After his parents had gone to bed and Ned had gotten into his game zone, Joey got changed and slipped out of the house as quietly as he could. He wore Jumper's pants, shoes and inner shirt underneath a pair of baggier pants and a zipped up sweater. The rest of his costume was in his bag.
He would have just worn the costume out of the house, but it'd be bad if someone he lived with saw him like that. And it would be even worse if someone else figured out where he lived. Someone like Paris.
He felt like he was being paranoid - it was 10:30 after all - but it was probably justified.
A deserted alley served as his spot to get rid of the normal clothes overtop and pull on his mask and jacket. With the baggy clothes stuck in the bag, Joey hopped to the highest level of the Residential District - right below the Top, where he'd wrestled with Paris a few short days prior.
Not the exact place - Arx was pretty big - but the city looked mostly the same wherever you were near the upper levels. At least the Business District had memorable signage and advertisements to make it feel less monotonous. The Top was especially hard to find your way around. All the greenhouses, cricket farms and processing plants looked the same. Glass roofs, steel doors and walls, roughly the same height, some taking up a quarter block while others spread out across a whole block.
He took a shortcut across the Top and hopped back down to the corner of the Residential District Lightning had asked him to meet her at. She was already there - at least, he was pretty sure it was her. She was wearing the same mask and had the same build and hair, but tonight she was wearing shorts and a tank top.
"Yo," she said, waving. Joey waved back as he trotted up to her.
"You look like you're going to work out or something," he said quietly. Lightning laughed.
"Figured I'd get a late run in while I was out, so I decided to see how quickly I could get here from my place."
"Did you have to wait long?"
"Dude, I said to meet me here at 11. It's still ten to. However long I waited or didn't wait is my problem." Joey couldn't help but laugh a bit as Lightning did a few stretches.
"How long did it take you?"
"About half the time it normally would. This Miracle stuff is really convenient. If only it wasn't so easy to abuse. Paris." Lightning spat out the name as if it was made of rotten juice. "Anyway, what did you want to try out? You said you wanted to do a couple experiments."
"Right..." Joey took a breath. "You know how Paris tossed me off the Top and I didn't get hurt at all?"
"Uh, yeah. I was worried sick for a bit there, kid."
"Well, I don't get hurt at all if I fall anymore. I've gone headfirst down a flight of stairs and didn't even get bruised. And when I was fighting Paris, his punches didn't really hurt. So I'm kind of wondering if I resist impacts or something, and how far that would go..."
"Huh. It would be good to know your limits before they're tested. Alright, I'm in. What's the plan?"
"Just...hit me?" He couldn't see behind the mask, but Lightning gave off the strong impression that she'd just raised an eyebrow like he was nuts.
"You want to be a punching bag? I guess that works. I'll start out slow and ramp up the force as we determine whether you can take it. Ready?" Joey nodded and stood in front of her. She pulled back her fist and let it fly - right into his chest.
He stumbled back and fell on his rear. Lightning knelt down and looked at him in concern.
"Did I hit you too hard? I didn't think I put much force into it..."
"No, I'm fine," Joey said. "It doesn't hurt. It just sent me backwards. Let's go again."
Lightning nodded and they reset before she hit him again, this time harder. Hard enough that Joey practically bounced onto his back.
"Are you just really bouncy or are you not taking them?" Lightning muttered as she helped him up again.
"What do you mean taking them?" he asked. She paused for a second before slapping a hand on her face and groaning.
"I mean that you need to know how to take a punch or you'll be flopping around the place like a fish out of water. You brace for impact and deal with it. You could probably handle more than most of us, considering you aren't hurt after those two flops. Heck, you survived falling from the Top." She blew out a long breath as she stared at him.
Joey stood still and waited for her to figure out whatever it was she was contemplating. Not long later, Lightning nodded and lowered her body slightly, spreading her legs for stability.
"Stand like this. Use your legs to keep yourself upright. Keep your center of gravity low, and they'll have a harder time knocking you over. You can then counter with the extra time you have. Got it?"
Joey nodded and spread his stance a bit, trying to mimic her.
"No, hold up your arms for defense. You can use them to deflect too. And you still look like you're ready to fall over with a slight push. Lower your torso, bend your knees. Hold your fists like this. Look me in the eye. Watch what I'm doing and try reacting to it. If you take a straight punch, you lose."
Joey scrambled to follow all her instructions and waited for the hit. Her fist came back and flew at him, landing squarely on his shoulder. This time he managed to stay upright, but Lightning shook her head at him anyway.
"Try to either dodge, block or parry. You're not falling on your rear every time, but I want you to be able to at least act like you know what you're doing. Round 1 goes to Lightning, score is 1-0. Come on, Jumper. Again."
They kept going like that for a while. He didn't score his first point until Round 33. By Round 50, the score was 44-6. Lightning stretched and looked him over.
"Slightly better. You show up here same time next week, we can do this again. Now wanna see how much force you can take before you bruise?" Joey grinned at her words.
"I'm in."
"Alright. I'll hit you as hard as I can without using my Miracle. If you manage to hold your ground, I'll buy you a candy."
"I don't need the candy, but thanks." Joey braced himself.
The fist came almost too fast for him to see. One second she was winding up and the next her fist was right in his diaphragm. He coughed slightly, but didn't feel any pain. Instead, he grabbed her arm and tried to immobilize it. When she pulled it back, Joey did his best to keep himself - or her arm - from moving.
"Ha. Not bad, kid. How do you feel?" He let go at Lightning's surrender and straightened up.
"Didn't hurt at all. How hard can you hit while using your Miracle?" Lightning folded her arms and fell into thought.
"No clue. Never tried it. If I give it everything I've got..." She looked at her hand then shook her head. "Nope. I'm liable to break something if I try that. Unlike you, I'm pretty sure my body still operates in normal human limits."
"You think you'd break something?" Joey frowned in confusion. Lightning nodded.
"I told you how to hold your fists, right? It might not apply to you, but for normal people, an improper punch can do as much damage to the puncher as the punchee. Too much force on your bones and they'll start snapping. It's easier on my hand when I hit your stomach since that's pretty soft, but I still don't want to chance it."
"Fair. Sorry."
"Though...I'm open to a little experimenting. Brace yourself, Jumper."
He scrambled to prepare for her incoming hit and she gave him just enough time. She moved even faster than before, so fast he had no hope of following that fist. He just crumpled around the impact to his stomach and tried to grab onto her arm. Unfortunately, it was already gone. Joey fell to his knees as Lightning chuckled.
"Yeah, that's as far as I go. My knuckles are sore. I'm gonna need some kind of padding on these things before I break something for real. I'll drop by that costume shop you mentioned this week. How do you feel?"
"Slow." Joey tugged his hood down. "I didn't stand a chance."
"I'd hope so," Lightning laughed. "I don't want Paris to stand a chance either. I don't know how far I can push myself, but you seem like a good practice partner. If you're up for it, same time and place next week? Wait, maybe closer to six..."
"Supper's at six," Joey replied.
"No, no, no, 6 a.m. Even fewer people around, and our chances of running into drunks or night owls goes down significantly."
"Ah. Deal." Joey reached out for a handshake, and Lightning returned it firmly.
"Good to work with you, Jumper. You need anything, you call and I'll come running."
"Thanks. I'll do what I can for you too. Won't get there as fast as you, but..."
"If you can beat me in a footrace, I have some serious questions," Lightning laughed. "Maybe if we were racing to the Top from the Subways, but otherwise I think I win."
"But I can take your punches no problem," Joey chuckled.
"Yep. To each their own. See you next week."
With a wave, Lightning was gone and Joey headed back to change before going home for the night.
