Friday Night Fights

[Hellbound]

"If ya' hurt me?" Hellbound chuckled. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try..."

He was interrupted by the blow, which landed with far more force that he'd been expecting. Fortunately, he hadn't locked his elbow, otherwise Moira might have had a shot at breaking his arm. The fighter was both pleasently surprised and brilliantly amazed by her power.

Granted, she had problems with her stance and telegraphed that punch badly enough that a blind man could have seen it coming, but she'd still struck a more than solid blow. Moira could already clean up in SuperSlams, but get the girl a little confidence in her prowess and teach her how to stand and she might even give him a run for his money.

"Okay, not bad... not bad." Hellbound grinned, shaking his hand while trying to keep her from noticing how badly it stung. "Maybe you got potential after all, I've been wrong before. But why don't we try a few more? Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke?"

Hellbound raised his hands once more, this time taking the exercise a little more seriously and prepared for the superhumanly strong punches.

[Moira Morley]

Moira felt confident after that shot. It got her blood pumping to see that she could actually throw a punch without breaking her target.

Getting into the same position as last time, she let loose with a blow that flew past his hand. She gritted her teeth as the followup connected, sending the same shockwave from before, and knocking O'Ren back another foot. She quickened her pace for the third blow, trying to follow up with another, but just like the first shot it fell short.

[Hellbound]

Hellbound dug his feet into the dry dirt of the ground and tried to hold his position. It was an amazing amount of power, more than he'd ever felt before and his blood started to race at the thought of training her. If he was looking for a good fight he found one, only who would have expected it to be wearing such a pretty face?

As the last blow came in and fell short, Hellbound took advantage of the momentary loss of balance and shot his hand out to grasp her wrist. The grip came swiftly and without a chance for evasion, leading him to pull Moira forward.

It was a demonstration on what stance and form meant for a fighter. While she was temporarily out of position, and he was still firmly planted on the ground, he drew her in closely. Suddenly, the captive arm was twisted smoothly as he tried to wrap the redheaded girl up in her own punch.

[Moira Morley]

The sudden stop in motion silenced Moira. She thought if she moved the wrong way, she would have dislocated O'Ren's shoulder or worse.

Her voice was more playful than her look of shame for herself suggested. "I guess I left myself wide open for that," she said looking up to him. She smiled and rested against him in the hold, "Maybe we should start with some defense?"

[Hellbound]

Moira had ended up with her arm curled across her midsection, held lightly there by Hellbound's grip. Her back was pressed up against him and he was looking over her shoulder with an amused expression.

"Managed to pin you with one arm tied behind my back? Yeah, I'd say some defense is in order."

His left arm wasn't actually tied behind his back, of course, but he'd managed to move using only his right. Fortunately his cigar had been lost during that first larring shot that Moira had layed on him otherwise he'd be puffing foul smelling smoke with every breath.

She wasn't truly pinned, not unless he applied some leverage to her left shoulder, but she'd been spun into this position almost as if he'd twirled her across a dance floor. It'd been a fluid and elegent movement, one that'd caught her by surprise and by the time she realized what was happening, she could feel herself being enfolded in his strong grasp.

"But I think we should work on the basics first." He continued talking over her shoulder, not yet 'releasing' the girl who only looked trapped, but honestly could pull herself away if she wanted.

"Strength, speed and endurance. That's what wins fights. You need to figure out your footwork and learn to react a little more quickly before worrying about anything else."

[Moira Morley]

Moira, once again, was glad she didn't have to make use of breathing. The cigar smoke didn't irk her, but the smell must have been horrible. It reminded her of the father she grew up with. He always bought the sweet smelling kind of tobacco.

O'Ren's grip was satisfying, not too hard but definitely where she could feel it. She could stay there for a while if he didn't mind. "Strength is something you felt," she smiled at her small victory, "but how do you suggest we do speed and endurance and footwork?"

[Hellbound]

"Yeah, strength you have. I'm not going to argue that." Hellbound agreed. He released her at that point, figuring that it would just start to get creepy if he kept a hold of her for the entire lecture.

