Lillian was on the ground, breathing hard. She felt a tingling coolness wash over her muscles as they knit themselves back together at a rapid pace. Even then, even as she felt the ache fade and the weariness disperse, she was exhausted. She stared up at the ceiling and closed her eyes for a moment before sucking it up and pulling her knees to her chest. With a grunt, she threw herself forward and was standing again. She glanced around the ‘dojo’ as Miss Chernovna was calling it, and saw most of her fellow aspirants laying on the ground or leaning against walls. She looked down at the disheveled John at her feet.
“You good?” She asked, breathless.
“Mm,” He mumbled, holding out a hand. She clasped it and pulled him to his feet. His dark eyes narrowed and he looked up before straightening his mess of black hair and fixed his tie. “Tired, but I don’t hurt, your ability?”
“Yeah, I can kind of feel it working on everyone else too,” She said, glancing at the others as they slowly pulled themselves together.
“Aren’t you guys lucky?” Sonya chimed in from a cushion she was sitting on in the rear of the area, “Having someone with a passive recovery ability training with you!” She smiled and sipped at a cola, seeing it made Lillian’s stomach rumble a little, “I wouldn’t tell Black Lotus if I were you, she won’t be as nice as I am about it.”
The other aspirants all looked Lillian’s way. Some of them frowned while others smiled with gratitude. She rubbed her neck, Mixed reaction, great. She thought before glancing at Sonya who winked at her, “I just hope it helps,” She said awkwardly, shifting a bit on her feet.
Sonya slipped off of her cushion and crossed her arms behind her back, “Now! For those of you who want to continue taking my lessons and improving your basic combat skills, it’s time to talk about the ultimate expectation,” She said, drawing everyone’s attention. Lillian set aside her mild discomfort from the gazes of the others and gave the woman her full focus. “Thirty seconds and one clean if grazing blow,” Sonya said, holding her finger up in the air. “That’s it.”
Lillian narrowed her eyes and then let them widen with alarm, “Thirty seconds?” She gasped.
John frowned next to her, “Against you?”
Everyone murmured, “Some of us only lasted a second! That’s nuts!”
Sonya frowned, the first time she’d seen the woman actually make a testy expression in public, she turned her glowing pink eyes on the person who spoke. “You can’t last thirty seconds against an overtrained CEO? A glorified desk jockey?” She snapped, “Then give up being a hero,” She said harshly.
“But you’re way tougher than some office worker!” Another protest came.
“Yeah, how are you so good at fighting? I heard you were blind up until the flash!” Alex chimed in, crossing his arms.
“I have maintained myself my entire life,” Sonya said, resting her hands on her hips, “My injury notwithstanding. Just because your lifestyle or career changes, does that mean you should stop perfecting the things you are good at?” She demanded, “Should I have given up on my body?” Sonya asked. “I worked hard to get to where I am, suffered a lot, studied a lot, and now I am here teaching you and kicking your ass, boys and girls.”
The crowd flinched a little as she looked them over, “Thirty seconds, one definite hit, do that, and I’ll consider you passable as a hand to hand combatant. However!” She held up a hand, “One more thing,” She cracked her trademark grin, “The one who lasts the longest after thirty seconds by the end of the ten weeks will receive a special reward from yours truly, as long as it's within my power, I’ll grant your wish.”
A susurrus spread through the room, everyone stared at her a bit harder as she turned away and threw up her hand, “Dismissed! I’ll see some of you at the scouting training tonight.”
Lillian watched her go and rubbed her neck, Everybody’s got a story, I guess. She thought and glanced over at John who shrugged and turned on his heel to walk away. Greg walked over to clap him on the back and wave at Lillian while Alex walked over to join them. She bit her lip and looked back at Sonya one more time before nodding to herself. The best time, huh? That’s a bar worth striving for. She didn’t even consider the reward, just getting there was worth it to her. She turned and hustled over to them, grinning and throwing an arm over Greg’s shoulder.
“You survived!” She laughed.
He glanced up at her, “Yeah, kinda? That Jessica chick is no joke,” He said with a sigh, “I wish we were allowed to use our powers here. Some of us don’t have passives,” He said with a grin at her.
“Hey! You’d be half-dead by now if it weren’t for me!” She countered as they started to walk.
“She’s got you there,” Alex said.
“Shut up, Alex, you don’t get to talk,” Greg said, “You’re just as bad.”
