ic The Study Group

[Poncho]

Early January, 2024

 

It started simply, with reasonable questions.

 

Michael had been asking around, checking in with students in his grade about availability in the early month. He was open about his reasons, though they were quite varied. He was concerned about the recent issue where some terrifying creature from a higher dimension had kidnapped several of them and made them participate in dangerous, life or death games for its amusement. He was concerned about his change in school; about a different, tougher curriculum than he was used to. He was concerned about his friends who might need help in either of those situations. He was concerned about his lack of experience in being a hero, but more than that in working with others; he had always worked to be a team player, but right now he was a guy without a team, and when you were playing a team sport, the guy playing by himself didn't usually last long, and Superheroics was one of the biggest team sports out there.

 

He hadn't lied about his feelings on this. He was even honest that during a few of his own recent extracurricular activities he'd gotten beaten down by some people who might not have been as strong as him, but were much better at aiming where they hit then he was. Most of them had seen him with a couple of bruises before so he was being serious about that too; he wasn't the kind of person to lie unnecessarily. He explained to each person his feelings on the whole situation; some of the conversations were short, some were long, some were specific, some were general. Michael was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a liar. But he also wasn’t the kind of person who just did things without trying to have some sort of plan ready to go to figure out what he should do next, so it was pretty obvious to everyone that he was talking to that he was thinking about doing ‘something’, but what that something was could have been any number of things.

 

In the end, after a sort of feeling out process, he sent a text message to Baz, Lawrence, Parker, Consuelo, Carmen, and Mizuki asking if they wanted to do some extra training with the Crimson Tiger; a Claremont Alumni and Muay Thai master. He’d emailed her and, through communication with her and the school, set up a day for her to come by and give them some extracurricular combat training. In case something bad happened again, maybe a little extra time spent training together and leaning from a master could better prepare them for their expanding careers.

 

And then the second part of the text was that after that, if they wanted, they should go over calculus homework together, because he was having issues on problem 14. Carmen may not have been in the same classes as they were, but he was sure they could give her a hand, or she could give them a hand, as well; studying was easier when you had a group.

 

The text said there was no pressure to come if they didn’t feel like it, but that it was going to be in the gym after class and they’d go to the library after to study, so if they wanted to do either, or both, to just come by.

 

So, on the appointed day, after classes ended, still holding his backpack, he was waiting outside the gym to see who had been interested enough in his offer to come and train and study with him, looking as golden as ever. Crimson Tiger was waiting inside, knowing that he had invited a ‘few’ friends if they had wanted to come.

[Supercape]

Gamma Buzz

 

Baz crawled to the gym. 

 

The thing was, being a half cockroach teenager kinda sucked. So he had to make as much use of his powers as possible to remind himself that it wasn't all bad. Some of it, in fact, was good, like crawling along the walls, and the ceiling. 

 

And backflipping to land just by Michael. 

 

"Happy New Year!" he said, straightening his antennae. 

 

"Ker pow! Hiyaaaa! Your kung fu is really really terrible! Your golden fool style is no match for my radioactive cockroach style! Hi----yaaaaa!"

 

Baz did a couple of spinning kicks and a karate chop.

 

"I mean, that's what it looks like in the movies, right? Hong Kong action! Hi-yaaaa!" he explained, giving a couple more quick karate chops. 

 

The thing was, Baz was agile and fast, but really had no idea how to fight. His spins and flips were very impressive, but fighting? that was another matter. He had no experience, and no training - and anyone with half an eye could tell it. 

 

 

Edited January 5 by Supercape

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger chuckled. Cockroach boy. She had seen weirder, and with worse form.

 

"Agility is great." She said. "Very useful. I'm going to help you learn how to fight." She smiled. "Let's wait for a couple of the other kids to show up before we get into the heavy stuff."

She glanced over at the extra strength speed and heavy bags she had dragged out of storage. They could withstand much more force than she herself could put out. Specially designed for students that could hit with superhuman force.

 

She would assess them, one by one, asking them to throw a simple punch. She would make sure their hands were properly wrapped, too.

