[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CzYkmzN.jpeg[/img]

[sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img]
[color=796e9c][b]#796e9c[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [color=808080][b]alloy[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/Keu4D2D][color=808080][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [color=00674f][b]#00674f[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [color=808080][b]sentinel[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/hW4sYg7][color=808080][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [color=808080][b]descendant tower[/b][/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/sup][/center]

[indent][indent][indent][indent][justify][color=808080]Tobias wasn’t entirely sure if he was happy to rip the bandaid off and go first, or if he would have preferred to disappear somewhere in the middle. [i]It was like riding a bike,[/i] he tried telling himself as he pushed off bent knees and stood up. Just like riding a bike with a bullet hole in his shoulder. No big deal. He sighed softly and crossed the room. He opened the door and stood to the side, letting the blonde through before him with a faint smile. 

Zaria offered Tobias a small smile as he opened the door for her, stepping into the room and then pausing, her face going a little slack as her eyebrows raised. She remembered herself after a few seconds, moving at a steady pace toward the large yellow X painted onto the floor with a slight frown. [color=00674F]"We are fighting in the concrete box?"[/color] She glanced at Tobias, clearly confused and a little subdued. She looked around slowly, eyes lingering on the glass window, head tilting to the side some. [color=00674F]"I am a little confused."[/color] Aria admitted, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously. Her mind was still half on cycling through ideas of what she could do, if anything, to try and make up for her blunder to James. 

[color=796e9c]"It won’t look like a concrete box in a minute,"[/color] Tobias replied as he moved to stand beside her on the X. He pointed around the room at the various different camera projector looking devices. [color=796e9c]"I’m not entirely sure how all of it works, but it feels [i]very[/i] real once it starts."[/color] It probably wasn’t the most reassuring thing he could have said, but he thought it was important for Aria to be prepared for whatever was about to be thrown at them. 

[color=d6d6d6]"Thumbs up when you’re both ready,"[/color] Phil’s voice echoed throughout the large room from a hidden speaker.

Tobias held up his left thumb and looked over at the blonde. [color=796e9c]"It’ll be ok. I promise."[/color] He spoke softly with a calmness of familiarity. [color=796e9c]"This’ll be the safest fight you’ve ever been in,"[/color] he offered with a timid smile. 

She smiled in return, raising a thumb, feeling emboldened by Tobias’s kindness.

[color=d6d6d6]"Emergency shut down word is [i]‘watermelon’[/i]. Simulation will begin in 3… 2… 1."[/color]

Like chalk washed away in the rain, the large concrete room and one way mirror melted away. The air grew dry and hot as the temperature increased to what had to be over one hundred degrees. Their surroundings were replaced with the red orange expanse of a desert in every direction. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky as the sun was brutal and unrelenting, beating down on them. As far as Tobias could see there wasn’t a single rock or building for shelter, just the occasional cactus and tumble weed. 

[color=796e9c]"This sucks."[/color] Tobias sighed, squinted, and furrowed his brows. He pulled his hood over his head in an attempt to keep some of the bright sunlight out of his eyes. As his gaze settled, tension rose in his chest as scanned the horizon around them. [color=796e9c]"Where are—"[/color]

[i]Bang.[/i]

A bullet ripped through the air and slammed into Tobias’s left thigh. The impact knocked him to the ground with a pained grunt. He held his leg, staring down at the blinking blue light of the small sensor dart. [i]Fuck[/i], he forgot how bad it hurt. The temptation to rip it off was strong, but he already knew that he’d only injure himself if he tried taking it off before the end of the simulation. He looked around trying to find the source of the shot. At first there was nothing. Then, almost like materializing out of thin air, dozens of men were prone along the desert floor, camouflaged with their guns trained on them. 

Tobias knew it wasn’t going to work, but he tried anyway. He held out his hand and tried to pry the firearms from their hands but they didn’t budge. [i]No metal.[/i] He wasn’t sure how Phil had arranged the training, but if it was like his other attack he wasn’t the target. They’d try to subdue him while focusing their attention on Aria. He looked between the partially hidden mercenaries then back to the blonde beside him, noticing the red dots of their laser sights speckling her white shirt. His gaze fell to the metal of her jewelry and the button of her jeans. He pushed his hand toward Aria, focusing on any metal on her body and shoved her several feet away just as the shots whistled through the air between them. 

