[IC, open to all] Thor Fight Club

[pirateangelbaby]

It's a beautiful spring day in the Nexus, rolling green hills boasting bright splashes of color where flowers have blossomed in all their glory, birds singing in trees sheltered with new green growth, and the sun is shining merrily through puffy white clouds, the breeze only a little on the cool side.

In one of the flatter fields out towards the Wilds, however, things are not quite so peaceful at the moment.

There's an enormous rough ring marked out with scorch marks in the grass, large enough to rival the gladiator arena on Sakaar, and on the edge of the ring there's a cloth laid out with a small variety of weapons that look... well, very second-hand, to put it mildly. But enough to give a good selection of swords or axes or hammers, with a shield or two for protective options.

Thor stands to one side, checking his armor to make sure it's securely fitted before battle, training session or not, and can't quite chase away the grin on his face in favor of a more serious, kingly expression that he probably should be wearing. Learning to compensate for his missing eye is a matter of life and death, probably, whether his or someone else's, but he can't help but feel excited to face something other than a half-assed training dummy shoved into the corner of the cargo hold.

Right, then, who's up for a little sparring with the god of thunder?

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[pirateangelbaby]

In the few years Thor served with the Avengers, he's become used to the Midgardian tendency to film everything with their smartphones (and why he'd never come across a dumbphone during his time on Earth, he has no idea) as well as the idea that anything he does can and will end up on their internet. He's not exactly coming off as being at his best right now, especially since several of his challengers possess the skill to launch him across the ring and do so with glee, but then Thor had also trended on Twitter for two weeks solid once after he was filmed breaking a glass door that he'd assumed was much sturdier than it really was, so this is marginally less embarrassing than that.

In any case, he throws a little wave toward the youngster when he spots him on the outskirts of the ring, and in between bouts, he makes a point to come over and say hello. "Peter," Thor greets him warmly. "You're looking well."

[websnextdoor]

Maybe Peter's earnest reaction to everything is why he's always wearing that mask around, even aside from protecting his identity. The kid has zero poker face or chill and he lights up from head to toe when Thor, God of Thunder greets him by name. That's never going to stop being cool. At least, not to Peter.

"Thor, hey!" He hasn't seen the god since the Yule celebration. Which, you know makes sense and all given that he's a God and probably a busy guy. A king and all that or something. But it's good to see the man all the same.

"Feeling better now." He realizes Thor wouldn't really know the kind of roller coaster kind of scares and troubles he was in during the Winter months so Peter offers just a tiny shrug of his scrawny shoulders. "I caught a bit of a bug over the winter but I'm feeling fine now."

[pirateangelbaby]

It takes Thor a moment to remember that there's an idiom there, and not just Peter choosing to live up to his chosen name as accurately as possible. "Ah, well that's good." He himself hasn't been ill in a very long time; that's more of a human thing, though Thor would hesitate before calling it their 'defining trait' like his father once did. That was rude at best.

"Feeling well enough to try your hand at besting me?" It's said with a teasing, cheeky grin, but also there's a thread of challenge in his voice. Thor likes Peter, and he has yet to see him in action like he has with most of his other human friends. He'll be the first to admit, he's curious to see it, even if he does end up taking it easy on the youngster.

[websnextdoor]

"Are you kidding? A high school kid versus the God of Thunder?"

He sounds serious about the question too, right up until Thor makes any move to shift or answer. Peter's entire posture brightens before he web-thwips his camera away somewhere safe and out of the way.

"Oh hell yes. I tell you I stole Captain America's shield once?"

[pirateangelbaby]

Well, when he puts it that way, it does sound like a rather unfair fight, doesn't it? Thor falters for a second, but he doesn't have time to think of something to ease the awkwardness of Peter turning him down before suddenly the youngster's demeanor flips entirely, and Thor breathes a sigh of relief that he doesn't have to fumble his way through well-meaning yet possibly insulting reassurances. (He's been known to do that sometimes.)

"You stole it?" he says instead with a laugh. If Peter's mentioned it in passing before, Thor doesn't remember. "This, I have to hear."

[websnextdoor]

"Mister Stark--I mean Iron Man was all 'Hey Underroos!' because that's, well it Was his code name for me back a while ago while he was facing off with Captain America. And he didn't know who I was, at the time, so I come swinging in and just like THWIP next thing he knows his hands are webbed together and I've got his shield and it was so freaking cool you have no idea."

A beat while Peter tugs on his mask.

"Then he threw a plane at me."

[pirateangelbaby]

The tale is incredibly light on actual details, but Thor's imagination does the rest, and he laughs out loud at the mental image of the good captain hurling an aircraft across the battlefield. "He's escalated from motorcycles, then. Good, that's good." He's not too worried about what it must've done to Peter; the boy looks fine enough to him, and is way too excited about the battle for it to have done any lasting harm, physical or otherwise. "The shield, did you get to throw it?"

But of course, there's also a battle at hand here, too, and Thor feels he's quite prepared to give Spider-man a challenge in the ring. "Would you like a weapon?" he offers, arching a brow at the youngster. "You are the challenger; you're allowed to set the terms."

[websnextdoor]

Peter never did get a whole lot of details on what went down at the airport. Most of it he learned after the fact on the news and it was Decidedly Not Cool. He prefers to stick to the parts that were good memories for him, and honestly that was a lot of meeting a whole bunch of super heroes (mostly because he was fighting then but how cool is that?!?!) and then going home and doing his homework.

"That shield doesn't make any sense at all from a scientific standpoint." Peter just wants to clarify. There's something funny with that thing, mark his words. He's pointing to emphasize his point stance too.

"Oh, uhm. They're not really weapons exactly but can I use my webs? I honestly don't do a whole lot of fighting without 'em."

