7177/Private Evaluation

Private Evaluation
Date of Scene:	09 April 2019
Location:	The Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Captain America, Melinda May, Winter Soldier

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Captain America has posed:
Having heard tell that Field Readiness Evaluations were filtering on down through the ranks, Steve presents himself in the athletics area of the Triskelion ready for...just about anything intended to be thrown in his direction. Maybe even literally in potentality!

In black sweatpants and sneakers, grey t-shirt and a small smile, he wanders down the broad corrider with its glass wall and keeps an idle eye-out for one particular Director. After all, it was she who reached out to him. He had to plead Avengers business, an unfortunate normalcy these days, but now he's present.

Melinda May has posed:
When Rogers replied that he couldn't show up at the arranged group evaluations time, she scheduled this individual meeting for him. After all, as an Avenger, his schedule is much more fluid.

When he arrives in the training area, she's already there waiting. She's dressed in full combat gear again, and the different eval areas (tech, firearms, etc) are still in place. Likely because there are still more groups to go through here.

"Thank you for being prompt, Rogers. Where would you like to begin?" She gestures to the different sections in the gym, giving him the option to choose just like everyone else had.

Winter Soldier has posed:
What's going to be thrown at Steve?

Bucky. Of course.

So there's Barnes in his sweats and tank-top, with that glittering look in his eyes Steven knows so well. At least this is going to be sanctioned and ordered mischief, not just pranking Steve. Right? He waggles his brows at the Captain from where he stands behind May.

Captain America has posed:
"Of course, Director May. Appreciate you taking the time to schedule this for me." He's all politesse to the woman in her full combat gear, a stark comparison to his own far more regular day-wear. The smart-ass behind her?

Bucky gets an eyeing containing equal parts good cheer and friendly challenge. "Barnes. Wondered if you'd be here. Room's been missing a man-sized hole in its walls for a month now." Of course, that hole was a creation of neither men, but it merits mention. His attention shifts back to May.

"Figure I'll start with either the Firearms or Hand-to-Hand. Don't want Barnes getting bored. It'd be too easy to catch him off-guard then."

Melinda May has posed:
May nods. "I appreciate your willingness to get this evaluation done. It's almost embarrassing how many agents try to avoid them."

At the mention of a man-sized hole in the wall, she raises an eyebrow at Steve, but doesn't turn to glance at Bucky. He can probably feel the 'Oh, really?' even without her looking at him.

"Which would you prefer, Barnes?" Because she's not going to be invovled in either of those, so it's up to the two men to decide.

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Hand to hand," Buck says, with that cock of the walk arrogance. Foolish of him, considering he's the cheap Russian knock-off of Captain Real Deal there. He gives May a look, shrugs. Never one to be reluctant.

There's an utter blandness at the mention of the man-sized hole. No idea what Steve's talking about. None.

Captain America has posed:
"Can't avoid it, might as well get it done." With that, Steve then steps past the Director as well as the Soldier and into one of the spare rooms tucked into the hallway. It's about the size of a small gymnasium and padded from wall to ceiling with thick sparring mats. Yes -- even the ceiling -- at least SHIELD deigned to pick a color different than white.

"C'mon then, Barnes. Let's not keep the Director waiting. Try not to dent the walls this time?" he asks over his shoulder with a bright grin. Then, with a light-footed turn-step to completely face them both, graceful despite his build, he makes his way to the center of the mats.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Now there's something.....maybe 'light' is too kind a term. But a kind of energy not usually seen, something illuminated in Buck's face. Maybe it's the chance to go really no-holds-barred with someone in his own class - the bright reality of whom he is the dark mirror-image.

There's the old smirk, as he saunters over, a distinct hint of swagger to his walk. "I make no promises," he says, airily. "She's a busy lady, so I won't take long to hand you your ass, punk." Trash-talk from back in the day, old and comfortable.

