Heroes

Chapter 9: Fight

"But you...you just...how is that possible!?"

"I have a talent," I said shrugging.

"How can you even shoot UP?"

"I once shot an arrow into a horse's tail that was standing behind me."

His jaw dropped. He realized the lapse in his composure and quickly shut his mouth. He stiffly walked over to the boxing ring and pressed a button on the wall. I was scared that my performance had been so bad he was calling an extermination squad. I wasn't exactly comforted when a huge, muscled man walked out of a door I hadn't noticed before and stepped into the boxing ring. He slid on two red boxing gloves and looked at me expectantly. I glanced at Hawkeye before stepping into the ring myself. I picked up two black gloves and put them on.

"We'll start with traditional boxing first," said Clint from the sidelines, still sounding shell-shocked.

I was reminded a little bit of my match with Ethan Nakamaura in the Labyrinth. Hopefully this match wasn't to the death.

"Begin."

We circled each other for a while. My swordsmanship skills immediately picked out his weaknesses. He obviously didn't have many, or he wouldn't have been hired. He did have a small section of his torso, right above his hip that was left exposed. It was only about an inch wide, but he would have trouble defending it quickly. He also had a small spot on the left side of his neck that would be a perfect spot to chop at or smack with my hilt, but I'd have to make do with my bulky gloves.

Seeing that I wasn't going to make a move, he struck first. He sent an experimental uppercut that was aimed for my gut. Very few rookies were good at defending their stomachs, but I wasn't a rookie. If a sword is an extension of your arm, hand-to-hand combat is just fighting with shorter arms. I easily blocked his strike. He threw a compound strike at my chest, hoping I had over extended, but my arm was there to block him. He threw punch after punch but I blocked every one.

He was starting to get frustrated, but he was too experienced to make a mistake, and too strong to get tired. I analyzed his moves, anticipating the next 3 hits he would bring. A waited until his right arm was an inch away from being blocked by my left arm. Then I quickly extended my free, right arm across his body to the vulnerable spot above his right hip. He bent forward in the shock of being hit. I backhanded the spot on his neck with my left hand. He raised his gloves to protect his neck, and exposed an area just below his belly button. I threw an uppercut into his flesh, and he was done for. He fell on his butt and stayed there.

I actually surprised myself with that fight. I had always been good at analyzing weaknesses, but I had never been that powerful with my punches. I guess it was the godly strength popping up. I slipped out of the ring and walked over to Clint.

"We are so having a match between you and Steve," said Hawkeye with raised eyebrows, "That was our best trainer."

"I've trained for quite a while myself, but I'm sure I'm not that good. I don't even like boxing."

He shook his head. "Normally I'd have you try kickboxing, but I think the trainer needs a rest," he said chuckling. He walked over to the martial arts mat, but I took a long detour to the drinking fountain and instantly felt as good as I had this morning. I didn't quite understand it, but even as a god, I still drew strength from my dad's realm. Annabeth thinks it's because water is the source of tropical storms, which are my domain. It didn't really matter, and I didn't really expect an answer.

I joined Clint at the mat and saw that another trainer had joined us. He had dark, short hair and light skin. He was dressed in a classic white Karate outfit with a black belt wrapped around it. His belt had other decorations on it that I didn't understand, but knew it meant that he was skilled at kicking butts.