[Center][Color=orange][h2]“Heart of a Lion, Wrath of a Tiger”[/h2][/color][/center]
[Center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/630457189265440807/1061379716705173606/Kila_and_Viktor_2.png[/img]
[H2][color=goldenrod]Kila[/color] [color=silver]v[/color][color=goldenrod]s[/color] [color=silver]Viktor[/color][/H2][/center]


It had been determined weeks ago, even without many words between them on the matter. Call it a vibe or the atmosphere when a deceiving calmness filled the room. The piercing eye contact that lasted a second too long. The subtle flexing of muscle. The challenge that was never really openly declared but birthed nevertheless. Had it started the first time they were in each other's presence? Perhaps when they saw what the other could do? Maybe it was the altercation on the submarine? The confrontation in the infirmary? 

Whatever sparked the tension felt almost natural as if meant to happen. Like a swelling tide crashing against the hard mineral of a cliffside. Like two apex predators that had claimed the same territory. One found strength in connecting to those around him, while the other felt he possessed enough power within himself to believe he couldn't be challenged. 

On the training grounds outside the headquarters, Viktor waited patiently. In the back of his mind wondering if this was the day he would settle things with Kila who he detected gracefully approaching.

[Color=silver]“Today?”[/color] Viktor turned, wearing a minimalist version of his operational suit, lacking weapons and his helmet.

[color=goldenrod]“I gave you time to somewhat recompose yourself. But your behavior can’t go unchecked when our superiors aren’t watching you.”[/color] The voice of the young lion prowled ahead of him. He seemed to have been similarly dressed in mission attire, as was a custom for training. However, the upper half of the Metamorph uniform hung tied around his hips, leaving his torso and arms exposed. That is, with the exception of Iwisa’s golden gauntlets at his arms, and the bandage around the cut on his right hand.

[color=goldenrod]“You believe that you know better than everyone else about everything. Others have been given the reign to lead missions and, at every turn, you disrespect your team. You ignore the consequences that [i]your actions[/i] were responsible for. You push the fault on the team; [i]my[/i] team. Now you are faced with a problem where the blame belongs to you alone.”[/color]

Viktor's stoic expression shifted as his eyebrows furrowed slightly in response to his words.

[Color=silver]“To me alone? You must still be suffering from a clouded memory. I carried… No, I [I]dragged[/I] the team through that mission and everyone simply failed to keep up. Every single one of them falls short and makes the rest pay for their weakness! Zach cares nothing for our objectives, Daphne is comatose because she lacked control, and Kass has been handicapped because she proved she can't be trusted. And you… you're on the path to crippling yourself… to prove what?”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]“No, I recall. You allowed Bingley to ignorantly break Atlantean law because you couldn’t follow a simple chain of command. Mirage was put under stress and instead of attempting to support her, you tried to punch her out cold. Daphne needed a guiding hand, not a slap in the face that “she should not be on the team”.[/color] Kila paced, slowly circling Viktor. 

[color=goldenrod]“Zatara needed someone to ground him to what a team represents. The one time he tried to bond with us, in Las Vegas— Yes, he lied, because he felt we would ignore him if he simply asked. And Alisa. When you were so busy [i]dragging[/i] the team when you could have [i]finally[/i] gotten your chance to lead: She perished, and you were nowhere to be found.”[/color] Kila stopped bluntly to look him in the eyes, fists opening and closing. Viktor took a deep controlled breath through the nose. The tension between them was steadily losing its subtlety.

[color=goldenrod]“I am here because something has to change. You have been nothing but a threat to the team’s stability. So I am going to fight you, since that is all you know. The defeated one, leaves the team. Don’t pull your punches, because [i]I won’t.[/i]”[/color]

[Color=silver]“Enough with your terms. Just bring it.”[/color] Viktor took a basic fighting stance, offsetting his feet and raising his hands which remained slightly open. 

Kila sighed, rolling his shoulders to relax them before slightly tipping his headbush to bow. In the instant he was straightening back up, he leaned back to dodge a punch from Viktor who had rapidly closed the distance. Taking the brief opening, Kila used both of his legs to crash into Viktor’s side. With the other young warrior much sturdier than he, Kila had used the attack more so as a launching point for a back handspring away. Viktor patted his side where he was struck.

[Color=silver][I]I thought he was stronger…[/I][/color]

Shuffling his legs in a pattern reminiscent of ginga, The Meta went to work on analyzing his opponent. A haymaker or two from Viktor would be enough to instantly end the conflict. Ground fighting would also be a no. It’d have to be a standing fight; wear him down, take key openings. Don’t telegraph it.

This time Kila moved in for the offensive but Viktor was prepared to match him. Like a flowing of limbs, Viktor witnessed his thrown punches redirected while suffering consecutive blows from Kila's simultaneous baguazhang strikes. With a grunt, Viktor pushed himself forward and closed the distance even further while throwing an elbow strike followed by a kick to target The Meta's side. Warier of the elbow strike, Kila ducked beneath, just barely locking his forearms to defend against the kick. The force behind the blow made his arms crash into his body and stagger him backward. 