Melinda May has posed:
May follows the two men, but instead of entering the fully padded sparring room waits outside where a monitor displays the feed from a well protected camera in one ceiling corner of the room.

"Remember, gentlemen, this is best three of five falls, not to the pain. Don't mae me have to remind you again."

Captain America has posed:
"Nothin' but words, Buck...nothin' but words. Put your money where your mouth is," he fires back good-naturedly as he pauses in the center of the sparring matting. The Captain then plants himself at high noon just within the drawn white circle surrounding the middle of the room.

"Gonna make you eat those words, Barnes." Steve grins, his teeth bright and eyes glinting. There's an accompanying merriness to his own air, perhaps at a chance to let loose and be justified in it, all while indulging a childish glee. After all, the broad-shouldered fighter was once far scrawnier.

"Affirmed, Director." The addendum comes with a glance towards the glass and curt nod. Then, he sets himself in a balanced stance not indicative of any particular line of martial arts. It's a bit like judo meets street-brawler boxing.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck's style still bears the distinct hallmarks of Systema, and the Red Room. Old school Soviet brute force. He comes straight for Steve with a bull rush, not trying anything fancy - just raw strength and speed. He might have a hair less of the former, a hair more of the latter.

His eyes are alight, and that warped little grin he wears from time to time is in full evidence. Sick puppies are, despite the song, loads of fun.

Captain America has posed:
Janking left and right in place to test the directional reaction time of the Soldier, Steve then realizes he has to commit to taking the inwards rush. Bucky covers the distance between them at a shocking speed he's not seen since he was under the very literal peril of death at the man's hands.

With a huff of displaced air, he tries to grapple in an attempt to redirect the forwards motion of the bullrushing. However, speed is against him and he's slower to react than expected. Limbs tangle and rather than Bucky being swiftly continued upon his way to potentially bounce from the padded wall, there they go in a tumbling bundle of blurring attacks!

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck is all over him like ants on a gummibear. He's decided to go for the rougher part of the grappling style he knows - that's the closest thing Steve has to a weakness, in his even-handed training and fluid style. So Steve ends up with Buck using the attempt at a redirect to just hurl himself into Steve, bear him down. They may be bosom friends, but Buck intends to go all out, that's readily apparent.

Melinda May has posed:
Watching the feed on the monitor, May raises an eyebrow at Barnes' choice of tactics. Markedly different from when she sparred with him, just further proof of exactly how skilled a combatant he is. Though she would have thought Rogers could have defended against that straight on attack.

Captain America has posed:
A well-placed elbow knocks half the wind from Steve as he lands on his back. Already, he's trying to get a knee up between them in order to plant a foot and send the Soldier arcing across the room like a tossed rag-doll -- to no avail. An open-handed pop to the side of his head leaves the Captain's ear ringing and he blinks hard for a second.

Whatever he spits at Bucky is sotto-voce, Gaelic, and really, reeeeeally rude...before he reverts to something entirely unexpected and requiring such a close allowance of the man:

Tickling.

"Cry for mercy!!!" Even as Bucky's attack crumples to the riffling of fingers against the lines of his ribs, defenseless in the tank top, Steve gets the foot he wants up and flat against the man's sternum.

Whoop -- there the Soldier goes, arcing across the room...

...and CRASH!!!!

Alright, so it's not a man-sized hole in the wall now, but it IS a Bucky's-head-sized hole in the wall now.

Winter Soldier has posed:
It worked. He can bear pain that'd put down an enraged Kodiak.....but tickling? Apparently not. Buck's expression is pure, comic dismay as Steve homes in on the old spot just at his lower ribs. He goes tumbling, perfect as an acrobat, until his head goes right through the drywall.

Which leaves the Winter Soldier like a kitten who just lost a fight with an empty Kleenex box, head vanished into the interstices. He's got awareness enough to tap the wall with his metal hand, before he yanks his head out. First fall to Steve.