[pirateangelbaby]

"Mm, science as you understand it, perhaps." It's not the first time Thor's heard a Midgardian complain about the captain's shield supposedly defying the universal laws - Stark had ranted about it at length, on occasion - but to a man who spent a thousand years wielding a magic hammer that he could summon with a thought and an outstretched hand, the shield makes perfect sense to him.

He can't deny he's been curious to see the young Avenger-in-training in action, and denying him his main tool seems a poor way to go about it. "Oh, absolutely," he agrees at once. No weapons for Peter means Thor shouldn't use one either, but he's not entirely without options. "Though that leaves the matter of what I'm allowed, then. You aren't particularly hardy against lightning, are you?" Hey, you never know.

[websnextdoor]

Of course to a man who is used to a magic hammer the properties of Captain America's shield make sense, Peter would argue. Older and arguably smarter people than him have tried to understand the rift and parallels between magic and science long before Peter has. All he knows is that Cap's shield is Something Else.

Just what exactly he has no idea. But it wouldn't surprise him if the answer was somehow Magic.

"Uh, I don't think so? I have never found out. Are you? I have taser webs I can use. Not as powerful as actual lightning but they pack a pretty mean punch."

[pirateangelbaby]

'Taser web' sounds unpleasantly similar to the net that he'd been snared in not long after the Bifrost had dumped him on Sakaar, but he's grown in his powers since then and the god of thunder fears no electricity, domesticated or not. Maybe it'll hurt him, and maybe it won't, but he's willing to find out.

"I can take anything you can throw at me," Thor answers with a slightly more confident smile than he feels. Now doesn't really feel like a great time to test out Peter's ability to withstand a direct lightning strike though, Nexus or not, so that's out. "Defensive powers only then, for me. If you get knocked down for three seconds or leave the ring, you're out. Agreed?"

[websnextdoor]

Peter takes a good long look around the ring.

If he's being honest? The odds are really not in his favor. There's nothing erected here he could swing from to gain any kind of height on the god or use to quickly maneuver out of the way. This kind of open fighting arena may work for people whose biceps have biceps but for anyone who needs terrain and wit on their side? This is an awfully spartan field of choice.

Still, saving folks isn't always going to happen somewhere that benefits Peter. If he learns anything here today then he'll be walking out of this a winner. Because the fight, so far as he's concerned, is already decided.

Doesn't mean he's not going to try.

"Agreed." Alright Spider-Man. Time to see just how quick on your feet you really are. "We gonna do a countdown kinda thing? Do we go on three?"

[pirateangelbaby]

Though the mask makes it impossible for Thor to see Peter's face, he can see the uncertainty in the boy's stance, and why shouldn't he be? Thor has been a blooded warrior for a thousand years and slayed countless foes on the field of battle, and depriving him of a weapon makes him no less the god of thunder. It'd be a madman who wouldn't be nervous about fighting him, especially one so incredibly young.

But there's also little satisfaction in simply grinding a friendly opponent into the dirt without either of them having time to enjoy the thrill of combat, nor is Spider-Man the only one looking to learn something from the experience.

Thor squares his shoulders and loosens up his fists, preparing himself for the fun ahead, and chuckles at the question. "Oh, I'm ready to begin as soon as you are. Your move first, my friend." Sure, being on the defensive will put him at a disadvantage, but Thor is willing to make that trade to see how his young friend fights first.

[websnextdoor]

"Oh! Okay then."

It looks nearly like Spidey is actually relaxing instead of getting ready to attack. He's nearly as quick as lightning with his reflexes on those webshooters of his as he aims to get Thor's hands webbed together. No taser webs yet, that takes switching to and this was supposed to be his attempt at surprise.

Either way he's not holding still to see if it lands. He's already making a mad dash for the god, dropping into the grass and sliding underneath easy reach for Thor before sweeping out a leg to try and drop his much larger opponent.

[pirateangelbaby]

Thor tends to expect his (typically) smaller opponents to use their agility and speed to their advantage, but the quickness of Spider-Man's opening assault still surprises him. He finds one fist fully ensnared in sticky webbing in the time it takes to blink, and it's fortunate his hands are far enough apart that the other isn't caught in the same trap, though it's a near thing.

Either way, he has little time to work out how to free his fingers before there is a red and blue blur streaking in his direction, low and fast. It's a familiar angle of attack, and Thor jumps on reflex to avoid it, though he misjudges his opponent's position and gets one boot clipped for his trouble, making him stumble a little as he lands. Thor pivots the moment he has his footing again, and attempts a return kick though he suspects - even before he turns - that Spider-Man has already left his reach, and swiftly casts an eye around to find where the youngster has gone.

His webbed hand is little more use than a club at the moment, but Thor is experienced with all sorts of weapons of war, and his hands have always qualified regardless. Still, having use of his fingers is far more helpful than not, and he spares a moment's attention calling lightning to coil around his fist, attempting to burn the webbing away.

[websnextdoor]

"Holy shit. You mean like actual from the sky lightning!" Not like electric powers or anything like real actual nature lightning.

Peter had a plan of attack but he's been completely derailed watching Thor burn the webbing away with more energy coalescing around him than Peter has ever sensed before ever in his life.

He's honestly in shock. But the awe inspired kind not the getting too close to a living God of Thunder kind. If Thor takes a swing at him it's going to connect squarely right now.

[pirateangelbaby]

Ah, there he is. And foolishly gaping at the admittedly impressive lightshow instead of launching his next attack, a mistake that Thor immediately exploits. One hand still aflame, he uses the other to strike out at Spider-Man and hits him squarely in the chest, sending him flying toward the edge of the ring.

Nor does Thor assume that this has his opponent down and out so soon, rapidly closing the distance again to get in close as he can before Peter can recover, pressing his advantage with a flurry of body strikes. Think fast, Spider-Man!