Brucenorris007

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce slid his sheath down his back, and his blade of Ki materialized inside it. As the sheath fell off the sword, Bruce took grip of the hilt while keeping it perpendicular to his back, catching the sheath with his other hand. He pulled his left foot in toward his right foot and fell down to one side such that he rolled sideways, away from Zelraine, Jeff and Rajaka's yellow energy waves.
"Stay light on your feet- never stand still, and don't give Zelraine the chance to hit you if you can help it." Bruce said, intentionally leaving Rajaka out of his advice, giving the sense that the yellow giant left little impression. Bruce brought his sword back up, holding it diagonally in front of his body, the musical flow of Ki focused toward receiving rather than dealing blows. He also summoned his chains, wrapping them around his body beneath his robe, giving him a bit of a buffer between some of the attacks Zelraine might attempt.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce took note of the familiarity between Jeff and the yellow one. He focused his attention back on Zelraine.
"I have a feeling we don't have a choice. You've got a handle on the big guy, right?" Bruce asked, pulling his sheath from his side and pointed the end of it at Zelraine. "I don't suppose either will be kind enough to let us fight two on one, and I'm more concerned about him anyway."
Bruce swung his sheath back over his shoulder, glancing at Jeff. "I've no qualms with the odds right now. Do you?"
A subtle smile crossed Bruce's face.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce ignored the larger man's rambling, inferring from it only who the two left standing in front of them were. He took stock of their surroundings, feeling an unsettling disconnect from his natural element.
"Please stop talking. I'm trying to think." Bruce muttered vaguely toward Rajaka. He turned toward Jeff. "You good? We need to get back to where Jenso and the others are. Any ideas?"
Bruce's eyes flickered toward Zelraine- he had a distinct scent to him that gave Bruce the feeling he was potentially the more dangerous.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce nodded at Jeff and Mikey on his way out, waving to signal to the wind sage that his advice warranted no thanks. He smiled, already set on preparing his body for the new abilities he'd have to learn before the final encounter.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce patted Jeff's shoulder.
"The limits are all in your head," Bruce said. "And if the tower doesn't have an atmosphere, we'll have bigger problems than a lack of powers. Don't place a cap on what you can do, just because there are things you can't."
Bruce nodded at Jeff, shrugging off his gratitude. Bruce had no motive for improving Jeff's mood, but he wanted everyone to be at their best when the critical moment came.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce smiled.
"Of course. Even beings born from infinite energy," Bruce said, flashing his Ki into his hand to make his sword appear briefly before cutting the circulation back to zero. "Are vulnerable to the edge of a blade."
Bruce glanced behind Jeff toward the hall to see if Mikey was returning, then leaned toward him with a lowered voice again.
"I don't know what Mikey's been teaching you individually, but I think what he and the others want to see us all improve on is precision," Bruce said. "We'll make a point of showing the scale of our powers to the Order when we knock on their door. It's incredible what comes to my mind even for your powers. Air vacuums, wind tunnels too wild to escape from, and a razor sharp enough to break down the molecules we breathe."

Bruce leaned back, his gaze unfocused, picturing the rest of what he wanted to master in the days they had left. "The atmosphere itself is your weapon, Jeff. That, not even the Order can take away."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce didn't miss the flash of anger Jeff's eyes betrayed. He understood- using one of his inventions as a method of kamikaze would be a bastardization of its intended design.
"I might take you up on that," Bruce said, referring to his method of negating Ada's particularly devastating ability. "But I'm growing more confident that won't be necessary."
Bruce frowned, his mind focusing, or rather, returning to, the matter of the tower's interior. He'd been muddling over it for days, bothered by the sheer number of unknowns involved. The matter of the possibility that Bruce might be left without any way to use his earth powers left him feeling more vulnerable than the magic he and Jenso had encountered on their last mission together.
"I've thought about it- and come up with a couple ways to try compensating. One's pretty unpleasant for me personally, and the other two might not be viable. I've tried manipulating metal before, but I can only sense things that interact with it, not control it."

Bruce caught the discouragement Jeff tried to hide and chuckled inwardly.
"It's easy to focus on what we can't do- but that only limits our imaginations, and that just restricts our potential." Bruce said, smiling a bit as he thought on how much he'd actually enjoyed practicing work with his Ki since his chat with Ross. "Mistakes are how we work toward success, if we learn from them."
Bruce tapped Jeff's shoulder with a closed fist.
"Don't be so quick to dismiss your role in the team. You can do things no one else can, and you've got a unique type of Ki- the things you could do are limited only by what you can think of."
A genuine smile crawled across Bruce's face.
"I can work with you during some of our off hours if it would help?"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce balked a bit at Jeff's query. His intentions for the bomb had changed pretty drastically in the days since he'd requested it.
"To be honest," he said at a whisper. "I had planned on using it on myself to prevent Ada from taking over my body- if the need ever came up." Bruce spoke hastily, trying to prevent Jeff from making any sort of sudden exclamation that might bring unwanted attention. "I'm telling you now because I no longer plan to use it for that, but I am sure that it will come in handy in some other way, given who our enemies are."

Bruce made his best effort at a placating smile, encouraging that Jeff leave the matter be after that. He stopped speaking in hushed tones, returning to the subject of the testing all the heroes were being subjected to.
"It's kind of reassuring though, isn't it?" Bruce said. "Mikey's been telling us how much latent strength we have- if he can do that with his power, imagine what we're capable of. We've come far as individuals, we just need to figure out our roles as a larger group."
Bruce pointed a finger at Jeff.
"I think you, given the particular abilities you possess, could be our wild card."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce noticed Jeff wandering in after Mikey and nodded in his direction. After Ross and Mikey left, he made a point of striking up conversation to cover his question.
"I hear I missed out on a group exercise against Mikey," Bruce said, keeping his voice loud enough to be heard out in the hall as he approached. "Sounds like it could have been fun."
Bruce lowered his voice to a whisper once he was within Jeff's earshot.
"Did you get the bomb finished?"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce smiled halfway, appreciative for the praise his efforts had earned him.
"Granted, I did die once," Bruce said, referring to the instant Ross had caught him by the throat. If he hadn't made a strike in that moment, his appraisal now might not be so positive. "But at least I didn't repeat that particular mistake."