Captain America has posed:
A lucky risk on Steve's part, edging on the old pockets of ticklish torso. He's on his feet and loping over to lend an unneeded hand, grinning unrepentantly.

"How's the noggin? Didn't knock any bearings loose, did I?" he asks, still offering out a hand in case of stabilization required. May is shot a glance and smile containing some parts of wince.

Oops. Hole in the wall. His bad.

"Alright, first to me." With that, and an irritating amount of plucky strut, Steve returns to his place on the mat...

...and does a very specific gesture. In fact, it looks terribly like one fighter from a specific movie, pose and all.

Bring it, the flicking curl of fingers implies, even as he shoots Bucky an eat-shit grin.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He shakes his head - not negation, but rapid, animal twitches, trying to get the hair and the dust and what must be at least one spider out of his face. Back on his feet and in the fight, but still woozy - even he can get his chimes rung, and Steve's the one to do it.

He says something very obscene in Russian, and now he's circling, trying a less direct approach - a sidelong strike with a bare foot.

Melinda May has posed:
May's reaction to the hole that the Bobsey twins in there just created is both eyebrows raised. She's sorely tempted to make the men repair it themselves, but knows that that likely would not end any better.

One thing's for sure, she's putting the foreign language utterings through translation filters, because she more than suspects that both of them could be rivals Lews in the language department at this point.

Captain America has posed:
Steve affects a mocking gasp as he mirrors the circling. "Language, Barnes, there's a lady present," he says quietly with a patronizing shake of his head. In comes the attack and he quickly grabs at the other man's ankle to bring it to a complete halt. Muscles bunch in his chest and arm. He then makes to sweep out the other foot in order to slam the Soldier's torso down to the matting beneath the splay of his other hand. The goal is, of course, no air and a tap-out.

Winter Soldier has posed:
It works....in that he lets it work and rolls with it. Trying to bring Steve down with him for another grapple. AS if the last one worked that well. C'mere, Steven, get down and dirty with me.

His hair's come loose from its little tie, making him look even wilder than before.

Captain America has posed:
Down Steve goes as wirey strength shifts his balance just enough to merit a quickly-adjusted fall. The sounds on the mat are meaty as the Captain makes to see if he can't wrench the metal arm away from its attempt to grab him up and then roll the Soldier to pin him to the ground. It's a showing of strength rarely seen in the world outside of the Triskelion walls, how the result of Erskine's super-serum is pitted against the uncanniest silvery technological wonderment of the Red Room.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Second fall is to Steve - Buck does end up rolled and pinned. Strength and weight with the advantage. And while there's neither malice nor deadly intent, it's still got its own shock value, how evenly they're matched. Buck taps the mat with his human hand, grinning up at Steve.

Captain America has posed:
The second of the tap-taps has Steve getting up and immediately offering his oldest friend a hand. It's a show of inherent trust in the Soldier and a stance in and of itself. Let the recordings show that the Captain is a good sport in all things...unless someone's beating on someone he knows.

"Think I wrenched my shoulder in that one," he shares with his friend even as he rolls it. "Alright, Barnes, last chance. Gonna let a whippersnapper show you up?" And again, with that pesky lightness of foot despite his build, the blond dances away again, hands upraised. "You need your walker, old man?" Talk about cocky!

Winter Soldier has posed:
He doesn't rush in for the close range stuff, not this time. Buck's more intent, now, and his movement takes on that panther-like glide. Circling again, feinting with one fist and then trying a genuine strike with the other. Changing the game, changing the tune - maybe a harder style will serve. That grin's there, bigger, broader, imperturbable. How many saw that as the last thing before they died?

Melinda May has posed:
May continues to watch, honestly interested in how this match will turn out. Considering how quickly and effortlessly Barnes had trapped her in a chokehold, she'd expected him to at least be one for one with Rogers. But not the case so far. However, if that predatory grin is any indication, Bucky's about to change the dance style. This is proving to be rather entertaining.