The rushing sensation through his system was familiar and, in that brief pocket of time, he remembered from where. Powerful, well-practiced moves, robotic in precision yet emotional in execution. It reminded Kila of his first sparring session with Tenzi Dinah. An experience that he was grateful for; enough so that he even smirked briefly. Viktor on the other hand grit his teeth, but not in frustration. It was a tinge of excitement.

The formula-enhanced teenager used his other arm to reach around Kila's neck so he could trap him in a guillotine choke. Kila had managed to barely get his left hand in to keep from being immediately cut off from oxygen. Pulling briefly against Viktor’s superior strength, his right arm came up to brace for a knee from his opponent. With the sudden splash of pain in his ribs, he took note of their interlocked positioning. 

Kila tugged his body again, baiting the larger combatant into kicking again. When the second attack came, the young lion sacrificed another impact to the chest to throw a critically timed heel into the side of his opponent’s balancing knee. The quick shift compromised the hold just enough for Kila to escape by sliding his head against Viktor’s abdominal region. Although his chest was burning, he wasted no time. Using the split second that he had earned, The Meta turned into a 180 sidekick aimed for Viktor's chin. A quick hand raised in between only to be pinched between Viktor's chin and Kila's heel. Blocking the powerful kick wouldn't save Viktor from stumbling to the side as he tried to regain his footing. He had lost his balance with that second kick.

Planting his feet, Viktor regained a steady position. He was beginning to find Kila's fight style troublesome. There was not a breaking of skin or bone. There hadn't even been any attempt at making a decisive blow. [Color=silver][I]This type of patience… I'll just break it.[/I][/color] Viktor, not wanting to display any sign of pause, advanced, this time performing open-palm strikes.

Kila’s arms came up in a boxer-like guard to protect his head. Between the rapid strikes and his retreating position, he was putting the picture together. If this battle was reminiscent of his first team sparring session, then having to be on the receiving end of this barrage meant— A roundhouse kick crashed into his right shoulder, and a small bark of pain came from Kila as he tumbled away.

[Color=silver]“You're kidding me! Stop holding back and face me!”[/color] Viktor nearly roared as he looked down at Kila. [Color=silver]“Do you think I'm a fool? You act as if I haven't witnessed what you could do. You're faster, stronger… you're more than [I]this[/I].”[/color] Viktor circled him with a look of disdain. [Color=silver]“Was this what happened in the ocean? The reason why you failed to do what was necessary to save that creature? Too bad.”[/color] Viktor finally stopped and shook his head. [Color=silver]“This only proves my point. You can't even bring out your best when it counts. You're all weak links on the chain.”[/color]

Down to a knee, Kila held his dislocated arm while Viktor monologued. Yet [i]another[/i] reference to his body’s hidden power. This mystery that plagued him, that others constantly seemed to complain that he didn’t have. All it reminded him of, was what Iwisa had told him, what he shared with Felix. [color=goldenrod][i]‘We cannot base our plans on what we don’t know.’[/i][/color] Viktor stood here and talked down to him like he was worthless. Like the team that he had worked with, was worthless. What he didn’t realize was that his powers, whatever they were, could never be his best. Superpowers could never be [i]any[/i] of their best.

Exhaling, Kila snatched his shoulder back into position. Looking back up to the condescending super soldier, The Meta stretched the same injured arm out to him and wordlessly beckoned him onward. The gesture caused a slight twitch in his opponent's eye.

[Color=silver]“Tch.”[/color] Viktor was prepared to finish this.

The young lion stood against the Rain, watching his approach. The latter was going for aggression, clearly frustrated by the delay and lack of power usage. However, Viktor wasn’t foolish, he had already been caught with flimsy footwork once and would adapt. Hand strikes were thrown, but Kila had taken to a strategy of dodging, just barely being missed. Ducking underneath one hook, Kila finally threw a blow of his own as Viktor’s arm was still moving. It was aimed for the attacking arm, but at the last second, his fingers formed a leopard fist. With his fingers precisely aimed, he targeted the pressure point at the middle of the bicep. Viktor felt sharp pain followed by numbness. He couldn't afford to address it now.

With one limb momentarily stunned, Kila moved on to the next. With Viktor now being self-conscious about his leg, Kila threw another leopard paw down to attempt a strike at his knee. The super soldier dodged this obvious target though, opting to go in for a grab. Catching him in his grip could lead to Viktor's victory… Yet, the miss was a setup, Kila used the momentum from the whiff and the lowered position to spin into a capoeira half-moon kick. With the attack sudden from a faux opening, there was little time to defend before the kick made contact with Viktor’s jugular.

The same pain… No, it was worse. An attack that could knock out or possibly even kill struck true. However, instead of crashing to the ground, he stumbled drunkenly as his eyes fought to roll back. Whether it was his enhanced conditioning or simply stubborn willingness to continue, Viktor remained up, but there was little he could do while stunned in this way. 
 
