2012-08-18 Corporate Self-Defense Workshop

Stephanie /usually/ zooms right by the stuff posted on Stark Industries' notice boards; she's normally too busy fetching coffee, making copies, or playing Angry Birds to pay them any mind. Besides, the overwhelming majority of those things are interoffice memos and technical documents--nothing that she could even pretend to care about. Usually.

Today, she's dressed in workout clothes - shorts and an old Dazzler shirt - because she happened to spot a notice that /wasn't/ a complete waste of time: a sign-up sheet for self-defense lessons, courtesy of Stark Industries. Weeks of freezing up at the sights and sounds of gunfire even on /television/, not to mention in the hands of dangerous criminals are all the reason she needed to sign up. She made it to the facility a few minutes earlier, and now she's seated on the ground, hands splayed on the ground as she strains to get her muscles warmed up.

In contrast? Marissa reads the technical documents. Marissa seems to ENJOY reading the technical documents. Nerd. And yes, she signed up for the self-defense lessons...she might learn some tricks. Tricks for, well, not getting SHOT. And she can't ask Nightwing to train her until she's past the basics. He's got more important things to do. She's stretching out herself...although Spoiler might notice she's slightly favoring her right shoulder. No, her mutant thing doesn't work on 'minor' injuries. Or rather, on anything that isn't life threatening. She glances at Stephanie. She's seen her around, but not really hung out with her. "Shame the guys don't seem to be coming...what is it with men not thinking they need this stuff."

This is what Bethany usually gets when she shows up to cover basic self-defense somewhere. A number of somewhat eager young women and sometimes, for variety, a dudebro who knows better or a player just cruising to get his foot in the door before the ladies learn how to break him. That's okay. It's still a good way to get people engaged in thinking more about their own security and that of the corporation.

Zen Adani, her usual side-kick in these ventures, already went over increasing personal awareness and some basic threat assessment. For the average person, especially women, when something feels terribly wrong--they're right about it. Now, it's time to break out what they call the 'power suits'. Gidi and Jere are doing dummy-duty today, providing targets to be kicked and punched. Bethany surveys the room and then gets people's attention.

First thing is to warm people up and tire them out. A few rounds of burpees are usually good for that. Most of the attendees make it through two of three of those. From standing to squat to plank then back up the way they came and jump. Usually, she has to keep from face-palming as she walks people through for the first time.

"Let's do five of those to start and then take a run around the room, and then we'll get down to work," she says. Time to make sure no one faceplants.

"I dunno," Stephanie murmurs as her brow nearly brushes against the ground, "Lotta stupid guys in the world." Beat; she gives Marissa a sideways glance and a strained grin. "--which I guess is why we're /here/."

As Ms. Adani goes through her lessons, the Gotham girl /tries/ to be a good, dutiful student, but it's hard. She /knows/ some of this stuff just from experience, and the rest is--well, less attractive to her young mind than practicing her criminal-drubbing skills. Less applicable, too; how often will she have to assess someone into unconciousness?

Unfortunately for her, by the time Zen finishes up, Stephanie is so deep into La-La Land that she doesn't immediately register that it's target time--and when she /does/, her first response is to spring giddily to her feet, ball her hand up into a fist, and stride towards Gidi; she plants her feet after the first few steps and whips her head towards Bethany.

"--wait--" she looks from her trainer to the dummies and back again, and then just drops her hand and deflates. "/Really/? But--" She gestures at the dummies a little, but there's no use; grumbling, she reassumes her position and starts doing her calisthenics.

If nothing else, it quickly becomes clear that the exercises aren't gonna tire her out so easily, so at least she has /that/ going for her.

Only a few weeks with the Titans has already had an impact on Marissa. She wasn't out of shape before, precisely, but she's in much better shape now. Enough not to faceplant despite the fact that her shoulder is still bothering her. (And it's also obvious she's in pretty good condition, as she's selected workout gear that's pretty...well, tight to her form. Not hideously revealing and comfortable, but she's not wearing a T-shirt. One. Two. Three. Four...and the fifth one is distinctly shaky. No faceplanting, though, and she's back on her feet a moment later. Of course, the criminals won't generally give her chance to *warm up* before trying to kill her...unless she runs into Incompetent Man again, and last she heard he was remanded without bail.