"I'm guessing your endurance isn't bad, either, unless you're a lot stronger than you are in shape. If that's the case then jogging and swimming can help you build that up. The speed and balance is just going to have to come out of practice, though. Sparring with people and actually getting out there to fight with things."

He shrugged, knowing that he could take her through a bit more here, but that would have involved killing the mood.

"Gotta admit, I don't really feel like doing that right now. Somehow trying to hit you is the last thing on my mind, and for me that's really kind of weird."

[Moira Morley]

Moira thought about it for a moment. O'Ren was right, that would ruin the moment they were having. Was the moment already gone? She didn't want to let her trainer and possible hookup slip away in one shot. She needed to act quick to save this moment.

She stood as closely as she could in front of him, but gauged where she would need to stop if he got uncomfortable again. Looking up to him with a warm smile and a soft voice, "O'Ren, I understand what you're feeling. I don't want to ruin the moment either. We'll have to get to it eventually though, right?Let's not think about it right now if it manes you uncomfortable. Whatshould we work on now? Maybe," she leaned into his ear and whispered.

[Hellbound]

Hellbound listened to her whisper as a smile slowly grew across his face. When he spoke next, it was with a chuckle and a little lust.

"Well, we do still need to check out your stamina, don't we?"

He looked over his shoulder towards the glittering bonfire still blazing away in the night. Music could still be heard coming from the party, and while the particular song had changed the beat remained the same. It was a driving rhythm which was perfect for dancing as well as a host of other physical activities. Fortunately, nobody had noticed their previous exercises and were still leaving them in solitude.

"C'mon." Hellbound wrapped an arm around her midsection and cast his eyes into the dancing darkness of the woods beyond. Surely they couldn't be the only ones seeking out seclusion for more romantic encounters than the beach could provide, and he gently led the girl off in search of their own memorable moment.

"Let's get a little more privacy between us and the yahoos over there."

[Moira Morley]

Moira wrapped arms around O'Ren and gently laid her head on him as the walked further back. Thinking about how it might get colder later on in the night and how just a quick romp in the trees would spoil the afterwards, she stopped him. "We need more than this," she softly said looking up to him with an almost purr in her voice.

Her hand glowed a golden yellow as she reached out in front of them. A few seconds later a small cottage materialized with a burst of the same golden glow. She stepped out of his grip and whispered again, "Just a second."

Stepping in the door, she closed it to a crack just enough for him to wonder what was going on. She saw that preperation of the room was satisfactory as usual. Soft glowing candles surrounded the room and a nice large bed was in the center. Low dulcet tones filled the warm air as the sweet smell of incense wafted through it. Her Olympian mother knew what she wanted.

Opening the door enough for her arm come out, she stood behind the door and playfully threw her tanktop at O'Ren then beckoned him inside.

[Hellbound]

Hellbound caught the garment and let it wrap around his hand as he stared at Moira's creation. Now there was a handy talent to have. As he made his way inside, the fighter wondered if she could do the same with a Lexus or maybe a BMW. It was a long walk back to town, after all, and Hellbound didn't have much to spare for taxi cash.

---

Morning broke lazily, and it was a tried and tired Hellbound that made his way back outside into the golden light of dawn. He stretch in the cool air, a chilled breeze coming in from the river, and scratched his shaggy head happily.

He was wearing his pants, but only by a loose technicality. The button had yet to be done back up and the jeans lay partly open, held in place only by the tension of a zipper slid only half-way closed. He was shirtless and his skin shone with the dull patina dired sweat.

Turning around, he faced away from the rising sun and saw that, yes, the cottage was still there. It hadn't been a dream after all, though the final moments (unseen by the prying eyes of the world), had been very difficult to believe. Moira had proven to be most talented within that memorable chamber, more so than any other person he'd been with in his life. No just physically capable of matching his own strength (actually, she'd managed to exceed it on numerous occasions during the night, but he wasn't planning on mentioning that part to any one at any point in the future), but also wonderously skilled.

So who the hell was this chick that'd so suddenly and dramatically entered his life?

