[PRIVATE] Centurion

Josh Kennedy had almost never been in a normal classroom before, let alone one like the Centurion classroom at the Tyler Jacobson Academy. Technically, he had no reason to be in the classroom, the school year hadn't started yet and there was hardly anyone around. Lyra had sent him and Clara to the Academy early, in the hopes that they would have some time to ease into the social life, but from what Josh had gathered so far, there were very few around. There had been some cleaning and maintenance staff, but he hadn't seen a single student other than Clara. It wasn't exactly like he was one for socializing much anyway. Clara had decided to explore the school in full, but Josh didn't feel like joining her, opting to take a look at the classroom facilities and see if he could practice a little, get a small taste of what he'd be doing on a daily basis. At the precise moment that Josh steps foot in the classroom, the lights come on and a large hologram of the school principal Kuriko Hatsuhara appears in the centre.
"Hello, Centurion. It appears as though you are using this facility outside of school hours. May I ask for your Identification Number?" The hologram states, in a clearly pre-recorded message.
Josh stays silent.
"If you do not provide identification, I'm afraid I'll have to raise an alarm. So, I'll ask this again, what is your Identification Number?"
"1152" Josh responds.
"Student 1152, Joshua Kennedy. Identification accepted. Since you are a student, and unaccompanied by a cleared faculty member, you will have access to reduced training functionality. Do you accept these terms?" The hologram asks.
"I accept."
"What do you wish to train?" The hologram asks. The voice becomes digitized at this point, and the image of Kuriko now disappears, replaced by a menu screen with a long list of options.
"Ranged offense, telekinesis."
"Multiple or individual targets?"
Josh had never been able to move more than one object at once. Perhaps that was something he would learn to do here.
"Individual."
"Ranged offense, telekinesis, single. Is this correct?"
"Correct."
"Program start." The digitized voice states. A rack full of soft, foam balls slides out from underneath the floor at the centre of the room, and Josh positions himself near it. A hologram of a generic thug appears, and Josh uses his telekinesis to throw a ball at the target at a very high speed. The image disintegrates and another one appears directly opposite the position of the first one. Josh launches another ball without hesitation. He stands turning on his heel to locate targets behind him, nailing each one of them with a soft ball. The rate at which they appear slowly but surely increases, their positions becoming more difficult to spot and their ranges beginning to vary as the program goes forward. He handles it pretty well for a considerable period of time, but eventually, he's unable to keep up, failing to hit one of the targets. The program powers down and opens a text box that states a score of 45. Underneath it reads 'New personal best!' and 'New school record!'. It then opens a leaderboard. The positions are all empty, save for the number one spot which reads 'Joshua Kennedy - 45'. Just then, he hears someone's thoughts, a voice that's unfamiliar to him, and he realises that he's no longer alone.

He's not doing too bad, I suppose... But in real life enemies won't just pop up and stay still, waiting for him to hit them with a cotton ball, a thought echoed inside Josh's head. As he turned around, he'd see a slightly older boy standing by the door, leaning against its frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Wade was staring at the Centurion with his typical analytical look, as if he was looking deep inside his soul, judging every little tiny piece of information he could get.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt", he spoke.
Long hair... Metal T-shirt... Looking like he's spent the last few weeks locked up in a basement playing DotA... If I've ever seen a kid going through a phase, it's this one. Let me guess - moody, no respect for authority, nihilistic tendencies. This should be fun.

Upon being discovered, Wade stepped inside the room, allowing the door to close behind him. "Ms. Hatsuhara sent me to help out the students in the classroom. The name's Wade Wilson, Overseer of the Centurions", he spoke, taking a few steps forward and offering a hand to Josh. "You've got a nice control over your powers, but in real life you're not going to be throwing cotton against static enemies. In a real combat situation you need to be quick, accurate and restrained. You not only need to throw an object that's heavy enough to hit an opponent with enough force, but you also need to get past their defenses and make sure you don't kill them"

Great, I just got here, and I'm already lecturing the kid... I mean, I'm trying to help, but is he going to see it that way? Probably not... I can't back out now, though.

Wade silently walked to the back of the room, where a few boxes of supplies were laid on top of each other, yet to be unpacked and prepared on the shelves. He looked through the labels for a few seconds before grabbing one of the boxes and carrying over to where Josh was standing before setting it down on the ground by his feet. After crouching, Wade promptly opened the box up and revealed its contents - about 20-30 clay pigeons.

"Think you can aim with these?"

"I'm Josh. Josh Kennedy, in case you didn't see that scoreboard up there." Josh says flatly, shaking Wade's hand whilst pointing to the hologram which was still displaying the leaderboard with his free hand.

