Dance Dance (MATT)

[Matt Davis]

Matt looked over the redhead as she spoke and moved about, not exactly sure what to say or think about the whole situation. He took a deep breath and lifted up while backing away from her CD player now that it had been fixed. He moved to his own, which had stopped swaying by now and he took up his stance. Her last comment of ‘sorry I implied’ seemed to have a harsh tone to it, but at the moment, Matt didn’t seem to care too much.

“It…” Matt spoke hesitantly. “Just because y’can’t get hurt, and because you wasn’t hurt doesn’t mean… y’know… that it’s okay. An’ I’m really sorry… Glad I was able t’fix the CD player though.” He went back to boxing a few yards away, though glanced back at her from time to time to see how she was holding up.

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle, while no longer visibly upset, was still a tad standoffish. She hummed her acknowledgement at him, head nodding slightly as she finished one hand and started on the other. "Well I suppose it's nice to know that you're not part of the 'I wonder how hard we have to hit her to make her bleed club.' I get those questions, "jokes" if you will from time to time," she added conversationally. "And thanks....," she added begrudgingly. "For fixing the CD player."

She finished wrapping her hands and drew her gloves on again. She shook herself out, did her habitual measuring and fell back into routine as "The Mighty Fall" came blaring through the speakers. She had a fondess for Patrick Stump's voice that kept her a dedicated fan of the group for years. She and Kam had discussed starting a band and it wasn't a terrible idea. If Axe could just sing, or found a sturdy enough keyboard or guitar she would be okay. The thought of a metal guitar floated through her head again and she grunted softly in bliss as she hit the bag particularly hard.

[Matt Davis]

Matt continued to beat the bag while moving in and out. His fists moved quickly as he beat hard against the bag. It was a perfect representation of his frustrations and he hit it hard. Just as hard as he would have hit himself if he could sometimes. He tried to beat the mutant out of him. Well, the bag. Well he at least wanted to beat the stuffing out of the bag. His eyes scanned back to the girl a few yards away every now and then. He couldn’t help that he was curious… Super strength was the stuff of comic books and movies. If she really had it that was.

“So… You’re super strong and really hard to hurt then?.. How strong are you? You know...exactly… or whats up with the bag?” It was one of the first times he’d openly want to talk about powers, but if she was really super strong...she could be a super hero. “...And why did you say… you know, you couldn’t push me back?”

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle looked at Matt for a moment, breathing heavily as she tried to determine why he was making conversation with her. Deciding that she could do with a break she stopped hitting her bag. "I'm strong enough that lifting a car over my head and tossing it down a football field doesn't hold any challenges. Standard American cars are like 2 tons or something like that, so I could...probably maybe lift a bit over that. It takes a lot for me to lift this bag, so it's probably just over my comfortable limit," she explained.

When he asked about her pushing comment she stared at him for a moment. She took a couple minutes to organize her thoughts, mouth opening and closing several times, and many false starts before she gave up. "Look, I'm just gonna come out with it. I'm strong yeah? And I have good control, excellent really if I focus. Humans are squishy though. One wrong flex, one wrong, unfocused touch and I could seriously hurt someone. I'll only say this once so don't forget. I don't want to hurt anyone, ever. No matter what happens to me, unless there is a fuck ton of force behind it, I'll usually be okay but I don't get that kind of pass with others. If I hurt ANYONE out of anger I could kill them, I'd be a monster, they'd lock me up and I'd never see my friends or my dad again. So I do my best not to touch anyone, especially out of anger."

Benji aside (and she hadn't thrown him very far, and into a deep part of the lake), she fiercely abided by this rule.

[Matt Davis]

Matt had stopped his beating of the bag whens he started to explain how strong she was. His eyes went a little wide at the thought of lifting a car. Truly lifting it and being able to throw it. It didn’t really register with the boy. That was the thing of superheroes and comic books. It was...intimidating and almost unbelievable. He had seen some strange things since he’d been to the school though. A whales worth of strange things.

