Following the arrival of The Hounds, the destruction of S.T.R.I.K.E., and the withdrawl from the mission to capture the Alien. The Legate and the Legion were left as a free mercenary group with no limitations on their legal abilities, now fully autonomous they function as a PMC. The Legate himself has overworked himself and his suit to the point of failure. His chemical cocktail is in limited supply and in this current environment it is unsafe for him and his group to function, so long as The Hounds are still operating and aware of their existence.
For now they largely have separated and have taken on independent work until The Hounds have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of. They are fugitives to a criminal group that knows their identities, their pseudonyms and even their fingerprints. Separation was the only solution for survival, despite their wish to remain together as a cohesive unit.
The Legate set himself to physical training to maintain his abilities without the mechanical training of the S.T.R.I.K.E. foundation. Functionally he was maintaining his peak but with rapidly diminishing funds he was running out of options. He would need to find a way to augment his funding, work was out of the question. He was not normalized, he needed military work and something involving his training.
His brief time on the West Coast was unpleasant but now he was back on the East Coast, despite the proximity to The Hounds, this was familiar territory and he had at least some underground connections here. For now he would need to find something to occupy his time, as it stands he’s short of funds and needs to repair his armor.
On leaving his one bedroom apartment he found that downtown had been absolutely plastered with posters, something about a fight club. It didn’t matter to him until he read there was a cash prize. Some smug kid who’d trained in karate for a little while was probably beating up street punks. Sounded like easy money, five thousand smacks would be more than sufficient for purchasing the material to repair his suit.
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Banner credit to Nitemare Shape. Thanks Boss!Nicole had had
no intention of attending whatever the facility staff and residents had dubbed “The Showoffs”. The
best case scenario, it was people showing each other what their powers did, but she feared it was probably going to be a terminally boring talent show, and she had no stomach for anything like that. So, grabbing a pair of slightly-too-tight loaner jeans, a green tank top that fit reasonably well, and a loose grey sweatshirt, she slipped past the front desk and off onto the streets of Little Ulster. She snickered to herself as she thought of a quote from her dorky sister’s favourite show and muttered,
”I aim to misbehave.”Swiftly, however, she found that causing trouble was not going to be as simple as a walk down the street to pick a fight. Little Ulster looked fairly run down, but there was hardly
anyone on the streets. She guessed it was probably all of the attacks she had heard some of the staff whispering about, but she was neither worried nor particularly upset by this. It meant less people to ask stupid questions like where her parents were, or even better, might lead to a toss-up with the Hounds themselves. After her last encounter with the group, she was almost
itching to tangle with them again, hopefully this time without police interference.
Lost in her own thoughts, she ambled barefoot north, along Waters Street, angling through a disused park, and up two more streets that she didn’t even bother to learn the names of. This carried her up a block with some older looking buildings, all dirty white brickwork and the last few worn frescoes trying to show how long the place had been around, and what sorts of people had built it. But the grime of ages hadn’t been washed away in a while, and the troubles of the times had meant that trash collection and neighbourhood cleanup efforts had suffered. Right now, even with the few people left on the streets, it felt almost abandoned.
And then, with her thoughts completely blacking out her attention to the world around her, Nicky ran face first into a signpost. She fell back, blinking in surprise, and looked up from where she had landed on her butt to see a flyer for some sort of fighting competition. No, wait, not a competition.
Fifty bucks entry, beat one guy and get five thousand back? Holy shit, I could buy anything I wanted with that kinda cash!. She spun on her heels, sprinted back to the facility, dashed upstairs, and rifled through her little filing cabinet in her makeshift bedroom, finding the small wad of cash she had been given a spending money. Entry fee secured, she bolted back the way she had come, snatched the flier off of the pole, and headed for the nearest open store to ask for directions.
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Alex stood over the next victim. He didn’t know who this man was but he knew that he came in and ripped the sleeves off of his shirt to try and show his power. But unfortunately for him, power does not always win. Especially when all Alex had to do was throw the man over his shoulder and hit him a few times in the face. The man was groaning as his friends ran up to him trying to help him up.
“Next time tell him that he needs to maybe actually know how to fight rather than using brute strength all the time. If I wasn’t so kind, he could get himself really hurt.” He would say as he walked back to his chair. He let out a loud sigh, “How many is that now?” he would ask as he looked over to one of his students who had a piece of paper with many different names on it that also seemed to be crossed out.