Patience, grasshopper. Bethany keeps an eye on Miss Eager there--Brown, if she remembers correctly--but manages not to laugh. And Miss Sometimes, which is a name that's impossible to forget. The warm-ups are pretty cursory, it's really to give her an idea of who's going to hurt themselves and who won't. Also? Patience is a virtue.

"Before we learn anything, I want you to do what you'd do right now, today, if someone tried to grab you off the street or corner you in the office," she says.

Now, she points at Stephanie and gestures for her to have a go at Gidi. She can feel the stink-eye she's getting from Gidi right through the bobble-headed mask. Sure, give him the one who looks like she doesn't watch TV all evening.

She points Marissa toward Jere. Yes, Marissa gets to beat up the guy whose specialty is childcare... and taking out kidnappers and terrorists.

"The men in the suits are going to try and grab you, so if you're not okay with that, let me know fast. As soon as you each cross the line in front of your opponent, it's on. We're not polite here. The moment you even think about having to fight someone, they have lost the right to any kind of consideration other than what it's going to take for you to be safe," Beth says.

In spite of the heavy suits, which are very protective, both Gidi and Jere are strong and fast, with years in the field and military training. Neither of them play fair or fight fair, going after hair, clothes, wrists... anything short of causing outright injury. They're good at no-harm neutralizing tactics.

As soon as she has a look at her opponent, Stephanie does a double-take at him, and then a scowl begins to creep across her face; it isn't as if she has to psyche out a guy who's being paid to be her punching bag, but she can't help it; he's /eyeballing/ her. She can /feel/ it.

A little part of her wants to point at her eyes, then his, just to let him know how on it is; she settles for balling her hands up really tightly, giving Ms. Cabe a sharp nod, then stepping over the line.

Despite the heavy suit, he's /right there/ and grabbing at her before she knows it; without really thinking, she wraps her arms around one of his, throws her hips back into him and pivots forcefully, turning his momentum against him.

And against /her/; a tragic slip of the foot causes Steph to stumble--as Gidi is leaving his feet. He's /way/ heavier than she was expecting; she manages to get out a sharp squeal of fright as soon as she realizes what's happening.

It doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as it /looks/ at least, given how quick she is to try and squirm out from beneath the man.

Big guy...but most of them are bigger than her. Sometimes a lot bigger...and she's got an odd confidence to her. A certainty that nothing can *really* hurt her. It probably won't psych Jere at all, but it's definitely not quite what you'd expect from a teenaged girl. (Here's the question: Does Bethany know? It's pretty public knowledge that Marissa isn't quite human).

She steps across the line...but he's quite a bit faster than she thought he would be...and he's gone for something insanely tempting as he steps *around* her. Her ponytail. "Ack!" Not the hair! She retaliates by stomping hard on his right foot, which he did sort of leave open. As hard as she can, in an attempt to get him to let go of her hair. (Maybe she should redesign the costume so the ponytail is tucked in). But she does put all of her weight in the stomp, and it's enough to allow her to manage to twist away (albeit leaving quite a few strands in Jere's hand. He's good...got to be one of the security pros. Thing is...rules of engagement here? To get away. In a real fight, she'd keep hitting him. This being what it is, she makes a break for it. Sadly...she's not quite fast enough...he's grabbing for her wrist before she's out of range, spinning her back towards him. But at least he let go of her hair.

Bethany whistles sharply and Zen goes over to help Gidi get up as Jere lets go of Marissa and backs off. Gidi's swearing fluidly in several languages until he's on his feet. Neither of the men apologize for their actions. Bethany gestures both Stephanie and Marissa back as well.

"Think about anything you want to change just now. If you want to cover your hair, grab a cap from Zen," she says. "Clothes, shoes, anything you want to adjust, get what you need from her." She beckons for a couple more women to step up and they do, tentatively. Neither of them last more than a few seconds and the treatment they get is far more delicate. As soon as they're out and Stephanie and Marissa are ready, Bethany beckons to them.

