18377/The Space Question

The Space Question
Date of Scene:	20 June 2024
Location:	Recreation Deck - Watchtower
Synopsis:	Diana and the Question have a bit of a spar, and a bit of a chat on the Moon.
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Vic Sage

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Diana Prince has posed:
Being that the recreation deck is expansive, there are a lot of offerings, from a food and lounge area, to a fully appointed gym and exercise area.

diana is in the exercise area.

Currently, she's in a red and blue sports training outfit. With her hair tied back, a halter top, and stretchy pants, the Amazon warrior woman is looking quite modern in her training at the present moment. To be honest, though, she feels out of place in her standard gladiatorial clothing when on the Watchtower, and is more prone to indulging in outfits like this while up here, enjoying these facilities for exercise and training.

She's fighting with a series of hard-light constructs that are being projected around her on the sparring mats!

The view is Wonder Woman, in those sports garments, in a hand to hand fight with five muscley men in UFC style clothing of their own. One by one, each man takes a turn rushing the Princess of Themyscira, who reacts by tossing one, tumbling another, battling in a series of blocks and punches with yet another, or simply sweeping the leg out from one who dares to try and get the jump upon her!

The sounds of Wonder Woman's breathing, exclaimations, along with the various battle noises that her sparring holograms are making, the sounds of combat are bouncing through the room!

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic doesn't come up here much. Something about the place unnerves him, being so high above the planet when he is used to the city streets of Hub City or Gotham. Combine that with the fact that these are where the 'super' heroes meet, and at the best of times he rarely considers himself a hero at all.

Still, he has the card, and the card comes with perks. One of those perks being an impressive training area that a master martial artist can use without having to go have Lady Shiva kick his ass for the upteenth time, or hear another lecture from Richard Dragon about butterflies or scorpions.

Vic is dressed out of the norm for when he is masked. Gone is the dapper looking suit and hat, and in their place is a pair of sweatpants and a old a-frame t-shirt. Workout clothes.

The sounds of fighting draw his attention even before making it to the room, and once there to see who is doing their thing he pauses and stares quietly, cocking his head slightly to the side as he watches before eventually speaking to the Amazon.

"You know, in a real battle they don't wait their turns like nice little programs. Not that I have to explain this to you, I'm sure you are well aware."

Diana Prince has posed:
By the time Vic approaches the sparring mats that Diana is occupying with her hologram opponents, she's down to the last one still standing, and he gets thrown over her shoulders to land on his back at the edge of the mat. She stops holding a defensive posture, and drops her hands to her sides, golden bracelets around her wrists--- smaller than her standard armor bracers--- are the only clear sign of her Amazon heritage currently visible on her body.

A bit breathless, since she's been at it for awhile, Diana shows a large smile toward the man, as she paces side to side, her sneakered feet silently padding upon the mats as she moves.

"This training session is not really about that. It's more just about a... steam release, I guess. It is more like aggressive dancing..." She says, letting a heavy exhale pop out of her lungs.

She puts her hands upon her hips, and regards him across the way. "It is good to see you, Victor." She states, her voice laced with that thick Themysciran accent, reminescent of ancient Greek, with the evolution of thousands of years separated from that part of the world adding a touch of different flavor to it as well.

"How is life for you?"

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic still needs to get used to that too. People using his name when his is in the mask. There are only a few that did it with any regularity and he doesn't see them much.

He shrugs as the faceless visage looks blankly over at her, the outline of lips moving under the psuedoderm layer. "Well enough, Wonder Woman. Sounds like you had much the same idea I did," he says as he nods to the mat. "Steam release."

The Question strolls forward a bit more, neck stretching to the left and then to the right as he limbers up his muscles. "Care to have a aggressive dance partner?"

Diana Prince has posed:
The Princess continued to pace a few steps, but she was not ever one to be truly out of breath, and sometimes she only did it because it felt like the right thing to do physically. Somewhat like how a blind person may not understand facial expressions, until the chance came for them to see for the first time.

The question that The Question poses to her, has the tall brunette woman show a widened smile. She glances around to the five holograms, as they fade out of existence, the AI monitorign them well enough to know the situation at-hand.

Diana motions him to join her on the sparring floor.

"I did not know you had much interest in the methods of martial combat skills."" She responds to him, as she strides around her side of the mat, the spot lighting from above illuminating her form quite well upon the mat, and likewise his own when he joins her there-in.

"But, you are a man of mystery...."

