Training

"Alright. You ready?" Laxus asked as he walked into the living room and clapped his hands together. It had been awhile since the last time he felt excited to train.

Harley was sprawled on the couch her long legs thrown over the armrest. "I've been ready for like an hour," she grumbled.

"Well that's your fault. I don't wake up before six."

A middle finger with chipped bright blue nail polish was the only response he got before Harley rolled off the couch and onto her feet. Knowing she would follow Laxus headed out the door. Once on the porch they did a few light stretches before setting out on a jog.

Early mornings are the best time to go for a run; that was Laxus' belief anyway. There was almost no people out or even awake which let only nature act as background music. The air always felt clearer, the colors softer. A moment of the day that seems separate from reality. The rhythm of his feet hitting the stone streets lulled Laxus into the closest he could ever get to a meditation. A little ways into the jog he became completely lost to the environment. He was only pulled from that place by his running partner, who he had forgotten was even there, deciding to speak up.

"So where," Harley said before taking a quick breath "are we going?"

Laxus slowed down a bit noticing that his longer strides where starting to get the best of the girl. "The Thunder Legions training facility."

Harley didn't respond but followed as Laxus headed into an older part of town that was full of run down warehouses. After passing several blocks Laxus took a right turn and stopped in front of a large building that was almost as bad as the others. The only noticeable difference was that the windows hadn't been broken out, and the walls weren't covered in graffiti.

Harley immediately bent over grabbing her knees while breathing heavy. The runs she did every other morning where at an easy pace that she could maintain. It was obvious that Laxus was on a different level as he was barely out of breath, and that Harley had let herself plateau in her fitness.

"Stand up straight and put your arms behind your head." Laxus watched as she changed positions. "It'll let you get more air into your lungs." After letting Harley catch her breath Laxus turned back to the building. When he got close to the brick wall it wavered and turned into a door. "Freed put up ruins that can only be activated by our team." He explained while holding open the entrance.

Harley stepped into the building and froze. She couldn't stop her jaw from dropping was not what she had been expecting; hell what had she been expecting? A better weight set then the one at Laxus'? Maybe a sparring ring, and punching bags? Well there was all that in the middle of the space, but also so much more. One side of the large open wearhouse looked almost completely devoted to gymnastics. Several rings hung from the ceiling, the floor was covered in mats, there was a balance beam, and even a set of parallel bars. The other side was essentially a large see through box with a concrete floor; runes had been carved into the sides. Along the back wall was a set of stairs going up to a large loft space. She gazed back near the gymnast area which had what looked like random sized walls and other obstacles near it. A memory of Nick yelling "Parkour!" before falling on his ass almost had a smile on her face before she remembered the conversation yesterday. A large stone seemed to drop into her stomach.

"Impressive, right?" Laxus smiled as she was looking around in awe. It had taken years of work to get the building exactly how they had wanted. Each putting a little bit of themselves into the place. He was about to ask what area she liked the best when he noticed her chewing on her blue nails with a glazed look before she scrunched her nose in disgust. "Nail polish tasting bad?"

"Yeah Wendy said it would help with my nail biting. So far it isn't really working."

"What did you guys do last night anyway?"

"Well... we tried to cook, and I learned how fast someone can burn grilled cheese. Which I had thought was impossible. Anyway we ended up going out for dinner, tacos, and we stopped at a store where we got the nail polish and a movie." She suddenly spun giving Laxus a strange look. "Did you know Wendy had never seen "The Princess Bride"?"

"The… what?"

"You are all so deprived."

"Ooookay, let's just get started."

Several hours later Harley fell to the floor dripping in sweat. She had never worked out so hard in her life, and they hadn't even used weights. Just intense stretching and body movements. Noodles… her limbs were noodles, and the firm mat felt like a good place to live her new floppy existence. Until Laxus began to nudge her side with his foot.

"Come on, time for a food break."

"Nnuuhhhggggg"

Laxus chuckled and nudged her again, "Seriously? You exercise almost every morning!?"

"NNNNUUUUUHHHGGGGG!" Harley let out another louder groan before lifting her arms and making grabby hands. Laxus caught on and easily pulled the girl to her feet.

After an hour break for lunch Laxus started working her through fighting stances, punches, and kicks. When he was convinced she had the movements down Harley was introduced to a punching bag.


The next three days where a blur of physical activity, eating, and sleeping. She hadn't had the energy to get to her spot in the woods, and now she could feel the buzz of magic under her skin. Crawling and squirming trying to find its way out. Harley couldn't help itch as she and Laxus jogged to the warehouse.

It wasn't a surprise that Laxus noticed. "You can release it in the box."

As soon as they entered the warehouse Harley walked over to the large see through cube with runes carved into it. Freed had constructed it to withstand even Laxus' power level, and it was used for magic practice. Her feet faltered as she realized that using the box would mean Laxus seeing her magic. But there was no other choice.

The buzz under Harley's skin grew worse as she stepped into the box; like it knew freedom was close. Glancing behind her she saw Laxus and Freed watching; the green haired man had been running his own routine when they had arrived. Why wasn't she able to get enough air? The area was big, had ventilation, but her lungs were tight painfully tight and her skin hurt with what felt like a million tiny bugs trying to bite their way out. How could she focus on letting her magic out when she couldn't breath and with people standing right there? They were going to see! She had never even let her mom see. A knock broke through her panic. Spinning around she saw Laxus with his fist raised on the other side of the plexiglass.

"You need to relax." His voice was muffled but still held a firm commanding tone that grabbed her attention. "Let go of whatever is holding you back. If you don't let it out willingly it's going to force its way out. You don't want that. So just focus already!"

It was a terrible pep talk, but somehow it worked Harley could suddenly focus. Well kinda. It was more of suppressing the fear and ignoring the itching which was easier as she stared at the scorch patterns that littered the ground. A thousand times. A thousand times. A simple mantra, she had done this a thousand times. Sinking to the ground she sat like she usually would the only difference was there was no grass to slide her fingers through. Just cold concrete with multiple scorch marks. Where they from Laxus? Bickslow or Freed? Would she leave similar patterns? Would they blend in with the rest or stand out?

As soon as Harley's body relaxed her skin exploded. The dark green lightning shot through the space sparking off the walls and the floor. She never held it in for so long and the smell almost made her gag. Sickeningly sweet like overripe fruit, sitting in the sun... rotting. Why rotting and disgusting? Why was her magic like this? Why was it dangerous? Why couldn't it be nice… like Wendy's?

Laxus jerked away from the box when he saw the lighting. There was more power in Harley then he had imagined. A smile formed as he watched the sparks. He had been expecting no hoping for lighting it would be one more thing he could help her with. The color was the only thing that didn't fit. Then the smell hit his nose. Clamping his hand over his face Laxus took several more large steps back.

"Laxus, what's wrong?" Freed questioned as he looked between the large display of magic and his leader.

"Poison. It's poison lightning." Laxus dropped his hand as an idea began to form.

Freed suddenly looked apprehensive "That could be deadly considering she doesn't seem to have much control."

"That's why I need you to call gramps and find out where Cobra is, and when he'll be back."