Theresa Sparks & Raynor Blake
Location: S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy - Building Two: Training Facilities
Agent Blake was actually looking forward to helping out with training the Phase Three team. Director Fury had approached him to become part of the program and while initially he hadn't been interested, that had changed quickly. He sat in the empty training room over in building two, tossing a ball of light in his hands around as he waited for his student so show up - Theresa Sparks, apparently called just plain old Sparky by just about everyone.
Sparky wasn't too sure what to think of this whole training situation. She wasn't much for combat or anything, but that didn't really matter, since it was expected of her in some way. Walking into the room, she saw Agent Blake and nodded towards him,
"Hello there sir," she said, managing to stay somewhat calm as she spoke to him. She didn't really know him, only having really talked to him when she came out of the Framework, but she was in the same room as him, so it didn't really matter now.
Raynor raised an eyebrow, looking at her. While he was a senior agent in comparison to all of the cadets, he never was quite accustomed to being called
sir. There were other things that he had been called - other titles and honors that had been given to him, but he preferred to not dwell on them too much. He had come here in order to secure his future, not to relive his past.
"No need to call me sir," Raynor said with a smile. He drew a
dagger from his belt, twirling it as he showed it to Sparky.
"This is what I learned to channel my powers with - his name is Lyting," he then held the dagger out to Sparky.
"Uh... Okay then," she said, looking at the dagger. Sparky wondered why he was telling her about this dagger and holding it out to her, but it was definitely not something she generally saw lying around. It was an interesting weapon, and she took it from him,
"It is definitely an interesting dagger... Where did you get it?" she asked, handing it back to him.
"Abilities run in my family," Raynor explained, giving her a smile.
"But if you listen to Lyting, he can help you to channel your powers, like this..." Raynor raised the dagger and it started to glow with a soft yellow light, before a blast of light went off, hitting the dead center of a target across the room. The light had solidified and the target was smoking, with a gigantic hole where it had hit.
"Now you try." "I don't know if I'll be able to hit the target... I tried, but it wasn't very easy, didn't take someone out until in the simulation he killed me... I don't think it'll be so simple to be able to shoot the target like that, but I'll try, I guess..." she said, before electricity started to dance along her fingertips. A moment later, she sent a blast of electricity flying at the target, slamming into the middle of it. It looked burnt slightly where the blast had hit it, and she was a little surprised that she had managed to hit it.
Raynor couldn't help but be impressed, his eyes widening. He had assumed that she would need Lyting to assist her in channeling her powers, but he put the dagger away. No wonder Fury had been having Agent Romanoff work with her on strategy. She had raw power and natural talent at this sort of thing.
"So I need to rethink everything I was going to teach you today..." Raynor mused.
She nodded, wondering what he had planned on originally.
"Sorry if I kind of messed up what you were planning..." she muttered, and she started hovering a few inches off the ground now. It tended to happen slightly when she wasn't paying attention, or if she got nervous about something, no matter what she did.
"Don't be sorry for being exceptional," Raynor said bluntly. He walked off to the side, grabbing a bag that the Ultimate Frisbee team used.
"I want you to either catch or zap these, okay?" he said, throwing one up in the air. He figured she could either fly to get it or she could zap it. Either way, he imagined that she was about to exceed all expectations again. And she wasn't even from Operations. She reminded him of the Rogers experiment.
"Uh, okay then, sure..." she said, before she sent a shot of electricity flying at the Frisbee. The bolt slammed into it and it fell to the ground. She hadn't noticed that she was hovering, and stumbled backwards slightly and fell to the ground, not used to shooting at something without her feet on the ground.
Raynor surrounded her with light, slowing her down and breaking her fall. He deposited her onto the ground gently and released her only once he was certain that she had become steady on her feet.
"Your electricity seems amazing - just need some work with the flying," he explained.
"Fortunately, my powers let me cheat a little bit, so I can fly with you..." He then grabbed a small soft ball, the kind used by little kids for dodgeball, and held it up.