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

Surrounded by dark tendrils of distorted shadow, a green-haired girl dressed in winter clothing that appeared to be rotting off her body descended from the cloudy sky towards the door of the gymnasium. "Hey, Michael. I saw your cry for help. I came over as fast as I could. Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay." And she looks deep into her classmate's eyes, in total deadpan. "Hola, La Cucaracha! Eat off the heads of any bad guys recently?" Consuelo greets Baz as she hovers into the gym.

 

"Hi . . . Tiger Lady. . . ." She offers cautiously as she suspiciously scans the punching bags. "What are we supposed to do with these things?"

[Poncho]

"I'm a golden fool? Can't I at least be like...I don't know, The Golden Boy? is that too cheesy? What about 'Exploding Star Fist' or something? Is that too anime. Maybe I am the Golden Fool. Sometimes that can be a good thing, right?" He reasoned to himself with a chuckle at Baz's entrance. "But! Happy New Year! I hope it is treating you well!" he agreed wholeheartedly. "I'm glad you decided to show up, how can I be popular and well-liked if Baz, the coolest kid in school, doesn't like me? Just not possible, I'm afraid."

 

Then, when Crimson Tiger asked him to, he clenched his fist and threw the kind of punch only someone who doesn't have any real experience in throwing punches would throw; the kind that shows he's really just relying on his superpowers when he gets into a fight. And then Consuelo showed up so he was cheerful about that; maybe he actually could get people to come when he asked? He had been worried about not fitting in in a new school, but it seemed like he was doing okay.

 

"Thank you Consuelo! I was in quite a lot of danger. But it's great that you're here. And this is Crimson Tiger; she's a super cool hero who fights bad guys off just with her martial arts moves! That kinda stuff is always super impressive!" he said very seriously. "So I asked her to give us some supplementary lessons."

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

Lawrence Harrow made his way to the gym after dropping his things off in his and Baz’s dorm room. The blond teen was dressed in warm up pants and a red Addias Arsenal zip-up hoodie under which he was wearing a black T-shirt. The conversations he had had with Michael about this idea for a study group had been….interesting. Like several of the students, Michael seemed to have taken the encounter with Quirk somewhat hard. Lawrence certainly found Quirk annoying, but the blond teen was far more concerned about the warning Quirk had given him after the finish of the Mario Kart inspired race. That was occupying a far larger part of the teen's mind than Quirk ever could. And given his mother's reaction when he had told her about it, he suspected it was keeping her up at night as well.

 

Lawrence was a bit surprised she had not considered having him go back to the Null Time for a little while.

 

Of course, even with the holiday, it had not been long after his mother’s announcement during the League's holiday party for the entire school to know that he was Velocity's son. Lawrence just did his best to press on as if nothing were any different as he waited for the initial buzz to die down and things get back to pretty much normal. In many ways, it was a relief that that was not something he had to be careful about inadvertently revealing any longer.

 

Making his way inside, Lawrence glanced around a moment at those who had arrived already, Michael, Baz and Consuelo. He also spotted Crimson Tiger as Michael introduced her. He recalled seeing at the League holiday party but had never had a chance to go meet.

 

"Nice to meet you Crimson Tiger." He said in greeting as he walked over towards the group in his British accent. "Lawrence Harrow, though I also go by Timeout."

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

Carmen looked at the C on her last piece of Statistics class homework. Unlike the calculus that practice that was being offered for this supposed study group, this was more down to Earth. The young heroine's school advisor, having looked over her grades last year recommended this course, instead of pushing her towards the more complex pre-calculus and trigonometry courses that some of her fellow student heroes were taking. The rest of her grades were far more average if not okay, average marks in most things with an A in English class and Bs in others. It was the near borderline C that was the worry, one that was perilous towards earning a dreaded D.

 

Math was just not her strong suit it appeared. 

 

So, when offered a chance to practice with a group of people, fellow students, in something she could accel at, she immediately and rather literally leapt right into it, donning the more athletic gymnast version of her Claremont heroine attire, standing with the other students in tow, giving a soft smile towards Michael and a nod towards Rot. Crimson Tiger was a hero that she had taken to research after the Christmas party and was rather inspired no less to learn better in her martial skills.

