1/15 Instance: C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: current


Eddie: The horrifying sound of concrete shattering violently filled the virtual plane as the Juggernaut sim charged clean through a dilapidated building after his opponent. He looked around, breathing heavily as his eyes scanned the area for his opponent.

Eddie: High above the building, on a crane above it, stood Eddie Brock clad in his black armor, gazing down with his thumb extended, aiming his jump.

Eddie: Beneath his mask, he smirked before leaping down in a series of artful somersaults, swinging down his fist as it morphed into a wrecking ball of muscle and bone. "Heads up, bitch-tits!"

Laura: Stepping into the simulated city, Laura cast a glance around, vaguely wondering who was possibly using the room when she generally did. She ventured further into the mass of buildings, using the abandoned cars littering the cracked and broken pavement as cover as she skulked through the streets. Then, there was the voice that was quickly followed by the sound of concrete cracking.

Laura: Moving quickly but just as silently, she finally came upon the construction site and spotted the source of the noise. Eddie Brock. Venom. Past the name, codename, and a general idea of his powers, Laura wasn't incredibly familiar with the guy, however he appeared to be doing well enough.

Eddie: With all the force he could manage, Eddie forced his opponent above his head, form taking on a more bestial one. His mouth opened, revealing sharp white fangs as he cackled maniacally, throwing the Juggernaut back through the wall he'd come through.

Eddie: His form condensed as he pursued, a pair of sable tendrils catapulting him through the breach and landing atop the battle-damaged Juggernaut with a powerful downwards slam into his chest. He looked up, spotting Laura and smirking again, standing atop his felled foe.

Laura: He'd noticed her, though she supposed she hadn't been actively trying to keep herself completely out of sight. Straightening, Laura started toward him, calling as she crossed the site to the building, "That was quite impressive."

Eddie: "Not the first time I've heard that from a lady...", Eddie grinned, his mask receding. As his simulated opponent attempted to rise, he slammed another morphed fist into his stomach. When the Juggernaut was out, he hopped away, approaching Laura as the simulated man disappeared in a blink of light.

Eddie: "So, down here for some training?", he asked, a warm smile on his face.

Laura: She returned the smile as her eyebrow went up, "That is generally what people come down here for, is it not?"

Eddie: Eddie shrugged, "Well er...I've come here for R&R before, some people like that.", he smirked slyly, looking up into the virtual representation of an orange noon sky, "...once or twice, anyway. Good times."

Laura: "...R&R?" Laura asked with a puzzled expression, as she was about as familiar with the term as she was with Eddie himself.

Eddie: "'Rest and Recuperation', you know, relaxing!", he explained, "I know you're not exactly savvy with colloquial lingo, so I'll keep it formal if you'd prefer?"

Laura: "Ah." She shook her head, "No, informal is acceptable. How else am I supposed to learn?"

Eddie: "Aha, true.", Eddie smirked back, stretching as his armor receded in a flash of dancing tendrils, revealing his casual attire beneath, "So, you....do a lot of combat training?"

Laura: "Yes. I try to practice every day," Laura answered, carefully watching the inky blackness as it retracted, revealing flesh. It was interesting, but she pulled her attention away from the tendrils, looking to his face instead as she asked, "Do you?"

Eddie: Eddie shrugged again, "Eeeh, not [i[every[/i] day. Then again, I use my power to get around all the time, so....I suppose you could say I do...hm, never really thought of it like that.", he mused.

Laura: "My powers don't exactly lend themselves to everyday use," Laura replied, amending after considering her statement, "The claws do not, anyway."

Eddie: "Your secondary is regeneration, right?", Eddie recalled, "I hear you're quite the fighter, too...you get a cool codename like 'Athena' or 'Zeruel'?",

Laura: "As well as enhanced senses," she added, however she shook her head, "No. Nothing quite that... cool, however it is nice to know my skills as a fighter precede me."

Eddie: "Well, I don't wanna worry you but I've heard about you, and done a fair bit of reading up..."

