This is here because Aotk wont let me paste in to comment fields
Initial sketches and draft
Here we see Trick getting slapped round a bit by some illicit prize/ street fighters for bad mouthing them. It is quite the common theme for Trick to get in to trouble for his mouth more ways than one. This is actually how Terry and Trick first meet. I am actually trying to write a book. It's about super heros and I'm drawing a good deal of inspiration from Batman. I'll leave a taste f the writing below and you guys can tell me what you think it would be very awesome. I'm still hashing out some characters but I would really love to know your guys thoughts on this.
Trick’s Introduction Arc
It had been a stressful few weeks- Terry had been working on the set putting his new 'skills' to the test. His hard work studying Shakespeare renditions and broadway shows had paid off. His life was going fast and furious and he'd recently come into... quite a pretty penny. Some investments he made in his youth, while he was still running strong with The Executioner's M.C., had recently matured. He'd earned quite a hefty sum here and there, and had made private investments as a loan shark of sorts. Now, those loans had matured and it came time to be paid.. Investments in bonds had also matured, and he chose now to cash in.Now that he had all this hot cash burning a hole in his pocket, he felt compelled to do something with it. He'd set aside his pay from NPH and from the film budget. This... this was his private nest egg... It was a good amount, too. He had recently been informed of a rather significant tourney taking place in an abandoned area out near the woods. These sorts of things tended to happen out on the fringes of society, but there was supposedly a HUGE tunnel out in Anaheim. Terry had gotten directions from a contact of his who was still deeply seeded within the underground fighting ring. He’d gotten the directions left for him in an unmarked envelope dropped off at the florist shop. He only needed to look the instruction over before heading out that way. There was something of a stream running out from some jagged rocks. Cars and other bikes were scattered about the rural area, Trash littered the grounds and some weed connoisseurs greeted his arrival with an offer to sell. He passed it up and started down the long stretch of tunnel the walls lined with the words of modern day prophets in big bold beautiful lettering. Some bullet casing littered the floor as he followed the strange leaking stream that cut its way out along the center path of the tunnels. He came to a parting area of the path and it wasn't long until he had to click on a flash light. Every couple tens of feet he'd pass a group either coming going or chilling at a spot along the walls all sorts of young folks were here. This was perhaps one of THE biggest events. Bits of rebar laid out across the path. the tunnel was not rounded though it was more of a box like shape with rounded corners near the roof. The solid slab of cement stretched far beyond the light of Terry's flash light. He'd never been here before and so far he wasn't liking the idea of there only being ONE exit. It was hard to get comfortable. The chittering of bats was audible this deep in the pitch black depths. It was a good thing those coming here had lights... it would be VERY hard to find your way out without one. There wasn't a shred of light in here though there was lots of graffiti. All of it was well preserved in the tunnel, having not been exposed to weathering through the years ... Left with only the sound of trance music echoing down the long tunnel. He could see a light ahead, the break at the end of this length of tunnel. He stepped out into a relatively well lit area. Some crazy folks had driven their cars here and set up. This was an abandoned military base from back in the day. There was this massive olympic sized swimming pool emptied out and turned in to the fighting ring. This appeared to be some sort of training base...carved into the side of the mountain should bombs ever hit. Long forgotten since the days of yesteryear now renewed as THE location of BRIDGE BRAWL one of the biggest brawls in all of California. There was a stereo system with an announcer's words coming over loud and clear. “We got fighters from all over the Champion of the Bronx Beat Down, We got the Finalist from the Rage in the Cage! All the biggest baddest boys are here to throw down the gauntlet tonight here in NEPTUNE'S COURT! Raise your solo cups up and toast these gladiators to a fine battle as we shed blood for the gods of War TONIGHT! I'll be your Master of Ceremonies, MC BRUCEY! Can I hear you MAKE SOME NOISE?! Alright alright what a beautiful crowd we got to night. All contestants please step up to the Ford F-2-50 and get your names in the drawing. Our Itinerary will be drawn ON THE SPOT. As always Bets will be taken down by the Lifeguard shack. " The swimming pool is lined with barbed wire and there's folding chairs here and there in small sections. Various folks brought their own coolers and some folks were clearly enjoying the merch tables set up. There was a secluded sectioned off box of Bleachers with a box where the VP's were residing and watching