"No need to apologize, I'll take all the help I can get. That's what I'm here for, after all. I'm aware that this isn't exactly the most realistic scenario, but I'm trying to make do with what I've got." Josh says, responding to Wade's criticism. He watches intently as Wade unpacks the box of clay pigeons.

"That seems a bit better. Might as well give it a shot." He says with a shrug.

"Oh, by the way, what's DotA?"

Wait, did I say the DotA thing out loud? Nah, I can't have, I'm not THAT much of an asshole... Oh, I see. He's reading minds. Hello there, Josh! Shit, I wonder if he's gonna find out that I have a thing for feet... Shit! Focus, Wade, Focus! Empty your mind!

"Er, it's... It's just a videogame. That doesn't matter right now", Wade spoke as he quickly turned his back on the boy, walking up to a tall, wooden box filled with staffs for martial arts practice. He pulled one out, spun it once to estimate its weight, then walked to the other side of the room, about 5-6 meters away from Josh.

"Alright, so here's the game we're gonna be playing... Your goal is to hit me with one of the clay pigeons, and my goal will be to not get hit. There's about 25 pigeons in there, but chances are I'll shatter them upon deflection, so you don't have that many shots. Also, try not to kill me. I heal fast, so don't worry if you hit me, but try not to kill me. Control the strength of your throws. Anything goes, so bring out your dirty tricks", he spoke, spreading his legs and taking the staff with both hands, assuming the proper position for combat with it.

If I get hit, maybe I can get that new healer girl from the Sentinels to heal me. She was kinda cute. I could use that as an excuse to get her number or something. Dammit, Wade, focus!

"Right. So, I need to launch these at you in any way I can, use dirty tricks to get by you, each projectile's pretty much a one-time thing. Try not to kill you. Got it."

Josh used his telekinesis to lift one of the clay pigeons and slowly move it side-to-side, getting a feel for how it would handle upon launch.

"Oh, yeah, by the way, that cute healer girl is my sister. I don't know if she would play along with a foot fetish, and quite frankly, I don't want to know if she would." He said, using what he hoped would be a distraction to fire the clay pigeon directly at Wade's chest.

Wade narrowed his eyes, his grip on the wooden staff tightening.

It's official - this guy is my least favorite person I've ever met. Just because you've got mind-reading powers that doesn't mean you have the right to poke around other people's heads. Why can't you be like Jean Grey and keep it to yourself? Or better yet, be like the Martian Manhunter and just stay the fuck out of my head.

"Oh, she is, huh? That's real good to know", Wade spoke, waiting for the inevitable strike to happen. "And don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn all about it. I doubt that either of us would be able to hide it from you"

And with that, Wade tried to imagine the healer girl he'd seen, whose name he still didn't know, completely nude and in the sexiest, most compromising position he could think of. He didn't know if Josh could see images from other people's heads or just read their thoughts, but was secretly kind of hoping that it was the former. His imagination trip was quickly, and quite rudely, interrupted by a clay pigeon sent straight to his chest. The distraction hadn't worked - being a fighter driven by instinct, Wade quickly swung the staff and shattered the pigeon to dust.

"Not bad. I mean, not very good either, but still"

You better hope you manage to hit me at least once, because if you don't I plan on making you eat this staff.

With that, Josh snapped.
"First off, I don't give a shit if you love me or hate me. Secondly, no, I can't see images, but I can ascertain what visual it is you're trying to conjure. And, for the record, my mind-reading isn't a matter of a switch I can turn on or off. It's constant, ceaseless and maddening. Believe me, if I could stop it, I would have a long time ago, and probably never used it again. Do you think I really want to know what everyone is thinking at all times? Do you think that knowing the true nature of someone you want to try your very hardest to get along with is pleasant? Believe me, it's not. If I wanted to know what you or anyome else thought of me, I'd much rather ask instead of having it shoved down my throat. And I'm sorry if I come off as rude, aggressive or angsty, but having other people's voices in my head constantly isn't a pleasant fate. You would not believe some of the things I've heard, so, go ahead, insult me all you want. I've heard it all before."

He fired another one, low and fast, aimed directly at Wade's shin.

"Oh yeah, and if you think I'm letting a pervert like you anywhere near my sister, you've got another thing coming."

Wade's quick movement tilted the staff, causing the clay pigeon to strike its lower side and shatter, with the fragments going harmlessly past Wade's leg.

Geez, talk about having a stick up your ass. And if he doesn't calm down, he really will. He seems close to my age, so I'd have no problem sleeping after breaking his nose.

