recolle | [001] - when the world needs heroes on patrol

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marvel 616: bucky barnes

[001] - when the world needs heroes on patrol

WHO: Gar Logan and James Barnes
WHERE: The empty lot behind the 7-11 on Myrtle and Fifth
WHEN: Monday, 12/18
WHAT: Bad Decisions, Teen Superhero Fight Club
WARNINGS: Mild violence, losers being losers

[It's after school at the appointed hour.

Gar has just bombed his last history quiz before the midterms spectacularly (how was anyone supposed to know when the War of 1812 started???) and shows up looking properly glum. ...He also shows up with an enormous gym bag. Probably to stash the body of his opponent after he UTTERLY WRECKS him. Gar is short, scrawny, and not terribly likely to incite fear into his foes, but he's totes ready for this.]

Hey, bro.

[...Actually come to think of it, he's seen this kid around in school before. Maybe a year ahead? Or different classes.]

Man, I can't wait for the holidays. You wanna fight my history teacher after this? I think I saw her putting a negative sign on my paper...

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[ James arrives second--he made it from school to the lot fairly quickly, but taking off the prosthetic, redressing himself, and storing it in his bag took up some time. But when he finally arrives, he drops the backpack along the rusty fence and that's it. He's ready to go.

Except for stretching. He'll stretch out a little bit. ]

No way, man. I charge an extra fee for fighting teachers.

Oh. 'K. I've got...

[He roots around in the bag.]

A bag of melted gummy worms and a protein bar. ...Are protein bars technically vegetables? Maybe they'll taste like something. You're gonna be looking for Mrs. Kuthbert - she's got like, frizzy white hair and a bad leg.

[...]

OK, yeah, fine, maybe don't beat up old ladies. ...At least beat up history for me.

What, like the concept of it? Don't worry, that's like the one thing I'm best at.

[ He's pretty sure being a 17-year-old WW2 vet who punched superpowered Nazis all the time qualifies as "beating up history." Somehow. ]

So? We gonna do this? Or do you want to maybe punch that big, scary, threatening history test of yours instead?

I mean.

Yeah, it's a lot more scary than anything we're gonna be doing.

[to be perfectly honest]

'K, wait a sec.

[And the reason for his gym bag becomes clearer as he drags out a small square floor mat and tosses it on the ground. Gar lines up his feet in perpendicular directions and raises his hands.]

A'ight, come at me, bro. .........Whoa, cool, I got to say that non-ironically.

Edited 2017-12-23 05:21 (UTC)

[ Awww look at that, he brought a little mat and everything! How cute. James can't help the look on his face--like he's humoring Gar. Anyone who brings a mat to a fight in an abandoned lot is automatically precious. ]

Alright, you asked for it!

[ He moves in quickly, striding across the mat in two steps and jabbing his right hand, rigid and flat, at Gar's throat. ]

[gar is a ROCK HARD MAN who does MANLY THINGS and isn't afraid to be a MAN but all men should adhere to safety regulations they are there for a reason to make sure that everyone ends up having fun and not being hurt!!

also once he had a fight and he hit his head on the pavement and that wasn't great]

Whoa!

[OK James could have come at him a little less aggressively, but this isn't Gar's first time in the ring, either. The standard counter according to his training is to deflect the punch and to grab James's upper arm, which Gar promptly proceeds to attempt.]

[ Okay Gar, he'll let you have this one. All the better to gauge what sort of skill level he's dealing with here anyway.

James's attack is properly deflected and his arm is grabbed. However, he twists his arm and torso to try and break the hold. ]

Gotcha!

[As soon as Gar has a hold of any sort, he's going to attempt to slam James to the floor!]

Ngh --

[...This is the part he's a little less sure on. If James has a safe footing and can keep his sense of balance, he can pretty easily resist Gar pulling him down - he might get jerked around a little, but his opponent is pretty scrawny. The technique of finding the right center of balance to disrupt is a little beyond him right now.]

