10565/Feints and Throws

Feints and Throws
Date of Scene:	25 March 2022
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Training Facility
Synopsis:	Cael shows Cap her newfound power by handing him his ass and they talk about power and strength.
Cast of Characters:	Steve Rogers, Cael Becker

---

Steve Rogers has posed:
    With Becker getting more involved with the Avengers, and with the whole angelic invasion of Manhattan over, Steve has decided this is a good time for the two of them to take up sparring again. He invites her down to the Mansion, where he's been warming up with an old-school punching bag.

    He's looking good for a guy who got buried under rubble a few weeks ago. Concussions are a problem even for Captain America, so he took some time to recover--which really only happened because the angels left two days later--and make sure he didn't get knocked around any further. But a recent outing against AIM soldiers convinced him he's back in fighting form, so he goes full-out on the punching bag, grinning as he steps back and shakes out his wrists.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Did it give you some sass?" Cael asks casually, flashing Steve a grin from where she's taken up a position propping up a wall - just next to door to the training room. In many ways, she's the same woman Cap would remember sparring with, for all those months - but there are subtle signs of change, from the bright colors dyed into the bottom layers of her hair, to the flame-like tattoos tracing across the back of both hands, to the amulet with its deep blue stone resting on her chest.
    She pushes off from the wall to approach Cap - extending one hand to clasp it into his in a casual greeting as she asks, "How've ya been?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "Not too bad," Steve replies, shaking Cael's hand easily. "Recovering. Don't tell anyone, but a bonk on the noggin is /not/ the sort of thing even I want to mess around with, and supposedly you're supposed to keep from getting hit over the head again too soon once it's happened?" He shakes his head. Things they didn't know back in the 40's.

    Of course, most people wouldn't be up and walking around and /fine/ a few weeks after a building fell on them, so there's that.

    "You look... different." He eyes Cael in a frank sort of way--not a 'guy eyeing a gal' sort of way, but more of a 'Cap eyeing a fellow soldier' kind of way. "The, um, the hair?" He makes a gesture at the back of his own head. Women like it when you notice their hair, right? That's a thing you're supposed to do for your lady friends. Notice their hair.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah - it's fading again, though. I'll have to pick a new color scheme pretty soon." She runs her hand through her hair - letting the teal, blue, and golden-yellow flash through. The golden-yellow in particular hasn't stood up to the test of time - alas.
    "How many buildings have fallen on you in your life?" she asks. "I mean - I only had the one wall collapse on me - but that wasn't the scary part. It was when Hulk picked me up out of the rubble than I very nearly wet myself. Hoooolyyyy shit."
    No one could really blame her for feeling that way, though. I mean- he's the //Hulk//. And he's not known for his restraint.

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve considers that for a moment. Maybe a moment too long. "I lost count at five," he admits. "I mean, who keeps track, right?" He gives her a self-depricating grin. "You've been good, though, no more walls falling on you? No need for the big green guy to save you?"

    He goes to pick up his water bottle as he talks, checks it, then fills it and heads for a sparring area while listening to whatever Cael's response might be. That's why they're here, right?

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Walls haven't been my concern lately," Cael says in a dry tone. "But... yeah. Things have been alright, lately. They've been... better." It's amazing how much stress can be lifting when you aren't living under the knowledge of your boyfriend's impending demise.
    Already dressed in work out attire, Cael tosses a bag off to the side near the wall, and follows Steve onto the mat, a wary, attentive expression on her features as she watches how her opponent moves. "I might be a bit out of practice. But I'm sure you'll take it easy on me, right?" she asks. Despite her words, there's something akin to mischief in her gaze as she assumes a ready posture, her feet spread at shoulder width for balance, and her knees slightly bent.

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "As much as I ever do, sure." Not going full-out in order to account for the fact that she's a normal human, is what Steve means. He grins at her, takes a swig from the water bottle and sets it down, then steps onto the mat. He settles himself with one foot slightly ahead, bouncing a little to make sure he's keeping light on his feet.

    "Good to hear, though," he says. "No walls falling on you, the angels left New York... speaking of, well, wings, how's the training going with Sam?" He has his hands up defensively, but he's waiting for her to make the opening move. Maybe to judge what she's learned from the recent battles.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Oh, God," Cael groans. "Back to seven am practice sessions. I //swear// he does it just to torture me - the man's a sadist!" She rolls her eyes before adding, "But the practice is going well. I'm starting to get the hang of it. And I've been staying at the Trisk lately - so getting to practice is at least easier." It lets her sleep in a little longer - if you can call that 'sleeping in.' Hint: you can't.
    As she's talking she closes in on Stever, opening up with a few testing jabs, purposefully holding back herself. It's too soon, she thinks, to give him any real hints. Not time to lay him out on his ass yet...
    So she contents herself to a few low-powered jabs, one aimed for his side, the other at his shoulder.

