Gym, Monday evening

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

JOhn's in his workout clothes, dealing damage to the heavy bag.

Comments

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy entered the gym, hoping to find Ranma so he could start with the training. He saw John and waved cheerfully.

"Hey John!"

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

John looked at him darkly for interrupting his emo rhythm. "Yo, Tedster."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"Have you seen Ranma today?" Teddy asked, watching John beat the poor punching-bag senseless.

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Nope. WHat's he done now?" John gives the bag a stay of execution, putting his hands on his knees and breathing heavy.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"Nothing, he just promised to teach me some fighting moves."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"PFft. He can teach you to avoid a punch, not take one." John didn't look happy.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy scratched the back of his neck. "Well, it was more along the lines of lerning a fighting style other than hitting things really hard and hoping it works."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Hitting things hard and hoping it works is the hallmark of every fighting style. Barfight, kung fu, krav maga, it's all developed from out hitting the other guy." John manfully wiped masculine sweat from his tight ass brow.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy looked away oh so aroused nervously. "Me hitting people really hard could get someone hurt."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"How so?" JOhn stood up and flexed his naked pecs to the tune of Duelling Banjos.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I'm..." Teddy started to say. "I'm a bit stronger than most people."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Right. And he's quicker than most people. He can teach you how to dodge, to do the formal thing, probably. If you really want to win a fight, you've just got to win it. By all means necessary."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I don't think crushing someone's ribcage because I can't control my strength will go over too well back home," Teddy replied. "It would probably get me arrested for police brutality or something."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes ribcages need crushing. 'Specially if they're made of chromoly alloy and attached to something that's gonna rip your head off and stands 30 feet tall with lasers. Learn to control the pressure. Sometimes a cracked rib is worse than being knocked out. It's not always going all out that wins, it's knowing when to go all out. Strategy." John stares at the heavy bag, wondering if it could take Ted if he's really what he says.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy looked at the punching-bag skeptically. "I guess."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Think you can beat on this without breaking it?" JOhn gets on the other side making a delightful manwich of sweaty hawtness to hold the bag steady.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I don't know. I've never really tried."

He pulled his arm back and punched it weakly. Getting a happy medium between weak and 'punch you through a wall' was difficult.

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Try it again." JOhn figures a few more hits for strength, and he could critique the method.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy tried again, hitting the punching bag as hard as the average teenager would.

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Better. Keep it abotu there." John moved to the side, critically eying Ted's muscular body, imagining it covered with John the stance, the technique, the movements.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy nodded and continued punching. It was oddly relaxing.

He zoned out and lost focus on keeping his strength down, hitting the bag more than a bit harder than he intended.

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

John got knocked back a few. "Whoa, there, sparky. So. What happened?"

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"Sorry!" Teddy took a step back, looked worried. "Are you okay?"

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine. So." He turned to Teddy again, wanting him to vocalise. "WHat happened?"

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I wasn't really paying attention," Teddy said looking away. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"No, it's a good idea. If you're some big badass alien shapeshifting mutant, you need to control it. Hone it. If you abuse the power by not knowing how to use it, it's as bad as never using it. Balance and control. Those are the keys. So. What happened?" John unconciously pulls himself into a horse stance.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I wasn't focusing on what I was doing," Teddy responded with a sigh.

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"You lost focus. You lost, Teddy. The second, the split second you stop thinking about your goal, you lose. You die. They die. They live. When you're in teh fight, you must focus on the goal to totality. That is the secret of winning." John started moving in Tai Chi. "Your goal will change during the fight. Are you fighting to win? To protect someone? To kill? Are you more important than they? THey more than you? THis is what goes through your mind, what gets synthesised in that melon of yours in the fight. There is no fighting dirty. There is only losing and winning, and it's far easier to lose. Whatever the goal is, that is teh reason you fight."

John turns to the punching bag, repeating his slow, rythmic movements, but at more than double the speed, striking the heavy bag in quick movements, directing it in different directions as it swung like a beaten pendulum. JOhn ended hte movements by striking the bag to a stop.

He turned to Ted. "If you have the power to strike like a fly and the power to level a building, you need to learn the extremes and the in betweens. Too much or too little can be devastating."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy plopped down on the floor and pulled his knees toward his chest. All the crap he thought he had managed to work through over break? Flooding back to him.

"Okay."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

Ah, crap. Way to go, Drill Sargent Shithead. "Yo. Ted. TEddy."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy stared off at a random point in the room, not really looking at it. What Cap had said to him before leaving kept playing in his head. He didn't realize John was calling his name until the second time.

"Would you teach me then?"

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"How to berate someone until they curl up into the fetal positon? Or how to fight to win?" John slumps on the floor.

"CUz I totally lost the fight inspirational speech thing, dude."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"The winning part, Teddy said. "The other part wasn't really your fault. I'm just dealing with leftover crap from Parents Weekend."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"I can teach you to win. I may not be fair, and I may be hard on you, but that's what gets the job done. When d'ya wanna start?" John lays on the floor, hands behind his head.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"Wednesday after work?"

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Works for me. Have something healthy to eat, no sugar loading. Drop by my room Tuesday, I'll make some pasta."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"How about you bring something to work on Wednesday. I never get to go have lunch those days."

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

"Well, if you learn to cook, you woudn't hav ethat problem. I'll drop something off on Tuesday, then. Catch ya Weds."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"See ya then!"