2013.04.15 - Hey! TEACHer! Leave Them Super Kids Alone!

Halo Towers: 
Subbasement 7: Training, Exercise, and Combat Hall. Or as Stormwatch refers to it quaintly.... TEACH. The TEACH is a fantastic bit of Kheran tech adopted and then improved upon to suit the team as a whole. Unlike other similar training rooms across the Earth, this one is not self repairing robots with some odd unending amount of resources dedicated to creating a completely new death trap on a whim. Nor is it a series of hard light holographic projections with AI controlled 'villains', though those are available upon demand. Hadrian has never been a large fan of those sorts of programs. To much room for error, for issues. Instead... TEACH is actually a gateway into the Bleed, technology perfected by his people so long ago it's use is every day now, TEACH chooses, dependent upon the requests of those seeking training, a suitable pocket dimension or alternate universe to place them in. Most are artificially constructed pocket realms, made by the Kheran over time and placed in the Bleed for just this use, others are barren wastelands or the like discovered in their exploration and conquest through out the Bleed. Today, Hadrian has chosen a rather lack luster arena for his instruction of young Connor, a dry, hot, barren stretch of scorched packed earth undergoing a climate readjustment one hundred millennia after it's in habit ants unleashed doomsday weapons upon one another. Nothing is left but grayish brown cracked rock, dust, and sand.
Spartan steps through into TEACH first and walks out a ways onto the flat empty nothingness that is the dead planet, then he turns to face Connor, "You have great strength," he says, reaching down with a glowing hand to bathe himself in light. His suit and loafers and tie all disappear as the fibers of his clothing realign themselves into his costume, "speed, resilience, but you do not know how to fight. This makes you a liability." he offers a smile, "I thought perhaps we could begin to remedy this."
"Whatever, old man. I've already proven I'm not a liability for this team. I have enough strength and power I can set the pace of any fight I'm in. You weren't there when we went to Limbo or the other night when I pounded those hit man wannabes." Clearly overly cocky and overconfident there but that is the norm for Conner when he's confronted with battle related challenges. Discarding his jacket in a toss Conner looks the landscape over and releases a grunt. "Couldn't pick something more scenic? Like an island or something, Hawaii even... " No special costume for him. He's in fatigue like pants and a black T shirt.
Spartan's more traditional look slides over him, gone is the bulky heavy armor plates, now there's no way to tell Spartan apart from a normal man, well... not usually anyway. His costume even looks like just that, a costume, "Then this should be a short match." he says blandly. "Friendly wager? Should you yield you get to take the next two watch rotations. Fair warning, Void's been feeling rather... petty as of late. She sent me to a dessert to stare at a suspicious fire. Nomad camp grounds. Wouldn't port me back either... it was a long walk. Saudi Arabia is larger then you'd suspect."
Slapping his right fist in to his opposing palm Conner takes only a heartbeat to respond, "Yield? Not going to happen. Is that it?" Already the young man is telegraphing his thoughts in eyes alone, something a veteran of all vets like Spartan would be able to calculate. "And what happens if I break off one of your arms or something, Mr. Robot? Or is that going too far? You can just repair right?"
Spartan chuckles softly, "You should be so lucky." he says, one of his feet sliding slightly in the grit, "Remind me to tell you the story of our Royals some day, I feel it would teach you much needed humility."
Conner's jaw sets stubbornly as he launches forward in a blur of motion. "Luck won't have anything to do with it and story telling is a waste of time. Let's do this!" One fist up high the other low in a stereotypical heroic lunge something that translates to no real protection for face, neck, shoulders, limbs too far out. Yes, most super poses are ridiculously ill fit for combat and scream of teh stupid. At least he is really fast.
Spartan is already moving when Kon begins to blur, his hand coming out and down to grip the young man's leading wrist in a grip stronger then steel. He turns slightly, letting the other man's momentum put him slightly off balance, bending the arm at the elbow and pulling it back up over Kon's shoulder. Keeping the momentum up he idly puts his foot out, hooking it around the clone's ankle. Hadrian grins and offers only the slightest of pushes upon Superboy's back. "Ready to begin when you are." he says idly.