 

Her punch was a bit more refined, though it was obvious she was used to slashing then punching outright, the fist moving with a tad downward arc.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass II

 

Mizuki showed up quietly, wearing a form-fitting navy blue work-out ensemble. No other details on it except for a white zipper. She kept her usual gear in a backpack she was wearing, along with a couple calculus books. Mizuki realized Question 14 was a question purposely designed to trip students up if they weren't ready for the logic behind it.

 

"Well this beats a few laps in the Atlantic." Mizuki said, smirking. She nodded to Lawrence before continuing. "After that one simulation... could use some polishing. Missed connecting properly with a clean kick during it."

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

Parker appears in the middle of the group, having shifted his distance to get there. He doesn't use that trick too often, but it's useful. "Sorry, Mr. Faulks asked me to help him out." By lifting a heavy piece of machinery so he could fix something under it, but he didn't feel like sharing that bit. He nods at Crimson Tiger, watching as she directs the others to punch. "I'm Parker, sorry that I'm late." He is wearing a heavy white winter jacket with fur trim, which is open to show a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

 

"Do you want us to use our powers? Or just do a regular punch? It... uh... it kind of makes a big difference for me." he asks Crimson Tiger.

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger introduced herself to the students in the room. Then said;

 

"Try to avoid using your powers, if you can. I know some of you can't, and that's fine. If you have enhanced strength, try to avoid these heavy bags. Use the other ones over there, those are better suited to that."

 

"Let me show you a quick demonstration." she said.

 

She stepped up to the heavy bag, and looked to the students.

 

"Martial arts is all about applying momentum. Let me show you."

 

She threw a quick punch at the heavy bag. It hit with a decent amount of force, with a slight thud.

 

"This punch was just with force from my arm. Just from my shoulder, to my fist."

 

Then, she delivered another, much harder punch. The students heard a much louder THUD from that punch.

 

"This one started here, at my hips. I rotated my entire torso into that punch."

 

She mimed the punch slowly, drawing attention to her body, from her hips, up through her torso, then to her arm.

 

"It's about channeling momentum. I rotate my hips slightly into the punch. Getting good at it takes months to years of practice. Getting good enough to throw a decent punch doesn't take a whole lot of practice."
 

Then, she shuffled backward slightly.

 

"Now, years of practice looks more like this." 

 

Suddenly, her right foot flew up and slammed into the side of the heavy bag with the loudest THUD yet, sending the bag rocking on it's chain.

 

"Or."

 

Then, she stepped forward, and delivered a powerful knee strike to the heavy bag, then hopped to her other foot and threw another knee strike. Her foot touched the floor for just a second, before she slammed her knee into the bag again, and again, and again.

 

"This is just an extra; I practice muay thai, which is a martial art that doesn't just use the hands and feet, but also the knees and elbows. By shortening the distance the force from my torso has to travel, I reduce the amount of force lost to momentum, and maximize the amount of force delivered to the target."

 

She delivered a quick, powerful looking elbow to the heavy bag.

 

"Now, each of you partner up and step up to one of the heavy bags, and practice some basic punches. Remember, try to rotate from your hips. If you need to start slower to get used to using your whole torso, do that. Start slow, move slow, and build up speed."

Edited January 7 by Thunder King

[Poncho]

"There, that's everyone!" Michael said cheerfully. "...Honestly I wasn't expecting everyone to show up. But hey, there you go!" he waved at Consuelo and Parker and Mizuki. "Welcome, and don't worry about being late, these things happen. Especially when you have to help out Mr. Faulks." he waved it off. But he went back to listening to Crimson Tiger afterwards, testing rotating his hips as he did so.

 

"So like throwing a pass in football, rotate in your motions to activate all your motions, and make sure you're stable..." he frowned. "Then how do you make sure you're hitting where you're aiming? Is it just a 'keep your eye on the ball' sort of thing? I mean, I don't want to miss and knock down a house or something." he asked as he made his way over to one of the bags.

 

"Carmen, you can partner with me if you want. I mean, you know, if you don't have anyone else you'd rather partner with." he offered to the catgirl with an almost awkward grin.