Zaria let out a vulgar sounding curse that wasn’t in English, scrambling in the sand for a moment as her senses reoriented after she was essentially ragdolled out of the way. Instinct took over, and a familiar wave of calm washed over her mind and allowed her to think with a firm sense of clarity. Her father had been adamant that his children could hold their own in a fight, and her training growing up had been nothing to scoff at. She kicked her shoes off, rolling in the sand, jerking one hand up, and focusing as she twisted her wrist. She wasn’t half naked in a gas station, this time, she was ready. 

A half translucent green barrier snapped into existence in front of Tobias, a bullet bouncing off of its surface, while a similar barrier formed at her back, wrapping her from head to toe and protecting her vulnerable side as she popped up, bolting towards the mercenary that was between her and Tobias, keeping her body low to the ground as she ran. A bang sounded, another gun firing, and it was only luck that had her shifting the shield, making the bullet ricochet off of its surface rather than hitting her arm, just as she jumped onto her first target. 

A plan was half forming as her drove her fist into the man's head, a surge of energy that was just as green as her force fields surrounded her arm, leaving a shimmering trail behind the movement of her arm, and as it impacted with the man she’d caught off guard, the sand cratered beneath them, a cloud of dust kicking up and obscuring Aria from view for a moment. She skidded across the hot sand, hands digging into it as she came to a stop beside Tobias, breathing a little harder as she raised both hands and the force fields shifted into a small dome that covered them both for a moment. 

[color=00674F]"Is your leg okay?"[/color] Sweat trailed from the side of her face, leaving her uncomfortable and sticky as the sand clung everywhere it could. A few bangs sounded from outside their shield, but they bounced off harmlessly, even if Aria winced each time one impacted. 

Tobias was honestly surprised at how fast Aria went into action. He wasn’t entirely sure what he expected, but someone who could hold their own in a fight was [i]not[/i] it. He should have known better than to underestimate the daughter of Doctor Doom. There was more than one similarity when it came to their lives, so it shouldn’t have been difficult to assume she was molded into a killing machine like himself. He sucked in a sharp breath as he bottled his pain and tossed it to the farthest recesses of his mind. [color=796e9c]"Fine. Forgot how much that hurts."[/color]

It wasn’t until he was standing that Tobias noticed the translucent green dome Aria was holding up. His mind quickly ran through a roulette of possibilities of attack, but half were useless when had little to no metal at his disposal. [color=796e9c]"Keep that up,"[/color] he instructed her before he hooked his leg around hers as an anchor. He closed his eyes and pressed the tips of his fingers into the dirt. His muscles tensed as an invisible sphere pushed out from around him, surrounding them in a bubble of zero-g. Tobias focused on controlling his breathing, grounding himself and tightening his hold on Aria as he felt her start to lift from the ground. 

He watched as various mercenaries charged them. The second they stepped into the anti gravity field, their next step sent them floating into the air. The few that were stupid enough to try and shoot were launched backwards with the kick of their guns. They spun through the air until they were out of range and crashed down with a sickening crunch. Tobias kept one hand firmly in place on the ground while his other palm ran along the dirt feeling for any faint traces of metal and pulling every tiny speck across the desert floor toward him. 

Zaria’s shield flickered only once out of sheer surprise, a strange sort of yelp escaping her throat as her body began to lift from the ground, but then she [i]focused,[/i] pushing the shield out a little further, giving them more space to work with, squeezing her eyes shut so she could refine it properly. She triple checked it for weaknesses, made sure the surface was in a perfect circle around them, unyielding to any force that may challenge it. It wasn’t hard to do, but it took up a lot of her focus, so Aria had to rely on Tobias until she felt that the shield was good enough. 

[color=00674F]"Do we have a plan? Can you use this?"[/color] She paused, closing one of her hands into a tight fist, before letting her other flutter down to her necklace. The tiny little dagger at the end of one of her chains wasn’t just for decoration, it could be used as a weapon in a pinch, which is exactly why she wore it. [color=00674F]"I’d offer the metal in my jeans, but I like having pants."[/color] She grinned, trying to lighten the tension just a little. 