Unsure how he ended up in an arm bar Conner releases a sound that could easily be a snarl if he was an animal. The push has him stumble a foot forward before spinning around and grabbing at Spartan's face - a wild reach one that briefly goes wide before it would connect. Who knows what he has planned next.
While Kon and Spartan spar, is watching with some genuine interest. Because Spartan is assuming his vast experience can compensate for anything Kon (or Nate himself) can throw at him. But Nate has seen what a kryptonian can do and is highly sceptic raw skill of any kind can compensate for it.
Then he sees what Kon has done and facepalms. "Less talking, more robot smashing!" He shouts.
Spartan steps forward and low, beneath Kon's outstretched hands and buries a fist into the young man's gut as he turns on the ball of his foot and the opposite arm's elbow smashes against the base of Kon's skull. "Yes Superboy. Smash. Like the Hulk." he suggests as he takes a pair of nonchalant steps away, flicking a bit of sand from his sleeve.
"I'm working on it." Conner snaps out at Nate, frustration in his voice.
Gut to face shots are taken and the clone becomes aware he possesses a nose. "How?" Reaching his hand upwards he rubs the space between his eyes while Spartan backs off. Lurching forward he throws out a relatively nice jab followed by another and then a haymaker. It started out nice at least.
"Gotta work faster, not harder," Nate comments. Not yelling this time, but Conner should be able to hear him. Maybe Spartan too. He grunts when the android manages to hit Superbody yet again. He is quick, but still Nate saw those blows, they weren't supersonic or anything. "Man, you suck at being Super or what?"
Spartan raises his hand and uses the knife edges of his hands not to block, but to deflect the incoming blows, sending them glancing to the side with minimum effort and suffering no damage in return. Even those however, sound solid, like landing a sledge hammer on dense plating, though Spartan doesn't seem to notice. "All raw speed, raw strength." he says, shifting his weight again, "You don't consider how to properly apply it." his eyes narrow, "Allow the lesson to begin." Narrowed eyes blaze pink without warning, searing plasmic energy sears straight into Connor's eyes even as Spartan's entirely to heavy boot slams down on Superboy's instep. Then the energy is gone, but only because the android's elbow knifes down as his body drops low, the pointed joint driving into the top of Connor's knee right behind the cap.
Yeah Conner hears everything Nate is saying and he's already lost his temper to the point the blood pounding through his skull is making sounds muffled and far away. 
"Shut up!" Definitely angry.
It's the energy shot taken full face that hurts the most and can actually be felt. Super clone's head rocks back as legs buckle underneath him while smoke tendrils begin to curl off his face. It's then that the ground is gripped underneath Spartan's feet and ripped upwards like someone peeling up carpet. Ground forcibly pried loose in a violent upheaval and chaotic spray of desert.
Nate tsk, some people can't handle friendly criticism. Then he mock-winces when Spartan blasts Superboy straight to the face. This time he has to admit it was not something one could do much to avoid. Not even something he expected Spartan could do. On the other hand Connect counter-attack is also quite unexpected, which is a nice change.
Spartan's legs buckle, but only so slightly, as this rather standard tactic was also expected from the Boy of Steel. Using some of the upward momentum, Spartan arches back through the air gracefully like an acrobat, and flips over, landing solidly in a three point crouch that leaves cracks in the hard earth beneath him. He grins and launches himself forward. There's very little sound for Kon to hear the approach, and so assuming he's managed to clear his eyes, only looking up would really give him any warning at all as a pair of fists, propelled by the flight capability of Spartan, give Kon's belly button a love tap... An impressive sight as the air before the android, prior to impact, had taken on a milky wavering quality. Having calculated the distance and timing, the blow lands at the exact same instant Spartan breaks the sound barrier, releasing the thunderous BOOM in a wave over and around Superboy. Assuming he's capable of taking the physical blow, Spartan suspects the younger man's ears won't appreciate the sudden pressure wave's delivery.
