“First thing's first,” Rache commanded, hands resting on her hips. “We stretch.”

I nodded eagerly and mimicked her motions as she began running through a series of warm-ups. We were meeting out of costume again, this time in a park. It was Sunday, I hadn't finished my homework, but I didn't really care. Rache had invited me to start training yesterday, but I'd declined. Too nervous from the meeting, scared I'd make more of an ass out of myself. I grunted and tried to push myself to stretch further, I'd make more progress and get this done before--

“Hey!” Rache snapped, drawing my attention. “Chill, only go til you feel a stretch. You don't want to hurt yourself.”

“You said seven weeks,” I countered. “I have to get on your level that fast. I have to push myself.” She rolled her eyes.

“Dumbass,” she said dryly. “You need to be at the Ritters ' standards. At that point you can start trying to reach my level.” She smirked. “Not that you'll succeed.”

“Oh.” I felt a little worse. “Okay. Uh, what does that mean?”

“For you it means doing what I tell you,” Rache replied. “And training to the bone.”

“But...not pushing myself?” Her lips pursed.

“Not when you're stretching ,” she stressed, annoyed. “Now shut up and get to it.”

We continued, and this time I followed her orders. It...actually felt a hell of a lot better. I probably shouldn't have questioned her to begin with. Rache knew what she was talking about, obviously. She was a veteran Ritter, the kind of person that lived and breathed being a hero. That was what I wanted to be, a real hero, one that gave everything for the people they protected.

After twenty long, boring minutes of stretching, Rache led me on a light jog around the park. I kept up easy enough, since jogging had been one habit I'd managed to take up without suspicion. I did it whenever I remembered, which was less often than not. Fortunately I still had PE and tried to take it seriously. Huh, Mom never commented on my better gym grade...

“Okay,” Rache said, breathing deeply. We'd done a few laps and she had yet to break a sweat. I wasn't too far behind at least, with only a bit of the stuff stinging my eyes. “What do you know about fighting?”

“Don't wrap your fingers around your knuckle,” I said confidently. “And hit the other guy harder than he hits you.” Something about how her lips twitched told me she didn't find that funny.

“Okay, so practically nothing,” she retorted. “Considering your...reach, we'll start with grappling.”

“Hey, what's that mean?” I snapped, glowering at her.

“It means you're short,” Rache answered bluntly. “Like it or not, most people are gonna have the height advantage. And-- shut up.” She snapped and I quickly closed my mouth. “And you have to understand how to cover your disadvantages. Whatever they are . Understood?”

“Fine,” I spat. “How do you grope or whatever.”

“ Grapple .” She sighed. “Okay first of all: your thing with touch, you've gotta deal with it.” I glowered. “Don't give me that. This isn't something you can practice on your own and it isn't something I can teach you without contact.” I balled my fists, fuming. I was going to-- “So with that in mind, what're your conditions?” I blinked.

“What?”

“Conditions,” she repeated flatly. “Terms, red lines, whatever you wanna call them. We're gonna have to touch, so what'll it take to make you comfortable?”

“I don't—.” I paused. Did I know? I considered the question for a long, silent moment. “If you touch my tits I'll kill you.” A wry grin appeared on Rache's face. “And we keep clothes on. I don't care if it's ninety in July. And...and if I tap out...”

“Agreed.” Rache nodded quickly. “And the same for me: don't feel me up, respect tap outs.” I nodded slowly, warily. It sounded good...

“So, what then?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“We'll start easy,” she replied and sank into a low, wide crouch. “I'll show you a basic takedown. Stance like me.”

“Like this?” I asked, mimicking her.

“Legs wider.” I widened my stance. “Lower. No lower . The lower you are the harder you are to throw, so long as you're balanced.” The position felt awkward, but Rache nodded once. “Good enough. Okay, I'll show you a basic throw. I'll only be touching you for a second, okay?” I hesitated, but nodded. If that was what it took.

She was wrong about one thing: she didn't even touch me for a second. Rache rushed forward without warning, giving me just enough time to clench my muscles as she stepped in. Her leg hooked around my calf and her palm smacked my shoulder. Neither touch was particularly hard either, but I'd gone from squatting like a frog to flat on my ass in a heartbeat, with the wind knocked out of me. Rache stood over me, her red hair glittering in the morning sunlight.

