Lori and I sat on the bleachers in a gymnasium. It turned out that our little complex had a few of them for people to practice using their Anomalies. It made me wonder just how big the Luna complex was since I’d never been inside any of the gyms before. What I thought was essentially a gated community of homes had way more bells and whistles than I could have imagined. Even after I’d lived there for months, I still felt like I was learning new things about the place, none of that process being made easier by all the additions that had been made during my time on Clamor. If Shelly’s plans were fully realized, we were going to have a lot more than just a few simple gyms to train in.
Val was going to take the lead in getting us in better shape to fight McLeod, so our team gathered, ready to kick the crap out of each other. She was starting with Rebecca, showing her different ways she could use her strength to her advantage. Val seemed impressed with what she was working with, handing out helpful tips along the way. Things like hand positioning, making sure to have a firm base, and turning her hips when she was supposed to. When Val did it, it was almost oddly beautiful. Practiced grace and fluidity mixed with the deadly precision of someone who knew how to kill.
“It’s been a while since we could just shut our brains off a little and beat the piss out of each other,” Lori said. “Nothing like coworkers taking turns to throw their bodies around.”
“Don’t say it like that. I’m marrying one of those coworkers soon.” I nudged her with my elbow. “And we’re supposed to be learning from this, not shutting our brains off.”
“Oh please, I remember you two sneaking off for your own private training sessions. Yeah, I bet some real body throwing was going on back them.” She looked at me for a second. “Actually, those might have been real. You always looked like you came back from a bar fight. They were either real training sessions or you two are into some seriously-”
“It was real training! I promise!” I turned a little red. “She hit me with all kinds of flips and tosses. I don’t think my back ever fully recovered. It’s aching just waiting to be brutalized more. Trust me, nothing fun happened during any of those private moments.”
“It looks like she knows how to use her strength. Val isn’t going all that easy on her. I think you’ll be in for a worse time. You’re bigger, stronger, and your Anomaly is better suited for fighting.” Lori grinned. “I hope you haven’t gotten used to not being slammed into the ground by strong women.”
“I’ve gotten my ass kicked more times than I haven’t at this point.” It didn’t boost my ego to admit that out loud, but it was the truth. “I guess it doesn’t matter too much if it’s men or women doing the ass kicking.”
“Maybe, but I get the impression that Rebecca suplexing you isn’t the worst thing you can deal with.” Lori punched my shoulder and smiled. “She really is so cute. Every new thing she sees is like a kid getting a nice toy. When she first put on those spandex shorts, she was just pulling them, talking about how stretchy they were. Freakin’ spandex shorts, something you and I would take for granted and never think twice about, is something she wouldn’t have grown up imagining.”
“Well, is she wrong to talk about how stretchy they are?”
“Nope, and hey, I like to pull stretchy things too.” Lori tugged at her own spandex shorts. “If the majority of women’s clothes are going to hug every curve we have—substantial or not—then I’m at least going to have some fun with those clothes. I still get horror flashbacks of that ridiculous outfit I had to wear on that boat. Oh well, it didn’t last long and it did make my ass look incredible.”
“You sound just like Lizzy did when she went on a little rampage about her pants in Vegas.” I shuddered. “If you went back in time to when I was seventeen and told me that a gorgeous woman asking me to look at her ass would have filled me with dread, I would have put you in an asylum.”
“She told me all about it. She thought she split her pants when she put them on.” Lori snickered. “I’m just wearing hoodies and sweatpants from now on. It’s time for function over form.”
The two of us relaxed a bit, continuing to watch Val help Rebecca make improvements where they were needed. Lori didn’t say anything positive or negative about Val, but I did get the feeling she was starting on the long, long road of forgiveness. Just her body language around her had improved a lot. They might not ever be friends, and that was perfectly okay. Lori being able to heal and move forward without wanting to strangle Val was a big enough win for everyone involved.
“You can get a lot done knowing how to execute certain strikes, grabs, and throws, but don’t hold yourself to any rules.” Val took a step back, letting Rebecca take a quick breather. “If it’s your life on the line, fight dirty. You have a few points that you can use to your advantage.”
“I’ve had to kick a guy or two in the crotch to get a message across,” Rebecca said. I winced, happy to be on her good side, and very happy that none of those early training sessions involved any hits in some overly sensitive areas. Lizzy’s dog gave me enough of that for a lifetime.
“Hitting men between the legs can be a good way to stop them,” Val agreed. “Just because it’s not as common, don’t discount it against women either if you need to. If you kneed me between the legs right now, I’ll tell you that my day will be a lot worse. But it’s not always foolproof on either men or women. Sometimes men can keep going and won’t feel it until the adrenaline has died down. You can also go for the throat or the eyes. Jabbing someone in the eye can be extremely effective, and so can a good hit to the throat.”
