Maura watched from the sidelines today. A sprained wrist kept her out of the squared circle, despite her assurances to Dr. Bailey that she could take any of her peers single handed. On a weight bench in the fitness center, she watched as Alma stepped into the ring.
Today was Alma's regularly scheduled Sunday Beat-Down, when she'd normally spar with Maura. To her credit, Maura B107 offered to fight regardless, but Alma firmly rebuffed her.
"I'm not fighting you with one arm. Even if I win, it won't mean anything." Alma was nothing if not prideful.
Instead, John B069 stood at the other end of the ring. He stretched his back, then rolled his shoulders. Popping his knuckles, he readied himself for their match. "So, how's this work? Go for a few rounds?"
"No. Fight until one of us is incapacitated, or surrenders." Alma narrowed her gaze at him. At first, she asked Stahl to spar with her. He wasn't as skilled in close quarters, but beating the lazy bastard into the ground would be rather...cathartic. Instead, Stahl lazed about near John's corner, eating moa nuggets as he took a break from his weight lifting regimen.
"Woooo! Kick her ass, Alma!" Stahl cheered.
"What the fuck, Stahl?" John turned towards Stahl, and the indolent Spartan III shrugged his shoulders.
"You ate my lunch yesterday. This is a good opportunity for some karmic...shit. What's the word? Karmic redemption?" Stahl tapped his jaw with his finger. "I'll think of it eventually. Just gimme a minute."
"SHUT IT, Stahl." Alma snapped at Stahl, who smoothed his mohawk and watched the ring. "Thank you, John, for agreeing to do this. It will be nice, dealing with a more manageable opponent."
John adjusted the wrappings on his fists, grinning. "Oh, you think I'm manageable? We'll see about that, sis."
Alma leaned forward, touching her toes to limber her legs and back. Maura watched, and suddenly felt her blood pressure spike, her eyes widening slightly as Alma straightened up.
The tan, brown haired woman tied back her hair and stepped forward. John met her in the center of the ring, the two circling each-other for a moment. "C'mon," Alma hissed. She sneered as John wiped his nose. "Let's go!"
Alma took the first swing. A powerful jab, it moved at a speed that even gave John a slight shock. He slipped, using his hand to guide it past. The followup was even more quick. She stepped in with a cross, then a hook. John moved back, bouncing on his feet. He went in for a straight punch, but Alma slipped underneath it and threw a low kick, managing to check his shin and catch him off balance. Rather than try to recover, John sensed a kick coming from her lead leg. Dropping to his knee, he dodged under the blow and swept Alma's base leg. No dice; she bounced under the shot, and threw a kick as she fell. John had no choice but to guard, his arm striking his cheek as the force was barely nullified. The two rolled to their feet, as John sprang off the ropes and charged.
As John charged, Alma knew she had trouble incoming. He was fully awake now, and intended to take the offensive. He moved in and showcased his hand-speed. Alma dodged each punch, ducking, slipping and weaving under each strike. She was more than confident in her speed, and as John moved forward with his right leg, she quickly devised a counter, prepared to strike back. However, John took the initiative. He moved in with his right foot, sweeping one of her legs. She quickly drew back, but her focus on her balance gave John an advantage.
Moving in, John swung his left fist, striking Alma on the cheek with a right cross. He smirked, knowing he jarred her. He clenched his right hand, intent on giving her another shot and ending this.
John thought wrong. Alma didn't stagger whatsoever, and with John's guard lowered, she swung her hand. Her palm caught John on the cheekbone so hard that HE was the one to stutter a step. She moved in and thrust her knee. John blocked it, and retaliated with a low uppercut, catching her on the stomach. Alma moved back a few steps, and her brother stepped in and threw a side kick. Alma slipped left, avoiding the blow. Before she could strike, he stepped towards her and swung his elbow. Alma took the hit on the temple. She stepped back again, keeping her guard up.
Maura watched, a vested interest in the match. She had never watched Alma fight from a third person perspective. Alma bounced back from John's strike with ease, then stepped back into a wide, low stance. She moved in quickly, taking a long step, then springing off the canvas. Twisting through the air, she swung her leg around, John managed to duck, but Alma's kick flowed into another like a sweeping, lightning fast dance. Alma turned and swung her leg in a powerful straight kick. The blow was deflected, but John was reeling to avoid the strikes; they carried a lot of force. Alma placed one hand on the mat, throwing a powerful wheel kick. As John ducked and stepped in, Alma swung her heel up, performing a hand-stand as she caught her brother on the chin with her foot. John stumbled back, his teeth clacking together. "OW! Shit!" Alma got back on her feet, bouncing on her toes.