"Let's play catch." "I uh... I kind of forgot I wasn't on the ground..." she said, blushing slightly, she really did need to work on her flying, and doing something while she was in the air. It wasn't very easy for her, that is for sure, but she'd try her best.
"Alright, let's do that..." she said, before she took off into the air.
"It's alright, you're still learning - it took me decades to figure out my powers," Raynor said with a laugh. He surrounded himself with light and lifted himself up into the air, tossing her the ball gently. It was a pretty easy throw and he was mostly wanting to help her become accustomed to moving in the air. It was different than fighting on the ground, with one's sense of balance pretty much being completely ruined.
"...Decades? How old are you?" she asked as she tried to catch the ball, problem was, she couldn't figure out the right way to move, in order to easily be able to grab it. Sparky tried to catch it, but it slipped through her arms and she kind of spun around slightly when she moved to grab it.
"I got my powers very young," Raynor said with a shrug.
"How old do you think I am?" he asked. He suspended the ball with light, holding it up for her so that way she could take hold of it without hurting herself. He didn't want her to break her spine trying to grab at it. In his opinion, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s medical facilities were lacking.
"Uh, well... You look close to the same age as me... I don't know how old to guess for you though..." she said with a slight shrug. Once again, she blushed slightly as she reached up and grabbed the ball so that she could toss it back to him. When she threw the ball, she kind of spun slightly in the air again, but she managed to get the ball close to where he was so he'd be able to catch it.
Raynor caught it with ease, giving her a smile. He ignored the question as to his age, figuring that it wasn't important. However, a bit of idle conversation would be good for her. Whether or not Sparky realized it or not, she was making her job a lot harder by talking during this. It split her attention between the tasks, causing her to have to have even better control to remain in the air.
"No need to be embarrassed - you're doing well," he reassured her, noticing her blush as he tossed the ball back.
"Uh, well... I don't feel like I'm doing well at this... Considering I keep spinning around in the air and not staying steady..." she said, before she tried to catch the ball again. This time, she managed to swoop over and catch the ball somewhat easily. However, when she grabbed it, she ended up falling somewhat, but managed to catch herself in the air and fly back upwards. There was a slight problem when she throw the ball back to him. She managed to send it flying towards him rather easily, however, she completely lost her concentration when it came to staying airborne and plummeted towards the ground, falling out of the air.
"I didn't expect you to stay airborne at all," Raynor explained, his eyes widening as she started to plummet. Instead of grabbing her with light, he flew forward himself and grabbed her, cradling her easily in his arms. Her face was a few inches away from his and he blushed slightly, just waiting to see how she was feeling.
"Do you want to lie down?" he asked her softly, worried that she might have overdone it.
"Uh... N-N-No, I'm fine," she said, her face bright red as she found that she couldn't stop blushing. It was a little strange, seeing that they were so close together, especially since she noticed that he was blushing as well.
"We can keep trying, I-I-I will be fine..." "You're blushing," Raynor said softly, giving her a bit of a crooked smile before he set her down gently, making sure that she had her footing before he let go of her. He was used to women blushing around him - apparently he was quite attractive - but he hardly ever had any interest in them. Most of them were liars, speaking nothing but falsehoods, and it aggravated him. He could always tell when someone was lying to him. It was his curse.
"Y-Y-Yeah? Well you were too..." she said, taking a few deep breaths and she managed to lessen her blushing, but she still was a little bit.
"A-A-Anyway, let's go..." she said, before she moved away slightly and took off into the air again.
Raynor just chuckled a bit, flashing her another grin as he went back into the air again. He tossed the ball over to her gently, noticing the way that she continued to blush and stammer. He had had a small suspicion that something like this would happen, yet he couldn't deny that he felt something as well. The blood in his body was rushing and he honestly couldn't have said how long they had already been in there, training.
"I heard Fury's having you work with Romanoff," he mentioned, attempting to change the subject.
"Uh yeah... He is..." she said, managing to stop stammering as she flew over and caught the ball, this time having no trouble staying in the air this time. She threw it and it went straight at him, and she was completely stable this time around, having no problems.
