The X-Project

The first rule of Mutant Fight Club is apparently "Cut your hair, stupid teenage boy." Kyle has a test bout. It goes well. Really well. Too well. The only casualty is Kyle's hair.



Kyle bounced on the ball of his feet a little, as was his habit when he was nervous or excited. And he was a even mixture of both. He hadn't watched this guy fight before, that was part of the idea, they'd said, see how he dealt with someone he didn't know. He wasn't sure how he felt about the gloves he'd been lent. They felt weird, and he was used to using his claws, but 'for safety reasons', they'd said. For now.

And it'd be his own DNA's fault if he lost a tooth or bit off his tongue or something. None of the mouth guards fit him at all - he thought maybe he could bogart Forge's little buzzy drill tool thing and fix one up, but he couldn't do that -right now this minute-, but he thought it'd be okay, and signed something saying the club wasn't gonna get sued. ~Yeah, like I'd sue anyone. Sheesh.~

It was mid-afternoon, well before the club was set to open, so the only observers were managers and a handful of fighters warming up for the night's 'festivities'. One of them peeled off at a gesture and sauntered over to the ring. He caught a pair of gloves and a mouthpiece that were tossed at him, and geared up with short, economical motions. This must be the new kid there'd been rumors about. Paul was always on the lookout for fresh blood.

A few of the other fighters saw what was going on and came over as well. Some good-natured harassment was tossed at the ring. "Go easy on the kid, Darren," one of the fighters called. Darren simply chuckled before putting his mouthguard in. It wouldn't be a test if he held back.

The only rules, they'd told him, were no groin shots, and nothing to the eyes. And no biting. Kyle wasn't sure if that had been put in just for him or not. Anything else was just fine, not everyone, Paul had said, was a chopsocky kickboxing kind of fighter.

This guy looked like one though. And okay, Kyle though, half of it was because he was asian, but stereotypes existed for a reason!

Darren sized the kid up. Lanky, taller than he was, which wasn't -that- difficult. And at least he moved like he knew how to handle himself. Well, time to see if he could. Rocking back on one foot, Darren quickly launched himself into the air with a spinning kick aimed right at Kyle's jaw.

Kyle had just enough time to yelp out a "JESUS!" before ducking under the kick, and lunching for Darren's waist. Screw this fancy crap, this guy needed to be on the ground -before- he got a chance to land one of those. They looked fucking painful. And how did such a little dude get so goddamn high in the air anyway?

Instead of hitting the mat heavily from the tackle, Darren rolled with it, using his feet to flip Kyle off of him and halfway across the ring. Continuing the motion, he pushed off his hands and sprang forward in a kip up, twisting as he landed to keep the kid in his field of vision.

The kid was quick to react and improvise. That was good. Staying on the ground this time, Darren stepped forward fluidly and unleashed a series of punches and strikes at Kyle's head and body.

Kyle had a brief moment of panic, blinking rapidly to try to clear his vision of the blows to his head, and stepped back, trying to push Darren's fists and arms aside blindly. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear anything except his heart racing and the thwack of gloved fists on his skin.

He didn't even realize what he was doing until he was almost done. It felt like hours, but it was barely a second before, to Kyle, the punches just seemed to stop abruptly, and as his vision cleared, he realized that he'd stepped around the other fighter, and pushed him away with a kick to the hip. ~Great. Wish I could remember what the hell I just did..~

Okay, the kid was -very- quick. Almost preternaturally so. Darren jerked a minuscule nod at Paul and the other trainers. The kid would pass muster. But quick reflexes and instincts aside, it was time to show the kid what he was up against. A quick feint to the body provided the opening for a quick one-two combination to the kid's jaw that sent him reeling back. Stepping in to press his advantage, Darren grabbed the kid's shirt to execute a hip toss. But the kid managed to duck out of the way, and instead of grabbing cotton, Darren got a fistful of hair.

"OW! FUCK!" Kyle yelped. The fucker had grabbed his -hair-. He straightened, quickly, ignoring the sting of his hair being pulled, and punched his opponent hard in the middle of his chest, too angry to do anything more than just try to get a little revenge.

Darren staggered backward, doing his best not to wince and rub his chest. That one had hurt. It was obvious the kid was mad, because he was coming in a whole lot harder than before.

Kyle shook himself, clearing some of the fog of rage from his senses, and took a step back. "My bad.." He said, running a gloved hair through his hair, trying to see how much had come out. "Wasn't expecting to get my hair pulled out... "

Darren shrugged and offered a hand to the kid. "Fair enough. You ducked faster than I expected." He looked over again at Paul and the trainers while he spat his mouthpiece into the hand he wasn't offering Kyle. "He'll do."

"Darren, walk with me a moment." Paul put a hand over the fighter's shoulders, walking over towards the office. "Kid's good," he said. "Kid's got more natural talent than I ever seen at that age. Which I'm betting is on the low side of voting legally, if you get my drift."

Darren shrugged. "Kid can hold his own, that's for sure. And I sure as hell don't give a rat's ass how old he is. He's got the build for it, got the moves, and got the instincts." He ran a hand through his hair. "Ain't like he'd be the first slightly underage kid we brought in here."

aul ran a hand over his stubble-dotted chin, watching Kyle talk to one of the trainers. "You just put that kid through the wringer for five minutes, and I'll bet you he's ready for another ten. Call Gabe, have him get in touch with some of the guys with the outfit. I think young Kyle here could be a moneymaker."

Darren nodded. He hoped the kid was ready for what he was getting into. Seemed like it, but you never knew. "Will do, boss," he said.