“Well, that was the 100th contestant… no one has lasted more than a minute against you Sensei.” The boy would say.
Alex sighed, when will he get a real challenge, when will he fight someone who is going to actually cause him to think and have fun.
”Can anyone here actually take a punch?” Alex would say as he sighed and watched all the people who had lined up begin to back away. He shook his head, he was so bored, he just wanted something that could entertain him. Once again he went back to thinking about the artifacts he was going to write and study about, unfortunately. They are gone along with the rest of the college.
[I][B]”I need to do something.”[/i][/b] Alex said as he stood up and the next person who was in line would back away and seem to look afraid as Alex approached. He would go down the line shaking his head at each person, he knew exactly if they stood a chance and he didn’t see any that would last very long against him. [I][B]”Fine”[/i][/b] he would say,
”If anyone can beat me. If anyone at all, I will give you $10,000 instead of $5000, It’s only fair right? I mean after all most of you look like you are about to soil yourselves.” The people in the line seemed to not move even at the news. Watching this would cause Alex to sigh and walk back to his chair. He sat back down as he hoped someone would come out and fight.
”Come on.. Anyone. Please.” It was almost funny, it seemed like he was begging the crowd to fight him, but no one seemed to move.
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With the flyer in hand, Legate walked down the street with his GPS in hand. Tracking the location by the provided address, his pocket jingling slightly with the dosage and some loose change. Each footstep brought him closer to extra cash to repair his armor, right now he was in his blue digital camo and looked very much like someone who was
trying to look like a soldier. Tucked pants, tucked shirt, boots tied tight. His face turned towards what looked like the entrance to some run down meth den, the GPS blinked and told him this was the location.
Joseph’s face turned to a grimace, his paranoid predatory nature warned him that there would likely be armed junkies. His hand drifted to his waist where his knife was slipped into his belt, ready at any moment to lash out. Reaching out towards the door he turned the handle cautiously, pulling back until it was completely opened and scoped out the inside. It was surprising to find just a hallway leading to a second door.
Down the hallway he walked, measuring his steps and keeping his attention on his surroundings in case the walls suddenly burst open. As he approached the second door he prepared himself, slipping the oxygen tube on his collar into his mouth. He reached over his shoulder and turned his oxygen tank on, the rise in oxygen made him feel light and giddy. With oxygen intake raised he could now tolerate the drug and slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling the egg shaped container from his pants and unbuttoned his shirt collar.
Joseph pulled the egg apart with a twist and slipped the hypodermic needles from the bottom, placed it an inch above his collarbone. Similar to the insertion site of the Fast One Intraosseous Infusion System, he drove it down into his own chest and pushed down on the twisted portion of the egg shaped needle. The chemicals flowed into his body as close to his heart as possible, his eyes dilated sharply and widened. Exposing the entire whites of his eyes and flaring his nostrils, his face turned yet more aggressive. Cheeks pulling in, lips pulling back and exposing the red of his gums. Silence filled his mind and he pushed through the door, the first words that touched his ears were
‘If anyone can beat me. If anyone at all, I will give you $10,000 instead of $5000, It’s only fair right?’ Joseph Collins pushed aggressively through the doorway, the hinge came undone as it slammed against the wall and a small dent was smashed into the drywall. His face drew into a gross smile and he stomped towards the center ring, the soldier’s approach to the stage was gradual.
”Yes, that sounds wonderful.” The rest of Alex’s speech was turned into ringing, he couldn’t hear and at this point didn’t care to.
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Nicky walked through the front door of the building just as some gigantic soldier guy walked through another door down the hall. Her nose wrinkled at the faint stench of vomit at the entry to the place, and for once actually wished
that sense had died off too. But the inside was clean enough, so her bare soles padded down the hall and followed the man, since she assumed anyone looking like that must be going to the same place.