[Color=silver][I]It's not over… It's not… over… It's…[/I][/color]

The young lion straightened up and watched his prey for a moment, he seemed prepared to lunge at him again but caught himself. [color=goldenrod][i]Juuma…[/i][/color] The name rang true in his memory, again at the situation he found himself in with Viktor. If only for a split second, Kila thought he saw his fallen brother’s face. His fighting stance dropped. Thankfully, Rain [i]was[/i] strong or the damage could have been worse.

[color=goldenrod]“I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”[/color] Kila called to his teammate, his expression becoming more somber, even as witnessed Viktor grit his teeth in frustration.

[Color=silver][I]It's over.[/I][/color] Viktor dropped to one knee and held himself up with one functioning arm. 

[Color=silver]“It's over.”[/color] He voiced it this time as stared down at Kila's feet. [Color=silver]“What now then? I leave?”[/color] He strained to look Kila in the eyes.

[color=goldenrod]”No…I had only introduced that idea to try giving you a reason to fight harder. Yet, instead of changing you, it changed me.”[/color] Kila lowered as well, sitting on his knees. [color=goldenrod]”I just want you to see reason before it is too late…”[/color]

[Color=silver]“You're wrong, Kila… I can see it. Your perspective. As I felt my body betray me after I neglected it to your strikes…”[/color] Viktor struggled to plant the hand of his numb arm on the ground, narrowing his eyes as he continued to feel the sting of defeat. [Color=silver]“Every part… Every link in the chain… weak or strong, is important.”[/color]

Those words prompted Kila to look at him more directly. Viktor wasn’t the sort to lie in situations like this, but the blunt admittance had taken Kila aback. Sighing with some relief, Kila slowly nodded. [color=goldenrod]“I didn’t want to take this route at first. But, you seemed to need proof of some kind.”[/color] He explained, looking down at his wrapped hand as he clenched his fingers. 

[color=goldenrod]“Do you know why I did this?”[/color] The wrapped hand was aimed into Viktor's direct line of sight but he noticed him drop his gaze.

[Color=silver]“I can make an educated guess… but enlighten me.”[/color] He winced slightly as he started to feel pain in his bicep again, the numbness slowly fading.

[color=goldenrod]”Juuma.”[/color]

[Color=silver]“Juuma? Who?”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]”A man on the first squadron I was ever part of in Buredunia. He was a Rhinoceros. He was strong, charged into battle fearlessly and crushed many foes. We spent time together, as he was my field leader. I looked up to him in many ways. For a while, he was like family to me.”[/color] Kila’s eyes drifted away to the trees as though he saw something in them. His head slowly started to shake.

[color=goldenrod]”But Juuma was hard-headed and short-sighted; like a Rhino. For him, the fighting did not end on the battlefield. In his mind, a fight was in everything; fights that always had to win. So much so, that he often defied command. What he didn’t understand was that the commander’s orders for our squadron came directly from King Lion himself. The King took Juuma’s actions as a challenge, and no challenge went unanswered.”[/color] Kila pointed to a singular vertical scar-line on his bicep, asymmetrical to the other horizontal scars on his arms.

[color=goldenrod]“Juuma was the first friend that I lost, thus the first scar I received. What I know now, that I wish I had then, was that my friend died due to arrogance. If I had known better, I could have talked him down. So I owe it to him that I do not let that happen to another of my squadmates.”[/color] Kila explained as he stood up. A hand extended down to his brother in arms.

[color=goldenrod]“That includes you, Viktor.”[/color]

[Color=silver]“I don't if I'd compare myself to a rhino… but noted.”[/color]

Viktor reached up with his weak arm, the feeling in his hand returning just enough for him to grasp Kila's. The latter felt a tug of pain as one hurt arm lifted the other, but instilled culture kept him from wincing. Instead, Vik’s comment received an exhaled chuckle…or perhaps a scoff in response.

[color=goldenrod]“Hmph…Do you understand what happened during combat moments ago? What I have learned?”[/color]

[Color=silver]“That you can defeat me by targeting my pressure points,”[/color] he answered genuinely as he stood up and rolled his neck.

[color=goldenrod]“Any truly skilled warrior could guess that. I am talking about something of more substance. By your tactics, I can tell the way that you were trained. You were taught some martial techniques, making you a fearsome fighter, but you are not a martial artist.”[/color] Viktor raised an eyebrow as Kila pointed to one of Iwisa’s gauntlets. [color=goldenrod]“My teacher explained to me that the word ‘artist’ is often overlooked, but that it’s the most important to instill during training. It is a state of mind which allows you to think outside of the box, no matter what situation you face in life…I can help you to learn, if you want.”[/color]

[Color=silver]“Artist hmm… I think… I think I'd like that. That and a rematch. No stakes, just a spar among peers.”[/color] This time, his statement was met with an actual chuckle in response.

[color=goldenrod]”In time. For now, there is someone I would like to check up on.”[/color]

In a pride of lions, brothers fight. Yet no matter how often, it is almost never to the death. A new peace surfaces at the conclusion of the violence. No longer opposing forces pushing against each other, they flow in the same direction due to the mending of their bond. Through that bond, they are able to protect their home and family with twice the strength of either of them alone.