I watched seemingly unfazed as the man in a pristine lab coat fell to the floor unconscious, his small knife clattering uselessly beside him. "We should go."

"You're soft, Dawn." Eric hissed, snatching the flash drive from the computer he'd accessed.

"He was just unfortunate in his timing." I followed swiftly with a small bag of supplies slung carelessly over my shoulder.

We exited the lab and rounded a corner, "He pulled a knife. You should have taken him out for good."

"It wasn't a real threat."

"That's not your call." He stopped abruptly, spinning on his heels to come face to face with me. The ice in his stare was enough to give anyone pause. There was no room to argue my point and this certainly wasn't the place.

"Understood." My reply was clipped, but sufficient and we were able to exit the facility unscathed having deployed three other teams for surveillance, security, and clean up.

Training, on the other hand, was another story. There was a lesson to be learned somewhere in the exceptionally tough match that day. I was pretty sure the implicit take away was either that I was too weak or that I shouldn't undermine Eric. Whichever one he was trying to get across, I got it.

"I'm done. Really, I can't do this." I gasped, pushing myself to my feet. After going through our training and a few rounds of sparring, I was in pain and exhausted. As my trainer he'd been given doses of the modified super soldier serum as well and in doing so assured that at least for years to come he would be stronger and more skilled, leaving me with much to learn.

Before I could put up a decent fight, my arm was twisted painfully just as I was lifted and thrown to the ground. "We're not done yet. Get up."

I couldn't breathe. All of the air in my lungs left me when I hit the floor, unable to break the fall properly. I heard him sigh in annoyance.

"Don't tell me that Dr. Sterns' work is a waste of time. Get up."

Gritting my teeth I rolled onto my side, wrapping my ankles around his and twisting my legs so that he was brought down to my level. I was upright and over him in a flash, my fist connecting with his bicep as he reached for me. By his expression I could tell I'd hit my mark, the bundle of nerves that momentarily stunned the arm, but my victory was short lived with his other hand shooting up to catch my face, fingertips digging in for leverage as he attempted to regain control.

Clenching my jaw once again, I fought against the pain and dug my own thumb into the underside of his wrist into another bundle of nerves. "Nice try." He managed through his teeth. With the remaining strength in his arm and a leg he quickly wedged between us he flipped us over.

Hastily using my forearms to guard my head I blocked the elbow he brought down followed in quick succession by his fist. It wasn't enough. This wasn't simply training, it was a lesson too. Roughly grabbing me by my shirt, he lifted my torso and slammed me back to the ground, effectively breaking my guard as my arms unraveled in an attempt to ease the fall. Taking advantage of the opening he landed two quick punches before stopping himself and backing away.

"Now we're done." He announced when I didn't move. "Can you get up?" He watched while I gathered myself.

I nodded, regretting it immediately as my head throbbed painfully. Still he waited until I stood on my own as proof before nodding in approval and taking his leave. When he was gone I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. He wasn't always so tough on me, but every now and then there were days like this. I suppose in the long run it'd be worth it for myself and the ones I protect. As always, there would be more to learn, but for now at least this part of my day was over.

There was a knock at my door later in the evening. From my spot at the desk in the small room, I called for the person on the other side to enter. I'd been drawing in my sketchbook for the last few hours, lightly outlining the archway of trees that had been on my mind. There was a space left between them having yet to be filled with a road or stream to cut through the foliage, but for some reason neither would quite complete the partially formed picture in my mind.

"Hello, Dawn." I wasn't surprised to hear the scientist's voice. My room was only two floors away in this base.

"Good evening, Dr. Sterns." I returned the greeting, sparing one last glance at the incomplete sketch, eyes lingering on the ragged edges of a page that had been ripped out before giving my attention to my visitor.

His smile shifted to an expression more closely resembling sympathy as he stepped closer and extended his arm with an offering of an ice pack. "Eric was concerned with your performance earlier. I assumed training would have been a bit tougher today so I thought I'd stop by and check in on you."

"Thank you. I'm fine, really. It looks worse than it feels." I took the ice pack and applied it to the bruise over my cheek.

The smile returned and he nodded, "Yes, well you should be feeling better pretty soon anyway. I think the stress must be getting to everyone with all of the big changes coming soon. He just wants to make sure you're prepared."

"Don't worry. I'm willing to do everything I can to change this world." I frowned a little at the thought. I don't remember the exact events that brought me here, but when I woke up I was very sick. I'd been poisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D, an organization set on letting the world fall into chaos. Dr. Sterns saved me. He helped me become stronger. He was there when bits of my memory started to come back, some of it painful and other pieces fuzzy and confusing. He'd said that with the state I'd been in, beaten, poisoned, and who knows what else, that I would be lucky to recover my memories. The world as I understood was not a kind place, leaving me with scars as proof in case I needed more convincing. Despite my occasional defects, he's been there for me and for that, I'd help him change this world for the better.

"Soon." He grinned, "First, I'd like to meet with a nuclear physicist I know of. I'd like his input on my research so far. From what I understand he's had a major success in regards to superhuman strength and regeneration, but has been unable to continue testing."

"I can see why you'd like to talk to him then. Your own improvements on the super soldier serum have been remarkable. A new perspective and helping hand could unlock new possibilities entirely."

"Exactly. I'll let you know more about it when the time comes, but for now I'll still need you to train hard." He retreated towards the door, "You need to trust that Eric and I know what we're doing so that things go smoothly, alright?"

I nodded, determined to do my part, "I understand."

"I'll send down a file on Dr. Banner soon. If he's the type to need proof before jumping on board, I'd like for you to be the one he meets."

"What about Eric or any of the others?"

He paused with his hand on the door, "I'll give it more thought, but for now you are an important part in this."

The file Dr. Sterns promised was without a doubt full of interesting details on this Dr. Banner. Despite the rough start and orphaning at a young age, he'd been able to transform his life completely. He was a highly accomplished physicist, graduating at the top of his class and moving on to work for the military on what seemed to be another version of a super soldier serum. Unfortunately for him, there was an accident involving gamma radiation, but he'd somehow managed to survive. With the flip of a page I found out this man was the Hulk.

Hunching over slightly, I observed the picture more closely. "Somehow, Dr. Banner, you don't strike me as the monster type." I murmured to myself. "Running away and working as a medical doctor? Let's hope you're still interested helping people."

I stayed that way for a while, reading and rereading the pages in front of me until in the end I felt I'd absorbed all I could from the pieces of paper. The more I gleaned from the text and photographs, the more they protruded into my thoughts. I felt like I was missing something, but what could it have been with his life summarized and printed before me? Perhaps my day had been rougher than I thought and I simply needed rest. I'd sleep on it and come back to it later.