Tobias kept his eyes closed and mind focused as he pulled tiny pieces of metal in the earth toward him. [color=796e9c]"Find a way to get close enough to them so I can—"[/color] His hand froze and eyes snapped open at her offer. He looked over and saw the small dagger that hung around her neck. There was a brief moment where he was surprised he didn’t notice it, but considering what she was wearing, he pointedly kept his gaze anywhere else until that moment. [color=796e9c]"Don’t worry. Your jeans are safe."[/color] With one hand still firmly rooted in the ground, keeping them surrounded in zero-g, he took the dagger in his available palm. It only took a slight nod of his head and he was able to mentally open the clasp of Aria’s necklace, slip the weapon pendant free, then close the chain so it remained around her neck. 

His eyes darted around trying to take a quick count of how many surrounded them. With Aria’s shield he could kill them all in less than a minute with her small gift. And while that was the easy answer, it wouldn’t help anyone, especially not her, if he ended it quicker than it began without giving her a chance to stretch her legs. If it was an actual attack he wouldn’t hesitate, but it wasn’t. Tobias was quickly learning that he needed to keep something metal on him at all times, even if it was just a bracelet. But he came into training unencumbered, as requested, so he was going to try his best to keep himself weakened for the sake of learning and adapting. 

[color=796e9c]"Plan B,"[/color] he nodded toward Aria while slipping the small dagger into his pocket. Tobias nodded his head toward one of the men who was running toward them. [color=796e9c]"When he goes up in the air I’m dropping zero-g and charging him."[/color] It wasn’t much of a plan, but it’d give him a couple seconds to close the distance and get his gun… [i]Hopefully.[/i] Then he’d improvise.

Zaria nodded once, sucking in a breath and holding it. She focused, gathering energy to the soles of her feet, waiting for the moment the man went into the air, and then the zero-g dropped, and when Tobias moved she used the collected energy to launch herself high into the air. The dome around them snapped out of existence, but a different shield formed behind him, protecting his back. The sight of her clearing fifteen feet into the air distracted most of the gunmen enough to give Tobias an opening, guns training on her, and she shifted the placement of force fields a second before the first gun went off, blocking the dart that would have hit her chest as gravity returned and she began a swift decent back to the ground. 

She clenched her teeth, bending her knees as she fell, and refocused the force field five feet from the ground, landing on it and rolling off before she could get shot, hitting the sand hard and popping up without a second's hesitation. The green shimmer formed around her fist, and when her hit connected to the nearest goon he went flying away. Zaria grinned, but the expression flattered as a gun rang out and pain burst along her side. She dropped to the ground with a yelp of pain, scrambling to the side as another dart slammed into the ground near her head, sending the grit of it into her eyes. Panic rose up inside of her, and she lifted her hand on instinct, eyes connecting with the gaze of the man who was pointing his gun at her. 

It happened so quickly nothing but pure adrenaline guided her, the force field formed back into existence, wrapping in a tight ball around the man. Aria squeezed her hand into a fist, the green walls closing in around him smaller and smaller, until his body popped in a mess of gore, contained by the translucent green walls until she dropped them. She grimaced, turning away from the sight and trying not to heave up her breakfast. 

Tobias pushed off the ground, ignoring the surge of pain in his leg as he sprinted at the man in free fall. The mercenary hit the ground with a heavy thud and the snap of his spine. Tobias skidded to the ground, sliding up beside the dead man and stole his gun. [i]Bang. Bang. Bang.[/i] Three of the closest men collapsed before he heard Aria’s cry of pain. He rolled to the side, dodging incoming shots as they flew past him. He looked up just in time to see a man get squeezed and popped like a tube of toothpaste while the blonde laid on the ground holding her side. He quickly unloaded the clip, knocking down seven more men that approached her. They weren’t all kill shots, but they fell to the ground. 