"Nice throw," Raynor complimented. He tossed it back at her, figuring that once she got the hang of this, they'd move up to the next challenge. At the moment, she was just largely staying in place, but she wouldn't be just hovering for the majority of the fights she'd be in, as much as his stomach twisted with displeasure at that thought. He'd have her dodge the ball next. And once she understood that, it'd be up to her to hit him with it.
"Uh, thanks..." she said, before she caught the ball and managed to stay steady once again. It was becoming easier for her to not have problems staying airborne now, which was probably a good thing. Once again, she managed to toss the ball back without any sort of issues.
The first day, they had largely just thrown the ball back and forth, until Raynor had determined that Sparky was pretty adept at keeping her balance when she wasn't moving. He knew that he ought to train her with her electricity, but she hadn't shown any difficulties with that. Lyting hadn't even been needed, a fact that continued to surprise him. As she entered the room for their next training session, he was already in the air waiting for her.
"Today, we're going to be working on moving while in the air," he explained, holding up a traditional dodgeball this time.
"Your goal is to not get hit." Sparky nodded when she walked into the room, she expected them to try and move around or something while in the air, it probably was going to be more difficult than the day before, but she expected it to be that way, so it wasn't surprising.
"Well, let's get going then," she said, taking off into the air.
Raynor threw the dodgeball at her, aiming for her stomach. She managed to dodge out of the way of the dodgeball, just barely though as she felt the wind rush by her from where it had gone. She spun around as she tried to stay steady in the air again, thankfully not falling, but it was hard to stay steady when you were moving.
"Focus on your center," Raynor advised her.
"You can't act like you're on the ground when you move in the air...The air isn't going to be there to catch your feet, so your stability comes from your center of gravity." He had the ball return to him with light and he tossed it at her again, aiming for her head this time.
"Alright... I've got it... I think..." she sad as she watched the ball come flying at her again. She wasn't quite fast enough to dodge out of the way of the ball, as it slammed into her head. However, despite how much it kind of hurt, she was able to steady herself in the air, not falling.
Raynor winced slightly, seeing her get hit with the ball but she took it like a trooper.
"Alright, new idea...Since I really don't want to explain to Jim why you got a concussion..." Raynor flew over to the small music dock in the training area and soon, a familiar song would fill the room -
the YMCA song. "Try doing the moves to this without losing your balance." "...Please tell me you are joking... I already make somewhat of a fool of myself when I'm in the air..." she muttered, more focused on staying in the air instead of falling to the ground. She wasn't too sure about doing any sort of movements, she didn't trust herself to not fall from the air again. Though she wasn't sure if she'd be mad about it if he caught her again.
He shook his head.
"I'm not one for dancing, but my cousin was...And it was almost the other song, the macarena. A lot of agents and individuals we identify with flight powers are trained this way," he explained.
"If it makes you feel better, I'll be making a fool of myself dancing as well." "I uh... I don't dance, like... Ever..." she muttered, looking down and floating back down towards the ground. She didn't really like making a fool of herself in front of anyone, or doing anything of the sort like that, she was a bit of a wallflower. She'd actually prefer being hit by a dodgeball than dancing randomly.
"...Alright," Raynor relented. He didn't like the idea of her getting hurt with another dodgeball, but if she wouldn't do the injury free method, he just had to make do and work with her. He picked up the dodgeball and chucked it at her chest this time, watching to see what she would do.
She wasn't really prepared for the dodgeball, she hadn't even really been looking at Raynor, she had been looking at the floor. When Sparky did look up, she barely managed to dodge out of the way of the ball, and somehow even with how little she had been prepared for it, she had managed to stay steady, not falling.
"You need to keep your eyes on your opponent at all times," Raynor said gently.
"Look away and it gives them an opportunity to strike - and it could cost you your life. You're special, Sparks...I don't want to see you end up dead like Rivera." He then threw another dodgeball at her, flying high above her.
"...Why do you think I'm special... I'm no one important, sure I did do better than several people in the Framework or something, but I'm not one special..." she said as she managed to dodge out of the way of the ball again as she flew up higher after him, managing not to fall still.
