9373/Advanced Training

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Advanced Training
Date of Scene: 30 December 2021
Location: Courtyard and Arena
Synopsis: Diana steps up the intensity of Morgan's physical training, putting the young demigod through a brutal gauntlet that ends in the difficult challenge of battling Wonder Woman herself!
Cast of Characters: Diana Prince, Morgan Finn




Diana Prince has posed:
Morgan's training has become rapidly more progressive as the young man has taken to his combat training with good promise, naturally. Diana expected nothing less, if the young one was pushed properly. So far it seems that the Amazons had done just that. They are rapidly becoming more experienced at training such types of people too, as the years go by and more come to them for this very type of thing.

This stage of Morgan's training is a bit different though. Intricately designed obstacles have been setup around the arena, aned when Morgan arrives with Diana, he'll be greeted to the sight of this very unusual setup thus far in his training.

Diana stands beside him in her Eagle Armor, it being a sunny-- albiet cold --winter day. The chill doesn't bother the Princess though, as her long dark hair waves gently in the wind coming down fromthe open top of the arena high above.

"Are you ready for a bit of agility training now? As well as ... thinking on your feet?" Diana asks him with a little grin showing on her lips.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Most of the fledgeling demigod's training has been with the Amazons. And, frankly, he adores them all and gets along with them famously. What Morgan lacks in foundational battle sense he makes up for in social skills. BUT...on the uncommon occasions when he gets to train with Diana directly he is always especially excited. And a little nervous.

He's wearing the battle armor that Diana gave him. In truth, it's difficult to get him out of the armor sometimes. Never in his young life has he worn something that he can take pride in, that is an indicator that he is part of something larger and more important than himself.

For him, it /is/ a bit cold but his youthfulness and his demigod blood make it tolerable. His breath feathers out into the winter air as he looks around the arena. "You did all of this?" he asks, looking up at the Amazon Princess with glittering eyes. His gaze shifts back to the field. "I'm ready. I won't let you down."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana lets her grin blossom with a little more strength as she hears his response. "Right. Well. This should be enlightening..." She says as she leads him toward the start of the course. There are a number of weaponry options and she motions to them. "Pick your chosen armament." She says. Each one is adorned with a different brightly colored scarf that gently sways in the wind. "This course will adjust based on your chosen weapon. You will use it to attack, defend, and progress through the course. All obstacles that match your chosen weapon will be what you primarily focus upon, but if you interact with others, be prepared to adjust on the fly." She explains.

The bo staff, that Morgan seems to be most commonly equipping himself with is poised on a metal hook with a flowing bright orange cloth attached to one of its ends...

Morgan Finn has posed:
"Alright," Morgan says gently. He walks down the line of weapons, considering each one. There's no wrong answer, and maybe getting stuck in a rut with one weapon isn't the best choice. He passes the many options but it does seem he stops at old faithful after all. He stands there looking at the weapon. It favors his personality. It's fast, deceptive, versatile. And most of all, it doesn't (necessarily) break the skin and sever and hack like a sword. Yes, he is excelling at fighting but any trainer who ignores who Morgan is at his core is not doing him any favors. Or themself any favors.

"This one," he says with a nod as he slips the staff out of the rack. He turns to face Diana. How far he's come! He stands there proudly in his armor holding a weapon with which he has repeatedly shown propensity. It wasn't that long ago when Diana could barely coax him into hitting someone.

"I'm ready."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana smiles at him choosing what seems to be his favorite of the selection. "A good choice to start with. But since the course changes based on what you are wielding, it will be wise if you run it with everything over time. IT is always best to be able to wield on the fly, and adjust to situations as they develop around you." She says as she then motions him to follow her to the starting point.

