(Gym, Site - 19, America - 9:00 AM)
It's been two days since Michelle was found in Russia and was now also under foundation custody as well as Dr. Arnold who was discovered in the Dream world. Things seem to be going fine for the foundation. For now at least.
Currently Rodeo and Evan were in the gym, along with other scientists, MTF agents and guards who were doing their regular exercise routine in the gym. Although Rodeo and Evan were actually doing one hand push ups while having a stack of cinder blocks on their backs.
"Again why do we have these things on our back?" Evan asked while doing his 114th push up, not seemingly tired after those.
"The stronger our bodies become the better the chance, we can take more hits and it's good for us." Rodeo replied while doing his 108th push up.
"Well, I'm getting the hang of it."
"Same here."
After doing 120 one handed push ups, they stop before dropping the cinder blocks from their backs. For a second, they began to stand up and stretch their bodies a little bit.
"I can't believe we're sweating, even though we don't have any internal organs."
"Yeah, I think not having organs and not feeling hunger and sleep have their advantages."
"Yep, but still we can bleed like any man."
Evan nodded, "True."
Rodeo then went for the bench press which had a barbell on it, he then lies down on the bench press while Evan stands next to it.
Evan then asked, "Ok, how much weight do you want me to put on the barbell?"
"Put two 100 kilograms on both sides."
Evan nods and attaches the two 100 kilogram weight plates on the left and right side of the the barbell.
"Ok, you're good to go."
Rodeo while lying down on the bench press starts lifting the barbell up and down while Evan keeps watch on him, in case he starts feeling fatigue.
"Looks like you got it."
Meanwhile, Collingwood and Dr. Amelia Buck were observing the two from afar seeing them do their training.
"Well, they seem to be doing fine." Said Collingwood.
"I'm surprised that they had cinder blocks on their backs." Amelia said, "It seems like Stands are physically stronger than an average human being."
"Well, Rodeo did beat the daylights out of 049 and 953, Evan did go toe-to-toe with Siren Head along with Rodeo as you mentioned a few days back. They are physically capable of superhuman feats."
"And combine that with their abilities, they can do a lot of damage against opponents."
"Yeah..." Collingwood nodded before asking another topic, "So did the O5 granted Dr. Arnold a chance in the research division?"
"Well, Emma had a chat with the O5 and surprisingly they agreed, although they still weren't happy with him neutralizing SCP-2571, but Dr. Arnold's research data turned out to be very promising for the foundation. So they will let that incident slide, for now at least."
"Well, that's great, so how's Green doing?"
Amelia sighs, "He went on a mission with Lawrence... to Greenland."
"Oh yeah, Lawrence filled me in but didn't tell me what the mission was, since its foundation policy to be... you know secrety."
"Secrety? Is that even a word?"
"Maybe... let's hope they come back safe."
"Yeah, let's hope."
Meanwhile, Rodeo was continuing his barbell lifting as usual. While Evan kept watch on him.
"Ok, Evan I'm done." Rodeo calls out.
Evan quickly grabs the barbell and puts it back where it was. Rodeo got up from the bench press before stretching his arms a little and taking a few deep breaths.
"You ok?"
"Yep, I'm totally fine. Now we can test some fighting styles."
"After two days of physical exercise, yeah I think we should start."
"To the punching bag then."
Evan nods before the two approach one of the many punching bags in the gym that they were all of cylindrical shape.
Rodeo stood in front of one of the punching bags that was attached to a chain.
Evan then asks, "So which type of fighting style are you thinking about?"
"Well, I have made a specific list of it. Hold on." Rodeo then pulls out a notepad from his hollow stomach compartment and shows it to Evan. This is what the notepad mentioned.
[Boxing
[Outboxer]: The out boxer seeks to maintain a gap from their opponent and fight with faster, longer range punches and being quick on the feet. It relies on weaker jabs and straights but can be effective to tire out opponents.
[Pressure Fighter or Swarmer]: The Swarmer attempts to overwhelm his opponents by applying constant pressure by using a flurry of hooks and uppercuts. These type of boxers have very good head movement and good power , good chin and a tremendous punch output which all need a great amount of stamina and conditioning. They also tend to be fast on their feet making them difficult to evade for a slower fighter, which means they have very good foot work.