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve's warmed up, so avoiding those jabs--especially because Cael's consciously holding back--is fairly easy. He responds by weaving to the side and coming at Cael's 'weaker' side with a right hook. He's more used to scaling his abilities, pulling his punches to avoid killing someone. In fact, he pretty much /has/ to, because the strength to lift four tons is the strenth to cave someone's head in if you're not careful.

    Point being, if the blow connects it's not going to to more than rattle her. Hopefully.

    "Seven am, wow, that sounds /real/ early," he says with a grin, bantering through the practice. "Maybe if you guys got up for five am reveille you could actually start to keep up with me." Yes, he's lumping Sam in there. As much shit as Wilson gives Becker, Rogers gave Wilson first.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Just because you're a masochist, doesn't means I have to be, Rodgers!" Cael counters. As she sees the jab coming for her, she twists to the side, and uses the palm of her hand to deflect the blow away from her - like Steve had been teaching her. She didn't stand a change meeting him strength-for-strength, he'd insisted. So it was all about learning how to deflected and redirect instead - anthing you couldn't dodge and avoid, of course.
    "Look, until a few months ago I was working undercover with organized crime. I went to bed //at// seven am more often than not!" she protests, twisting around after deflecting Steve's blow to aim a kick for the back of his knee.

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "Well, you've gotta adjust to daytime life, now, you--" Cael manages to catch Steve in the back of the knee and he stumbles, falls, turns it into a roll and hops back up on his feet a little ways away, facing her with a grin.

    "Nice one," he says, adjusting his stance. It doesn't hurt, he's just giving himself time to consider. "Alright, if you can deflect that easily, I'm gonna come at you a little harder. The enemies out there, they won't hold back, and they won't warn you."

    Then he's moving /just/ a touch faster than normal, coming in to try to lay her out with a good punch. Still not full strength, but enough that if Cael doesn't dodge or deflect it's gonna /hurt/.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Come at me, Cap," Cael counters - tossing in a cocky, beckoning gesture with her hands. It helps, more than even cares to admit - all those years and years of combat knowledge - right at the back of her brain now. Sure, they weren't using melee weapons - but it had given her a definite edge with her unarmed combat skills as well.
    As Steve comes at her, she attambs a throw - grabbing hold of his arm, thrusting her elbow up into his armpit, and rolling him over her back, to toss him onto the mat, all in a smooth, practiced motion.
    It's not the first time Cael's attempted such a move, but it's faster, and smoother than before - and with a strength and confidence bethind it.

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve wasn't expecting Cael to be quite so fast, nor smooth--and definitely not so able to just manhandle him. She does more than toss him to the mat; she practically throws him, given the momentum he'd built up, and he lies there, blinking up at the ceiling, for a few moments. Clearly confused.

    "Did I miss something?" he asks finally, still staring at the ceiling. "You're not usually that... strong."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Who... me?" Cael asks - offering him a hand up with an amused grin on her features. She taps the pendent at her throat as she adds, "I have a temporary boost - it's been helping me deal with our little angelic invasion problem. When we've finally finished off that last of it... I intend to put this back where I found it, but I thought... In the meantime, why not give Cap a real run for his money, huh?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "Magic?" Steve asks this without judgement as he gets back to his feet with Cael's help. He peers at the pendant and then shrugs, dusting off his hands.

    "Where'd you get it, then? What is it? It seems pretty useful, if you can throw me that easily."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Magic," Cael confirms simply.
    The simple question of 'what is it,' however, utterly confounds her - and it shows in the way she wrinkles her brow in response. "It- well. It used to belong to an ancient Gaelic warrior, Scathach. It has her... strength? Knowledge? I don't know. It gives me increased strength, I heal faster, and I know how to use pretty much any melee weapon you put into my hands, now. Plus I can summon some armor, and this //massive// axe. One of the archangels, Raphael, offered it to me. If I could prove myself worthy of it, basically."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve raises his brows. "Does one of the magical people know how it works? Or are you flying blind?"

    The statement that the 'archangel Raphael' offered it to her makes him blink, but he also relaxes a little. "Well, obviously you proved yourself worthy." He smirks. "Why temporary, though?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Flying blind, I suppose," Cael remarks thoughtfully. "I mean- it... didn't even occur to me to wonder //how// it works. It's- magic. It works... magically." She lets out a laugh then adds, "Which is ridiculous, but it was only MONTHS ago that I didn't think magic was a thing at all."
    She runs her hand through her hair before adding, "The thing is... the pendant can affect my mind. I mean, only a little. It can make me... crave competition. Crave the challenge of a fight. I'm leary of becoming someone who seeks out fights more and more as my first solution. Jon looked into my mind, and he said that it hasn't changed me that much, that I'm still myself. And I made Jon and Sara promise to keep an eye on me, and to take the thing off me if it seems like it's having a negative affect. But I already decided when I took it that it was only going to be temporary. That I only needed it to be able to fight //this// fight and that I was going to put it back afterwards. I made Jon and Sara promise they'd make sure I followed up on that."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "There'll always be another fight," Steve points out. "But I get the whole... not wanting it to affect your mind thing. I was afraid of that, when I took the serum, you know. That it'd make me... not /me/ anymore."

