The living room was bathed in the darkness of early morning, the sun not even broken over the horizon yet. Within the confines of the pitch-black room lay Raven upon the couch, seeing that was her bed for the time being while she stayed with Alexa. She stirred slightly, smiling in her sleep, apparently enjoying a dream. Meanwhile, Alexa was already up and about, and ready to start the day, the first day of official training for the city-wide tournament, as well as Raven's "Hell Day" as Alexa had aptly named the same experience she faced when she first started out.
"Oh, Garfield," she mumbled in her sleep, letting out a small giggle of sorts, Alexa entering the room, shaking her head at her.
Though, she didn't say a word, merely pulling an object from the pouch on the front of her hoodie, which matched her pants. Stifling a fit of laughter, she leaned the device down next to Raven's ear, ready to depress the button on what turned out to be an air horn. Alexa let loose an obnoxious blast, only amplified by the bareness of the room, ringing throughout it, but not first going into Raven's ear. Out of pure fright, as well as groggy anger, Raven jumped up, falling to the floor, face-first.
"Up and at 'em, sleeping beauty," Alexa ordered with a smile, beginning to dance around a little, as if she was warming up, "we got a lot of work ahead of us today."
Raven looked up out the window, seeing it was still night, but it was beginning to lift.
"Today? It's still last night," she managed in her sleepy state, "5 more minutes."
Just as she was about to crawl back onto the couch, Alexa took hold of her by her arms, standing her up.
"No, no, no," she played, "it's time to get dressed and do some roadwork. Before you even say you don't have anything to wear, I already laid out a sweat suit for you, now get dressed, we're already running late."
Raven reluctantly looked over, finding an entire outfit laying on the floor next to the couch, even a pair of tennis shoes, seeing how she didn't have any.
"Don't just stand there, move it, move it, move it," Alexa ushered, gently pushing her along, getting her to gather the clothing, and change in the bathroom.
After what seemed like several minutes, Raven emerged from the bathroom, wearing the light gray outfit that hung loosely off her figure, even donning a navy-blue sock hat she found in the bathroom, Alexa still waiting on her, yet taking notice to the hat.
"Why you wearing that?" She questioned, pointing at it.
"I saw something like this in a movie once," Raven answered with a yawn, "call it cliché or something."
"Figures," Alexa commented, "anyway, we need to get going, come on, move it."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Raven assured, following Alexa out the door, still yawning a she did so. "What exactly is roadwork?" Raven added as she rubbed her eyes, the elevator door closing.
"Just that, work," Alexa answered, "not only are we going to run, but we're gonna shadowbox every now and then for a round or two, do some push-ups, throw punches while we run, run backwards, the list goes on and on. This is all to kick off your very own "Hell Day".
"Hell Day?" Raven cautiously questioned, fearing for her well-being.
"Since we officially kick off our training for the tournament today, and you are still new to this, you get to do a little bit of everything today, just enough to make you hurt, that's why I call it that." She explained, seeing Raven was slightly concerned. Believe me, first one I had was no walk in the park, but it all pays off in the end."
"Well, I've got one thing to say to that then," Raven replied with a smirk, starting to wake up, "bring it on."
"I figured you were going to say that," Alexa laughed, the elevator coming to a stop.
The duo exited the apartment building onto the city street, deserted, but unlike any other time, it was an eerie quiet, the early morning stillness almost enough to drive someone to actually make a sound just to disrupt it. Alexa and Raven began stretching, both of them knowing the consequences of working out in any way, shape or form could prove disastrous on the body if not properly warmed up before hand.
"How far of a run are we going for?" Raven queried after finishing her stretches, slowly jogging in place just to assist that much more.
"I told you, Rae, it ain't just a run," Alexa corrected, turning her torso to finish up her warm-up, "It's work. I see it going like this: run a little bit, shadowbox 3 rounds, run some more, drop down, do a few push-ups, run backwards for a little bit, shadowbox again, the repeat. Are you up to it?"
"Just give me the word," Raven informed with a cocky grin, bouncing in place with her hands up as if she was in the ring. "As I said, I may be new at this, but it feels great."
"Glad you feel that way," Alexa added, "but I think you are going to have a new perspective on things after today."
"Less talking," Raven joked, gently throwing her hands out as if she was throwing punches. "let's get this show on the road."
"You wish it, I shall grant it," she laughed, leading off, starting off with a slow jog so Raven had time to catch up to her, then speeding it up a little.
"I still don't get it though," Raven said, their pace comfortable enough to carry on a conversation.
"Get what?" Alexa questioned, snapping a jab every now and then as she ran, Raven sometimes following suit as she ran along side her.
"Why you and Hans see this "potential" in me. I'm just your average person, well, sorta. All of this is just…weird to me." Raven explained, keeping pace.
"We wouldn't think that unless you didn't," Alexa replied, slowing a little, "I'm surprised you didn't find this out sooner."
"Well," Raven began, noticing they had slowed to a stop, Alexa beginning to mix it up with an imaginary opponent, her following suit, "I wasn't quite like the person I am now not long ago. In any case, I can seriously tell you that I have never thought about boxing, heck, I didn't even knew it existed besides some of the lamest movies to come out of Hollywood that were clearly inaccurate."
"At least you didn't think that is how it actually went on," Alexa corrected, "I can't tell you how many people think that's what it's like inside the ring. Out of all those people starting out, there's those that have to systematically train and learn everything, while there are others where it comes naturally, and you, Rae, happen to be one of those it comes naturally to," she paused, throwing what would have been a devastating combo to her "opponent". "Not to mention the fact that your body and mind are already in tune because of your martial arts, which is something that plain amazes me to no extent at how deadly and fluid your motions are."
