((I don't own X-men! But if I did, that third series would already be out. . Tara belongs to Mary, Adrian to Alex, and Lyra, Lorcan and the mysterious stranger are mine. Enjoy and have fun with the length. Mike wants to be credited for help. Thank ya, Mike! OH. And this was co written. XD You may or may not notice the swap in style.))
They were certainly a strange bunch, Tara observed as she waltzed into the Danger Room. Leave it to Logan to schedule a session for them the first day they were all back. Speaking of the Canadian, the man was on the other side of the room speaking to a girl (was that Lyra?), giving Tara time to look everyone over.
Adrian certainly hadn't changed, well, much. He was older, that was sure. His shaggy black locks hung in front of his eyes, matching the ebony feathers on his wings. His old team leader uniform was stretched tight across his well-defined features. Before Tara had a chance to dwell on that much longer a should from Logan caught her attention. He was ready to start the session.
"Alright kids, lets see how much you've forgotten."
Lyra put her hands on her hips and voiced the thought that quite a few people were thinking. "Logan, we aren't kids anymore."
The shape shifter was spared his answer as the Danger Room doors whooshed open, revealing a navy and gray clad figure. Who was that? Tara wondered as the girl drew nearer.
"You're late." Logan growled, displeased with the brown-haired girl's apparent disregard for punctuality.
"So sue me." She replied without missing a beat. The tone of her voice on furthered the man's anger.
"You're up first, pipsqueak, for being late." He scanned the small group for an appropriate partner for the stranger.
"Shorty, you're up too. Hand-to-hand, no powers, and lets be mature about this…"
"Mmm… Yeah, Logan, about this whole 'training session'? I'm not diggin' it. You know I haven't exactly been out saving the world on a daily basis in the past four years. My skills are seriously lacking." Tara explained, crossing her arms and taking a stance that Logan remembered quite well. She may have been older and more reserved but he could still see the heinous imp that lay just below the surface.
"And that's why we're here, Torrent." Logan explained briskly, noticing a spark in her eyes as he referenced her by her old codename. "Now, get out there." He ordered, pointing to the middle of the Danger Room. "And remember, nothing dirty!" He added as the hydro huffed and shouldered past him.
Tara listened as her footsteps echoed off the sides of the massive room, just as they always had. She glanced around her, reminiscing back to old sessions back in the day. A small smile crept to her lips as she remembered twisting ankles and wrists and often receiving bloody noses due to her own carelessness. As her eyes wandered they eventually landed on her opponent, who still remained an enigma. There was a hint of familiarity about her but honestly the hydro couldn't place it. The duo slowed their pace until they stopped at the center and turned to square off.
"It would help if I could at least see her eyes…" Tara mused angrily as she lowered herself into a defensive stance. That was one of the first lessons Logan had taught them; keep your eyes trained on your opponent's, you could predict their move by doing so. She damned the dark glasses the girl was wearing in front of her. A few seconds passed and she began to get nervous; years ago she always took the first strike but now she was keen on allowing others to so she might be able to ease herself back into this.
Tara finally took the initiative and stepped forward to present an uppercut only to feign and drop to one knee, sweeping her leg towards her mystery opponent, hoping to catch her ankles and drop her. That had always been one of her favorite motions as it tended to catch her challengers off guard; as they set their stance to block a body shot they stiffened their legs and set themselves up for a fall. Imagine her surprise when the brunette before her jumped and executed a flying kick aimed towards Tara's head.
The hydro cursed and rolled to the side, her shoulder taking the brunt of the blow. As she sprang to her feet she realized just how close the attack had been and her eyes darkened angrily as her pride took its first blow. How was this fair? Her opponent obviously was more prepared for this than she was. "Still using that one, Tara?" The brunette commented teasingly, a smirk playing on her face. Tara blinked, surprised. How'd she know her name? Before the hydro could question her adversary she was assaulted by a barrage.
Counter-attacking was the furthest thing from Tara's mind currently; it was the most she could do to defend herself. The brunette was driving forward, causing Tara to keep her rush pace backwards lest her face come up close and personal with a fist. After all, the last thing she needed when she returned home was a flurry of questions asking how she'd broken her nose. She grabbed the boot aimed for her torso out of mid-air and twisted it, intending either to injure her ankle or throw the girl down. The brunette countered her fall by jumping into the air and spinning with Tara's attack, jerking her foot free from the hydro's grasp and catching her in the jaw instantly before landing gracefully back on her feet. Tara grunted painfully as she felt blood dripped down her chin, courtesy of a split lip. How could Logan pit her against this? She bet this girl was a student, someone retrieving sessions almost every day. But then… what was with the comment earlier? Whoever it was knew her styles. Tara racked her brain, trying to identify the mystery rival before her.
Tara saw her opening and struck at the jaw line, an attack that would seriously disorientate and possibly give her a better chance at winning this battle. Her hand was snatched out of the air and her arm wrenched into a painful position, one she had to twist into lest she snap her arm. The brunette counted on that as Tara rolled into her body, allowing her to jerk her trapped arm further up behind her back towards her neck. She then wrapped her arm around Tara's throat, putting her in a sleeper hold. Tara noted that it seemed like she'd been in this position many times but knew this wasn't the time to dwell on that; in a few seconds she's be unconscious. Every attempt at pulling away was met with a painful reminder that her opponent could dislocate her shoulder with a slight tug; so, Tara did what she was best known for doing: fighting dirty.