"Not sure if you're aware of this, but controlling my thoughts is impossible", he spoke, trying pretty hard to retain the calm tone of voice that everyone in the academy knew him for. "I never insulted you once out loud. That's what should matter to you. If you don't want me to think bad things about you, then maybe you should try to make a better impression"

And by that I mean be less of a douchebag.

"As for your sister, I don't think you've really got a say in who she sees. Unless you're one of those creepy possessive people who don't let the people close to them talk to anyone from the opposite gender"

Let me guess - you've never had a girlfriend in your life, have you, big guy? The closest girl you've had is your sister. Wait a minute... His intonation... His body language when he brings her up... Holy shit, he likes his own sister, doesn't he? I'm not sure if he realizes it, but he's definitely acting like a guy in love. That's messed up... Wait, am I really seeing that, or am I just thinking that to spite him? Maybe both.

"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but your thoughts represent everything you are. You are your thoughts. You don't have to control them, I never asked you to, but they tell me exactly what you are, and I don't particularly like what I'm hearing. Your initial judgement of me was fine. I really couldn't care any less about that. In fact, it was pretty accurate. I'm not going to deny who or what I am."

"Look, if you want to try and date my sister, she's got the right to decide that for herself. But you aren't going to advance on her under false pretences while I'm around. If she comes to you, so be it, but she's a good judge of character. If I don't like what I'm seeing, I have a feeling she won't either."

Josh launches another clay pigeon, but pulls it back just slightly out of the reach of Wade's staff and makes it circle Wade, increasing its speed with each rotation before launching it. It goes wide however, and nearly comes back to hit Josh. He stops it just inches away from himself and fires it forwards.

So you don't like my thoughts, huh? Well, news flash, Professor X, but people generally aren't very nice deep down inside. When given the freedom to do whatever we want it'll always be horrible. We're all monsters deep inside. The point is to not let the monster out.

"Is that right? And what are you going to do about it? You can't even hit me with your powers when I've given you permission to do whatever you want", Wade spoke, his eyes focused right in front of him. He had no trouble following the location of the spinning pigeon even without using his eyes.

Heh, now that's pathetic. He talks big, but isn't even in full control of his ability. If you're going to threaten someone you should be able to back it up. Otherwise it's just like waving an empty gun around.

As the clay pigeon headed for his chest, Wade quickly swung the staff, sending the clay disc away from him and shattering it in the process.

"Maybe if you tried to focus less on what I'm thinking and more on hitting me you'd be doing better"

Josh ignores Wade's words and tries to focus. He takes another clay pigeon, and attempts a similar trick as with the last one, spinning it around, but he pulls it up and down, and switches the direction of its spin a few times before firing it at Wade's back.

What is he trying to do? Oh, I get it... Trying to disorient me... Not a bad strategy overall, but if he tries that in a real fight he'd have his teeth kicked out of him.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the next clay pigeon would come from behind. Wade rolled to the side in order to dodge it, then either let it crash into a wall or struck it on its way back, shattering it.

"You're taking too long to land the strike. And what's worse, your unpredictability is predictable. try to be quicker. My instincts have their limits. Your power does not... At least none that you haven't placed yourself", he spoke, once again assuming a stance with his staff. "Don't try to confuse me or outmanoeuvre me. Be quick, accurate and effective"

"Well, would you rather I tried to kill you?" Josh asks, firing another one at Wade's shoulder without hesitation.

Wade kept silent for a while, both his body and his mind.

"Yes. If that's what it'll take, then try to kill me"

"That's not my point, Wade. My point is that unless I'm trying to kill you, I'll always be holding myself back. What I need to learn is just how far I can let myself go without killing. I need to balance effectiveness with non-lethality. I need you and the staff here that are supposed to train me to show me where the perfect balance lies. Am I wrong?" Josh says, before falling silent and putting all of his energy into taking another shot at Wade.

Your pledge not to kill is commendable, but if it means crippling yourself to the point where you'd be killed immediately in a real fight, it's not really worth it.

"You're not wrong", Wade admitted. "But keep in mind that in a real fight, it's either you or the other guy. You should always try to be non-lethal, of course... But if there's no other option, when it's kill or be killed, then the kid gloves must come off. Do whatever it takes to be effective. But first and foremost..."

