[Luke] Caged
Nov 19, 2019 19:37:05 GMT -8
Post by Sparky on Nov 19, 2019 19:37:05 GMT -8
[Refs]
The crowd roared as a scrawny young man was dropped into the floor of the ring with a wet crack. His fingers twitched, eyes were glazed, barely breathing. Luke knew even if he wasn't dead, he wasn't getting back up. Ever. Not from that. He tightened the gloves on his hands and looked through the bars. Tonight's champ was basking in the warmth of the crowd, bloodied fists raised and a toothy grin on his features. Barely fifteen and he was planning on taking on a mountain of muscle. No one said he was smart.
He'd snuck in here almost constantly growing up. Learned to fight thanks to it. Second he turned old enough to step foot in it, how could he not take that chance? Luke had fought bigger and meaner. Far as Luke was concerned, the years of experience evened them out. Though, the boy supposed the one before him thought that very same thing.
Difference was, the kid being dragged out by his legs was scrawny and fought like he was trying to mimic an action movie. Dude was probably hopped up on so many drugs he thought he was Fenris or one of those other jagoff's. Luke cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. No matter how you looked at it, it would be different. Sure, Luke might not walk out of here, but he wasn't going to go down without getting a few solid hits in.
The man before him was a monster, sure, but he wasn't invincible. Luke just had to hit the right spots. His smaller build worked in his advantage too theoretically. Helped make the boy a smaller target. And given he knew how to actually dodge instead of trying to face-tank a fucking fist... it would probably lend itself towards a better fight. In theory.
It's not like the Cage cared. The Cage matched up fighters willy nilly, no care for experience or weight-class. Sure, for the experienced ones, they at least tried to set it up better. Give them actual titles, what not. Pretend like they were civilized folks. But the real deal was that the crowd wanted blood, so the Cage gave them blood. All kinds of blood. Blood and broken bones from every type of person they could snag. Teens, adults, there was no real rule against it save the bare minimum age had to be fifteen. A rare set of morals in The City. Or maybe it just gave the allusion of looking for better fights.
Everyone here liked blood. They wanted blood. Wanted to see it spilled, wanted bodies broken. The Cage was a meatgrinder. A red light flashed and a loud mechanical alarm sounded off, signalling the opening of the door. Luke didn't hesitate. The crowd roared and laughed and cheered as he took his first steps into the blood soaked ring. The lights bearing down on him made the boy start sweating almost immediately, causing his muscles to shine in it's glow. Nothing like the scrawny skeleton that was broken like a toy before him.
The punk was smaller, but he wasn't a toy.
"Alright~!" The ref called out into the microphone. "And here is our next competitor, a stray dog from the streets, looking to earn glory~! Make sure you place your next bets everyone! The next fight is set to begin!"
The previous victor smirked and stood up, approaching Luke and sizing him up. Five-foot-six compared to six-foot-three. This was the play. Compare the competition. Get the bets locked in. He could hear everyone debating amongst themselves in the stands. The previous victor was the obvious choice, but people liked an underdog story. And seeing as they both were in good physical condition this time, they could run high-risk/high-reward betting now. Luke had been around the stands of the Cage long enough to know the system.
"Alright everyone, the bet's are in and the round is about to begin!" The Ref stepped back and the cage doors locked electronically. A simple, tough mechanism that ensured one thing; No escape. Luke could pick it apart in his sleep, but it did its job. The young punk held his hand out. An offer of good will. The oponent scoffed and shook his head, but didn't slap it away, taking it in his hand and pulling Luke close.
"I'm going to break you, boy." He hissed.
"Like to see you try, babe." The boy bit back.
The two stepped away from one another as the alarm counted down. As it struck the last beep the two competitors took their stances. The man taking a traditional stance of an orthodox-slugger. Luke, meanwhile looked like an amalgam of two forms, with a third sprinkled in. The man laughed as the final alarm rang out, signaling the start of the fight.
"What the hell kind of stance is that? You think this is some kind of joke?" The man tucked in and wound up, throwing his first blow. It was fast, and would have been hard. But Luke's stance was deceptive, the boy knew what he was doing. It was unorthodox, sure, but he'd practiced this style on his own. The boy dodged around the punch like he'd seen it coming a mile away, pushing forwards. The man pulled back and swung to counter, but Luke was already dodging again, dancing around the fist and getting inside the man's guard before he had a chance to react properly. Luke knew how to fight men bigger than him. The boy stomped down on the man's foot, pinned it, and shoulder checked him.
The rules of the Cage were abnormal. Dirty. Anything was allowed as long as it wasn't weaponry or magic. Hell, you could go in there flipping and kicking like a karate master and they'd just clap you on the shoulder and give you a sack of gold for the entertainment value alone. Luke knew how to abuse that, treating this less like an art and more like an all out street brawl.
The only objective was to crush his opponent.
The play worked, the man staggering off balance when Luke's foot released him. His guard fell as he caught his balance, and the boy monopolized on that in a heartbeat. Luke's left fist swung into his face. A hard, brutal jab to keep him stunned and off-balance. Then, the boy brought it back, kept it up to guard as his right powered upwards, driving into the man's chin like a rocket. He heard the sound of cracking teeth and jaw as the man's expression locked.
The first punch had him spitting blood. The second put him out for good.