Kryptonian physiology and all that Conner's isn't entirely impaired or affected by the pressure related aspect of the attack, the sound though; is loud, sudden and disorienting on top of the brutal impact. Impact that has his feet leaving the ground below them as his body sails through the air, bouncing then skipping like a giant stone thrown across a placid lake. A lake made up of dirt and rock.
Dust explodes up around each touchdown of Conner's form sending shrapnel and earth in all directions until the youth manages to fullstop himself. His clothes torn apart and raggedly hanging off his body. Arms thrown back his eyes light up in a red flare and beams are cast out in surging pulse that arc towards the general area Spartan is currently in. Nate may also be in that same vicinity.
Nate is some distance away, since he expected some serious landscape wrecking from this duel. His ears are ringing from the sonic boom, though. He grunts and takes a few steps back while Superboy bounces. "Nice trick," he has to admit, "gotta remember it." And, "laser vision? But can you put enough juice to hurt him?"
Spartan stares straight into the blast of energy, and raises a hand languidly, a buggle of pink force appearing before him, causing the Kryptonian's heat vision to splash around him like water sprayed at a wall. Some of his uniform smokes, steam rising from where it brushed him before the shield went up. "You are angry. It makes you sloppy." he says as he begins to walk Superboy's direction, "That wasn't even training, tactics, it was a flying double punch, a rookie move. You don't think, you don't plan, you react, like an animal you go into battle swinging fast and hard and assuming that will be enough. However fast you are, our enemy is faster, however strong you are, our enemy is magnitudes stronger, however hard you are, out enemy is harder still. In all these areas you out class me, as do they, and yet I have lived five thousand of your years doing battle with them. They have not killed me yet. Because however clever and tactical they are, I am more." his tone is even, lecturous, but not condescending. "Imagine how much more Super you could be if you bothered to apply yourself to the same. A time will come when strength and invulnerability and speed will not be enough, I would have you prepared, as I am. If Majestros were here I would have him teach you. But he is not, so you will have to settle for me."
Conner's eye beams retract after scorching the landscape and creating blackened pits along it. Spartan still before him unphased and talking. Infuriating really, Superboy knows he is stronger and faster but can't seem to put a dent in the ancient android like he so badly wants to right now. "I don't have five thousand years to train. I just need to get my hands on you and you won't be so smug." His anger clearly blinding him but the message is sinking in. He may be reckless and reliant on his powers but he still has a brain in there and as the Kheran speaks words to breach thickened skull. Nate no doubt catching the same lecture.
Conner's ears still ring and his face feels like it's been burnt, his vision is even blurry coupled with watering eyes. The blast / pummel combo was very effective. He'll likewise use it some day no doubt.
The good thing of being able to watch this is that Nate has come with a couple ideas about tactics to use against Spartan when it comes his turn. He did receive some serious training from Forge, which also involved, not that he thinks about it, some annoying lecturing. The truth is he expected Spartan to be able to humble Conner, but he didn't expect it to be so one-sided. "I got the impression Conner, you could have relied more in super-speed to compensate Spartan's martial arts better. Aren't you faster than a bullet or something like that?"
Spartan shrugs slightly at the words, "He could not defeat me." he says before turning to face Nate, "As you likely could not." he turns to eyes Connor, "And that gives me an idea for a training exercise. Hrm." he grins and turns to walk back towards the TEACH, "Connor, I was eleven when I killed my first Daemonite soldier. I did not have five thousand years of training either, nor did I possess the physical attributes this body offers. Understand that given a choice I would take fifty of your Captain America's and from them forge an end to the Daem. What I have is you. I will make you into a soldier, into more then just a boy with an S on his chest..." he's quiet for a moment, "Majestros would like you. He would beat you to a pulp... but he would like your spirit, as I do. Now come, we need to discuss the fight and watch the recordings so that you will understand where you went wrong and how to avoid it in the future. Perhaps next time you will last longer then twenty point eight seven seconds from point of first contact."