    He shrugs his shoulders, working out the tension from the throw. "You know, people, ahh... they get on me about my whole 'noble idiot' thing. Trying not to kill people, standing up to bullies, that sort of thing. Why give the bad guy a chance? Why get involved if it doesn't involve you? If you have to get involved, why not just... bomb the bad guys from orbit, so you don't even risk any of your own people?"

    He walks over to pick up his water bottle, takes a swig. "It's not that I come from some kind of simpler time when morality was easier, you know? People thought I was an idiot back then, too. Even Bucky gave me crap for taunting bullies. Entering the War wasn't as clear-cut as people make it out to be. It should've been, but it wasn't. You have all this power, how do you use it properly? When you see the world as 'what's good for me' things get complicated. They get hard. When you look at 'well this is the right thing to do' that's... easier. Clearer. And then it's easier to not become a bully yourself."

    He looks back at Cael. "I mean, it'd be /real/ easy for me to be a bully, you know? I'm strong, I'm fast, I'm well-known and well-liked. 'Captain America' could get away with almost /anything/. If somebody hurt my friends all I'd have to do would be to say they were dangerous criminals. Who's gonna say otherwise?" A pause, and he adds, "Well, hopefully plenty of people, but you get the point, right?"

    He shrugs again. "I guess I'm saying... power makes it easy to pick on people. If your, uhh, telepathic? He's a telepath, right? If Dr. Sims says you're still you, and an /archangel/ thought you were worthy, then I'd think the real problem is just making sure power doesn't corrupt you. I mean this is..." He blows out a breath. "This angel thing is kind of the biggest bully of all time? The original fascist?" He shakes his head. "Never thought I'd say /that/. So if you're only using it for one fight, this is the one, I guess. But I think it's worth asking yourself why you're so worried. Like, are you /actually/ worried you'll misuse the power... or are you just listening to the kind of people that would say only men that look like /me/ ought to have that power? And if it's the former, why?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It's not exactly either of those," Cael counters. "It's not exactly 'misuse.' I don't like- I don't like being changed. I don't like the thought of something having access to my head, and influencing me. It makes me uneasy." She crosses her arms over her chest as she asserts sharply, "And if you bloody well thing I give a //shit// about some patriarchical bullshit about who should and shouldn't have the power in our society, then you don't know me very well, do you Steve Rogers?"
    She shakes her head before adding, "The point is - I don't need this power to do good in this world. I was- I needed it this time. I needed the boost. I wasn't strong enough yet, and I wanted to be out there - I wanted to be able to stand by my friends, and stare down this asshole for- ...for everything he'd done. But once this shit is over and done with - then I can stand on my own two feet again."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve grins at Cael as she folds her arms over her chest. "That's what I thought, but I had to ask. But, okay, if you're strong enough normally--and I believe you are, I'm not questioning /that/--then how come you picked it up at all?"

    He puts down the water bottle and paces back out into the center of the mat. "I mean, I thought normal weapons worked against the angels, right? I saw totally normal people fighting them in Manhattan." He squares his shoulders and plants his feet.

    "Come on and let's see if you can throw me again without the element of surprise," he offers with a grin.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael doesn't answer that question right away as her gaze shifts down towards the mat, her arms still crossed over her chest. After several seconds of silence she explains, "Because I didn't feel strong enough. Because I didn't think I could face down my attacker without cracking."
    She lifts her gaze towards Steve again as she adds, "I was the last 'victim' of the Papal Killer - and the only survivor. This whole fight - it's personal. It's very personal. I needed to face Michael, but I didn't feel ready to do it, so..." She lifts one hand from her chest so she can run her thumb over the pendant.
    She moves away suddenly, retrieving her own water so she can take a drink, before resuming her place on the mat. "I know I can," she counters with confidence. "I'm going to throw you into the damned all this time. Hrm?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve regards Cael quietly for a long moment. Then he offers, "I'm no therapist or anything but... from experience... if you can't face him down without the pendant, and you can't let go of what he did, he's gonna haunt you for the rest of your life. Even if he's destroyed and gone. Strength doesn't come from a pendant or a serum. That's what I was trying to say before. /Real/ strength, the kind you're talking about, it comes from within. The superpower stuff just... enhances what was already there. And Cael... I think you're strong enough to face down that bully, pendant or no pendant. I think you always were. You've just gotta believe in yourself."

    He grins at her, then. "Into the wall, huh? We'll see about that. C'mon, Becker, come at me."