Raynor held onto the dodgeball, looking at her sadly. It broke his heart to hear her not realize that she was incredibly special.
"Most of the people in the world that think they're important - they aren't," Raynor said bluntly.
"They aren't like you. You're an engineer who signed up for a dangerous experiment, fought nobly in the Framework, and has a natural gift for powers...There's a reason why Fury's taken an interest in you, Sparks. And if I'm going to be honest, there's a reason why he asked me to make sure that I train you." "...There's a reason Fury asked you to train me or whatever? That's a little weird... I still don't get how I'm so different from everyone else... But it doesn't really matter either way..." she said as she managed to fly up level with him. This whole thing that he was talking about made no sense to her whatsoever, but there wasn't much else she could do.
"Everyone here is unique," was all Raynor would say, as he threw another dodgeball at her, clearly indicating that that line of conversation was over. He was under orders to keep certain pieces of information from certain individuals. He knew things about just about everyone currently in the program, a lot of it coming to light after the anti-HYDRA screening that was conducted after Rivera's death. Some of it was amusing - some heartbreaking - and some just bizarre.
"Why don't you say more about it?" she asked softly, dodging out of the way of the dodgeball again. However, like the day before, she ended up spinning around, and falling yet again. She might have just been getting lucky before, but there wasn't much else she could do about it, as she failed to catch herself again.
Raynor caught her in his arms again, saying nothing as he looked into her eyes for a moment. He was very much aware of the physical proximity, the way her hair seemed to shine in the lights - though that could have just been from her sweating - and how sturdy she felt.
"Why do you want me to tell you why you're special? You're special because you're you." "I-I don't know... I just find it weird that you are wanting to just change the subject randomly..." she said, blushing slightly when she looked at him. It was weird, there was something about him that she couldn't quite place, and there wasn't much else she could do. Right now she was focused on not stammering so much when she spoke to him or something.
He hadn't let go of her.
"I need to help you with your powers, Sparks..." he explained softly. It was a half lie. There were other things that he just couldn't discuss with her - not yet. S.H.I.E.L.D. was an organization based on secrets and intelligence - but as much as they gathered information, protecting information was an equal part of their job.
"If you say so..." she managed to say, but she did notice that he hadn't let go of her. It was still a little weird to her, being in his arms, and she found Raynor to be an interesting person, for the most part anyway. She just went along with it, falling silent. A knock on the door broke the silence. It was time for the next group's training session and Raynor let go of her, setting her down gently.
"Same time tomorrow, agent," he said, clearing his throat slightly.
"O-O-Okay," she stammered, still blushing slightly as she headed out the door.
Raynor took a deep breath, clearing his head as he was getting ready for his final training lesson with Agent Sparks of the week. After this, who knew if he'd get a chance to work with her again - as much as he wanted to. There had to be a line when it came to being a professional and he knew the S.H.I.E.L.D. policy on relations between agents.
"So...How are you feeling about your abilities?" Raynor asked, looking over at her.
"Still not positive in my abilities, but a lot better than a few days ago..." she said, managing to keep calm and not freak out about seeing him again or something. This had definitely been a weird past few days for her, and she knew that aside from her training with her powers, she doubted anything would come of it.
"Well, if you still need help, I can request to work with you for another week..." Raynor offered, looking away from her. He was worried that if he made eye contact with Sparky, he wouldn't be able to concentrate. And today was the day that he needed to be able to focus, as he was going to have her combine her two powers together in something similar to combat. He liked his hair the way it was and didn't want to get shocked by being too distracted to dodge if things went wrong.
"Okay," she said, nodding her head. Though Sparky did notice that Raynor had purposefully looked away from her, and it made her feel a little sad, the fact that he seemed to be trying to avoid anything or whatever. Not like something was going to happen at all anyway, and Fury likely would get pissed if something did happen between the two of them.
"Alright, I'll uh...I'll make it happen," he said, forcing himself to not sound too excited at the prospect. He grabbed his dagger - Lyting - and set it aside, purposefully disarming himself for this session.