over the events tonight. Terry could see some big named prizefighters here taking note of them by the small paths they cut. There were competitors he'd only heard of before and never seen, some he'd seen once or twice but this was definitely the big leagues now. No more playing around. Looking out across the masses of individuals Terry cut out that this event was relatively well armed and guarded. He could see The Black Mamba, The Komodo, Pitt Viper, Lights OUT the Knock Out, The Hispanic Causin' Panic, Big Daddy, a man Terry would love to see go toe to toe against Papi chulo, Raging Regi was among the bunch, Meat And his partner Brick, and Buttercup! Dear Little Buttercup of Terry's favorite Fighters and he couldn't believe he was here. There certainly was quite the lot of talent afoot but there was also new folks and smaller names that were taking this as a serious event. Terry made his way down to the huge white Ford and Coughed up his entry fee. The US open was typically around $60 - 250 pending on division. But this, this was the illicit big leagues here. Entry fees ranged at $500 for 'under belts' and $5,000 for those main event fighters. Terry was dressed in a thick black zip up hoody and was wearing some aviators. He had on some form fitting athletic gear that allowed for maximum movement and some light strap up, padded, fighting shoes. He paid up from his 5K and signed on as 'Talon'. This drew some attention from a few of the other competitors that arrived. A few heckled were tossed his way but He chose to keep to himself staying quiet. He then departed to go place a few bets...Buttercup Was one of the underdogs, lightweight and fast. But perhaps that's why Terry enjoyed his fights. He watched as the board was drawn up on the spot. He studied the names and made his own personal calculations. The Divisions were simple. There was a special Tag Team event, The mock 'AAA' division for the well known fighters, and the Unrated fighters. Terry set out some Parlay bets of $500 on Buttercup as an Underdog in the Unrated Division, and on Black Mamba for the rated, making each a 5 fight parlay bet, meaning the odds were at 20/1 if the bets came true each payout would be $ 10,500. As a parlay they would each have to win their first five fights in a row. Terry Set out a ‘Method of Victory Bet’ on Buttercup for his fifth fight to end by submission. This was more of a prop bet or an exotic bet and would have a much higher pay out if Buttercup succeeded in this. Terry placed 3,000 down on this bet. His Proposition bets went to Buttercup, stating that Buttercup would finish the Un- rated and take the chance to enter the big league, after earning the right to be 'rated'. A Head to head bet on Black Mamba, Buttercup, Light's OUT, and Komodo on their first fights of the evening. And finally Buttercup in the Bet Pool for the unrated division to come out the victor. It wasn’t long before the first events were under way. The Un rated portion would take place simultaneously with the tag team portion. The raging crowd closed in and the yelling soon picked up over the loud music. This was perhaps one of the things Terry hated most as a spectator… and of the things he loved the most about being a competitor. When you were ‘in the zone’ it was as if you couldn’t hear any of the yelling. It was you, all you there in the ring with your opponent as if nothing else mattered, time slowed down to a crawl. You couldn’t hear the music or the yelling or anything… just your own heart beat, your own breathing, the trickle of sweat off your brow. He shook his head and moved off to a clearer section of the pool wall as he overlooked the two rings as they started up. By now they had two center judges, each ‘offical’ watching over the ring they were assigned. At first things went pretty well there wasn’t -much- blood spilt in the first three set ups. But a commotion certainly did catch Terry’s attention in the Tag team ring. Terry had previously been watching Buttercup’s first fight and was some what hesitant to look away. Lucky he did however… Terry came to see a small runt of a youth that was just dropped through the roof ‘hatch’ of the the fenced off ‘cage’ that had been made into the other half of the pool. “Alright, alright gents back up, and give the cub some room. He’s got the mouth to talk the talk, but let’s see if he can walk the walk!” The announcer said over the speakers. The crowd was wild and ready to see this boy get his face pushed in. By picking up key bits of talk and conversations from the crowd as Terry started to weave through the crowd, he realized this kid was trash talking the fighters in the ring. Apparently some folks took offense and decided to drop the youth in to face those fighters up close. Komodo was in the cage with his new upstart companion who hadn’t made ‘much’ of a name for himself yet, Simply going by the name ‘Kai’. The pair had zeroed in on the hoodie clad young boy and cornered him in the cage. It was ‘okay’ at first’ but their little game of smacking the kid around got a bit too rough for Terry’s comfort as blood was drawn. Terry, as Talon started over and made his way past the ‘gate guards’ arguing, when questioned that if it was a ‘team fight’ he’d be