 

When he got to the bag, he tested swinging his hips into a few punches. "Like...hrmm.." he thought about it like he was throwing a football, but, well, without the football, bringing his hips around to send the object forward and brace his feet on the ground. "Is there a special way you're supposed to make a fist or something?"

[Supercape]

Gamma Buzz

 

"Do I even have hips?" asked Baz, putting up one clubby finger with one hand and palpating his midsection with another. "Wait! I do! I still have hips! Hurrah!"

 

He gave a little flex and twist to demonstrate.

 

"Right, so I need to twist and then ker-pow? right?"

 

He walked up to the super-strength bags. "These look pretty much my size, am I right?"

 

He bent his knees, turned, twisted, and

 

KER-POW!

 

The super strength bag wobbled and rotated. Baz was indeed super strong. But not, as yet, skilled. 

 

"Whoopsy!" he said from the floor, prostrate and tangled up in himself. One arm had popped out of socket, dangling at some obscene angle from his shoulder. 

 

"But how about that! I punched that bag pretty hard, right? And only slightly completely dislocated my arm and ended up on the floor!"

Edited January 9 by Supercape

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

Lawrence had given Mizuki a smile in return as she had arrived and then turned to focus when Crimson Tiger began explaining and showing the basics of martial arts before instructing them to pair up and start practicing.

 

As might be expected, Baz was quick to jump at the opportunity, delivering a powerful punch, but also managing to end up on the floor in a bit of tangle in the process. "Baz, you really need to learn keep your joints in place." He said with a small smile as he generated a small temporal distortion that helped pop Baz's arm back into place and heal any minor damage that might have been associated with the dislocation.

 

The teen then stepped up to one of the normal bags to deliver some punches for Crimson Tiger to observe. It was clear to her that he had the strength of an average, if somewhat athletic sixteen-year-old and that he appeared to have had some prior instruction on how to throw a punch but was not put much effort into perfecting his form or timing.

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

The young cat woman, or cat girl, she wasn't sure herself when it came to it (though she thought Neko was definitely the later, but didn't know why), continued to practice before being called to watch Crimson Tiger, the seasoned professional hero and former student punch the sandbag with such power and precision, it sure was rather amazing. The skill that Crimson Tiger possessed was far more than any of them could image them doing at this moment in their lives. Not that she couldn't do it with practice as she moved over to where Micheal was, "Sure," she spoke somewhat unsure.

 

"No, I think it's more like this," she says, keeping her eyes always partially away from his. She was still a little balling her hand in a fist correctly from experience, punching the bag the same as he did, with hand balled into a more proper fist. Her hips would move with it, putting some force into the blow. Just as he did, Carmen had superstrength as well, holding back the best she could. 

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

Right. Practice punches. Rotate hips.

 

Parker is honestly not sure if he wants to learn to put more power into his punches, but Michael did go through the trouble of setting all of this up, and Crimson Tiger did show up to try and teach them... So he should at least try

 

"Anyone want to pair up with me?" he asks, to one in particular, before he steps up to a bag and does his best to copy what Crimson Tiger was doing. 

 

It's not easy, but he didn't really expect it to be either, and Parker has to admit that she is right. He has just been relying on his powers.

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

"Okay Parker, don't embarrass yourself by begging me. I'll partner with you . . . this time." She steps behind the super strength bag to catch it after Parker's punch. Consuelo herself doesn't have super strength at all. She has smallish sixteen-year-old girl strength. Despite that, something about the way her powers protect her from harm stops the considerable momentum of the super strength heavy bag short as she catches it after Parker's punch.

 

"Nice pummeling, Popeye! My turn, I guess. . . . Uh, miss,  uh, tiger master, I don't think I can punch, cause I'm growing out my nails." Consuelo holds out her hand to display the lengthening curves of keratin. "So, uh . . . " She winds her whole body up and delivers a fully committed slap to the heavy bag. It doesn't move. At all. Like, not at all at all. That's because it's a super strength heavy bag, and she is a smallish girl.

