Part 8 – More Training
Bruce's fighting skills improved dramatically as he continued for days out in the arena, and after a small haircut to which he was back to his normal clean-cut look, looking in the mirror was less of a traumatic experience.
Reinhardt had also stepped up Bruce's training: he had to make sure that Bruce was experiencing full-force so he wouldn't be blindsided if he went into combat with Talon which he most likely would have to.
"You're improving," Reinhardt said as he swung at Bruce with his hammer.
Bruce dove underneath the swing, then stepped forward with his shield, and activated it, smashing the side into Reinhardt's mid-section.
The shield sent Reinhardt stumbling backward, in which Bruce pressed his attack, swinging his sword high only to have Reinhardt block it with his shield, and thrust forward with his jets.
The force of being pushed sent Bruce onto his back, recovering he quickly sprung to his feet as Reinhardt came back in with an overhand swing.
Stepping to the side, Bruce managed to miss getting hit, and bunted Reinhardt on the back of the knee with the pommel of his sword.
As Reinhardt went to one knee, Bruce swung at Reinhardt, only for Reinhardt to block the swing, and use his shield to knock Bruce back.
Bruce quickly recovered as Reinhardt tried to stand up, only for him to go back down.
"Grandfather," Bruce said as he sheathed his sword, and walked over to Reinhardt, "You ok?"
"Yea," Reinhardt said as he put his arm on Bruce's shoulder, and brought his hammer around to try and squeeze Bruce.
Bruce simply put his foot onto Reinhardt's shoulder, flipped over the hammer, drew his sword, and held it in Reinhardt's face as he landed.
"Nice try, old man," Bruce said.
"Not bad," Reinhardt said, "You win."
"Seriously, are you alright," Bruce asked as he sheathed his sword.
"For the most part," Reinhardt said as Bruce helped him stand upright, Reinhardt's knee making an audible 'clicking' sound as he stood upright, "No matter what shape you're in when you get to be my age your body starts breaking down," Bruce guided him over to a chair on the far side of the training pad, "Years and years of working in Overwatch have taken their toll on me."
"I'm surprised Angela hasn't come up with a way to help you with that," Bruce said as he helped Reinhardt sit in the chair.
"She would," Reinhardt said as he stretched his knee out to let the blood circulate more cleanly in his aging limb, "But I would honestly want her to help you more."
"Me," Bruce asked as he sat next to his de facto Grandfather, "Thanks to Talon, I'm in better shape now than you were at my age," Reinhardt looked at Bruce with a slightly concerned look on his face, Bruce put his hand on Reinhardt's hand, "I know you're concerned," he then gestured at his head, "But Talon didn't go anywhere near here. They changed the way my face looks, so Talon can go fuck themselves, because I'm with Overwatch, and I'm with you."
What Bruce assumed was a smile appeared on Reinhardt's face as he laid a giant hand on his grandson's shoulder.
"I can't help but be worried about you," Reinhardt said, "I lost you once, and it was the worst experience of my life. When I saw your mother and father lying there, I died a little inside. Then I heard you were missing, and I thought there was a small glimmer of hope. I tried to help Jack with the search, but when Overwatch forced me to retire, I tried to help however I could. Right now, I'm just glad to have you back."
"I'm glad to be back," Bruce said.
"Good to see you two getting along," a voice said from behind them.
They looked over their shoulders, and Brigitte was walking toward them dressed in her typical attire, save for there were a few grease stains on her overalls, shirt, and one on her cheek.
"Hello dear," Reinhardt said as he stood up with Bruce's help.
"You ok," Brigitte asked.
"He took a blow from the pommel of my sword and lost his footing," Bruce said.
"I'm getting old," Reinhardt said as he stretched his back out, his spine creaking with every move before he swung his hammer onto his shoulder, "You have our surprise ready?"
"It's still untested," Brigitte said, "But for the most part, it's ready."
"What surprise," Bruce asked.
"Come on," Reinhardt said as he pointed toward the workshop, "I had my squire make something I think would help you when we begin deploying."
Brigitte led Bruce and Reinhardt to the warehouse where inside was a set of armor that looked like it was made out of diamonds (or glass), and on the chest was the image of a North American Bison.
"Wow," Bruce said as he walked up to the armor.
"You like it," Reinhardt asked as he stood next to Bruce.
"Like it," Bruce asked, "I love it, it looks magnificent."
"I'm glad," Reinhardt said, "If we're going to deploy you, you'll need something to wear."
"I can't wait to see myself in this," Bruce said.
"Well, you're going to need this," Reinhardt said as he handed Bruce what appeared to be a spandex suit that Overwatch Agents wore to protect them from their armor.
Bruce took the outfit from Reinhardt and walked over to the restroom.
He did have to change out of his current attire which had consisted of a black tee-shirt, a pair of black track pants, and a pair of running shoes.
The suit was defiantly tight, like wearing a thermal underlayer, and while it looked a bit like leather, at least it didn't squeak like leather whenever he moved.
"You almost done," Brigitte asked.
"Almost," Bruce said as he zipped the back of the suit up, and walked out of the restroom, Brigitte blushing at the noticeable budge in Bruce's lower area, "It's a little snug."
"You'll get used to it," Reinhardt said before pointing at the armor, "Go ahead, and try it on."
As Bruce approached the armor, the back of the armor opened, allowing him to step into the legs, then slide his arms into the sleeves, and as soon as the back closed, he was able to move around.
