearly lost her grips with both hands. As he yelled at her to let go she simply smiled before slowly twisting her clawed hands before unsheathing the claw under her wrist she rarely used and letting it join the other two. Calmly she kissed his cheek before putting her mouth next to his ear.

"When you surrender, Pup."

She said with a smile. Now she was focusing on annoying him. He was losing his cool and she could easily exploit that. He had focused on all sorts of physical distractions and they were working. Focusing was a chore, but she was trying. It was throwing off her spidey sense causing her to have to do this the old fashioned way, read him and react. It had been too long since she'd had to do this so she needed to react. She knew if it would heal later instead of right away she'd pop her own eardrums to remove that one distraction but that wouldn't work.

"Hope Tweety is ready to tend to your wounds."

She said with a laugh before leaning back against the tunnel. She got her feet on the wall and pushed off with all her strength aiming to drive him into and possibly through the wall. If he wanted a fight he'd get it.

Edward's knee didn't have the effect he'd hoped, and instead it just jerked the claws stuck in him. As May twisted and he felt a third blade stab into him, he yelled in pain, but he didn't move to stop. The pain was astonishing, intense, and he wanted it to stop, but he knew that was his mistake. He wasn't good with pain. He let it take him by surprise, and he let it get the better of him. It's what had let the other May dominate him quite so easily. He could have taken a lot more punishment, but the pain had scared him. This time he'd just have to scream, to take it, and keep going as long as he could.

His fist was slamming into her back as she moved her mouth to his face, but it was hitting nothing but metal bone and thick muscle. As her lips touched his cheek, his fury rose. She wasn't just looking to win, she was looking to beat him. She was taunting him. The combination of the anger and the pain was making his concentration slip, and he could feel it. The frenzy. He'd seen May with it, he'd seen X-23 with it, and he'd seen his dad with it. He'd only felt it briefly, but it was enough to tell him he didn't like it. It wasn't erupting, not yet, but it'd be so easy. He'd just have to let himself lose control and then....

"When hell freezes over, bitch."
Instead, Edward forced himself to focus on the pain, to not let anything slip away. Giving into his instincts, while it would be easier, would only let May beat him faster. Her center of balance was changing. She was leaning into him more. He just had time to realise what she had planned before she kicked off from the tunnel wall and slammed him into the other one. The back of his head crunched into metal and he saw stars, and his yelling only grew louder. It felt worse than anything he'd ever experienced. Before coming to America, the worst pain he'd felt was three grown men ganging up on him with cricket bats. Now, he had a fair few options. 

But he couldn't let her beat him this easily. The pain would still be there after he gave up. So it was time for him to try and give some back. As soon as his vision cleared, he pooled saliva into his mouth and spat it at her eyes. There was blood, presumably from burst vessels mixed in with it, and if he was lucky, it'd either temporarily blind her or distract her. A second after, he brought his own hand round, and claws extended to slash into her stomach muscle. If it connected, it wouldn't be pretty or elegant, but it'd be something.
"Hope you're ready to tend to yours."

The punches, while mildly painful were more distracting than anything. The back muscles were naturally some of the strongest there were, when coupled with her metal skeleton it provided a lot of defense. However his hits seemed to be more out of desperation than aim. Of course considering she had three claws in his stomach it made sense.

"Bitch? Such language Pup."

She said with a laugh before he spit in her face. Luckily she wasn't relying much on vision as she couldn't see much, but it was still annoying. Of course she was fine with fighting dirty, she taught him to. Well, taught him more advanced dirty fighting skills. When facing a superior enemy, like her, do whatever it takes to balance out the odds. However as he slashed at her stomach she let out a grunt. She had no choice but to pull one hand away. She didn't like it but she opted to keep the hand on his face. If he got away it could be too difficult to find him again. So she pulled her claws out of his stomach and placed her own hand on her stomach, giving it time to heal. The last thing she needed was her intestines at her feet, that would be harder to heal from. But as long as she still had hold of his face, she had him, she knew that.

She could feel her stomach muscles knitting themselves back together, an odd feeling but one she was rather used to. She pulled her hand away from his face briefly, letting the pain of the ripping skin be enough of a distraction. She then smacked her hand back, wanting to keep it on. She knew he could pull away, now especially, but she had to try.