the kid’s partner stating that two on one was clearly ‘illegal’ for this kind of bit. He made his way in with a running start delivered a nasty kick to Komodo’s ribs knocking him off the smaller who had been thoroughly crushed into the corner of the cage. Terry took a right hook from Kai as he straightened up but a low round house to the back of the knee sent Kai to his knees. Terry stepped in front of the bloodied and battered youth before jamming a heel from a front kick in to Kai’s chest sending him back a few feet. Terry stood there hand up in a pair of fists as he stepped in front of the youth. “ Get up kid… don’t let them see you hurt… you have to get up.” He said back to the boy whom was teetering on consciousness. “Talons you son of a bitch! This isn’t your territory! Quit ruining our fun.” Komodo snarled as he rotated a shoulder and patted his rib cage to help the pain fade as Kai managed his way back up to his feet. “Sorry! Sorry! I thought I heard the extinction call Dodo!” ‘Talons’ spat back. “Just another bleeding heart! I hear you walked out on that one fight- Unlimited Combat?” Kai shot as the boy behind Terry wobbled to straighten up bracing himself against the fence walls. “Yeah, poser; you dare show your mug around here? You’re just a hack, a waste of time who walked away… Do yourself a favor... Walk away now.” "Trash talked by many. Hated by some. Guess how many fucks I give?” Talons shot back without missing a beat, cracking his neck. “ It’s less than one." He finished, and it was on! The crowd was loving it! Truth be told the bet booth was getting a lot of action now. What initially seemed like a let down as Talons stepped in turned into a brutal brawl. Komodo and Kai were pretty decent fighters in all regards. Terry was no foreigner to being in the middle of a beat down either. He bobbed and weaved being able to crescent step well enough but he was having difficulties with keeping the youth behind him and out of the range of Komodo and Kai. He was limited in what he could do so suffice to say Terry was taking some punishment as well. Terry had to pull his punches to keep things non lethal but he took a good deal of punishment before taking out Kai’s left leg with a stomp kick and breaking his leg. Komodo was next- at least he would be but he managed to get Talons in a choke hold. Terry dug his teeth in to Komodo’s arm and he howled in pain before terry broke that arm and threw him… with both enemies on the ground and incapacitated, the fight was over and the announcer called it. Terry helped walk the youth out and the crowd parted before them. He lead the small one off to a quieter area of the grounds, letting the smaller lean his weight on him. Terry steadied his path. “ Hey kid… you alright? You good?” Terry asked looking the youth over and assessing the damages. The boy nodded his head slowly… “I’m fuckin’ fine…” He huffed sullenly as he rubbed the sleeve of his jacket under his nose cleaning away some blood. “What’s yer name kid? It takes a lotta guts to pull what you did…. “ Terry Inquired. The boy was quiet for a time as he fussed at his face. “Trick… they call me Trick…” “Trick huh? That’s an … interesting name… your parents name you that?” “I don’t have parents… “ Trick answered sharply. “Ah… you and me both then… Look… you need to sit down… trust me… concussions suck… Just come sit with me on the bleachers… alright?” Trick tried to pull away but his head was spinning. “I can take care of myself…” "Any more care like that and you'll end up in INTENSIVE CARE... just take a seat. Alright?" Terry coaxed. Reluctantly the raven haired boy sat down.. Terry saw to it that they found a nice spot, high and dry in the bleachers. He pulled out his pack removing two water bottles handing one to Trick. “ You got guts kid… you got guts… “ Terry said still marveling over the recent events. The kid had a mouth on him there was no doubting that. He opened up a medical kit. “ Let me see your face…” Terry went about tending the boy’s wounds slowly, bit by bit dabbing away at the open cuts on his face. “ Tetanus is also bad… you get lock jaw from that ; and then doctors gotta put a tube in your stomach… what brought you here Trick?” Terry asked still fishing for information. The kid was small. Smaller than Terry was perhaps when he started this... “I brought me here…” Trick snapped sneering at Terry, yet he groaned, the loud music wasn't doing his head any favors. “Oh? Well yeah, I brought myself here too, but I came to fight… did you?” Trick looked away and sighed settling slightly in his spot. “No.. I came here to do a drop off… “ Trick said simply. “ I was getting paid… “ He offers. The truth was becoming clearer now. "Oh? Good money in it?" Terry asked. "Why the fuck do you care so damn much?" Trick snapped. "Okay okay” replied Terry,...” it pays the bills as it were. We all have needs... wants... desires... You're pretty young to be getting mixed up in all of this you know." "I didn't ask for your opinion, or you help!" "No... you didn't; but you needed it. " Terry countered. "I don't need you or any body for that matter. I never needed any one." Trick shot back. "Play the tough act all you want, kid... you could have died in there... Take a lesson