The hydro sank her teeth into the brunette's arm and put all the force she could muster into that one bite. Almost instantly she felt a copper taste in her mouth and knew she'd pierced the skin. She heard a gasp from her opponent and she was almost immediately released in effort to get the livid Southerner off her arm. While the brunette was briefly distracted by her bleeding arm Tara dove at her, catching her in the middle and throwing them both to the ground. As they crashed to the cold steel of the Danger Room floor she managed to stay on top and land a blow to the brunette's jaw, thinking it compensation for her swollen and bleeding lip. Before she could do anything else however, the brunette's legs wrapped around her throat and pulled her backwards, essentially reversing their positions as Tara found herself pinned on the ground, her rival's legs cutting off almost all air intake.
The brunette suddenly appeared in her limited and swimming vision, a smirk plain on her face. "I'm so used to you fighting dirty I've learned to predict it." She snickered, sending Tara into a rage. This all seemed so familiar! Tara knew she knew this girl but didn't know how this girl knew her so well. It was almost like… No, it couldn't be her; she was long gone. Although the more Tara thought about it the more it made sense, she just wouldn't allow herself to secede to that fact. She jerked, trying to find a way to escape only to realize that her arms and torso were pinned tight; she supposed they were at a stalemate at this point, as the brunette's legs and arms were currently being used to subdue her. No, wait… Tara's legs were free. A smirk of her own came to the hydro's face as she brought the heels of her boot down solidly on the small of her rival's back.
As her opponent reached for Tara's feet to prevent another painful attack, the still enraged mutant pried the brunette's legs up just enough to free her throat and rolled, sending both their bodies tumbling, limbs intertwining. Tara scrambled, knowing if she didn't free herself soon she'd find herself in another compromising position. As she made it away and to her feet she made note of her aches and pains, knowing her overworked muscles were going to be more tender than the rest in a short while. She glowered as the girl before her picked herself up and dusted off almost leisurely, as if taunting the entire battle. Her smug attitude was beginning to distract her from the matter at hand, mainly staying focused to attack. She knew that's the only reason the girl was doing it and it pissed her off even further that she was falling for it.
"Getting tired?" It was apparently the Southerner was beginning to lose her momentum. It was to be expected considering it'd been years since she'd had a workout like this.
"Would you shut the fuck up already?" Tara snapped in response, wiping the smeared blood from her face. "By the way, this whole 'mysterious dominatrix' thing went out in the 90's." She added, nodding her head at the brunette's attire. It looked far more professional and angst ridden than her battle suit, which thankfully fit just as snug as it did four years ago.
No more words passed between the two and they began to circle, looking for an opening to attack. Tara desperately wished there was a small amount of water anywhere in the vicinity, if there was the fight would be over in an instant. She was wearing down and knew she wasn't going to last much longer but she be damned if the cheeky brunette in front of her was going to come out on top.
And then it was as if the gods of dirty fighting smiled down upon her, and Tara felt ridiculous for not thinking of this sooner. There was water in the human body, in fact that was what the majority of the human body consisted of. She'd discovered years ago that she had a rudimentary and painful form of telekinesis if she concentrated her powers on the water that coursed through the body. She was generally against using this power, as those she used it on were obviously in agony when she did. However, Tara was not particularly fond of this girl and indeed wished to cause her a significant amount of pain. She pointed two fingers at the brunette and raised them, watching as her opponent slowly raised off the ground. She snickered as the girl's face contorted in pain and she briefly considered parading her around like a puppet for a few moments.
"Torrent!" Logan snarled from across the room, eliciting a jump from the hydro. "I said no powers! That's an unfair advantage! Cut it out or you'll be sparring with me!"
She scowled and flicked her wrist, dropping the girl to a heap on the ground. Tara clasped her hands behind her back and strolled over to the gasping brunette, nudging her with the toe of her boot. "Done now?" She chuckled, knowing her limbs probably just felt as if they'd been wrenched from her body. This fight was over; game, set, match. Tara turned to leave only to have her feet kicked out from under her. Before she could react she had landed face first on the steel floor, the wind effectively knocked out of her. The brunette was on her in an instant, planting her knee in the middle of Tara's back and grabbing her wrists, jerking both painfully behind her back.
The more she struggled the more her shoulders screamed at her and the more her opponent's knee buried into her back, restricting her ability to breathe. "Done now?" The girl repeated, wrenching her arms tighter as a reminder as to who was dominant. There was no escaping this position… well, none that Tara could achieve in her exhausted shape. She wouldn't admit to defeat though. Not to her.
A faint clunking was heard and the duo turned to see Logan walking towards them looking very smug at the outcome. He was glad the hydro hadn't won, not after that stunt. He extended his hand to help the victor up, allowing Tara to roll over onto her back and take a deep gasp of air. He clapped the brunette on the back in congratulations and they both stared down at the bloodied, stewing Southerner. They both knew that her pride was wounded and they prepared themselves for a verbal onslaught.
Tara glowered angrily at the high ceiling of the Danger Room, cursing everything about this day. Who was Logan to throw her into a battle after years of letting her skills go lax? And to do this without allowing her to use her hydrokinetics? That was setting her up for failure. The fact that he'd thrown her in the ring with someone who obviously still trained daily was another thing she was furious about. Who the hell did they think they were, manipulating her like that? The fact that she had a sinking feeling as to who her mystery opponent was just the cherry on top of this twisted sundae, if she were right she'd be past the point of livid and into a rage the mansion would rue for a long, long time.