When she spoke about not hurting people, she did it with heart. With conviction. He grabbed onto the bag to stop it from swaying and making the light squeaking noise of the chain shifting. Matt looked over Axelle and considered all she had said. She didn’t want to be a monster. What did that even matter? She was a monster. They were all monsters. Creatures, inexplicable that could cause pain. Weren’t they? She knew it… but she spoke as if she was preventing it, or as if the action itself was what made the monster. That made a degree of sense, but a serpent who feels for the rats he’d feed on would still be that creature. Or...something like that. It sounded good in his head.

“Do...y’think you’ll be able to keep from hurting someone forever? Have you...done it before?” He was practically staring at the girl now with his hand against the bag. A few beads of sweat moving down his cheek and neck, but little more than that.

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle blinked owlishly at Matt for a moment before a smile that could be termed "heartbreaking" to some, tugged at the corner of her lips even as she looked away and became more visibly upset. But after another moment she took a deep breath, composed herself and her look faded into one more troubled but less upset than before. "It happened a few times when I first manifested. I learned pretty quickly to keep my distance. It's a little difficult because I'm pretty tactile," she shrugged, with a soft voice. She cleared her throat because other memories were beginning to surface along with the general malaise when she realized that it would be pretty damn impossible for her to have a normal relationship with anyone who wasn’t also a military grade tank.

“Anyway, I’d rather not talk about this anymore with you just to satisfy your curiosity. I’ve already told you I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she said a bit more harshly than she would have had she not been intensely aware that she was getting ready to cry in front of a stranger. She was sensitive about this stuff and tended to avoid talking about it because it upset her and she hated being upset.

She far preferred being happy.

[Matt Davis]

“Yeah… alright, just… like to know what I’m lookin’ at.” Matt watched as the redhead turned and started to pound at the bag again. Her face intense and working hard as she beat against the bag. He could imagine those fists, if she could truly lift a car, hitting against a person. She was training for it, it seemed. His own face twisted before he stepped back and grabbed the punching bag and unhooked it. He carried it back to where Axelle had pulled it and dropped it down, having much more difficulty with it than Axelle did, though not too much for a normal person.

He removed the wraps from his hand and stuffed them into his pockets. He had planned on working out a little more than this, but this didn’t seem to be the place for him. She-hulk was hitting the bag pretty hard and had a pretty rough attitude to her. She sure spoke a lot about holding back for that attitude, and she sounded like she might explode. She might even hulk out… explained why she was so invested in keeping it all in.

He collected his water and towel before moving towards the door and giving her a quick look back. “Alright… Well, good luck. It was… a pleasure t’meet you, Axelle. You’ve got nice form.” He said to her as he moved towards the door. While he didn’t like what she was, and worried about what she -could- do… she was still a lady and deserved at least some respect. Matt wasn’t one to leave without at least a word, unless the room was slightly more heated. In truth no harsh words were exchanged… he simply needed to get out of there.

[Matt Davis]

“Yeah… alright, just… like to know what I’m lookin’ at.” Matt watched as the redhead turned and started to pound at the bag again. Her face intense and working hard as she beat against the bag. He could imagine those fists, if she could truly lift a car, hitting against a person. She was training for it, it seemed. His own face twisted before he stepped back and grabbed the punching bag and unhooked it. He carried it back to where Axelle had pulled it and dropped it down, having much more difficulty with it than Axelle did, though not too much for a normal person.

He removed the wraps from his hand and stuffed them into his pockets. He had planned on working out a little more than this, but this didn’t seem to be the place for him. She-hulk was hitting the bag pretty hard and had a pretty rough attitude to her. She sure spoke a lot about holding back for that attitude, and she sounded like she might explode. She might even hulk out… explained why she was so invested in keeping it all in.

He collected his water and towel before moving towards the door and giving her a quick look back. “Alright… Well, good luck. It was… a pleasure t’meet you, Axelle. You’ve got nice form.” He said to her as he moved towards the door. While he didn’t like what she was, and worried about what she -could- do… she was still a lady and deserved at least some respect. Matt wasn’t one to leave without at least a word, unless the room was slightly more heated. In truth no harsh words were exchanged… he simply needed to get out of there.