"Most of it is mainly for show, I'll tell you that straight up," Raven informed, quickly finishing up a basic 3-punch combo, "but I can say the same thing about you, too, Alexa. Even in the small showings of your abilities, I can see that when you fight, in the ring or not, it is straight-up solid shots, just plain brawling in my opinion, and not only for a girl, but a person period, you can take a shot pretty good."
"This coming from Ms. "I got a cut and didn't even feel it," means a lot," Alexa joked, getting huff of a laugh out of Raven as she stopped with a final small combination, jogging again.
"What about what I think of Ms. "cracked rib don't mean nothing," or "Rae nearly put me down for the count." Raven continued to rile her as the jogged, noticing the sun was only a visible sliver.
"As much as I hate to admit it," Alexa replied, glancing over at her, "that was no fluke, if I didn't get lucky and cut you when I did, I wouldn't have lasted another round, especially with the way you were going yesterday. Not only do you have the wheels, but you have the power behind those hands that will put the fear of God in anyone you go up against, all you need is the training, and that's what all this is for. As I said, I am going to feel pretty sorry for whoever you get paired up against in the tournament, even if it includes me."
"Don't give me that intimidation crap," Raven added, "you are far more experienced than I am and you would be able to put someone in their place. I got lucky, that's all."
"Would you just accept the fact that you bested me in that session yesterday, I hate it when people are too modest for their own good," Alexa flatly stated, "I know you aren't trying to rub it in and whatnot, but you need to, it's fuel to keep me going, go the extra mile, a reminder that I need to get better, I can always improve."
"I'm glad I could be of an assistance," Raven replied in more of a joking manner. "I just try to please everyone, that's why I go about things of that nature the way I do. Remember, heroes aren't supposed to gloat."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Alexa remembered, "oh well. Trust me, what Hans has in store for us as a training regime is going to get the most out of both of us. That guy was in the ring before I was born, he's been part of the sport for well over 50 years, 20 of them fighting. Whatever he's got to say, you listen."
"I know, I kinda planned on that," Raven informed, "I know he knows what he's talking about, I figured that much since he does run his own gym, and the fact he gave me pointers yesterday. So you seriously think I have what it takes to do this? I mean, it's a tad different than martial arts and that was hard enough for me to get as far as I am now."
"Trust me, you'll do fine," Alexa assured, "after a week or two of training, it's going to be a breeze for you the rest of the way if you keep up with it like you're supposed to. You're already in great shape, this will only make you that much better, right?"
"Can't argue with you there," Raven realized, controlling her breathing as much as she could. Once again, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Alexa slowing, then dropping to the ground in a push-up stance, Raven following suit. "So, do you have any idea on who else is going to be in this thing?"
"Personally, no," Alexa answered as she continued with her push-ups, "but I have a pretty good idea on a couple of 'em that will enter. You're really good "friends" with one of them."
"You're talking about Evanna, aren't you?" Raven deduced, finishing up the same way Alexa did, rising to her feet. "I beat her once, I can do it again."
"Hold on a minute there, Rae," she cautioned, "in the ring and in the pit are two different things. Evanna's a really tough opponent in the ring, trust me, I've seen her spar before, and most of the time it's with guys in her same weight class, the girl's a wrecking machine. Not that you should fear her or anything, but she is one of the tougher women that are going to be in the tournament."
"Guess I'll just have to train that much harder then, won't I?" Raven challenged in a joking manner.
"You're something else, Rae," Alexa commented with a smirk, looking forward, "so how you feelin'?"
"So far, I feel great," Raven informed, "if this is all you've got for me, then Hell Day is going to be a breeze."
"Don't get too full of yourself," warned Alexa, "this is only the beginning. By the time it's through, you are going to wish that we didn't even leave the apartment."
"Says you," Raven laughed, "I'm more than happy to get out and do something, anything, it doesn't matter. I want to push myself, I want to find my limits, and exceed them, as I said, Alexa, bring it on."
"You are definitely going to be very dangerous in the ring, I know it," Alexa complimented, continuing to run backwards at a slower pace than they were forwards.
"Only one way to find out," Raven replied, "get me in it after all this training, and I will be ready for that tournament."
"That's what I like to hear," Alexa added with a laugh, quickly whipping back around, taking up stance, shadowboxing again.
Raven followed suit, concentrating on throwing her punches correctly and trying to keep herself from begin wide open for a vicious counter shot. She was thankful that she decided to wear the sock hat, her sweat saturated it while keeping it out of her eyes. Needless to say, their roadwork seemed to last for hours, as it did, daylight visible now, people just beginning to stir about the streets. Raven didn't know how Alexa was doing, but her legs felt as if they had been set ablaze, not to mention nearly every other muscle group in her body was feeling fatigued. She realized that Alexa wasn't kidding when she said roadwork, as it was that, work. She noticed her surroundings seemed familiar again, then her eyes finally found the silhouette of the gym.
"Are…we almost…done yet?" Raven managed through her breaths, visibly fatigued.
"Just a little…farther," Alexa answered, breathing hard as well, but her body was more in tune with this kind of training.
As they approached the gym, Hans was outside, apparently unlocking the doors as if he had just arrived. He opened the door, turning to see Alexa and Raven jogging in his direction.
"Ah, warms my heart to see you two coming in this early," he called out as they neared him, still keeping pace.
As soon as Alexa passed through the door, Raven right behind her, she slowed to a stop, Raven doing the same.