"Remember Pup, you brought this on yourself."

She said before standing up tall. She pulled her hand from her stomach and unleashed all three claws again. She brought her hand back at chest level and prepared to strike. But instead she unleashed the claw on top of her foot and moved to kick him in the shin and in doing so drive the claw through his leg.

This wasn't a winning battle, that much Edward knew. Maybe if he'd gambled on taking advantage of her initial distraction, he could have gotten something done, but he'd been far too cautious and now he was paying for it. Any fight with May, for the foreseeable future, would be determined by the first three seconds or so. If he could take her out before she knew there was a fight, unlikely as that was, he could win. Otherwise, between her powers and just how much practice she had, he wasn't going to stand a chance. The point that was nicely demonstrated by his position of being pinned to a wall and skewered on three blades.

Still, there was red blood on his claws as he pulled his hand back. Quite a lot of it. He'd scored a hit, clearly. Which he hoped was more than any of the others had done if they'd tried this. Usually, he wasn't fond of the idea of hurting family. Right now, honestly, it was deeply satisfying. As her claws left him he gasped and felt hot blood leaking from the wounds that had been stopped by her claws. Usually, cuts like this would be healing. But it was adamantium, and it'd be slower. May had drilled that into him while teaching him more about his powers, he just hadn't realised she hadn't been exaggerating. Still, as she gripped her gut, Edward began to wonder if he'd done more than he'd thought. Maybe he could do some real damage.

That hope was torn away with a decent bit of skin as she ripped her hand away from his face. As he felt what seemed like his cheek being torn open, he gasped and fell backwards, barely having the time to raise his hands to his chest. The rational part of his mind knew that May wouldn't stab him through the heart, but the rational part was currently buried under a lot of pain and panic and the most offensive swear words he could think of. Not that it mattered, as her claw skewered his leg and the other one buckled, her hand still stuck to his face and raising it in the least comfortable way as he fell to the floor, blood leaking from his gut and his leg.

"I give," He groaned, raising his voice to be heard over the noises, "I give." He was slumped as much as he could with her hand stuck to him, leaving him in a fairly humiliating position as blood started to pool around him.

As he surrendered she called her claws back and fell back against the other side. He'd given her hell, but the problem was, it wasn't enough. Her clothes were stained in blood, more so his than her's but her pants had a good deal of her own. She brushed her hair off her face and looked over at him as best she could.

"Can you turn everything down Pup?"

She said before pulling herself to her feet. She held her hand out to him to help him up. But at the same time she also wanted to get out of there. Yes she was becoming acclimated to the lights and sounds, but she also would like to get somewhere she can think. She needed to be out of there. Her stomach was still sore but the pain was gradually fading. She was used to looking past pain, but it was still rather difficult at times.

She then began making her way towards the door. She wanted to shower and she wanted to calm down. If she could headaches she knew she'd have one right now. As the doors opened she saw people scatter. No doubt they'd wanted to watch the fight. She didn't blame them and wondered what the odds were. No doubt it had created a gambling element as people betting on winner, time and so forth. She had to believe the odds were well in her favor and Ed winning was a long shot. Of course that was also her own pride and arrogance.

Once out she stretched and let out a sigh. It felt good to be surrounded by silence again, something she could better handle. Of course too much silence provided its own problems but that was a whole other scenario. As she walked she looked down at her blood covered hands. Yes she was used to seeing them covered in blood, it was actually quite common. However at the same time it wasn't often a family member's blood. She quickly ran into the locker room and came out with a lit cigar, sighing.

"That's better."

She didn't know why she liked cigars so much other than because Grandpa Logan smoked them. It seemed as likely as any other reason, but it was really all she had.

The claws left Edward's gut and the hand left his face, and almost instantly he started feeling a bit better. He didn't know why adamantium did what it did, but when it was stuck in him, he didn't heal anything like as quickly. He was still in pain in places he hadn't even realised he could feel before, but the effect of his healing getting back on track was a distinct relief. Blood was still leaking over the floor from his wounds, and probably would for a couple of minutes, but whatever she'd done to him internally was already fixing itself.