Vic Sage has posed:

    "No? Oh. That's actually a bit shocking. I would have assumed Batman would have had an extensive file on me." Vic says with a little snort as he continues to limber up as he kicks off his shoes to slip onto the mat.

"I'm not to shabby. I was trained by Richard Dragon, and Lady Shiva likes to show up every now and then to try and kill me to keep me on my toes. I wouldn't say I am as good at Bats in hand to hand, but I'm pretty close."

As a final way to stretch out, Vic drops down into a full sideways split all the way to the ground like his is devoid of groin muscles, and then leans forwards to rest his elbows on the mat as he rolls his legs back and forth. "Before I was with Richard, I just used to hit people....a lot. Less style and form, just brutality. Still do, sometimes."

Diana Prince has posed:
As Vic steps up, and begins his stretching warmups, it results in Diana just placing her hands upon her hips, her fingers splayed out against the lycra tights that adorn her lower half. She slightly drops her chin, and raises an eyebrow, as she listens to his words, and watches his actions. Eventually, a little grin shows upon her lips, and she softly shakes her head.

"Well, it seems you have had quality training since your days of simply pretending you were starring in 'Fight Club'." She teases the investigative Question.

When he seems better prepared, and seems ready too, she raises her hands up, and with a flex of her fingers, she gets in to a fighter's stance, not too far away. "Show me what you have, then, Victor." She states in her naturally sultry toned voice.

Vic Sage has posed:
From his position in the splits, Vic presses up into a handstand, then presses off from the handstand into a flip to land on his feet in a fighting stance himself.

"Just remember, Princess, I'm only human."

With that Vic moves forwards with impressive speed, but likely it still looks turtle slow for someone who can block bullets with bracelets. He comes in with a feint to the left, looking like he is going to throw a punch before spinning on his heal to launch a kick towards the right side of the head.

Diana Prince has posed:
"You are only Human, afterall." Diana quietly says back to him as he makes his final moves to get ready. "But, I still see quite an impressive agility on display."

And then he is coming at her, and she begins to rock more evenly upon her nimble feet. When he feigns, and strikes with a kick, Diana responds by blocking the incoming leg with a raised forearm, before she ducks beneath it, casting it up and over her head. As she does this, she moves herself around beneath said kicking leg, and delivers an elbow to the back of Vic's spine, meant to make him stumble forward with his own momentum.

All of this, happens in a blur of motion, showcasing the pure speed of Wonder Woman.

When she rises back up to her full height, she shows him a little smile.

"Nice speed," she tells him. "Even for a Human."

Once more she is in her fighting stance, this time they having switched sides of the sparring floor.

"Come on, do not hold back," she encourages him with a little come-hither with her left hand's fingers. "Let me have it all."

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic rolls with the elbow, almost like he knew that it was coming, so the impact wasn't fully there. Still, strength of a goddess even a tap is going to be a bit jarring. Vic uses the added momentum to go into a dive roll, turning in the midst of it so when he pops back up he is back to facing her in a ready stance.

"Hrm."

It's the only sound he makes as he studies Diana and her form, looking for any weakness to exploit at least once.

One moment he is standing there, the next he launches forward at the taunt, lashing out with an arial double kick to the head and torso, then following up with an elbow of his own that tries to crash down onto the crown of her head.

Diana Prince has posed:
The thing about fighting a demi-god, is that it is really unfair. It's even more unfair, when that demi-god was raised as a warrior, and trained by warriors, who were trained by the best. It is a lineage of indominable skills, mixed with talents, and abilities that have honed Wonder Woman in to being a close quarters combat expert of unparalleled ability.

Every lunging attack that Vic gives unto the Princess, she is there to block it, from his high strikes, to his downward attack. Her forearms simply move to where he was coming from, and her body shifts to deflect his blows.

He'll see it first hand now, fighting her like this. She moves with the speed of something akin to the Flash, but perhaps not quite so fast, just far more refined.

She defends against his aggressive onslaught, and she slips around him again, planting a firm kick in to the back of his knee to attempt to drop him down to them upon the padded floor beneath their feet.

She stares at him with a serious expression upon her otherwise lovely features.

"You move well." She still tells him, even if he can't break through her defense.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic knew the risks when he took on the challenge. He can fight Shiva and survive, or at least impress her enough to not kill him...but Diana isn't Shiva. Shiva is be all accounts at least still human, though some may argue the point.
Getting kicked in the back of the knee drops him down, but he uses the falling momentum to roll out of striking distance for any follow up blows...which never come.