Captain America has posed:
Steve attempts to mimic the smoothness of motion, but even his self-assured grace is challenged by the Winter Soldier. In the end, he is mass to the Soldier's speed. He reacts to every punch thrown at him, feint and real alike, and deflects the first few. However, Bucky will be able to mark the tells of the Captain slipping into true and earnest combat mode. The intensity of his true-blue eyes increases and the world falls away around him. That smile?

Chilling, enough to make him visibly leery.

Winter Soldier has posed:
'Beautiful' is rarely a word that applies to violence. But....somehow, it's fitting here. The way Bucky ....no, the way the Soldier just somehow flows through Steven's defenses like water. Dodging blows and grip and then coming in and up with a palmstrike to the underside of Steve's jaw. As the bigger man staggers back a step, off-balance, he follows through with an over the hip throw, and down with him to strike the back of his skull. A one-two-three smooth as a dance, ending with poor Steven face down on the mat.

Melinda May has posed:
If applause were a thing May did, she would be applauding right now. Because that was as graceful and elegant as Barishnikov dancing, while being as dangerous looking as a cobra strike. She will never, ever condone the Red Room's training methods, but she can be VERY glad that Barnes made it away from them and is here choosing to help SHIELD of his own volition.

Because she would NOT want to have to face him on a real battlefield. And she doesn't hesitate to admit that in the privacy of her own mind.

Captain America has posed:
And how the Captain bounces off the mat visibly with a solid thud of impact. He lies there for a second, unmoving, and then slaps a hand on the surface. Tap-tap: round three to Bucky. He pulls in his limbs and works his way to a kneel. Blinking hard, Steve shifts his jaw back and forth before stumbling to his feet.

"That'n goes to you," he says to Bucky with a light laugh and hand rubbing the back of his skull where blond hair is mussed. A little weave in place and he shakes his head hard a few times. "God, you hit like a sledge hammer."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Whatever snappy retort he was about to make falters into a rather foolish smile. Being the fist of HYDRA is nothing to brag about here. "Can't claim credit for it," he says, wagging metal fingers. "Two to you, one to me. Ready again?" he asks, with another toss of his head. A bit of drywall goes flying.

Captain America has posed:
"Third one'll be mine." Spunky as he might sound, Steve's ears are still slightly ringing as he gets to mimicking the Soldier's earlier circling. He's not neccesarily hesitant to get into close quarters, but by the way he's swinging, he's hoping to entice the other man into a contest of strength rather than outright weasel-like manueverability. A swing of his fist pops off the metal arm, contact but brief.

A feint and then a sudden leaping whip-kick, aimed right for Bucky's head!

Winter Soldier has posed:
Right in the temple. It doesn't knock him down, but it does stagger him a little - there's a few stumbling sidesteps, that grace interrupted. Steve is absurdly bouncy for someone built like a Sherman tank.

Back a pace or two, trying for space....and trying to land a few quick blows with fists. His oldest style is just classic boxing, after all.

Captain America has posed:
It's like punching a moving, malleable sandbag. Steve grunts as a blow takes him in the bicep to momentarily dead-arm his left side; he rolls his shoulder to take the next and it crunches into him. Another lightning-fast swing glances off his cheek bone and he too shuffles to one side to retain his balance. In return, he goes on the defense, attempting to block rather than directly engage with punches of his own.

Attempting to time his next attack, he waits until Bucky's in extention and aims an uppercut at the man's floating rib, intending to drive wind from him and half-collapse him.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Boxing it is - Buck sidesteps it neatly, and then lands another flurry of blows on Steve. That metal hand is the cheater's cheat - it feels no pain, and it hits like a hammer. Steve may have bruises that last more than a day, for once. What a rarity.

Captain America has posed:
The outflux of air lost from Steve's lungs will be caught on the camera as he takes the metal fist just shy of his ribs, right in the upper centerline of his crunched abs. He dances back a few steps, coughing as he goes, and grits his teeth. A hard glint comes into his eyes and in he comes again, this time going for a bullrush of his own. He leads with his shoulder in this burst of bulky speed.

