Miss Romanoff-Barton

Training and SOs

I hope you guys enjoy!

Alexa's POV

Agent May looks mad.

Liam and I waited for ten minutes before the other trainees showed up. Rushing in like a flock of scared sheep. And they should be scared by the look on her face.

Once they'd all congregated on the fighting mats she spoke.

"You're all late."

Some kids shuffle nervously.

"If you want to become a SHIELD agent, you're off to a very poor start. Every day, I expect you to be here at 7am sharp. Anyone who is late will be removed from the course."

Not once did she raise her voice above a normal speaking level and yet the entire gym was silent.

"Now" she commands, causing someone to jump. "In pairs you will do a combat round. Full contact. If I see anyone slacking off or not using full contact you will be cleaning the mats for a week."

May picked two trainees and the fights began.

As they fight, I watch carefully and evaluate my peers. Many were timid with their strength; others were cocky and tried to assume their partner's next move. Usually, wrong.

A female trainee ends her match with a punch to her opponent's face and they both stumble off the mat.

"Alright, Agent Romanoff-Barton and Agent Lynch."

Liam and I step onto the mat.

We both fall into fighting stances and start to circle, not breaking eye contact.

I wait patiently for him to make the first move. And not a moment later he swings his right leg swiftly towards the side of my head.

I intercept and step underneath, sending a punch straight to the inside of his knee.

He recovers quickly and twists unexpectedly, his fist finding my ribs.

He doesn't hold back. Good. I double over in reaction and he takes advantage, his right hook connecting with my jaw.

We trade punches, kicks and blocks for another ten seconds before I send a hook kick to his side, causing him to spin, a push kick to the back puts him on one knee.

Without bothering to look backwards he takes a swipe at my legs. As a reflex I flip over him as he stands up. Landing in front of him.

I push his shoulders backwards and he lands with a slight groan. Before he can blink, I've straddled his waist and pinned him to the floor.

I look down and grin, surprised to see him grinning back.

"I win" I say happily, before standing quickly after realising our position, and stick out a hand to help him up.

Before I have the chance to realise my mistake, he grabs my offered wrist and flips me to the ground beside him.

We clamber up laughing and stumble off the mat before sitting down ungracefully as May chooses another pair.

"You're quite good" I say in comment.

"I know"

"Almost as good as me"

A punch to my shoulder sends us laughing again.

Our attention is drawn back to the match taking place as it ends spectacularly, with one of the opponents passing out.

May clears her throat, bringing all quiet conversation to halt.

"The senior agents that have elected to be your Supervising Officers were watching your performances and will now select their trainees."

Chatter erupts as we all stand up, and is silenced just as quickly when the SOs walk in.