Smokey watched the ominous claw, feeling time tick by, each second feeling like an eon. In the back of his head, a more rational part of his mind was screaming at him, telling him he's an idiot for wanting to try this, but Smokey has already set the course. There's no running for him now. And besides, a more cynical part of him commented, the end result was probably going to be the same regardless.
After a few more seconds, there was finally movement. The claw rocketed forward with no movement or signal from Lynn herself, and the lack of motion from the wielder almost tricked Smokey into not reacting in time. It was only his own nerves that allowed him to react at all, but they were just enough to let him do what needed to be done. Just before the machine made impact, a dark gray glow enveloped Smokey and solidified. It would do nothing to stop the blow itself, but that's not why he activated his semblance.
Speaking of the blow, it hurt. It hurt a lot. Smokey's been hit by a lot of things, including an ice wall, the top layer of a frozen over lake, Grimm claws and fists, a flame thrower, the weapons of other students, his own gun, and a literal fire tornado. So, it's not small feat when Smokey says that this attack was the hardest hit he's ever taken in his entire career. It shows, too, as his body flexes from the sheer force of the impact despite being under the effects of his semblance. He even feels himself slide back a bit!
But Smokey Emberstone is nothing if not resilient, and even after taking a blow that might have left some fully-fledged hunters doubled over in pain, he fights through it in order to accomplish what he set out to do. As the flaming fist slams into him, Smokey's own arms latch onto the claw, finding whatever purchase they can on the metal limb. The gunslinger may not be able to bring about the wrath of his armament in this bout, but he's no "one-punch-chump", and his opponent will discover the real reason behind his unreasonable request as well as the nature of his semblance as soon as she tries to retract the claw.
As the frost flames wash over him, Smokey coughs out one sentence to his teammate before he's completely frozen over, "Don't let this go to waste!" The next thing he knows, it's cold, and he feels ice completely cover his body. Any light that reaches his eyes is obscured, and he can only guess as to what's happening in his surroundings. He tries to flex parts of his body, but he's left completely immobilized: he isn't going anywhere. Inwardly though, he smirks. Assuming he was successful in grabbing the claw, Lynn will find herself in much the same predicament. Hopefully Nathan can use this opportunity. In the meantime, the only thing Smokey can do now is grit his teeth and hold on.
[Action log: Activated Immovable Object, Attempted grab on claw]
[AURA: 50% (40% from hit, 10% from frost damage)]
[SEMBLANCE: ACTIVATED! 1ST OF 6 ROUNDS!]
[Conditions: Completely frozen over, unable to move]
Matchstick: Unavailable, Smokey is frozen