“Oh come on, don’t out me here, shhh!” Alex hissed, holding his finger up to his lips.
Lillian raised an eyebrow but decided this time she wouldn’t pry and step on yet another landmine. Instead, she just hung on Greg’s shoulder as they walked out. Across from them in the field, the poor sods under Black Lotus’ scrutiny were enduring a special kind of hell. She watched as Val ran by, pushing himself while the ruthless trainer shouted; “ON YOUR FEET! KEEP MOVING! I WANT TO SEE YOUR LIMITS!”
“Oof,” Greg grunted.
“Uhuh,” John mumbled.
“Glad I stayed in shape before coming,” Alex said.
“Me too,” Lillian winced.
“Hey,” A small voice rang out behind them. They turned as one to see Jessica standing there, she reached up and played a bit with her hair. They all looked at one another and then back at her as she stood there awkwardly for a moment.
“Sup?” Lillian chimed in, “You alright?”
She smiled a bit and then looked at Greg, “You put up a good fight, hang in there!” She said quickly before hurrying off. They all watched her go, blinking simultaneously. They looked at one another, then down at Greg. Greg stared into space as the three of them started to grin. Lillian squeezed his neck a little more and he shrank a bit into her muscles.
“Oho?” She was the first to chuckle, leaning in and leering at him.
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“What do we have here?” Alex asked, rubbing his chin and leaning in too.
“Protection is in the medical office.” John added in his usual monotone, poking his head in from the side.
Greg threw Lillian off with a grunt of frustration, “Fuck you guys!” He shouted and stormed off, “Fuckin’ goddamn, fuckin’ what the hell was that!” He barked, his ears a bright red as the three of them laughed.
They watched him go and Lillian rubbed her neck, “One of us should probably keep an eye on him,” She said.
“I’m on it!” Alex laughed and raced off to catch up with his friend. He practically tackled him, throwing his arm around Gregs shoulder as the two bickered in the distance.
Lillian let out a breath from her nostrils and smiled at them before glancing over at John who stood stiffly at her side. He was kind of an awkward guy, stiff and blunt, it was refreshing but also made it really hard to start a genuine conversation. She scratched the back of her head and cleared her throat, “So uh… next class?”
“Lunch first, health is important,” John said flatly. “Also I like food.”
She saw a faint twinkle in his eyes.
“Sandwiches?” She asked as they started walking.
“Perfect food, can be anything,” He said thoughtfully, “Protein, fiber, all nutrients can be in a sandwich. Easy to hold, looks clean on a plate. Perfect.”
She tilted her head and crossed her arms, thinking over what he said, “Huh, I guess you’re right, sandwiches are the perfect food aren’t they?”
“You understand, that’s good. Sensible person,” John said with a small smile, “I like you. Good in a fight too, surprising since your training is in mobility.”
She shrugged, “I went to a few martial arts classes while doing my training, nothing permanent though, just enough to get some ideas.”
He tilted his head as they reached the door to the common area, “Wise, overspecialization would be bad for you. You also need a weapon. Knife is too short, with your arms and upper body strength, you need reach. Like Jessica said, sword is good. Black Lotus will be teaching the sword.”
She marveled at him for a moment, he was a startlingly analytical person. He looked up with that blank expression of his and broke into an actual smile, “You’ll be fine,” He said and wandered off to the buffet.
“Lillian!” A familiar voice shouted behind her just as she was about to follow him inside. She turned and saw Sonya standing there on her tiptoes and waving at her, “Come over here a moment, I want a word!”
She shrugged and hustled over, sliding to a stop in front of the diminutive CEO. It was still hard to believe a woman so small could move like she did, let alone fight that well. She was holding a small box in her hand, “Yes ma’am?”
“I have something for you,” She said, “I need you to wear it while you’re doing group training. As good as your ability is for morale, the other students need to feel the strain a bit or they won’t get used to it. You can’t be around all the time,” Sonya said with a sad smile. “I’m also going to want to see your guidebook, I’m scheduling you with Black Lotus for one on one training.”
Lillian felt her heart sink, she looked down at the box and had a feeling she knew what was inside. They’d come out almost six months after the Vegas disaster, Mana-Restraint cuffs. MRCs. They were usually used for criminals who were on trial or in prison and were a hotly debated issue. She looked down at her hands, she’d just gotten her power and now she was being told she needed to restrain it. She pressed her lips together in a frown, “Will-will it really help the others if I reign it in?”