from me, the real world isn’t an easy adversary by any means, it's brutal and relentless" "Don't lecture -me- on the real world- I've lived in it! I've clawed my way through it and I've learned from it. When you doubt yourself, the real world eats you alive!" Trick snapped. Terry was silent for a few long moments and he dabbed some antiseptic over a cut causing the youth to hiss. "You're right..." he said finally after letting those few tense moments pass. The boy seemed taken aback and somewhat suspicious by that response. "I shouldn't judge your story based upon the chapter I walked in on." Terry offers simply. These few words seemed to stun Trick, into silence for the time being. It was about then Terry and Trick were approached by a pair of the Promoter’s Enforcers. These men were strapped. " Hey Talons, you didn't pay up your entry fee for you and the brat. You won the fight so better cough up the cash else we'll have to give you a parting gift. " Terry glanced up and handed over what he had left in his wallet. " This cover it?" He asked. One of the Enforcers snatched it up and thumbed through it. " Yeah, just about. " "We are dropping out of the tag team division. " Terry states. "You sure about that Talon? There's some good bets on ya. Don't wanna piss everyone off before the night's end eh? " "I'm sure. " He retorted. Once the Enforcers left, the boy snorted. "Geeze if I knew you just gave away cash like that I shoulda signed up to work for you... you could a taken them... I saw you fight... " Trick said, nursing his bruised arm. "Trick... believe me... no amount of money can replace a life... I love to gamble but there's some things better not tested. Life... is a truly precious thing. " "Oh give me a break... That fight in there... it was nothing." Trick sighed. Terry took him up by the shoulders and was mere inches from Trick's face. He spoke in a low sharp, and serious tone. " Your life... your safety is -not- nothing." Terry said with a strange sort of deliberateness. This yet again seemed to leave the youth stunned and at a loss for words... he blinked and pulled away from Terry's grasp shaking his head. He certainly had a bad headache of sorts. He fell silent here and looked away. Terry did the same after watching the small one for a moment or so. " Drink up... you'll need the hydration... you lost a good deal of blood... " He added slowly. Trick silently opened the bottle and took a few sips. "So..." Trick turned his murky blue eyes towards the fang toothed bandana thatTerry wore wrapped around his face. " Why do they call you Talons?" He asked letting his curiosity get the better of him. Terry glanced back to his small counter part and shook his head, smirking behind that skeletal grin. "It's because I like to break noses with my boots. " He offers simply. "It's a name that just kinda stuck... they always said that I looked like a bird when I started doing more 'flashy' moves in the fights too... Flying isn't really for fighting... " He explained. Trick squinted. " Yeah but you're really good... you're just playing with them... aren't you?" "I suppose you could call it that." He laughed lightly as he started to pack away what medical supplies he had left. "So who taught you to fight?" Trick asked next. (Ah yes the questions were starting to come forward now.) If Terry kept answering, he knew questions only lead to more questions and soon the boy would overflow and let questions run like a river. "That's... a secret, kid." Terry said simply as he readied one last bandage and picked up some antiseptic spray. Trick sneered at being called a kid. "Can't be all that great if you keep walking away from your fights...And I'm not your FUCKIN KID!" Trick huffed. Terry sprayed him with the antiseptic and placed the bandage, perhaps being a bit rough. "Ow--ffffuck..." He hissed as the antiseptic stung. He leered up at Terry’s shiny goggles... "You look like a freak..." Trick spat. " Bug-eyed creep..." He snorted. "Why do you wear that trash any how?" Trick asked. Terry was silently observing the boy as he answered him. " Well... It's so no one can see my expression... like I said kid... never let them see you hurt..." Trick just about lost it as he was called a kid yet again. "I'm -NOT- your fucking ki-" Terry put a finger to his lips interrupting him. "Till you can write checks your body can cash, you’re a kid." He stated simply, and got to his feet. " Stay here and stay outta trouble... the main event's about to start. If you're smart you'll learn something." Terry said aiming his finger gun at the boy and pretending to 'shoot him with a gesture before moving away and melting back into the crowd. It was about time for him to collect his winnings from the betting booth. And collect he did... not all of his bets came through but he did win quite a few and made a pretty penny, certainly making this a profitable night as it were. That's when it happened... the words shot up. The constant trash talk that trailed... "Heard you ditched the tag event... so promising too... But that's all you ever do... is walk... why not put those boots to good use and make room for the real professionals Talons?" Came a clear voice. "You know I'm not sure if it's skill or stench in