Focused on protecting her, Tobias didn’t hear the goon approaching him from behind. A flash of deja vu flooded his mind as he felt the cold collar press into the back of his neck. Before it could snap shut, he threw his head back into the groin of the man behind him. His left hand waved in front of his pocket, pulling the tiny dagger from beneath the fabric. With a flick of his finger it flew through the air, cutting into the attacker’s ear, burrowing through his brain and then popped out the other side. [color=796e9c]"So much for plan B,"[/color] he grumbled before sending the small necklace pendant soaring through the air toward the mercenaries behind him, whipping, cutting and slashing through each and every one of them until they lied motionless on the desert floor.

[color=00674F]"Sorry,"[/color] Aria pushed herself up, glancing around wearily and taking note of all the fallen enemies. The simulation didn’t drain away though, they were still under the scorching sun with sand in more places than she’d ever wanted. It wasn’t over, was it? She squinted in the brightness, searching for something, not sure what it was, until she saw the glint in the distance. Her breath caught, and her body moved on its own, shoving off of the sand and jerking in front of Tobias without even thinking. The sniper took the shot, and the dart dug into her thigh. [color=00674F][i]"Te ia mama dracu,"[/i][/color] the words hissed from her lips, accent thick, and while one part of Zaria hoped no one else knew Romanian, she focused on slapping her hands together. The force field manifested above and below the sniper, smooshing him down like a pancake. 

Tobias made his way toward her, looking around cautiously. Then there was a shot and she dove in front of him. Reflexively, he reached out, grabbing Aria by the waist and stablizing her before she could fall over. He grimaced watching the sniper flattened far off in the distance. And then he waited… But the simulation persisted. [color=796e9c]"What are we missing?"[/color] He asked as his hands slowly released her once she could stand on her own. Remaining at the ready, the tiny dagger hovered in the air over his right palm, spinning slowly while he subtly moved his fingers. As if on cue there was a quiet groan from behind them as one of the men laying on the ground writhed. Tobias flicked his fingers, sending the metal pendant zipping through the air and slit the man’s throat in less than a second. 

The desert started melting away, the bright sky was replaced with dull grey concrete. The blue blinking lights of the darts shut off before they fell to the ground. Whatever pain had been radiating through Tobias’s leg ceased immediately. The small dagger fell into the palm of his hand, coating his skin in the slick fake blood. Using the hem of his shirt, he cleaned the pendant off as best as he could before using his abilities to unclasp Aria’s necklace, slip the charm back onto the chain and latch it shut. [color=796e9c]"Thanks,"[/color] he spoke quietly, looking over at her with a slight smile. 

[color=00674F]"No problem, I–"[/color] her hand had rose up to wipe away from of the sweat still on her brow, disgusted to realize she was drenched and in desperate need for [i]another[/i] shower, before a strange and fleeting idea crossed her mind. Her mouth fell open to form a perfect O, eyes lighting up. [color=00674F][i]"Poptarts!"[/i][/color] Her hands clapped together sharply, a look of pure and utter excitement crossing her face, before she schooled her expression and offered a rueful grin to Tobias. [color=00674F]"Sorry, good to work with you, we don’t make a bad team in a pinch."[/color] She gave him a small salute, turning toward the door. 

His brows rose and a soft chuckle slipped from his lips at Aria’s random exclamation but he didn’t ask. Tobias nodded his head with a lopsided smile at her new found excitement and salute. [color=796e9c]"Back at you."[/color] He slipped his hands into the pockets of his shorts as he followed after her. Once again, he held open the door for her then trailed behind her as they exited the simulation room.

[color=d6d6d6]"Well done,"[/color] Phil praised them with a small nod before turning his attention back toward the control panel. 

Tobias returned the nod with a tight lipped smile as he made his way back to his seat without a word. While he didn’t love going first, he could rest assured knowing that at least him and Aria passed. It wasn’t without some minor setbacks, but a win was a win. He did learn a couple things from their training. One, that there was a lot more to Aria than what meets the eye and that he needed to invest in a metal bracelet or necklace… Something to have on himself in case he’s ever in a bind.[/color][/justify][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

[center][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img]
[color=808080][b]interactions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]mentions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] james [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]collabs[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [@Mjolnir][/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/sup][/center]