Survivors

Chapter 21: Faster than a speeding Bullet

Dante stood in front of Kara, his torso, head and legs padded, heavy target mitts on his hands.

"Why are you dressed like this?" the blonde mini hero asked.

"You are going to fight me. We are going to spar. I will attack with my hands in different sections. You are to use the skills you have gained to dodge the blows, strike the pad and then follow with a strike to my chest."

Kara stepped back, thinking her favorite mentor had lost his mind. "I can't do that! I will kill you! You have seen how hard I hit. Those pads won't protect you. I will shatter your hands, shatter your chest. No, I refuse."

The girl crossed her arms and glared at Dante, not giving an inch. The man knelt down in front of her.

"You want to be a hero one day. I know you do and it has more to do with Non and Astra. I told you once that you had the soul of a warrior and a peacemaker. You want to help others, you want to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. Am I wrong?"

Kara shook her head.

"No, you are not wrong but what does that have to do with me killing you?"

"Because you may not always be fighting super strong Kryptonians. You may be fighting human criminals. Alien prisoners are not the only ones who do harm in this world. You are working on controlling the intensity of your heat vision. Now you need to work on controlling your strength while fighting. You have absolute control in everyday life but when the adrenalin is pumping, it is going to be difficult for you to hold back. If someone is trying to steal from another person you would stop the thief, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you want to knock him or her out or send your fist through their skull? You have to learn to fight at different intensities. We will take it slow. Play with your strength, don't go all out, just tap, tap the pads on my hands and I will let you know if you need to hit harder."

"And how will I know if I hit too hard?"

"You will know because I will be on the ground crying, holding whats left of my hand. No pressure."

So the two began, Jeremiah walking over from where Alex had been training with Connolly. They had decided to practice today in a wooded area behind Connolly and Jessica's house. After making sure Connolly wasn't teaching Alex how to gut a person he walked over to check on his blonde daughter and was surprised to see her actually hitting. Not wanting to distract Kara, he stayed back, watching silently. She was doing well, if being slow to the point of over exaggerating. The pops on the mitts were sound, not crushing and she was following up with shots to the chest.

"Harder, faster. You can go harder and faster. Fight like a human, control your speed and strength."

Kara did put a bit more into it, beginning to get into a rhythm. He could not catch her off guard. At times like this when she really wanted to, the world slowed down for her. When she focused in on a moving object and was moving herself, it was almost as if the object was standing still. The strength was another obstacle. She had never had to gauge her strength when fighting. She usually went all out against a wall or went through the motions with no opponent.

Dante was doing his best, which was considerable...for a human. Eventually he stopped giving her just pads to hit, kicking at the short girl's head which she easily ducked and countered with an uppercut to the pad in his hand.

Jeremiah was impressed with the dance the two were having, noticing that Kara's punches were becoming crisper and the man had a hard time holding his ground. The blonde was becoming more confident and for a split second her concentration slipped. A tiny fist struck his padded chest and sent the Seal into the tree behind him.