"Your goal here, is simply to make it to the end, on your feet. Additionally..." Diana raises her right hand and motions to a metal track that runs around the top of the course. "Every section of the course has a timer sphere. If you do not beat the sphere to the end of the section then it will begin a ... dousing of water that you will have to pass through each time. If you can progress to a point where you are beating the Spheres to the end of each section, then you will know that your skills are advancing.... If not? Well..." Diana smiles sweetly at him.

"You will be very wet at the end of the course."

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan wrinkles his nose at the thought of getting doused with water in this cold. "Well, guess I better run fast then," he says. He softly repeats something to himself that Galatea taught him. "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself."

The young demigod moves to the start of the first segment of the course. He sort of stands there looking around with a small bit of confusion. "How will I know whe..."

He is abruptly cut off as a loud horn lets out a shrill, startling alarm and a machine that looks not unlike a tennis ball server rotates and quickly fires six tomatoes at him. The first catches him square in the face and explodes in a burst of pulp and red juices. The juices almost immediately start freezing in the ice-cold air. With a grunt of effort, Morgan pivots on his long axis to avoid the second tomato. Up comes the staff. Three, four, five, six. He knocks the remaining produce out of the air. Kid's gettin' /good/ with that staff!

Then machine rotates and prepares for a second volley. "Shit," he mutters as he runs at top speed toward it. He's not fast enough, it starts its firing sequence. Morgan is a natural athlete. He excels at all of the sports teams at Happy Harbor. Including baseball. He immediately drops and slides along the sand as the tomatoes rocket over him. He studies the machine and see a hole about two inches in diameter in the side of it. 'This course will adjust based on your chosen weapon,' he replays Diana's warning in his mind. He quickly thrusts the bo staff into the hole and the machine shuts down.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana catches one of the tomatoes as Morgan makes his course run. She brushes it off on her chest and then takes a small bite from it, as she watches...

While Morgan figures out how to deactivate the machine, he might feel some pride in his efforts, but soon realizes there is the sound of a rolling sphere above his head!

It rolls through its track, spinning around one of the turns as it heads for its final ring!

When it hits, a sudden rush of water starts to cascade down the archway that Morgan has to go through, whether he can get there before it or not!

The archway is blocked by spinning rods that have to be ducked under, jumped over, and spun past less he get knocked around like a rag doll!

Morgan Finn has posed:
The kid looks up. Crap. The spheres! He breaks into a full run. In truth, he is /fast/. Really fast. He throws the staff ahead him as he gets to the archway with the spinning rods. He lodges itself in there and all of the arms stop! He is able to dive through and is easily going to be beat the water. It's actually quite incredible.

BUT...

He grabs the staff to tug it out and it's now wedged tightly in there amidst the stopped rods. Here comes the sphere. He has a split second to decide to either abandon his weapon or get wet. He chooses the latter. He puts one booted foot up on a rod and pushes hard as he yanks the bo staff with all his might. He manages to pry it loose but at the cost of failing to beat the sphere. Cold water cascades down over him, immediately freezing to him.

No time for pity, no time for heartache. Wet and cold though he may be, he immediately breaks into a rapid run toward the next segment of the course.

Diana Prince has posed:
As the wet and cold Morgan bursts through to the next phase of the course, he finds orange scarves flowing in the wind all around him. The course has indeed adjusted to the weapon he chose. Now there, up on a raised platform, Morgan sees that there are number of spinning logs that turn slowly, and rapidly, all leading toward the next platform and the next gate he has to get through...

Like some kind of video game, Morgan will see that he has to run across the logs as they turn like the barrel of a gatling gun!

But beyond that, there are also more tomatoes all being aimed out of 'guns' that line the sides of the course... he is really in for it now.

The sphere starts to roll, and beneath the spinning log pathways... is a pool of shallow water that he will fall in to, should he not maintain his balance on this run!

Morgan Finn has posed:
"I got this," he growls as he bursts into action. Most likely, Diana has attended at least a couple of Morgan's sporting events at Happy Harbor. If so, she has seen this kind of raw determination that makes him one of the school's top athletes. As he runs, he grabs some scarves out of the air. Morgan doesn't know if he'll need them, but worst case scenario he can just drop them.