"I'm fast enough." Conner mutters. "He is just... broken and stupid." 
It is hard for Conner to explain how he is seeing it. He knows what he is about to do and takes action and Spartan is moving in slower, calculated and precise almost subtle reactions that look like little more than a shift or a flinch yet somehow manages to roll off attacks or is moving his body in to some counter position. It's experience, a hard wired hyper accelerated brain-to-motor-function/response capability that can keep awareness of Conner's speed and combat knowledge as opposed to the clone's raw inhuman abilities. The android is right, Superboy is sloppy but that doesn't mean he is willing to admit to it. 
"I'm not just some boy with an S on his chest and I didn't yield or lose." Irony that first statement obvious. Still cooling off Conner glares over at Nate after peeling his gaze off Spartan, "Yeah, not like you would do any better."
"Sure he could," protests Nate. "He just needs..." vague gesture. "Yeah, maybe some more training. As for beating me, we can test that anytime." He smirks at Conner, "hey, maybe I couldn't, it would be very hard not to do it any better. You are lucky Yana is not here, she would never let you live it down."
Spartan turns to eye Nate, "Your brain functions like a computer, firing impulses upon certain wavelengths of electromagnetic energy and in certain orders. I've already mapped out the exact frequency required to simply send your neurons firing randomly, essentially making you incapable of forming thought, subconscious or otherwise, for approximately fifteen seconds, rendering you powerless and unable to move." he says all of this matter of factly, "Telepaths have a single great weakness, reliance. For instance, you cannot read my mind, you've no idea what I could do to you." he eyes Nate, "I am the only one of us immune to Daemonite possession, you do not think I have not already created numerous contingencies in the eventuality one of you is possessed, did you? You are resistant, as is Illyana, but neither of you are immune." with that sobering thought Spartan steps through the TEACH, "Or I could just always leave you inside and lock the door?" he quips, only after a moment does he grin at Nate to show he's just kidding. "Would you like me to leave you a sparring partner of your own Nathaniel, while Connor and I are reviewing the footage?" he ignores Kon's talk about yielding the fight was over and they both know it, no need to embarrass the boy.
"Whatever." Conner grunts. He is fully aware of Yana's ribbing and taunting, Ravager as well but he knows them better than he does Nate. It makes it slightly less irritating. Only slightly. "We'll see if you last half as long." In team competition never hurt.
What all Spartan is saying goes in one ear and out the other while Kon collects himself, knuckles brushing over his scorched water blurred eyes. "Lets just go already." Following after through/towards/into the exit.
Nate uh huhs, thinks a moment and shakes his head. "You think I can't block electromagnetic signals with telekinesis, if I couldn't being electrocuted would be my main weakness. That would work only if you take me unaware." Lots of bad things can happen to psions taken unaware, though. That is something he knows. "As for mind-reading... well, I am taking lessons from a very good telepath, but I don't think I can mind-read someone in the middle of a fight just yet." The sparring can wait, he shakes his head again and follows the others out. Or in.
Spartan continues smiling at Nate, "Electrocution is imprecise, it would have to fit within a very narrow bandwidth. Like I said, there are contingency plans Nathaniel, and if I was not positive that I could render you no longer a threat you would not be on this team." he points out. He thinks ahead, he wouldn't have put anyone on a team against an army of body snatching aliens without knowing how to take said teammates down. He's not an idiot. Why do they think he hasn't tried to recruit the Hulk? "I had pizza ordered while we were sparring Conner, I thought you might be hungry. It'll be waiting in the Provisional Viewing Annex..." he pauses, then realizes he's the only one that calls it that, "The TV Room, one you've changed and cleared your eyes." he clarifies, sighing at the sad use the massive 3D holographic displays from advanced worlds have recently been used to play an extraordinary amount of first person shooter video games and truly horrid television programs.
Category:Log