Her ears caught, “Anyone? Please?” as she shoved in behind the soldier. Risking a glance up, she saw his eyes and immediately recoiled backwards, thankful that the flier had said she needed to fight one guy and not coked out drug fiends. Ripping her gaze off of the clearly inebriated man’s throbbing temple, she spotted the speaker, standing in the middle of a widening crowd of scared looking people. Guessing he was the guy she was supposed to fight, she stepped boldly in front of everyone, waving the flyer, and said,
“Hey, I’m here to take five grand off of you, old man!”Even as she said it, she sized him up. He was definitely well built, and since the whole place minus the crowd looked like something out of a kung fu movie, he probably knew what he was doing. Even his get-up made him look like a martial artist. Of course, that was the whole point. Nevertheless, as she pulled her hoodie off and held out her entry cash in an impatient fist, she grinned wolfishly. She hadn’t even bothered counting beyond knowing that it was enough. She had taken
far worse than fists without a scratch, so victory was
assured.
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Alex suddenly sat up at the man and the smaller girl barging through the crowd. He looked in between the two and seemed to tilt his head at their excitement.
”Interesting.” he’d say,
” You both want to fight? But neither of you have signed a waiver, or stood in line. Though I don’t think anyone is going to interrupt.” he’d continue to look between the two of them. He thought for a moment as a hand slowly went up to rub his chin.
”I could have you both fight each other, then whoever wins fights me. But that wouldn’t be fun.” he would look at the large man and then at the smaller female as he sighed, [I][B]“I’ll fight the girl first. Then I will fight you.” he would say pointing at the larger man.
”I hope that sounds fair. You, however, need to pay your fee..” Alex would say as he walked out onto the mat. While he did a kid behind him would announce the rules. “You can win in a few ways.” he would say, “You can win by knockout, submission, knocking them out of the ring, or if it goes to time, you can win by points. Timer is set for one, eight minute round, so please try your best.” the boy would say as Alex simply nodded.
”Once you give the boy your money we can get started.” Alex said, he seemed a bit more excited about this fight, maybe he was actually going to be a challenge. Just maybe he was actually going to have some fun in this fight. Alexander seemed to get into a different stance then he had been, his center of gravity lowered his front foot pointed towards the big man. As was his back foot, his body was turned keeping his front torso away from sight and his hands at his chest and solar plexus level, his eyes narrowing while he waited patiently.
“What’s your name?” the boy who was walking up with a clipboard for her to sign something, and the boy had a hand out ready for the fee that was asked for.
”Nicole Macnamara,” she said as she dropped the cash in the boy’s hand. [color=azure] “What do you mean,
points? There’s a scoring system for a
fight?” She scrawled what looked like a doctor’s signature, just a series of squiggles more than any sort of legible form of lettering, across the bottom of the papers without bothering to read them. Scoffing, she muttered,
“You couldn’t break me if you tried. Stupid paperwork, this better not get me in trouble.”Calling out across the mat as she walked over, Nicky asked,
”So, what are the points and how do I get them? ‘Cause you’re not gonna fuckin’ make me submit, old man, and good fuckin’ luck knocking me out.”-------------------
The boy would nod. “The paperwork is merely saying, we aren’t responsible for any damages to your body or belongings.” he’d say as he looked at the signature with a bit of a judgmental glare. He couldn’t have been much older than Nicky, he was obviously young, maybe even younger.
He would straighten up, “Points are based off of hits received, and given, technique and takedowns.” The boy would say.
Alex stood across in his stance still glaring at this girl who seemed all too confident in herself
”I wonder, what makes you so confident, girl. I also wonder why you are so angry..” he’d say his stance never changing as he simply stayed there, it was obvious he was prepared, and he was clearly warmed up. But there was a sort of cockiness in his tone as he spoke to her.
”Well, tell ya what, you smarmy asshole. How bout I give you a free point and you find the fuck out?” She stalked toward him, no defense apparent, with her jaw stuck out until, until she stood directly inside punching range, wide open.
Alex would simply chuckle shaking his head, this was entertaining for sure, she walked up with no stance and gave him no reason to not just hit her. But he wasn’t going to hit her in the face, that was predictable.
”Fine, you cocky little girl, I will show you to mess with your elders.” he’d say as he would suddenly move forward sweeping at her ankle to try and knock her down. If she got knocked down he would bring a fist right into her stomach to force her body further into the ground.
