Author note: The first section's Italics are in Latin.

Chapter 4: Same Jobs (kinda); Same equipment(kinda not)

Kim and the old man stayed the night at a seedy looking inn just inside of the city. He had said that the beds were soft and the food was good. After eating a massive helping of mutton and water (at which's request she got a large number of strange looks) the beds lived up to his praise.

The next day the pair heading toward the tower at the center of the city. When they approached, a pair of guards in plate armor barred their way asking for their reason for being there. The old man simply held of a handful of flame in response. To Kim's surprise the two guards stepped away and saluted. Kim gave the old man an incredulous look.

"Who are you?"

"Heh. My name is Faan Du. I'm a member of the council here at Goba Justi."

"So you could have taken care of those bandits yourself." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. I didn't, however, because the council often sends a member out and about to recruit potentials into Goba Justi."

"So I have a chance at joining this organization?"

"Yes. However, I would like it if you allowed the rest of the council to question you and describe our policies."

"That sounds reasonable."

As the pair moved into the center of the tower, Kim noticed that a great deal of training was going on. Men and women were training with all manner of weapons ranging from sword and shield, to two-handed swords, to bow and arrows, to pole arms and javelins. Yet another group was practicing with the will flame alone, forming it into all manner of siege engines and battering rams.

"What is all of this for Faan?"

"The Eagles are the peace-keeping force in Goba Justi. They suppress any rebellions and chase down, arrest, and punish lawbreakers." Faan paused for a second. "They are also our first line of defense in case of invasion. Should you join them you may be called to war."

Kim thought about this until they reached the council chambers.

"Wait here for a minute please Kim." And with that Faan entered the doors to the dark chamber.

A few minutes later the doors opened. Kim entered into the darkened room. In the center of the room was a circle of light on the floor. Kim entered it. As she neared the center an arrow came out of the darkness. Dodging to the side, Kim looked around for the shooter. Suddenly six arrows came at her from all directions. Using her natural athleticism and all her years dodging Shego's plasma blasts, Kim leaped upward and over the nearest arrow. She landed and dropped beneath another. Her eyes widened with shock as a new flight came out of the darkness, this time from all around and above. She continued her dance for almost 15 minutes.

Pushing off the floor into a back-handspring to avoid the newest flight, Kim managed to dodge many of the deadly shafts. But as she landed she saw one coming at her that she couldn't avoid. Reacting instinctively she threw her arms out in an "X" block. To her surprise she saw time slow down and the floor around her begin to chip and shatter. The broken floor, steel it turned out to be, flew up and began to form plate armor, much like the pair of guards at the entrance of the tower.

Once the armor was formed and Kim realized that she was now wearing a helm, time returned to normal and the arrow clanged off her now impenetrable forearms. In the half second it took for the arrow to rebound and hit the floor, Kim's "Flame" burned around her body, removing all shadows from the room.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?"

Three men and four women looked up from the floor where they had fallen, shielding their eyes from the bright fire that Kim was extruding. Her armor was the color of pure fire and was form fitting, yet did not hamper her movement in the slightest. The helm looked like it was fitted to her skull with ninja-like mask. The council exchanged awed looks. This wasn't like any armor they had ever seen. This young girl had managed to call armor that even the gods would have a hard time penetrating!

"We simply meant to test you. Only those of strong will, wit, and mind can join Goba Justi and the Eagles."

Kim let her flame dim but not fade.

"You have passed the test with flying colors. Would you like to join Goba Justi?"

"Let me hear of your policies first."

Over the next several hours the Council of Goba Justi discussed their policies with Kim. Finally Kim nodded.

"I agree. Who should I report to?"

"Report to weapon master Megan for training."

"Oh. One more thing. How do I get the armor off?"

"Simply imagine it off and it will disappear. Imagine it on and it will be on."

"Thank you."

After Kim walked from the room the group of people looked at each other.

"This one's potential is a great sword to use against our enemies."

"Agreed. But swords have two edges. We must take great care in what we expose her to."

"Agreed. But first she must survive the weapon master." With this last bit the room burst into chuckles, for the weapon master's quest for the perfect student was legendary. As was her utter ruthlessness where those who did not match up to her standards were concerned.

(Following Italics will be Icelandic)

While Kim was getting shot at with arrows, Shego wasn't having the best of times either. The smith that Kevin had brought her too hadn't spoken Icelandic so she had to rely on Kevin to translate. The smith took one look at the armor the two of them had brought in and declared that it was enough for two partial sets or one complete set. Being as Kevin already had his own armor, they agreed that Shego should have the full set.

The smith nodded and motioned her toward a glowing circle. He explained, through Kevin, that a machine would fire arrows at her until she got to a point where she would have an instinctive reaction to block, even though it wouldn't do any good. That, he said, was the point the armor formed from the steel floor of the circle. He said that the longer a person avoided the arrows, the stronger the armor would be. As he set up the machine he announce, with some pride, that the highest anyone had gotten was 3 flights or about 30 seconds.

Shego grinned. This is gonna be fun, she thought as the first arrows hissed out at her.

Fifteen minutes later Shego's armor finally formed. As she stepped out of the circle, the smith gapped at her. Her armor was almost exactly like Kim's in every way (even though he had no idea at the time). Shego's helm looked like a ninja's mask as well, but with a pure jade coloring.

Kevin walked up to her. "Shego, do you realize what you are wearing?"

"Duh. Its armor."

"Not just any armor, Shego. This armor, due to the time you spent dodging arrows, will cause the gods to have a hard time getting through!"

Shego grinned. Having armor that could withstand deities' blows would be handy.

"So how do I get out of here Kevin?"

"Simple Shego. Picture yourself with it off, it disappears. Picture yourself with it on and it comes back. Quite handy when sneaking around."

"Thanks Kevin. Lets head to Kel'na now. I'm getting a bad feeling about this place."

"Sure thing boss."

Well thats it for Chapter 4. sorry it took so long to get up. The basic idea came to me last week while (again) painting speed bumps. It just took this long to flesh it out.

Sorry but I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out.Ducks for cover while squeaking "Please don't kill me!"

I'll try to work on it some, but college just started back up and the semester looks to be busy.

Here's hoping inspiration strikes soon!