Get Back Up » Quicksilver

chapter seven

07 x train 'em up 

>>

"I don't get why we have to practice without powers," Ev grumbled, blowing stray hairs out of her face as she glowered at me. "I can take a man down in two seconds with a vine that I summon -- which normal people cannot do -- so why do I need to know how to do it in other ways?"

I was doing my best not to get overly frustrated with both Peter and Evangeline. Pietro and I had been running them through hand-to-hand combinations for the past two hours. We'd declared it a power free time, and so far, Peter was doing better than I expected, and Evangeline was probably two seconds away from hating to me. 

"Because you cannot rely on your powers forever," I stated, my voice flat. "Before my powers developed, I wasn't defenseless. I learned how to fight, because I knew there wasn't always going to be someone around to defend me. What're you going to do if you encounter a machine that takes your powers away and you still have to get out of a bad situation, Rushing?"

"I've had to deal with that, actually," Peter muttered under his breath, so quiet I almost missed it. I shot him a quick, curious look, but when he didn't make any move to continue, I turned back to Evangeline.

"Given I don't think a power-stealing machine exists, I don't see why I should have to worry about it," Evangeline said sourly. She turned sharp green eyes to Pietro again. "Come at me again."

He gave her an unimpressed look. "I should warn you, Evangeline, if you use your powers, I will use mine."

Ev scowled. "I'm not going to, Pietro. Just . . . come at me."

I watched as Pietro lunged at Ev. She parried effectively that time, diverting his energy, before taking a jab at him. Unfortunately for her, he was prepared with a counter attack, and Evangeline Rushing once more found herself on the ground.

I turned to Peter. "You wanna spar again?" I asked him. We'd decided it would be easier to do boy-girl pairings, given the fact that every other time before now, it had been Pietro and I each mentoring the younger heroes one on one, him with Peter, me with Ev. I liked Ev. She was a good kid. She was a good fighter. She was very determined, but she was also very . . . bad at listening. I supposed it made sense, given I was the same way, but I was also pretty sure I pulled it off better.

"Nah, not yet," Peter said, shaking his head and twisting over another water bottle. "Think I'm gonna finish off two more of these. Hydration's important, after all," he said, before promptly beginning to guzzle said water.

On the bright side, Peter was less stubborn, and more likely to listen. Apparently his powers had developed later than Evangeline's, so he had no issue with seeing the reason behind knowing how to defend oneself without super powers.

"You do that," I said with a quiet sigh, before turning back to watch Pietro and Evangeline.

Unfortunately, they hadn't moved from their positions I'd last seen. Well, Pietro had moved back about a foot. But Evangeline was still on the floor, and though the look on her face conveyed evident anger, there was a slight gloss over her eyes that proved just how tired she actually was. "I'm done," she grumbled, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling, her copper curls splaying out around her head. "Done, done, done. Peter, carry me to my room."

Pietro looked to me helplessly, spreading his arms in an 'out of my hands' gesture.

I counted to ten in my head, hoping that would help ward off the impending light-burst in my veins, before marching straight past Pietro and towering over Evangeline. I extended a hand, my face set in stone, not a doubt in my mind that my eyes were glowing gold. "Get back up," I demanded of Evangeline, my exterior not altering in the slightest.

"I don't want to do this any more, Megan. Can't we just be done for the day?" Ev whined.

I didn't move. "No. We cannot. And you know why? Because this is not what being a hero is about. You were a vigilante before, you worked on your own schedule, you didn't have to take on every villain that ever came through the city," I said harshly. "You're going to get back up right now, because you will learn this even if it kills me. This is what it takes to be a hero, Evangeline. Now . . . get. Up."

Evangeline blinked at me owlishly, and looked like she was about to tear up, when she reached out and accepted my hand. I pulled her up, and looked her in the eyes calmly, as she took in a sharp breath and then finally spoke. "I'm . . . I'm sorry. I--"

"I know," I said, smiling slightly. "It's hard. But you wanna do this, you go all in." I looked over at Peter. "Both of you."

"I'm all in," Peter volunteered instantly, getting back to his feet.

I looked to Evangeline then, and watched as a small smile curved her lips. "So am I. I'll . . . be better from now on."

"Not better," I corrected. "More into it, that'll work."

She gave a quiet laugh. "I think I can manage that."

"Great," Pietro said jovially, clapping his hands together. "Want to go for another round?"

"Not now," a very familiar captain's voice interrupted then, drawing all of our eyes to the doorway. "We've got a situation in the city. Megan, Pietro, I need both of you with me."

"Really, Cap?" Pietro asked skeptically. "You are the one who put us on training duty. You cannot take Stark and Rhodes with you to clear this up?"

"Seriously, Steve," I said, giving him a look. He was all suited up and everything, and his being here . . . didn't make a lot of sense.

Except before he could answer . . . another Steve Rogers came in. Except this Steve Rogers was dressed like Steve Rogers, not Captain America, and he looked at the other him, then to the four of us, then approached the other him. "Okay . . . I'd say I've seen weirder, but . . ."