8830/I'm Not Pulling Punches, You Are!

I'm Not Pulling Punches, You Are!
Date of Scene:	16 August 2019
Location:	Gym, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Steve is loyal to his word and Janet makes good use of her abilities in sparring.
Cast of Characters:	Wasp (van Dyne), Captain America

---

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"You know you're gonna lose, right?" Janet pulls her arm across her chest to stretch her tricep. In grey calf-length yoga pants and a yellow sports bra, she certainly doesn't *look* like a serious threat. The Avenger's training gymnasium is momentarily unoccupied save her and Steve, standing at the center of the sprawling training ring.

"Mostly because you're olllld," she sings at Steve, tauntingly. "But also because I'm gonna whip your butt." Her green eyes suddenly twinkle up at the Star-Spangled Man. "Are we taking bets on who wins? Do I get to collect a forfeit when you tap out?" she inquires with a challenging tone.

Captain America has posed:
Indulging in a looooonnnng stretch over his head, Steve just smiles serenely back at the fashionista. A few vertebrae can be heard to crackle and loosen up before he lets his arms swing down to cross his body a few times. He rolls his neck followed by his shoulders.

"You know I love making people eat their words about my creaky old self...and besides, isn't the addage 'age before beauty'? Which means...you're gonna have to let me win, Shortcakes," he adds as he leans in a little, his dimples showing deeper. "Besides...I invented the bullet catch. You're small 'nd fast, but you're only so small 'nd fast."

He rolls back a few easy steps, a knowledge of his body imbued in every step despite the totality of his muscling. "What's the bet then? Whatcha handing over when I've got you in a headlock?" he asks, now outright grinning with his hands on his waist, pure Rogers charm aimed at her.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet counters with the sort of beaming smile that regularly graces the cover of nationally syndicated magazines. Her weight shifts onto her toes, stance loose and relaxed. Time spent training with Steve-- and Carol, and Natasha-- has honed her skills considerably over the last few months.

"Oh, you mean, when I've got you pinned to the floor?" She flutters her lashes at him pointedly. "I'm sure I'll figure out -something- to do with you at that point."

Janet abruptly breaks into a charging run for Steve, accelerating across the divide between them. At the last second she leaps into the air as if preparing to shrink and dive past his grasp, but instead twists lithely mid-jump and launches a driving kneestrike at Steve's lower ribcage. Game on!

Captain America has posed:
She does entice the usual flush of color to his ears with her statement, accompanied by the smile as it is, though this beaming lacks the truly gutting slyness that might have had Steve completely off-guard.

As such, Janet still moves in her burst of speed and the Captain must be quick on the draw to counter it. The woman's in too close for him to counter-strike, so instead, he jinks to one side and attempts to use her own momentum against her to send her hurtling across the mat past him. She entices a huff of a laugh from the blond soldier, who dances around, hands rising in half-moon curls quick to grip, slap, or clench to fists dependent on need.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet squeaks and goes sideways as Cap deflects her. She flickers out of sight in midair as she shrinks and her wings emerge to correct her course. The petite Avenger gets momentum going and re-enlarges with a rush of air in her wake, launching a foot at Steve with a spectacular backflip kick that contains the sort of momentum only her Pym particles can ascribe as she plays merry havok with physics.

Captain America has posed:
Steve's a nice broad-shouldered target to hit and she lands her kick home square in his chest. With an 'oof!' and lost rush of air, he tumbles backwards and loses his balance. A backwards sommersault and continued conservation of his own motion brings him back to his feet. He coughs once and his eyebrows flick up.

"Nice, I'll be feeling that one for a bit," he comments to the Wasp before he comes in too, a blur of speed despite his build. A swing of his palm, aimed at her ribs, is followed by a quick ducking drop on his part as a sweep of his leg follows, intending to dump her on her butt if she's too caught up in avoiding the slap.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet squeaks as she's slapped in the ribs. The trip slaps the back of her calves and over she goes, but disappears in midair once again. This time when she reappears it's a bigger surge of air and she launches herself at Steve with an extra two feet of height and a hundred pounds of mass, flinging herself downwards at him from a good five feet off the ground and trying to clobber him to the floor before he gets his balance under him once more.

Captain America has posed:
"Oh GEEZ!"

Coming at him like a spider monkey, Steve has only enough time to practically catch the fashionista. Clearly, he can't bring himself to bat her out of the air like a softball. The impact is enough to make him stumble backwards, but unfortunately, all Janet gets...is a bear hug. She's certainly a squirmy armful. The Captain grunts and laughs, having to still keep his balance.

"You're a feather-weight, <<seillean>>, what're you tryin' to do, plow me over?" he asks her, grinning up a storm.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet squeaks protest as Steve just catches her out of the air in a bearhug. She kicks and squirms and fights, but it's kind of hard to contest Steve's All-American biceps and the firm clasp of his grip behind her back.

Abruptly Janet shoots up in height a solid four feet and *her* arms wrap around Steve's lower back, and she braces her feet to lift him off the ground. The increased height equates to significantly more strength, too, enough to rival Steve's awesome thews.

"Oh are we taking bets on the winner's reward now?" Janet asks with a breathless, amused retort. She promptly starts twisting back and forth, trying to maneuver Steve so she can in turn rush him to the mat and pin his shoulders against it!

Captain America has posed:
"Hey -- no!" Steve grunts, suddenly separated from the mat by a good three-plus feet. He tries to get a hand between himself and the suddenly larger (equivalently stronger to boot) torso of the Wasp. She has been working out: her abs are nearly impossible to shove away from himself.

