Fisticuffs Fundraiser! (IC)

[Geez3r]

Atlas took a step back to let the new comers into their little circle. "Now understand, you normally need to be over 7 feet tall to be in zis circle..." Atlas jerked his thumb at GrimColt. "..but ve'll make an exception - zis time." He scowled at the new comers before extending his hand as well to greet them properly.

[Gizmo]

"I don't see the problem," Jack replied airily as he reached up and allowed Atlas' massive red hand to engulf his own. "I'm nine foot seven, myself; I just look shorter in these boots." Briefly glancing over his shoulder at the event organizers, the swordsman lowered his voice. "So I totally wasn't paying attention when they explained the rules. How are we doing this, straight no powers, just no ranged attacks or what?"

[angrydurf]

Ace grinned at Atlas' comentary. "Don't worry about it the bigger they are the harder they fall." He teased speaking to Grim out of the side of his mouth in mock secrecy.

In response to Jacks question he shrugged, "I think the name of the game is keep in entertaining. Though I believe tradition dictates no weapons." Adding with a wink, "Of course theres always room for a little trickery to get the crowd fired up."

[Dariusprime]

As the introductions continued, Fulcrum couldn't help but chuckle at the comradery. Now this she enjoyed.

She arched a brow and feigned a snobbish, upper crust accent, "Mr. Danger I presume? Lovely to see you again so soon, sir." Even as she offered a handshake, she leaned up on tip toes to peek at Jack. In her normal voice, she added, "And this must be Jack-of-All-Blades. I've heard good things about you."

[quotemyname]

"Aw darn," Colt scuffed his foot dejectedly, "Guess that means I won't be hittin' nobody with'a barstool...Hey, there's an idea! All'a us could gang up on Atlas, here. He c'n take it! Can't ya, big guy!" Colt smiled up at the Big Red Man showing that he was once again poking fun.

[Gizmo]

The only coherent thought Jack was able to form as he attempted to reply to Fulcrum's greeting was, Gah, it's like pins and needles on my eyeballs. Fortunately, he'd long ago perfected the art of speaking without thinking. Unfortunately, there were some inherent flaws in the system. "Fulcrum, right? Well, if you've got a place to stand, I've got a lever long enough to move your world." The swordsman paused for a horrified moment as his brain caught up with his mouth, then promptly planted his palm on his face. "Ahem. Sorry about that," he continued ruefully. "That was sort of a Freudian prat fall, huh?" Peering through his fingers he grinned wryly. "On the bright side, there's a chance you'll get to punch me in the face shortly."

[Dariusprime]

Stunned, blinking silence was all Fulcrum could manage. Now crude jokes about her were nothing new, but she had never heard anything in that league. She gazed down at Jack with a look perfected by millions of unhappy mothers. The expression fell somewhere on the spectrum of deadpan, disappointed and angry. A look that reduced its victim to a scolded child without even trying. Something familiar about that glare too. At least to Jack.

But instead of slugging him, the threat of which hovered unconsciously in the air, Fulcrum just shook her head, hands on hips, "Jacky, with lines like that, you have far bigger problems than me." The tone was serious yet teasing, like she may let him off the hook, "And don't worry, I'll be boxing Atlas here for sure. Colt is right though, we'll need to gang up on him. I remember the Invasion." She jerked a thumb in Atlas' direction and smiled at the big man too.

"Quite a performance there, Atlas."

[Gizmo]

The corner of his mouth twitching subtly, Jack bowed deeply, his coat sweeping out as he gestured grandly. "True enough. Consider this rogue suitably chastised." Despite his words, the swashbuckler's expression suggested that, having confirmed that offense had not been too gravely taken, he was not particularly abashed by his lapse in decorum. Social awkwardness hadn't held much threat for Jack since he was a child, nor glares of disapproval. At some point in his youth he'd realized that much could be repaired by a sufficiently disarming grin. Even so, Fulcrum's scolding look stirred a vague recognition in the back of his mind. His own mother tended to voice her displeasure more directly, however; perhaps he was being reminded of an old teacher, or simply suffering from the continued distraction of the imposing heroine's energy emissions.

Outwardly, he rose from his abasement and hooked his thumbs in his jacket's pockets. "At least I can cross 'Archimedes' off my 'Ill-Advised Pick-Up Lines' bingo card. If I get 'toaster pastries' I'll have the diagonal."

[Heritage]

"Jeeze, this has gotta be how you feel all the time, Grim,"

Grim nods from her position perched on Colt's shoulders. "Pretty much, yeah, unless I cheat and make myself taller. 'A princess of Faerieland, surrounded by giants.'" She winks and wiggles her pointy ears.

"So this is the indomitable Grim, huh? Nice to meet you."

The shapeshifter offers a firm handshake. "Yeah, hi! I think I saw you in action at danger Mansion, but there really wasn't time to chat or anything. Nice to meet you, and, um, I like your cape; it's very....well, y'know..."

The tips of her ears go a bit pink, and she turns her attention to the discussion of bouts to come.