[Slugger]: While Out boxers are elegant , the sluggers are brutal. Sluggers focus on raw power and tend to end fights with a single punch. Sluggers lack mobility and finesse and often their punches can be slow , but have more body and follow through. While sluggers have power in their punches , they are very predictable and this can lead to counter attacks by their opponents.
[Boxer - Puncher]: They possess many qualities of the out boxer such as hand speed , outstanding jab combination , counter- punching skills , better defense and accuracy than a slugger , while possessing slugger type power. Boxer punchers can go well against out boxers , if they can match their speed and mobility. But the Boxer Puncher lacks the mobility and defensive expertise of a pure boxer.]
After Evan read the notepad, let's just say he was impressed and surprised by the fighting style that Rodeo wanted to implement.
"You did quite the research, my man. But should we try all of them out?"
"Yes all of them, but first let's check some boxing videos from YouTube and check how the previous boxers did it. We won't copy their style, we are just seeing them as examples. Nothing more."
"I'm ok with that."
Meanwhile, Amelia and Collingwood decided to leave the gym since they had work to do.
———
(10 Minutes of Watching Boxing Match Videos Later.)
"Damn, these guys knew what they were doing." Evan said, feeling impressed as he watched the video, "Do you think we can make our own styles, and put kicks and other acrobatic styles into it? I mean we are Stands after all so we can become a little creative. Plus my time stops and your bombs can make us quite strong."
"You just read my mind, Evan. Let's do it."
Evan nods and both of them head towards the two punching bags that were available. They both were now standing in front of the punching bags.
Rodeo and Evan then look at each other.
Rodeo then says, "Don't forget Evan, we're Stands, not normal humans so our punches are more powerful and deadly when compared to an average human being. So please don't destroy the punching bag."
"Alright man."
Rodeo and Evan gripped their hands and raise their fists and took a boxing stance. Rodeo was the first one to start and did a right jab, and then a left jab and quickly did an uppercut on the punching bag although he didn't put too much speed into it since he's new to this.
Evan then started and he did a right hook, then a left jab and right jab and then a left hook on the punching bag, but just like Rodeo he didn't put too much speed since he was new to this as well.
"We should use our foot work as well, because if we're going to deal with fast moving opponents then we need good movement with our feet."
"I know that, but when you're trying something new it kinda feels weird."
"That happens to everyone, but we'll get used to new things sooner or later. Now let's continue. But this time use your footwork as well."
Evan nods and they both look at the punching bag again. Rodeo then moves his right foot forward and keeps his left foot back before he does a cross punch with his right hand delivering a powerful hit to the punching bag.
Rodeo quickly used his footwork, moved to the left side of the punching bag, and did a right jab and then quickly moved to the right side of the punching bag before doing a left.
Evan brought his left foot forward and kept his right foot back before he did a powerful right hook on the punching bag.
He then used his footwork and moved to the right side of the punching bag and gave three quick left jabs and a left hook, and then moved to the left side of the punching bag and quickly did two left and then two right jabs before finally doing a right hook.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this."
"Same here. Now let's continue."
Rodeo and Evan continued their training, adding more speed, accuracy and power with their punches, combining footwork and kicks as well to be more creative in combat.
———
(3 Hours Later - 12:00 PM )
After three hours of training, the two were now lying on the floor catching their breaths.
"Hey, Evan."
"Yeah, Rodeo?"
"I was thinking that after we catch our breaths... we should fight each other, so that you know we can test our skills."
"And what about our abilities?"
"I'll make the fight very fair for both of us. We will only use our fists and legs as weapons and we will not use any of our trump cards such as my bombs and your time ability. Although I will allow you to use your knives for throwing them at me as projectiles rather than up close combat for now at least. And also I'll allow you to use your ability to fly as well."
"I'm ok with that."
After a minute of catching their breaths, they got up from the floor and looked at each other. Luckily they were the only ones in the gym, since the other foundation staff were busy with work.
"So you want to fight here? In the gym of all places." Evan asked.
"Don't worry, man. So long as we pay attention to our surroundings and not break anything, we'll be fine."
(Author: Are you sure about that?)
"Well then let's go."
