14567/Taking All Comers... an Exhibition

Taking All Comers... an Exhibition
Date of Scene:	14 October 2022
Location:	Grant's Gym
Synopsis:	Canary lets Tim win as a teachable point. And to, you know, make her cousin feel good about himself. Tim gifts people with concert tickets in response. What a nice guy!
Cast of Characters:	Black Canary, Red Robin, Spike

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Black Canary has posed:
When there's an exhibition, and when Canary's invited, there's something that always goes along with her: her rack.

No, not that rack you thirsty bastards! Her custom display of interesting and unusual weapons. Not trophies: she has a special room for those in her nest. Not lethal weapons: there's too much emphasis on those in a certain breed of martial arts toughs. No, she's got things like a mancatcher, or a Chinese mace (a.k.a. swordbreaker), or a meteor hammer, a rope dart, a tactical whip, or other weapons in that vein.

All so that she can maybe inspire people to investigate the more interesting nooks and crannies of martial arts while she waits for her cousin to arrive for the exhibition match.

"I don't get it," one of the people pawing her weapons says of the swordbreaker. "Why is it square?"

"It's shaped like a sword," Dinah replies, "as a kind of a stealth surprise. It can be sheathed like one, and when quickly drawn and swung in a kata it can be mistaken for one. But the extra mass of the 'blade' and the focused impact of that square corner, after those little cuts in it stop the sword blade's motion, cause devastating force to be pounded into a very small spot on a thin and fragile blade." She grins wickedly. "And suddenly instead of a swordsman facing you there's a shardsman facing you."

The bell at the door rings and she looks to see who it is. She's been waiting a half-hour for her cousin, but that's by design. She came a half-hour early to do PR.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake agrees to to come to this, Dinah is a celebrity and Tim is someone one at least when you add the Wayne name on the end of his. He has been known to take self defense classes when he got his first degree black belt in Kung Fu, one of the more basics of martial arts. He has not been in the news in his Gi in a while, but he has it with him in a garment bag as he walks in. He pulls off the sunglasses, he wore while driving the very expensive convertible that he arrived in. He looks over and smiles "Dinah." He calls out and moves over towards her.

Spike has posed:
It was a dangerous city. People should learn to lock their back doors, or get better ones. This one broke easily. And because it was a public business, even if someone lived in the loft above, he was unaffected by the curse. But these things always seemed to happen during the day. So inconvenient for vampires on the go.
    Spike slipped in, quietly, stealthily, using his enhanced hearing and sense of smell to know when to emerge, joining a small crowd as if he had always been there. He even timed it to coincide with the ring of the door bell on the other side, where some eyes would be directed.
    He had left his leather coat in the back room, since that might look conspicuous for the demonstration, instead only wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans, and well, black everything.

Black Canary has posed:
"Tim! Good to see you. Glad you could come. I needed someone I knew I wouldn't feel guilty about breaking."

Dinah's eyes sparkle with mischief as she greets her cousin. For her presence, naturally, she's in regalia. It's kind of the point here: drawing a crowd to get Grant's Gym in the local press and local buzz. "Everybody, I'd like you to meet the bravest man in Gotham: Tim Wayne. He's graciously volunteered the Wayne name and his health as sacrifices to this event. Give him a big round of applause."

She waits for the smattering of applause to die down. (Grant's Gym isn't the place for the applauding type, really.)

"Now, today's little fun exhibition will be a few displays of armed and unarmed kata followed by an exhibition match between me and Tim. And after that, a take-all-comers match for the winner."

Her lips purse together in a suppressed grin, voice pausing as she suppresses laughter.

"Which means I'll be taking on people in single-round matches of basic boxing." She winks Tim's way teasingly at the assumption she's going to be the one doing the take-all-comers segment. "I promise, no tricksy foreign moves, just Ali-like butterflying."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake smirks a bit and says "Hey, I might be the one taking all comers, and I know a little boxing Alfred taught me a bit about fisticuffs." He says in a fake British accent. He takes an old school boxing stance, but chuckles a bit and says "Seriously though it is my pleasure to be here and help out with the event. Mr. Grant does a lot to help for the community around here, and supporting those who support Gotham is always a pleasure."

