slayers_desire | Sparring with the Man of Steel

Clark is a big fan of open areas. There's a lot of that out in Kansas, which means less chance of spectators or property damage. He nods in approval. "Looks perfect. So, how do you want to start? I've never really done this sort of sparring before." Usually whenever he's had to use his abilities against another person, it's with intent to subdue, and he's not been entirely careful not to hurt the other person.

"Well we could either go all out right into our powers. Or just start with some basic combat moves."

"I find that basic combat is good for hiding the truth."

"My basic combat move is punching things until they stop," Clark admits a little sheepishly. "I don't really have any formal training to speak of. Though Lex did try to get me into fencing once."

"I could teach you some karate or jitsu. It is good for defensive combat, when needed to handle a non-powered individual."

"But there is an advantage to fighting someone with similar abilities..." April moves, and a second later is behind Clark. "And don't worry. I don't bite."

"Hard."

Clark spins around to face her, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I'd hope not. You'd probably break a tooth." The vampire thing doesn't bother him at all - which is rather funny, since he is susceptible to vampire bites in his own canon. He doesn't know that yet, though.

"I can take anything you throw at me," he says confidently. "Teach me, oh sensei."

"I will have to test that later." Hard to tell if she is serious or note. April moves in with a grappling attack, and attempts to throw Clark. Despite her size, her strengths allows her to lift his weight without effort.

Wanting to get a reading on just how strong she is, and not wanting to hurt her getting free, Clark lets himself be manhandled and tossed. He springs back up the instant he lands, planting himself solidly on the ground again like he never left. "That looked easy," he observes. He's been thrown around before, but the novelty never quite wears off.

"Jitsu is not a difficult art to learn. I enjoy using it because it allows me to concentrate on balance and using my strengths appropriately."

"It is also about control."

Yep, that gets his attention. "I'm good with control." By necessity, if not by choice. "Show me again?" He tries not to look too eager.

"First, position yourself thusly," April demonstrates. "By lowering my body, I have a clearer line to your centre of gravity. And have narrowed any open areas in my defense."

"This combines the Art of Blocking. I am ready for your attack. But then I come in, using just the slightest of my speed to use the Art of the Fulcrum Throw."

"Now you... come..."

Clark copies her movements with only a little hesitation. He's still iffy on trying to hit or throw someone who's not trying to kill him or one of his friends, but it's similar enough to the natural human aversion to hitting people when starting any martial art. His consequences are generally more severe, of course, so he's trying to be gentle. Maybe a little too gentle, given the increased durability of his target.

April senses his hesitation. "Clark. I heal incredibly fast. And it is extremely difficult to hurt me."

"Now come in, use your speed, lift your hand under my center of gravity here..." She placed his hand on her lower chest. "And throw me."

"Sorry, I'm not used to... this." The sparring, the turning his strength against someone else, the friendly combat. The learning in general. It does, however, have nothing to do with her being a girl, so he has that going for him.

"Okay. Here goes nothing." Putting a bit more force behind it, he attempts the throw.

With Clark still hesitating, April will have to use her agility to flip over him. "Good. But I can tell you will need practice."

"Go again." She invites him.

"Okay." It's hard, overcoming years of training to never ever hit anyone, but he's doing his best. Maybe if he psyches himself out?

Okay. She's a meteor mutant. Her powers are endangering others against her will and I need to stop her. It's the most appropriate scenario that comes to mind, and he repeats it to himself until he starts to slip into his Protector mindset.

He still has to think about what he's doing, but he's much more decisive this time when he comes in at her.

Definitely Clark accomplishes a better throw, and April is able to use her agility to land on her feet. Turning, she senses his Protector mindset.

And with a smile. Shifts into a more Vampiric form, with the red eyes and fangs. "Okay hero. This time, see how much strength and speed you can use, without appearing like you are using anything at all."

Clark was halfway expecting it, but it actually helps cement the Protector mentality in place when he sees the shift. He tends to associate not-quite-human appearances with potential threats, thanks to a few years of experience. It also helps him remember that he doesn't need to hold back as much as he would with a normal human.

"That's more like it." He doesn't like fighting - it's not fun for him or anything - but he's more confident in his movements and he doesn't hesitate for a moment.

"No holding back anymore. This time, concentrate on the Art of the Non-fulcrum Throw. This time, use little or no contact." She will actually counter him this time, and applies the slightest of touch on one of his pressure points on his back.

"Attack a weak spot. Withdraw."

He may not be used to the whole learning-martial-arts thing, but he's starting to see why so many people choose to take it up, even without powers. Already he can think of a dozen confrontations where knowing stuff like this could've saved him a lot of time and effort.

"No holding back," he agrees. He has no idea what his limits are, but he really wants to know. And he's good at following instructions when he wants to. And he does.

"I think that jitsu will be excellent for you. It is about yeilding to an opponent's force, instead of using force against force. It is immediate and effective action, without requiring much thought."

"This time when I rush you, find a way to unbalance me. And apply the slightest force to a pressure point here." She pointed to her neck.

Then gave a vampiric growl, before rushing him with the full force of the beast.

She didn't give him much warning, but then, he didn't really expect one. He wouldn't get one in real combat, after all.

His perceptions sharpen as she runs at him, giving him a clear bead on the spot she indicated a moment earlier. He already knows the amount of force needed to knock a human out from a tap to the forehead, and falls back on that same force directed a little lower. At the same time he jumps to the side just enough to (hopefully) be out of immediate reach, relying on her momentum to do some of the work for him.

And if she had been human, she would have been effectively down.

The force was enough to stagger her slightly, a good sign that he was learning. "Good maneuver, you protected your open area from attack."

"What other powers do you want to attempt to use?"

He's momentarily alarmed when he realizes just how hard he hit her, but she looks fine and even pleased, so he relaxes again. Still, this is one new skill he's not going to be telling his parents about until he's got it down pat.

He thinks, running through his mental list of powers. "Most of my other powers are more passive, like the hearing and x-ray vision. There's heat vision, but I don't use it on people directly. More like manipulating the environment - heating up guns so they get dropped, breaking overhead wires so things fall on people, that sort of thing."

"X-Ray vision could identify weak spots in a person body. And hearing definitely gives you an edge, to know when a battle is about to take place."

"I wonder if your heat vision would could be effective in a battle, by using to active a pressure point."

"Can you control the level of heat?" April stretches slightly, as preparing for another round with Clark.

Clark shrugs uneasily. "I'm not sure. I can control the form - either in bursts or in beams - but I've never had a way to measure the temperature. I can make toast without setting the bread on fire, and I can reheat coffee so a normal human can drink it without burning themselves. So maybe?" He's not entirely enthusiastic about trying it out just to see what happens.

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