Capítulo 42: Reflexes
Getting rid of the extra character I turned to the girl, looking at her carefully.
"What?" She couldn't stand the silence.
"Harley, you remember what Zee said, don't you?
"Uh, about her asking you not to call her that?
"Eh, sweetie," I walked over to her, touching the flower, "this is clearly a magical thing, and you accepted it from a creature you're seeing for the first time.
"But it's so beautiful. - The blonde pulled the gift out of her hair, examining it closely. - And it matches my hair perfectly... You're jealous!
"Not that..." Still, jealousy of a swamp creature was a bit much, though I couldn't say that the scene didn't hurt me in any way.
"Mr. J," my faithful companion hugged me, rubbing my head like a cat, "you know I've always loved you more than life, and after your injury, my love has only grown stronger.
In her eyes I saw infinite adoration.
"Oops. - Intercepting the hand of the girl who clearly intended to crush the plant to confirm her words. - Ha ha ha ha, Sunshine, don't go to extremes, it's really beautiful after all, let's just have Zee check it for surprises. - I said, lifting her pretty face by her chin to gently kiss her sugar lips.
I have a feeling that the creator of the flower may well be watching through the flower, so let Hmo Green see that he's not getting anywhere here.
After the gift was tucked away in the bag, we decided to check out the tree-grown dwelling.
It turned out relatively well. There were two tiers inside the trunk, connected by a circular staircase. The usable space was about fifty square meters, which is very good and quite enough to create a cozy, heh, nest. But there was a problem with the placement of furniture, because the tree was alive, and to hang a shelf would mean harming it, which was not clear how the protector of the forest would react.
Basically, we got a cool big suitcase without a handle that only Ivy can use properly, thanks to her powers. Hell, there's not even a door.
I can do whatever I want here, even hire the USO to build me a secret lair, but it won't be too convenient to get to the city from these fucked-up places, but DC used teleportation, not magic teleportation, but teleportation based on physical principles. All I have to do is get the technology.
After checking out the classic affordable housing for a young family (located in the ass end of the world, no water, gas, heating, electricity or normal infrastructure, with the nearest civilization eight kilometers away), we locked up the pump truck and headed back to town on foot.
It was getting close to time for the meeting with Leroy. Not that I minded the presence of my faithful assistant, but I was likely to be beaten and possibly kicked, and Harley might react rather violently, and I'd lose the only normal sparring partner who didn't care about my past. Ah, too bad Bats refused to train me.
"Harley, I have to go somewhere, so could you pick up a gift for the sorceress from the atelier?
"Yes!" She was clearly pleased at my suggestion, and then sharply embarrassed. - I mean, I was going to say, I wish we could go together...
It was said with such intonation that even Stanislavsky would have risen from the grave and, applauding, shouted: "I believe it." But the first part of the phrase blurred the overall impression.
"Okay, I'll see you at home then. - I decided not to harass my battle buddy in an attempt to find out the truth, I don't know what she's planning, and besides, this kind of behavior often ends up in a collection of sex toys and cool outfits, which I really like.
After wishing the girl well and leaving a hickey on her neck in the process of breaking up, I drove to the south side of town where the old man's apartment was.
***
"It's kind of here. - I stopped in front of a slightly shabby two-story building, resembling a fort because of the powerful bars on the narrow windows and a steel door, the camera above the entrance not even worth mentioning, considering the not the most prosperous neighborhood on the border with the western docks. It's worth saying that, choosing between the swamp and this place, I'd choose the swamp, as it didn't smell like rotten fish... And the neighbors were somehow calmer.
It was already evening, so various marginal personalities crawled out onto the streets. A couple of them even followed me, but as soon as I stopped in front of the right house, their interest vanished, and at the loud knock on the metal door, they hastened to hide in the nearest alley, as if afraid of something... Or someone.
Huh, if my new acquaintance was doing to the locals what he did to the Chinese in Chinatown, I understand their fear.
Half a minute later, the deadbolt rattled behind the door and on the threshold appeared an old dandelion lady who looked as if she had stepped out of the pages of a classic fairy tale: a plaid apron, a gray lock of hair, a gray wisp of hair, a starched bonnet, glasses, a kind expression on her face, even long metal spokes in her hands... True, there were three of them for some reason and she held them as if for throwing, but, to tell you the truth, these are such trifles!
"Is it about the room?" She asked, squinting blindly.
"Leroy's.
"Ah," a welcoming smile appeared on her face, "he warned me. Come on, I'll walk you out.
After locking the front door, she led me down a well-lit corridor with beautiful landscapes on the walls. The interior was a pleasant surprise, not at all in keeping with the building's shabby facade.
We descended a small staircase and stopped in front of a double door, from behind which came the sound of rhythmic beats.
