"I don't want to think of him as an enemy either, but we have no control over that." Mirage said, her expression hardening.  "I would rather not have to bring Don in for what he has done but I will if I have to.  I just want to give him the benefit of the doubt first.  He is just making things worse with this registration business they are pushing now.  Hunter going rogue like this will only hurt everyone else in the end."

Lucas nodded.

"I still can't help but believe that the Bertellis are behind the unravelling of Hunter somehow. The fact that Antonio Bertelli said that he HAD a plan still bugs me. Yeah...the timing for Hunter's arrest could not have been any worse...what with this Registration business coming into play. While I am not thrilled about having my true identity in the hands of someone I don't know, the proposal does look solid. I was really hoping to get everyone together...to figure out what kind of a move we're going to make. I'm almost willing to bet that there are people who are basing actions off of what we decide to do with Registration, so we have to tread carefully..."

Lucas looked around for a moment and noticed that the dojo had cleared out. The students had left...and it appeared that Flip was in the back office, going over paperwork and getting ready for the afternoon class.

"Well...would you like the tour and then maybe we can take a walk and talk about this some more?"

"The timing of the registration and Hunters escape cannot be a coincidence.  Hunter might be unwillingly influenced to help drive the registration through.  Bertelli was holding him prisoner for a while there."

Mirage's hard expression softened at the mention of the tour.  "I'd love to see your dojo." she said, slipping an arm around Lucas'.  "When are you going out with Friday and Katy and her new beau again?"

Lucas walked along with Mirage in his arm as they began the tour.

"We haven't decided on another double date yet....I suppose it mostly depends on Katy and Aaron and if they want to go out with us again...."

As they started to walk along, he then pointed out, "This is the training area...this is where we start work on all sorts of things...class starts off with us doing some stretching....and then we start to work on some of the forms as well as stances...then from there...we get into a little bit of sparring..."

Mirage followed along and looked where Lucas pointed.  "I watched a bit of your class, not all of it mind you.  I only came in half way through.  It did look like fun.  I have always loved the beauty inherent in the martial arts.  Such a wonderful flow of body and spirit.  Do you have some time to show me a few of your forms?"

Lucas nodded.

"Sure I can..."

He then stood a few feet away from Mirage, and began to exhibit one of the intermediate forms that he had been teaching to some of his advanced students. His mind and body becoming one as the flowing of the form commenced. His hands whirling in different directions, followed by a spinning kick motion or two, then repeating the cycle and then brought to a close with a traditional salute.

"That one there is a little bit of an advanced form. It's always nice to show that to people who are possibly looking to study..."

Mirage watched Lucas go through his kata with interest, giving him a pleased smile when he finished.  "That was very impressive.  I liked that kick that you did, the spinning one.  Can you show me how to do it?"

Lucas smiled and said, "Sure I can..."

He then went through the motion for the spin kick, the first time slowly for Mirage's benefit, the second time a little quicker but enough to where Mirage could duplicate it, and then the third time at full speed.

Mirage watched with interest again, studying Lucas' movements.  She slipped off her heels and began to practice the kick.  Even though she was wearing a knee length skirt, a long slit appeared up the side of it so that her movements were not hampered in any way.  It took her a few minutes but she was able to perform the same kick almost to the same level that Lucas had.

She leapt up, twisting her body around and whipping her leg afterwards, then landed softly on her feet.  "A very nice kick.  I look forward to using it later on." Mirage said with a smile.

"Now I know that you might be thinking that kicking in a skirt is not very ladylike and you are right.  This is a special circumstance though.  I certainly wouldn't do this in public."

Lucas smiled.

"If there is anything that I can to add to the lethal repertoire of Mirage, I'm glad to contribute to it. You took to that almost naturally. This is only a suggestion but if you were to train in a martial art suitable to you, you would be an even greater fighter than you already are."

Lucas then executed a couple of somersaults, and then executed a series of spinning roundhouse kicks.

"Be like water, Mirage. Like water, be formless...shapeless. Water is the softest substance in the world...yet it can penetrate the hardest substance...rock, granite, you name it. Water can flow...or it can crash. Be water, my friend..."

Mirage laughed softly and then proceeded to go through her own series of flips, handstands and kicks.  Her movements were graceful, fluid, seemingly easy despite her constrictive looking clothing, and every bit feminine.

She ended in a low feminine crouch, from which she slowly rose to her feet and smoothed her skirt.  "You're not the only one who can quote Bruce Lee, Lucas.  He was a hero of mine growing up and I devoured his movies like candy."

"You are correct however.  I suppose that I could use with some formal martial arts training.  I may have to stop by some more and have you show me some of your moves."

"Do you give private lessons?" she asked in a flirty fashion.

A small smile came over Lucas' lips.

"Bruce was a large inspiration for me as well..."

When asked about private lessons, he replied "Yes I do...I gave some to Friday not too long ago. All I really ask for is a willingness to learn. Everything else will work itself out."
This message was last edited by a game moderator at 20:04, Mon 11 Jan 2010.

