Log: Matt and Monet

[x-daredevil.livejournal.com]

Matt begins teaching his fellow GenXer about self-defense.



Monet sighed as she adjusted her newly bought sportswear. She pulled her spandex up, frowning at the scratchy way it settled on skin that was so used to silk and luxuriousness. She quickly pulled on a pair of loose shorts over the material, and adjusted her spandex top. She frowned at herself in the mirror for a moment, before adjusting the material around her breasts. She sighed and ran a hand along her ponytail before slipping her feet into her new sneakers. She supposed that it was about time for her to begin making her way down to the gym, where Mr. Keller had told her a fellow Generation X student would be waiting to teach her the ins and outs of hand to hand combat. She had to scoff a bit at that. Physical combat. Her strength was all she'd need. She sighed as she stepped out into the hallway and made her way down to the gym. At the very least, she'd gotten a new outfit out of it, she thought as she entered the gym.


It had been very, very clear the first time Matt had set foot in the gym for training that hand to hand wasn't something he needed to work on. As it was, he and Clint spared often, which tended to be few-holds-barred and fairly intense. Working with people less experienced and with different powers was still a learning experience and that was why he was there.

Therefore, when he'd been asked to meet at the gym to teach some hand to hand with another GenXer, he hadn't thought twice about it, just changed into workout clothes and headed down. He was significantly less fashionable than Monet was any time, but he was comfortable and could move. That was important. Stretching on a mat, he waited for Monet to arrive.

A mind registered on the edge of her range, and Monet quickly turned to see a young man stretching on the mats. She couldn't help but assume that this was the young man she was to be training with. Monet strutted over to him and stretched out her beautifully manicured hand.

"Hello. I assume that you were the one that Mr. Keller sent me here to find? I don't believe we've met. My name is Monet St. Croix." She stated, her voice full of confidence.

"Matt Murdock," he replied, bending over backwards into a backbend and then walking out of it. He didn't take her hand. "And yes. He said you needed to start basic hand-to-hand self defense. I assume you've never taken any classes before?"

"I've hardly had a reason." Monet answered, slowly taking her hand back. "But I'm slowly getting that you are the expert." She answered, her eyes following Matt's movements as she did so.

"I have a lot of experience," Matt agreed, not sure if he would call himself an expert per se, but also not quite disagreeing with it either. "And everyone should know how to defend themselves at least long enough to get away from a bad situation. You never know what might happen. What are your powers?" he had been told, but this way he could hear how she defined them.

"Well, I'm perfect. I have super strength, invulnerability, I can fly, and I have telepathic abilities. Though, upon closer inspection, it seems that the latter won't matter." She stated. It was as though someone had left a t.v. on without signal, producing static, but in Matt's brain.

Huh? That last bit made no sense. He'd have to get clarification later. "Perfect? Really?" that was overrated. Highly so. "Alright then. You know how to warm up?"

"All that stretching stuff you're doing? Is that what you mean?" She asked. "Perhaps you should just show me, rather than me making a fool of myself." She replied.

Not so perfect then. "There's lots of ways to warm up," Matt replied, "The idea is just to get your muscles loose and moving gently before you get into anything more intense. So just copy what I'm doing," he moved into a series of easy stretches not meant to be challenging, but to get her loose so she was at less risk of hurting herself.

Monet leveled her gaze at Matt, before she slowly moved into the position that he was currently showing her. Sure, she was no athlete, but her powers assured that she'd always have a dynamite body.

"Like this?" She asked. It never hurt to double check.

There was a difference between being considered pretty and being healthy. The two weren't the same though people often mistook them as one. "Like that," he agreed, standing with his hands on the floor between his open legs. He didn't need to look at her to verify that she was in the correct position. "Feeling more limber?" Matt asked.

Monet nodded, much to her surprise. No pain flashed through her, but instead a pleasant stretching of her skin and muscles. "Yes, I think so. Is there more? Or are we going to move on?" She asked, continuing to hold the position until Matt said otherwise.

"Normally, I wouldn't suggest sparing on the first session," Matt said, moving loosely around Monet, "but I can't hurt you physically. So. Defend yourself!" he launched himself at her and a few seconds later, she went flying through the air and onto the mat.

Monet landed with a slight "oomph" as she struck the mat. She floated upwards, her powers bringing her into a standing position. She narrowed her eyes at Matt for a few moments, before she charged at him, moving with speed that surprised even her. She curled her hands into a fist and made sure to hold back her strength as she struck low, aiming for Matt's gut.

Matt wasn't there. Instead, he pivoted around behind her, grabbing her hair and waistband of her pants, sending her off in another direction. "All that power and you can't touch me?" he taunted, wanting to see how she responded to that. In a real fight, her long hair would be used against her, especially by professionals.

Monet stood again, her annoyance growing. She quickly grabbed her hair and wound it tightly, pressing it into a bun at the top of her head. Training or no, no one touched at St. Croix's hair. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Monet stood there a moment.

'You are a St. Croix, Monet. Don't let him rattle you. That's what he wants, for you to get angry, sloppy. Reading his mind's out, there's something weird about it...still, I have advantages he doesn't, so I'll have ot use them.' She thought. She rushed Matt and, after coming within a foot of him, she pushed off of the ground and rose into the air. She landed behind him with a soft thump and turned to drive her fist into the back of his knees.

She was getting angry, he could tell from her heartbeat, how she was breathing. The tiny dilation in her blood vessels. Good. Flipping backwards, he immediately moved into a kick, his bare foot connecting solidly with her shoulder. "You ready to learn how to stop me then?" he asked, "All that power and I can do this all day."

Monet steeled herself against the blow to her shoulder. She barely felt it. "I find this teasing to be a bit beneath me. I can...admit when I am outclassed, believe it or not." Monet replied, practically grinding her perfect teeth together. "I will gladly show you just how much potential I have, if you will just teach me." She finished, standing and crossing her arms over her chest.

If she thought this was beneath her then she had a lot to learn. Straightening up, Matt headed towards the wall to don protective equipment, "Alright then... first things first..."