Jim watched as Armsmaster stood opposite him. It felt like a session with Draal, and at that, Jim a familiar pain.

On the other hand, Armsmaster didn't have any quips, didn't ask Jim if he was ready…

No, it wasn't like Draal much at all. If anything, the focus Armsmaster had reminded Jim of Gunmar, his every energy focused on removing the obstacle in front of him.

Jim waited, and then Armsmaster nodded, and Jim was moving. One hand holding his sword, he threw a glaive with the other. They were dull, but the impact would be recorded and he could—

And Armsmaster managed to avoid the glaive, snapping to the side and lunging forward with his halberd. Eclipse met the blade, and Jim suddenly found himself dodging back as Armsmaster somehow skidded to the side, deflecting Eclipse even as he went for Jim's chest.

Shit! Jim hadn't really dueled with Armsmaster—the first testing had just been for a baseline of his strength and reflexes. In that, Armsmaster had more or less been a passive target.

But right now, Armsmaster was putting everything into it, and he had a finesse about him that neither Gunmar nor Draal had used. It was closer to Merlin, if Merlin's skill with a blade had been backed by a troll's strength.

And unlike Uber, he wasn't someone who got his skills by cheating. There was nothing at all wrong with his footwork. Jim rolled to the side, catching the halberd on his shield and then went low and dirty, trying for a footsweep.

Armsmaster avoided it, but Jim had expected that as he lept up and over, trying to nail the older hero as he went over his head.

With a whine of servos, Armsmaster ducked and moved for the wall, spinning around and catching Eclipse with his halberd. Jim bore down, the whine of the servos letting him know that he was putting Armsmaster's suit to the test.

Then Armsmaster broke left, and brought up one leg, spinning it around. Jim avoided it—and the halberd smacked him in the shoulder.

"One point," Armsmaster said.

Jim nodded. "Let me guess, if this had been a serious fight?"

"I have included systems in the halberd that could incapacitate you."

"Right," Jim stepped back. "Again?"

"Yes."

The next fight was faster. Jim decided to focus on disarming Armsmaster. He rolled and the two found themselves in a clinch and Jim could bear him down, getting one hand on his weapon and tossing it away.

Then Jim spun around and…

Eclipse hit the halberd, which had suddenly appeared in Armsmaster's hands.

It teleports. Of course. Jim was beginning to understand why PHO had so many threads that started out with "fucking tinkers."

He'd just fought Leet, sort of. The petty criminal hadn't really been a challenge.

Armsmaster was no Leet. Jim had a feeling that Armsmaster wouldn't have bitched at Claire going to CQC. He jumped all the way across the chamber, getting some space, and then used both his glaives, throwing them at Armsmaster, before he called Eclipse back and charged him. A long fight probably played to Armsmaster's strengths, so Jim was going to make it a short fight.

Armsmaster had to deflect the glaives and now Jim had him on the defensive. He was faster than Armsmaster—a little—and as strong as his powered armor, so Jim started putting on the pressure.

But somehow, blows that should have landed didn't, and Armsmaster started ignoring his feints like he knew Jim was feinting.

Predictive software? Jim winced as he barely caught the halberd, curving in for a gap that even Jim hadn't known was there until Armsmaster went for it. More like fucking telepathy! He had to end this fast because it wasn't going to get any better. Jim switched to his off-hand, hoping that would throw the tinker's prediction systems off. Then, Jim went all out, Eclipse blurring as he hammered Armsmaster back by sheer power.

And then he hit the halberd, and it broke.

Oh shi—

And then two half-length halberds smacked him on both sides of his neck.

Jim blinked.

It had been designed to divide.

Who designed a halberd to split in two?!

"A satisfactory match," Armsmaster said.

"Yeah. Towards the end—your software?"

"Yes," Armsmaster nodded, sounding pleased. "Switching hands was smart, but the software was able to compensate. I'm happy you did that—it wasn't a test I was anticipating, as most brutes rely on well, brute force."

Jim chuckled ruefully. "Even like this, compared to a lot of trolls, I was, well a runt."

"How did you prepare?"

Jim grinned. "Training, and more training. Like one of my trainers said: sweat today saves blood tomorrow."

"I've found that to be true as well. Preparation is vital to success." Armsmaster paused. "You are one of the only Protectorate affiliated parahumans here who can safely spar at my armor's normal settings. Would you be interested in more work outs?"

Well, he's not Arrggghhh!, but he's right. Jim missed Draal's bouts and he'd better not get too used to just powering through the opposition. This world had people stronger than he was, after all.

"Sure!"

In the gallery above, amid the cheering and good natured cursing as money changed hands, one Ward stared down with horrified eyes.

"Saints and Angels preserve us!" Dennis said in a rather overdone Irish accent. "They're bonding!"