"Just getting some roadwork out of the way," Alexa informed, still drawing deep breaths of air.
Raven had her hands on her knees, bent over, audibly trying to draw as much oxygen as she possibly could, sweat dripping from her face onto the floor.
"Is she gonna be ok?" Hans questioned, placing his keys on his desk.
"She's fine, just let her catch her breath before we get started here," Alexa replied, Raven giving a thumbs-up, even though her body was crying out in pain.
"Here," Hans offered, getting Raven to look up, seeing he was trying to hand her a water bottle.
She gladly accepted it, throwing her head back, squeezing a profuse amount to quench her thirst.
"So," Alexa finally stated, catching her breath, wiping sweat from her brow, "what's on today's agenda?"
"You are going to work on your speed, working the speed and sway bags, skipping, you know the drill. Meanwhile, seeing how I am going to be Raven's trainer, put her through her paces, as you've dubbed it "Hell Day"."
"Sounds like a plan, she was already told about it, just be sure to not kill her, ok?" Alexa joked, getting sarcastic laugh out of Raven while she was seated on one of the benches, wiping sweat from her face with a towel.
"I promise to keep her alive," Hans joked, "run along now Alexa, let an old trainer do his work now."
"Aye, aye, Sir," Alexa saluted, making her way to the dressing room.
"I don't know about that girl sometimes," Hans laughed, turning to Raven, seeing she had managed to catch her breath as well, still wiping sweat from her face. "You, on the other hand, I know about, and I must, since I'm your trainer and all."
"Just do what you do best," Raven replied, ready for whatever it was that she was going to be put through on this day.
"I plan on it," he added, "I will only give as much effort in my expertise as you do in your training and willingness. Even thought you may posses the natural talent, you have to put forth that effort to get better, as that is the only thing you can do is get better. So, Raven, are you up to the challenge?"
"I'm up for anything," she boldly informed, "just tell me what to do and I'll do it."
He nodded, knowing that Raven was definitely going to be something special.
"Alright, hit the showers, and come back out here, ready to go," he ordered, "Alexa stopped back by last night right before I was about to close up and left her equipment, so I assume your stuff's in there too."
She acknowledged, lifting up from her seated position, walking towards the women's dressing room, Alexa coming out in the same outfit she wore the day before.
"I don't know about you," Alexa stated as Raven passed, "but I'm ready to go."
Raven merely shook her head at Alexa, finding it hard to believe that she was still spry and full of energy right after doing what seemed like one of the most draining routine she had done yet. She may have been in better shape overall, but Alexa had her beat hands-down in the stamina department, seeing how she was easily winded after the roadwork session. Yet, she continued, showing that she wasn't about to back down now. After a short time, and a well-deserved shower, Raven emerged from the dressing room, her hair still saturated with water.
"I see you didn't dilly-dally around like yesterday, I like punctuation," Hans complimented, "now come on, since your legs are already warmed up, let's keep them rolling, you know how to jump rope, don't you?"
"Uhh…I don't know, I've never tried it," Raven truthfully answered, "is it hard?"
Hans ran his hand down his face, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"You're a girl, and you've never skipped rope before?" He tried again.
"Look, I'm different, ok?" Raven informed, slightly offended. "That doesn't mean I'm not willing to try."
"Ok, ok," Hans assured, not wanting to anger her. He handed her a white nylon rope with a wooden handle at either end. "Take a handle in each hand."
She did so, still holding it awkward since it was a strange device to her to begin with.
"Now," Hans instructed, "step over the rope so it is behind you."
Once more, Raven obeyed, letting it rest, touching her heels.
"So far, so good," he commented, "what you do next is use your arms to bring the rope up over your head, and when it comes near your feet, jump it. We'll move on to the advanced stuff after you get this down."
Raven started the motion, bringing it over her head slowly, and jumped it as it came near her feet. Even though it was at a slow pace, she managed to get in several more jumps before she stepped on the rope, stopping the process.
"Not bad, not bad, everything takes practice," Hans complimented, nodding his head in agreement with his statement. "Alright, I want you to do this for 3 rounds, 2 minutes in case you didn't know, with a minute rest between each. Find a pace you're comfortable with, just trying to get you to learn the basics first, ok?"
Raven agreed, setting the rope up again, noticing Hans had a stopwatch with him.
"Ready?" He questioned once more, getting another nod of agreement. "Ok, time."
She assumed that meant "begin", so she brung the rope forth once more, jumping it with the same awkwardness, but with each turn of it, it became more and more natural feeling. Even though she managed to get a short rest before moving on to this, her legs still pained her, but she knew that it was because she was using them to their extent, and planned on taking them further. She continued the routine, only messing up once more, Hans signaling for her start and stop. After the final round of skipping, she was more than ready to move on from it.
"Time to give those legs of yours of a rest," Hans stated, picking up a pair of gloves, as well as a mouthpiece, using his free hand to toss Raven a fresh towel to wipe her face with. "See if we can't get your hand speed to pick up, work the heavy bag for a few rounds, then will move on from there, see how you're feeling."
Though tired, Raven merely shrugged her shoulders, following Hans over to the same heavy bag. She had put her mouthpiece in and managed to get the gloves on her hands, but seeing how she couldn't use her fingers, she couldn't lace them. Hans aided her in her handicapped state once more, making sure they weren't loose, but not tight enough to cause discomfort.
"Since Alexa covered all the basic punches yesterday," Hans began, tugging on Raven's gloves to make sure they were how he wished them to be, "I want to see what you can do, use your head, get creative, again, do what feels comfortable."