"Back to the line, but turn around this time. Heels on it and face the far wall," she says. Zen steps aside to walk the other women through a few basic moves. "Let's see how you do when you're not the aggressors." The rush doesn't come straight away--the pause is enough to raise tension--but when it does, it comes with the same lack of consideration and decency as before.

Sometime around her third f-bomb, it occurs to Stephanie that she might lose her job, or at the very least face the threat of Pepper washing her mouth out with soap if she doesn't watch her language.

This doesn't actually deter her, or anything, but the thought /does/ cross her mind.

Once she's on her feet again, she shoots Gidi a withering look before turning her attention to Bethany. No changes for /her/, save perhaps for not getting herself crushed again; she's going to be sore for a /while/, thanks to that. She scoots up to the line, lets her arms dangle loosely at her sides and stands at attention. Waiting.

He goes for one of her arms first, twisting it behind her back before she can react. "Gh--hey--" she sputters, trying to twist out of his grip. "--mother--!" He starts trying to wrap his arm around her throat, but she manages to delay him some by reaching around to punch his helmeted head as many times as she can. He staggers after a few blows and lets her go with a hard shove, causing her to stumble and nearly faceplant; once she recovers, she spins around and nearly goes back in to hit him again before stopping herself, planting her feet, and just waiting to see if the exercise is over or not.

Marissa Sometimes tucks her ponytail into the back of her top as best she can. Too convenient a handle and it worked once, he's BOUND to try it again. The thought of cutting her hair short even crosses her mind. Waiting at the line, but trying to listen for when Jere comes for her...

She almost DOES manage to sidestep him, but he manages to get her arm behind her to drop her to the ground. Oh no you don't, she thinks, twisting INTO his grip rather than away from it, and landing on the ground on her back rather than her front as he intended. From the angle she's bringing her knee up? He's going to be glad the suit contains a cup. Not that she didn't hit the ground hard...and with a slight yelp. He's heavy and although the floor in here is matted, it's not THAT soft. That did hurt...not seriously, of course, she can tell how careful he's being to avoid injury, but somebody's going to be wanting a hot tub later. Her shove into his sensitive area gets her a bit of space, and she wriggles away, trying to make herself as small as possible...and she does manage to get clear, struggling to her feet. Not out of breath or anything...yet. These guys are good...

"Keep going!" Bethany snaps. "Don't stop until you're safe. Are you safe?" She'd rather people kept fighting after the whistle than stopping before it. Beating a dead or unconscious opponent is no big deal but getting nailed because you stopped early is a sin.

This may be a beginner class but -where- you begin exactly is negotiable and apparently Stephanie and Marissa are beginning somewhere around the hard level. Even before Bethany's whipcrack shout, Gidi is right on top of Stephanie, coming at her full throttle to take her down. He alters course at the last second with alacrity so that instead of hitting her full on he's grabbing her arm to spin her to the ground as she prepares to meet his charge.

Jere hooks a foot inside one of Marissa's ankles as she's getting up and -yanks-. The same movement gives him the momentum he needs to roll to his feet even in the suit and he's right on top of her, going for any grip he can get on her and to get his greater weight over her to keep her down.

Stephanie whips her head towards Ms. Cabe. "Wh-what?! N--uaaaaaaah!"

She hears Gidi coming a split-second before he hurls her to the ground. From there, he wastes no time in getting down there to pin the arm he's still holding to the ground, and since she can barely figure out precisely /which/ of the strong, armoured, blurry men above her is the one she needs to pry off of herself, she's rather sluggish to react. Once he goes for her other wrist, though, she manages to break his grip long enough to drive her index and middle fingers /right/ into--his helmet.

"... /shit/," Stephanie hisses as Gidi - no doubt smirking beneath his gear - snatches her wrist and forces it down.