"Not bad, not bad." John rubbed his chin, smirking. "If that's how you want to play it, then-" Before the fight could continue, Maura hopped into the ring. "Oh. Hey Maura. I'm not sure you should be tagging in with the busted hand." Maura wordlessly marched towards John, her good hand clenched in a fist. "Wait. WAIT. Don't-"
Maura wound her arm around John's throat, moving forward and bending the Spartan over backwards. John thrashed, clawing at Maura's arm. "WHY," he managed to gasp, but with no more air, he could only sputter and claw.
"Ssssh. Go to sleep." Maura smiled as she tightened her arm. After a few moments of slowly weakening struggles, John went limp, and Maura laid him down gently.
Smacking his forehead with a sudden realization, Stahl interjected in the situation. "RETRIBUTION! That's it!" Stahl hung on the ropes, looking down at John. "...Huh. I wish I thought of that while he was conscious." Maura stepped towards Stahl and leaned her head back. "High five?" Stahl asked the question with a genuine smile, raising his hand to slap Maura's.
Maura grasped Stahl's shoulder and headbutted him on the bridge of the nose. Stahl fell backwards with a short, sharp cry of pain. He landed on his back, knocked completely out.
"...What is the meaning of this?" Alma took a step back as Maura turned around to approach her. "Oh, so you want to fight? If you're not giving me a choice, come with it, then." Alma stepped back into a fighting stance as Maura walked forward.
It only took Maura a few seconds. Stepping past a front kick, she swept Alma's legs and knocked her backwards. Alma threw a clawed hand strike at Maura's face. Her nail scratched Maura's cheek hard enough to draw blood. She grasped Alma's wrist and pinned it to the mat. She trapped Alma's other hand beneath her foot, successfully pinning her against the floor.
Alma struggled for a moment, but the smaller woman couldn't quite unseat her. She shut her eyes, preparing for some sort of strike.
No hit came. Alma opened her eyes, and realized Maura's gaze wasn't one of an attacker. Well, not a conventional attacker. Maura had a rather vicious grin on her face. Licking the blood off her cheek, Maura leaned down. "W...What are you doing?" Alma stared up at Maura, as she slowly lowered to her level.
Nicole, sitting behind a small desk normally occupied by Bailey, sighed deeply. "Look, guys, I know these sparring matches get a little heated, but if you can't keep your tempers in check, I'll revoke your gym privileges. Hell, Stahl was just WATCHING. Why'd you hit him?"
Maura looked out of the window at Ganymede's mountain ranges. She shrugged noncommittally. She had several scratches and bite marks. "He stepped in the ring. He and Alma have similar skin tone; I saw red and hit him."
"...There's no fucking way that's true," Stahl grumbled. His voice was nasally, due to the paper towels stuffed in it to halt the bleeding. There was a bruise up his nose and between his eyes where Maura had nailed him. "You looked at me for at least five seconds, hauled off and hit me. Like a fucking werewolf."
John said nothing. He had a splitting headache, and a cut on his chin from when Alma booted him.
Maura simply grunted and shrugged again, torquing her jaw. Nicole sighed, looking at the incident report. "You guys can just walk off the injuries. Maura, no more fighting. Your cast got ripped, and we're gonna have to re-dress it. Be mature, guys. Please?"
Nicole looked over Alma, who was largely unscathed, save for a bruise on her cheek. "Damn. Alma, you must have been on fire. You don't look like you took more than one hit."
Alma said absolutely nothing, arms folded across her chest. She looked uncharacteristically docile, occasionally glancing at Maura, then quickly looking away. There was a blush on her cheeks, but Nicole attributed it to her compliment.
With that, Nicole decided to wrap things up so she could get back to doing something useful. Waving her hand, she dismissed them. "You guys can go, but if I hear you were fighting again, that's strike three. Got it?"
Maura and Alma nodded, and Maura stood and walked out. She snapped her fingers and waved her hand, and Alma stood up from her seat, following quickly. Stahl walked out, grumbling quietly to himself. "Fuckin' assholes. Eating my lunch, fucking up my nose..."
John didn't move from his seat. He leaned towards the door and shut it. "...Nicole, I think I might know the root of our problem. After Maura choked me out, I woke up and played dead. I get the sense Maura knocked us out to keep us from seeing what was goin' on." John leaned forward, speaking as quietly as he could.
"They weren't...uh...fighting."
Nicole's eyebrow raised, then she leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. "Care to elaborate?"
"...You have to promise to keep what I say in confidence."