The demigod leaps up on the series of spinning logs and runs across them. Honestly, it looks too easy, like he's going to sail across this stage.

Then the tomatoes start firing.

There's no way he can try to deflect them all. He simply must endure them. The flying produce splatters on his already wet and cold body, threatening to knock him off the logs and into the water.

Wait, what's that up ahead? A wrought-iron sleeve at the end of the holding bracket of the second-to-last log? He lets the scarves go. They twist and wind their way through the air to the water below. But by that time, our young hero is already gone. He leaps in the air and lets the bo staff land in that wrought-iron sleeve, and he propels himself like a pole vaulter past the last log and he lands on the ground below with a thud, tucking into a roll, then back up in a run. He glances up and sees that he is, so to speak, neck-and-neck with the rolling sphere. He grits his teeth and snarls as he digs into his reserves and propels himself faster. And through the next archway without getting wet!

Diana Prince has posed:
The water falls down behind Morgan as he narrowly makes it through the second gate before it cascades! The splashing in the pool below is audible behind the young man who is covered in water and tomatoe bits yet anyway.

Diana is taking another small bite out of the tomato she'd caught moments ago. She walks softly across the sand, one of the orange scarves that the boy had tossed aside flutters through the wind and lands at her feet.

The next section of the course is four platforms that are all too far away from each other to jump easily too, but each one has a fighting 'dummy' at its center, and each can be made to move if Morgan can run through his trained velocities rapidly! What he'll find is that if he does do them, the platforms will move closer to one another, but also pull away again if he doesn't jump swiftly and accurately. Using his staff he has to jump, beat, and hurry to beat the sphere to the next gate! All while avoiding the shallow water pool below!

Morgan Finn has posed:
He's kind of getting into his groove if we're being honest here. He runs up the makeshift wooden stairs and jumps to the first platform. Upswing. Cross block. Spinning thrust. His first form. The training dummy goes down and Morgan leaps the next platform. Easysauce!

Morgan swings the staff downward, striking the training dummy on the head, which causes it to spin clockwise and attack with one of its protruding rods. The trainee thrusts his staff down quickly on the ground, giving it the leverage it needs to block the attack. But the wobbling of the platform has thrown Morgan off and he doesn't have time to raise the staff and thrust it forward into the dummy's head: his third form. So he improvises. He viciously head butts the training dummy, sending it toppling off the platform and the second platform moving toward the third. He leaps and goes after the third dummy. After a swift combo -- his sixth form -- he defeats the dummy and leaps to the last platform. This one is wobbling dangerously and Morgan is starting to tire. He has a difficult time staying standing.

The demigod thrusts with the staff but looses his balance. He falls from the platform many feet below, landing in the water on his back.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Get up!" Galatea chided the young demigod. It was his third week of training and he was only just becoming basically competent with his staff.

The young Morgan has just been savagely knocked to the ground by Gala's wooden training sword, taking a wicked hit to the chest. "Can't... bre...bre...bre..." he tried to say.

"Do you think I care?" Gala blurted out. "If you can't get up in real combat, you die. You fail me. You fail Diana. You waste all of our time. Is that what you want, boy?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

With grim determination, the soaking wet Morgan kips up to his feet. There's no way he can beat the sphere now, but water or no water, he HAS to get through that archway. He runs as fast as his freezing, tired body can manage -- which is actually still quite fast. He runs through the cascading shower of water and into the next section. His breath is ragged and labored, but he is showing no signs of wanting to give up.

Diana Prince has posed:
Morgan proceeds to the next challenge with Diana observing from her place in the middle of the arena.

She watches him burst through the water and in to what looks like the easiest of all the sections so far. It's one circular platform over the water with a lot of little hatches on it. The platform is spinning very slowly and the water under it looks calm and relaxed.