"Okay," Raven managed with her protective mouth guard in.
She turned to the bag, Hans had gotten behind it, holding it so it wouldn't sway when Raven struck it. She brought her hands up as she took up her orthodox stance, focusing on nothing but her target. Raven took a small step forward, striking the bag with her jab, testing her distance.
"You've got a pretty stiff jab there," Hans informed, "after I'm done with you, it will be just as devastating as any other punch you can throw."
She came in once more with the jab, then followed up with a right hook to the body, coming back up to finish off with a left uppercut.
"Wow, definitely would have felt that one," he commented with a laugh, "come on, I know you got more than that in, unleash it, give it your all."
Not wanting to give him a poor show of effort, Raven poured in on, doing just that, unleashing combo after combo, unrelenting in her assault, and showing no sign of stopping. Instead of wearing herself out, with every blow she seemed to grow stronger and stronger, speed picking up as well. With a final destructive combination, Raven finished off with a vicious right that caused Hans to stumble backwards from the force of the blow as he lost his grip on the bag.
"That's what I'm talking about!" he joyously stated. "Dammit girl, you have power in those hands, even through the bag, I felt that last one."
Raven spat the piece out of her mouth into her gloved hand, a proud grin on her face.
"What's next?" She questioned, breathing hard, but feeling good, "I'm ready for more."
"You've got heart, I like that in my fighter, keep it up," he congratulated, "since this is just a test of your physical prowess, we are going to do some weightlifting, and I mean a lot of weightlifting."
He wasn't joking, Raven found herself working nearly every machine within that area of the gym, every single major muscle group that Raven possessed was being exercised beyond no other, even some she didn't even know she possessed, but all of them crying out in blinding pain all the same. Time had passed by rather quickly, but Raven knew that through her own current experience.
"So," Hans questioned as they finished up, Raven dragging her feet as she walked, her body clearly fatigued, sweating profusely, "how you feelin'?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck repeatedly," Raven sarcastically replied, "I don't know how much more of this I can do."
"You're lucky then," he stated, leaning over to one of the benches, picking up her gloves and mouth piece from earlier, as well as headgear. "Last thing, I promise you."
"Are you crazy?" Raven seriously questioned, "I've worked my ass off today and you expect me to get in there?"
"Yes, now hurry up," Hans seriously replied, "I wouldn't make you do something if I didn't think you could do it, now get over here."
Raven succumbed, assuming he knew what he was doing, but starting to doubt his intentions at the moment. After donning the necessary equipment, Raven wearily climbed through the ropes into the ring, Hans standing on the apron outside of them in her corner. Across the way, a spry male, about Raven's size, climbed in the ring in a similar manner.
"Hans, are you serious about this?" She questioned as she watch her opponent's lighting-quick hands throw out combinations for warm-up.
"Yes, now listen, I've instructed him to not hit you, ok?" Hans explained. "If anything, this is…target practice. He's going to do nothing but dance around and I want you to match his speed, but tag him as well. Some fighters will do nothing but dance around you, so you need to learn how to hit them and slow them down. Don't get discouraged if you miss, he's fast, I ain't going to lie to you, but I got faith, and that's all that matters. Get in there and show me how it's done."
Raven agreed with a shake of her head, another one of the gym's participants in the ring acting as an official, motioned for them to step forward. He signaled for them to touch gloves, then they backed up from one another enough to not have an advantage, the bell sounding. Though wore-out and tired, Raven wasn't about to give up, not now, not ever. It seemed as if in her all her trainings under Slade that she had grown more…aggressive, and stubborn, two things that could make or break her in an instant. As Hans had promised, when Raven was in close enough to be struck, her opponent didn't swing, but was on the defensive, every shot that she had attempted to land was either slipped or blocked by her visibly-quicker adversary. Even in her fatigued state, she cut the ring off, forcing him backwards with superior footwork overall, then attempted to go in again, this time managing to land several good punches that caused him to put the wheels on again, getting away from Raven quick, fast, and in a hurry. Raven managed to use her mind, getting him against the ropes and going to work, ending a rather powerful 4-shot combo with a solid uppercut, hard enough to get him to clinch her. The official split them up, but no sooner than he did, the round was over. Raven welcomed the seated rest more than anything else.
"Even after all the shit I've put you through today," Hans stated, "you still put the screws to him, good job."
"I…can't…do this anymore," Raven managed, heaving deeply for breath.
Hans, even though he had been mild-mannered up to this point, became visibly angry, especially in his eyes. He gripped the sides of Raven's headgear, pulling her face towards his.
"Don't you EVER use that word in my gym," he warned, "there is no such thing in here, it doesn't exist. That sound's like something a quitter would say, and it is forbidden to be spoken. You CAN do it, you CAN keep going, and you WILL, do you understand me?"
"Yes," Raven obeyed, seeing he was as serious as he possibly could be.
"I want to see you fight like there's no tomorrow," Hans finished, "prove to me that you are learning, prove to me that you deserve my training."
Raven narrowed her stare, knowing it was the truth, but his little "pep-talk" had seemingly awakened her on the inside, revitalizing her in a sense. As if she had just entered the ring, she hopped up out of her corner stool, ready for Round 2. Just about this time, Alexa had stopped by, just finishing her speed routine, finding Raven in the ring, going after her opponent.
"Yo, Hans," She called to him, wiping sweat from her face, "what's going on?"
"Nothing, my dear," he assured, "just finishing out the day with a little sparring."
