Anthony spat on the ground, something he was most certainly not in the habit of doing. But it seemed the thing to do in this miserable city. Spit and swear and be difficult. And cause trouble for me. And piss me off. The heck did I do to deserve this?

Anthony reached over with his right hand to finger the tiny pair of holes under his arm on the left. Anthony had felt out classed lately. He wasn't much of a mutant, and he just wasn't good enough at Escrima to really pose a threat to anything tougher than street toughs and idiots. But the man at the gun range had to be taken to the aid station (I didn't know a man could laugh himself into the infirmary...) and tasers...

"Son, listen, a taser is a very simple device, just about fool proof. Here, get a feel for it. Now, look at this instruction man- WHAT IN BLUE BLAZES?! How in the heck did you just electrocute yourself, boy? Here, just put that down real slowly like. Maybe a nice can of mace. Then again, maybe not. This kinda crap never happened back in Oklahoma."

He bent down and retied the laces on his sneakers AGAIN. He readjusted his slacks AGAIN. He unbuttoned his sleeves, then re-buttoned them. Then unbuttoned them. The weather wasn't really long sleeve weather anymore, and this all black motif was beginning to be less style and more hindrance. Walking down the street was no longer quaint and charming, it was annoying. The people were no longer interesting, just ugly and obnoxious and in his way. He was Anthony Davids. He'd bought cars that were worth more than a dozen of these wretched person, and knew more about business and economics than most people knew about their teeth. People shouldn't be in my way. It's MY way. Get out of my way. Get out of My Way.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY."

He had bumped into a man and let the tirade in his head loose. And why not?

Thud, "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY." Saphirus stumbled a little, and took a half second to register what was going on. He had just been walking down the street minding his own business after a long day of crime fighting, when out of nowhere he felt someone bump into him, and now he was being yelled at.

Saph blinked a few times as he looked at the man, who seemed to be... furry? The older mutant blinked a few times, and then held both hands up defensively, a slight edge of annoyance in his voice as he spoke. "Woah... Look, fuzzy, I was just mindin my own business when you came and bumped into me, alright?" Where did this guy get off, yelling at him, anyways?! He dropped his hands as the crowd started their normal weaving maneuvers, in order to avoid getting involved in a potential scuffle. Saph took a deep breath before continuing, reminding himself that this guy just might be having a bad day; everyone had their off days, right? "So... I dunno... Just go your way, and I'll go mine, alright? Just try not to freak out on anyone else, okay?" He mumbled the last part under his breath, just a little louder than he had meant to, and then turned to head off in the other direction.

Gees, it was beginning to look like today would be a pretty strange evening. He was getting pretty tired, so he knew that he would have to get home and sleep before he started getting cranky. It had been a long day, after all.

""Woah... Look, fuzzy, I was just mindin my own business when you came and bumped into me, alright? So... I dunno... Just go your way, and I'll go mine, alright? Just try not to freak out on anyone else, okay?" Anthony's idea of the man slowly shifted and Anthony's temper slowly began to fray.

The man turned and began to walk away.

Anthony put his hands into his pocket and felt himself tense up. He watched the man's back as the man walked away, and tried to calm down. Anthony freaked out, but the man was a blackbelt in the art of AssHattery, and had used calculated strikes at Anthony's indignation. Pretty sure, anyway.

Anthony felt the anger feeding on itself, looping around. The man was probably a half dozen paces away, but nobody had stepped between them. Anthony grabbed the loose change in his pocket ("and your change is 84 cents, have a nice day!") and picked one of the quarters, and put it on edge, and curled it in his right index fingers, like a miniature discus.
"Hey, Moron. Just because you turn around and start walking doesn't mean your not not still in my way."

Anthony threw the quarter at the back of the man's head.

Saph had just been thinking about how glad we was that he had turned the other cheek, and that his little confrontation ended before it even started when he felt a little something funny... like the universe was trying to tell him somethi-THUK- A coin smacked into the back of his head right in the middle. Half of the force was absorbed; any that touched the right side, but the blow was still pretty painful. He stopped in his tracks, his back still turned to the hairy man as he let the wince fade, and his face went blank.

The older mutant turned slowly, and walked right back to the man, looking at him with a deadpan expression. "You're having a bad day, I get that... I am willing to walk away, and forget about this, but if you push me... Just a little futher... You're gonna end this bad day in the hospital, you understand that?" He was trying so hard... So, so hard to sound unconfrontational... But this guy was just begging to be set straight. It was like he thought the whole world belonged to him, or something. Saph hated people who thought they were better than him.