 

"Hmm. Yeah. Uh, I guess if I had to fight someone for real, and I didn't have my powers, I'd go at them like this!" And she gouges at the heavy bag with her nails, kind of where its eyes would be. "And this!" And she knees it in the imaginary groin region. "And this!" And she bites at the heavy bag, kind of where a person could imagine its ear might be. 

 

"Ha! But, since I do have powers, I'd probably just go, like, POOF!" As she slaps the heavy bag it is surrounded by a shadowy distortion. Since she really didn't think this through, there's a good chance she just disintegrated an expensive piece of equipment. 

[Poncho]

"...Hrmm." Michael looked at her fist, then his, trying to adjust his fist to match hers as she hit the bag. He threw a few punches into the air to try and mimic Carmen as she punched, trying to figure out what he was doing wrong by watching her. He turned his attention further down her body, trailing his eyes from her clenched fist up her arms to her shoulder, then down her body to her hips, watching the muscles twist under her fur as he focused on trying to learn to do the punch like she did. "...You're better at throwing them than me." he admitted as he watched.

 

It could have possibly been a very unnerving or awkward thing, for how intently he was focusing on the shifting muscle, if not for the fact that Consuelo then obliterated a punching bag with a disintegration slap and he jerked around suddenly to see the heavy bag get turned into nothing.

 

"...Well that's...really impressive." he said, struggling to come up with an appropriate word for Consuelo's powers. He'd seen them work on garbage and snow before, but he'd never seen them work on something bigger. "...Man that's..yeah. I don't really know what to say to that. Other than I really hope you don't hit me." He was a little distracted at that, and the intense focus on getting his punch just right and following Carmen's example had faded away momentarily. He was hoping they hadn't made Crimson Tiger mad.

Edited January 15 by Poncho

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

"Hey, you should..." Parker tries, before stopping, while Consuelo goes to work on the punching bag. He hadn't used his strength, he followed the rules and tried out Crimson Tiger said and Consuelo... well, he couldn't say it wouldn't be effective. She had certainly been in fights before. 

 

Parker stares at the spot where the bag was a moment ago. He knows what Consuelo can do, and yet, it is always impressive whenever she does something like this. What should he do? What should he say? He doesn't want to get on her bad side again, but on the other hand...

 

Finally, he decides to just laugh at it. "Alright," he finally says to Consuelo. "I gotta agree, that would be way more effective than trying to punch someone. Or bite their ear off." 

 

Raising his hand, he tries to get Crimson Tiger's attention. "Crimson Tiger? I think we need another bag over here. Can I grab one?"

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

Lawrence had been focused on what he was doing, but turned to regard what was going on over with Consuelo and Parker when the green-haired girl disintegrated the bag they had been using. The blond teen stopped and stepped away from the bag he had been using as Parker called over to Crimson Tiger.

"I think I can help Parker." Lawrence state as he focused on the space where the bag had been a moment, holding up one hand. A temporal distortion formed around his hand and the empty space where the bag had been as Lawrence began turning his hand, as if turning back a dial. The tendrils of shadow that had been the mater of the bag being torn apart before vanishing all started moving back inward until the bag fully reformed. As the blond teen closed his hand, the temporal distortion vanished and the bag was back just as it had been.

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger stared at the reassembling bag, then shook her head.

"Very impressive. You guys are doing fine."

 

She held her hand up and made a fist, slowly. "That's how you do a fist. I don't think you guys will be at risk of needing to fight without your powers, but it can't hurt."

She smiled at Consuelo. "I've seen people destroy equipment worse than that. Don't worry. You're doing just fine. I know you haven't done much fighting with raw strength. You're all just new."

She seemed to stare off into the distance. "I came here when I was your age. Had some good friends, made a lot of good memories. And punched a lot of people."

 

 

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass II

 

Mizuki tried a few punches using the technique Crimson Tiger prescribed. It did feel like there was more power behind each punch. As she got into the flow what she learned from her dad kicked in once, and not only did she turn in with the punch but used other things she learned from a more military aspect out of reflex... It triggered a greenish energy in her fist and when she hit the sound of what seemed like 4 or 5 punches hitting the bag, hard enough to see deformations on the other side was seen. Mizuki gasped.

