5304/The Strong Arm of the Law

The Strong Arm of the Law
Date of Scene:	22 February 2021
Location:	East Side
Synopsis:	Ben Grimm and Jennifer Walters face off in an arm wrestling contest on Yancy Street, and Ben doesn't seem to recognize the danger of doing so--the stakes have never been higher!
Cast of Characters:	Ben Grimm, Jennifer Walters

---

Ben Grimm has posed:
TO: Jennifer Walters, Esq.
FROM: THE THING
SUBJECT: The Weakest One There Is!
YOU ARE HEREBY CHALLENGED TO
A CONTEST OF STRENGTH
NEXT SUNDAY EVENING
COME ALONE, IF
YOU'RE BRAVE ENOUGH!
SEE YOU THERE
THE THING

So reads the postcard that arrived at Walters' office, the taunt clear enough.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer has been using her Jennifer Walters guise for work for a while now, to help keep a low profile so people don't just randomly assume she's out to wreck the area and call the cops on her. Not that she blames them after the Times Square incident. Still, it's been a while since she'd gotten to have any kind of fun while being big and green, and this postcard of Ben's brings a smile on her face.

"Oh, calling me out, Ben," she asks out loud to her empty office. "You're on. Bring it, buddy."

Ben Grimm has posed:
SUNDAY EVENING:

An intersection on the Lower East Side is cordoned off, a boxing ring constructed in its center and a table with two integral joystick-like handles set up on the mat with two sturdy chairs.

"You sure about this?" Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin' Thing, asks to a young woman with a clipboard in-between her directions called out to other staff members of ... whatever this is.

"Yes, absolutely. Everything will be simultaneously broadcast and streamed to show the winner, whoever it is," the woman replies.

"Whoever--!?" Ben snorts, a rocky eyebrow rising. "You kiddin' me? I'm gonna show that emerald attorney what's what!"

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Oh I don't think so!" calls a voice from the crowd. Somehow She-Hulk had managed to slip in, and now here she is, clad in her purple and white costume. "I can take anything you can bring, and then some!" She levels a finger at her friend, "Remember! I *let* you win that wrestling match!"

Ben Grimm has posed:
As Jen arrives, there's a commotion by the growing number of attendees, all of whom appear to be neighborhood residents. "There she is!" "Oh, snap!" "It's /on/ now!" There appears to be quite a few more green shirts and signs for She-Hulk than there are for the Thing.

Ben, standing in the ring, grimaces. "'Let'? Oh, that's rich!" he shouts, punching with one fist into the palm of his other hand. "Yeah, OK. Until now I wasn't sure how this wuz gonna go, but now--oh, I'm gonna /savor/ this!"

He plops down into his seat with a loud creaking sound, his right elbow thudding against the table-top. "Come on, then--I can't wait ta show you just what Ma Grimm's baby boy can do!"

"Commemorative hat, sir?" a staffer asks.

"Sure," Ben replies. The staffer places it on the hero's head; the forehead reads 'YANCY ST THROWDOWN'.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Savor it while you can, big guy," Jen says, getting into the ring. "It isn't going to last very long." She swaggers across the ring, pointing and waving at her fans, and even blows a kiss with a wink to a particularly cute one.

Once she's done with that, she then sits down in the opposing seat and looks Ben in the eye. "Nice hat," she says, disdain dripping from her voice. "I'm surprised it fit on that big head of yours."

She gets herself comfortable in the seat before leaning forward and setting her own elbow on the table. "Let's do this."

Ben Grimm has posed:
"Yeah, well, uh, I guess they musta just knew," Ben stammers. "Unless you told 'em ta do so and set you up for that joke."

He leans his forearm forward, ready for the embrace.

"When you're both set," a middle-aged man in a referee shirt says, "we'll get this match going."

"That's right, everyone!" someone shouts through a bullhorn. "We're about to watch the humiliation of the century!"

Ben's eyes narrow slightly, and he flexes his fingers.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Nope," counters Jen. "That was all you, buddy." She nods to the referee, and takes Ben's hand into hers. "I'm ready whenever you are.

Ben Grimm has posed:
The ref places his hands on the entwined bruisers' mitts and counts: "3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go!" He quickly retreats several steps to relative safety.

The crowd cheers as the table creaks, straining under the weight and intensity of the immediately evident struggle.

Ben grits his teeth, the rocks that comprise his muscles grinding like gravel as they flex.

"Can't ... believe ... you wanted ... to challenge ... my strength," Ben hisses. "I can ... do this ... all ... day."

As if to punctuate his claim, Ben uses his other hand to turn his hat backwards. In bright letters across the back, the hat reads: I STINK!

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"You're the one...." Jennifer says through gritted teeth, her muscles straining against Ben's considerable strength. "... who challenged a Hulk!" She leans into the arm, adding a little twist to the wrist to try to get a bit of leverage on Ben, but their clenched fists go nowhere.

She nearly loses it when Ben turns the hat around, a snort of laughter escaping from her. However she bears down and after a good struggle manages to get back to where they started.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben blinks, shaking his head. "Wha...? No, no! That was all /you/!" he exclaims, although his momentary surprise causes him to lose a bit of figurative ground, his arm shifting a few inches back from neutral.

While the Thing tries to bear back down on the bout, his other hand threatening to tear off the table's integrated handle on his side of the table, a number of attendees nod and signal to one another about something.

"3 - 2 - 1 - /now/!" one cries, and the referee drops to the ground. A dozen hoses spray green foam and pudding all over Ben Grimm. The surprise causes him to completely lose focus, and Jen's strength sends Ben flipping upside-down and against the boxing ring's ropes.

The crowd absolutely erupts with laughter. "We got 'im again, everyone! Hey, Thing--you gotta learn to wise up! The real winner here is: Yancy Street, forever!" It seems like everyone's got their phone out to record this moment.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer is probably just as surprised as Ben when she wins. She sits there, blinking in confusion and then laughter bubbles out of her. She turns to the crowd and chides lightly, "You guys. Be nice to him. He's one of your own."

She gets up out of her chair and makes her way to Ben, holding out a hand to help him up. "I swear," she says to him, still chuckling, "I had nothing to do with this."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Slowly wiping the mounds of glop out of his eyes, Ben flicks his hands 'clean' and sighs, accepting Jen's help up. "Yeah, I believe ya. Shoulda seen it comin', really. I mean, who'd hold a legit contest in this crum-bum place?"

"Aww, boo-hoo!" some of the attendees taunt, while others congratulate one another on a job well-done. Some even begin breaking down the boxing ring ropes.

"You wanna get us back, Thing?" one asks loudly. "Stay on yer toes and don't fall for such an obvious trap next time!"

"Oh, I'll remember," Ben growls. "And I'll have the last laugh on this, you can be sure of that."

Even as he says that, though, another patch of pudding slides down his face from his forehead, once more revealing the 'I STINK!' text on his hat.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer gingerly plucks the hat from Ben's face and then with a shrug, plops it on her head backwards so that Ben can see the insulting message emblazoned on it. She, then brings Ben in for a hug, making sure she gets all messy, too. After all, it's just not fair if he's the only one all goopy.

"Let me know when you do and I'll give you a hand," she says. "You'll need all the help you can get against these guys."