The recognition that they were fighting a champion of the mortal martial arts world decidedly slowed their speed; Joy's fame had spread far and wide across the globe, even to somewhere like Hisashiro.  Slow enough that Joy got the jump on two of them who had decided to target her hastily.  While her move did not bypass the flying kicks of other goon, their fear had enabled her to beat them to the punch (literally) quite handily.  The thug she'd targeted - the one in the center - crumpled under her strike, whereas the other sailed past, landing nearby.<br/><br/>Aika, on the other hand, targeted the one on the right-hand end, leaping into the air with her own kick to counter the rushing attack of the last thug, her image breaking into multiple copies.  "Bridge of the Mirror!"  It was close, very close, but the Tennin managed to<em>just</em>beat out the thug by deceiving him into attacking one of the illusory copies than her actual self.  The kick landed dead center in his face, blunting his charge and draining his health bar.  Two down; one remaining.  "Hey!  Help!"  The last man standing cried out, and from the nearby alleyways, the pair of Exalted fighters would see a pair of figures emerge, having run down the way and now seeing one of their comrades in trouble.<br/><br/>"Joy!  Either get that one or go take care of the new guys!"  Aika pointed to the man who'd called out for help.