Atlas | Avatar!OC x Bucky Barnes

5 - Tattoos

Monday, May 11th

Atlas's first AP exam was smooth sailing. Physics was her best and favourite subject, so it was no surprise that Atlas answered every question with confidence and accuracy. Atlas was ninety-nine percent sure she got a five, but she wouldn't know any of her scores until July. "That was kind of easy," Atlas said as she and Peter walked out of school together.

"Yeah. Kind of," Peter said with the same tone. "I have to go. I'll call you later?" the boy asked. Atlas got the hint and knew that Peter had some Spiderman duties to attend to, so she nodded in amusement and waved goodbye as he ran off, secretly rooting for her friend's secret identity.

~

4:30 pm

Atlas readily walked into the training facilities to see Natasha pinning Clint to the ground. The man grunted as he tapped out, and Natasha let him out of the headlock she had him in. Atlas found it nice to see another woman who was greatly underestimated by many people always ending up on top. And it was nice that she was surrounded by people that were taught not to underestimate anyone, including Atlas herself. The girl smirked at Natasha, who stepped off the slightly elevated floor while Clint was catching his breath. Atlas let out a small smile from her enjoyment which caught Natasha's eye. Natasha walked up to the youngest trainee, "Have you ever had any combat training?" the assassin asked.

Atlas slowly started to nod, "I used to train in combat all the time when I was a kid. I haven't sparred in a while, though," Atlas informed Natasha. Natasha nodded in response and gestured for Atlas to follow her. Atlas did as Natasha said but got nervous when the redhead stepped up onto the sparring mat.

"Let's see what you got," Natasha smirked. Atlas smirked right back. The airbender knew for a fact that she was stronger than Natasha. Atlas's overall form was broader than the Black Widow's and sculpted with more muscle. But Atlas figured that her technique probably didn't compare to the assassins. Atlas smiled and shook her head as she pulled her sweater off, leaving her in a training bra, revealing the intricate and perfectly symmetrical tattoos that ran down the center of her back and just over her shoulders. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she stepped up onto the sparring mat. Sam's eyes went wide in surprise as she took on the challenge without a visual doubt, but internally, Atlas was freaking out.

Natasha slammed Atlas down on the mat, but the girl rolled over and got right back up before the Black Widow could pin her. Learning how to take a hit was one of the most important things the teenager had learned in her training. Mind over matter; the pain is never as bad when you put all your focus into the fight. As an airbender, Atlas's first priority was always taught to defend herself for the entirety of the fight, and when you got a good chance, you could attack quickly and harshly and take down your opponent in one move. And although she didn't use that strategy often, Atlas could sense that opportunity coming close. The fight had been going on for a while now. Atlas was getting in a few hits but mostly dodging and blocking Natasha's combinations of kicks and punches since that's what she was trained to do.

Everyone was amazed by Atlas's flips as she was always quick enough to move out of the way of Natasha's offence. Even the Black Widow was surprised and had never seen someone so quick in combat.

Bucky and Steve tried to analyze Atlas's flight patterns but soon realized there were none. She was unpredictable in almost every aspect of her combat. There was no reoccurring move that Atlas would always go back to, and her offensive techniques and combinations were always different - but still effective. The girl had endurance, and that was always the most important thing in a fight.