Today was Alma's regularly scheduled Sunday Beat-Down, when she'd normally spar with Maura. To her credit, Maura B107 offered to fight regardless, but Alma firmly rebuffed her.
"I'm not fighting you with one arm. Even if I win, it won't mean anything." Alma was nothing if not prideful.
Instead, John B069 stood at the other end of the ring. He stretched his back, then rolled his shoulders. Popping his knuckles, he readied himself for their match. "So, how's this work? Go for a few rounds?"
"No. Fight until one of us is incapacitated, or surrenders." Alma narrowed her gaze at him. At first, she asked Stahl to spar with her. He wasn't as skilled in close quarters, but beating the lazy bastard into the ground would be rather...cathartic. Instead, Stahl lazed about near John's corner, eating moa nuggets as he took a break from his weight lifting regimen.
"Woooo! Kick her ass, Alma!" Stahl cheered.
"What the fuck, Stahl?" John turned towards Stahl, and the indolent Spartan III shrugged his shoulders.
"You ate my lunch yesterday. This is a good opportunity for some karmic...shit. What's the word? Karmic redemption?" Stahl tapped his jaw with his finger. "I'll think of it eventually. Just gimme a minute."
"SHUT IT, Stahl." Alma snapped at Stahl, who smoothed his mohawk and watched the ring. "Thank you, John, for agreeing to do this. It will be nice, dealing with a more manageable opponent."
John adjusted the wrappings on his fists, grinning. "Oh, you think I'm manageable? We'll see about that, sis."
Alma leaned forward, touching her toes to limber her legs and back. Maura watched, and suddenly felt her blood pressure spike, her eyes widening slightly as Alma straightened up.
The tan, brown haired woman tied back her hair and stepped forward. John met her in the center of the ring, the two circling each-other for a moment. "C'mon," Alma hissed. She sneered as John wiped his nose. "Let's go!"
Alma took the first swing. A powerful jab, it moved at a speed that even gave John a slight shock. He slipped, using his hand to guide it past. The followup was even more quick. She stepped in with a cross, then a hook. John moved back, bouncing on his feet. He went in for a straight punch, but Alma slipped underneath it and threw a low kick, managing to check his shin and catch him off balance. Rather than try to recover, John sensed a kick coming from her lead leg. Dropping to his knee, he dodged under the blow and swept Alma's base leg. No dice; she bounced under the shot, and threw a kick as she fell. John had no choice but to guard, his arm striking his cheek as the force was barely nullified. The two rolled to their feet, as John sprang off the ropes and charged.
As John charged, Alma knew she had trouble incoming. He was fully awake now, and intended to take the offensive. He moved in and showcased his hand-speed. Alma dodged each punch, ducking, slipping and weaving under each strike. She was more than confident in her speed, and as John moved forward with his right leg, she quickly devised a counter, prepared to strike back. However, John took the initiative. He moved in with his right foot, sweeping one of her legs. She quickly drew back, but her focus on her balance gave John an advantage.
Moving in, John swung his left fist, striking Alma on the cheek with a right cross. He smirked, knowing he jarred her. He clenched his right hand, intent on giving her another shot and ending this.
John thought wrong. Alma didn't stagger whatsoever, and with John's guard lowered, she swung her hand. Her palm caught John on the cheekbone so hard that HE was the one to stutter a step. She moved in and thrust her knee. John blocked it, and retaliated with a low uppercut, catching her on the stomach. Alma moved back a few steps, and her brother stepped in and threw a side kick. Alma slipped left, avoiding the blow. Before she could strike, he stepped towards her and swung his elbow. Alma took the hit on the temple. She stepped back again, keeping her guard up.
Maura watched, a vested interest in the match. She had never watched Alma fight from a third person perspective. Alma bounced back from John's strike with ease, then stepped back into a wide, low stance. She moved in quickly, taking a long step, then springing off the canvas. Twisting through the air, she swung her leg around, John managed to duck, but Alma's kick flowed into another like a sweeping, lightning fast dance. Alma turned and swung her leg in a powerful straight kick. The blow was deflected, but John was reeling to avoid the strikes; they carried a lot of force. Alma placed one hand on the mat, throwing a powerful wheel kick. As John ducked and stepped in, Alma swung her heel up, performing a hand-stand as she caught her brother on the chin with her foot. John stumbled back, his teeth clacking together. "OW! Shit!" Alma got back on her feet, bouncing on her toes.