Nicky’s eyes went wide as he went for the sweep, and went tumbling down, then slammed into the ground and took the punch hard. However, she showed no reaction at all other than a narrowing of her eyes as she grabbed the elbow of the arm she had been hit with and swung with a haymaker, straight from the ground, with her right hand, aiming for his temple even if she didn’t know how to land it properly.
He would have stood over her letting his hand linger there for too long before he felt a hand grasping at his elbow. Suddenly feeling a punch to his head he would seem to back up for a moment. The crowd gasping as it was the first hit anyone had landed. [I][B]”Interesting.”[/i][/b] He would say out loud as he looked at her. Maybe he had underestimated this girl afterall. He would wait for her to get back up and when she did he would jump into being so close his hands were resting against her arms, if she tried to attack with one of her arms he would have the opening to go underneath and block the attack while punching toward her face.
Getting to her feet and finding the guy first politely waiting for her and then suddenly almost nose to nose with her, she did the only two things she knew how to do in this situation. Training by her Dad in how to deal with overaggressive boys kicked in, and her knee rose towards his crotch while she threw herself forward in a headbutt with her back foot.
He would bring his own leg up to block the attack to his crotch, but the headbutt. That was too abnormal he wasn’t expecting it. He felt her head smash against his. The crowd gasping again.
”You attack like a wild animal..” he’d say grimacing.
”Okay. Let’s see how you do.” he’d say as he went right back to his original position right in front of her face. He would follow it up though with a punch aiming at her right shoulder trying to make it straighten itself forward, if that worked he’d grab her arm to try and throw her on the ground and punch her face while he did.
Again, he was back in her face. Only this time he did
something to her shoulder, and then suddenly she was back on the ground and getting hit in the face. She felt her nose squash in, but just like always, it never broke and there was no pain. She looked at him from past his extended fist and growled out,
”Your mom’s a wild animal, shitbird. Is that the hardest you can hit?” As she uttered the last few words, her hands planted on either side of her head and she swung with every ounce of effort she could with her foot, lifting her back off the ground to get some additional reach. Her soccer playing days had left a lot of muscle in her legs, and her toes came in exceedingly fast and strong towards his ribs.
Alex would feel the kick in his ribs. It did hurt, more than he thought it would. He would back up for a moment. Anger was starting to form across his face as he waited for her to stand back up.
”You should be careful with what you say, and to who you say it to.” he’d say with a snarl. When she got back up he would press the distance quickly as he started to throw a chop at the side of her neck and then a palm to her chest, only to be followed up with a whirl of punches to the chest. One punch after another, as his hands seemed to go in a circle as he would hit and pull back constantly if he was able to land them. Each punch had a bit more power in it now, as if he was starting to fight seriously. His stance unchanging as he attacked her relentlessly trying to use the punches to force her into the ground.
Having started to get the idea behind this guy, as soon as she was on her feet she launched herself forward with a snarl. She ignored the hit to her neck, and pressed through the palm strike, but the rapid fire punches caught her by surprise and she felt herself fly backwards a few feet and skid across the ground. She laughed as she got up and said,
”Shit yeah, now we’re cookin’ with charcoal! Let’s see if we can get you up to propane, fancypants!” She ran forward again, and, having nothing to base her judgement on, dove into a feet-first slide and tried to land a full-powered kick into his stomach as she came to a stop.
Alex wasn’t playing around anymore, in fact he was angry at this girl, angry she had said anything about his parents. He let Chi start to flow into him, all of time seemed to slow as he took a deep breath, his reflexes and strength beginning to heighten as his chi flowed through his body. He would watch her as she came sliding forward her feet coming up he would move to the side as he would kick at her popliteal fossa, which if landed it would cause her legs to fold and tighten. If that happened he would grab at her legs and try to toss her out of the ring, maybe even at the wall close-by.
Nicky yelped as she felt her knee close from pressure on a tendon, though no pain was present. Rough hands grabbed her leg and she felt herself begin to swing across the mat.
Not yet, you fuuuck! she thought. Seeing only one way out, she reached out with her hands and snatched at the man’s gi pants, trying to snag a fistful and hang on through sheer force of will. If it worked, she’d be able to get a better grip and punch him in the side of the knee, trying to do the same thing to him he had just done to her.