Hellbound tried not to think about that as he put a discreet distance between himself and the cottage to take care of those unsightly chores that most guys needed to take care of first thing in the morning. The building was kept in line of sight, however, almost as if he were concerned about it vanishing into the morning mist without warning.

[Moira Morley]

Moira stretched and yawned, waking up to the soft light in the room. Sleeping was a luxury for her. She didnt have to do it, but after last night she was happily exhausted enough to take a nap.

She was pleasantly suprised that his stamina last night was as much as he put into his matches. Unlike the others before him, she was able to go let herself go. She was even able to show him a few things. Stamina training indeed.

Picking up her clothes, she walked to the bathroom. While it was not cramped in there, it definitely was a small bathroom. Still, there was room and amenities for all the things she needed to do to freshen up and get dressed.

After she was done, she walked out to find it was a bit cooler this morning than last night. She quickly scuttled over to O'Ren who had finished his own style of grooming. "Good morning," she said walking into his arms trying to absorb some warmth.

[Hellbound]

Hellbound welcomed the embrace happily, sharing his warmth with the newly risen Moira. The tenderness wasn't something that he was used to, but he decided quickly that it was something he could learn to appreciate. Something about the morning seemed pretty damned satisfying right then.

"Good morning, yourself." Hellbound replied. Amazingly, she'd managed to clean herself up a bit before leaving the building. He hadn't spotted any kind of bathroom while he'd been in there, himself, but he wasn't exactly paying much attention to the surroundings. There'd been something far more interesting in his sight than candles and interior decorations.

"We should probably head back soon. I'd hate for you to get into trouble with anyone."

He wasn't sure if Moira had someone waiting for her at the moment, and hence catch hell from for staying out all night, or if the girl was still a free agent. The question seemed like a relatively innocent way to find out, however.

"And does that thing come with us?" He indicated the cottage which had magically appeared last night, "Or do we leave it there for the squirrels to move into?"

[Avenger Assembled]

It was around that time that Moira's cellphone rang, the familiar caller ID number belonging to her friend Stephanie. The voice on the other end, though, belonged to Jack. "Hey, Moira? Do you have a car to take Stephanie home? She's a little thrashed still from last night, and I don't want to just stick her in a cab."

[Moira Morley]

"I don't have any plans for today," Moira said as she shifted in O'Ren's embrace, putting her back to his chest and resting her face under the warmest part of his neck, "Though it is Saturday. Me and a few friends usually meet at Morley's in the evening. You're more than welcome to come." Her head perked from her warm spot as an idea stuck her, "If you don't have any plans for today, we can continue training."

She looked towards the cottage as it was mentioned, "As for that," she slipped out of his grip long enough to walk towards the building and touch it. As fast as it appeared, it was gone in a golden shimmer of light. Walking back to him, she smiled proudly while rubbing her hands together, "That wasn't so hard, huh? Now let's get out of here before it starts freezing or something."

As they walked towards the site where they were dropped off, her phone buzzed another tune by The Vigilantes. Trying to keep up the pace with O'Ren, she answered the call. "Oh, hey Jack," she paused to listen to his request, "Sure. I'm not in direct posession of my car, but I'll be there as soon as possible. Where are you guys?"

[Hellbound]

"Pretty sweet party trick." He admitted. Being able to create objects out of nothing? Particularly ones as complex and large as the little cottage? The possibilities for something like that were nearly endless.

Hellbound had to wonder what else she could create, and how the SuperSlams officials would look at such a power. Not every match allowed items to be brought into the ring, though some most certainly did. Would this sort of talent be considered in the same vein as natural weaponry or were such creations still foreign objects? Depending on how it went, that could be a major advantage for Moira if she ever decided to compete.

As for the questions posed, he admitted that getting her started on training wouldn't be a bad plan for the day since he didn't have anything else going on. His recovery time from the fights was fairly impressive, seeing as how bruises tended to fade almost as fast as he received them, and his less combative rebound times weren't bad either. The recent physical activity he'd gone through recently only made him hungry for more... though another nap later on would most likely be in order.