The crowd roared as the titan fell to the ground. Luke turned away, shaking his fist out as the Ref checked the man, waved his hands, and called it. The crowd erupted in a mixture of cheers and boos, filling the building with the sounds of chaos. "Our winner! The stray!"
"Now that the opening acts are over, everyone, make sure you collect your winnings at the stand and get ready for tonight's title match!" Luke spit off to the side. The door clicked. And out he went.
He'd snuck in here almost constantly growing up. Learned to fight thanks to it. Second he turned old enough to step foot in it, how could he not take that chance? Luke had fought bigger and meaner. Far as Luke was concerned, the years of experience evened them out. Though, the boy supposed the one before him thought that very same thing.
Difference was, the kid being dragged out by his legs was scrawny and fought like he was trying to mimic an action movie. Dude was probably hopped up on so many drugs he thought he was Fenris or one of those other jagoff's. Luke cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. No matter how you looked at it, it would be different. Sure, Luke might not walk out of here, but he wasn't going to go down without getting a few solid hits in.
The man before him was a monster, sure, but he wasn't invincible. Luke just had to hit the right spots. His smaller build worked in his advantage too theoretically. Helped make the boy a smaller target. And given he knew how to actually dodge instead of trying to face-tank a fucking fist... it would probably lend itself towards a better fight. In theory.
It's not like the Cage cared. The Cage matched up fighters willy nilly, no care for experience or weight-class. Sure, for the experienced ones, they at least tried to set it up better. Give them actual titles, what not. Pretend like they were civilized folks. But the real deal was that the crowd wanted blood, so the Cage gave them blood. All kinds of blood. Blood and broken bones from every type of person they could snag. Teens, adults, there was no real rule against it save the bare minimum age had to be fifteen. A rare set of morals in The City. Or maybe it just gave the allusion of looking for better fights.
Everyone here liked blood. They wanted blood. Wanted to see it spilled, wanted bodies broken. The Cage was a meatgrinder. A red light flashed and a loud mechanical alarm sounded off, signalling the opening of the door. Luke didn't hesitate. The crowd roared and laughed and cheered as he took his first steps into the blood soaked ring. The lights bearing down on him made the boy start sweating almost immediately, causing his muscles to shine in it's glow. Nothing like the scrawny skeleton that was broken like a toy before him.
The punk was smaller, but he wasn't a toy.
"Alright~!" The ref called out into the microphone. "And here is our next competitor, a stray dog from the streets, looking to earn glory~! Make sure you place your next bets everyone! The next fight is set to begin!"
The previous victor smirked and stood up, approaching Luke and sizing him up. Five-foot-six compared to six-foot-three. This was the play. Compare the competition. Get the bets locked in. He could hear everyone debating amongst themselves in the stands. The previous victor was the obvious choice, but people liked an underdog story. And seeing as they both were in good physical condition this time, they could run high-risk/high-reward betting now. Luke had been around the stands of the Cage long enough to know the system.
"Alright everyone, the bet's are in and the round is about to begin!" The Ref stepped back and the cage doors locked electronically. A simple, tough mechanism that ensured one thing; No escape. Luke could pick it apart in his sleep, but it did its job. The young punk held his hand out. An offer of good will. The oponent scoffed and shook his head, but didn't slap it away, taking it in his hand and pulling Luke close.
"I'm going to break you, boy." He hissed.
"Like to see you try, babe." The boy bit back.
The two stepped away from one another as the alarm counted down. As it struck the last beep the two competitors took their stances. The man taking a traditional stance of an orthodox-slugger. Luke, meanwhile looked like an amalgam of two forms, with a third sprinkled in. The man laughed as the final alarm rang out, signaling the start of the fight.
"What the hell kind of stance is that? You think this is some kind of joke?" The man tucked in and wound up, throwing his first blow. It was fast, and would have been hard. But Luke's stance was deceptive, the boy knew what he was doing. It was unorthodox, sure, but he'd practiced this style on his own. The boy dodged around the punch like he'd seen it coming a mile away, pushing forwards. The man pulled back and swung to counter, but Luke was already dodging again, dancing around the fist and getting inside the man's guard before he had a chance to react properly. Luke knew how to fight men bigger than him. The boy stomped down on the man's foot, pinned it, and shoulder checked him.
The rules of the Cage were abnormal. Dirty. Anything was allowed as long as it wasn't weaponry or magic. Hell, you could go in there flipping and kicking like a karate master and they'd just clap you on the shoulder and give you a sack of gold for the entertainment value alone. Luke knew how to abuse that, treating this less like an art and more like an all out street brawl.
The only objective was to crush his opponent.
The play worked, the man staggering off balance when Luke's foot released him. His guard fell as he caught his balance, and the boy monopolized on that in a heartbeat. Luke's left fist swung into his face. A hard, brutal jab to keep him stunned and off-balance. Then, the boy brought it back, kept it up to guard as his right powered upwards, driving into the man's chin like a rocket. He heard the sound of cracking teeth and jaw as the man's expression locked.
The first punch had him spitting blood. The second put him out for good.
The crowd roared as the titan fell to the ground. Luke turned away, shaking his fist out as the Ref checked the man, waved his hands, and called it. The crowd erupted in a mixture of cheers and boos, filling the building with the sounds of chaos. "Our winner! The stray!"
"Now that the opening acts are over, everyone, make sure you collect your winnings at the stand and get ready for tonight's title match!" Luke spit off to the side. The door clicked. And out he went.