Spike has posed:
Spike's eyebrow, the one with the faded scar, raised when he overheard the petite blonde talk about breaking the younger man. And that mischievous glint in her eye did not go unnoticed. He clapped with the crowd, but was later than most and stopped earlier. It was just enough to fit in and not draw attention to himself.
    He knew the name Wayne, but not Tim. He had zero interest in the latest familial sponge. It's not even like he would enjoy the customary sex tape that would be released at some point in a desperate attempt to recapture some relevance.
    He licked his lips, contemplatively. Once upon a time, he'd have enjoyed sparring. But thanks to this damned chip in his head, all he could do was shadow box. Land a punch, and he would wince. It was damn annoying. That faux British accent did have him cocking his head, and then shaking it. That was no British accent.

Black Canary has posed:
"OK, so while Master Wayne gets changed, I'll ask you, the guests, which kata would you like to begin watching?" She shoos a few people away from her rack and starts to indicate choices. "The sword breaker? The meteor hammer? The rope dart? Just hands and feet?"

Dinah looks over the crowd expectantly, eyes looking for people to draw into the event. Spotting the all-black guy with the hair, she points to Spike. "Why don't you pick the first one?" she asks. "And introduce yourself while you're at it, OK?"

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake changes in the changing room, and if someone is in there they may notice, that the young man does seem to know what he is doing. He puts on the hand wraps, and gets the outfit to hang just right. He gives himself a once over to make sure everything is right, and then almost as an after thought, he steps over to the mirror to mess with his hair a bit and move the Gi just a bit off, where it shows the logo of the place he took his classes at a bit better.

Spike has posed:
Spike had planned on remaining quiet, but when he was singled out, he gestured briefly with a finger to his chest. "Seems to me," his accent was as false as Tim's, except that his natural accent was a different type of British one, and his fake one had been honed over more than a century. "All those fancy weapons don't mean shit, if you don't have the basics down. Hands and feet are all right by me." Notably, he had neglected to identify himself.

Black Canary has posed:
"We've got a back to basics guy here!" Dinah enthuses. "Good. I happen to agree with him. You crawl before you walk and walk before you run. If you can't fight with your hands and feet, the weapons won't do you much good against a serious opponent."

If she's noted that he didn't identify himself (protip: she did) she's not calling him out on it. There's loads of reasons not to, and some of them are even legit.

Instead of making a fuss, Dinah instead just slips through the ropes and into the ring so her elevated position makes her more visible. "So without further ado, here's a little kata routine I've developed for exhibition. I'll announce the style for each segment so you can get an idea of how the styles look and what their focus is."

And with that, she starts off, rattling off a name, then spending several seconds surveying the various (more visibly flashy) moves of the named style.

"Boxing."

"Muay Thai."

"Kalaripayattu."

"Aikido."

"Dragon style."

"Savate."

"Capoeira."

The list goes on as she demonstrates each style's solo practice motions, ending up in a flourish that she doesn't announce the name of. Until afterward. A peculiar style that involves jumping up and down and smashing downward.

"Pogoing."

That gets a laugh from a few of the older types who remember first and second generation punk.

Dinah grins. "OK, Master Wayne has come out, so let's have him pick something to demonstrate. You can even pick one of my weapons if you like, Tim!"

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will smile and walks over to look at the weapons a moment, and while part of him wants to grab the mancatcher, he is specifically avoiding anything staff/spear like today. He will take a moment, and then picks the rope dart, and spins it around a bit. He shows enough knowledge not to wack himself with it, and then moves to the ring "And what are you going to counter with?" He asks her.

Spike has posed:
One of the crowd laughed at the phrase 'Master Wayne has come out', which just so happened to compete with the 'pick something to demonstrate' part. Spike wasn't one, though he did note the phrasing. He saw a great deal. But for this, he was trying to not be noticed.
    Instead, he watched Tim, likely picking up on the glance at the mancatcher. He was good at picking up on body language, inflections, so many little clues people gave off at any given time. He didn't say anything about it. He didn't know the significance yet. Though when he heard that question, he catcalled, "her." She's going to counter with herself.