Rodeo and Evan took their stances and looked at each other with serious looks, although it was only Evan who could make the serious look since Rodeo's facial expression stayed stoic.
(Music Starts)
In the next second, the two charge instantly towards each other.
Evan did a forward punch which Rodeo quickly sidestepped to Evan's left before doing a right hook on the back of his head making him fall on the floor face first.
'Damn it, such a simple mistake.' Evan thought.
Rodeo was about to punch him again while he was on the floor, but Evan quickly rolled out of the way only for Rodeo to punch the floor instead.
Evan gets up before doing a cross punch with his right hand but Rodeo moves his head to the left and dodges the punch.
Rodeo then quickly did a right jab then the left and did a right uppercut on his face stunning Evan for a few seconds. Rodeo was about to do a right hook, but Evan quickly moved to the left and did a powerful right hook on him, making him fall to the ground.
Rodeo was then picked up from the floor by Evan, but then, Evan did a powerful headbutt on Rodeo's face, sending him flying towards a wall and crashing into it, which creates a hole in the wall in the process with a dust cloud spreading through the surroundings.
Evan smirked thinking he had won, but then Rodeo came out of the dust cloud and was running towards Evan at incredible speeds which surprised him.
Being too distracted, Evan was immediately hit in the face by Rodeo with a fast punch, then punched him in the gut before doing a left uppercut to Evan's face. Rodeo then did a flip kick making Evan take a few steps back.
"You're not putting too much power in your attacks, right?" Evan asked, feeling a slight pain right on his cheeks.
"Not yet... but I will." Rodeo said as he did a roundhouse kick.
Evan quickly back steps from the attack, but then Rodeo did a sweep kick on Evan's legs making him fall on his back. Rodeo then jumped in the air and was falling towards Evan ready to do a powerful punch.
When Rodeo got close, Evan quickly did an uppercut, sending Rodeo flying a meter feet away. Evan then quickly ran towards him while the latter got up and saw Evan coming towards him.
Rodeo then quickly runs towards him and slides between his legs. Evan grunts and turns around and sees him ready to do a cross punch but he quickly blocks it with his arms. Evan felt more power behind Rodeo's punch this time.
"Finally want to go all out, man."
"Oh hell yes!"
Evan and Rodeo quickly backstep from each other before running forward, Evan did a left hook but Rodeo moved to the right and dodged it before he punched Evan in the gut and then did a right uppercut.
Evan then quickly did an axe kick making Rodeo look down before he did a powerful uppercut to his face, sending him flying in the air for a few seconds and before Rodeo could crash to the ground, Evan quickly jumped towards Rodeo and did a spin kick sending him crashing towards a wall.
Rodeo got up and saw Evan flying towards him ready to do a punch with his right hand, but Rodeo quickly moved to the right which Evan instead punched a hole right through the wall.
"Wryyyyyy!"
While his hand was stuck, Rodeo quickly unleashed a barrage of left jabs on his face, but his fist was then grabbed by Evan.
Evan then pulls his right hand out of the wall and does a judo slam on Rodeo to the floor before punching his head into it very fucking hard, cracking the floor in the process.
Evan then reeled his right hand, but was quickly met with a right jab to the face. Rodeo then rolled to Evan's right and punched him on the right side of his torso. Evan was about to do a left hook on Rodeo but then Rodeo did three backflips before doing another backflip and landed on top of a monkey bar.
"It's over, Evan. I have the high ground!"
Evan then brought out ten knives from behind his back, "High ground these then!"
He then throws the knives towards Rodeo, but then the Catman unleashes a barrage of punches deflecting all the knives away from him.
After he got rid of the knives, Rodeo then saw Evan wasn't on the spot before felt a presence behind him. When he turned around he was met with a powerful kick sending him crashing to the floor, making a small crater on the floor in the process.
"Now who has the high ground now, bitch!" Evan yelled as he floated in the air.
Rodeo got up from the floor and looked at him.
"Of course you do."
Evan then landed on the floor, "Having fun? Because this fight is firing me up!"
"Oh yes I am!"
They both look at each other with their aura surrounding their body and glowing. Evan's aura was yellow in color, while Rodeo's was purple-pink.
"Come at me, kitty!!"