"You understand?" Saph felt the weight of his crowbar in his coat; it was just begging to be used.

((Sorry for the long... really long... delay. PM me if you want to drop this thread))

"You're having a bad day, I get that... I am willing to walk away, and forget about this, but if you push me... Just a little futher... You're gonna end this bad day in the hospital, you understand that?"

Anthony felt incredulity at that statement. Some B movie 'Rough Around The Edges' supporting actor type was supposed to scare him? Anthony stared down his nose at the other man (which was hindered by their nearly identical heights) and almost smiled. No Giant Metal Claws or a decent Death Tail in sight, this man was the least intimidating person he'd encountered lately. This guy seemed pretty mundane, in fact, and he wasn't even particularly muscular.

Anthony took a few steps towards the man. He, Anthony, raised his left hand just above his head and looked at it, turning it too and fro, getting a good look at the front and back, as he walked.

"Push you? Grasp your ears firmly and pull; you might just be able to remove your head from you ass. I wouldn't touch you with an open hand. Not some second rate Chris Cornell concert double reject, drifting along the street like a sad tumbleweed. Not an open hand." Anthony clenched his hand, then released it, spreading his fingers, then clenched into a fist and swung, a sharp left hook.

Yup. He went and did it. The guy stepped toward him and started blabbing his mouth... Saph watched with a blank look on his face as the man told him he had his head up his own ass, called him a Chris Cornell lookalike, and then, finally, moved to punch him.

He didn't do anything to hide the fact that he was going to punch him, in fact, he practically told him. The shot came as expected, and Saph reached a force draining hand out to catch it, looking to the man with a calm expression filled with intent to break. "First off, It was a metaphor, idiot, I didn't actually mean you had to push me. Second, I may have my head up my ass, but I'm about to put yours up your own, literally, so we'll have that in common, and finally... I don't look a damn thing like Chris Cornel. I'm much sexier."

Now, time to respond. The crossed mutant sent an answering blow to the ribs underneath the arm that he was holding, using the force from the man's attack, as well as his own strength.

The people around were starting to notice what was going on, and the good thing was that he was sure they had seen this jerk off swing first. He was in the right to beat the living crap out of him now, wasn't he? Meh... If the guy didn't stop after this bruiser he would ask him politely one more time.

Anthony wasn't particularly dismayed at not connecting, in a fight that happens a lot. But Anthony didn't feel the man's arm move or shift like it should have, the impact was softer, like when someone diverts a punch, or like hitting a temperfoam mattress. He'd had this happen to him, sort of, whenever he practiced Escrima. That meant the man was good. And unhappy. The eyes tell you that kind of information.

Anthony knew he was open on one side now, and tried to tell his body to relax, tell the muscles just to let it happen, but they didn't. They were terrified. And as the blow landed, Anthony realized that they were appropriately so.

It hurt. A lot. The blow felt like it had been landed by a guy a good deal bigger then the man in the coat. Anthony had taken a hit from an angry bouncer, once, that felt an awful lot like that. His lungs protested the treatment of their cage, and Anthony coughed. Pulling back and taking a step, he bent over a little and coughed. Then, taking a deep breath, he coughed again, but managed to laugh in an ineffectual manner.

Anthony looked the guy right in the eyes and smiled. Good in a fight, and strong. Anthony hadn't thought that through.

"Sexier? Come on, you'd barely pass for ugly in the dark. Something to do with your parents proximity on the family tree!" Anthony used the distance to push into an uppercut aimed for the gut, and smirked. His mind flashed the idea that you can't just shrug off a shot like this, and if the guy tried to dodge or redirect, it'd be a movement fight. And that was Anthony's game.

Saphirus was satisfied that he'd taught this guy a lesson. His blow had landed about a solid as a blow can land, and the bombastic fur ball had curled into himself a little to cough. "See? Not the right guy to mess with, right here... Go home and beat up your pillow or something."

Saph grinned little, shook his head, and then made to turn and walk off... And that was when the man turned his cough into a laugh... Great. It was a pathetic laugh, sure, but it was also one of those laughs that stated very clearly, I'm not done yet. The kinetic mutant gave a sigh as he looked right back into the man's eyes, and shook his head as he even smiled... He had to give it to him; most people would give up after having their cage rattled like that, but this guy wasn't about to, was he? Still, it was a really dumb idea to start this up again.

The guy told him he was ugly, and moved to throw a real gut buster... He could see how this guy might do well in a fight against a normal opponent; the blow he was throwing right now would make someone week in the knees for sure. Saph's body moved on its own, as he knew it would, and met the fast moving punch with a force-soaking ab, nullifying out the attack... The tingle in his finger nails told him it was one heck of a punch, too... What with the moving start, and the decent form behind it, he got a good burst of force to from it.

