Wednesday
I had never felt so tired!
Selina was tired too and she was way fitter than I was. I had never sweated so much, either. Mind you, the sight of a hot and sweaty Selina was, err, nice.
I had no idea what the day was going to offer. Abby and Erika had stayed with us the previous night. We had been kept busy learning and practicing on the range and with the knives. We had not managed to get to bed until past eleven.
As we waited on the mat after breakfast, with Dave, our instructor arrived.
"Morning cunts! Ready for an ass-kicking?"
"Bring it on, kitty!" Selina teased when she saw who it was.
Megan laughed.
"I should be in school, but I was allowed to come here to teach you some shit, this morning. A word of warning; the afternoon session will be hell compared to this morning, but I'm gonna go easy on yer both."
The evil smirk seemed to say otherwise, I thought!
"Be warned – just 'cause I'm short does not mean I can't target somebody more than twice my size and weight..." Megan announced jumping up.
She then ran towards Dave and leapt into the air at the last minute, wrapping her leg around Dave's neck and then pulling him off balance and Dave crashed down to the mat. Megan followed through with a punch to his chest.
"If I had been wearing my claws, then Dave would be dead, his heart cut into three pieces..." Megan advised as she regained her feet.
"I know; I've seen you in action, Megan – I know what you can do..." Bruce said in a low voice.
"Thank you, Bruce. I don't have muscles and I don't have the ability to carry heavy armour like Kick-Ass. The same issues applied to Hit Girl when she was my age. We both use speed and agility to make up for our lack of striking power. We favour weapons that can kill instantly; we don't have the muscles to fight hand to hand against big cunts like Dave – sorry, Dave!" Megan lectured.
Dave smirked and shook his head.
"I thought you were going to be in your combat suit today?" Dave asked innocently and I saw Megan blush furiously.
I stepped forwards and opened my mouth to speak.
"Hailee, just one fucking word and I will gut you..."
"Wildcat no longer fits into her combat suit; her hips are too big and so are her tits!" I laughed, ignoring Megan completely.
Bruce and Selina grinned, but did not laugh as Megan glared at them without a hint of humour on her face.
"Stop being a bitch, Hailee; Megan's a big softy at heart!" Curtis laughed.
"Curtis is also short, just like me and although he has heavier armour than me, he still needs to make use of a different set of skills to the bigger kids."
"Megan has been digging into some of Hit Girl's early toys and she has made use of the rope dart, among other things. Wildcat has claws and she uses them to devastating effect. Mist uses her Sais, which are lethal and superb for both defensive and offensive work. I favour the Ninja-To, as does Jackal," Curtis lectured.
"Yesterday, you delved into the small blades – now we look at the more lethal instruments," Megan added.
"Just like Megan; beauty and lethality come in all shapes and sizes," Curtis said with a grin and Megan blushed deeply, but smiled nonetheless. "We have the Tanto, which means 'short blade'. Hit Girl carries one."
Curtis pointed to the purple handled sword where it sat on its stand in the armoury.
"Then we have the Katana, of which Hit Girl carries a pair." The twin blades were pointed out to us. "That blade is long and can be difficult to learn to control. It is however, lethal...
"Between that sword and the Tanto are many other sizes. Kick-Ass uses a pair of Ko-Wakizashi blades. The Wakizashi is a 'companion sword' and is usually carried as a pair with a Katana. The 'Ko' variety is shorter, but just as lethal. Hit Girl also has a pair of Wakizashi as the Katana can be too unwieldy in confined spaces."
"Just because you have a large or powerful weapon, does not mean that it is suitable for all occasions. You will have difficulty using a Katana inside a building, whereas the Wakizashi would be perfect. A knife is always good for close quarters work. Now, let's see how you two fair, using different attack strategies!" Megan said
"Now," Curtis explained. "We can't use real swords, so we will use these training swords, called Bokken. We want the two of you to practice some movements, slowly to get the methodology correct, preferably without killing each other!"
Just as we picked up our Bokken, Megan went over to Curtis and...
For a moment, I was worried as Megan advanced on me, but she smiled – and it was a lovely smile.
Then she grabbed me and placed her lips onto mine and we kissed. Was it good? Actually, it was a bit wet, but it was the idea that felt the best rather than the actual act! Megan was bright red as she moved back from me and she looked shy; Megan was never shy!
"Thanks!" She said simply before turning towards Selina who was grinning.
I looked at Hailee and Erika who both shrugged, but grinned at me.
"Play to your strengths. Bruce, you have strength, even if you don't realise it. Selina, you are very flexible and have the ability to twist your body and use acrobatics. In this game, anything goes when it comes to survival of you and the people that you are protecting," Megan lectured. "Fancy movements can also scare potential adversaries. You only need to distract them long enough to be able to get close and then you can out them down, hard! You need to think on your feet, but always think about what you are doing. I dived into a situation without thinking and almost died; I have the wounds to remind of that and I see them every time I am undressed. I see them when I put on my combat suit and it helps me focus on the task ahead. Finally, before we have some fun, know your limits. I was injured during our time in Gotham and I hated being sidelined, but I would have been a danger to the rest of the team if I had insisted on going out with them."
Megan looked a little uncomfortable.
"I'll tell you a secret. When we attacked Maroni's place, I was hurt during the initial assault. Hit Girl was forced to use Shadow to protect me, which meant one less person available to do their job. Later, I surprised myself when Jackal ordered Shadow to take me away from the fight and I actually complied. Inside I felt wretched letting down my friends, but I knew that I could not go on. I know that Josh was surprised too; he had expected to have to fight to get me to go with Shadow. Maybe I'm growing up, but I'm surprising myself by the decisions I am now making that I would not usually make."