Mirage chuckled softly as she slipped her heels back on.  "Lucas, darling.  The last thing that a woman wants to hear is a man saying that he's given his private lessons to another woman already." she said jovially.

"It's quite alright though.  I know what you meant."

Lucas slightly blushed after Mirage pointed out what he said.

"All right...that's cool. I meant no offense Mirage. But I would be honored if you allow me to teach you."

Mirage chuckled again and patted Lucas' cheek.  "You are so cute when you blush.  I'll see if I can free up some time in my schedule for a little one on one practice.  Now I'm curious to see just what you can teach.  Practice could never hurt.  Perhaps we can practice after hours when we can really cut loose."

Lucas nodded at Mirage.

"That sounds like a good plan, Lane. When do you want to check out this Registration business a little closer? I was hoping to meet with the group to see what their thoughts were about all of this..."

"The Registration?  Are you thinking of signing up for that silly nonsense?  Whatever for?" Mirage said with a laugh, that sounded a little imperial.  "I apologize, I suppose that I should be more supportive of you and the team.  I'll go and check it out with you whenever you wish.  We could go now if you really want.  It's the first day and I'm sure that there'll be a good crowd and reporters around."

Lucas replied, "This could affect the way we do things from here on. While I certainly am not an advocate of having my identity in the hands of the government, I think it bears looking into a bit closer. Give me a moment to change and we can go there together, if that's all right with you..."

Lucas then ducked into the changing room, and came out dressed in a black polo shirt and khakis.

True to her word, Mirage was waiting for Lucas when he emerged from the changing room.  "Very nice, Lucas." she said, fussing with the collar of his polo shirt.  "I hope that I can share some credit for your improved wardrobe.  Shall we be off then?  I don't suppose that you have a car?  I took...alternative methods to get here."

She turned and started to walk towards the door.

OOC:  Shall we move over to the Registration Thread?

Lucas smiled. "Yes...I will give you some of the credit Mirage. My car is not much to speak of, but I will be glad to give you a lift there. That way, we can check things out..."

Lucas then held the door open for Mirage as they stepped outside...

OOC: Yeah, let's move on to the Registration thread...

Once he'd made sure Chuck and Iris got where they wanted/needed to go, Ozzy headed for the Dragon and Tiger. Flip had told him to drop by, and Ozzy fully intended to take him up on that.

Ozzy circled to a stop in front of the dojo, preferring to let the momentum of rushing through the city streets wear off on its own than 'forcing' a stop with the brakes. It was more fun that way, and a bit easier on his skates.

Once he'd come to a stop, he locked his wheels and walked into the dojo, his backpack in tow. He'd brought some sweatpants and an old t-shirt that was comfy and easy to move in. As he looked around for Flip, he kind of wondered how his explanation of his sudden, miraculous cure would go over. It was technically true, though, which was the biggest merit of it, and with the way the city was these days, it wasn't all that hard to believe, either.

Flip was inside getting ready for the afternoon class. He knew that Lucas had some things to do, which is why he let him have the morning class.

There were about 15 other students, dressed up in karate gis....and they all had varying colors of belts, some of them with red stripes on them, some numbered two, some numbered six.

Flip then noticed Ozzy walk in.

"Ozzy...it's good to see you. Though I have to say you're looking...well...much better than the last time I saw you."

Turning to the class, he then says, "We have a new student with us today. Everyone..I want you to meet Ozzy..."

In unison, the entire class turned to Ozzy and bowed.

"So Ozzy...you want to watch...or do you want to actually take part in our workout?"

"Yeah, there's kinda a reason for that. Y'see... well, did you hear about that stuff at the mall, yesterday? Where that crazy para pulled a gun in the food court? I ended up getting shot, but this one para chick healed me. And apparently it fixed a bunch of other stuff, too. Like, I don't need glasses any more, and I can apparently walk normally now. It's kind of weird, and I'm still getting used to it, but it's kinda nice, you know what I'm saying?" he replied, looking a little nervous. Of course, the fact that he wasn't wearing the big glasses he had been two days ago might help.

When asked if he was here to watch or here to work out, Ozzy grinned, "I'm gonna definitely give it a shot. Where's a good spot for me to go get changed?"


Just then, the door opened up once more, and a middle-aged man wearing a classic black suit walked in, a briefcase in his hand. He strode confidently up to Flip and Ozzy, extending his free hand in greeting to Flip.

"Afternoon, sir. I'm Michael Gysbourne, Ozzy's father. You don't mind if I observe, do you?"

Ozzy looked towards his father, giving him a quick nod in greeting.

Flip replied, "There's a changing room over by the training area." He handed him a gi, approximately his size.

Then Mr. Osbourne arrived.

"Yes sir...by all means, make yourself at home..."

Ozzy took the gi, a bit surprised, but not going to complain. It wasn't all that surprising, he was a pretty common size for his age. He then headed for the changing room, giddy with anticipation.

Michael nodded at the instructor, smiling. "Thank you, sir. I saw that mural on the side as I was coming in. Very nice. It seems I've misjudged my son once again. If he takes an interest in this, rest assured he'll be signed up. He could use a little more structure and discipline, I think. I try my best, but you know how teenagers are."