At the edge of the ring, Collins drooling and predatory observed the confrontation between the two. Though watching both of their movements, The Legate most closely and aggressively watched the movements of the martial artist. The girl was strong indeed, a powerful ability she seemed to have, but nothing useful to the Legate for his upcoming match.
He was precise, aggressive, and forceful. Putting a lot of power into many strikes to drive his opponent into the ground and keep them there, but she was still standing thus far. No blood yet, either. From her appearance she seemed young, at least late teens.
From his experience with xenos, metas, and bots. The most likely option was meta, as they were the most common scum. Though he remained hopeful that perhaps this was a machine, usually they were more reliable than metas.
The Legate’s looming may have been eerie to watchers and maybe even the fighters, but he did not show any signs of entering the ring. They were unmolested for now.
Alex would begin to try to fling her only to feel her grab hold of his pants. He felt a fist in the back of his leg making it begin to buckle. But he wasn’t going to be outdone by some little girl. Using his strength and the force of him beginning to fall he would shove the girl’s knees into her chest to curl her up like a ball. Why wouldn’t she get hurt? Why is she just able to withstand everything? These were the questions that ran through his head for a moment before he decided he was going to make her hurt. After pushing her legs to her chest he would jump back up and go for a kick straight to her jaw, which would instantly if hit be followed up with a heel to the face with the same foot, then another kick with his other foot to the ribs.
Nicky didn’t know what he was expecting when he dropped onto her chest. Maybe that she’d get winded? Didn’t matter, as soon as he paused, looking like he was planning something, she lashed out with both fists, trying to land hits to his face or ribs. As he was getting up, she did the same, only to take a foot to the jaw, snapping her head back. A heel drove down on the back of her head, slamming her back into the ground face first. Another shot landed on her ribs as she was getting back up. Even so, she just stood up and grinned. Not a smidge of blood or bruise blossomed on her face as she gave the man a wink and said, mockingly, [color=azure]”That the best you got? C’mon, at least
try to hurt me. I wanna see why all these other people were so scared when I walked in!”[/i][/color]
Alex growled at her as she spoke as he had already taken way more blows from her then he should have and the last couple that landed at his ribs were not something he was happy about. This girl was starting to piss him off. But she was also at least making it entertaining. [I][B]”Interesting. What is it about you that keeps you from being hurt? Is it chi? Are you actually someone else in disguise of a girl? An illusion?”[/i][/b] he would ask her as he moved forward slowly.
”Regardless, I’m done playing.” If she was watching and if anyone else would notice his stance seemed to change. One foot forward it was facing towards the girl, the other one was turned to the side. Suddenly he leaped off of that back foot; he could feel the chi flowing through him now as his movements were getting faster, and each punch more powerful. His attacks coming wide and to her side, his punches would look almost like haymakers, which if she tried to block, the other hand that wasn’t attacking would do a straight jab at her face and chest. After sending a few of these attacks, he would throw a kick at her, but only feigning it as his other foot left the ground to try and drive a heel into her side with full force.
”Playing, huh? That’s-” Her smartass remark was cut off by a punch landing on her jaw, snapping it shut with an audible clack as her head twisted from the force. Anyone watching might have noticed her tongue get caught in her teeth, but it slid back in with no bleeding or, more likely, a severed chunk falling out. She swung her head back to look at him, only to take
another blow, and then another back to her ribs from the other side. She growled and launched a fully telegraphed, over-the-shoulder jab directly at him, but only made it halfway before yet again getting hit in the ribs and sliding backwards.
”Okay, what the fu-” The heel in her side cut her off, and she slid sideways a foot before toppling over from overbalance. Climbing back to her feet like some sort of impenetrable golem, she thought back to all the kung fu movies she used to watch, and struck what she thought was probably a good stance, left foot forward and both hands out, fingers pointed down.
”To answer your question before you so rudely interrupted me,” she spat out with vehemence,
”They have no idea. Someone said something about time, but I don’t understand that bullcrap. All I know is that I don’t sleep, don’t eat, and can’t be cut, stabbed, or blown up. So like I said, good luck knocking me out, fuck face.” ”Interesting.” he would say before nodding at the situation in front of him, understanding slightly better now.
”It is too bad you fight like a wild dog, and that your Mantis, is awful.” he would say before giving out a deep sigh.