"Look, pal... I warned you. I really did. " And now it would start. With the guy's fist still in his gut, he sent a little shin kick at the side of the guy's knee, aiming to collapse the knee, and cause some pain. If that worked he would continue with a back hand to the cheek with the remaining force that would ruin almost anyone's day. He would have punched, but this guy needed a little humility injected into his life. If it all worked out, the guy would have a puffy cheek, and a sore knee... Perhaps that would be enough to get him to finally lay off. If it failed, he would be back at square one, no worse for wear.

Anthony watched the man begin to turn and felt elation as he made contact.

As he made contact. Contact. Contact. Where is the contact?
Anthony tried to keep up with what was going on, but his brain kept doing a stutter step. The punch landed, but it didn't land. He had missed without missing. He was currently in contact with the man's abs, but blow itself seemed to have missed the bus.

"Look, pal... I warned you. I really did. "
Anthony's brain registered that, filed it away, and proceeded to stall for time as it waited for the force to push his fist through the man and out the other side with a lens flare effect and some rock music. But it didn't happen, and Anthony realized he was just standing in a stupid pose, feeling up some stranger in public.

Anthony felt something slap his knee, and let the joint go limp, minimalizing the damage. Without that legs support, he fell to one knee and his brain caught back up. He'd been popped by a shin, and now he was about to get backhanded. Just awesome.

Somewhere between earth and sky, Anthony's brain would register two facts. One, on the grounds of the slap (and the apparent strength of the pimp hand) he was possibly this man's new ho. And two, he didn't know how, but he knew what. Mutant.

Saph didn't grin, didn't celebrate inside of himself as he might normally have upon gaining the edge in a fight. This wasn't something to gloat about. He wasn't fighting some lowlife street punk, but a man who was either just kind of an ass, or having a bad day.

He looked down at the guy, wondering for a moment if he should press his advantage, or if the guy had learned his lesson yet... He seemed a bit dense, so probably not... he owed it to his morals to give the guy one last chance, though. He reached down to the man's collar, clenching it and pulling him to his feet with some effort.

"You get it? You gotta learn to pick your fights. I'm a bigger fish, go bite somewhere else, alright? Maybe you'll learn something from this... " He added "D*** head..." under his breath as he gave the guy a little push, wanting to leave it at that. Saphirus gave his best deadpan stare as he watched to see what the furry man would do. This could go a few ways; the guy could swing at him once more, which would lead to a very ruined day, or he could just... walk away. They would never see each other again, and everything would go on as it always had.

Somehow he had a feeling that it wouldn't be that simple. Nothing ever freakin was. He tensed, ready to let his body move on its own if an attack was aimed at his vulnerable areas.

Anthony tried to watch the man for clues as to his power. Little subtle shifts in body language, concentration on the face, or visible energy. But he didn't see anything.

He didn't see anything because there were too many stars in the way, and the world was a little wobbly as it was. When he was hoisted to his feet, he felt a little limp, but when the other man pushed Anthony, he regained his composure. The man was lecturing him about this and that. Anthony didn't care. He was actually a little pissed. Not by being hit, that happened pretty often. Rather, that he was sucker punched by a mutant who didn't look all that tough. Anthony shrugged it off, literally making a shrugging motion and mentally doing a check up on himself.

Anthony looked at the other man looking at him. Anthony grinned around a half-numb mouth and tried to think rationally. A mutant, good at fighting, with some kind of super strength. And a weird body structure.

"Okay, Big Fish, nice to meet you. You can call me Ahab." Anthony bent his legs and lunged in again, intent on feinting. He needed to grab the man, since his punches weren't doing any good. All he'd need was a half decent opening, and Big Fish would be the man on the ground.

"Ahab? Really?" With that, he was sure this wasn't over. Damnit, he was hoping he would have time to get home and watch the tube for a bit before he had hall monitoring duties... Why did this have to happen now? The crime fighter watched carefully as the man prepared to attack; he kept in mind that this guy was still dangerous. No person attacking you was ever harmless, he had learned that lesson a million times over.