"Not well enough." he comments dryly before launching another round of blows in her direction. A combination of punches and kicks, elbows and even a random headbutt in there just to see if he can't slip past her defenses with a surprise and unexpected move.

Diana Prince has posed:
Usually when Diana fights people like this, most of them get frustrated quite rapidly at an inability to get through her movement. Refering to her as a 'well oiled machine' isn't even accurate, as she's something far beyond any machine. Machines break down, Diana probably never will.

His flurry of attacks are disregarded by further fast movements, some of them not even managing to be gratified with a touch to her form, as she merely steps away from them entirely.

The headbutt, however, is allowed to strike her, and in a arguable show of smug pride, she just takes it, allowing him to strike her head, without showing any pain from it.

She stares back at him for a moment after he gets the attack through, before she suddenly returns it with a headbutt of her own, only hers comes with a hefty force of additional strength that may well give Vic a lingering headache for the rest of the day!

Vic Sage has posed:

Falling back from the blow of the headbutt, Vic staggers back a few steps before falling on his ass with undignified grace.

"Ow."

He sits there for a half-second, maybe just enough to get his bearing and maybe see straight again before he does a kip-up and comes at her again. One thing Vic isn't, is a quitter. Unsurmountable odds? Bring them on.

Nothing gets through this time, or the next, or even the next. But even Vic has his limits, and after the sixth round of him trying to get through only to be swatted away like an insect each and every time does he finally just remain on his ass on the floor, panting and out of breath.

Diana Prince has posed:
Some part of Diana often wanted to give her sparring partners a shot through her defenses, to bolster their egos, while another part of her knew that Antiope would be very disappointed to see Diana even consider relenting such a thing to an opponent. 'A bleeding heart, leads to a bleeding body.' she would have said to the Princess.

It is just a few short moments after Vic remains seated on the floor, that Diana appears beside him, offering a bottle of water down to the man. Should he take it, she'll lower down in a cross-legged seated position to sit beside him, uncapping her own bottle of water.

After a drink, she looks over to him, and shows him a warm expression. "It is about the exercise," she explains. "It is not about the victory, or the failure."

"Besides, we are on the Moon, fighting one another in a brilliantly designed Moon base. What is not to be excited about?"

She asks this question, while shooting her eyes around their high tech surroundings, before taking another sip from her drink.

Diana, ever the optimist and bright sun beam of a demi-goddess Human being.

Vic Sage has posed:

    Vic thinks about taking a drink of the water, even moving to lift it up to where his lips should be before he realizes that just isn't going to work. Instead he pours a bit over the top of his head before reaching down and triggering the buckle on his belt.

Gas envelopes him, and Diana to an extent since she has taken a seat by him, and when it dissipates his hair has changed from a dark auburn to a very coppery red, and he peels the mask from his face. He rolls the mask into a ball and places it into the compartment on his belt.

He glances over. he spot that she got him with the headbutt already starting to bruise just under his right eye. "A loss isn't a loss unless you learn nothing from it," Vic says with a shrug as he takes sip of the water now that he can.

Diana Prince has posed:
With him accepting the offered water, and revealing his face, she looks over to him to enjoy the rare sighting of the mysterious man's own visage.. afterall, there were few more trust worthy people in all of Humanity than the woman he was seated beside. She smiled at him, an infectious expression for most who behold it upon her face. "I do aim to help others learn." She fires back in her smoky voice, laced with that underlying playful charm she attempts to infuse in the hearts of those around her, at least when she's in a good mood.

She doesn't even seem winded by their back and forth spar, not even a sheen of sweat upon her visible skin.

She does take another sip of the purified water, before she regards him again.

"I did not ever expect to see you wandering around up here..." She states, again glancing around the rec center, before returning her eyes toward him. "Did you get curious about Lunar life?" She inquires.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic glances over as he takes another sip from the water and shrug. "Not really. I just knew you had this rec-room and it beats the mat I have at home," he says with a chuckle and a grin. "Life up here is no different than it is anywhere else, really. Not with the artificial gravity. Maybe a fraction of a percent lighter since it's not perfect, but it's so marginal that I doubt anyone would really notice."

Diana Prince has posed:
The technical response that she garners from Vic, has Diana expressing a further faint smile. She uncrosses her legs, raising her left knee up in front of her, as she rests her left arm atop it, draping it there. She looks ahead of them, before tilting her head to the side. "Yes, I suppose it might be. I believe it fluctuates on a very minor level too." She notes of the gravity.