Rebecca rubbed her throat, like she was trying to figure out what it would feel like to be hit there. The eyes weren’t something I considered to be very sturdy, so the thought of someone like Val going for them sent shivers down my spine. With her scary powers, it wouldn’t take much effort for her to blind me completely.
“I don’t trust these spots as much, but the chin, abdomen, knees, and top of the foot can be good secondary areas to hit. Even if they just give you a small window to hit something more vital, any seconds you have where your opponent is frozen or unable to counter are incredibly valuable.” Val looked my way with a small grin. “Would someone like to volunteer?”
“Hell no!” I yelled back. “We have the internet to show stuff like this off. I’d like to be able to walk out of this building, thank you very much.”
“Fine.” Val rolled her eyes and Lori snorted. “Come here anyway. I want to use you for something.”
I wasn’t thrilled by the prospect of being used as a training dummy. I was even less thrilled about what might happen if I didn't help out, so I went over and stood next to the two of them, prepared to deal with whatever cruel training exercise Val was going to put me through. “If you have her gouge my eyes out, I’m going to be pretty mad.”
“No, we won’t go for the eyes in this. I want to show her how I’ve been able to take down bigger opponents.” Val looked past me at Lori. “You should watch this! You’re small, so this could be helpful for you.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked. I was already feeling the back pain spread through my body without anything happening.
Val ran through some simple directions for both of us to follow. I was supposed to try and hit Rebecca, which I refused to do until Rebecca told me she could handle it and that it would help her improve in a fight. I ended up getting a solid hit on her side with a well-placed elbow, and the pain on her face was obvious. She pushed through the pain and I felt terrible that I was the one who had caused it to begin with.
Rebecca did a few takedowns, some charging, some standing, and dumped me on the ground each time. Val showed her a few holds to use while I was down on the ground, mostly some chokes and ways to take out my limbs. Eliminating someone’s breathing was good to take out anyone, and eliminating someone’s limbs could take away their strength advantage. Each hold she tried did a good job of disarming me. A couple of the chokes seriously had me on the ropes without any way to get out. I had to tap out for a break after a few of them.
“Will any of these actually help against someone like McLeod?” Lori asked. She sat down on the ground next to me, handing me a bottle of water.
“I don’t think it’d hurt to know them,” Val said. "It's not just McLeod that you have to worry about taking down."
“It hurt me,” I replied. I touched my Adam’s apple and winced.
“My poor, brave punching bag. We’ll have to take it easy on the Adam’s apple. It's one of those things I've always liked on a guy.” Rebecca joined me on the ground, wiping some sweat off her head and wincing. “Did you break one of my ribs?”
“I hope not.” I sat up, brow furrowing in concern. “Let me see.”
She lifted the side of her tank top up and there was a lot of redness radiating from a darkening spot just above the slight curve of her waist. It hadn’t started swelling much, but it was already starting to show signs of bruising. It extended all the way down her side.
Lori sucked in air through her teeth in a sympathetic wince. “You’re red from the top of your shorts to under your bra wing. Damn, he did get you good.”
Rebecca’s face went as red as her side, and she yanked her shirt down when she realized she showed a bit more than she meant to. “Sorry, didn’t mean to flash everyone.”
Lori rolled her eyes and laughed. “You’ll be marrying him. Somehow, I don’t think Ethan seeing a bit of a bra cup or band is going to cause issues.”
“I do your laundry. I pretty much I know your wardrobe about as well as mine,” I said. “I’m the one who organizes our drawers. Pun intended.”
Rebecca tried to join in with a laugh, but she clutched her ribs in pain. “I think I’ll have to sit out for the rest of the day.”
“Think we should get Charlie?” I asked. Lori nodded and I shivered. “She’s going to kill me. She just fixed up Ryan. If Megan didn’t refuse because she thinks her cut looks cool, she’d even be more gassed.”
“I’ll call her so you don’t get your butt kicked,” Lori offered, not that I was sure it would make a difference. I had a feeling Charlie would find a way to give me grief over it. She went back to the bleachers to grab her phone before stepping outside.
Rebecca took a few pained sips of water, each one looking more labored than the last. The simple act of drinking water making my fiancée shudder was not something that left a good feeling in my chest. I wanted to start begging for forgiveness on my hands and knees, not caring who in the world saw. I only stopped myself because I knew that would end up stressing Rebecca out more, and I didn’t want to make the situation worse. Val got down on one knee, not looking much better than I felt.