The man clearly knew a thing or two about fighting, especially about taking a blow; he thought back to the leg kick; it was too easy. It wasn't the kind of fighting he knew and loved, either, but some sort of practice. He didn't care for all of that stuff; old fashion fisticuffs with a few useful moves pulled from this and that, and he was a happy camper when it came to fighting. He had a lot of experience, though, and that was a must when it came to fighting the way he did. The man made his move, a quick lunge, but something wasn't in it... a shift in momentum gave his plan away, a feint. Saph's body already moved to counter, though, a curse of his reflex ability. He tried to make it look natural, though, turning the slight spin into a momentum switch, and aiming to push the man past him as he aimed to grab him. He wasn't sure if this would work, but even if he ended up on the ground, this guy seemed too hard headed to find out how he ticked in time to win, and he was most dangerous when someone was wailing on him.

He failed, and ended up open for the take down.

Anthony watched as the man started to fall for it and try to catch himself. As Anthony's moral went through the roof, he followed the man's spin and, as the other man tried to push, Anthony slipped past and closed. I have you now.

Taking advantage of the older mutants own movements, and his own momentum, Anthony pulled and turned, pulling the other man off balance, and twisting so that Anthony would come down on top of the other man, both arms straight against the other man's chest

They landed as only two full grown men in a fight can, hard and poorly. Anthony didn't feel much, it seemed like most of the impact bled out, but not all of it, though something about the way it happened was highly irregular. Anthony began swinging.

Thump! He was on his back; figured. Saph felt the tingle at his finger tips as the force from the weight of two men smacking into the ground filled his body; the man started swinging. He wasn't able to block all of them, though most only hit his right side. He reached his right arm over to block the left side of his face, but he was still gonna have a few bruises when this was over.

Saph wasn't happy about that. He had been willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt for a while now, but he was done playing nice. Very done. He let the blows land where they would, occasionally moving his right arm to block his body or face. He had a good amount of energy before too long, and he'd also had enough. His right hand opened wide to catch the man's next punch; if everything went right he would grab it, and drain all of the force from it; that being done, his opponent also wouldn't be able to pull out of his grip because all of the force applied to that effort would be drained as well...

"Buddy... you $^$#ed up real bad... And just so you know. Ahab died before he got his fish." Successful fist cast or no, his own fist rocketed up with all of the gained force towards the jaw of his opponent... It would be enough to throw him clear off, and maybe into next week if it hit.

Anthony put blows on target. Fist met flesh, sometimes playdough, sometimes solidly. They weren't great punches, but they were still punches. And Anthony wasn't smiling. He greeted a long swim with the same face he wore now, or a particularly tough work out. Determination written on the lips, trepidation in the eyes, and worry on the forehead. No fear, or hesitation, but the idea that this might not be pleasant, but that he'll get through it.

In fact, Anthony was beginning to see something of a pattern. His punches were much more solid on one side, the other side was jarring nothingness. Anthony put some oomph into a punch to test it out, and felt his hand go empty earlier than expected. A glance showed that the mutie on the ground had his hand, and that it was, for all intents and purposes, locked in a pocket in space.

"Buddy... you $^$#ed up real bad... And just so you know. Ahab died before he got his fish."

The low born cretin had read a book. The fact flashed, along with a few other, less polite thoughts, across Anthony's brain. The body beneath him shifted a little, a lean and twist. Exactly what you'd do as you threw a mean punch, necessary to get leverage in order to move.

"Oh, f-" Everything slowed down as a fist started it's trans-galactic journey from one end of the cosmic gap between the two. Instinctually, Anthony knew that something extremely bad would happen when that fist made contact. As it inched imperceptibly closer, something of great importance came to mind.

"NOT THE FACE!"

Anthony did his best to draw his arm and turn his head. Dextrous and quick as he was, the blow landed partially on his arm, but mostly on his face. Time returned apace, as time is wont to do when you don't want it to, and something extremely bad happened. A car hit Anthony square on the jaw. Metaphorically speaking. Somewhere between a Geo and a Smart Car in size, maybe a Yaris. But the size didn't really matter at that point. The punch still lifted Anthony upwards. White pain flashed through Anthony's arm, a wet crack came from where he was punched. He felt his jaw heave to one side. And then pain went away as gravity left it's regularly scheduled programming.

Head snapping back, upwards momentum carried Anthony into the air. His arm, trapped in the other's hand, turned Anthony's momentum and he began to spin downwards. Up and off, Anthony found himself face down on the pavement. He couldn't tell where he was, but the pavement felt cool and rough against his nose. He couldn't feel anything. Anywhere. Anthony tried to lever himself up, but one forearm went crooked when he put weight on it.When Anthony blinked, the blessed numbness of shock went away.

Anthony began to scream obscenities. Sailors, generations down the line, would take note of the echoes. Several women may or may not have spontaneously conceived in a few block radius. It is still required reading for Drill Sergeants in training.