Black Canary has posed:
"Ooh! Now that's interesting!" Dinah says with a grin, finger-gunning Spike. "Our British friend here has a good plan. Demonstration of weapons countering. There's no weapon made that can't be countered in hand-to-hand. It's just that it takes a LOT more effort and training to reach the level that it takes to do it."

She taps her chest self-deprecatingly. "It helps to be an obsessed lunatic like me."

Dinah faces Tim, then. "OK, so light sparring, Tim. You with the rope dart. Me with ... well ... me. You demonstrate how the rope dart is used, and I'll try not to get tagged, OK?"

It should be noted the weapon is not a training one. It's the real thing. Heavy and wicked in Tim's hand.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake nods, and has tested the weight of it, and one thing his training has taught him, is how to use many weapons as the situation required. He will go through a few of the basic movies, with it, trying one of the more advanced spinning maneuvers and while he gets it without hitting himself he makes it a bit sloppy intentionally. Once he has shown them off, he steps back and bows to Dinah to wait for her to say she is ready.

Spike has posed:
Formal training was very useful. It would allow people to survive long enough to gain experience. But Spike, he had no training, and nothing but experience. He was a self taught fighter, learning from taking, and giving, beatings, against people with training. The world was his dojo. And his style took advantage of his own unnatural gifts.
    He could usually pick out who was dangerous, and who was a poser. The woman giving the demonstration seemed to be dangerous, and the preppy not too bad. A bit sloppy, but there was something about it that Spike couldn't quite put a handle on. Was he genuinely this middling, or was he holding back. It would bear further observation.

Black Canary has posed:
"I was born ready, Master Wayne," Dinah says with a laugh. "When I was delivered, I had the doctor in a choke hold until I figured out he was trying to help!"

Braggadocio, thy name is Black Canary.

"But if you want to be all formal about it," she continues, adopting a wary defensive stance after bowing stiffly Tim's way, "we'll say I'm ready now, OK?"

Dinah's eyes look unfocused. Like she's not actually seeing anything. It's a strange contradictory state. Focus on nothing so you see everything. The deadly tip of that weapon. The flags that slow it and cause distraction. The rope. And, most importantly, the man holding it. She watches all of this in gestalt, wary of every motion of every part of the system, ready to react.

Up until now she's been cocky, extraverted, playful, and generally a show girl. But now she's focused, in the face of the deadly weapon shortly to come her way. The transition is potentially jarring.

Spike has posed:
Really, it was the fact that Dinah was a loud mouthed braggart, and easy on the eyes, that kept Spike here as long as he had been. He hadn't really seen or heard anything new, and seeing a rich boy get the stuffing knocked out of him, okay, that would be fun, but would it be enough to justify him sticking around?
    No, it seems. He made his way over towards a corner, where there were some drinks laid out on a table. He took a paper cup, filling it with Gatorade, or whatever the orange liquid was in the tube with the valve. He drank some of it, liking the taste. From the far end, he continued to watch. And then, as the demonstration continued, he seemed to disappear.
    It would feel all at once. But to those familiar with it, he just used preparation, planning, and expert timing. He watched, he waited, and when the moment was right, he quickly made his way to the back, picking up his coat along the way, and heading out the back door, on his way to the sewer, and someone else to annoy.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will come at her, telegraphing his movements a bit more than would have to, but this is sparring and an exhibition, so it is more about making sure his opponent knows what is coming and putting on the show. He moves and will continue to go through the moves with the item, his shots aimed where if she does miss the shot it will be glancing blows, not major hits.

Black Canary has posed:
Dinah's own approach is ... well, typically Dinah. If Tim is surprised by this he doesn't know his cousin well. She goes all-in on aggression, all while keeping a conversational patter going.

"The big advantage Master Wayne has on me is distance," she says as the match begins. With lightning speed, timed with the weight's momentum moving it in reverse, she closes the distance. "So I have to eliminate that advantage."

Of course Tim isn't an amateur and knows how to reduce the swing distance to keep things for close range, which starts a sequence of swings, parries, counter-strikes, themselves parried.

