Well this should be an exciting chapter. Lily goes to the training room! This has been the chapter that I've been looking forward to doing! Please R&R! Thanks!

Lily gazed around at the familiar surroundings as Duke lead her towards the training room. That room was probably one of the only ones rooms she had been in only once before. The reason that she hadn't gone back into the training room since she first went into it was because it had been one of the last places she had seen her brother.

Duke looked over his shoulder to see Lily looking around. He gave a small shrug and continued on towards the training room. "So...you were a part of the Joes before now?" he asked. He forced himself not to flinch when he felt her gaze switch from the interior to his back.

Lily glared at Duke's back, not all that happy with the question. But she didn't think that it would hurt to tell him. She gave a heavy sigh before nodding. "Yes," she told him briefly.

Duke gave a slow nod, thinking to himself. He was about to ask about her brother, then quickly thought better of it and was relieved to see that they had arrived to the training room. "Here we are," he told Lily.

Lily glanced at the clear glass doors that led into the training room. She stayed behind Duke as he lead the way in. Already there was a small crowd of people gathered there, exercising, talking, and mostly just waiting around to see what the new recruit had in her. What mostly caught her attention was what looked like a boxing ring, where two men were fighting each other, not even holding back in their punches. She also realized that she was one of the only woman here, with the exception of Scarlett, and probably one of the youngest. She was only eighteen going on nineteen, but the people here had to be in their late twenties to early thirties, possibly older. She took a deep breath, running a hand over Macy's back for comfort. The German Shepherd gave a low growl of understanding before quieting.

Duke looked over at the growl. Things had gone a bit quiet when the trio had entered, but the noise was slowly starting to resume. Duke could still see the eyes that darted towards the young woman behind him, a few of them filled with lust. It was after they spotted the scars that crossed over her eye that they looked away completely, murmuring quietly amongst themselves. He led Lily over to a couple of weights. "How much can you lift?" he asked, motioning to the bench press.

Lily just gave a sly smile, straddling the bench and laying back on it, placing both hands firmly on the bar. She allowed herself a faint smile when she heard Duke. "Are you sure? That's 250 lbs. that you're lifting," he said in warning. Lily chuckled, easily pulling the weight from its holders and starting to do a few reps. Steel cord muscles rippled under her skin as she did the reps, welcoming the burn in her arms and chest. She took a deep breath and straightened her arms once more, placing the weight back on the holders, scooting forward, and sitting up. She was barely sweating when she looked over at Duke and gave another smile. "That good enough?" she asked innocently.

Duke could only look at her in shock. "How in the hell were you able to bench press that much?" he finally demanded.

Lily chuckled, swinging her leg over the bench and standing up. "Simple. Few months ago, when I still worked with the Joes, my broth-" she stopped, hesitating. She had said to much as it was. "Old technique," she finally mumbled, pushing back a piece of hair that had escaped from her ponytail.

Duke opened his mouth to argue the point, but a sharp look from those silver eyes stopped him short. Instead, he just gave a small nod of his head and looked away, towards the boxing ring. An idea forming, he motioned for her to follow him as he headed towards the ring.

Lily, cautious yet curious, followed after him, Macy at her heels. Seeing where they were heading, she gave a hidden devious smile. She looked over at Macy and paused, kneeling down next to her. She spoke quietly to the dog before standing up and walking over next to Duke, who was looking up at two fighting figures. "You want me to fight?" she guessed.

Duke nodded. "That would be correct," he replied, motioning for her to get into the ring after one of the men tapped out and they both stepped out of the ring.

Lily glared at him before slipping up under the rope, her eyes showing wariness as everyone went quiet and crowded around the boxing ring. She showed no pose, keeping her muscles relaxed and loose. Keeping them tight and taunt would do nothing, but waste energy. She waited patiently to see who would challenge her. One voice caught her attention. "Seriously? This is the new recruit to the Alpha Team? She's only a girl for crying out loud and half blind at that!" Her eyes shot towards the voice, honing in on the person the voice had been transmitted from. "Is that a challenge I hear?" she teased, but with a hint of iciness. "Hell it is!" he shouted, jumping into the ring. Lily gazed over him quickly. Shaggy brown hair, dark green eyes, tall, bulging muscles, somewhere in his mid-twenties, and probably didn't have much of a brain. She hide a smile. She had faced more challenging in the past, but she knew that underestimating someone could result in her demise.

Lily watched the man carefully, starting to move in a slow circle around him, good eye on the target. "What's your name?" she asked casually.

"Samuel Parkens, but here they call me Scorpion," he replied, hands in front of him as he followed Lily's every move.