It was tempting to ask for a couple of minutes as May held out her hand, but Edward knew that there was still pride on the line. He'd lost the fight, there was no doubt, and lost it by some margin, but that didn't mean he was going to crawl on the floor and whimper and cry. He took her hand and hauled himself up, grunting as it tugged on the still-open wounds in his gut. As she asked if he could turn it down, he gave a nod.
"Can do," His voice was surprisingly strong after everything he'd been through. He slowly made his way to the console, and resisted the temptation to break it to shut it off. Instead he did as the nerd had shown him. As soon as the lights dropped and the sound quieted, he ripped the now-bloodstained rag from his eyes and unblocked his ears. Next time he'd need to find a way of countering May that didn't stop him as well. 

As the door opened and Edward made his slow way towards it, there was a mixture of gasps and giggles from the people who'd gathered outside. They'd definitely been expecting him to lose, but they'd probably been prepared for the sort of comical injuries he got in a training session. Not for the two of them to have been dripping blood and bearing deep cuts. Still, his were mostly closed now, and it felt like his skull, if she'd cracked it, was repaired nicely. He was slower getting to the locker room than she was, and could smell the tobacco by the time he got there. That was the right idea. He reached into his own locker and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one and gasping the smoke down.
"How'd I do?" He finally asked May. All in all, it hadn't been a long fight. A couple of minutes at most. But still, he felt like he'd gotten more hits off against May than anyone might have expected.

With the sounds and lights finally calming she instantly began to feel better. She had a pounding headache but it would fade quickly. It wasn't often she got headaches, but it still happened on occasion. Of course she'd rather her healing factor focused on her cuts and other injuries. Once they were in the locker room and away from prying eyes May finally relaxed. Sure it wasn't even close to her time with Becca, although drinking could still happen. Sure she was close to Ed and aside from Rayne he was likely the closest she had to a male best friend, aside from maybe Olly.

"Well it was obviously flawed. Especially since you lost. You need to remember, you have claws, use them. Going against someone who heals means you're able to go full bore. The sensory thing was nice and all but of course flawed since it impacted you too. Sure Becca or Isaac could pull it off. But something you need to learn when fighting a superior fighter is to go after weak points. A few claws to the lungs could've ended that, provided you actually get the drop on me. But on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say.....4."

She said calmly, puffing his cigar. She tapped some of the ashes off onto the floor, something that annoyed Hank and other faculty members, but she never cared. Mostly since others were rather scared of her anyways.

"It was a solid plan but I dominated most of the fight. Perhaps you hesitated to truly hurt me. Or maybe you thought it'd be punches and kicks like most training sessions. Of course I went light on you myself. Honestly I could ripped my hand away, taking skin and sliced your throat in the shock. I wanted you to feel like you were doing well. So remember that, next time you try jumping me, I will end you fast. But you've wasted your one chance Pup. Next time we fight I determine the time and circumstances. Everyone gets one. Wait till Isaac or Becca try this."

She said with a light laugh. She glanced over at his cigarettes and shook her head. She got up and went to her locker, beginning to rummage around.

"You're a Howlett, time to act like one."

She said handing him a cigar. Her grandfather, his father, was known for cigars and she was no different. It had become an unofficial family symbol now. The whiskey would likely come later, mostly since she had yet to replace the whiskey her and Becca had drank.

"Cigarettes are cute and all, but after a fight a cigar just tastes better."

Edward nodded as he listened to May dissecting his battle plan. Honestly, he thought it was better than she was giving credit for. Sure, the sensory thing had had an effect on him, and he'd been holding back from anything that might truly hurt her, but he'd still taken the time to come up with a comprehensive plan that left her crippled for a few seconds and weakened for the rest of the fight, and taken measures to stop it having quite such an effect on him. 
"It's at least a six," He told her, "Unless you're asking me to believe that Becca looked away from her nails for five seconds or Boy Candle came up with something creative, it's definitely the best you've had yet." He knew that Kayleigh hadn't tried yet, but he hadn't asked Becca or Isaac yet. 

