((Ok, this is pretty much the first fictional piece about any character I've written, so I hope it's alright!
He recently got injured in a fight he should have stayed away from, and this is his first real training session after healing up.))
Tuesday, 16th December. 2.21pm. Training Room 3, Unity Tower.
Danny stood still in the center of the brightly lit training room, his eyelids pressed tightly closed.
His balled right fist slowly rotated in circles, the light ripplings of his t-shirt the only noise that could be heard in the room. With a long, slow breath, Danny clenched his fist and held it steady.
"BODI...could you give me a minute?"
He breathed softly, talking straight ahead into the room.
"Of course, Danny," came the reply, in a strangely emotional electronic voice. "Visual observations will be turned off until you leave, vital signs are still being monitored. Try not to hurt yourself."
Danny nodded once, eyes still closed as he rotated his neck, loosening the muscles.
"I won't. Thanks BODI."
A couple of seconds passed before Danny opened his eyes once more. Tilting his head, he gazed down at his mended wrist. Fingers flexed and stretched, before balling once more into a fist, testing it out. He sighed as his eyelids fell back into place, body shifting almost serpent-like into a fighting stance. Taking a deep breath and holding, Danny did his best to focus. The soft hum of the air conditioning held the air.
With a sharp breath, Danny launched his body into the air with extreme grace, contorting and twisting in an impressive Butterfly Kick before landing back on his feet. Visually superb, but not very useful.
He landed soft, but not quite soft enough, aggravating his healing ankle. Danny sucked some air sharply between his clenched teeth and held his place, trembling like a leaf in an Autumn breeze.
His eyelids squeezed as the sudden pain rushed through his body. Pushing on and ignoring it, Danny ran through some motions, arms forcing into blocking stances, legs gracefully kicking and spinning across the padded floor.
All the while, Danny tried his best to concentrate, but his mind hadn't been the same for a long time. Not since the accident.
It had been three months by now. Easily. But the consequences of that day still affected Danny's life now, in a tremendous way.
The war walls going down had been his first sign. As he clambered into his car and sped off down the street in Steel Canyon, his eyes were glued to the skies, tinted in the disturbing green he, as well as all Paragon City knew, was the sign of an attack.
He'd been too busy looking out the side window to notice the lumbering Rikti warship in the sky, floating slowly down the street, raining its payload down onto the helpless civilians below. It wasn't until the rumbling in Danny's eardrums reached painful levels that he turned his head back to the windscreen.
A Rikti bomb had landed on a passing tramline, starting a game of bowls with a tram, sending it careening off into the street. Danny's car was unfortunate enough to be passing under it at the time.
He woke in a hospital bed three days later. The doctors had to use a new method to control his pain during the twenty-seven hour operation, implanting a chip to dull the nerves in Danny's brain. It was a new procedure, but was deemed necessary to save his life. It did.
It also meant Danny couldn't feel at all. Full stop. Only now have his feelings truly come back, but some days are worse than others.
Danny's feet came to a rest at the edge of the cool training mat, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. They slowed, eventually coming to a stop, before Danny curled his body into a rotating backflip, continuing his training back across the floor, legs spinning and twisting his body in various kicks. His mind continued racing.
You'll never amount to anything. You're worthless.
That sentence had stuck with Danny forever. At the time, it was what he needed to hear, but the niggling doubt had buried itself into his brain like a tick, ready to strike at any point the iron was hot. And recently, it had been.
Danny knew he had been reckless when he tried to tackle the thugs a few days previous. He had the scars to prove it.
At the time, it looked to be a simple heist by nothing more than street thugs. After being tossed through the air into a van like a rag doll, by a man he can only describe as a wall of muscle, Danny was left hospitalised with a fractured radius in his right forearm, and a badly sprained ankle. But that night as he laid in the hospital ward, he was counting his blessings. He'd never been confident before, and this was another blow to destroy the work his new friends were doing.
Joining the New Vigilants had given Danny a new focus. He was now tied directly into something, not just another 'worker'. His work with Vanguard had been greatly commended by Serpent Drummer, but now he felt a true sense of being. He felt worth.
His blossoming relationship with Soaring Horizon helped broaden his feelings, and something in his brain had slowly but surely ticked over while he laid in hospital. He stood here now fresh and exhilarated.
His twentieth birthday was only three days away now. The teenager excuse wouldn't work anymore, and Danny finally realised it was time he grew up. He was someone's "world", and those words gave him the boost he needed.
As his feet touched down on the opposite side of the mat, Danny breathed out a long sigh, his body frozen in a ready fighting stance. Eyelids gradually receeded back, and Danny's eyes adjusted to the light again. A slow, gradual smile spread across his lips as he span, kicking with extreme force into the air, the snap of his training pants echoing through the room.
Legs flew through the air with incredible speed, Danny's body twisting in unusual ways to deliver more power to each blow, invisible enemies falling one by one. The ballet-style session ended with a huge Axe Kick forcing down through Danny's invisible demons, his heel digging into the padded mat at his feet.
Chuckling softly, he balled his fist once more, rotating it around at the wrist before shaking it loose, a huge grin now plastered across his rugged face.
He was home.
@Crius
Bassai, Canadian Kid, Alruna, Kahi
Mistress Rad, Culpeo, Ms. Demeanor, Celsius
If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Let's go to work.