"So today, you're going to be flying and then shooting bolts of electricity at things I'm throwing...If you can't hit them, dodge them," he explained, jumping up into the air himself. He tried not to pay attention to how good her hair smelled or the way it caught the lights of the room.
Sparky nodded her head, and took off into the air after him. Based on what he had told her about his dagger, she was kind of glad that he wasn't using it, especially if when he channeled his powers through it, they might be more powerful or something. That is if he decided to use his powers, he might just throw more things at her. Raynor looked at her, losing his focus for a moment before he shook his head again.
Focus, damn it! he told himself. He grabbed a dodgeball - something easy for starters - and threw it at her, waiting to see what she'd do. Rubber wouldn't conduct electricity, but she should be able to use the force of it to knock it out of her way.
She was trying to focus as well, and thankfully she had pulled it off, flying around the ball that had been sent her way and she managed to stay in the air without too much effort. Sparky looked over at Raynor again, but she wasn't having the best time trying to focus. She wondered how her sisters would react, seeing her having problems focusing because of some guy. They probably would mock her for all eternity.
Raynor then grabbed a five pound weight, looking at Sparky for a moment. He really didn't want to throw this at her, but he knew that she'd see a lot worse thrown her way before her career as an agent was over. It took every ounce of self control, but he chucked the weight at her, aiming for her shin.
"Focus, a-agent," Raynor stammered - partially giving himself that command again.
"I know..." she managed to say, though she noticed that he had stammered as he had spoken the two words. She just barely managed to lift her foot in time for the weight to soar underneath her, dodging out of the way. She stumbled slightly in the air, but was still able to stay airborne, but her focus was pretty much shot, it was becoming somewhat of a problem for her.
"Alright, try shooting sparks," Raynor advised, blushing furiously as he threw a frisbee in her direction, figuring it would be pretty easy for her to deflect with her powers. It was headed towards her head, so she'd need to move as well as strike, allowing her to truly combine those two powers. But all he could think about was how pretty her hair was as it flowed in the air.
She nodded, as she sent sparks flying at the Frisbee. The electricity slammed into it, but she wasn't quite fast enough to dodge out of the way of the disc and it hit her in the head, but she was easily able to stay airborne this time, not even stumbling in the slightest.
"Try again," he encouraged her, picking up another frisbee and tossing it her way.
This time around, she wasn't exactly prepared for it, as she tried to shoot electricity, but there was nothing but a few sparks. She managed to dodge out of the way, but she stumbled and flipped around, before she started falling towards the ground, finding it hard to get back into the air as she fell.
Raynor caught her in his arms again, but it still sent goosebumps all over his body, as if it was the first time he had done this for her.
"Do you...do you need to take a water break?" he asked her, struggling to speak.
"Uh, N-N-No... I think I'm alright..." she stammered out, noticing how close they were to one another, and now she couldn't stop kind of staring at him. She just stared at him, knowing that it was probably a little weird, but she couldn't help it. Raynor stared back at her, finding himself unable to look away as well. It was like it was magnetic and the longer she stared at him, the more he couldn't help but look back at her, getting lost in her gorgeous dark brown eyes.
"Uh..." she stammered, unable to find the words to go with her thoughts. She knew that they should probably get back to training, but she was finding it almost impossible to say a complete sentence now. It was weird, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She just stared back at him, not able to look away.
"D-do....do you want me to put you down?" Raynor asked softly.
"N-N-No... Preferably not..." Sparky replied, not being able to stop from stuttering, not to mention her face was bright red since she was blushing a lot.
Raynor held her a little bit closer, before he closed the distance between them and kissed her passionately. He could just feel all of the tension release and simultaneously build, tasting her lips -
cherry? he noted absentmindedly. Needless to say, they weren't going to get much more training completed at all...
Sparky kissed him back, unsure of what exactly to think. They were supposed to be training, but instead, this happened. She hadn't expected something like this to happen, and she knew that it was possible that they'd get in trouble if someone found out considering the policies about relationships with other agents, but that didn't matter to her. She didn't care, and was happy to be there in his arms.
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