”Listen. I don’t need to knock you out, that’s the thing with fights. You can’t just win by knocking your opponent out or submitting. You can make it so they can’t move. You could throw them outside of the ring or battle area, perhaps even off of a cliff. In a real fight there will be no points, but in this one there is, and I would suggest you start to land more punches.” he would say calmly while nodding at her, it was as if he was no longer angry, there seemed to be a sense of a calm teacher in his voice.
”You know.. If you think you can actually land a hit.” he would say a grin growing on his face as his stance changed once more.
His arms would be slightly bent as index finger and middle finger bulged out, his torso turning away from her as he revealed the side of his body only. He bent down his legs slightly as he watched and waited for her, if she were to come she would find that for every punch she threw at him he would block and quickly strike a join to cause the join to react in a way that would either tighten the appendage or cause it to buckle. If she was careful enough though, she might just be able to find a flaw.
She dropped her stance as soon as he started talking, hands at her sides and back on one foot, looking extremely arrogant.
”Sure, for you real fights are like that, but I am all about beating people once they can’t swing any more.” At the jab at her ability to land a punch however, her eyes narrowed and she stared at him, jaw set and face scowling. But she didn’t move yet. She knew from just now that he
had been toying with her, and that he could move far faster than he had at the beginning. Hit harder, too, if they way she had been flung about was any indication. Watching him take his stance, she
knew this was a trap, but a part of her was well pleased with herself that she had gotten him to at least realise she wasn’t some stupid teenager.
She eyed him carefully, trying to figure out what he might do. Having been hit by him quite a bit in the past few minutes, she knew he would probably counter attack (was that the right word? She didn’t know), and since he looked all calm and was dispensing advice, probably try to end it by throwing her again. But she also knew that she had caught him by surprise several times, so she decided she was going to use everything she had to try that one last time. She bolted forward suddenly on powerful runner’s legs, and cocked one arm back, with a guiding hand forward, almost
begging to get hit with a jab. She was going to try to time this carefully, and when the blow came, either face or ribs, grab his arm at the elbow and spin it behind him before punching him either in the spine or the back of the head with everything she had.
Alex stood there waiting for the punch he simply watched her, time was seeming to go so slowly for him. The second he saw the arm begin to extend he slid his front foot to the inside of her legs as a small but very quick jab shot right into her cubital fossa. Which would cause the arm to collapse in on itself. His movements were still at the same speed he had been going, where there was no time to rest or to think, it made it feel like he was moving in one fluid motion,
He would feel a hand grab onto his arm as his eyes narrowed at the attempt to move behind him. His leg would move up trying to hit her kneecap to cause it to buckle and throw her off balance. While his other hand would shoot out trying to smash into her elbow with force. If successful, it would force her arm to straighten. If he was able to do that his other hand would go to her hip trying to land a jab at the soft spot near the pelvis, which if landed would also cause the leg under that spot to tighten up to throw her even further off balance.
He went for it! she had time to think, before she felt the tendon in her elbow bend. She used that to snag his arm as the limb collapsed, but then his speed came fully into play. One shot straightened her elbow out again with surprising force, but she felt it bounce like a spring instead of snap. Another shot was heading for her hip, and she felt it make contact, but she had already formed a new plan. As her arm sprung back into a natural shape, her other arm flew up and went for a grab on his shoulder. The hit to her hip slowed her down, but she
hauled on his arm to lift herself up. Using the leg that hadn’t been knocked funny, she tried to plant a foot on his thigh and throw herself along his arm into a diving headbutt into his face, dragging his arm along her belly to keep him from blocking her. As she threw herself forward, her only thought was to grin wildly at him.
He would be almost caught off guard by the attack, he sighed as the headbut came flying in.
I guess if she can’t be hurt there is no harm done he thought to himself. He closed his eyes as he focused, anyone who could sense energy would be able to feel a very old energy beginning to flow through his body. His eyes snapped open as her head would smash against his. But to her, it would be like smashing right into a metal beam. There was no give, there was nothing but hardness to his head.
This old chi would make him grin, it felt good, he hadn’t gotten to use it in so long. He forgot just how much it boosted his perception, his strength, and especially his speed. He would grab her by the hair and attempt to toss her full force out of the ring and into a pillar with all of his strength.
Nicky blinked as she flew through the air.