 

"S... Sorry... instinct kicked in there and I sorta went off. I got into a rythym and sorta went on automatic."

 

She was glad the bag didn't burst...

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

Muscles twisted and turned, flexing as she let out a punch that struck the sandbag hard and quick as she stopped the prep and soon went into a strong attack, using a decent fraction of her superhuman power. Sure, she did a lot of her attacks with her claws, but there was a power behind it that could easily beat out even Olympian's if she really learned how to use it all. Wither it was some sort of curse or genetic, this inhuman strength was held back still, striking the bag hard but far away from being able to destroy it, though did leave a decent mark on it, "And I've seen you in action, you're far more stronger than I am," she says, remembering the battle they were involved in during their encounter with the strange and malicious Quirk.

 

It would soon be her turn to watch him, his body on her mind as she watched him strike the bag, soon pulled out of it as she looked to a now destroyed sandbag. Conseulo's power was something different from just brute strength and agility, something different altogether. That was their power, one of destruction turned to towards the greater good of all. Torpedo Lass seemed to follow suit, damaging her's.

[Poncho]

Michael was trying to split his focus between learning from and practicing with Carmen and dealing with Consuelo obliterating a bag, but his focus was primarily at Carmen. "...So uh, would you like to..." And then Lawrence reversed the damage like it was nothing, and then Mizuki smashed her own bag. And he sped up his brain a little to try and compensate.

 

Michael began to worry that he had made a bad decision in bringing all these kids together; he knew that even he could have power control issues, but he hadn't expected everyone else to also be learning. But then again, that's why they had enrolled at Claremont, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised either. Whatever he had been about to ask Carmen had died on his lips before he could say it, and he was already having to focus on other things. Instead he replied to what she was saying automatically

 

"Ah, well. Yeah. I mean I am strong, but I don't want to break stuff; I'm trying to focus on the technique. I only have so much energy built up, so I have to decide what I'm using it on. Most of the time I'm using it to think and move faster instead of have super strength or flying around." he looks between Mizuki, Lawrence, Consuelo, and Crimson Tiger. "...Because in a place like this I have to think fast to keep up with everything going on at once." He said with a laugh. "Plus, you're plenty strong yourself. You could probably bench press me if you wanted to." he decided to diffuse possible tension or at least make some jokes to keep the feeling light with everyone else.

 

"Lawrence you really can do just about everything, huh?" he poked a little fun at him.

 

"And Mizuki, that's some incredible fisticuffs, you'll have to show me how you manage that!" he spoke cheerfully.

 

"And, can you tell us a little about the people you punched, Crimson Tiger? Or maybe who you worked with? That'd be interesting to hear about."

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

"Uh . . . Oops. . . ." Consuelo cringed as the reality of what she'd done to the heavy bag sank in. But Lawrence came to the rescue, rolling back time for the punching bag until it was fully reconstituted.

 

"Whoa! That's an awesome trick, Lawrence. I totally need to learn that trick . . . like, really, really bad!"

 

Deciding to take a little break, Consuelo watches the other super-students as they lay into their targets. "You guys would all totally be so good at knocking people out and dragging them off to jail. I would just be like: SURRENDER, OR I WILL DISINTEGRATE YOU! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" As Consuelo acts this out, black distorted shadows swirl around her, and her creep factor seems to kick up a notch. It's actually a pretty good effort.

 

"But what, like, if they don't surrender? That's the problem. I wouldn't want to actually disintegrate someone.  . . . I need to learn how to, like, uh . . . " And Consuelo struggles to find the right word for a moment. "Uh, subdue people, you know?"

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

"No problem Consuelo. Something that has been rattling around in my mind for the past few months. Glad to see it worked." Lawrence replied with a small smile at the green-haired girl's comments. The blond teen gave a nod to Crimson Tiger as well. He had long had fairly good control over his powers, so it was not particularly a reason he was at Claremont.

Lawrence then chuckled slightly at Michael's comment about his being able to do just about everything. "Not everything. There are quite a few things I cannot do. I just happen to be pretty good at the things I can do."