He thought the Saturday night adventures might be doable as well. Hellbound asked what kind of place Morley's was, though, as he didn't have much of a wardrobe for the more upscale locales.

He listened to the conversation as they made their way back to the beach, realizing that it was the same Jack they'd met last night. Hellbound wondered if he'd bring up the possibility of taking on an agent again, and what his own response would be to the idea...

[Avenger Assembled]

"I'm in, hm, I think it's the North End," said Jack, laughing. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. We didn't quite make it back to my place either, with all I drank last night." He gave her an address easy to find, though not of a hugely legitimate establishment. "It's the Happy Day Inn. If you could get us there, that'd be great. Whatever's easiest for you."

[Hellbound]

As they neared the beach, a stray breeze wafter across the pair with a scent of carnal decay. The immediate impression was that of a butcher shop or meat counter that hadn't been kept clean for some time. It was the smell of animal flesh left to age in the open air, the smell of death and exposed entrails.

It was still faint, but the noxious odor was easily noticeable and very troublesome. This seemed to be more than just a few dead fish laying on the bank of a river or discarded steaks and hamburger from last night's party. This was the smell of something having gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Hellbound glanced over at the girl on the phone to see if she was catching scent of the same thing he was before quickening his pace. The beach wasn't very far away and it didn't take long for them to come across the bloody scene. Dead bodies, at least four or five of them, decorated the sand and firepit. An exact count was immediately difficult to determine as the corpses seemed to be in too many pieces to identify. A few heads, limbs and torn gobblets of flesh had been strewn about in an orgy of violence.

"What the..." Hellbound muttered, nearly in shock. The two syllables trailed off in a stream of fading vulgarities.

[Moira Morley]

Moira could hear almost a dead silence as she surveyed the scene. As if someone had muted the volume on life to show her the emphasis of the flayed pieces of the former people strewn across the sand. Reality's noise came crashing back in when O'Ren uttered his disbelief.

Her voice took on a nervous and almost distant tone as she fumbled to keep the phone in her hands, "Jack, how fast can you get here? Come as fast as you can. We're still at the beach where you were last night." Her final word was almost yelped, "Hurry!"

Hanging up the phone she quickly turned to O'Ren still looking at the mass of carnage. Looking to him and then back to the massacre. Her worried voice was almost a gasp, "What are we gonna do?"

[Hellbound]

"... I don't know..." Hellbound muttered, looking around for something to hit. That's what he did, that's what he was good at. Things tended to stand in front of him that he could punch. Unfortunately, whatever had done this wasn't anywhere within reach, or at least it didn't seem like it. The beach was silent except for the buzzing of flies around the shredded rags of meat.

He'd wanted to be a superhero, but this was a scene out of a horror film rather than a comic book. Things like this didn't happen to people like The Freedom League, or at least not as he understood it. Heroes were supposed to get here before people were torn to pieces. It didn't really count if the killing happened before they even heard the first cry for help.

"I guess we call the cops and try to figure out what happened."

Hellbound wasn't an investigator. He was a brawler, a fighter who needed a clearly visible target in order to be effective. So where was their target?

"Can you make any sense of it? They never taught us that CSI crap in reform school, but there's gotta be something here we can use."

[Avenger Assembled]

Far away, as he hung up the phone, Jack had some hard decisions to make. Taking care of Stephanie was easy enough; despite his reluctance, he did call her a cab. He was gentle with the woozy, groggy Stephanie, who'd drunk quite a bit of booze after leaving the party the night before. (The pint or so of blood she'd lost later hadn't helped matters much, but then it never did.) "They were busy," said Jack with a comforting smile when a sleepy Stephanie asked where Moira and O'Ren were. "I'm going to meet up with them later."

He put on sunglasses out in the sun, an affectation he'd internalized early, and once Stephanie was safe in her own bed Jack made the only decision he could. It was daylight; showing up as himself would certainly remove any doubts about his nature from the minds of the others. While showing up as Avenger would certainly make it easier to get away with any super-shenanigans, it would also draw a powerful line connecting his two identities that he just wasn't comfortable with. Still wearing heavy sunglasses, he hailed a cab himself to take him to the location Moira had laid out for him.

