15313/Returning to the Foot

Returning to the Foot
Date of Scene:	05 July 2023
Location:	The Dojo
Synopsis:	Bunny Macleod is bidden to return to the Foot Clan, where Oroku Saki gives her a mission. How she completes the mission is entirely up to her.
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Bunny Macleod

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Shredder has posed:
    The Immortal Dragon Dojo is a quiet place compared to the bumper-to-bumper traffic that swirls the channels of concrete and asphalt through Brooklyn. Inside it seems empty, each training weapon put in its place. The office door is locked, the floor is swept.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny didn't like being scared. She usually valued her ability to keep a cool head. Her work in Metropolis recently spoke to that, even if she spent the evening curled up migraine meds after the adreniline wore off. It was a drizzling, humid morning in the city as she made her way to the dojo, not sure what to expect -- attack, punishment, admonishment or some combonation of all of the above. Her pink hair was largely hidden by a baseball cap with the New Hampshire Fishercats team on it, and sneakers instead of her normal roller skates. Yoga pants and a T-shirt with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of an unhappy storm cloud completes her look today.

    The emptiness of the dojo just made her nerves that much more on edge, and she removes her sneakers at the door, plain white socks on her feet.

Shredder has posed:
    How he could be behind her might seem unnatural, but it's as if he was always there, a presence just waiting to be revealed. "Fear does not translate to attentiveness," he says, walking past her as if she should have known he was there. "Begin your kata," he instructs, his hands folded behind his back. He walks to his usual place at the front of the room as he does when there is a class there.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny gives a sharp inhale through her nose, her eyes going wide, but to her credit she doesn't yell or gasp.

    "Y-yes, sensei," replies the pink-haired girl, meekly, and she goes to the center of the room.

    Her kata were still good -- even better than when she left. She had been working on them -- by herself, or with someone else -- and she moves through them smoothly. Form to form, minding wehre her hands and feet go.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki studies her movements, as if they were telling him some sort of story that couldn't be conveyed with words. He's silent during the entire time for the several minutes that the kata runs its course. His hard face gives neither approval nor disapproval, like a Mona Lisa smile requiring the viewer to draw their own conclusion.

    When it's finished, he speaks definitevly. "The Young Avengers, you have conducted training with them," he states. "What did you think of it?"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Some of them are experienced and powerful fighters, some aren't." Bunny replies, shifting her weight. This feels an awful like betrayal.

    She bows to Saki as she wraps her kata. "I'm the least experienced of them all, and their current weakest link. The others show stronger powers or other abilities."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki gives the customary lighter bow in return to Bunny's. "But their powers do not make them successful. Let us consider Superman, one of the most prominent heroes in the world. He is nearly invulnerable to all sources of harm. He has speed that can defy physics. He can fly. He has strength immeasurable. Yet he finds himself against challenges that are difficult for him to overcome. Why are they difficult? He cannot be harmed nor overpowered, nor evaded. How can anyone pose a challenge to him?"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Challenge his ethics. Give him an impossible situation. Find the break in the armor?" Bunny asks, growing more unsure with each possible answer. She rolls her shoulder a moment.

    "You out-think them. Anyone whose physical power outstrips your own, you think around them and move them into a position where you come out on top."

Shredder has posed:
    "You are correct that you find a break in the armor. The armor is in the mind. His weakness comes from within himself, not from the body he possesses." Saki takes a ready stance. "Do you believe that you can land a blow on me?" he asks.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "No." comes the absolute and honest answer from Bunny, without hesitation. "Not unless you want me to land a blow on you. Which would be the mind game." she states quietly. Her blue eyes drop down a moment, her fingers curling a little against her sides before she also takes a stance, defensive, guarding her bruised middle. Definitely more sensitive on her left side.

Shredder has posed:
    "You have youth, agility, and a genetic mutant power advantage over me, but you do not believe you can land a blow. Should you be forced into combat against me, you would lose before you began your fight. I have spent my life in combat. I am more than a teacher. I have defeated foes with natural abilities which make them seem insurmountable. Yet I have no powers, no technology, no hyper-intelligence. I have learned to master myself. Many young heroes, I suspect your Young Avenger friends, may have the same challenge. They rush to use their powers to solve their problems, and instead of being an asset, they become a crutch. When their power is not enough, they are defeated. They band together into a team to compensate for their shortcomings. This can be good in the moment, but it allows them to procrastinate on their necessary growth."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "You have experience. I've seen Karai fight and she respects you. I know Bebop and Rocksteady are /afraid/ of you. And so is Terry." the pink-haired girl challenges. "I have enough wisdom, taking the info around me, to know that if I were to land a blow? It'd be because you let me. Or because you were distracted with something else. But mostly because you let me." she states, a small uptick of her lips, quirking into a half smile.

    "You told me you had enough sheep, I don't expect to pull the fleece over anyone's eyes."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki frowns. "You will have experience. Perhaps it is time that I give you something beyond practice. The Foot Cland does not act in a theoretical philosophy. It may be time to give you a mission to accomplish."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "A mission?"

    Bunny hesitates, but she doesn't let up her guard. She shifts her weight, one socked foot to the other.

    "What... kind of mission?" she ventures, nervous.

Shredder has posed:
    "Yes, a mission. As you already know, the Foot Clan has protected mutants in the area. There are a few who are making trouble in Bushwick that have been identified and need to be dealt with. The methods at this time I leave to you, the only qualifier is that I expect them not to continue the harrassment of mutants. They are usually found near Dekalb and Wilson." Saki doesn't look like he's joking about this.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny's quiet for a moment, still in her defensive state, her fingers curling slightly as she considers.

    "It will be done." she states, quietly. "Dekalb and Wilson... yeah, I know where that's at. They won't mess with anyone else."