Melinda May has posed:
May can only shake her head ever so slightly to herself when the two men devolve into /boxing/ of all crude things. Of course, whether or not it proves to be effective remains to be seen. But one thing she can tell for sure, they're both going to walk out of there with some seriously impressive bruises.

And she's now even more glad that she asked Barnes to help her with this. As polite as Rogers is, he'd have never put any honest effort into sparring against her, and she wanted an honest evaluation.

Winter Soldier has posed:
It's degenerating fast, into just plain old brawling. There goes Buck, borne back like he was dumb enough to step in front of a freight train. Steve's got his shoulder wedged in - old, old football tactics, gathering dust on the NFL shelves. He can't get his feet under him....and as Steve barrels in, and he tries to turn, they plow right into the hole left by his head earlier.

....and through the wall into the men's lockerroom. It ends with them stumbling over the bench there in a heap, Buck blinking bemusedly.

Captain America has posed:
Even as the dust occludes the result on the far side of the padded room's busted fall, now sporting an honest-to-god man-shaped hole in it, there's the sound of a muffled metallic thud -- kind of like someone hitting a limb accidentally against a locker.

Then a hesitant laugh. And another. And then a rollicking, reeling spate of it from the depth of someone's chest, honest as the sky is blue. A piece of drywall falls into the abandoned sparring room.

"Oh my god," Steve breathes between hiccups of hilarity as he gets to his feet, his own hair and grey t-shirt ghosted over with flecks of drywall. "She's gonna kill us."

And damned if that isn't so funny that Steve clutches his stomach and gets to laughing again.

Winter Soldier has posed:
It takes Buck a little longer to get to his feet. He levers himself painfully up with the bench, blinking like an owl. "Oh, shit," he says, as he looks back through the hole at May.

His eyes get bigger and bigger, as he realizes what trouble he's in. There's a beat where he tenses like he's going to run away....then Steve's laughing. Another pause, as he stares at Steven.....then, slowly, rustily, he's laughing, too.

This will go down in SHIELD legend, the time Cap and the Winter Soldier ran through a wall.

Melinda May has posed:
THAT makes May actually startle. Thankfully, neither supersoldier was in any postition to notice it. She quickly steps into the room that has a sudden new opening in the far wall and looks through said opening at the two men. Who are LAUGHING.

This will go down in SHIELD legend as the time Cap and the Winter Soldier ran through a wall and ended up in a locker room laughing like a pair of demented hyenas.

"I believe that's third point for Rogers."

Captain America has posed:
May's voice filtering in through the hole in person rather than over a set of speakers or an ear-comm is enough to make Steve abruptly stop laughing...as best he can. Another final half-choked laugh escapes him as he tries for a cross-body gesture at her that's half wave and half dismissive, as if implying she should ignore entirely the amount of contruction it's going to take to fix the hole. After all, a few wires spark unhappily.

"I'd call it a tie, but I defer to you, Director. Good bout, Barnes," and he holds out a hand still covered in bits of white drywall to Bucky to shake. Bruises is right; the height of Steve's cheekbone speaks to what might be a short-lived black eye on the 'morrow.

Winter Soldier has posed:
There are tears of laughter making tracks in the flour-dust of the ruined wall on his cheek, until Buck wipes them away with a hasty cuff. "Nah, Steve gets it," he agrees, after a cough. "He wins," Then he takes and shakes Steve's hand, all very genteel. Nevermind that they're literally standing in wreckage.

Melinda May has posed:
"I'm glad you agree. You're both cleaning this up later." With that, May turns to head back out of the now-destroyed room.

"Take five, then we'll do your next evaluation."

She's already planning how to test Rogers' spycraft skills, which she suspects are about on par with a certain angel she knows. She's thinking of subjecting him to a few rounds of 'two truths and a lie'.