1964/Keep your guard up!

Keep your guard up!
Date of Scene:	04 June 2020
Location:	Athletics: Triskelion
Synopsis:	It's training assessment day! Daisy butts into Achilles's training match so it's a fair one.
Cast of Characters:	Daisy Johnson, Achilles

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Daisy Johnson has posed:
To every probie, rookie, new guy kinda agent that gets into SHIELD it comes a time in which they get their combat assessment. And that means hand-to-hand fighting. Daisy went through it, and now it's time for the new recruits to do the same.

The place of choice is the Triskelion's gym, as it always is every year. And being one to follow tradition Daisy is here to take a look at what has been going on after she went through her own daily training. Now recovered from the leg wound it's back to full activity. So she is dressed in her training gear, yoga pants, top, the Quake gloves on her forearms, leaning on one of the large training machines while she looks over at the training mats where a couple of new guys go at it.

"Sweep the leg!" she shouts with some amusement as the two are grappling on. Nothing like some encouragement!

Achilles has posed:
    New is all relative. You know what they say... new to you is still new. Angelo had some close combat assessment already. But more like.. a training scenario in handling a superhuman opponent. It hurt, took time, and was basically one of the more difficult things he'd ever done.
    But trying to use leverage and merely human strength levels to incapacitate a superhumanly strong opponent should never be simply or easy.
    This time however, he steps into the training area in what amounts to spandex bike shorts and a tanktop of his own. He has padded weightlifter's fingerless gloves on, along with carrying a full contact boxing headgear in one hand. "Sweep the leg?" he asks, "Wasn't that an illegal move in the Karate Kid?" he adds. But he's in a good mood. Any chance to get a workout and to stretch his close combat experience... of which there is a -lot- to speak of.
    "So, will this be armed or unarmed?" he asks. "And is this to be based on points, touches, or... tap out or incapacitation?" he adds.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Noone has to know that..." Daisy gesturing with a hand for whoever it was that spoke to her to shush.., but then she glances over and notices it's Achilles near her, a brow quirking up. "Didn't think you were the type to go for Karate Kid." Daisy though, avid consumer of the 80s and 90s movies. That's what happens when you grow up on an orphanage!

"So you are part of the new batch? Sounds unfair for the rest of the gang over there." Because sure, she had access to their files! None had supernatural talents! But then she addresses the question. "Unarmed, and it's pretty much until the senior officer has been able to glean the combat capacities of the agents duking it out." she then grinning. "No big tournament, no 80s inspiring music rocking the speakers, nope."

Maybe to someone's disappointment!

Achilles has posed:
    "Wait. You mean that I have to fight without music? I am terribly disappointed." offers Achilles with a wry half-mouth smirk. You know the sort. The Harrison Ford smirk. Either way, he just shrugs and nods, "So be it. And yes, I have had plenty of time to peruse a variety of cinematic accomplishments. If you like the Karate Kid, there was another from a few years later that you might enjoy. I believe it was called Best of the Best."
    That said, he steps out onto the mats and looks left, then right... "So, who will my opponent be?" he inquires as he lifts one leg up, grasping arms about the shin as he stretches. Then repeats it with the other leg.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
A dubious brow arches up at that. Doesn't seem like one of those she has seen before.. "Ok, that one is obscure enough, don't think I have seen it." a mental note to check on it eventually. But right now her focus seems to be another, one of the contestants being tossed down to the mat and the officer overseeing the assessment gesturing, "Alright, I have seen enough. Next!" the man shouts. A quick look about and spotting Achilles he gestures with one hand for the man to step up.

As for Daisy, "Let me go and ask.." but the quirky grin on her expression shows she has something up her sleeve. Not that she is wearing sleeves, mind you.

She makes her way over to the senior officer, speaking in hushed tones for a few moments with them. A couple of nods are exchanged and then she steps up. "Turns out it will be me for now." what a surprise!

She rolls her shoulders, then her neck, doing some stretching motions on the mat while getting ready.