"You mean she's still going?" Alexa questioned out of disbelief, "I know she's tough, but even after all that she's done, that's just amazing."
Alexa watched as Raven chased the moving target down, trapping him in a corner, delivering blow after blow until he would clinch and get out of his entrapped state.
"All she needed was some positive reinforcement," Hans commented with a smile, continuing to watch Raven dominate her opponent overall.
"You gave her the "never say can't" speech, didn't you?" Alexa deduced, "I remember when you gave it to me."
"Correct," Hans answered, "I unlocked some of that pent-up aggression of hers, and with that aggression comes energy, so until she gets it out of her system, she's going to be unstoppable."
Just about that time, the bell signaled the end of Round 2, Raven showing no sign of stopping as she sat down, but before he could even say anything, her opponent waved Hans over. He quickly walked around the ring, hopping up on the apron.
"Can I please hit her back?" He questioned through his breaths. "She's killing me out there. The rate she's going at, I might as well drop my hands at let her have a free shot."
"Calm down," Hans ordered, "if I do, it is only going to be counters, and that's all."
"What?" He second-questioned, "That ain't right."
"It's either that or nothing," Hans stood by his decision, assuming that he was going to stand by what Hans said.
He mumbled an agreement, preparing for the start of the 3rd round. Just as Hans was making his way back to Raven's corner, the two combatants met in the center of the ring once more, even though he was throwing counters to Raven's vicious shots, she either slipped them or took the blow and kept going like nothing happened.
"Way to go, Rae, kick his ass!" Alexa encouraged, watching her deliver her attack with pure execution, nothing phasing or interfering with her concentration.
"Don't encourage her," Hans joked, continuing to watch the one-sided pummeling, even though Raven was taking counters that would make any normal fighter back up and regain their bearings.
Raven controlled rage continued to push her, the sparring bout lasting 7 Rounds thus far, and showed no sign of slowing, but as the bell signaled the end of seven, she sat down, nearly falling backwards, her fatigue finally taking over once more.
"I wondered how long it was going to take before it caught up with her," Hans commented, "you can stop if you want, Rae, you've done proved what you can do, no sense in hurting yourself."
"No," Raven protested in her state, "I won't quit, let me finish this on my terms."
"You're a freaking machine," Alexa added, "you are really starting to scare me now."
"Fear is for the weak-minded," Raven replied, keeping her vision focused on her opponent across the ring, "I know no fear."
"Great, Hans," Alexa joked as he stepped back through the ropes, "you done went and snapped her fragile mind, now she's going to kill someone."
He shrugged his shoulders with a smile, seeing it was really becoming a reality.
Yet, no sooner that the 8th round began, Raven maneuvered her way to the center of the ring, her hands a lot lower than they should be, enough to provoke her opponent to throw an easy jab, no attempt to slip or block it. As if it were a delayed reaction, Raven fell backwards, her body saying it was absolutely impossible for her to continue. No sooner than she did, a large bucket of icy-cold water came crashing down on her face, causing her to shoot up from her fatigued state out of shock. Hans set the bucket down, squatting in front of Raven while Alexa helped hold her up.
"I can already tell you are going to be something special, it is simply amazing how hard you worked today, how willing you were to do everything." He informed, "I am lucky as a trainer to have you under me, I only hope I can do a sufficient job."
"Am I done?" Raven managed, heaving for breath while cringing in pain.
"Yeah, you're done," Hans chuckled, "hit the showers and go home, both of you earned some rest, but I expect you back here tomorrow bright and early so we can start working on your actual workout regime."
Raven managed to nod, ready to fall over again.
"Ok, come on," Alexa coaxed, lifting her up with her, Hans taking all of her equipment off as she did so.
"H-how did I do?" Raven questioned while Alexa was aiding her to the dressing room.
"A lot better than I thought you would, hell, you beat my own record, you should be proud of yourself," Alexa informed with a smile. "Let's get you in the showers, you'll feel tons better."
"Maybe something to drink, too?" Raven requested, slightly disoriented in her current state.
"Yeah, sure," Alexa smiled, making sure that Raven was going to make it to the showers before toppling over again.
After getting her to one of the stalls, Raven was able to support herself with one of the railings on either side while she undressed, turning the water on as hot as it would go, finding it soothing to her muscles. Needless to say, Raven spent nearly a half-hour underneath the shower, using almost all of the hot water by herself. Alexa had been waiting for her outside for quite some time, finally noticing that she had exited the women's dressing room and was ready to go.
"Are you good?" Alexa asked, concerned, "if you need help, just ask."
"I'm fine," Raven replied, waving away the help, "all I needed was a shower, and a nap sounds really good right now, so let's just get back to your place."
"As you wish, you've earned it," Alexa joked, walking beside her, turning to Hans as they walked out, waving. "We are going to go out and celebrate tonight." She added after they made their way across the street in the midday sun, beginning the slight walk uphill to Alexa's apartment.
"What for?" Raven groaned against her fatigued legs as she lifted them, pain shooting through them with every agonizing step.
"One, for you doing a kick-ass job today, and for me, seeing how I am currently employed as an assistant trainer at the gym now."
"That's awesome, so he gave you a job?" Raven reasoned, phasing out the first part of it.
"He saw how well I started you out, so he figured that I could help out some of the other fighters, or anyone with questions, that's all I got to do, and it is going to be more than enough to cover all my expenses." Alexa explained as they passed several people that were out and about, acknowledging them, seeing how they new her by her reputation. "Not to mention it isn't going to affect my training for this tournament, so it's a win-win situation."