"Please. - The older woman opened the door, letting me inside.
It was a classic semi-basement hall with a bunch of exercise machines that someone had carefully piled in the far corner, freeing up the center. To the right of the entrance towered the powerful figure of my new acquaintance, who stopped pounding the punching bag and turned his head in our direction. Next to him lay Sakharok, who honored me with only an ajar eye, immediately closed it and continued dozing.
"Hey. - I thought I'd make my presence known.
"Ah, Jay, you're just in time, I was just setting up the sparring area.
My chaperone, realizing that we actually knew each other said:
"Boys, don't get too carried away. I don't want to call an ambulance again. - With these words, she left the room, closing the door.
"All right, Martha!" An older man shouted after her, unhooking his exercise machine from the ceiling.
"Again?" I don't feel so good.
"Oh, never mind," the old man said, "some idiots from the neighborhood wanted to run the place, so she explained to them how wrong they were.
Yeah, you'd have to be concrete assholes to mess with a pumped up man who has dedicated his life to martial arts...
"Wait... Her?!
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, yeah, the old lady's a fighter. Well, screw talking, that's not why you're here. - He placed the punching bag against the wall and then stepped into the center of the room, executing a couple of swift punches through the air. - Attack.
I took off my jacket and stood across from him. You're here for that, Jay, so we can talk afterward, and, judging by the manga and anime, it's a bonding experience, so there's a good chance you'll get a couple of good lessons from a real master.
"Hah!" I quicken my thinking and try to punch Leroy in the stomach, but he deftly intercepts my fist, taking the pain. I don't feel any pain, I just have my arm and shoulder locked in place, and the only way to get out is to dislocate a joint or break a bone. Of course, I'm not going to let that happen, so I kick him on the inside of the knee, but before I can touch the old man, he takes a normal step forward, which blurs the punch, and I'm spun around in the air, landing with my back on the floor.
~Bam! ~
Immediately I roll to the side and tear the distance, regaining my breath.
"That's not bad. How are you going to handle this one?" Leroy assumed a strange stance, raising his right leg, bent at the knee, and turning his open palms toward me.
I'd seen him do it before, but I didn't have time to do anything when my opponent swiftly approached and in one motion knocked me down, this time throwing me face-first into the floor. Fortunately, I was able to put my hands up in time to save my nose.
You black asshole, what if I'd broken it? Harley blew your brains out!
"Who taught you how to fall?" He asked as he rolled backwards. "I need a shoulder. Okay, I'll try to be gentle."
He really started to fight less aggressively, at least I wasn't falling, but I couldn't hit properly. Leroy fought at super-short range, blocking all my punches. It felt like I was trying to hit a wall, standing up to it at point-blank range: it was impossible to make a normal swing. At times he counterattacked lazily, or at least that was my impression, but without accelerated perception it was unlikely that he would have been able to block.
That's enough. I jump backward, managing to lift my left leg at the last moment to avoid being tripped.
It felt strange... Like it should. He jerked forward, ducked, and drove his fist into the sore spot above the knee he'd so conveniently lifted off the ground.
I got it!
Without stopping, I swung his left arm aside, simultaneously hitting him with my knee on the inside of his thigh, lightly hitting his exposed chin and before the old man woke up, I kicked his legs with all my might, knocking him to the floor.
Phew, now you can pull a gun from behind your belt, pointing it at the victim to savor his terror. Then pull the trigger, firing the flag labeled "Ba-bang". When the victim gets a taste of life, pull the adjacent trigger, whereupon the flag, like a crossbow bolt, will stick into the soft pink brain, piercing the hard skull.
Problems expectedly arose at the first stage of the plan, when my hand did not find a weapon behind my belt, after which I was no longer to think, because my opponent, twisting from a lying position, knocked me down, putting the back of my head on the floor.
"Oh, shit!" The smoothing had stopped working, so I felt the full impact of the blow, as well as realizing my previous actions.
"What the fuck was that?!" Leroy came up and slowly walked around me in a circle. - I was sure I was going to get my brains blown out!
"Um... Remember when I said I'd lost my memory?
"Yeah, I remember something like that...
"Old reflexes sometimes kick in. - I sat up slowly, holding my buzzing head.
That's the only way I can explain what happened, and this has happened before, just think of the first time I met Mouse.
"Good fucking reflexes. - The gray-haired man stopped walking in circles and landed on the bench against the wall, stretching out his legs. Sensing his master's mood, the dog was next to him, pounding his leg with his head. - Nah, Sakharok, did you see?" The old man said, scratching his four-legged friend behind the ear. - Then he fights a little better than a country bumpkin with excellent strength, coordination and endurance, and then he jumps to a black belt, able to use pain points...