Posted
Meh, I said this in game, but I hate it when stories get no replies: Good story, nicely written.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
((Ok, this is pretty much the first fictional piece about any character I've written, so I hope it's alright!
He recently got injured in a fight he should have stayed away from, and this is his first real training session after healing up.))
Tuesday, 16th December. 2.21pm. Training Room 3, Unity Tower.
Danny stood still in the center of the brightly lit training room, his eyelids pressed tightly closed.
His balled right fist slowly rotated in circles, the light ripplings of his t-shirt the only noise that could be heard in the room. With a long, slow breath, Danny clenched his fist and held it steady.
"BODI...could you give me a minute?"
He breathed softly, talking straight ahead into the room.
"Of course, Danny," came the reply, in a strangely emotional electronic voice. "Visual observations will be turned off until you leave, vital signs are still being monitored. Try not to hurt yourself."
Danny nodded once, eyes still closed as he rotated his neck, loosening the muscles.
"I won't. Thanks BODI."
A couple of seconds passed before Danny opened his eyes once more. Tilting his head, he gazed down at his mended wrist. Fingers flexed and stretched, before balling once more into a fist, testing it out. He sighed as his eyelids fell back into place, body shifting almost serpent-like into a fighting stance. Taking a deep breath and holding, Danny did his best to focus. The soft hum of the air conditioning held the air.
With a sharp breath, Danny launched his body into the air with extreme grace, contorting and twisting in an impressive Butterfly Kick before landing back on his feet. Visually superb, but not very useful.
He landed soft, but not quite soft enough, aggravating his healing ankle. Danny sucked some air sharply between his clenched teeth and held his place, trembling like a leaf in an Autumn breeze.
His eyelids squeezed as the sudden pain rushed through his body. Pushing on and ignoring it, Danny ran through some motions, arms forcing into blocking stances, legs gracefully kicking and spinning across the padded floor.
All the while, Danny tried his best to concentrate, but his mind hadn't been the same for a long time. Not since the accident.
It had been three months by now. Easily. But the consequences of that day still affected Danny's life now, in a tremendous way.
The war walls going down had been his first sign. As he clambered into his car and sped off down the street in Steel Canyon, his eyes were glued to the skies, tinted in the disturbing green he, as well as all Paragon City knew, was the sign of an attack.
He'd been too busy looking out the side window to notice the lumbering Rikti warship in the sky, floating slowly down the street, raining its payload down onto the helpless civilians below. It wasn't until the rumbling in Danny's eardrums reached painful levels that he turned his head back to the windscreen.
A Rikti bomb had landed on a passing tramline, starting a game of bowls with a tram, sending it careening off into the street. Danny's car was unfortunate enough to be passing under it at the time.
He woke in a hospital bed three days later. The doctors had to use a new method to control his pain during the twenty-seven hour operation, implanting a chip to dull the nerves in Danny's brain. It was a new procedure, but was deemed necessary to save his life. It did.
It also meant Danny couldn't feel at all. Full stop. Only now have his feelings truly come back, but some days are worse than others.
Danny's feet came to a rest at the edge of the cool training mat, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. They slowed, eventually coming to a stop, before Danny curled his body into a rotating backflip, continuing his training back across the floor, legs spinning and twisting his body in various kicks. His mind continued racing.
You'll never amount to anything. You're worthless.
That sentence had stuck with Danny forever. At the time, it was what he needed to hear, but the niggling doubt had buried itself into his brain like a tick, ready to strike at any point the iron was hot. And recently, it had been.
Danny knew he had been reckless when he tried to tackle the thugs a few days previous. He had the scars to prove it.
At the time, it looked to be a simple heist by nothing more than street thugs. After being tossed through the air into a van like a rag doll, by a man he can only describe as a wall of muscle, Danny was left hospitalised with a fractured radius in his right forearm, and a badly sprained ankle. But that night as he laid in the hospital ward, he was counting his blessings. He'd never been confident before, and this was another blow to destroy the work his new friends were doing.
Joining the New Vigilants had given Danny a new focus. He was now tied directly into something, not just another 'worker'. His work with Vanguard had been greatly commended by Serpent Drummer, but now he felt a true sense of being. He felt worth.
His blossoming relationship with Soaring Horizon helped broaden his feelings, and something in his brain had slowly but surely ticked over while he laid in hospital. He stood here now fresh and exhilarated.
His twentieth birthday was only three days away now. The teenager excuse wouldn't work anymore, and Danny finally realised it was time he grew up. He was someone's "world", and those words gave him the boost he needed.
As his feet touched down on the opposite side of the mat, Danny breathed out a long sigh, his body frozen in a ready fighting stance. Eyelids gradually receeded back, and Danny's eyes adjusted to the light again. A slow, gradual smile spread across his lips as he span, kicking with extreme force into the air, the snap of his training pants echoing through the room.
Legs flew through the air with incredible speed, Danny's body twisting in unusual ways to deliver more power to each blow, invisible enemies falling one by one. The ballet-style session ended with a huge Axe Kick forcing down through Danny's invisible demons, his heel digging into the padded mat at his feet.
Chuckling softly, he balled his fist once more, rotating it around at the wrist before shaking it loose, a huge grin now plastered across his rugged face.
He was home.
@Crius
Bassai, Canadian Kid, Alruna, Kahi
Mistress Rad, Culpeo, Ms. Demeanor, Celsius
If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Let's go to work.