"Can't beat that," Raven replied with a smirk, "I'm glad you are doing something you love now instead of something you had to do."
"So am I," she answered, smiling, "in any case, we are going out tonight, you and me, see if we can't start some trouble."
"I thought the object was to stay out of trouble?" Raven deduced, figuring she was talking about going to one of the many bars that inhabited the neighborhood.
"Girl," she replied with a devious grin, "you haven't been out with me yet then."
"Great," Raven commented, "I guess I'll just have to keep you out of it."
Alexa did nothing but let out a laugh as the duo continued up the sloping sidewalk, their destination being her apartment.
Without saying, both of them made their ways to their beds once more, even though Raven's was still the couch in Alexa's living room. The afternoon passed by rather quickly in their slumber, both of them oblivious to what was going on around them in the world as the gained well-deserved rest. Yet, as if it were becoming a custom, Alexa snuck into the living room, the late evening sun disappearing behind the building tops, the air horn in her hand again. She crept closer and closer to Raven, who was turned, facing the couch.
"Before you push the button on that thing," Raven calmly commented as Alexa froze in place, "I'd like to inform you that I'm up and it won't be necessary."
"Aw, come on, it isn't any fun like that," Alexa replied, smiling, "well, since you are going to be a party-pooper, I thought I'd just tell you that if we are going to celebrate, we better be doing it soon so we can still get some rest and sleep it off before tomorrow."
"Lead the way," Raven added, motioning for her to do so.
After quickly freshening up, as well as a change into street clothes, Raven and Alexa made their way up the street, finding what Alexa had dubbed her regular hangout.
"Are you sure about this?" Raven paused, "I know it's all in good fun and everything, but I've never…drank before."
"Are you kidding?" Alexa replied, surprised beyond no other. "So you're an alcoholic virgin, then? Well, that's all about to change."
Raven shrugged her shoulders, following Alexa into the dimly-lit bar, which looked as cliché as it possibly could be, pool table and all. The bartender gave a small wave to Alexa as she approached, Raven in tow.
"What 'ill it be?" He promptly questioned in German, looking at both of them.
"I'll take the usual, and something easy for her," Alexa fluently replied.
The man nodded, pouring a shot of something that just looked plain strong for Alexa, and some kind of malt beverage for Raven, who was still having second thoughts.
"Just by looking at that," Raven commented at Alexa's shot, "I can tell that is something really strong."
"You have to…acquire a taste for such things," she informed with a smile, lifting the small glass up. "I propose a toast, Raven."
Raven shook her head as she lifted her own bottle.
"To…friends," she decided, "and hope we remain that through thick and thin."
"Here, here," Raven laughed, clinking the glass together, Alexa easily downing the shot, slamming it for the bartender to pour another. Raven merely took a sip of her own, finding it had it's own unique taste, and was rather good over all.
"So, based on the effort I showed today," Raven began after a moment of silence, taking another drink, "how do you think I'm going to fare in the tournament?"
"Do I even need to answer that?" Alexa seriously replied, "If you even use half of the effort you showed today, you will probably still sweep it like it was nothing, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a manager didn't try to get you a ranked bout or something."
"I doubt it, besides, I would have to turn it down, all I want to do is complete my tasks and get home," she informed, looking at what remained in her bottle.
"Think about it, Rae," Alexa pressed, looking over at her, "if you win this tournament, better yet, when you win this tournament, get a ranked bout or two, and your friends will be able to find you quick and in a hurry because you'll be famous."
"That's not it," Raven added, finishing off what she had, "I need to master my martial arts abilities, so I need to go to China where this "True Master" exists, if she can help Robin, then she sure as hell can help me."
"Ah, I see," Alexa realized, "that's an awfully long way from here, how do you expect to get there?"
"Don't know," Raven honestly informed, "so far, the only thing I have to go on is my feet, at least they won't fail me like that piece of crap bike I bought."
"That's the reason why your stranded here, right?" Alexa deduced, getting another shot.
"Sure is," she answered, "I only wish that something or someone can point me in the right direction, get me going again, but I've got time to think about it, I am not going to leave until this tournament is over with, hopefully win, and use that money."
"I'm more than sure it's yours," Alexa complimented, "training is only there solidify that," she added with a laugh, getting a chuckle out of Raven.
"Still, I never thought I'd ever doing anything like this," she commented, beginning another fresh bottle, "I don't think I'd ever have any friends besides my teammates because of how I was before."
"You seem to be doing pretty good," Alexa added, "I'm your friend, and you have developed into this cool, ass-kicking girl that ain't afraid of anything, yet a touch of responsibility. All in all, you're kinda like that cool, older sister or something."
"Thanks, I think," Raven laughed, "Once again, I think this has something to do with my destiny, everything that happens, and the people I meet."
"So far, so good, right?" Alexa commented, "I hope yo-"
She stopped, looking over her shoulder, finding a younger guy in a military dress uniform, making eye contact.
"Oh, God," she dreaded, quickly turning back.
"What?" Raven questioned, her speech clearly slurred as the alcohol began taking effect on her.
Before she could mouth a reply, the guy sat down next to Alexa on the barstool.
"Well, well, well, look who it is," he stated, clearly intoxicated. "I just happen to be on leave and I run into you."
"Hello, Chad," Alexa disgustedly replied. "What the hell do you want?"
"You know what I want," he answered, "I'm sorry for what happened between us, and I want to make it up."
"Little too late for that," Alexa informed, "now kindly leave before you say something you'll regret."
"Come on, don't be like that," Chad pressed, refusing to get up and leave.