those boots that gets him his wins. " Came another comment. Terry counted out his winnings in cold hard cash piling them into a duffle bag he'd brought with him. He seemed to pay no mind to the hecklers. "It's obvious! He fixes all the fights!" Some one shouted and the crowd started to murmur... "He can't finish because he never can fix -that- end fight!" There was a break out of chatter and speculation on this matter. Terry shook his head. "Well I guess you'll all have to just wait and see... " He said simply and started off. He spoke to one of the 'promoters' and soon returned to Trick's side tossing him the bag... Trick grunted at the impact before looking up at Talons with a questionable look. " Hold that... I'm not done with you so don't try running away with it... sit still there and be a good boy and I just might let you keep some of that. " Trick smirked. " Sixty percent and consider me hired." Terry chortled a moment. " Five. " "Fifty." Trick returned. "Ten." Terry said gently in response. "Forty Five!" Trick argued. Amused, Terry said with confidence. " Ten... no more no less; but if you impress me we can renegotiate." "Deal." Trick said snapping up the opportunity. Terry stepped off with ease and headed down to the cages... He stepped in as his name was called up. He cracked his knuckles and limbered up a moment or so. As Trick saw Terry slip off he pulled the pack up over his shoulder and started after him. He wanted to see this. Perhaps he could learn a little more about fighting from watching... The first few fights came fast and violent. and true to his word 'talons' pushed his boot into faces and ground the heels in. Aside from that he took his time playing with his first couple of opponents and just for giggles the promoters made Terry fight a few fellows back to back, at least three to help douse any complaints about fights being fixed. As Talons fought his hood came down. One individual drew a blade in the cage saying he was going to cut off all of Talons hair. This was 'technically' illegal but the promoters made no move to stop this as the crowd was all for it and they were aiming to please the crowd to night. Insults were being slung Talons way, calling him a “pretty boy” under that mask or a “Fabio” for having long hair. Suffice to say it was a close fight but it ended with a broken nose and broken arm. Trick watched with wide eyes as Terry dominated his competition... Trick focused on Terry and his movements... each calculated and carefully executed mixed in with his taunting... it was a show... he was a good actor... and an amazing fighter... Trick wanted to be THERE... Trick wanted to BE him...He looked so cool... so at ease... so in his element in there... He hopped down into the pool and moved up to press against the fencing and dug his fingers in. Soon enough Terry was given a moment's reprieve to let some of the other preliminaries take place... "Look at him flaunting off like a peacock!" Yes, the insults and taunts kept coming however; there were a few arguments that broke out among the crowd. Terry spotted Trick and pulled him away from the cage and off to a less populated corner of the pool. "That was awesome!" Trick said. " You wiped the FLOOR with them!" He cheered practically hopping on his toes. "I thought I told you to stay put... " Terry said once they were out of earshot. "Can you teach me to fight like that?" Trick asked and Terry paused for a few seconds before responding curtly. " Absolutely not. " "W-what!? Why?" Trick seemed a little crushed at that rejection. "Because... you can't just...No,... the answer is no... " Terry responded. Trick frowned at this. "Bullshit! Why not ? Give me a real answer!" Terry sighed and shook his head. " You want to learn so damn bad then you better learn to listen to me first. If you can't listen you can't learn. Now GET back to those bleachers." Terry plucked him up under the arms and lifted him with ease seating him on the edge of the cement pool. Trick was stunned into silence for the moment and felt a mixture of emotions... Mad was one but he held his tongue for the moment... He watched Terry go and after he departed started off to get a better vantage point of the fights that were still going... if he wouldn't teach him he'd watch and learn... The fights went on... and the night grew darker into the wee hours of the morning... and well... Terry put those rumors to rest and finished the competition taking first place for himself. It was a brutal grueling fight, one on one with his opponent and it was a pretty crazy fight with flash moves from both sides and blood was certainly spilled. By the time it was over Terry was certainly spent... he received his winnings and started off towards the little raven haired runt finding him where he'd sent him in the end... " Hey... it's a school night isn't it? Shouldn't you be in bed sleeping at this hour?" Terry asked. "I graduated from school..." Trick shot back. "Oh yeah? what school was that?" Terry asked. "The School of Hard Knocks." He snorted. "Bet they didn't teach you this in school." Terry said and with a simple move knocked the youth out before gathering him up and carrying him off.
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