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The sparring match with Wildcat was one of the initiation rites of the JSA. Whether you wanted to or not, you were getting in the ring with the old man and letting him knock you around for a while. Most of the rookies just got it over with quickly, but Courtney had managed to put it off for almost a year. Ted didn't really want to punch the youngest member of the team, she told herself. If she never brought it up, he never would either.
It was a good plan. Until the Saturday that he tossed a pair of boxing gloves at her and told her she had fifteen minutes to suit up.
"Come on, Mr. Grant! I know how to fight! You saw me against the Injustice Gang last week!"
"First up...I told you to call me Ted. It's hard to spar with someone who's calling you Mister." Ted said with a smirk on his face. "And second, I didn't see you fight. I saw you dodge and zap the bad guys with your cosmic rod. And that's all well and good, but what happens when it breaks down? Or gets taken from you? You've got to be able to defend yourself one-on-one. You ever take any self-defense classes?"
"A few. I took a unit of Karate in gym class last year."
"Good. So we can skip past the basics and see where you're at." Ted tossed Courtney a mouth guard and helmet, and climbed into the ring.
"...You enjoy this way too much."
"Ha! Highlight of my time here, kid." Ted laughed. "I usually like knocking the big guys down to size. A lot of them come in here, thinking they own the place. All it takes is a few minutes in the ring to show them how much they have to learn."
"I'm not a kid." Courtney mumbled under her breath as she climbed into the ring.
"Don't worry. I'll go a little easy on you." Ted said as he showed Courtney how to get into a fighting stance. "Fists up in front of your face, and...go."
Before Courtney could even react, Ted delivered a powerful shot to the side of her helmet, enough to make her head spin.
"Hey! You didn't warn me!"
"I said go. Besides, no warnings in fights. Now go on - try to hit me."
Courtney threw a quick punch and nearly fell forward as Ted dodged out of the way with the reflexes of his namesake. She had seen him in action before, of course, but you didn't get how fast he was for his age until you were up against him. She jabbed two more times, and he dodged each one. As the last blow missed, he grabbed her arm and flipped her over.
"This sucks." Courtney groaned, the wind knocked out of her. "Are we done now?"
"No way, kid." Ted said as he helped her up. "This isn't about me kicking your butt for jollies. This is about learning. Now, think about it - what went wrong there?"
"You were too fast for me."
"Yep. And?"
"And...I guess I didn't really have my balance, if you were able to flip me that easily."
"Good call. Let's go again. I want you to land a hit on me, then we'll call it a day."
That sounded easy enough, Courtney thought. One hit, and she would be done. But it quickly proved to be a lot harder than it sounded. When she punched, he blocked or dodged. When she kicked at him, he'd duck under it and flip her over. And in between this, of course, she was getting pelted with punches from every direction. It was hard to believe that he was really as old as he was, because he sure didn't seem like it.
"Come on, kid! You almost had me that time!"
"Don't call me kid!" Courtney yelled as she tried to sweep his feet out from under him. He leapt over the strike easily, and Courtney stepped back to plan her next move. This wasn't how she had planned on spending her day, but she REALLY wanted to get that shot in now, just to prove she could. She could see Ted seemed a little winded, and this might be a good opportunity. She leaped in the air, planning to kick him in the chest...
And he quickly dodged to the right, sending her tumbling to the ground. She landed awkwardly and felt something pop in her right ankle. Cursing her luck, she sat up, rubbing the injured limb.
"Damn, kid, are you okay? I didn't mean to - "
As Ted walked over, Courtney spun around and landed a quick punch to the side of his head, not anything hard (although she doubted she really could have hit him hard enough to make an impact), but enough for him to stop dead in his tracks.
"You didn't say the fight was over." Courtney said, smiling through gritted teeth.
Ted paused for a minute, not sure how to react. Then he began laughing, loud and long.
"Damn right! You never give up, even when hurt. Good one, Court." He clapped her on the back. "I knew you had a fighter in you."
"Maybe, but she's ready to go back in and sleep for a few months." Courtney groaned. "Little help here?"
Ted bent down and felt Courtney's ankle. "Just a sprain. You stay off it for a few days, and it'll heal fine." He let Courtney sling her arm over his shoulder as he helped her out of the ring. He'd never admit it, but that was the toughest sparring match he'd had in a long time. His back was killing him, and he'd be feeling those jumps in the morning, but he'd gotten to see a new hero become battle-seasoned. And that would be worth all the aches and pains.