“Sorry, I guess Ethan got a bit stronger than I thought.” Val went over and got her sword. She pointed it at me from the other side of the gym. “I’d hate to cut today so short because of that. I don’t think we’ve fought, right?”
“There’s a reason for that.” I sighed and stood up, knowing that I did need to keep any skills I had sharp. Seeing her in action gave me enough of an idea about the gulf in our skills. Knowing about her power didn’t make me feel confident in my ability to fight on even ground with her.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You can make your own armor.” Val looked down, seeming to realize her workout attire of a sports bra and yoga pants weren’t exactly the best things to take sword stabs and slashes in. “I wish I could get some new armor. T-shirts and jeans are fine and all. I even feel pretty in some of my outfits. It’s a shame they’re more for moving a couch and not fighting these kinds of battles.”
“We should be able to find someone who can do that for you.” I put my own armor on, got my sword and shield ready, and stood across from Val. “After this, we’ll talk to Lori about it and see what we can do.”
Val shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. “My father...I mean, McLeod, would always have me wear the armor. I’ve gotten a little used to it over time. Without it, I feel I am a little out of my element. I didn’t think it’d feel so different when I first came to Luna. I guess I haven’t made that adjustment very well yet.”
“Do you want me to take it a bit easier?” I asked. I wasn’t fully comfortable with the idea of slashing at an unarmored opponent. Even just the visual of her in a sports bra, leaving most of her torso exposed, made me feel guilty. I kept trying to tell myself that a T-shirt wouldn’t have offered any extra meaningful protection.
“Oh, confident, aren’t we?” Val smirked. “Do you really think you can manage to hit me for it to matter?”
“Maybe,” I answered honestly. I wouldn’t have been able to scratch her when we first met in the Tomb. “I’m better than when you first saw me. I think you know that. Am I good enough now to hit you? I’m not sure about that one.”
“Let’s find out.”
Val was just about on top of me before I even knew what was happening. I knew she had been fast, but that fast? It was like she just teleported, bringing her sword in toward my right side. I had just enough time to get my sword up for a weak attempt at a block, forcing her real blade to clash with my glass-like creation.
I nearly forgot that she had enhanced strength. When I felt how powerful she was when pressing her sword against mine, I wasn’t going to forget again. The sword she swung might as well have been an oak tree with sharp edges. I braced myself as well as I could, doing everything I could to not topple over. Since she was still a few inches taller than me, I didn’t even have a leverage advantage over her. It was like trying to stay upright against the winds of a violent hurricane.
She spun around, jumped directly in front of me, and planted a hard kick in my chest. The armor took the worst of it, sparing me a few broken ribs. The kick was still enough that I ended up getting knocked a few feet back. I managed to stay on two feet, stabbing my sword into the ground to help me keep my balance. I took in a deep breath and ignored the dull pain in the middle of my chest. It didn’t feel like anything had been fractured. It was just a minor case of me getting the wind knocked out of my lungs.
After training with Sven for so long, it was a small adjustment to fight against someone with so much raw physical strength. The way Sven fought and trained clicked more with my brain. It was less about brute force and more about using imagination to get the most out of his Anomaly, something I wanted to emulate. Val was a reminder that I couldn’t solve all of my problems how I wanted to. Sometimes I had to play someone else’s game for a little bit.
“You need to focus, Ethan.” Val lifted her sword, getting ready again. The look in her eyes verged on dangerous. She was close to treating me like she would an enemy when she was still with McLeod. She was fury and rage barely restrained by the humanity she’d managed to keep despite McLeod’s best efforts to take that away from her.
It was that mentality that made me realize that I wasn’t cut out for the kind of work that being a hero called for. I wasn’t going to judge Val on how she could seemingly kill people so easily. The way she could shift her mental state to one that could handle the difficult realities of killing was something we needed at the time. I wasn’t the kind of person who could willingly do that. I wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to be willing to do that. I hated that it felt like everything had to be solved by killing someone else, or in McLeod’s case, killing thousands of innocents. It felt like such a miserable way to live.
“I am focusing. You’re just stronger and faster than I thought.” I got myself ready again. I wasn’t going to fall for the same thing twice. My armor gave me some leeway with taking punishment. It wasn’t a perfect system to keep me alive. She was right about me needing to stay ready and alert.
“McLeod taught me everything I know, but he didn’t teach me everything he knew.” She shifted and her sword took on a menacing glow in the gym’s bright lights. “You need to be able to fight me to have a chance against him. We’re going again, be ready.”