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you tried to push that macho shit over on me," Alexa snapped, staring at him.
"It wouldn't have been such a problem if you were more lady-like," he commented in a similar tone.
Raven, even though she found out it didn't take much to affect her, noticed Alexa was balling up her fists, so she decided to act before something happen.
"Look, Chad was it? She wants you to leave her alone," Raven spoke up, getting his attention. "Apparently you failed her one time, so a second chance is out of the question."
"Who the hell is this?" He questioned, "stay out of this, what are you, her mother?"
"No," Raven replied, hopping down off of the stool, "I'm her friend, and she thinks you are an asshole, so leave as such."
"I can't believe you turned lesbo over us, that's pretty sad," Chad maliciously commented towards Alexa, only to turn back to Raven to find a fist crashing into his face.
He fell to the ground, blood already flowing out his nostrils. Surprised, he looked up at them while trying to stop the bleeding.
"Alright," Alexa commented, standing up, "let's go Raven, you've had enough, time to go home."
"I'm not done kicking his ass," Raven disagreed, attempting to struggle, "let me finish what I started."
"No, no," she stated, holding her by her arm, "you are clearly out of it, now before we both get into trouble, out the door."
Even though she protested, Alexa managed to get her out of the bar before any other altercations began.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alexa finally stated as they got far enough away from the bar.
"I saw he wasn't going to leave," Raven managed in her intoxicated state, "so I made him."
Even though she was angry, Alexa merely laughed as she put her face in her hand.
"You're such a lightweight when it comes to drinking, Rae," she commented, seeing how Raven was trying her hardest to walk in a straight line.
"You kiddin'?" she replied in her slurred state, "I feel great."
"I bet you do, now let's get home before we get in any more trouble, I swear, I can't take you anywhere," she joked. "I thought it was going to be the other way around, but either way, one of decked him like he deserved it."
No sooner than she turned around, there was a large man standing in front of her, and another appeared next to him. Raven continued walking, Alexa putting her arm out to stop her.
"Our boss would like you to reconsider your current decision," the first stated in German.
"No way in hell," Alexa replied, "you can tell your boss that he shove whatever he's offering up his ass, we are done."
"He merely wants to send you a message," the other added, pulling something from his inside pocket, sliding it over his knuckles.
"Look out, Rae," Alexa warned, gently shoving her as Alexa prepared to take them, but to her surprised, Raven stumbled forward, even in her drunken state, she managed to deliver a roundhouse kick to the unarmed one of the two, and in the same motion, knocking the brass knuckles out of the other's hand, kicking them up into the air. In the moment of confusion, Raven merely held her hand up open, and as if it were a magic trick, the device slid down over her own hand. No sooner than it did, she rushed in once more, and delivered a devastating uppercut, easily knocking out teeth with the punishing device on her hand. Still slightly dumbfounded, Alexa shook the surprise from her head, finally noticing that in a matter of seconds, Raven had managed to level both of them. The first of the two was stirring still, but he wasn't about to fight both of them, so he tried to drag the other with him, who was out cold.
"Let that be a lesson to you," Raven yelled, falling to her knees, "next time, I won't be as easy on you."
No sooner than she finished, the keeled over and vomited in the gutter of the street.
"Alright, now that that's over with," Alexa managed, watching Raven continue to retch, "let's get home before you decide to kill someone."
"O-ok," Raven agreed, wiping her mouth as she attempted to stand up, turning into more of Alexa carrying her.
"We got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, first true day of training, and we get to see what Hans has came up with, regime wise, so the sooner we get to bed, the better off we'll be, not to mention you are going to have a hellacious hangover." Alexa stated, guiding Raven down the street.
The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months as Raven and Alexa prepared for the upcoming city-wide tournament, both of them pushing as far as they possibly could. If they weren't doing roadwork, skipping, speedbag, or anything else that would aid them in gaining the edge in speed, agility, the duo would work on strength and stamina, working the heavy bag, weightlifting, even floor exercises, especially Raven's vertical push-ups that always seemed to attract attention, anything and everything that would aid them in their conquest. With this regime, they alternated it, working the desired muscle groups one day, moving onto the others the next, and repeating At least once a week, Hans would have them spar with one another, and just for kicks, had three of his assistants keep score, finding that one Raven and Alexa fought, they were always close, and the record standing at 11 wins for Alexa, 9 for Raven, experience clearly winning over raw talent at times, but sparring didn't count towards one's record. When they didn't spar with one another, it was hard to even find a suitable opponent, anyone that was even eligible was either plain scared of either of them or were knocked out in the early rounds, even with the aid of the headgear, injuries were unavoidable, Raven even giving one of her sparring partners a mild concussion. The date neared closer and closer, both of them knowing they were at their top physical peak, and more than ready to take on the competition. To be exact, it was less than two weeks away, but that didn't mean training was going to let up. Hans had already told them that it was going to lessen a couple of days before, but he wants them to continue to work as hard as they have so far, not to let anything distract them. Well, in Raven's case, it became quite apparent that the only distraction that she had was herself.
"Oh yeah, look at that," She commented, almost sounding like Cyborg, as she looked into the mirror of the dressing room, just after she had changed, "I thought I was in shape before, this is just…ridiculous."
Indeed it was, as Raven had only sculpted her body that much further with the rigorous regime Hans put them to, defining every muscle on her body beyond no other, yet, she retained her feminine figure. While she was posing in front of the mirror, Alexa quietly entered the dressing room.
"Are you done screwing around?" She questioned, surprising Raven enough to make her jump.