"Nice to meet you, Scorpion," Lily said. "My name is Lily Rivers, but here they call me Lily." She gave a soft chuckle at her own joke. "Actually, they used to call me-" She never finished, instead lunging at Samuel. She stopped a few feet away from him, landing on her hands and swinging her body around, using her legs to knock Samuel's out from under him. He fell to the ground with a thud, getting up within a few seconds. "Why you little-" He moved forward in a tackling mode, gripping Lily from behind her as she stood up from her spin. He held her arms tightly against her sides, crushing her. Lily suddenly went limp, relaxing all her muscles. Samuel's grip loosened slightly, thinking that she had given up, and Lily was a sudden blur of action. She wrapped her legs around Samuel's, pushing her elbows back into his ribcage get him to release her arms. It worked, pain shooting up and through his chest, forcing him to let go. Lily twisted to the ground, twisting her legs which were still wrapped around Samuel's own legs. Samuel hit the ground for the second time and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Before he could get up all the way, though, Lily was behind him, quick as a snake. She wrapped one arm around his neck, latching her other arm onto the first, locking him into a headlock and cutting off his breath. He clawed at her arms, but to no avail. Like all those before her, he could feel the steel cord muscles flex and bend to the young woman's wishes. He had no choice, but to tap out, not wanting to pass out in front of his comrades. Lily released him at once, leaping back and watching from a distance as he coughed, getting his breath back and standing.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "I think that the half-blind girl that you were referring to just kicked your ass," she said seriously.

Rage surged through Samuel's eyes and he looked at one of the men standing in the ground outside the boxing ring. "Robert, come give me a hand," he said. The man nodded, stepping into the arena. Lily gave a sharp whistle and there was a blur of black and brown fur before Macy was standing next to her, growling fiercely. Both men shared a glance of amusement before starting to move closer to the pair.

Lily looked down at Macy before giving one swift nod. The dog's eyes glowed brightly before both females moved forward. "Now!" she shouted, lunging at Samuel. Macy did the same for Robert, leaping up and biting down on his arm. Robert shouted out in pain, moving to kick the dog in the side. Macy dropped instantly, laying down close to the ground and biting at his ankle.

Lily did a sidekick to Samuel's head, but he ducked and delivered his own side kick to her side. She moved to the side with surprising speed, his heel just nicking her ribs. Then she thrust her fist forward, hitting him in the ribs. He hissed in pain before moving forward once more, aiming for her blind side. Lily sensed the fist coming toward her, turning on her heel and grabbing the fist before it hit her. Samuel looked at her fist in shock, then glanced at the look on Lily's face just as she twisted her hand and arm, flipping Samuel onto the floor and on his back. She moved his own arm in front of his throat this time, holding him immobilized.

While she did that, she looked over at Macy. "Macy, halten!" she called to the shepherd. The dog stopped where she was, holding Robert to the ground. Blood came from a few spots on his arm and ankle, but nothing that wouldn't heal on its own. She had rushed forward earlier, knocking Robert to the ground and was holding him now by keeping her jaws against his throat, any movement from him causing her to bite deeper.

Duke was stunned, having watch both the dog and owner move with such fluidity and such grace that he wasn't even sure that he could believe his eyes. Everyone else was just as quiet, watching them both in awe. Lily suddenly let Samuel up, backing up and holding her hands in front of her in a defensive posture. Loose strands of hair dangled in her face, but she made no move to push them away, watching Samuel intently. She called out to the dog.

"Ferse, Macy," she said in a calm voice. Macy instantly released Robert and trotted next to her mistress. She bowed slightly to Samuel and Robert. "Excellent fighting techniques, but I've been fighting since I was able to walk."

Samuel didn't say anything, just standing up and giving a single nod of his head. He helped Robert to his feet and left while he still had some dignity.

Lily knelt down next to Macy, whispering to her in German. She stood up at the rustle and hushed whispers that came from the crowd. She turned, eyes wide in surprise as the ninja walked up to her, signaling in sign language. Scarlett hurried forward to translate, but Lily waved her away. "I know what he's saying," she told her, eyes not leaving Snake Eyes as he continued to sign.

Excellent fighting. Mind going against a ninja?

Lily smiled, good eye scanning Snake Eye's body language and his build. Finally, she gave a slow nod. "Why not? Good experience. And I promise not to kick you in the groin again," she said, a smile teasing at her lips.

That would probably be a good thing. Let us begin.

Lily gave a signal Macy, who left the ring and sat down next to Duke. She took a stance and got ready to fight the ninja.

Halten means hold and ferse means heel in German.

Next chapter: Lily battles Snake Eyes! Please R&R!