“You only need to wear it when you’re in group training,” Sonya repeated with a small smile, “I’m sure the others will appreciate you taking it off afterwards. You can keep snuggling with that cozy ability, Miss Landrey.”
Lillian flushed, “Wh-what?”
“Mhm,” Sonya chortled, “Okay, here it is. It’s yours to keep. It might come in handy in the future too until you get your ability fully under control,” Sonya said and put the box in her hands. “Do you have your guidebook?”
Lillian looked down at the cold metal box in her hands before looking up and nodding, “Right, are you really signing me up with Black Lotus? Can you do that? She should be made available to the others, right?”
Sonya made a complicated face, somewhere between a frown and a grimace before it shifted to a smile, “We have an agreement, she’ll tutor you three days a week for extended periods. The rest will be open to the others,” She held out her hand, “Guidebook?”
Lillian felt awkward but it was also a huge opportunity. The world’s number one hero would be giving her exclusive training three days a week for ten weeks. Thirty sessions. She glanced over at the grueling effort that her friends and other aspirants were going through. Black Lotus took her work seriously, if she was really going to give her that kind of attention. Who was she to argue? It just meant a better chance at becoming who she wanted to be, she only wished that her power was better suited.
She let out a breath and got out of her own head, I keep going down that loop. Gotta stop.
“Here,” She said, pulling the booklet out of her pocket and handing it to Sonya.
“Consider this my first act as your sponsor and agent,” Sonya said as she pulled out a pen and started flipping through pages, writing things down and circling spots, “I’m also putting in a few suggestions for you to consider,” She said before closing the catalog and handing it back to Lillian with a nod, “Do me proud.”
“I will,” Lillian said, “Thank you ma’am.”
“Mm,” Sonya grunted with a nod before glancing over at the field, she frowned and turned away with a breath, “Go eat! I need to prepare for the scout class tonight.”
Lillian broke into a smile, “Sure thing! I’ll see you there!”
“I hope I will!” Sonya called back and waved at her, walking back to the dojo.
Lillian watched her go again before glancing back at the field and Black Lotus. She felt an uneasiness in her gut that she couldn’t explain. She shook her head and rolled her shoulders, gripping the box tightly in her hand, “Focus!” She told herself before striding towards the common building and slipping inside. She got into line and grabbed a whole mountain of food, making sure to snag a couple sandwiches, before meeting the others at the usual couch.
They were decidedly unhappy to hear that the instructors wanted her to wear a restraint while they were in training but ultimately understood the point. It was true, she couldn’t be around them all the time and if they didn’t get used to the ache of effort and to pain from injuries then when they were on the field it would be a terrible experience. She assured them that she only had to wear it during that time, which got some relieved looks. After a while, Val, Ollie, and Snow came stumbling into the common area looking like ghouls.
None of them grabbed food, instead, they just trudged over to the group and lay there for a while in Lillian’s aura. Snow practically face planted into her lap while Ollie collapsed into a chair, Val just gave up and lay on the ground, groaning and staring up at the ceiling. The three stayed like that for a good ten minutes until her power helped them recover enough to move on their own. After that, they immediately raced over to the buffet to grab as much food as they could, much to the others amusement.
Eventually, everyone recovered enough to talk like human beings.
“We got to know our limits!” Ollie hazarded, too tired to do the usual adjustment of his glasses, “She said she’s coming up with exercise routines for each of us.”
“Ollie, you’re cool, but shut up,” Val mumbled, holding his head, “I’ve never run that much in my life.”
“Hey, be nice dude,” Greg grunted, “Man I’m feeling it again. Even with Lil’s aura.”
“Still tired, a body can only do so much a day, regardless of how much we are healed,” John pointed out, picking up his thirteenth sandwich and biting into it, “It is good that the next classes are mostly academic.”
They glanced at him before sighing in universal relief, “I completely forgot,” Alex sighed, “Thank you John.”
Lillian, Alex, and John looked at one another before glancing down at Greg who frowned at them, “Don’t you dare.”
And so began the relentless teasing of Greg as they went over their exploits and failures during the combat training class. Lillian savored it, the little moments, drank it all in. After one day of this camp she knew without a doubt that it was going to be the hardest experience of her life. If she hadn’t met these amazing people around her, she didn’t know if she would have been able to do it. She smiled at them as they laughed and argued, teased and joked, she’d barely known them more than a day and it felt like she’d known them for a lifetime.
I can get used to this.