“Need to teach you how to fall,” she said, offering a hand. Though I didn't really want to, I took it and let her help me to my feet. It...wasn't that bad. “So that was called a reap. Someone like me has to be quick, but you with your bullshit power? I wouldn't want to take you on alone.”

“What?” I was surprised. “It's not that good, and it's really limited on time. Honestly I don't know how I could use it in a fight.” She quirked an eyebrow at me.

“Seriously?” I nodded and she sighed. “Whatever, later. Okay try to take me down.” She squatted and got ready.

“Wait but I don't know how.”

“Yes you do,” Rache countered. “I was pretty careful to touch you really specifically. Think about what it felt like, then look at me and think about how you'd do that.” I narrowed my eyes and tried to think back.

It was...surprisingly easy. The feeling of her calf firmly against mine, and the heel of her hand were seared into my head...along with a sense of unease. Huh. I focused on where she had struck me and looked over her. Rache was a well-built girl, lithe and strong. It was a contrast to my unfortunate curves and poor muscle tone. She was a sword, forged to fight the forces of evil. I was lucky she was trying to forge my softness the same way.

I focused, not without difficulty, on how she managed it. I didn't really see how Rache moved, but had an idea. I raised my hands into a fighting stance and stalked towards her. She just stood still, doing nothing but watching. I moved suddenly, one step, two, her in--

I fell flat on my ass from a strike that I didn't even see, but I could feel the aftermath of a stinging at my collarbone. I looked up and saw Rache smiling down at me, the sun framing her with a glowing halo. She offered me a hand, and again I took it and let her help me up.

“Well,” she said. “It's a start. You need to move quicker though, more decisively. If you hesitate, all you do is give your opponent time to react.” I grimaced and thought back to the fight with Mephisto. “Yeah, exactly . Now go again.”

“ 'kay,” I replied, returning to where I started. Again we both crouched low.

I didn't hesitate this time. The moment I was in position, I took three, lunging steps forward. My leg hooked around the back of hers, and I reached up and shoved against her shoulder. I let out a yelp as I fell backward, landing on my ass for the third time in three minutes. I huffed and rose without taking the offered hand.

“Better,” Rache said like I hadn't humiliated myself. “Brute force won't get you anywhere. Hell, it won't get me anywhere. Stance up really quick.” As ordered I squatted low. I nodded when she asked if she could touch me, and her hand pressed against my shoulder. She pushed, but I didn't really move. “See?” she said, pulling her hand back.

“So what?” I asked, returning to standing normally. “You weren't pushing that hard.”

“As hard as you pushed me,” Rache retorted, hands on her hips. “Here, try one more time.”

I grimaced, but nodded. I wasn't about to give up on being a hero just because I was screwing up on step one. I could figure this out, I could beat this. I crouched low as Rache did and she made a little gesture for me to come. I did, moving even quicker than before. On the second step I took a deep breath, activating my power. Rache's stance weakened as she momentarily forgot about me, just long enough to get on her instep. I exhaled as my power dropped, my hand coming up to--

I slammed into the ground, my jaw aching with pain. I felt dizzy, confused. Why was I on the ground? Why did I have a headache? I shook my head and looked up, finding Rache kneeling over me with a look of naked concern...mixed with a little bit of anger.

“Dumbass,” she cursed me, taking a tissue from her pocket. I didn't move as she gently dabbed at my lip, the paper coming away red. “You know, there's a reason I didn't start us off with powers.”

“How else could I win?” I winced at the pain from my apparently split lip.

“You couldn't.” She shrugged. “Winning isn't the point. Training is. The only way you lose here is not learning the lesson.” I frowned, wincing again.

“Does it matter if I can't use the lesson?”

“Don't give up that easily,” Rache snapped. “I'm tougher than any mook you'll face down, city-wide. If you can take me down, you can take down anyone , powers or no.” My frown twitched. I wanted to believe it.

“But I couldn't even get you with my powers,” I complained. She rolled her eyes.

“Duh,” she replied like it was obvious. “You dropped it too early. Though, to be fair, I didn't even register it was you before I punched you so...sorry.” She had a sheepish look on her face. I didn't look like it belonged.

“It's fine,” I said, rubbing my jaw. It hurt ...but only physically. “Really just...wasn't expecting it.”

“Welcome to being Empowered,” Rache said with a wry grin. “From the top. No powers.”

I returned to my starting position and squatted down. Rache smiled at me and I smiled back briefly before charging in again. This was gonna take some work...