[ Gar succeeds in getting James to have to take a few steps to rebalance himself, but he doesn't go down. He's had enough training (or regained muscle memory?) to know how to handle a little yanking around. ]

Nice try, but you're pulling from the wrong place!

Nggggggggggh!

[Gar continues to pull from the wrong place.]

Aw, man! Nghoooh -- The training dummy always goes down. How much do you weigh?

[he's definitely calling james fat]

Ghhhhhhhhk......

Dude. I only weigh like 150. And that's counting the weight loss from the missing arm.

[ So like, he's not THAT light. But look, he's fresh off the football team, where he was actually one of the shorter and lighter players. ]

Use your back more, not your arms. Your back can handle the weight better than your arms.

Dude, that's so much!!

[complains gar, who, admittedly, only weighs like 110]

OK, OK... Like this?

[Gar proceeds to use his back, twists so hard that he loses his grip on James, and throws himself onto the mat. And you were making fun of him for bringing one!]

...........OK, before you say anything, I'm a lot better at just punching people.

[ James can't help but laugh when Gar goes down on the mat. He leans down and offers Gar a hand. ]

Alright then, let's see it. Punch me.

Yeah?

[Gar brightens up and scrambles to his feet, taking James's hand.]

I'm not allowed to punch anymore until I learn to block -- but forget it, they're not here.

OK, round two!

[Hands up again! And Gar is definitely not in a standard aikido hanmi stance anymore; he looks more like a kid who learned how to fight by watching boxing matches on TV. ...Which would be accurate.]

Over here!

[He's pretty quick - he feigns a left jab before coming around with a right to James's temple.]

[ While James didn't recognize Gar's earlier stance, he certainly recognizes this one--"boxing, but on TV." A messy approximation of the real thing. Honestly, his stance looks far better than James's did until about six months ago when he got a ton of specialized military training beamed into his head.

The left jab is a clever idea, but TV boxing tactics aren't enough to hide the fact that Gar's legs are balanced for a right jab. It is distracting enough, though, that James needs to sidestep to the right in order to make enough space for him to bring up his forearm to block the hit. ]

Damn, going right for the head, huh? You bring out a mat, and then try to give a guy a concussion?

[ He drops his arm from the block and then points to a spot on his left side, just below the collarbone and just a few inches away from his stump. ]

Aim for here.

[ A hit there, at least, won't be too painful or leave too much lasting damage. ]

Oh! -- Sorry.

[He flushes red, slightly flustered by the criticism.]

...I guess that's why I'm banned.

[Prior to starting class this semester, his only experience in brawling had been the casual schoolyard throwdowns, during which he claimed victory if he was still standing at the end of the scuffle. It usually involved a lot of pushing and kicking to the floor.

Hands up again. James is drawing attention to something he had noticed immediately, of course, but which he had the good grace to not comment on. He will abandon those graces now.]

...Can I ask about that or is that not OK?

Edited 2017-12-31 20:31 (UTC)

[ The question takes him by surprise. Normally people either make no comment at all and stare at him when they think he doesn't notice it, or they ask with zero preamble. Maybe if all the questions get aired out right now, it'll be less awkward in the end. ]

Oh. Uh, sure.

But if the question is "is punching me there gonna hurt," then the answer is no. Probably.

[ He hasn't been punched there before, but it's not like he's got a shoulder joint to worry about there anymore. Besides, he's got a stab wound on the right side that's mostly healed, but he doesn't exactly want to test it. ]

Oh, yeah, that's probably important.

[Not that he had been planning to punch somebody's arm stump in the first place since that seemed a little wrong.]

Uh, well, I guess I was... wondering what happened. Is that rude? It's probably rude, sorry.

[ Ah, yes. Well, considering that Gar's actually on Retrospec, James can at least give him the truth, instead of that hasty car crash excuse he gave everyone else. He can't help but grin bitterly, just a little. ]

Oh, yeah. Well, funny story. Retrospec took it. One day I woke up and, poof! The whole thing was gone.

Wait what.

[...................]

WHAT

They can do that?!!