Brigitte then walked around to the front, and hooked up her tablet to a small port located on the armor's collar-bone area, "Hold still for a second," she said, "I want to make sure the suit is properly calibrated."
"Ok," Bruce said as he stood as still as he could.
"Ok," Brigitte said, "Hold out your right arm, hand out flat," Bruce complied, "Ok, now, hold your hand palm-side-up, and bring your arm as far toward your head as you can," Bruce bent his arm until it was about three inches above his head, "Calibration complete."
"Completely," Bruce asked.
"Of course not," Brigitte said, "You can lower your arm," Bruce lowered his arm, "Ok, show me how high you can step," Bruce raised his leg, bent as high as he could, "Hold for a few seconds," he held, "Ok, you can lower your knee," she then handed him his sword, "Hold your sword like you're about to fight," Bruce bent his arm, the sword pointing forward, perfectly in line with his arm, "Alright, just let me adjust a few things," she tapped a few buttons on the tablet, "Ok, I think you're good to go."
"Thanks," Bruce said.
"Move around a little," Brigitte said, "See how it feels."
Bruce swung his arms around a little, bent his legs, and then flexed his arms, "It feels pretty good, smooth," he said, "And it actually makes me feel like a knight."
"That's what we're going for," Reinhardt said as he tapped Bruce on the shoulder, "Now get ready because we need to put this armor through its paces," he then held out what looked like a Medieval European closed jousting helmet that had transparent crystal-like wings hanging off the cheek area of the visor, "A knight doesn't go into war without armor."
"Indeed," Bruce said as he pointed at the helmet, "I still need something that will help pay tribute to my parents."
"I thought of that," Reinhardt said as he took a small plume off of the table next to him, and slide it onto the helmet.
The plume was metal but was wrapped in leather that had Lakota tribal symbols stitched into the sides, and the plume was made out of feathers (fake feathers mind you).
"A European plume with Lakota tribe symbols," Bruce said, "My mother and my father in one outfit."
"They would have been proud of you," Reinhardt said as he held the helmet out once more, "I know I am."
Bruce took the helmet, and as he slid it on, the targeting system initialized which looked like what was going on inside of Iron Man's helmet.
"It's fantastic," he said.
"Good," Reinhardt said, "Let's begin."
Bruce took his sword, walked around to the beginning of the training ground, and spoke, "I'm ready," he said.
"And," Brigitte said as she primed the training program, "Begin."
The robots instantly sprang into action as Bruce charged.
The one on the far right instantly targeted him, and prepared to fire, only for Bruce to activate his shield to cover himself, then brought his sword in a downward motion, slicing through the robot's right turret, then across the top of the head, causing the robot to instantly shut down, and fall sideways.
Another droid charged towards him, Bruce took him head-on, as the robot slammed into him, Bruce dug his feet into the ground, leaving large gouges in the concrete as the robot tried to push him back.
His HUD on the inside of his helmet began flashing red as it showed an excess pressure warning in his suit's hydraulics.
Bruce knew he was about to fall so he decided to drop the top of his shield, then drive the sword through the top of the robot's skull, causing it to shut down, and allowed him to stand upright.
"Very nice," Brigitte said as she paused the program and walked up to him, "Now this is very important," she tapped on a small port on the back, "We added the booster, which is standard on both mine and Reinhardt's armors, you've never used it before, so it might be best if we start you off by adjusting you to the thruster."
"How do I activate it then," Bruce asked.
"There's a small switch on the inside of the boots," Reinhardt said, "You browse the options to activate it on your heads-up-display. It'll take a while to get adjusted, but when you are, you can do it without even needing a helmet. Just flex your right middle and ring fingers at once."
Bruce did as he was told, "Nice," he said, "How do I?"
"You use your index finger to scroll left," Reinhardt said, "Your pinkie to scroll right. Flex your thumb to select. Flex all fingers to close."
Bruce did as he was told, "Ok," he said, "It's selected."
"Now just adjust the thrust to 10%," Brigitte said, "Just to get a feel for the thrust. Flex your index finger to increase, and your pinkie to decrease. Not yet, I'll tell you when."
"Ok," Bruce said as Brigitte reactivated the program, and the same droid came at him, he then raised his shield, and the droid began to push him backward.
"Now," Brigitte exclaimed, "Just trust your armor. Push on the switch underneath your big toe when you want to activate it, and release it when you want to shut it down."
Using his index finger, he raised the power on the thruster, and when he pressed on the button, he felt the thruster act against the bot's force and allowed him to gain leverage on the bot which he then drove back against the nearest wall.
"Now finish that robot off," Reinhardt exclaimed.
Bruce lowered the right side of his shield, and sheathed the blade through the robot's side, causing it to shut down.
He released the button, and staggered a little before standing upright, "I'm liking this," he said.
"I'm glad," Reinhardt said as he walked up to Bruce, "A little more training with the armor, and you'll be ready to face Talon."
Bruce removed his helmet, and looked up at Reinhardt, "This is going to be good," he said.
"There is one more thing," Brigitte said as she walked up to Bruce and held out her hand, "Do you promise to protect your master, and your partner no matter what? To protect those closest to you, and to honor the memory of your parents?"
"We're partners now," Bruce asked.
"Yes," Brigitte said, "Someone has to help the rookie. What do you say, do you swear?"
"I do," Bruce said as he grabbed Brigitte's forearm.
"Then welcome to the Crusaders," Reinhardt said as he put his hands on his grandchild and goddaughter's shoulders.
How's that…