Oh, he's going to try for that, is he? Marissa's aware that even a few weeks ago, she...well...she'd be nailed by this point, his to do whatever he wants to. But she's NOT that girl any more. And she remembers something one of the military guys said...and tries to bring both legs upwards to push the man off. 'You'll never out-strength a man with your arms, but you WILL with your legs'. Unlike Stephanie, she's not swearing out loud. Of course, with the suit, this is kinda like fighting somebody with invulnerability. (She's tempted to ask about the suits, but they're HEAVY, she can tell from the way the guys are moving. Too heavy for her needs).

Bethany whistles the exercise dead just as Jere is getting an arm around Marissa's legs and going over with her. He catches himself on one arm before he hits the ground, lets go, and then steps away. Gidi lets go of Stephanie as well and rolls clear of her before taking the time to get up. It's not personal it's just that some people here aren't above a revenge kick in a sensitive spot when they're mad about being pinned... Bethany.

"Ladies." Bethany gestures for Stephanie and Marissa to join her while Zen leads the others to practice some of their newly-learned moves on the two men. "I hope you found that educational. Everything still where it should be?" She offers a couple bottles of water while she looks them over speculatively.

Stephanie is /absolutely/ going to tweet something disparaging about Gidi once she leaves the session; it's not personal, it's just that she's sixteen. Still, she begrudgingly mumbles, "Good job, I guess," to him as she pushes herself to her feet.

"Everything's okay," she mutters as she makes her way over to Bethany; she's favoring the arm Gidi used to take her down the whole way, and as soon as she's handed that nice, cold water bottle, she presses it against her shoulder. "Thank God--y'know, muggers, and stuff don't have /helmets/," she adds with a little levity.

"Only the stupid muggers," Bethany says to Stephanie, laughing a little. "Motorcycle helmets are common gear in some countries. Excellent defense and weapon. And, yes, Marissa," she says, "hitting harder... sometimes it's hard to get really impolite with people, we're so trained to behave. Also, most training doesn't allow us to get dirty, to learn to hit hard without hurting ourselves." She nods at what Zen's showing the women.

"To be honest with you, what they're being taught right there is never going to come into a real world situation. What does come in is permission to break the rules in their own defense. But I think both of you have a head start on that." She gives them both a grin, then grabs her own water bottle and takes a seat on a bench. "For how good you both are, you might not be good enough. No offense. You obviously know some of what you need to know but not necessarily enough to get you out of something you might get into. Unless I've misjudged...?" She looks from one to the other. "I'm assuming you've had some experience. Neither of you seems bothered by the conflict." Just watching is enough to get the waterworks going for some first-timers.

Stephanie's eyebrows shoot up as soon as Beth mentions experience and she starts cursing at herself for not sandbagging a little--not to mention all those hard looks. Soon, though, she remembers that she has a perfectly reasonable explanation:

"Gotham City, born and raised," she offers with a dismissive handwave. Her expression relaxes, and since her shoulder is beginning to get a little numb, she unscrews the cap on her water bottle. "I--just figured something like this--peace of mind, y'know?" She takes a big gulp after that.

Crap. Well, there's one obvious explanation. "You know what happened at the expo." Yes. It's *that* Marissa Sometimes. "After being outed as a mutant in front of half of the tech community and then again in the national press, I figured learning to defend myself properly was a good idea. I didn't get eye beams or a personal shield in the powers lottery." In fact, she's shown no sign of being anything but human around the StarkTech people. Cade, though, no doubt knows what happened at the expo...and how, by a convoluted road, that led to Marissa applying for the internship in the first place. As for Gotham...ugh. She can't imagine growing up *there*.

"Eyebeams would have been /awesome/," Stephanie asides with a sidelong look at Marissa.

"Oh, I don't care why," Bethany says breezily. "I just thought I'd get a handle on where you were at in terms of learning. You're both interns, if I remember the employee records correctly." She pauses and barely keeps from face-palming at a young woman Zen is having to coach into hitting Gidi. "Anyway. Back to the point at hand and that is--while you're working for Stark Industries, you have access to more training than this if you'd like to requisition a pass for it. I'm not the usual trainer, but I am around sometimes. It's just a matter of some paperwork for you. It's on Tony's dime--I'm charging him for my resources being available whether people show up or not so if you want it, I think you two could actually make use of it."

