A/N: To those few (yet dearly loved) that have liked and followed this story, thank you, thank you so much, I'm so glad that you've liked it and I hope that you enjoy reading this and future chapters.
And this is more of a serious chapter, with more implications than Bruce actually deducing the reasons why (perhaps he's in denial).
It was just an exercise. It was just a training exercise, and Bruce knew that, in his heart of hearts, as he focused his willpower and agility into the dance, the deft, improvised yet choreographed dance that he involved himself in as he ducked the heavy swinging blow of a fist that would have made quite a mess of him had his reflexes not been more acute.
Unfortunately, he found that Orion had a more difficult time adjusting to this idea.
The New God roared as he descended down upon him, his hands clenched together, clasped and held high above his head and then, upon reaching his destination ( a mere half foot away from Bruce) swung down with enough force to cow Diana, if but for a moment.
He wondered if Orion was going easy on him.
Bruce instinctively leapt back, a hand out and to palm the ground to maintain balance, as the spot that Orion had meant to be where Bruce's head would lay had hit the ground with enough force that it had cracked and caved in into a crater or marble tile on the training floor, and shuddered violently. He paused, regaining his balance, and then stood as Orion did, although maintaining his control over his emotions.
There was moment of silence as the two of them waited for either to begin again, Orion breathing deeply through his nose, face unreadable behind the helmet he so fondly wore, and Bruce feeling adrenaline begin to take roost in his veins.
Orion took the first step, a growl on his lips and his walk that was meant to close the distance between the two of them broke into a run, lumbering yet precise, and barreling with untapped power.
Bruce inched forward, preparing himself, a watchful eye as Orion closed the distance and swung forward a fist aimed at Bruce's jaw.
He ducked, cape billowing like the darkness of the night, just at the right moment so that the fist hit thin air, and he struck his leg out, poking behind his ankle and then tugged forward with a quick jerk, prompting Orion to realize as he fell to the ground, that he had lost his footing.
After a choosing a few choice expletives, Orion found it again before Bruce could find a way to take advantage of his momentary weakness, and shouted in rage and a pride wounded as he shot an uppercut that would have certainly caused an instantaneous victory for himself, had it found its target, as Bruce dodged to the left.
This did not faze him, as he continued to punch in his direction, only seeming to grow in resolve and blatant fury, and aimed a roundhouse kick that hit the full of Bruce's left arm and made him grunt in surprise and blossoming pain.
Orion grinned a mad grin, and took this moment to aim a well-chosen knee towards Bruce's ribcage, yet this would still not find its target, for Bruce weaved to the side, eyes narrowing at his opponent's unsubtle bloodlust.
"You are a worthy opponent," Orion growled, in a tone that would have killed had it been a weapon, "worthy of protecting your mewling, whimpering dimension."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Bruce replied, and then finally shot back with a punch from his right that struck him square across the jaw and made him no more blink in surprise had one tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
He wasn't a New God for no good reason. Orion chuckled at Bruce's punch and then retaliated with one of his own that grazed his jaw line yet did no more than that.
"I'll carve it on your gravestone, should you desire." Orion answered, grunting as he received one of Bruce's kicks to his side, so greatly powered that he found his balance lost for the briefest of instants as Bruce found this immensely advantageous.
"I'll pass," Bruce replied as he punched Orion square in the stomach yet found his hand slapped down and away by the New God, and looked up to meet his gaze in mute surprise as Orion hit Bruce's cheekbone with the gentle force of an anvil.
Stars and spots of light danced before his vision as he fumbled in his stance and nearly fell to the ground, mere feet away from the wall, yet could think no more upon it before Orion assumed the previous position as he had when he had deigned to smash the floor, and managed to duck out of the way once more, but not before he found his cheek clipped, if but briefly, by the blow.
"Will you?" He taunted as he aimed another punch towards him that he kicked away, only to have him respond in turn with another blow that cracked the wall behind him. Bruce ducked away, so that he would not be pinned behind the wall, and made it so that it would be Orion who would be backed against it.
"Give me a few more seconds. I'll tell you then."
The glare on his face was obvious as Orion boxed at his arm, the one that he had previously kicked, and Bruce's eyes widened in surprise as he felt the pain that had recently numbed begin to bloom once more, and groaned in pain, only to have the New God snatch up the advantage before it could be lost, and kicked at his shoulder of the other arm, making him hiss in pain as he found himself being circle by Orion.
Bruce shot out, with a snap or his wrist, at Orion's chest, yet it would have been as useful as hitting Clark, he had lost the advantage to the moment and his left arm was beginning to feel numb once more.
The wall pressed against the small of his back, although he paid it no mind, and he dodged the second punch that Orion aimed at him, much too slow to actually connect, especially since Orion knew of Bruce's skills, quickly learned in these training session and mock battles.
Bruce mused if Orion was pulling punches, but found Orion's arm, thick and muscular, pull up underneath his chin and forced him against the wall as his larynx became tight and forced against the walls of his throat, and thought it wise to disregard the idea as fallacy, as Orion hoisted his head up so that Bruce could only look down upon him.
"Or perhaps I will tell you." Orion said, and he pulled back a fist, aimed with determination and teeth bared, that formed a smile of battle.
Bruce said nothing but merely narrowed his eyes at his opponent, expecting the eventual pain that would render him unconscious for a few minutes, at the very least, or a visit to medical bay.
And then Orion paused, fist wavering, and Bruce stared, apprehensive, and watched with more than mild astonishment overcoming him as Orion did not follow through with the finishing blow, and removed his arm from underneath Bruce's throat, allowing him to regain control over his vocal chords and regain his footing on two feet.
As if he was disgusted by his own actions, Orion spat on the ground and turned away, not bothering to bless Bruce with a second glance, as he stormed to the exit and shoved open the door with a bang.
"Take your victory," Orion snapped, concealing the expression that spoke of emotions he had wished to bury, unaware that he possessed them, least of all for the one he had recently fought, "I hope you choke on it."
Bruce could only find himself staring, as he watched Orion so seemingly infuriated to rescind his victory over to a man who he had no qualm over numbing the feeling in his arm nor creating craters in the floor from blows aimed at him.
Why would he pull his punches? Why would he mess? Why would he allow Bruce to leave the fight conscious, of all things? It had only been the beginning of their sparring and yet apparently Orion could not find it within him to continue.
Why?
There were answers to this, of course, and due to recent events, Bruce desperately did not want to interpret it as how he feared, and made a mad dash in his mind to scratch out that idea. With a man that possessed such a bloodlust as Orion's, and the strength to fulfill any of those needs, there was simply no precedent to leave his opponent standing.
But Bruce couldn't guess for the life of him the reasoning behind it.
Or at least, hoped he couldn't.
Next up, Mr. One Punch.