A Bit Different

Chapter 19

"Today we will be doing hand-to-hand combat. I know Steve and Natasha and some of you are good at it, but I expect all of you to be as good when I'm done with you."

She then proceeded to move towards the center of the room and asked the others to make a circle around her. Quite a big one so that she had enough space for a demonstration.

She then asked Natasha to fight with her. She knew that the fierce red-head was eager to fight her so she obliged.

They got into a ready stance, with their feet spread apart and knees bent. Persia's ADHD was working on overdrive. She noticed many things at once. 

Natasha, as a mortal, was exceptionally good. She knew what she was doing and was confident about it. She also knew that all of the avengers were exceptionally good at what they did. But what divided them was that they did not work with each other. All of them were a team. They should act like a team. 

She remembered her journey with the seven on the Argo II. After being a team for only a few months, they had merged themselves to work better with each other. All of them learned the basics of mechanics, then they learned how to make good battle strategies. They learned basic values from each other which helped them so much.

She wanted the same for the superheroes. She wanted them to flourish like a creeper with a stick. So now she was going to be their stick, to support them as they grew.

She then lunged at Natasha who was cautiously watching the bright-eyed girl. Natasha had observed Percy as she just stood there, her eyes distant, as if she were thinking about something.

Then out of nowhere she jumped at Natasha, startling the trained assassin. She cursed herself for that. She could have attacked Percy when she was deep in thought, but instead she let her get the best of her. 

She swung a punch, aiming for her stomach, which Persia simply side-stepped. She then tried hitting an uppercut which Percy swiftly ducked under. She kept on trying to land a blow on her but the black-haired teen was too fast.  

She was amazed by her speed. She had seen her fight against Thor, but being on the receiving end was a bit uncanny.

They went on like this for a while, until Percy started speaking, "Can anyone tell me what I am doing differently?" she asked them, still engaged in the fight with the Black Widow. 

"You are only using your feet." Came a reply from an awe-filled Tony. He was most unexpected to answer, but he still did not move his eyes from the fight going on. 

"You are correct Tony. Do you know why?" she replied, obviously pleased, her eyes sparkling. 

To the surprise of his teammates, he answered again. "Defense." came his reply as his owns eyes shot ablaze with a new-found spark.

"Correct again. This is an important aspect of combat. While punches and kicks are important, defense is equally as important."

That was when Natasha realized that Percy was only dodging, she did not attack her once. She felt so stupid for not realizing it before. She had been so concentrated on the fight to notice how she was fighting, or whether she was fighting at all.

She literally had her hands in her pockets as she danced around her, while talking. How she could focus on her punches and kicks and give lessons to the rest, was beyond her.

Her whole focus was on the fight. She couldn't even focus on what she was saying to the rest of the avengers as she once again dodged one of her kicks.

Finally, Percy stopped the fight. Natasha was a bit disappointed by her performance, but she was sure that Percy would make her better. 

She could see how this one fight and her constant tips helped the avengers, even if they did nothing, just took notes.