Laura: Now, Laura was just curious as to what all he knew. "Have you?"

Eddie: Eddie scratched his head, "Don't freak out, it's nothing incriminating!", he assured her, "I just like to know about people, it's in my job description. I know, for example, you were involved with the Apocalypse incident, right?"

Laura: "I worked for Essex," she answered plainly.

Eddie: "I know. And I don't judge you.", he assured her, smiling all the same, "Honestly, I'm past treating people like crap for it - yeah, I disagree, but from what I hear, people like you didn't have much of a choice."

Laura: "I grew up with him." That seemed like enough of an explanation. "However, the Apocalypse incident doesn't have much to do with my fighting skills," she returned the smile, "I would be interested in sparring, if you're up to the challenge."

Eddie: At that, Eddie raised an eyebrow, "Feeling confident then, Miss Kinney?", he grinned, "Alright, I'll bite...", he turned, taking a few steps back and facing her again, "Think you can take?"

Laura: "I am always confident in my abilities," Laura grinned back as she nodded, "I am quite sure I can take you."

Eddie: "Better men have tried.", Eddie nodded, smile still on his face as the ebony tendrils from his back slid over his body in a protective shell, "Alright, kiddo, come on.", he beckoned her with a hand.

Laura: "I am not a man," she pointed out as she dropped into a stance and began to circle him, debating the best approach. "You are able to regenerate as well, correct? If so, do you have a preference on whether I use my claws or not?"

Eddie: "I'd be insulted if you held back...", Eddie laughed, flexing his arms and adjusting his footing, "...any time you're ready."

Laura: "Well, then..." Laura started, claws breaking through the skin between her knuckles. Once they'd completely extended, she lunged.

Eddie: Eddie's senses trained on her, catching her every movement; he dipped forwards, his left arm coming up to intercept her attacking hand.

Laura: As his arm blocked her attack, the claws in her feet extended, and she aimed a kick to his midsection.

Eddie: Catching on, her black-clad opponent forced himself up and over the kick, cartwheeling past her and casting a web string. With a pull, a jump and a roll, Eddie was facing her again from a distance, crouched and ready for another strike.

Eddie: "Damn fine moves....", he smirked, "Wanna see mine?"

Laura: "You mean they get better than that?" Laura asked as she prepared herself for whatever Eddie had in store for her.

Eddie: "Cheeky bitch...", Eddie breathed, still smiling as he charged forward, his left hand forming a bone knife as he swung towards her throat, his right hand was still clinging to a web-strand connected to the wall behind him - an idea came to mind...

Laura: She deflected the knife with her claws and moved in for another swing with her free hand, aiming for his throat since he'd gone for hers. Being in this close likely wasn't a great idea, but she could hope she was faster than him.

Eddie: Eddie barely crouched her blow, sliding past and flexing his knife-arm into a twisted blade. He stopped, spinning backwards and slicing horizontally for Laura's back.

Laura: Instinctively ducking, Laura twisted around, leg shooting out in an attempt to trip him up, slicing at his ankles.

Eddie: Buckling, he did go down, senses realizing too late that his attack was destined not to connect. Turning his head back to the web string, Eddie gave his left hand a hard pull as he went down, collapsing a wall and dragging a large block of bricks down on Laura.

Laura: As the wall came down, Laura attempted to dive out of the way to avoid the majority of the debris, aiming her claws at Eddie as she went down.

Eddie: Another lash of webbing shot free of the debris, bringing Eddie outwards in a leap past Laura's claw. He caught a slice across the face as he went by, artfully flipping around and onto his feet before facing her again.

Laura: Gritting her teeth, she squirmed out from under the bricks that did land on her and got to her feet, warily eying him. Despite the look she was giving him, a small smile played on her lips. This was great. He was a challenge.

Eddie: Whipping lashes from Eddie's arms caught the walls of the room they were in. With a roar of effort, he tore the decaying building down around them, darting towards Laura and leaping forth with a spinning downwards kick.