HOLY CRUD are you for serious does this just happen oh man I hate everything about this even more!!! I thought you just got, like, weird memories and superpowers and stuff! Did you get any superpowers?!

What if you just wake up and you're like -- I dunno dead. I guess you wouldn't wake up.

Holy crap dude are you OK?

[what a good question to ask someone with a stolen limb]

[ James shrugs. He always appreciates when people react so viscerally to that news--maybe one day it'll get tiring, but for now he appreciates the secondhand outrage. ]

I'm okay as I'm ever gonna get about it. [ The wound is healed and he has a prosthetic now that accomplishes at least some of the things he wants to do, so. That's about as good as he expects it'll get. ]

But yeah, there's your warning. Most people get superpowers, but some of us get our limbs or eyeballs taken in the middle of the night. Don't expect it, but don't be surprised if it happens either.

I haven't won the superpower lottery yet. Depending on how you define 'superpower', anyway.

Aw man.

[Gar rubs his arm in sympathy while looking uncomfortable.]

I was holding out for flying, but I guess I'm just gonna hope I don't wake up with my head chopped off or something.

....OK, I still want like. Hovering. That's a good compromise, right?

I... still don't get any of this. It just seems totally nuts.

The only compromise Retrospec is interested in is how miserable they can make you without killing you, so I wouldn't hold out for hovering either.

Now come on, are you gonna punch me or not?

[ He spreads his legs for balance, then points again at the spot on his left side below the collarbone. HIT HIM, GAR!!!! ]

Oh -- yeah.

[He still seems faintly distracted as he takes up his former position - but Gar isn't one to dwell too long on the unpleasantries of life.]

OK, OK -- take two! ...Three? Nah, it's two, that first part didn't count. You ready for this, bro?

[is it remotely helpful to feint if he's been instructed to punch in a particular place
whatever it looks cooler if he does
FEINT to the left
jab to the right with pretty good accuracy!]

Yeah, how's that?!

[ WHAT is this kid's deal with feinting? There's literally no need for it...but that just makes it cute, he supposes. James can't help but grin a little. He's planted his legs firmly on the ground, knees bent, at a diagonal so he can roll with the punch.

Sure enough, the land hits just about exactly where James pointed to, and he has to lean with the force of it. But his legs stay grounded and it doesn't even really hurt. ]

Okay, now we're talking!

Now hit me as hard as you can--no feinting or fancy moves! Just a classic, max-effort punch. You're gonna lose power in your hit every time you waste momentum pulling tricks like that.

[ i feel it necessary at this point to state that i know nothing about fighting or martial arts, and i'm hoping that whatever i'm making up here sounds vaguely correct ]

[it lOOKS cOOl stop judging you don't understand his soul]

...Huh.

[Gar shakes his hand a little, feeling somewhat disappointed by the anticlimax of his punch.]

In my daydreams, this is usually when the people I punch explode and their bones dissolve into goo.

[...He helpfully waits a few seconds just in case James feels like exploding soon.]

...OK fine, this next one will count!

[WHAM BAM thank you ma'am beast boy actually leans in this time to put his weight into it.]

[ This time, the hit sends James staggering back a few steps. He laughs--even if he's the one getting hit, it still gets the adrenaline flowing. He massages the area where he was punched, trying to gauge the severity of the hit, and determines that yeah, that was a good, meaty hit. It doesn't hurt too much right now, but he's got a feeling it'll bruise come tomorrow. ]

Now that is a decent punch!

You said you do some kind of martial arts, right--kendo?

[ He knows there was a K in there somewhere for sure. ]

Aikido!

[He can't help a slight grin in response to the praise.]

I started this semester - it's not really supposed to be about punching, though, it's supposed to be self-defense and stuff. It's kinda cool. Mostly my parents thought I was getting in trouble at school too much...

[Gar shakes his hand again. He at least knows the right way to punch without splitting open his own fists - but it's still a little sore.]

...Anyway I'm getting in trouble outside of school today so it totally doesn't count.