Down they go, Steve to hit the mat first, and again, with a 'WOOOOF!' of lost air, he's trapped. "This is cheating!" he gasps out, wriggling now like a gamefish on a line, intent on making the oversized Wasp earn her pin-down with sheer effort. "You -- <<seillean>>, you -- !!! No!" He laughs once, red in the face, and tries to plant a foot on the mat to flip them over.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"If-- this is--" Janet grunts. "--cheating, then you better turn off the super-soldier juice for a REALLY fair fight!" she demands of Steve. Still they go down and she's laughing with a merry glee, thoroughly enjoying Steve's faux outrage and his reaction to being thusly pinned. Despite her size and flighty demenaour (personality and reactionwise), Janet's no slouch on the mats. Years of association with women like Carol and Natasha have taught her some very hard-won lessons.

When Steve jams a heel into the ground to flip them, she abruptly vanishes in his arms with a puff of air, taking away all the resistance to the explosive momentum he applies!

Up she goes, and then from three feet up reappears at her normal height and lands on Steve's lower back. "Whee! Ride'em, cowgirl!" she declares, and raises a hand in the air as if trying to exhaust a bucking bronco.

Captain America has posed:
Steve actually managed to do a double barrel-roll before hitting the mat again, suddenly sans resistant force. It'd be impressive if he didn't land on his stomach; he grunts and then scrambles to his hands and knees. Janet's weight lands on his lower back and he immediately makes to grab for an ankle even as he rises, intending to hold her before himself like an upturned teddy bear.

"I can't turn off the serum, you -- you can stay the same size!" he claims, grinning even as he tries to pull the burr of a fashionista from his back.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet yelps as Steve grabs her ankle and pulls her around. She's left inverted with her head at a weird angle, one shoulder resting on the mat, and her legs kicking helplessly in the air. She tries to push herself up to a better position but it's hard ot find any leverage that doesn't result in her just twisting herself into a corkscrew in the process.

"How is /that/ fair?" she demands of Steve, looking up at him upside down and twisted sideways. "You get to be a foot taller than me and a hundred and fifty pounds heavier, but it's cheating when -I- get big? You're very inconsistent," she declares, and folds her arms under her breasts with a huff.

Captain America has posed:
"All's fair in love and war -- isn't that how the saying goes?" Dimpling, Steve releases her ankle to allow her to flop to the mat. He sits back on his heels, broad palms rested on his thighs, and pants for a second, grinning. "'nd what if you can't change your size all of the sudden? Ever consider the wisdom of trying to practice without it? See if you can keep an edge all by your lonesome?"

He tilts his head, those dimples remaining. "'sides, you can't beat me. I've got the lucky of the Irish on my side -- and I bounce." He winks. Barnes hates that line.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet squeaks in protest as she's released, flopping bonelessly onto the mat. She rolls onto one hip and plants her hands on her waist to scowl at Steve. "If it wasn't for the super serum, I'd swear your ears are plugged. If /I/ have to spar without my powers, /you/ have to spar without yours," Janet chivvies Steve.

She rolls to her knees and wraps her hands around the back of Steve's neck so she can hop into his lap with a lithe motion, calves encircling his waist. She wriggles comfortably with her rear resting on his thighs. "So, I guess that means I win, right?" she inquires, eyes dancing up at him with a mirthful affection. "I'll accept your surrender with my usual grace, thank you," she says, with all the prim regality of a queen.

Captain America has posed:
Steve's eyebrows dance as his lap is suddenly taken. He laughs once and rolls his eyes. "My surrender, is it? I think //your// ears are plugged. Captain America doesn't surrender." His hands land on her hips and gently squeeze. "So, given that's the case, I accept //your// surrender in lieu of the fact that it's physically impossible for to me do so."

That being said, he suddenly rolls them around and before she can react, Steve's got her in a gentle, implacable headlock. He's on his back though, so...who's the winner here?

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet emits muffled sounds of protest as she's grabbed in a headlock. She tries pushing at Steve's forearm, then at his wrist; he's entirely too strong for such a tactic, and she resorts to using her carefully manicured nails to pinch and nip at his stomach, similarly to no avail.

Janet twists, kicks, starts squirming violently, then with a bone-weary sigh goes limp atop him like a toddler or a cat who is just So Done. Her hand rests on his forearm and slaps it twice, signalling surrender, and she sits up on his stomach when she's released.

"Brute," she sniffs, and touches her hair to make sure it's not been too terribly mussed.

Captain America has posed:
Of course the Wasp is released the very second she taps out and Steve pillows his head upon his hands, wearing the serene little smile he sported when they began this escapade.

"Loyal to my word," he counters brightly. "Told you I'd get you in a headlock. So...whatcha gonna hand over, Shortcakes? Let's see..." The Captain considers her, eyes half-lidded. "Coffee in bed and a shoulder massage." It's an offer in earnest apparently.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"I'd love a massage and coffee," Janet agrees. She looks down at Steve's expression. "Oh, you mean, /I'll/ give you a massage," she says, and feigns a mortified expression at the faux misunderstanding. "My goodness. Yes, that makes sense."

She hops to her feet and grabs Steve's ankle, growing by the foot as she heads towards the door while dragging Steve on his back in her wake. "How about one of those lovely Chinese massages, where I'll just walk all over your back for a half hour?" she asks, doing her best imitation of a 500 pound gorilla!

Captain America has posed:
Steve's laughter rises in pitch after he realizes that he's probably going to be dragged like this for some time if he allows it. At least, until they reach the stairs, he does his best to be dead-weight.

"I'd prefer you to be your usual size, if you don't mind? I like my vertebrae where they are," he comments as he again pillows his head behind his hands. The serene smile remains.