We started slow.
Selina and I needed to learn how to cut, how to strike and how to block. We were both slow to pick this up, but we learnt fast, especially as Megan would exploit every weakness. On the plus side, if there were one, Megan would explain what the weakness was and how to prevent it.
These guys were going all out to help Selina and I. They all wanted to help, even young Megan, who I also saw as a little bitch!
After about twenty minutes, Megan flattened me for the fourth time and then I heard a familiar voice.
"Come on, Master Bruce, she's a pint sized eleven-year-old!" Alfred shouted.
"Who are you calling pint-sized, old man?" Megan grinned.
Alfred strolled across the mat and past Megan, but at the last second he moved fast and Megan was suddenly face down on the mat.
"Manners, young Wildcat!" Alfred said coolly, before helping a shocked Megan back to her feet.
"Thank you, Alfred, my apologies!" Megan grinned.
"How you doing, Bruce?" Alfred asked. "Just got in a few minutes ago. Those bruises don't look good; maybe you need some more training!"
I smirked.
"He is doing very well, Alfred. Bruce is full of surprises, but then so is Selina," I advised Alfred.
"Thank you, err, Hailee isn't it?"
"Yes, I am Hailee, otherwise known as Petra!"
"I am very pleased to meet you, Miss," Alfred said, shaking my hand.
"We're just about to break for lunch," I said. "You joining us?"
Alfred glanced over at the pleading look on Bruce's face and he grinned.
"Why not!"
That afternoon
Bruce had talked almost non-stop through lunch, but had still managed to eat.
He ran Alfred through just about everything that had happened since he and Selina had arrived in Chicago. I could tell that Alfred had missed Bruce and the same was valid the other way too.
"Hope you're teaching the boy some respect, too!" Alfred teased.
"Oh, yes!" Megan laughed. "Ah, here's Tommy – he's taking you two this afternoon..."
"Время, чтобы чувствовать себя некоторую боль, детишек!" Tommy growled. He was wearing a pair of black sweat pants, a black t-shirt and a pair of light black boots.
"Huh!" I asked; Russian was on my list to learn, but I had not understood a word of what Tommy had just said.
"I'll translate," Alfred said with an evil smirk. "Time to feel some pain, kiddies!"
"Да!"
"You speak very good Russian!" Alfred commented approvingly.
"I had two years to learn – I had no choice... No speak Russian; no eat!" Tommy replied darkly.
"I have a history behind me that I wish I had never encountered, but shit happened and I suppose it could have been worse."
We all sat on the mat; even Alfred. Tommy Morgan was eleven and a half years old and having seen him fight, I knew that there was something sinister about him, but Mindy and Dave would never tell me what.
"A little over a year ago, Fusion rescued me from the Russians. I had been with them for a little over two years after being kidnapped off the streets of New York. Bad things happened to me; the upshot of which I learnt to defend myself. Other boys taught me to fight and eventually the Russians taught me to fight for their own entertainment," the boy explained. "I learnt to fight in any way that would get the job done… My style of fighting is different, as those who have fought against me know; I do not use anything from a book. I fight to win; otherwise, what's the point of fighting. Yes, I fight dirty, but it gets the job done."
There was complete silence and attention.
"Just a few hard learnt hints to begin with. If you can avoid a fight, avoid it! Use a pistol and kill the fuckers before they get close, or better yet kill them in their sleep..."
I saw looks of shock appear on faces around me. Even I was a little concerned. Tommy was not kidding about fighting dirty.
"You have limits, all of you – know them! You have to know when it is time to call it quits and work your way out of the fight. Alternatively, you die, simple as that."
I saw Alfred looking very grim.
"Every fight you get involved with; fight like your life depends on it! Even if it does not, somebody else's life might depend on how well you fight. Some of you can continue to fight on the ground, but it is always easier to fight on your feet. Conversely, it is good to put your enemy on the ground as soon as possible. Keep close to your enemy; his punches will be weaker, as he cannot punch properly." Tommy grinned. "Now if you're a little squeamish, you may not want to hear what comes next..."
I thought that things could not get worse, but I was wrong!
"Ears come off, very easily in fact – bite them or use your hands to rip the fuckers off! Not surprisingly, people don't like it when you rip off an ear and sometimes the fight ends right there. Put out their eyes, if they cannot see, they cannot fight. The throat is a good target, too – hurts like fuck and can kill if hit hard enough. Use your elbows and knees; they are strong and Mindy gives us all armoured joints on our combat suits, not just for protection, but also as weapons," Tommy grinned again. "Freaked out yet?"
The kid was fucking warped!
"Break the joints if you can; elbow is painful! Break some bones in the foot or hand; rip their arm back behind them and snap the bones. The collarbone – doesn't take much to snap them. As for men and boys, kick them where it fucking hurts – that applies to anybody, not just the females. Boys, kick the females in the same place; it hurts them too! Go for the ribs, or the nose, the spine is good for a permanent stop.
"Don't be afraid to fight dirty. Use everything around you. Throw dirt in their face, spit liquid in their eyes. Look around – aerosols, rocks, bottles, even a fucking stapler! Take every advantage and keep pounding and pounding till they stay the fuck down."
Alfred was the first to speak up in the total silence after Tommy had stopped talking.
"I hate to say it, but the kid knows some shit! He may be young, but he has experienced fighting that would scare most adults; listen to him, what he says may save your life."
Tommy smiled and nodded at Alfred, who still looked a bit grim at Tommy's revelations. The rest of the afternoon was subdued and was spent with Tommy showing us some vicious movements for incapacitating an opponent.
I thought I had demons in my life, but Tommy's were much, much worse!