Listening to Leroy made me more aware of how awesome it had been. I would have to learn how to induce this state at once, not after ten minutes of fighting. And it wouldn't hurt to better control my actions in the process, because trying to shoot a new acquaintance was obviously unnecessary.
"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to him.
"I don't think it's anything... Shit!" He sounded panicked, and he started frantically scratching his face. - Jay, I think I'm losing my eyesight!
"... ... ...
"Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The older man burst out laughing, tapping me on the back with the palm of his hand. - Don't worry, it's all right. I've seen worse in real combat. It's just that your transformation was really unexpected. Shall we continue? I'm not falling for that now!
Leroy jumped to his feet briskly.
I listened to myself, appreciating how aching my whole body felt, but foolish to turn down such an offer.
***
After fifteen minutes of moshing, I collapsed tiredly on the floor. Knowing what to pay attention to, I had occasionally gotten some good bindings, but now none of them went through completely, interrupted almost at the very beginning. On the downside, the reflexes only work somehow if I don't use smoothing, which is not good, because then the reaction speed drops.
Realizing that I was no longer able to continue, the old man hung up the punching bag again and began beating it.
"Leroy, how do you never get tired?" Sakharok came up to me, demanding affection.
"Training, training and more training. You may not know it, but in underground fights they like to organize elimination tournaments: you get in a circle and hold on as long as you can. My record is twenty-one fights in a row, and it's a shame I lost to some broad at the end.
"Was she really that strong, or were you no longer any good?" I asked, determined to learn more about my acquaintance and the world of underground fighting in general.
"Well... I wouldn't say she was strong, but she had a lot of technique, and she would have preferred to fight with a katana, but it was a no-kill tournament, so it was hand-to-hand. She had a cool name, too. How... - The man distracted himself from his work by scratching his chin. - Mania... Sania... Fania...
Whoa. Is that it.
"Talia?" I prompted, still not believing it could be true.
"Oh, right! Talia! Famous? I just didn't think she was strong enough to get the publicity.
Could it really be the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, who is the head of the Demon's Head: the mystical League of Assassins? No, that doesn't make any sense. Why would she be in some underground tournament?
"I've just heard a little bit of it. Heh, she may not be very strong, but she could still beat you.
"Ah," he waved his hand, "she had such great hips, and she really liked to do leg grabs... Ahem... Anyway, I got carried away and passed out from lack of oxygen.
"Ha ha ha!" I laughed, picturing the old man passing out with a happy smile during a serious fight. It will be interesting to see Talia's face if she finds out that she won then not because of her skills, but because of her gorgeous legs. - Ha ha ha.
"You're kidding me. She was really amazing in that way. Soft velvet skin, firm thighs... Jay, let's go to a strip club, they give handicapped people discounts.
Was he implying that I, too, was disabled by memory loss? The suggestion was sudden, and I was not at all enthusiastic about it.
"Nah, I'm out.
"Do you have a girlfriend?
"Sort of.
"No, Jay, this is bullshit. We need variety.
"Who says I have one?
"Oh, yeah. - He quacked amusedly, turning his head in my direction. - I didn't expect that.
"Hey, why not?!" I even got up off the floor in indignation, stopping petting the dog.
"You're too soft, and women like macho guys like me. - He's leaning in.
"Heh, so that's not the only thing that matters.
Too bad he'll be leaving Gotham soon, he was fun to fight with. Hmm, he said something about no-kill tournaments.
"Hey, do you know if there are any tournaments like this in this town? I'd be interested in participating.
"Nah, don't even think about it. - Leroy shook his head negatively. - You used to be the head of a gang, and performing for a crowd is a definite demotion. I just don't recommend it. I knew an old man when I was young, one of the heads of the Yakuza, a tough old man. He was in his nineties, but he was so strong, he could take anyone down in a fit of anger. So he foolishly went to a tournament like this to test his strength. Maybe he was mad, but after that, even though he won, he was no longer respected, and he had been building up his reputation for sixty years, if not more.
"Hmmm... Thanks, I'll be aware of that.
Sometimes it's good to talk to smart people, and I could actually try to get involved in something like this, completely burying the Joker's reputation if someone recognized me. And why would I want to do that? I didn't need the fame and money, but for training I could really try to persuade Bats or some other adequate superhero. I tried to remember them, but except for myself and Gloomy Mouse, there were no candidates. Okay, I'll solve this question later.
When I got away from the battle, I said goodbye to Leroy, exchanging phone numbers to arrange the next meeting. I didn't mind having a couple dozen more sparring sessions like this, but tomorrow I started studying with the sorceress, and it wasn't clear how long it would take. Besides, knowledge about magic is a priority for me now because of the difficulty of its extraction.
Leaving the building, I wandered to the nearest bus stop, thinking it was time to get my own transportation.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder