Inez and Fred

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Inez and Fred meet up for a friendly sparring match, and something goes...awry.



Fred had been meaning to get into the habit of sparring with some of the teachers and instructors, but with everything that had happened recently, it had never seemed to fit into his schedule. When he'd ran into Inez earlier today and the two had got to talking, he'd suggested a friendly spar between the two of them, and she'd agreed.
It was odd. He had never really gotten to know Inez before...really, there were a lot of inhabitants of the Mansion that he'd yet to really get acquainted with. Really, he was honestly trying to be more social...and, he supposed, this counted as a positive step.
As he waited in the gym for his sparring partner, Fred lit a cigarette, rolling his old brass Zippo across his fingertips...


Inez walked into the gym, pulling on the fingerless leather workout gloves that Marko had given her during their training. She saw Fred - well, you couldn't not see Fred - as soon as she walked in and gave him a wave and a smile. "Well hey there," she chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet like it was Christmas morning. "You look like a fella in need of a good friendly butt-kicking!"


Fred inhaled deeply from his cigarette as he chucked his jacket to the side, "Butt-kickin? You have some secret power I'm not aware of that makes your strength as big as your ego?" he said with a good-natured tone as he tightened his hands until his knuckles cracked.


Inez raised both eyebrows and then smiled even wider. "Ooh, he gives as good as he gets! This is gonna be fun." She self-consciously looked at the door, knowing that they were probably supposed to have one of the staff supervising something like this so no one got hurt, but since both she and Fred were darn tough and they weren't really trying to beat each other up, Inez figured it'd be okay.

"So, like, I know we're supposed to probably have boxing gloves and stuff," she said, flexing her hands, "but that's kind of a waste of time for you and me, yeah? So all we gotta worry about is - you got any problem being hit by a girl?"

Ahhh, a conversation with a fellow Texan. Fred had missed this.
"Yea, I got a problem hitting girls," he looked around, "You seen one around?" He'd taken off his watch and taken a long wooden rosary out from under his sweater and put it next to his jacket, and moved onto the sparring mat to begin.

"And he comes out swinging..." Inez taunted, following Fred and then squaring her feet like Marko had shown her. Fred wasn't that much shorter than the former groundskeeper, anyway. And hopefully trying to punch him wouldn't hurt as much.

Well, only one way to find out, Inez thought as she lunged forward and fired off a punch at Fred's shoulder.

Fred rolled with the hit, and wrapped one his hands around Inez's side and the other on her shoulder and attempted to toss her to the mat without moving his feet all that much. Even with rolling with the punch, he'd actually felt her fist more so than any hit he could remember...except for Logan that is.


Inez yelped as Fred seemed to effortlessly lift her and throw her across the mat. She hit the mat rolling and came back to her feet, taking the time to brush a lock of hair away from her face. "Okay, so you're faster than you look. I didn't hit you too hard, did I?" she asked.


Fred smiled a little and held up three fingers in an 'OK' gesture. Afterwards he tapped the same hand on his chest, "Depends. Was it supposed to remind me of someone tryin' to get my attention?"

Inez narrowed her eyes. A little bit of teasing was fine, but if Fred was going to push her, she was going to push right back. She bounced like a boxer, coming up to him and faking with her left hand before rearing back and hitting him at about three-quarter's strength square in his chest, about level with her eyes.


Fred's eyes widened, and he coughed a little through a smile. It was morbid, but feeling that kind of hit...he hadn't felt it in long time. It was not something he'd want to make a habit of, but it was a unique sensation. "Suppose I deserved that..." he said as he brought up a right hook toward Inez's chin.


Inez took the punch and staggered back, but somehow managed not to leave her feet. "...wow," she said after making sure her teeth were all in place. That had to be the hardest anyone had ever punched her, aside from the donkey that had kicked her two years ago when she was with one of the short-lived foster homes in Oklahoma. If anything, she'd gotten tougher in the meantime, but Fred was really strong.


"Well, I might have missed a dance with you at Prom," she said with a grin as she raised her fists again, testing Fred with a few jabs, "but this is more my kind of dance."


Fred managed to avoid one or two of the stinging punches, and the ones that landed actually made him flinch a bit. He took a few more hits than he really should have, but that's just because he was waiting for an opening...


When Inez dropped one of her shoulders to deliver another jab, Fred leaned into it and, after a small grunt of pain, managed to get behind Inez and wrap up a little, putting her in a half nelson hold.


This one Inez knew from grappling with Cain. It didn't seem logical, but turning towards the arm Fred was using to apply the hold put her shoulder right under his armpit and gave her some leverage. It was about time to see how heavy the big guy was, she thought as she grabbed his waistband and lifted as hard as she could with her legs.


There was a low, odd hum that emanated from the ground and his feet seemed to give off an odd, very dim glow as Fred's face got a faraway look on it. He seemed, altogether, impossible to move from the spot he was currently...


Stunned, Inez stopped to look up at Fred, then tried to wrap both her arms around his waist as she planted her feet and tried to heave her larger classmate off the mat, but to no avail. "Jesus Christ, Fred," she swore, backing away and wiping sweat off her forehead. "How much do you weigh?"


The light and hum ceased, and Fred grumbled a little and shook his head, rubbing his temples, "Uh...sorry bout that..it, uh...I can...not move...if I don't...wanna..." Fred took a deep breath, and then gave Inez sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head, "Sorry bout that. I, uh, I don't do it very often. It feels...weird..."


"Awesome!" Inez squealed, "That's really cool. I mean, it's not as flashy as Angel lighting stuff on fire or Julian lifting things with his brain, but that's really cool, Fred. Here, lemme try something..." Blowing on one fist, she cocked it back and took a step back from Fred, eyeing his stomach. "You ready?"


Fred could follow Inez's line of thinking and nodded and closed his eyes. He squared his stance, and the low glow and the hum return, and he looked as if he were concentrating.


Inez took a deep breath and lunged at Fred, punching as hard as she could right into his belly. The bigger Texan didn't lift his feet or even budge an inch as Inez found her fist actually sinking into his belly, trapped between layers of flesh. Almost like trying to punch the Stay-Puffed Marshmallow Man, she thought.


Until she tried to pull her fist back, and couldn't. "Um, Fred?" she asked, putting a foot up against his hip to try and pull herself free. "I'm stuck."


Fred grunted as Inez hit him, and then, when he opened his eyes again he looked from Inez, to his stomach, and back, and finally said, "What...the...hell...?"


"Stuck," Inez repeated. "Your... um..." She didn't want to say 'fat', but this was kinda gross. "Oh god tell me I didn't just punch through your stomach because really, I think that would make me throw up so please please tell me you're okay and that you can let me go?"


Fred coughed and tried to keep looks of puzzlement and concern off of his face. He wasn't doing well, "I, uh, it don't hurt none..." his accent had gotten thick in his anxiety. He grunted a little, and shook his stomach a little, but the fist stayed firmly implanted in his gut, "This, uh...this never happen before, I swear..."


Inez looked perturbed, then giggled despite herself, leaning against Fred. "If only I'd never heard that from a guy before," she joked. "Look, um, okay. You try and relax and I'll pull..."


Fred grimaced a little bit, and that familiar crawling pain started dripping into his body as Inez pulled almost a foot away from his body and his flesh still seemed to grasp her hand firmly, his thermal skin actually starting to tear where Inez had pulled his skin taunt. Fred winced, and wished he'd still carried his pain pills around with him...


With a grimace, Inez yanked her hand back, watching as Fred's skin snapped back to his stomach like a string of silly putty. "Dude, DUDE," she gasped, looking at her hand. "That was weird, yo. Are... are you okay?"


Fred coughed and stumbled back as the skin made a sickening 'THWACK' sound as it tightened around his body. His dimensions seemed to...thin out. Where as Fred normally looked like he weighed 350 or more pounds, his skin seemed to ripple into a more...svelte. He coughed harder and his form seemed to shift again, the clothes that had gone baggy around his temporarily thin frame tightened as his body took on a more muscular cut momentarily.

Fred stared in awe at his arms and chest as his body made transitions between thin to muscular to obese again and again for several severely long seconds, oblivious to the pain he was in from the sheer shock of it. When his body finally settled back to its normal form, he looked bewildered at Inez...


Stepping forward, Inez threw one of Fred's arms over her shoulders and let him lean on her. "Easy, big fella," she said quietly. "This is gonna sound all weird and responsible-like coming from me, but we'd better get you to see the docs. You okay to walk or am I going to have to carry another classmate to the doctors this month?" She tried to make fun, but inside she was starting to worry if she'd actually hurt the big Texan.


Fred slid away from Inez, and lumbered over to his coat and other belongings. He seemed shaken a little, but physically okay. He put on his best smile, "Hey, sokay, Nez. I, uh...just need to go lay down...I'll talk to Doc Grey...I promise..." he pulled his coat over his shoulders and made his way towards the door...


"Fred." Inez's voice went from friendly to demanding in an eyeblink. "Don't bullshit me here. I've... I've already had to deal with one friend being hurt this month, don't be stupid and make it two, yo. Doctor. Go. Or I'll knock your ass out and drag you."


Fred chuckled lightly and gave a small wave as he turned and gave Inez a reassuring smile, "I'll go...promise...just need to...lay down...a spell..." and with that he was gone.