"Not bad, not bad." John rubbed his chin, smirking. "If that's how you want to play it, then-" Before the fight could continue, Maura hopped into the ring. "Oh. Hey Maura. I'm not sure you should be tagging in with the busted hand." Maura wordlessly marched towards John, her good hand clenched in a fist. "Wait. WAIT. Don't-"
Maura wound her arm around John's throat, moving forward and bending the Spartan over backwards. John thrashed, clawing at Maura's arm. "WHY," he managed to gasp, but with no more air, he could only sputter and claw.
"Ssssh. Go to sleep." Maura smiled as she tightened her arm. After a few moments of slowly weakening struggles, John went limp, and Maura laid him down gently.
Smacking his forehead with a sudden realization, Stahl interjected in the situation. "RETRIBUTION! That's it!" Stahl hung on the ropes, looking down at John. "...Huh. I wish I thought of that while he was conscious." Maura stepped towards Stahl and leaned her head back. "High five?" Stahl asked the question with a genuine smile, raising his hand to slap Maura's.
Maura grasped Stahl's shoulder and headbutted him on the bridge of the nose. Stahl fell backwards with a short, sharp cry of pain. He landed on his back, knocked completely out.
"...What is the meaning of this?" Alma took a step back as Maura turned around to approach her. "Oh, so you want to fight? If you're not giving me a choice, come with it, then." Alma stepped back into a fighting stance as Maura walked forward.
It only took Maura a few seconds. Stepping past a front kick, she swept Alma's legs and knocked her backwards. Alma threw a clawed hand strike at Maura's face. Her nail scratched Maura's cheek hard enough to draw blood. She grasped Alma's wrist and pinned it to the mat. She trapped Alma's other hand beneath her foot, successfully pinning her against the floor.
Alma struggled for a moment, but the smaller woman couldn't quite unseat her. She shut her eyes, preparing for some sort of strike.
No hit came. Alma opened her eyes, and realized Maura's gaze wasn't one of an attacker. Well, not a conventional attacker. Maura had a rather vicious grin on her face. Licking the blood off her cheek, Maura leaned down. "W...What are you doing?" Alma stared up at Maura, as she slowly lowered to her level.
Nicole, sitting behind a small desk normally occupied by Bailey, sighed deeply. "Look, guys, I know these sparring matches get a little heated, but if you can't keep your tempers in check, I'll revoke your gym privileges. Hell, Stahl was just WATCHING. Why'd you hit him?"
Maura looked out of the window at Ganymede's mountain ranges. She shrugged noncommittally. She had several scratches and bite marks. "He stepped in the ring. He and Alma have similar skin tone; I saw red and hit him."
"...There's no fucking way that's true," Stahl grumbled. His voice was nasally, due to the paper towels stuffed in it to halt the bleeding. There was a bruise up his nose and between his eyes where Maura had nailed him. "You looked at me for at least five seconds, hauled off and hit me. Like a fucking werewolf."
John said nothing. He had a splitting headache, and a cut on his chin from when Alma booted him.
Maura simply grunted and shrugged again, torquing her jaw. Nicole sighed, looking at the incident report. "You guys can just walk off the injuries. Maura, no more fighting. Your cast got ripped, and we're gonna have to re-dress it. Be mature, guys. Please?"
Nicole looked over Alma, who was largely unscathed, save for a bruise on her cheek. "Damn. Alma, you must have been on fire. You don't look like you took more than one hit."
Alma said absolutely nothing, arms folded across her chest. She looked uncharacteristically docile, occasionally glancing at Maura, then quickly looking away. There was a blush on her cheeks, but Nicole attributed it to her compliment.
With that, Nicole decided to wrap things up so she could get back to doing something useful. Waving her hand, she dismissed them. "You guys can go, but if I hear you were fighting again, that's strike three. Got it?"
Maura and Alma nodded, and Maura stood and walked out. She snapped her fingers and waved her hand, and Alma stood up from her seat, following quickly. Stahl walked out, grumbling quietly to himself. "Fuckin' assholes. Eating my lunch, fucking up my nose..."
John didn't move from his seat. He leaned towards the door and shut it. "...Nicole, I think I might know the root of our problem. After Maura choked me out, I woke up and played dead. I get the sense Maura knocked us out to keep us from seeing what was goin' on." John leaned forward, speaking as quietly as he could.
"They weren't...uh...fighting."
Nicole's eyebrow raised, then she leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. "Care to elaborate?"
"...You have to promise to keep what I say in confidence."
Is this the start of a budding relationship between Maura and Alma? Was it a moment of passion, never to be repeated? How will Nicole handle the strange news?
What will happen to John if Maura and Alma find out?!
Find out next time on the Sparring Mini-series!