"Yeah, actually that's a good question. Also do we just pick who we want to take on, because I would love a chance to drop Jack in his tracks." :twisted:

[Geez3r]

Atlas smiled somewhat bashfully as everyone complimented him on how he performed at the Invasion. "Zank you. But you give me too much credit. I just had to keep attacking ze area in front of me, zere vas no finesse needed. I am not ze greatest of fighters." Atlas glanced over at Fulcrum, remembering her own performance at the Invasion. She probably wasn't as strong as he was, but she was definitely quicker. And really, it had been a while since someone was able to punch him square in the face, and one of Fulcrum's punches was bound to remind him why getting punched in the face sucked.

"You did quite vell zere yourself. Don't sell yourself short, I zink fighting you vill be enough for me today."

[Gizmo]

"Grim!" Jack gasped, his tone scandalized. "Colt is standing right there!" He looked around the circle of heroes expectantly. "See, 'cause she said... then I pretended like..." After a pronounced pause Jack sighed and placed his hands behind his head. "This is why people cover their sidekicks' ears when I'm around, isn't it?" Admittedly, he was laying the puckish rogue act on a little thick, but with the topic of conversation invariably drifting back to the demonic invasion, Jack felt his disposition leaning towards pique and away from subtlety. Besides, a certain bawdy spectacle was the order of the day, he thought, a bit more petulantly than he cared for.

[quotemyname]

Colt chuckled at Jack's banter. Even though it was at his own expense, it never ceased to amuse him. "Reckon ya got too much time on yer hands, there, Jack." He said, patting the swordsman on the shoulder.

"I'll be fine with whoever. I ain't in the habit'a turnin' down'a challenge after all."

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum gave Jack a skeptical look and mumbled under her breath, "I doubt it."

Turning her attention to the fey, she smiled at Grimalkin's embarrassment and replied to Atlas, "Why thank you. All of us did our best that day." She meant every word. "I'm more worried about property damage. For fairness may be we should face off." Every once in a while she glanced at Jack, her expression bemused.

"Colt, I haven't known you very long, but even I can tell you can be stubborn as a mule." She patted him on the back, being careful not to launch the cowboy and fairy. Speaking of sprites, "Quite a catch you have there. How did you two ever meet?"

[angrydurf]

Ace chuckled at the light banter of his fellow competitors and had to agree that seeing grim face off against Jack would be a rather entertaining match.

"Well," He said with a sly half smile, "As much as it pains me not to get a shot at the big man himself, Ladies first." He bowed lightly to Fulcrum turning to Colt, "So Cowboy, you think you can handle yourself without the peashooters." he said in good natured challenge.

[quotemyname]

"Colt, I haven't known you very long, but even I can tell you can be stubborn as a mule." She patted him on the back, being careful not to launch the cowboy and fairy. Speaking of sprites, "Quite a catch you have there. How did you two ever meet?"

"It was at that there carnival, actually." Colt smiled as he looked up at Grim. "What c'n I say? Reckon I'm a sucker fer charity events'n pretty women."

He turned to Ace next. "Sure, Ace. I been in'a few'a them good bar fight's in my day. Reckon I c'n handle meself just fine. Now ya sure ya ain't to old fer this type'a thing?" Colt asked, never one to miss a chance at friendly banter.

[Gizmo]

Jack clicked his tongue with exaggerated annoyance."This guy spent the night meeting pretty girls. I spent it helping a pyrophobic zombie put his body parts back together. If I had a nickel, huh?" The swordsman shook his head wryly. "Gotta be the accent. The whole Texas Ranger thing is money."

[Dariusprime]

"Life is funny like that," came her reply to Colt, "Sometimes the best things just sort of sneak up on you."

Nodding politely, "Thank you, Mr. Danger, for that great sacrifice."

Glancing up at the clock, Fulcrum excused herself for a moment, only to return with roll of boxing tape. Having fists as tough as hers made the tape superfluous. Most days she simply shredded the stuff before the workout was over. Still force of habit was hard to break.

Wrapping with a practiced ease, she inquired, "Any good super hero teams operating around town?" In truth a few leads had already come up. She had her ear to the ground for just that topic. Still having inside information was so much better.

[Geez3r]

Altas followed Fulcrum's gave and noticed that the time was indeed approaching. He likewise began to wrap his hands in tape. Had he donw this 2 weeks ago, he would have just wound up with a wad of tape stuck to the back of his hand, but he had taken a few boxing lessons to prepare for this and this was thankfully one of the first thing they covered. He still had no idea why boxers did it, but he knew they did it, and so he did as well.

And as an added bonus, it gave him something to do while he pondered as to whether or not he should answer Fulcrum's question truthfully. The Midnighters were a close group of friends, but Atlas could very well be considered the normal one in the group, which spoke volumes. Atlas was pretty sure that this wasn't the group that Fulcrum would want to associate with. Most of the Midnighters preferred to stick to the shadows, and truth be told, he would do the same some times but he has trouble finding one big enough. Fulcrum honestly didn't seem the type; she was the type of hero people could look up to and be proud of. But on the other hand, it would be rude if he didn't mention the Midnights at all. Or would it?

Atlas gave up on deciding what was the right thing to do and simply made an indistinct grunt and did his best to look busy getting his gloves on.