"No, hold on one second," Raven joked, snapping out another pose, "ok, I'm done."
"Come on, Rae," she ushered, "Hans has got a real treat for us today."
"Does it involve me beating someone senseless?" Raven joked, getting a laugh out of Alexa, but the sad thing was it was true.
"Let's find out," Alexa hurried, both of them exiting the dressing room, finding the place eerily quiet, nothing but the fans that ventilated the place somewhat made sound.
To their surprise, nearly all the regulars where there, but they were all by Hans and his assistants, holding their gloves in their hands. Hans turned, seeing them exiting the dressing room finally.
"Ah, girls, about time," he commented with a smile, "I bet you are wondering what's going on, aren't you?"
"Care to tell us?" Raven said with a smile, her own gloves thrown over her shoulder, tied together.
"Since both of you have worked awfully hard, some of the best dedication I have seen in a long time, I figured I might hold a "fun-day" in a sense. You see, even though most of you are going to enter in the tournament, which I am proud of as always, I figured that you all could have a little…fun. My assistant trainers and I decided to hold a day with nothing but sparring, but there's a catch. You have choice of two opponents: Alexa or Raven."
No sooner than he mentioned their names, there was rambling going on about how unfair it was going to be, especially those who were in the same weight class, male or female.
"Hold on, hold on," he silenced them, "there is no weight class restrictions, and just to prove that to you, I want any of you that are light heavy or heavyweight to step forward and offer a challenge."
"Wait a minute, Hans," Alexa protested, even Raven physically disagreeing with the idea, "that's a little overkill, they are like three or four weight classes out of ours."
"It's called a challenge," Hans corrected, "I thought neither of you had no fear, fear was for the weak-minded, correct, Raven?"
"I did say that," she remembered so long ago, "ok, well, you, I'll spar with you."
Raven had happened to pick one of the biggest guys that came into the gym on a regular basis, and had a reputation of being rather powerful in the ring.
"Aw, come on Rae, I wanted him," Alexa joked, grinning as she put on her gloves.
"You can have him after I'm done, I'm more than happy to share," she replied, sliding her gloves on, velcroing them instead of lacing them, a pair that she bought with her own money. Hans handed her the headgear while she put in her mouthpiece, climbing into the ring. Raven danced around a little bit, warming up, throwing wicked-fast combinations, waiting for her clearly larger opponent to get ready. Hans stepped up on the apron in Raven's corner.
"Alright, tell me what you are going to do," Hans ordered, seeing Raven truly had learned anything in her 5 ½ months of training thus far.
"He's a bigger guy, so I'm going to stay away from his harder shots, make him miss, counter like crazy, and stay on the move." Raven nonchalantly informed with a smile on her face.
"That's my girl, now get in there and have fun," he added, tapping Raven gently on the head, hopping down off the apron.
Raven took up her stance, ready to bolt out of her corner, and put him down as quickly as she possibly could. The bell sounded, the others that were waiting their turn cheered, mostly split down the center in terms of support. Raven rushed forward, using her superior speed to cut off the ring before he could get away. Her opponent threw his jab, missing by a mile because of Raven's agility, and she countered with a vicious right hook, enough to cause him to stumble backwards into the corner. She stuck on him, coming in to get off 4 alternating hooks to the body before backing up to prevent getting hit with an uppercut. Once again, the larger opponent stuck his jab, Raven bobbing inside of it, firing back with her own twice in a piston fashion, adding a right straight, and finishing off with a left hook to the body, causing him to go tumbling down. He sprawled out, heaving for air, even letting his mouthpiece fall out. One of the assistant trainers counted it off, and he stayed down. Raven happily jogged back to her corner while he was trying to get up and let the next fighter come in.
"Training has definitely paid off, Rae," Hans commented, "KO in the 1st in a time of 1:45."
Raven took out her mouthpiece as she leaned against her corner, not even sitting down.
"I can do better," she assured, her body not even breaking a sweat.
"Don't get cocky now," Hans warned, "you lose your concentration when you do, just stay focused and do what you do best."
"Okay," Raven obeyed, knowing that he was right, but she was having fun with it, and she was trying to take it easy, seeing how they were all acquaintances and she had nothing against them, no reason to hurt them, especially so close to the tournament.
For the rest of the day, one after another, Raven's and Alexa's opponents fell from shots varying to the simple jab to overpowered uppercuts, none of them were able to down either of the elite fighters, maybe land several good punches, but unable to put them down. None of them made it passed the 3rd round, they were either KO'ed or threw in the towel, not wanting to take any more punishment. Raven managed to make it through 10 fighters before no one else would even think about sparring with her, while Alexa got 12, but she was just as ferocious in the ring. The only deciding factor between the two of them was Raven's right hand, anything she threw with it hurt, it was almost inhuman at how much power she could put behind it, even if she was on the move. Yet, unknown to Raven, Hans had set up a video camera to record some of her short bouts, even during her training, he managed to capture a few moments that were film worthy, wishing to have something to remember her by since she was going to leave eventually, even to be an inspiration to other fighters, or for the tournament, instill fear and intimidation into those who came from rival gyms all around the city. Well after everyone had went home, he retrieved the tape from the dated recorder.
"I have a really good feeling about that girl," Hans commented to himself as he took the tape with him, "it's almost illegal how well she fights, especially with her experience. I think I've created a monster, but that's what it takes to win, a monster. That monster is going to dominate the opposition, I can already see it, heh, they may even accuse her of sandbagging, that would be rather funny. Well, only time will tell, but this old man is tired, so that time can wait."