"Gotta be a little quicker than that!" The Owl leaned backward, watching the fist sail harmlessly in front of his face, and bobbed to the side, narrowly avoiding the follow-up punch. Impact let out a frustrated grunt and swung a wild kick at the Owl's waist, whiffing and throwing himself off balance. Spinning around, the Owl tapped Impact with his toe, bumping him just a little further off-balance. Impact let out a yelp, waving his arms wildly, trying to regain his balance, only to top over even more. As the ground rushed up to meet him, Impact threw his hands out in front of himself and pushed downward, hard, propelling himself back upright as the Owl slowly backed away from him and dropped into a defensive stance. Gravel shifted behind the Owl, and he dove to the side and spun around, raising his arms in front of his face and blocking a punch from Buck, knocking the training knife away from his face. Dropping the knife and catching it in his other hand, Buck slashed at the Owl's forearm, tracing a black line across his suit. Jumping backward, the Owl drew one of his Owlets and caught it around the training knife, pulling it away from him.
"Tagged you, dude!" called Buck, grinning as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead. Bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, he shifted his stance and returned the training knife to its sheath. "That's one for us!"
The Owl nodded slowly, giving them an evaluating look. "Not bad," he admitted to Buck. "You still could have acted a little sooner to take advantage of the opening that your partner created, though."
Buck frowned, his eyes narrowing in frustration. "Muscle memory. I'm used to the way I could react with my miraculous; it takes more thought to adjust when I move slower than what I'm used to."
The Owl hummed. "You're definitely getting better." Glancing over at Impact, he frowned under his cowl. "Impact, good job using your power to keep yourself up. But see if you can use it a little more as a natural part of your fighting style."
Panting hard, hands braced on his thighs, Impact gave him a weary thumb's up. "I was trying not to do something I couldn't control with my power."
The Owl nodded in understanding. "I think, really, you just need to trust yourself," he reminded him. "Don't treat it like something to be afraid of; use it the way you would breathe, or the way you would walk. I think that's what la Paonne told you, right?" Impact nodded hesitantly. The Owl patted him on the shoulder. "Remember: your control is worlds better than it was when we first met, dude. This is just something for us to keep working on."
"Got it." Straightening his back, Impact sighed heavily.
"Hey, just the fact that you can just throw things around with your mind is really cool," Buck told Impact, clapping him on the shoulder and nearly knocking him off-balance again. "That's something no one can ever take away from you. And you really have no idea how it happened?"
Impact shook his head. "None. I really wish I did, though."
Buck hummed. "I wouldn't sweat it too much. That's actually how it went with a lot of the United Heroez."
The Owl started. "They just… woke up one day and realized they had superpowers?"
"Kind of." Buck shrugged. "A few heroes – the Trips, for example – have parents who were superheroes, so they must have gotten it from their parents. Some of the other heroes got their powers by accident – Swarm was trying to create an antivenom for wasp stings, but it did not work right. A couple made their own tech or gained powers with training – Knightowl is one of those. But a bunch of the others just… triggered something one day and suddenly they had superpowers. No one's been able to explain it, or at least not that they have ever told me."
"I wonder how something like that happens…" Impact mused, tapping his chin. A handful of small pebbles rose off the ground in front of him to hover a few centimeters in the air. "Is it random, or is it something intentional?"
Buck quirked an eyebrow. "If you figure it out, let me know."
Turning to Buck, the Owl dropped into a fighting stance. "You ready to try it again? Just one-on-one this time?"
"Bring it, Birdy!" Buck's eyes flashed, and he slid one foot around slowly before springing forward. One hand went behind his back and detached the ball club from his carrying strap, and he brought it up in a single smooth motion, swinging for the Owl's head. The Owl leaned to one side, under his attack, and lunged forward, inside his reach. Buck started to bring his club in close, but before he could maneuver it around between himself and the Owl, the Owl jabbed Buck twice just under the ribs and jumped back out of his way. Springing forward in pursuit, Buck planted one foot and kicked at the Owl's chest. The Owl leaned backward into a handstand and pushed off, his cape whipping behind him and nearly wrapping around his head, as Buck landed where he had been and swiped his club through the area that the Owl had just vacated. Landing on his feet, his cape obscuring his vision, the Owl could hear Buck's footsteps approaching; sidestepping and turning as he did so, he felt the wind from Buck rushing past him. Quickly, he whipped his arm up and pushed away his cape, just as the club came down and stopped a centimeter from his face. Buck held it there for a moment before relaxing, and the Owl nodded to him, offering a fist bump.
Bumping his fist, Buck shook his head ruefully. "Nice. You almost move as fast as some of the United Heroes I've met!"
The Owl quirked an eyebrow under his cowl. "You weren't too bad yourself. But you were a little slow there at the beginning. You're definitely starting to get the hang of fighting without the miraculous, at least."
Buck's expression hardened. "Honestly, I'd rather just get my miraculous back," he grumbled. "I had been training with an oar for as long as I could hold it; Grandfather began teaching me to use the miraculous even before he was ready to retire." He glanced down at the knife on his belt, the ball club he still held in his hand, and frowned. "I never really thought I would have to learn to use these – not now, at least."
"What are those?" asked Impact, gesturing to the knife and club. "They look pretty old."
"Family weapons," Buck explained, letting out a breath and holding up the club. "For the previous holders to defend themselves. My Grandfather's great-grandfather realized that he needed a weapon for himself, after passing the miraculous down to his daughter: a rival tribe had tried to attack him as revenge for something he had done, decades earlier. So, he fashioned these for himself." Holding the club out to Impact, he tapped the ball against his palm. "The ball is a little flatter than on a normal club – it's supposed to be easier to adjust to using, after fighting with the oar for so long." He shrugged. "It… works fine, I guess. So, when his daughter passed the miraculous to her son, she took them. Grandfather didn't have any use for them, but now that I…" He fell silent for a moment, his grip on the club tightening and loosening. "I guess, now they're mine. At least until I get my miraculous back."
"Sorry," the Owl apologized, wincing under his cowl and mask. "I know that's not a subject you like talking about. But it is important for you to get used to fighting without your miraculous. Especially if we're going to defeat Castutrice and get it back for you."
Buck's mouth set in a thin line. "That's absolutely the plan." He cocked his head. "I've actually been meaning to ask: how did you manage to get the Koala Miraculous back from Sandy? That was you, right?"
The Owl grimaced. "Actually, I… don't think I really did." Buck furrowed his brows in confusion, and the Owl let out a breath. "I was the one to take it off of her," he confirmed, "but it was really the previous Owl who did all the work. I wasn't a hero: I wasn't there because I wanted to do good and help people and all that. I was only there because I was looking for something to do and ended up following a bunch of the Heroes of Paris. I'd been in detention, and I didn't want to go home yet. So, when the Owl and Guitar Hero and Anansi met up by my school and went on patrol together, I just… got roped in with them. I just happened to be there with the heroes when they found Sandy and a bunch of others, all trying to rob a mosque. The heroes were trying to stop them – Sandy nearly killed the previous Owl, though he at least managed to tire her out a little. Then he pushed her away so she was a little distracted. She landed at my feet, and I just… took it off of her."
Buck's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
The Owl shrugged. "Pretty much. I was in the right place at the right time with the right people. That's about as much as there was to it."
Buck's mouth set in a thin line. "Then I guess I'll just have to be in the right place at the right time."
"With the right people." Impact raised an eyebrow. "If we get the chance, I'll definitely try to help you."
The Owl nodded firmly and held out a fist for both of them to bump. "Same."