As the clay pigeon was sent flying at him, Wade quickly raised his staff, smashing the circle cleanly - another predictable attack. As he smashed it, the young man took a step forward, using the moment in which Josh was being distracted to slam his body into his. While his body was lean, it was also very muscular, and this, combined with the fact that he was prepared for the strike and Josh probably wasn't, meant that one of them would be on the ground before long. The floor was hard, but it wasn't too hard, so the fall probably wouldn't cause the long-haired boy any injuries. As if to further demonstrate his point, Wade placed the tip of his staff on Josh's chest, preventing him from standing up for the time being.

"Be fast. Speed and reflexes are literally everything in a fight. Leave thinking and strategies to the guys in charge. Turn off your brain and start listening to your gut. Oh, and... When I said 'play dirty', I didn't mean 'talk shit'. In real life that's not going to work"

Ironically, it has worked for me for years when I was picking fights following... That, but then again, I was just fighting random punks and never trained soldiers. I would've been killed on the spot if I'd tried to pull something like that in the middle of a warzone.

Josh took in Wade's advice carefully. Now the two were close to getting into a physical altercation of a different sort, one that Josh didn't need to be a clairvoyant to very clearly see the outcome of. Where Wade had peak physicality, Josh was skinny, almost to the point of malnourishment, and strength was never something he'd really found himself capable of. If Wade had the inclination, he could probably smash Josh's brains against the floor with that staff in an instant. He was being instructed to follow his gut, and there was something very obvious he hadn't tried yet, due to how unpredictable it tended to be. He focused on Wade's thoughts very carefully, listening to what he had to say, and what he was going to say.

"Look at me, man, I'm about as good as dead in any fight. I'm not like you, I've never been taught tactics, control, instinctiveness. If I had those things, I'd probably be a Sentinel. I probably wouldn't have been an asshole to you right away. I was first told I was crazy when I was three years old, and that still hasn't stopped, so maybe they were right all along. All throughout my life the only things I've been told are that I'm dangerous, that I'm a freak, that I shouldn't exist, that I'm sub-human. Holding back is the only instinct I've ever learned. Whatever you think of me, the fact of the matter is that I need you to help me unlearn these things before I can become the superhero this place is expecting me to be. I have one last move, that's it." Josh said, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, focusing on Wade's mind even more, and waited for a very long time before he played the last card he had in his hand. He planted a very simple command in Wade's mind.

"Don't move."

Then he fired a clay pigeon at Wade's side.

You've never been taught control? You seemed to handle those pigeons quite well. If it was a puppet show or something I probably would've been impressed. Even if you weren't trained, I'm sure you've played with your power quite a bit.

"I wouldn't say we're that different", Wade spoke, removing the staff from Josh's chest. "My body is my power. Just like you've got your telekinesis and telepathy I've got my instincts, and I've worked hard to hone them to perfection because that's what I've got in a fight. When everyone else is throwing boulders or breathing fire, all I've got is me. Meanwhile, you've got both your body and your gift, both of which can be trained to be effective. Your body's easy enough, but your--"

"Don't move.'

Wade didn't really hear the words as much as he felt them. They didn't really manifest in his mind as proper words, they were just sort of... There. Filling his mind. Replacing everything else. Wade forgot what he was talking about, or even what the general discussion was about. All he could think about at that moment was that he wasn't supposed to move. Just a few seconds later he felt the clay pigeon flying towards him. The danger managed to snap him out of his trance-like state, causing him to lift up his staff and attempt to shatter the circle, but it was too late - the pigeon smashed itself into his side, sending him straight down on the ground.

"Ow...", he groaned after a few moments, sitting up with the help of his staff. That one hurt more than he thought it would.

I probably have a rib or two broken... Man, that's gonna be sore for a while. But I guess I now have a real excuse to go see Josh's sister.

"I hope you're not expecting to engage your enemies in drawn-out discussions every time", Wade chuckled. "But good job. That was a neat trick. You should use it more. It might save your life, give you that extra time you need until you become fast enough"

[OOC: Sorry about the wait, man, I didn't forget about you!]

Josh was surprised that his own power had actually worked, as Wade stood perfectly still and took the shot to the ribs. Wade dropped hard. That had to have hurt. As Wade sat himself up, Josh extended his hand to help his opponent to his feet. He may have disliked Wade's attitude towards Clara, but Josh clearly needed all the help he could get. He wasn't in a position to burn bridges, something he'd feared he might have already done. Lyra always told him that you only have one chance to make a good impression.

"Come with me, I'll help you find Clara. She'll patch you up no problem." Josh said, flatly.

"Don't you think I'd be using that from the off if I thought it was reliable? It's a really hit-and-miss sort of thing. I'm not one to take a chance on something that probably won't work unless it's a last resort. But that's not my usual game plan, I think I'll leave talking the villain's ears off to the narcissists."