But when Morgan will jump over to the platform, he'll find that the first section he steps on falls right through to the water! Fake floors! Oh no!

The sphere keeps rolling on ahead too, spinning around its circular pathways as Morgan has to figure out how to keep the fake floors from dropping him in to the water below!

Morgan Finn has posed:
The fact that this looks easy is exactly what has Morgan worried right now. His mouth is wide open as his body fights to bring in more oxygen. He drags the staff along behind him as his flagging strength struggles with all of the demands. He stops for a moment. His lips are blue. His skin is coated in a sheen of ice. But his gaze is sharp and observant as he studies the area. He takes a cautious step onto the platform and the floor gives away under his foot. His caution earns him another chance as he's able to step backwards.

He glances up at that relentless, rolling sphere. No way he wants to get wet again. Otherwise someone may be dragging his mostly dead body into some broom closet to heal for a couple of hours. He clenches his jaw, takes in a deep breath, and just RUNS forward at top speed. Let the floor segments fall. His plan is to sail past them using speed. The gambit pays off, and Morgan flies through the next archway just moments before the water splashes down.

Morgan has that stubborn look he gets. No way he will give up. 'Stand until you can stand no more. And then STAND!' Gala taught him. But he's nearing the end of his reserves. The punishing cold, the freezing ice, the physical exertion. No mortal teen likely could have gone this far.

Diana Prince has posed:
Morgan bursts through the open gate now to the next room / section. Its a completely simple setup. Just a platform with a few gaps here and there leading down to the water. At its middle is a fire cauldron that beckons with flickering flames of warmth!

But through the last gate there is the finish line, with lots more orange scarves flowing and fluttering in the cold wind...

Only one thing seems to be stopping Morgan from easily out running the sphere above his head now...

And it is Wonder Woman, standing at the other side of the platform, holding a identical looking combat staff...

The metal sphere starts to roll, with that thrumming sound of vibrating metal on metal....

Diana guards the finish line, her staff held out to the side... her armored boots apart.

Morgan Finn has posed:
So this is how it ends? Hand-to-hand combat with one of the greatest warriors on the planet. Morgan actually spins his staff in circle in front of him. "You're goin' down, girl," he says as he steps forward. Cocky kid is cocky. He wants to impress Diana no matter what the cost. And the cost is very great. He is, quite simply put, exhausted. But no way he's going show Diana that.

Morgan thrusts in with his bo staff at Diana's face. His speed, his strength, are all reduced by the fact that his body temperature is dangerously low. Every breath is a labored affair.

Diana Prince has posed:
The young man rushes the Princess and thrusts his staff at her nose! It comes up hard and fast, jutting out toward the Princess who just narrowly avoids it as she meets her staff against his! She stares at him with a fierce intensity like she's surprised he did that well with his first attack after everything he'd gone through in this course.

His next attack bounces off her staff and strikes her across the cheek!

Diana takes a step to the side, but not enough to let him slip past her entirely!

She juts her own combat staff out, then sweeps it down at his knees to try and take the young man down beside the flame cauldron!

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan wants only one thing right now: to cross that finish line! He sees the staff coming in to take out his legs and instantly an idea forms. He plays halfback and fullback on the Happy Harbor football team. This kind of sudden improvisation is his jam. He actually doesn't resist it at all, he goes with it and lets his legs go limp and be taken out. This accomplishes two things: he avoids injury to his legs and he gets some unexpected momentum. Surprise, Gala drilled into his head a hundred times, is the stuff that victories are built from.

As Morgan's legs fly up in the air, he swipes his staff unexpectedly behind Diana's legs. His goal is to knock her down too. The difference is, he already knows he's going down. He's prepared. Hopefully Diana will be surprised. Either way, after he lands Morgan will attempt to kip up and run for the finish line.

Diana Prince has posed:
Morgan's efforts result in his combat staff slapping in to the back of Diana's right knee making her lift her leg up in to the air some, wobbling a little, but not bringing the Princess down! She spins around in a full circle and thrusts her staff at the boy to attempt to knock him off the ledge and back down in to the drink!