[Geez3r]

After the heroes all got geared up and got their game faces on, it was time to head out into the arena proper. Now, most of the heroes had operated in the public eye before, but the amount of people crammed into the Liberty Dome was flat out insane. If the crowd was screaming any more, there would be a breeze indoors. There were hundreds, if not thousands of camera flashes going off every second. It was scary, and yet very exhilarating.

There were seats and tables around the ring for the event officials, judges and, most importantly, the competitors. Elevated a bit above the ground, but roughly eye level with the ring, the stands were almost literally standing room only. In addition, it appeared as if the first 3 rows of the stadium were reserved solely for orphans from the Extra Snuggly Adorable Orphans Foundation, who cheered quite enthusiastically when their favorite hero walked into the arena.

After a few minutes of the heroes getting the crowd riled up, the announcer made their way to the ring. They opened with the National Anthem as per tradition. The announcer then thanked anyone for attending and pointed out the event officials along with those who had made large contributions to the Foundation.

"Now. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Let's get ready to RUUUMMMMMBLE!"

"Heading to ring, a man who needs no introduction! The Immortal Legend himself. The Sophisticated Heir of Savior-Fair. The Duke of Danger. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you ACE DANGEEEERRRR!"

"And now joining him in the ring, his opponent. The Gunslinger from Infinity and Beyond. The Interstella' Southern Fella. The Cunning Cowboy. I present to you COOOLLLT!

The crowd goes apeshit.

[angrydurf]

Ace strolled casually down the ramp pausing at the half-way mark to offer up a few well practiced poses for the crowd and cameras. He then ran the remaining length sliding agilely into the ring and rolling to his feet stirring up the crowd as he jumped up on the bucklers flashing his famed smile hands raised egging on the crowds deafening roar.

He finished his intro facing the other competitors with a wink and kiss blown in Grimalkins direction before turning to Colt with a braggart grin as he raised his fists in front of him in a classic fisticuffs pose.

[quotemyname]

Colt triumphantly entered the arena backed by Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive," complete with his steel horse and everthing. He made quite the show of it, especially once he was in the ring. He used his fingers as mock pistols, shooting imaginary bullets every which way through the air. As the final notes of the song played, Colt spun his cowboy hat through the air to one of the orphans in the front row, and turned to face his opponent. Colt had elected to use the smallest pair of gloves possible. The ones he had selected were more akin to an MMA fight, than a boxing match. He had always been more used to throwing his opponents over bars and through tables than actually slugging them. He would need as much leverage he could get from his fingers in this fight.

[Dariusprime]

Standing there at the entrance, Fulcrum felt overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the event. She hid it well enough, but her stomach churned up a storm. Her game face slipped on seamlessly once the moment of truth arrived. Didn't help her stomach much though.

Thankfully, she wasn't among the first round of bouts. That gave her an opportunity to work the crowd and take her turn as a jungle gym for the orphans. Now officially the kids were supposed to be remain seated, but that much hyperactivity cannot be contained. Now that she was relaxed, she loved it, and the orphans loved hovering on her arms and shoulders. If she could manage it, she pulled Atlas into the fray, unwittingly putting him through round two and hopefully getting a couple of group poses with him.

Once the announcements began, she settled into a seat next to big guy. Flexing a bicep, she whispered, actually yelled over the crowd, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" She grinned.

[Geez3r]

Atlas stopped a few feet before walking into the arena, steeling himself for what was to come. When he finally walked out into the arena proper, he was glad he did so or he might have just passed out. He knew this was a big event, but good gawd that was a lot of people. He froze for a moment, but when he saw Fulcrum playing with the children, he cracked a smile and regained his composure. Shaking his head, he got roped into fussing with the orphans. Throughout the whole affair he kept laughing to himself. He had done these poses so many times in mock now it was starting to become his MO.

"Somezing bigger zan ourselves." replied Atlas sagely as he took his seat next to Fulcrum.

[Gizmo]

"Sheesh, with a straight face he says this," Jack snorted, backflipping into the stadium and performing twisting acrobatics across the seats and railings of the stands, his greatcoat spreading and flapping as it trailed behind him. Coiling his arms beneath him, the swordsman sprung upward air feet first, arcing through the air to land lightly on Atlas' massive red shoulder. Crouching there like a smirking gargoyle atop a brick monolith, he casually steadied the balance of an overambitious tyke scaling the giant hero's bicep. "In Soviet Russia, charity event participates in you!"

[Cyroa]

Dark Star floated above the ring, waiting for the crowd to quiet down a little. This whole grandstanding and playing this up fir the camera was definitely not his thing. He nodded to the two heroes as they entered the ring. "Ladies and Gentlemen. For this bout, our two competitors have agreed to do without their array of equipment. This match will be without super powers, just skill and against skill. There are no rules about their personal styles for this 'bout. However, blows to the vital areas are to be kept to a light touch at most. This is an friendly competition so underhanded and less-than-honorable tactics are prohibited of course, not that either of these two gentlemen would do such a thing. Now, without further ado, let's get this match started!" He floated well up and above the ring, to watch and wait.