Achilles has posed:
    Surprise? Or preference? Or expected plot twist? When you have literally seen it all, very little surprises you anymore. "So, no powers you said, right?" he asks, "Should I be limiting myself to a particular style or technique? Or is this... " He lifts a hand and wobbles it to and fro, "Anything goes?"
    But as he asks that, he does step back and roll his neck a bit. For a guy of his muscular bulk... which is not superhuman or even like Arnie-level, but he's not small... he can be light on his feet. He decides to change things up a bit and falls into a simple stance. One that might be recognizable as Wing Chun, hands held before him in a staggered pattern, feet stable and body relaxed.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Who said no powers? Not me." Daisy replies with a lift of her shoulders, nimbly jumping up and shifting from foot to foot, taking note of Achilles's stance. And sure, she isn't exactly big, though doesn't mean she hasn't gained a bit of muscle after those years in SHIELD. Specially with the teachers she has had.

"But if you think it's more fair.." she grinning as if in challenge to the man. But then she starts going into a stance herself, not appearing to go into any particular style just yet, mostly one of those mixed martial arts stances that are so common nowadays. And very effective too.

The senior officer gestures. "Remember, this is -training- assessment. You are not supposed to go all out or for killing blows." because certain things need to be reminded! And then it's time for the bout to start.

Daisy starts approaching, still jumping from foot to foot.

Achilles has posed:
    Whereas Achilles turns, keeping you before him as you move. His hands held loosely, open.. not clenched into fists. For now, it's more of a feeling out of an opponent... getting a feel for the way they move. Giving away as little as possible while learning as much as he can. "Well, go easy. I -am- an old man, right?" he asks in jest.
    But then he moves. He's attempting to put forward a lightning feint between one of your steps and the neck. But it's not a serious attack. More of an attempt to make you react just so he can see -how- you react. He's a canny, cagey fighter and his left hand snaps out towards you, before he turns and attempts to close the distance... getting in close where sweeping blows might be negated.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
While Daisy may have been a keyboard warrior just a few years back instead of a real warrior her training, along with her developping powers had turned into a true fighter so when that feint comes she reacts by keeping the distance, or at least trying to, stepping back with agility and fighting skill, her arms moving up in a block towards that left hand.

Yet as the distance begins to diminish (and it's not as if their 'ring' is that big) she slides towards a counterattack, her speed clearly appearing to be her strong point as she seamlessly turns from defense to offense, moving in to scrap it out with her opponent. Without sweeping attacks means she goes to more frontal strikes, in this case a jab along with a knee strike if the man gets too close!

Achilles has posed:
    Some things to note. In a real fight.. you are going to get hit. It's going to happen. Nobody manages to avoid all contact. The trick is not to try to avoid it all. The trick is to pick and choose when you are being struck so as to minimize the effect that might have on you.
    Now, while that sounds purely technical and intellectual... it's something real fighters do so often that they can do it without having to think it through. Sometimes, taking a hit is the best way to land a blow of your own. So, the knee strike is not avoided. It is not blocked. It is merely absorbed as Achilles's hands fly into a flurry of motion, striking towards arm, elbow, torso, chin. Again, mostly feints even as he grunts from the knee to his torso... but then he himself uses the high hand strikes to cover his own foot aiming down towards the back and side of a calf. Most notably, on the leg that was -NOT- recently injured, because he's not a complete ass.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The arm and elbow strikes Daisy doesn't particularly bother blocking much. Her focus is not getting hit on the chin. That can be a real knockout. And the attack towards her chest make her folds her arms together to avoid the full impact of it. Sure, getting his is unavoidable, but some don't have the resistance to deal with every blow! She still produces some counter strikes though, because if someone can get into a scrap that's Daisy, she answering with a few punches..

Yet then that leg sweep comes. She still spins once so as to put most of her weight on the other leg but the hit connects, making her jump up in the air. Not that she falls squarely on the floor, instead using both hands to wheel back and away. The grimace shows it probably hit a muscle though. But then she taunts. "Really? You went with the leg sweep..?" her smirk growing. But then she shifts stances, the leg that was hit back, her arms forward in a martial stance, fists close.