"You've done well to get this far and not quit!" Diana says to him.

"But you're not yet finished!"

The sphere continues to roll above, dancing around the intricate circle patterns in the track that its set in to! He's hit two water gates so far, and made it through one without the fall... if he can make this last one, he'll be half and half.... on his first run!

Morgan Finn has posed:
Okay, if finesse can't win the day, maybe rage can. "You can pull my corpse out of the water before I quit!" he growls. And he LEAPS at Diana like a tiger might leap. He doesn't even bother picking his staff up first. He simply wants to smash his head into her face to buy himself enough time to cross that finish line. He can apologize later.

The only problem is that Diana was probably going for a controlled strike with her staff, but Morgan's sudden leap amplified it. The end of the staff hits his left collarbone with a literally bone-shattering crunch. He lets out a pained yell but doesn't yield his ground. If he can land the head butt maybe he can still turn and run across that finish line...

Diana Prince has posed:
Morgan moves with extreme speed and ferocity!

His headbutt lands on the Princess' forehead! It sends her back two quick steps, then causes her to drop down to a knee at the edge of the platform! Any harder and he would've knocked HER down in to the water!

When she casts her head up again, she has a cut across her eyebrow and a bit of Wonder blood trickling down across it.

But Morgan also has a opening to get to the gate now, with the Sphere above on its last turn toward its own finish line!

Morgan Finn has posed:
And here is one of those moments in time, one of those crossroads that mark a major evolution in a person's life. The boy who once could barely stand hitting someone with a boxing glove has just HEAD BUTTED the woman he idolizes, the hero who saved him in every way that a person can be saved. She's down on one knee. She's bleeding. And without a second thought, Morgan instantly turns and runs as fast as he can toward the finish line. He digs into every ounce of reserve energy he can muster, every instinct for survival and victory that he can summon. The teen holds his left arm against his body to protect the shattered collarbone, but if it hurts he gives no indication. He. Just. RUNS.

Diana Prince has posed:
Orange smoke is sent up in to the air as Morgan finishes his run!

Though there's no crowd to applaud him in the stands on this day. So after a few moments the smoke dies off and he's left there to unwind from the situation he just went through!

Diana appears at the door when the water turns off, and she walks through it then, down the ramp and toward Morgan. She holds her staff at her side and she shows him a smile.

"Well done." She says softly.

Gala and Adra both approach from where they'd been. They stand on the other side of Morgan, while Diana dabs at her forehead. The wound has already closed on her head, but the blood is still there, now on her fingertips.

She looks up at him and smiles. "You will run it again tomorrow." She says then before twirling her staff at her side and stepping off to the weapons rack to put the combat weapon back where it belongs.

Morgan Finn has posed:
How many times has the coach implored the Happy Harbor football players to 'leave it all on the field'? Morgan did that today. He bursts across the finish line and stumbles forward and crashes into the icy-cold sand. He barely has the strength to let out a muffled yell as his badly wounded arm hits the ground. He's half-frozen. He's exhausted. He has at least one broken bone. But as the kid rolls onto his back, his face is nothing but smiles. It's a sense of satisfaction that one can only ever know by throwing yourself at something that is both very hard and very worth doing, and coming away victorious.

Thoreau wrote of leading a life of quiet desperation. But this kid has just proven he can step above mediocrity, and to overcome fear and exhaustion. Gala, who has worked with him the most, smiles especially proudly. "Well done," she says as he puts out a hand to help Morgan up. It's literally the nicest thing she's ever said to him, and the kid is rocked. He grips her hand with his right hand. And even as he comes to his feet, his left collarbone is already starting to heal. It will probably take 15 or 20 minutes for it to return to normal.

He nods to Diana. "Of course," he says without hesitation when she tells him he will run it again tomorrow.