Shell Shock Vs. Lone Wolf

[True Grave]

Nick Baker fired a white energy blast called the Shell Cannon from his right palm at his foe. It was his most basic technique, something he had been doing since the age of five. Lone Wolf showed no fear, simply moving aside to let it pass before rapidly closing the distance between them. Nick fired a second Shell Cannon at close range, but it also did no good. Lone Wolf once more dodged to the side and landed a snapping side kick to his ribs. Nick only barely turned to block an incoming roundhouse punch to the jaw with his forearm despite the pain.

However, he was now in serious trouble. Lone Wolf began unloading on him with techniques from a variety of martial arts. Punches and kicks hit him in the ribs, solar plexus, liver, and knees. Nick had no choice but to go down. However, he kept his head and face covered. Though he was in extreme pain, if he could stay conscious, he could stay in the fight.

Lone Wolf showed no mercy. He began stomping and kicking him in the ribs with a variety of kicking techniques. Nick definitely had broken and bruised ribs after all the shots he had eaten. Knowing he had to strike back, he fired a Shell Cannon at Lone Wolf's face. Unfortunately, this was his mistake. His opponent had been waiting for an opening like this.

The martial arts master dodged the blast and threw a roundhouse kick before folding his leg to strike downward with the knee. Shell Shock took the knee between the eyes and was instantly out cold. Returning to a standing position, Lone Wolf put a fist in his palm and bowed his head to honor and acknowledge his opponent. He then picked up his opponent in a fireman's carry to bring him into the Wolf Clan Temple. There Nick would receive medical care for his wounds. His attempt at dethroning one of the top fighters on Earth had ended in failure, but Lone Wolf would let him try again any time he wanted.

 

[True Grave]

Nick awoke later in a guest room at the Wolf Clan Temple. His lower body had been wrapped in order to treat his broken ribs. Just breathing was going to hurt for a little while, let alone doing anything else. Sitting in a chair in front of him was a familiar face.

“Scott! How long have you been here, man?”

“I got here about an hour ago. Seems like Lone Wolf worked you over pretty good.”

Nick clenched his fist, feeling upset and embarrassed.

“I didn’t stand a chance against him. Almost as soon as the fight started, it was over.”

“Don’t sweat it, man. With no powers, I can’t beat him, either.”

Nick sighed and nodded in resignation.

“I guess he really is as good as everyone says he is. I was a fool to go in there with no preparation.”

“You made a mistake, it happens,” Scott replied, wanting to encourage his friend to try again.

The injured man gestured for help sitting up. Scott provided his hand and helped him do just that. Once settled, Nick’s eyes burned with determination.

“I will beat him. I went in unprepared, but next time will be different.”

“Yeah, man, you’ll get him next time.”

Nick began thinking over what went wrong.

“His speed is a major problem. I could barely do anything when he got in close.”

“Do you know any martial arts?”

“Not really. My energy manipulation powers usually work much better in a fight than they did this time.”

Scott nodded, thinking his situation over.

“Lone Wolf was my teacher and taught me the basics of a few martial arts. I would be happy to pass them onto you.”

“Really?!” Nick asked before wincing at his pained ribs.

Scott chuckled in slight amusement at his enthusiasm.

“Yeah, but let’s let your ribs heal up first.”

 

[True Grave]

A couple months later, Nick was healed up and back at the Shadowgreen Institute in France. He was meeting with Scott to plan out his rematch with Lone Wolf. The two started the day in an operations room within the Shadow Force headquarters located below the school.

“Lone Wolf is one of the best fighters in the world, so you’ll need to train for this fight like a pro. Alcohol and pot are being traded out for supplements and shakes while you’re in fight camp.”

Nick sighed but nodded, realizing that his partying lifestyle wouldn’t help him here.

“Okay, that makes sense. How long is the camp?”

“Four months is often how long pro fighters train for fights. In this case, however, you’re going up against one of the best fighters in the world. I recommend that you train for no less than a year before your rematch.”

Nick looked like he would have a stroke.

“A year?! There’s no fucking way I’m doing that! You can’t seriously-“

“Do you want to win or not?” Scott cut in.

“Well, yeah, but-“

“Listen to me, Nick. Can you do that for just a moment?”

Nick sighed and nodded.

“When it comes to pure martial arts fighting, Lone Wolf is the absolute best in the world. He could make complete idiots out of world famous fighters. He basically trained all of them if you follow the lineage of all of their martial arts back far enough. This guy has been training in martial arts literally his entire life, which adds up to a lot of time even if he is only in his early twenties like we are. One year is the absolute minimum it takes to even hope to fight on his level.”

Nick was silent for a long moment as he absorbed all of this.

“I guess there’s a reason he’s ranked as one of the top five best warriors in the world.”

“It’s impossible to know all of the enemies this guy has beaten. Regular humans, mutants, werewolves, demons, invaders from other dimensions, and even aliens have all fallen to his martial arts. You have to give this everything you have, Nick.”

“You know, you’d make a pretty good hype man for Lone Wolf.”

Scott laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

“Get serious!”

“Alright, alright! What’s up first, coach?”

“The first thing we’re going to do is watch some video of Lone Wolf in action. You need to get an idea of his fighting style if you want to prepare for him.”