Achilles has posed:
    "One thing I have learned in combat. Rules are not important. Only winning is." says Achilles as he rolls his neck and then rubs his abdomen, "That is quite a knee strike you have." he offers before he switches it up, stepping back and adjusting his stance a bit. One hand held forward, open .. and the other held back at his side, also open. One foot is forward with a bent knee while the other is back and rests on the ball of the foot.
    The stance is a classic Aikido one. He's trying to change it up to see how -you- react to the changes. But also because let's be honest.. he enjoys trying different approaches and well... one on one combat is fun for him. But now he waits for your approach, intending to maneuver more than strike for now... redirecting force and such.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Does that mean I can go all out..?" Daisy's smirk remaining for a bit on her expression. But with this just being training it's not the time or place to use her powers, even if she has been learning to use them in tandem with her close combat fighting. It's highly effective! "And glad I could leave an impression on you." a knee-impression no less! But then she studies that new stance. Aikido, defensive..

.. It also means she shouldn't go all out, because as her own teachers have told her one shouldn't just spend themselves in a single strike. Specially when their opponent is on the defensive. So she moves in but keeps to direct strikes now, a feint towards a leg, then a frontal kick. No need for big sweeps to set up being tossed down. But she is assessing the man's skill just the same. Not that she expects it to be bad, considering what she has read out of his file. Bred for war it seems.

Achilles has posed:
    A part of Aikido is defining a point in space, and forcing your opponent to move around it. If you define the movements, you decide the fight. Achilles shrugs and asks, "Is this combat? Are -you- being assessed or am I?" as he weaves back and forth, redirecting a punch here, avoiding a kick there. His blocks have become soft, not hard... the gap between thumb and forefinger being used to direct an arm about until he clamps his hand down on a wrist just after redirecting a punch.. and then with a twist, he places pressure on the wrist, elbow, and whole body... a simple twist throw combo intended to flip your whole body over that arm and end up on the mat. He expects you to know how to breakfall it seems.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Not me for sure." Daisy replies with a brief chuckle. But then she is advancing to test that defensive stance, punches and kicks being tossed about. Eventually though when her wrist is captured and she is made to spin she indeed -can- breakfall, her whole body twisting and following the momentum of the attack. She rolls over and one of her hands strikes the mat to help herself up and to not stay down on the ground. Yes, one of her first lessons. Learning to stand up fast!

She seems ready for more but then the instructor gestures. "Alright, it's enough. Think I have seen what I wanted." not that it surprises the supervising officer much! But for now seems like the bout is over.

As for Daisy she brushes the back of her hand, wiping some sweat there and shrugging. "We will have to do a rematch sometime, mm? But good moves." she says.

Achilles has posed:
    "Now that the assessment is finished, if they don't desperately need the mat... I would love to see what you can do when you are -not- restraining yourself." Achilles offers. "Worry not, I will not produce a blade. I just want to see -your- best." he says with brows lifted.
    Funny thing, some folks might think of what he said as flirting or whatnot. Truth be told... he really wants what he said he wants. To see how good you -really- are. "I am literally a walking punch dummy. Show me your best and don't hold back. I'll survive it." he offers as he switches up to a more aggressive stance.... something like Muay Thai...

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Really?" Daisy scoffs momentarily at that, as if Achilles didn't really know what he was asking about. But then she goes back to the center of the mat. A focused look to her and then she drops into a stance, squeezing her hands into fists. There's almost a palpable power within her that seems to thrum to life, as if the woman's body had started to vibrate..

She takes in a deep breath, one arm being pushed back....

But then that damn senior officer steps in! "Hey, this isn't the place for that. And I got other Agents to check so..., go back to your duties, Johnson. Don't you have mission assessment in 15?"

Daisy glances at the senior Agent, grumbling briefly but then nods her head slowly. "Guess we will have to see about that at another time." she letting out a laugh. "I will check this best of the best movie to look for some good moves to use, yea?"