[ James has never heard of aikido. He's never heard of kendo either, so he's not sure why he even asked, really. ]

Getting in trouble at school too much, huh? What'd you do?

[ And don't think he doesn't see you shaking that hand!! ]

You get hurt?

Oh, uh --

[He turns faintly red.]

I kinda smashed someone with a lunch tray in April, and I got suspended for a few days. ...And, uh, they said if that kind of stuff kept happening they would do... other things.

So I'm supposed to learn to be some kinda calm karate master, I guess.

And psh, no way! I'm fine. C'mon, I can go again!

[He seems eager not to talk about whatever it was that happened.]

[ Well, James is certainly familiar with THAT kind of story. ]

Alright, alright. Come at me again, try a one-two punch this time!

[ Somehow this has gone from being a spar to more of a training session, hasn't it. ]

Heck yeah.

[does james want a spar he can get a spar if he wants

As Gar lifts his hands again into his pseudo-boxing position, he playfully dances left and right around his opponent, his cheerful banter chattering away.

It happens when he takes a step forward.

Almost imperceptibly -- something shifts in his stance, and he propels himself forward far more skillfully than he had before. His hands come up - and there follows a one-two combo with serious force before Beast Boy... dives? forward towards James, reaching for his opponent's shoulders to throw his weight on him and pin him down...

There is an odd focused intensity in his eyes...

But Gar is so light, this maneuver doesn't really accomplish anything... and the gleam in his eyes has faded in the next instance.]

Ohshit.

Oh shit bro I didn't -- sorry are you OK.

[ James barely catches it. He sees the way Gar's stance shifts slightly at the last second, enough to know this hit is going to be very different, but not quick enough to do anything about it. Instead, the one-two punch lands solidly on him--jesus, really solidly--and send him staggering back. And while he's off-balance, the pounce, while light in itself, sends him just over the tipping point.

James falls flat on his ass. And yeah, okay, he'll admit that the mat provided some nice cushion for that.

He's massaging the spots that were hit--jeez, those actually hurt!--but he's full of adrenaline and laughing. ]

Oh my god! That was great! Where did that come from? Were you holding out on me this whole time?

I...

[He stares at his hands for a moment or two, then brings them up again. A feeble jab or two to the air.]

...have no idea.

[Gar seems to not be sure whether to sound excited or frightened.]

That was... kinda cool, right?

Yeah. It was plenty cool.

[ But the fact that Gar has no idea how he did that and doesn't even seem to be aware of it except in hindsight does make James wonder... ]

You just figured out how to do that right now, right? Like, on autopilot or something?

Yeah... Yeah, it just kinda happened.

[There is still a slightly dazed quality to his voice before he glances up at James and... smiles.]

That was cool. Heh. Heck yeah. Hey, maybe I'm gonna learn to be a badass kung fu master!

[He's not quite sure why he tried to pin James, though... maybe he's also gonna gain a ton of muscle!! Living the dream!]

[ James shrugs. ]

It's not like that'd be any weirder than anything else happening to us. That was probably Retrospec beaming a bunch of fight-knowledge into your brain just then.

They did the same thing to me, too, months ago.

Oh, for serious? This is just something they do?

[Gar pauses for a moment, and then... performs a backflip.]

Oh crap I'm so cool.

Bro. Bro. We can have a real fight now! I dunno what I'm doing, but it feels great!

[that's probably what people say about like, drugs]

[ James grins. There is nothing quite so exciting as suddenly becoming disgustingly competent at something. ]

It's like muscle memory--you don't know what you're doing, but your body does. You wanna go again?

[ He falls into stance, wide legs and bent knees, fist up and ready. ]

Yeah, yeah -- come on, give me everything you got! I got this down!

[Gar is Extremely Excited! He hops from side to side, not even bothering to put up any stance. And this seems like a good time to go ahead and let these two punch each other until they tire out and go home and actually be useful members of society or something!]

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[001] - when the world needs heroes on patrol

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don't worry i too know less than nothing

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