"Well I'm not about to apologise for not stabbing you through the lungs," Edward told her, a mild shiver at the thought. "Maybe I was holding back a bit, but aren't you a bit bloody happy that I don't actually want to hurt you?" In all honesty, May's willingness to hurt him when it came down to it was the slightest bit alarming. He got that she was trying to train him for people who wouldn't care on bit, but they were still family. The thought of sticking his claws into her and twisting was just too much for him. "And if I try and get the jump on you again?" He asked her, knowing that in a straight fight she'd destroy him. Hell, in a straight fight she had destroyed him. Her advantages just outweighed his.

In his desperation, he'd already smoked most of the cigarette he'd pulled from the pack, so he was fine stubbing the rest of out against his locker and taking the cigar she offered him. 
"Really?" He asked her, trying to keep his voice from cracking as he took it. To an outsider, it probably didn't seem that big a deal, and lord knew Edward usually didn't care about grand gestures or symbols, but this meant something. He took the cigar and flicked the cap off with a claw, before lighting it.
"Never seen the point of these," He told her, trying to play it cool, "Why smoke if you're not going to inhale? You miss out on the nicotine that way."

"Well see that's the thing. Becca has the best option right now. Power up and then detonate. She did that in our last session, I lost my eye for a day. As for Isaac, well, no. He's likely to try a full on attack. It's cute really. I mean sure it's not a terrible plan, just not a good one."

She said shaking her head. She'd often thought about what each one would do when the time came to fight. Kayleigh would be tricky. She was smart and would likely set up an even more complex plan than Ed. She was also smart and would likely look into carbonadium. She hated that stuff, slowed down her healing. She was used to basic pain because it faded. But lingering pain was a different matter entirely. She did laugh though as he continued to defend his plan. While not a bad plan, it wasn't good either. AN ideal plan would leave him unharmed, and given their similar physiology that was tricky.

"That's the thing Pup. In a fight you might not have the option to play nice. Playing nice may be the difference between winning and your head on someone's wall. Then I have to avenge you and that's super inconveniencing."

She said with a wink and a laugh. As he took the cigar she let out a laugh and shook her head. He didn't understand cigars and that was likely due to ignorance and Grandpa Logan being MIA. She'd had him to show her the benefit of cigars.

"You can inhale, unless you're a sissy. Sure there's no nicotine but it's all about the flavor. Like a good whiskey, learn to savor it. Then in the mean time you can mull over how I kicked your a**. Your main mistake was waiting. Even a few seconds can give someone enough time to begin getting used to the sensory issues. A smart attack would be to wait above the door and pounce."

"Hold up," Edward said, "If I so much as mouth off, you've been known to make me suffer. That spoiled blonde bint can half-blind you and waltz off scot-free?" Now he wasn't sure, but he felt like there was something of a double standard there. And he just knew May was going to say something about family pride or making his father proud, or about just not embarrassing her. Still didn't make it fair that she got such a free ride even compared to Isaac. And he could just tell why. He'd already had to punch a few people for spreading rumours around about that. 

Edward could just tell that she was judging his plan. He was more just annoyed that he'd need to think of something else. Next time he asked her to go to the Danger Room, she'd probably run him through as they stepped over the threshold just to make sure. So he couldn't have others with him to help, and now the Danger Room was beyond him. What was left to him? Extensive firebombing? Jabbing himself full of adrenaline and hoping he could do something while very very high? Attack her in her sleep? There had to be something he could use to offset his pretty steep disadvantage in powers.
"Go on then," He said, "What would have been a better plan?" She wouldn't give him one that would work, of course, but he might be able to use it for inspiration. 

Edward continued to puff on the cigar with little satisfaction. As he did so, his hand went under his ruined shirt and began to unbuckle the ruined remains of the stab vest he'd been wearing. It more fell apart than came off proper, but either way he was holding a tattered pile of whatever material they used, torn through repeatedly and saturated with blood.
"Useless thing," He muttered as he kicked it away, "Waste of bloody money." He hadn't been expecting miracles, but it doing anything at all would have been appreciated. He took another puff on the cigar, and paused. "Alright, it isn't half bad," He admitted slightly reluctantly. "Nicotine would improve it drastically, but the taste is actually alright." He took in a deep drag, and then exhaled with his mouth and throat in an O, blowing smoke rings. The cheap trick made him smile slightly.