Switching Sides

Swing Away

"Let's start," Sendak hummed, clicking the button on the remote for the machine. He'd requested some more comfortable clothes for Katie and for the paladins and blade to wait outside of the training room and instead in the observatory of it.

Luckily they'd obliged to both so Katie could hopefully operate at her peak performance.

The paladins and blade were watching, able to see exactly what speed Katie was going at as well on a screen.

Sendak started her at the altean equivalent of ten miles an hour, already practically a sprint normally. Shiro could maybe handle it but it would be pushing it, yet Katie was taking it as a light run.

"What the hell.." Keith whispered, he'd used that machine plenty of times, and he could only go that fast at the peak of his run, never at the beginning.

"She's quick." Shiro frowned, "really.. really quick.."

He recognized how much of a threat Katie could possibly be, human or not. He'd seen what the galra could do to people, what they made people become.

"Seems like the prosthetic is connected.." Hunk smiled, "that means she's okay! I wonder if that's the only test that he's going to do-"

"Faster." Sendak ordered suddenly, increasing the speed from 10 to 20.

Katie took it in stride, barely breathing any harder as she ran.

Everyone really thought he'd stop at that, but he didn't.

"Faster." Sendak said again, the speed going up again.

Katie kept up, shoes slapping against the rubber equivalent floor of the machine and her chest rising and falling with each deep breath she took.

Her pace was incredible, her ability to match the speed was incredible. However, it wasn't anything new to Shiro, Sendak, or Kolivan.

They'd all seen what the cybernetic parts the galra created could do, and increased speed was barely anything. They'd easily turned a lost arm into a deadly weapon after all.

"Faster." Sendak said again, Katie doing as she was told.

It was starting to get hard, she was breathing heavier, and the paladins could see her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Faster."

Katie was sweating a bit now, working hard to keep her breathing consistent and keep up with the pace her guardian was giving her.

"Faster."

"Holy shit, I think that's enough!" Keith growled, starting to go down to the training room.
"Katie's prosthetic is connected!"

Katie was able to keep up though, the change a bit jarring and causing her to almost slip, but she managed and Sendak didn't keep her at that speed for long.

He slowed her down bit by bit, making sure it was a smooth transition back to a light jog.

Ironically, that was where Katie seemed to struggle, like forcing her legs to move at a more controlled pace was more difficult.

"The systems are firing correctly up top, but down here-" Sendak tapped the port along her mid back, "they're firing too fast for you to go at a moderate speed."

"Great.." Katie grumbled, eventually slowing to a stop and stepping off the track.

Keith was down there by then, the two finally meeting eyes for the first time. It was as if a fucking flame lit in Keith's heart, seeing Katie again made all his feeling for her rush back harder than ever-though it wasn't like they'd ever really left.