Did he just throw me by the hair!? she thought, as she passed over the heads of some of the onlookers. She felt her spine impact some sort of object with a resounding
CRACK, then bounced off of it onto the floor in a pile of tumbling wood splinters, revealing the concrete beneath, which, having more give than Nicky did, had chipped somewhat on impact. She regained her orientation after the sudden changes in direction and stood up, brushing all the bits out of her hair, then stared at the man who had just defeated her. For a long moment, it looked as if she might charge back, but then her eyes flicked down at where she stood and she realised how far she had gone.
”Awww, fuck. Alright, old man, I suppose you win. That’s me out fifty bucks, too. At least you didn’t tie me into a bike rack like the last asshole.”As she put her hands on her head and sighed, she continued.
”Actually, that was the most fun I’ve had in a while. And I’m gonna thank you now, because next up is the giant fucker over there who looks like he did eight packets of PCP and a shit-ton of coke before he came in.” She thrust her chin forward towards the soldier in the blue camo with a grin.
”So good luck, man. I wanna be able to come back and fight again, and I can’t do that if you’re a greasy smear on the floor.”Alex bowed to her.
”Yes it was quite entertaining..” he would say as the rest of the onlookers seemed to look in sheer horror and shock at what just happened. Alexander seemed to tilt his head at her statement.
”Do you get beat like this often?.” he’d ask curiously.
”If so, you are always welcome to join me for lessons.. That was fun enough, that i’d be willing to let you train for free as long as you continue to spar with me when I am bored..”He looked to the other man and would bow to him too,
”If you wish to fight, you need to pay your fee as well. And sign the Waiver. If you wish to get started now, we can, or we can start in a little bit if you’d like me to rest up.” Alex spoke with a calm manner as he observed this big man, looking at how he stood and if he could see anything that seemed like a habit that he could take advantage of.
Nicky smiled, looking almost disarmingly normal except for the bits of wood still sticking out of her hair and the destruction behind her.
”Sure, old man, I might actually like that, and I’m only a few blocks from here.” Her smile turned a little wolfish as she saw some of what she now realised were students recoil in horror at the sudden thought of sparring with her in a regular classroom setting.
”Again, that sorta depends on him not spazzing out and killing you, though.” She turned to the larger man.
”You need to get a towel or something, fuckface, you’re drooling all over yourself.”Legate turned his attention away from the woman’s exit from the ring, she’d taken quite the beating but was still unharmed. That she was a machine was still the predominant theory in his head.
“Yes, rest if you must. I have time.” He spat and spoke through his teeth, pacing back and forth along the edge of the ring.
“If you must rest I am unopposed to it.”Alex would bow at the man as one of the boys walked up with a waiver and a hand out to receive the fee. “You need to sign this sir.” he’d say nervously. Alexander would walk over to his chair and grab a water bottle. He would start to slowly drink from it before putting it down and walking back out onto the mat and sitting there. He would go cross legged and close his eyes.
”This should only take me a couple minutes. Let me meditate and clear my head.” he would say to the man.
”During this time you can introduce yourself if you’d like.”The tall man turned towards the younger boy, grabbing the waiver from his hand and signing in a false name and manufactured signature.
”I am Joseph, since you may not read the waiver.” He shoved the paper and a fifty dollar bill back into the boy’s hand and turned back to the ring, stepping inside and pacing back and forth.
“You said the prize was doubled. Does that still stand?” Though he didn’t look at Alex his attention was very much on him.
Alex stayed in that position for a few minutes. Eventually though standing up again with a deep breath would smile at the man and bow.
”Joseph, I assume you don’t need the rules repeated for you, right?” he would ask as his front foot would slowly slide along the mat pointing directly at the man in front of him, the other foot was sideways behind it, his palms open slightly as his arms formed an X in front of him.
”I am ready when you are, as long as you don’t need to hear the rules again.”The Legate turned entirely towards Alex with a broad stance, left foot leading and hight foot pointing away from his center. Bent slightly at the knees and standing light on the heel, his white knuckled fists rose up to his septum and he tucked his chin back, raising his eyes over the bridge of his hands. It looked entirely southpaw in a traditional boxer’s stance, albeit a bit wider than would be conventionally used.
“You first.”
