The Martial Arts Prodigy

Chapter 2

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times" - Bruce Lee

"Holy s**t! Harry Potter eat your heart out!" Laura exclaims as she and Danyelle walk into the lobby of the school. Inspecting the premises from head to toe, they notice pillars of great Martial Arts legends and epic figures throughout history. On the golden plastered walls, they see many ancient weapons from all periods of time, hung up on display in frames.

"This place is like a Martial Arts shrine, all the memorabilia preserved for future generations to learn and see." Danyelle then sees a woman approaching her, dressed in a black low cut shirt, with black Daisy Dukes shorts and white sneakers with black trimming laced upon them. Danyelle and Laura look at the young woman confused, as she waves her blonde hair in confident fashion.

"Who the hell are you guys? Are you Martial Artists?" the blonde woman asks them both.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Laura scornfully asks. The blonde woman scoffs as she boldly walks up to Laura's face, while putting her hand on her left hip.

"Carly Williams, Tae Kwon Do prodigy and the hottest Martial Artist here, I am here to be the best and nothing is going to stop me." Laura rolls her eyes in annoyance, much to Carly's delight. Carly then looks at Danyelle, noticing the dragon tattoo on her left hand.

"See something you like?" Danyelle questions Carly who looks at her with great interest.

"Oh nothing, its just that you don't look like you belong here with the big dogs and cats. Maybe you should be taking orders from McDonalds sweetie." Carly verbally attacks Danyelle who doesn't appear to be phased by her snarky comments.

"Well, keep talking and I'll probably give you a heavy dosage of the secret sauce." Danyelle then makes a crude gesture with her hand, waving it in Carly's face.

"Well, you think you're funny? Maybe it won't be so funny when I knock you on your ass and make you my b***h for the year!" Laura pushes Carly away from Danyelle, coming to her defense upon hearing Carly's verbal insult.

"There is only one b***h I see, and she dresses like a Brittany Spears reject!" Laura insults Carly, making the Tae Kwon Do prodigy furious. As her face turns a beat red, she tries to hit Laura with a high kick, but she is blocked by a gothic dressed woman. Using her arm, she flips Carly over on her back, displaying great form and precision.

"How f*****g foolish, a ditzy bimbo thinks that she is better than everybody else. I've seen this in a movie once, it didn't end well for your type. If I remember correctly, she fell flat on her ass after getting screwed over by a bus." Carly gets up on her feet, feeling humiliated and embarrassed after the goth woman's display.

"This isn't over losers, I'll be seeing you all soon!" Carly then storms off away from the ladies she attempted to insult. Danyelle and Laura then turn around towards the goth woman, who looks at them with interest.

"Well that was fun, you're welcome by the way." the woman says.

"Thanks, not that we needed your help, but thanks nonetheless." Laura replies to her.

"Names Vanessa Urban, Ninjitsu, Jujitsu and Kyokushin prodigy. I also am proficient in Wing Chun and Tai Chi." Vanessa then extends her hand out towards Laura; awaiting her hand shake greeting.

"Laura Christmas, prodigy of the Panther Style Martial Arts, taught by my father. Nice to meet you." Laura shakes Vanessa's hand returning the gesture in kind. Vanessa then extends her hand out towards Danyelle, who also shakes it.

"Danyelle Faust, Dragon Style Martial Arts." Vanessa then notices the dragon tattoo on Danyelle's left hand as if she recognized the mark's origins.

"Your tattoo, it's the symbol of the legendary Jade Dragon Society. You must be a very talented Martial Artist to have this symbol." Danyelle covers the tattoo with a bikers glove from the pocket of her jacket. Danyelle sees a older, but beautiful woman, dressed in black denim jeans and a leather sleeveless jacket coming down the steps of the lobby.

"Hello Martial Arts Prodigies, welcome to the White Crane school of Martial Arts and Defense. I am Master Asia Yondu, Dragon Style Master and I will be your tour guide for today." Danyelle looks at Asia carefully, seeing the same dragon tattoo on her right arm. As Danyelle looks at her hand, she wonders what is really transpiring on this day.

"You are all here to hone your skills as Martial Artists, to prepare for a tournament that will determine who is the true Martial Arts Prodigy. On October of this year, the tournament will begin. Until that time, take the time to study under each of your masters that reside here. Some of you came here by choice, others were brought here by chance. But, with destiny comes realization, welcome to a new world of Martial Arts. If you will all please follow me, I will show you everything that this facility has to offer you." Laura looks over at Danyelle, who stares at Asia with intense interest in her eyes. Her eyes were completely focused on the master of the Dragon Style.

"Dani, you okay?" Danyelle continues to stare at Asia, while hearing what Laura just asked.

"She has the same tattoo as me, a Jade Dragon emblem exactly like mine." Danyelle then clutches her left hand, while Laura tries to understand what has Danyelle so rattled.

"It could just be a coincidence, I've seen people with Dragon tats all the time. What makes yours so special?" Laura wonders.

"I think there is more to this than meets the eye, looks like we're in for a long day!" Danyelle and Laura then catch up with the other crowd, ready to begin the tour. Danyelle does not take her eyes of Asia however, as she hopes to find out some answers about this woman.