"So now we're in close and his rope-a-dope can't get its lethal force up. We're doing hand-to-hand and one of his hands is literally tied up."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks to her, and moves to the side, as he says. "But you can try to catch the others hand, and while this might tie you to them, if they are not used to it, could be to your advantage. Tim is playing more defense letting her get a few slight hits in but rolling with them, he will watch and if she tries for a power move he will let it his him somewhat using its force to seperate them again

Black Canary has posed:
"Now Master Wayne here thinks I'm going to do something fancy in the way of a spectactular move," Dinah lectures as she circles Tim, close-in, exchanging blows with his off-hand and the occasional glancing blow of his dart. "Because that's what show-offs do. And while yes, I'm a show-off, I'm not a stupid one. A big showy move separates us, so even if I land it, I give up advantage."

Dinah winks at Tim with a friendly grin as she stays in close.

"This is where, incidentally, Wing Chun shines. Nothing fancy or spectactular. Just plenty of close-in body-reading work. This is an exhibition so I'm not hitting him hard."

Wait. This isn't hard? (No, it isn't, and he knows it.)

"But if we were really fighting he'd be pissing blood for a week by now. I don't hold back if I'm fighting for my life. Nor should you."

She gives a subtle body signal for him to hold off; it's instruction time.

"So let's say I am one of those show-offs with more skill than brains. Let me do a flashy move..."

And with sudden, stunning speed, her foot is in Tim's belly, pushing back.

Pushing, yes. Hard. But not kicking. Had that been a kick there would be ruptured organs. Instead, however, Tim is sent backward across the ring... And Dinah's wide open for a full-speed, long-range counter.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake would have been working much harder to roll and avoid blows if he had been fighting for real. He does spin the chain, and moves to get her around the arm, moving to disarm her. He could go for more vulnerable spots, but he does not want to legit hurt her, that, and this will give her a chance to show off her hand to hand.

Black Canary has posed:
For instructional purposes, Dinah lets that land, the rope spinning around one arm, weight smacking with bruising force into her shoulder (eliciting a genuine wince as she mismanages the landing).

"See what being fancy got me?" she asks the crowd as she tugs at the rope, trying to keep Tim off balance. "My left arm is now out of commission except for a tug-of-war. And here I'm at a disadvantage because Master Wayne is bigger and heavier than me." Not stronger. She didn't say stronger. This is not an accident.

"He's got his range back and has about 20% of my attack potential out of commission. I'm in a real pickle."

For her part she starts trying to draw Tim in toward her with the rope wrapped around her arm.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will resist for a moment, but then he is closing the distance, with speed, going for the whole unexpected, at least unexpected by most combatants. He moves to get a move or two in, but intentionally leaves himself open for her to "finish him" showing Tim Drake while has some skills is not anywhere near a real combatbant.

Black Canary has posed:
To Tim's surprise, his rush gets in and ... takes Dinah to the floor, audibly knocking the breath out of her and leaving her lying on the mat trying to recover her breath.

She ruefully gets up into a seated position.

"Well done, Master Wayne," she says. Then an impish grin breaks out and she stage whispers to someone out in the audience, "Did you get the bets put on him like I told you?"

This causes a big laugh in the crowd. Except for a few grumpy people who may actually have bet, not understanding what an "exhibition match" is...

"OK," she says, rising to her feet just the force of her thighs, no hands, no rolling forward. A subtle flex move for those in the know. "I took a dive, I admit it. This is after all instruction. And what I had to show you is this: no matter how good you think you are, DON'T FUCK AROUND. If you're in a fight, fight to win. Don't fight to humiliate. Don't fight to show off. Don't get cocky and arrogant. You get in, you get the job done, you get out. Ideally you don't get in in the first place, in fact."

She wraps an arm around Tim's shoulder.

"Give a big round of applause to Master Wayne here for being a good sport."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks over and smiles a bit as he says "And for Dinah, who took time from her busy schedule to come here and showed us a bit of stuff. She is also on tour. " He will give her tour dates, and says "And for those who came today, we have tickets to her next Gotham show." He says flexing the money a bit