[Hellbound]

Even as Hellbound stared at the carnage, trying to figure out what'd happened and who was responsible, part of the scene made itself clear. He couldn't see any of the calling cards that better investigators looked for; the incongruities and clues that always managed to point a sharp mind in the right direction, the microscopic residues and fingerprints that they looked for or even the logical discrepancies that told a good detective that not all was as it seemed.

No, in this case, the man looking over the spilled blood and lost life needed something a little sharper than than that, a little more clear. Hellbound had spoken the truth in that he'd never taken a forensics course in his life and, to be honest, he simply wasn't the sharpest crayon in the pack. But even he couldn't miss the yards-wide trail of blood and guts that had dragged furrows through the sand. Obviously, whatever had done this didn't much care about covering its tracks, and it had gone --> that way.

[Moira Morley]

Moira wasn't hanging on to O'Ren like she was earlier, but in this uneasy scene, he was kept in arms reach.

Being no investigator herself, she was taking everying she could in. The trail of blood in the sand could of meant that this was done recently, but for now it was just something to follow. She could have noticed that there was no real struggle just the dragging of human body pieces, but for now it was something to follow. She could of noticed that they were going far away from where the party started, but the trail must be followed.

[Hellbound]

Hellbound went along in the unspoken agreement that they needed to follow it. He might not have been much of a detective, but anything that could do this was not to be allowed its freedom. Moira and he might not have been the best choices for running down a mystery but, at the moment, they were the only ones available.

"You notice it doesn't look like many dead bodies?" Hellbound asked as they walked, remembering the crowded sands from last night.

"This must have happened after everyone cleaned up and took off. A few stragglers, probably. People who didn't want the night to end..."

Of course, for those unlucky few, now it never would.

"Let's see where it takes us."

The trail didn't go too far, just to the end of the beach and around the riverbank a bit. The open, recreation area was made of a curved depression in the surrounding trees, and on past what had been visible from the party was a bit of industrial necessity. A pumping station to help out with flood control, it's gaping concrete maw laying quietly at the river's edge, beaconed as the entrance to a dark service corridor.

Two sloping walls spread out from the sides of a large, open square entryway. There were no gates to bar the way from any fool from going inside, the whole facility little more than an urban steam tunnel dug into the hillside with an open face to take in high water. Splashing along a slippery bank, the pair could see a basin just inside of the concrete structure with large pipes waiting to draw out water to a holding reservoir.

It was dim, cheap worklights glowing softly in the echoing distance of the tunnel's interior, and quiet. A ladder ascended from the river-side basin just at the entrance and led up a few feet to a landing. The trail led up to here, soft mud from the bank being drug into the shallow residue of water still in the basin itself.

Whatever had done this, had came this way.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack's cab ride seemed to stretch on forever, every stab of sunlight through the windows an unwelcome intrusion into his peace and quiet. Maybe he could walk in the sunlight without burning the way other vampires couldn't, but the harsh light of the Sun was like a constant, grating presence at the edge of his perception, holding his body in place and burning away the edges of his supernatural power like the curling edges of burning paper. Somebody had better be dead, he thought grimly as they made their way to where Moira had called him.

He stepped outside and paid the cab driver well, watching the man through his sunglasses for a moment before he blearily wandered over in the direction where he thought he'd find Moira and O'Ren. It didn't take him long at all to find where he was going; not with the smell of blood in the air. He stumbled over the rise looking like a man who'd had a little too much to drink the night before; his sunglasses hiding his eyes, his skin a blotchy pink and white. Jack saw the scene of slaughter below, and suddenly felt very bad about his earlier wish.

"Oh my god! What happened here?" There was no one around to tell him that, though, and precious few clues visible in that damnable blinding light from overhead. Tired and sore, he followed the bloody trail down the beach, supremely glad when he finally stumbled on O'Ren and Moira at the tunnel mouth. "What's going on? What happened?" he exclaimed.