The Ring

"No. Not a snowflake's chance in hell, Ivan," Felix scrambled backwards.

Ivan, his mouth fixed in his customary grin, stalked towards him as a cat might with a mouse. "I thought you would need months! Weeks. It took you weeks to not be terrible! You're gifted, Felix. Trust me, the Ring will treat you well!"

They were the only two in the boxing place except for the coach, who quite honestly looked like he was half a second from entering a snooze he would never wake up from. Some of the newbies really threatened the poor man's sanity. Felix trained his gaze back on the man-bear in front of him.

"That's both dangerous and illegal, Ivan!"

"It's perfectly legal if you don't tell anyone about it! It's great experience!" Ivan closed the rest of the distance and picked Felix up, dangling him over his shoulder. The Russian was enough of a behemoth to do so with ease, and before he knew it, Felix was out in the city again.

"Let me down!"

"No."

And just like that, Felix was now the subject of a kidnapping. For the tiniest fraction of a second, Felix considered pressing charges, but he couldn't do that to the big man. Ivan had done nothing but help him, if beating the ever-living lard out of him counted as help.

Ivan eventually let Felix off his shoulders with the promise that he'd just pick him back up if he tried to run. Felix was definitely the smaller and thinner of the two men, but Ivan could build impressive momentum, even with thighs the size of tree trunks.

With a sigh, Felix followed Ivan as he guided him to an underground fighting ring, affectionately called "The Ring" by those who knew of it. Felix didn't have any desire to fight like a gladiator in front of dozens or hundreds of people, and he was still pretty inexperienced at boxing. But still… maybe Ivan was right.

He had done precious little superhero'ing in the past month. Felix hadn't even messed with time for a week, and the last time he did was to avoid burning his eggs. Fighting in something akin to no-holds-barred MMA would definitely train his ability to fight in the real world. After all, not many would stick to boxing rules out on the streets.

"Okay, listen now," Ivan stopped suddenly, turning to address Felix with a dead-serious face. "The Ring is no joke. Don't talk about its existence to anyone without the approval of the organizers. You won't get hurt in the newcomer matches, but the enforcers will get you, and they will make you suffer."

Felix nodded along. "Was I approved?"

"You've been approved for a week now. I needed to make sure you were ready before telling you about the Ring."

"How do you know about the enforcers?"

Ivan paused, his lips quivering. Felix had never seen the Russian show vulnerability before: this was new. "I had a friend, once. He got hurt. Bad. He tried to tell the police about The Ring. He never made it to them."

That was all Ivan was willing to say on the subject, and Felix had no intention of trying to get anything more out of him. It was clearly a subject he didn't bring up often, and for good reason. "Do you promise not to say anything?" Ivan asked softly.

"Yeah, I promise. Lead the way," Felix clapped the older man on the back. Come what may, he was invested in this now. And he wouldn't do anything to leave Ivan with another bad memory. He owed the man far too much for that.

Ivan smiled a small smile and turned back around, disappearing into an adjacent alleyway. With a deep breath, Felix followed him into the darkness. As his eyes adjusted, he saw numerous rugged-looking men, most of them with bandages or bruises covering their bodies. Fighters. Felix gulped.

"You sure I won't die in there?" Felix whispered to his guide.

Ivan chortled. "Of course! I trained you!"

That did little to allay Felix's worries. He knew Ivan was a talented boxer, but everything else about the man was pretty much a mystery. They arrived at steel-plated doors flanked on each side by people who somehow were even larger than the giant that was Ivan. Felix was a comfortable 5"10,' but these men towered over him.

"Ivan Novikov?" said the one on the right. He held a clipboard in his hands, and he crossed something out as he said Ivan's name.

"Yes. I'm bringing a newcomer with me. He should be on the list: Felix Hale," Ivan motioned towards Felix, who tried his best to look about as confident as he felt nervous. Which is to say, he tried to look absolutely presidential.

"I see him," the bouncer grunted, opening the door for the pair of them. Ivan led the way, and as Felix followed him through the threshold, he heard the metallic thump of the door shut once more. He felt trapped.

"Stop being so scared. It makes you look weak," Ivan grumbled, casting a slightly disappointed look at Felix.

Felix frowned. "This place isn't just dangerous, it's literally asking to be hurt!"

"That's kind of the point."

And Ivan did have a point. Felix just hoped that he wouldn't be too hurt to make it to class the next day. Based off the crowd of over a hundred spectators ahead, all of them hooting and hollering beside a small ring, Felix had his doubts.