Her eyes are cast back on to him, and with a second of staring, she shows him an amused smirk.

"Well, it is good to see you, none the less," she offers. "If you come back in a month, the Lunar rail line will be functional, and you can take a train ride between here and the Lunar colony to the south east." She grins at this. "You seem like a man who'd enjoy a good train ride." She playfully labels him.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic looks over a quirks a brow at this, "Train ride? What makes you say that?" He chuckles, running his fingers through his damp hair as he continues, "I'll come up here at the very least to be able to use the facilities. I have the card, I might as well use it, right? Would be a waste for all this up here to grow dusty from lack of use." Like that is likely to ever happen. "How about you, do you like a good train ride?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is tipping the water bottle in her right hand back against her lips, whilst he replies to her. She finishes the drink, and touches the side of her hand to her chin to stop a droplet of water from trickling down her skin any further. She glances back over at him, and shows him another warm expression on her facial features. "You seem like a man of classical likes," she answers him. "And yes, I have enjoyed train rides for a long, long time. I used to take them all across Europe, in my days of primarily residing over seas. I have many fond memories of long trips across the European countryside."

Her eyes look toward the eastern wall of the recreation center, where a row of large windows view the surface of the Moon, and the stars beyond it. "Of course, the Lunar surface is arguably a bit less scenic... the situation-- being as unique as it is to have the first train line on the Moon-- makes it a special trip all its own."

She shows him a slight grin, "But, maybe I am a bit of a dreamer, seeing imaginations come to life, and getting giddy." She says, her voice tinged with a hint of a childlike excitement.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic thinks about that for a long moment, scrutinizing the idea of him being a classical liking person and eventually shrugs a shoulder, "I suppose. I did use to drive a VW Beetle. Of course it had racing shocks and a Ferrari engine inside...I miss that car." He chuckles, "I had to run into a school bus to save a bunch of kids from getting blown up. Totaled it."

"It's got to be interesting for you. Seeing the world as you have. Watching it grow, flourish..and flounder all at the same time."

Diana Prince has posed:
The description of the VW bug car, causes Diana to display another smile for the man, and his memory of his fond vehicle friend. "I have never had a car that I have felt any real attachment to, but... I do like my jet quite a lot." she counters him, before she hears his following question.

It causes her to gently pull on her braided pony tail, that hangs over her left shoulder. She gives it a brush of her fingers before she pushes it back behind her shoulders where it sways gently against the back of her shoulder blades.

"I have witnessed a lot of major historical moments, and though I have seen a lot of ... bad, I believe I have seen far more good. For ... whatever /reasons/ mankind seems to focus on the bad things, and let the good things simply breeze by them, like the trees passing by when driving through the woods. There are so many good things, and they just get forgotten in an instant." She draws in a light breath, her husky voice filled with a sense of reluctance to even talk on the subject. She glances down at the water bottle in her right hand.

"I wish that we honored our fallen soldiers, those who fought for freedom, and against tyrany... more than we do. That is something that does weight heavily upon my heart. I do not feel they get enough recognition for their sacrifices."

She looks up, and over to him again, showing a more somber smile for him this time. "But, that is just my heart talking."

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic nods as he stands, offering a hand over to Diana to help her up (like she needs it) and nods. "I get that. People are always more focused inwards than outwards. It's the rare few that can see both. Reminds me of something Richard told me once years ago. It's was one of his favorite little parables.

There once was a man fell asleep one day and dreamed that he was a butterfly. When he woke up, he did not know whether he really was a man who had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether he was a butterfly now dreaming he was a man.

We all live in two worlds, but only the rare few choose to look at both. Anyway, I should get back to Earth, I have a newscast to prep for...and makeup is going to have a field day with this shiner you gave me."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana accepts the offered hand, and nimbly rises to her feet upon the mat. She listens to his quoted knowledge, and considers it a second. "Life is a simulation." She fires back, just grinning faintly at the very idea of it.

When he mentions the damage, she focuses more solely upon it. She instinctively raises a hand up toward the shiner on his cheek, wanting to touch near to it, to gauge the sensitive reaction, but she hesitates. "Sorry about that, it just came out of me as a reaction to that action..."

She shows a sympathetic smile for him, as she steps back. "Stop by the infirmary before you leave, they will help take the swelling down. They have the best treatments on hand." She shows him another soft smile, before she turns to walk toward her things on a nearby bench. "Should you wish another spar, just let me know some time." She says, offering a friendly wave of her fingers as she steps to the bench to find a place to seat herself on its edge.