Laura: The kick caught her square in the chest and knocked her back, sending her toward the floor as the supports in the building creaked, eventually giving away under pressure. As she went down, she rolled and sliced upwards as she got back to her feet, immediately heading for the nearest exit as she walls began crumbling inward, debris raining down on them.

Eddie: Eddie stepped back, dodging the slice and casting two strings of webbing past her, hitting either side of the doorway. He scrambled backwards, releasing the webbing and catapulting towards the exit after her in a high velocity dropkick.

Laura: Laura's gaze darted between the lines of webbing, and it didn't take long for her to put two and two together. She decided she was close enough to the exit and dove for the doorway, hoping she was low enough to avoid the kick.

Eddie: The darting black form of Eddie passed clean over her head. He landed with a skid, rolling on the floor and grinding to a halt. The dust from the skid settled as he stood, charging forward again and morphing both his arms into scythe-like blades, "You're pretty good!", he complimented, swinging for his foe.

Laura: She somersaulted forward, ending up back on her feet. Not missing a beat, she rushed him and slid to the side to avoid the swing, jabbing at him as she returned the compliment, "You're pretty good yourself."

Eddie: Eddie winced at the stab to his side, twisting to force the spikes out and thrusting a re-formed hand for her neck.

Laura: With a hiss, Laura's face twisted as his fingers curled around her throat, and she swung a leg up to catch him in the chin with the blade protruding from her foot.

Eddie: The spike went clean through his jaw, followed by a loud, sharp grunt of pain. Eddie forced her upwards, throwing her into the air with all his strength and stumbling backwards as the blade sliced clean through the front of his face.

Eddie: His off hand followed her ascent, splashing tendrils upwards to wrap around her as he slammed her harshly downwards against the ground, using the momentum to flip himself upwards in another spinning downwards kick.

Laura: While she was satisfied she'd caught his face as intended, she wasn't incredibly pleased to find herself in the air, as there wasn't much she could do from there. She was more displeased as the webbing wound around her, restricting her movement. The more she attempted to wriggle free, the more she was realizing it was an impossible task, especially while being kicked in the back.

Laura: When she hit the pavement, she gasped, making note of the distinct popping of bones giving out. She wasn't going to be moving for a bit while they healed. Despite the injuries, she grinned and got out once she'd regained her breath, "Your moves did get better."

Eddie: Eddie landed a little ways away from her, growling like a wounded animal as the lacerations in his body started healing, "Yeah...a little more to the right and you'd have beaten me in one shot.", he confessed, excitement still in his voice as he breathed a little laugh, "You're one tough cookie, kid..."

Laura: "I will remember that if a situation like this should ever arise again," she commented, closing her eyes and resting her head against the pavement, bones resetting with another series of popping. "I try to be."

Eddie: "Sorry if I was too hard on you...", he said, approaching her and letting his mask recede, "Had to be on my game with the Spider-Sense there; if not for that, you'd have beaten me with that first hit to the face.", kneeling, Eddie offered Laura his hand, cringing at the bones re-aligning within her.

Laura: Laura reached to take his hand and shook her head, "You weren't too hard. It was a challenge... which was nice. Most around here aren't nearly as good as you."

Eddie: Helping her up, Eddie laughed a little, tendrils falling free to reveal his casual attire again as he did so, "Thanks for the compliment; you're definitely one of the best fighters I've ever encountered - and trust me, I've gone up against some real gems!"

Laura: "You are welcome, and thank you," she grinned. "We'll have to try this again sometime."

Eddie: "I'd love to.", Eddie nodded, grinning right back, "Fancy getting something to eat? I'm frickin' starved..."

Laura: "Of course," Laura nodded as she started for the door, glancing over her shoulder at him as she asked, "I'll meet you in ten?"

Eddie: Eddie nodded in response, "See you then.", he turned, making for the Danger Room's exit as he called an end to the program.