Ch. 2 With and Without
"Hey," Jordan shouted from across Skull Island's business district. Bonnie waved back.
"Hey yourself," the fox chuckled back. "I've been looking for you." The fox quickly jogged over to her girlfriend. "We've got a new crew member; I figured we should introduce ourselves to her."
"Her?" Jordan raised her left eyebrow in curiosity.
"Hey," Bonnie said, playfully slugging the buccaneer in the arm, "Just remember that you're mine." The two held hands and walked to the Sparring Chamber. The room was filled with shouts of fighting and cheering. Looking on the battlefield, the two saw Ryan sparring with Mary. "What is she doing here?"
"She gave us warning of an attack," a female privateer stated, "Ryan and I are keeping a close eye on her. Literally, in Ryan's case." Bonnie and Jordan looked at her quizzically. "You know, because he can only see out of the one eye." Still confused, the privateer realized what she had forgotten to say. "How silly of me. I'm your new crew member. Clever Peyton Kenner, at your service."
"Oh," Jordan sighed, "So that's why you're with Ryan. Wait, then where's Autumn?"
"Adam sent her and Will out on a scouting mission. I think she said they were taking the Bronze Pegasus."
"So Mary wanted a sparring match?" Bonnie asked. Mary put up her bubble shield, protecting herself from the daggers Ryan had just thrown. "I'll admit, for someone without powers, she's putting up quite the fight." Ryan had been holding back, but decided it was time to end it. His purple aura surrounded his body and he teleported behind Mary. The witchdoctor slammed her staff into the floorboards and her shield pushed the swashbuckler back. She drew a pistol and shot at the assassin. Teleporting out of the way, Ryan dodged the shots and held her daggers against her throat.
"You lose." The swashbuckler grinned.
"Do I?" Ryan looked down and saw Mary's pistol aimed at his gut. An alarm went off, ending the match. Ol' Fish Eyes was sitting in the balcony overlooking the arena.
"The match is over. Both of you had the capability to kill each other by the end. I call it a draw." Mary holstered her pistol and held her staff casually in her left hand.
"I'm going to take a breather." The witchdoctor shook Ryan's hand and left the fighting area.
"Bonnie, Jordan. Keep an eye on her. I'm going to get a bit more practice." Peyton jumped down into the ring with Ryan.
"I'm game." The privateer drew her sword and raised it in a defensive position. "Care for another match?"
"Alright," Ryan chuckled as he twirled his daggers in his hands, "Let's dance."
"I thought you'd never ask." An alarm went off, signaling the start of the match. Ryan ran forward, arms spread out to slash. He slid on the floor and tore Peyton's pant leg. "Is that all you've got?" Peyton threw her sword at the assassin, tearing Ryan's right sleeve. Ryan saw the opening and teleported behind her to strike. He disappeared and reappeared, but was blocked by Peyton's sword.
"What?" Ryan broke the blade lock and stepped back a bit.
"Magnetic gloves." Peyton held out her hands. "They let me retrieve my weapons without going to them." Peyton blocked another oncoming attack and slashed at Ryan's legs. Ryan blocked the attack and chuckled.
"I'll admit, you're pretty good." Peyton threw her sword past Ryan's blind side.
"I've got more than just looks, assassin." The privateer held out her right hand and the blade flew back to her, the hilt smashing the back of Ryan's head. The blow knocked Ryan's daggers from his hands. He reached for them, but Peyton's gloves attracted them before he could arm himself. "Looking for these?" Peyton held her sword against Ryan's neck. An alarm rang and Ol' Fisheyes stood up on his balcony.
"The match is over. Clever Peyton Kenner wins." The crowd cheered as Peyton helped Ryan up. Ryan laughed.
"It's been a while since I've been knocked around like that." The assassin held out his hand. "Welcome to the crew." The privateer accepted the hand.
"Just remember, you don't need some special powers to win in a fight. Sometimes less is more." The two left the arena and found Mary.
"That was an amazing fight, Peyton!" The witchdoctor, fox, and buccaneer ran up to the privateer and swashbuckler. "I've never seen those kinds of gloves before," Mary said, studying them.
"I'd be surprised if you had; I just made them last week."
"Have you ever used them for anything besides retrieving weapons?" Bonnie asked.
"I tried to scale a building," Peyton answered, "But they shorted out when I got too high. I lost a good bounty because of that." The brown haired pirate put her gloves in her back pocket. "So, care to show me around?"
"I'd be glad to." Ryan grinned and the two walked off. Mary watched them alongside Bonnie and Jordan.
"Does anyone else sense something between those two?" Mary chuckled.
"Maybe," Jordan responded, "But he won't do anything about it." Mary turned to the buccaneer. "He loves his wife too much to do anything stupid." Mary nodded in understanding.
"Come one," Bonnie said, "Let's all go get a drink at the tavern."