"Huh--" Stephanie turns her attention away from Marissa - and her thoughts of how much easier crimefighting would be if she could shoot lasers from her eyeballs - and blinks at Bethany a couple of times before looking down with a prideful little grin. "You're the expert," she lightly says, "if that's your professional opinion, then I guess I'll be here." She resists the urge to give Gidi the hairy eyeball again; /next/ time!

"I'll think about it. I'm not one to turn down training." It's whether she can fit it in around training with the Titans...but most of that is teamwork and the like, not basic close quarters combat, which she knows she needs to get up to snuff. "But, you know...schedules and stuff. But I'd definitely like to give it a try." As for Stephanie's comment on eyebeams? That just gets a bit of a wry grin.

"Great. It'll usually be one of my agents doing the training but I'll be around SI regularly." Bethany pulls out a couple business cards. "And you can always call if you have any questions or concerns." She's always on the lookout for potential agents, freelance or full-time. "I'm sure, if there's anything extra that interests you, Mr. Stark can be persuaded to see it as an investment of sorts." Or he can agree to it while he's distracted, that always works.

Stephanie pockets her card as she continues drinking; she doesn't stop until the bottle nearly empty and crinkling in hand. "Gotcha," she gasps, dragging her sleeve across her mouth. "Thanks for taking the time to teach us yourself /today/, then; you've got to be /crazy/ busy if you're big enough for Mr. Stark to put you on retainer." With that, she tips back the rest of her water, then glances towards Marissa.

"So--if you don't shoot lasers or anything, what /can/ you do? Can you breathe fire? Read minds? Freeze stuff? Do calculus really fast?" She seems to be getting more and more excited with each possibility, until something occurs to her and takes some of the wind from her sails.

"--er, that is, if you, uh--are okay with /sharing/..." Beat. "I'm--" her voice shrinks. "--I'm not, like, racist or anything, I promise..."

"You didn't go eww when I said the word, so I figure you're okay." She takes the business card, moving over to where she left a small bag to tuck into it. "Racists can be polite, but they usually show *some* reaction." As if she's had lots of experience with them. "And basically...any life threatening injuries heal." It's more complicated, she's starting to realize, than that, but she's still digesting what goes through her mind and how what Sam suggested fits in. Mutant stuff. It's crazy, really.

"I'll see you ladies later." Bethany gives them a wave as she hauls herself off to give a demonstration of kicking some backside. Rock-paper-scissors means Gidi loses out and gets to play victim this time. Jere is not above snickering as he tugs his helmet off and shakes out his damp hair. She's small next to Gidi, especially with the suit, but it doesn't take her long to have him on the floor, even starting with her back turned. The first time, she just takes him up and over onto his back, the second time she takes him down with her on top of him and her elbow in his throat.

When it comes to being mean, Bethany has what it takes. When she gets up, she's talking to the other women there about what she mentioned before--that the minute someone gives you reason to think about having to fight them, all bets are off. Anything and everything is fair game. Stuff Stephanie and Marissa already know but seems hard for some people to learn.

Stephanie perks up at first; healing from injuries would /also/ be pretty cool, with all the post-practice/patrol ice baths she ends up taking. Those two important little words soon register with her, though, and her shoulders sag a little when they do. "I--figuring /that/ out must've been..." She quickly shakes her head as she trails off, then sticks her hand out with a weak smile. "Well, anyway, um, I'm Stephanie; it was good meeting you, but I gotta run. Dinner, and all that." If she doesn't make sure to cook something, her mother probably won't remember.

"I'd better get going too...I found something in the library I *really* want to read." Oh yeah. She's a nerd. A fit nerd who fights bad guys, but still a nerd. Can't help it. Marissa grins. "Maybe we can do lunch sometime," she offers Stephanie-wards before heading for the showers. Can't hang out in the library stinking of sweat, after all.