Adam looked up at the sky. It was coated with red dots fluttering by, but he didn't see them. He was gazing at the sky, but that's not what he was looking at. Adam was looking inward. The White Fang had put him on hold; there were no missions for him to go on. With work out of the question, the man had considered his options carefully before deciding to rest on a large rock in the midst of many red trees. He'd thought about going into town, but he knew the White Fang wanted him somewhere accessible in case something came up. So there he lay, thinking about someone he hadn't given any thought to in a long time: Blake Belladonna.

It had been at least two months since Adam had stormed Junior's club and beat the information that he wanted out of the informant. These days, the White Fang was mainly in preparation stage, coordinating things with Roman Torchwick. The Dust shipment Junior had been ordered to track down was, apparently, waiting to be deployed for quite a while when the White Fang thought it was already on the move. Consequently, they were set back by the two months since the incident at the club. During that time, Adam had gone on small missions, doing nothing big or exciting. The man grew more bored by the day, his hand twitching every time it neared his sword. As a man who thrived on excitement, Adam wasn't used to laying low. He could do it, just not happily. And so, in an attempt to stave off the boredom, he decided to regale himself with memories of Blake.

"You're spinning too much. Always face your enemy," Adam admonished. Blake panted, her blades shining in the sun.

"How do I do that, huh?" She spat.

"Figure it out yourself."

"You're really not much of a teacher, are you?" Blake sighed. Adam chuckled.

"You have two blades, you should figure out how to use them. I don't practice that style."

"But you have an idea."

"Me telling you how to use your own unique style is like a teacher giving the students answers to the test that's been prepared. I can give you the problem, but you need to find the solution."

"I have no idea what you want from me!" The girl cried out angrily. Adam sighed.

"You're not fighting to impress me. You're fighting to survive. As long as you figure out a way to swing those blades that doesn't make you look like you're having a seizure, you've solved your problem."

"Seizure? There's no way I looked that ridiculous," Blake scoffed.

"You did. I was trying not to laugh."

"That's a lie!"

"My sides were splitting."

"Look, just tell me what I want to know!"

"You have to find out what you want to know. I can't tell you." Blake glared at him, sheathed her blade into its sheathe.

"We don't have time for this. We're not at school; we're part of an organization that fights against the law and every battle jeopardizes our lives. I need to know how to survive."

"But this is school. It's the school of Adam, and it's always in."

"Shut up!" Blake snapped testily. Her mentor smiled. He didn't bother to hide how much fun he was having anymore.

"I love you too, cupcake," he said. Blake turned around, hiding her face. The words made her blush ever so slightly.

"Now you're just screwing with me!"

"You could always play along," Adam suggested innocently.

"T-This is so stupid! You're my mentor, you should take me more seriously!"

"Maybe you should take me more seriously instead. Instead of fighting me at every turn, you could humor me and take some of my advice to heart."

"Like what?!"

"Raising your voice in an argument ensures defeat. Always stay calm," Adam said.

"And this factors into my battle training how, exactly?"

"It doesn't. I'm just giving an example. Look, I'm going on a mission in five minutes. When I get back, I expect you to tell me what you're gonna do about your sword problem." Blake opened her mouth to protest, but instead stopped talking and proceeded to think. Adam grinned as he walked away.

Adam cursed as the purple energy rained down upon him. He moved around it, using his sword to knock away any of it that got too close. The woman he was fighting stood in front of him, swinging a riding crop and firing purple beams of energy at the vigilante. He turned and ran, and the energy chased him. He found himself running into a wall; the two were fighting in close quarters. He kicked off of the wall and rolled off of his shoulder as he landed after he flipped over the energy. It swerved up and followed him, and this time he ran towards the woman standing ahead of him. A purple energy sigil appeared, and black fog spread from it. Adam unsheathed his blade, slashing faster than the eye could see, and the fog was knocked out of the way by the force of his swing. The woman narrowed her eyes, clearly feeling the pressure. She swung her riding crop back and jumped away from Adam. The ground shattered beneath him and formed small spike piles, and he jumped over one, running past as the ground reformed behind him. The energy followed as well, but his opponent was cornered. She made an energy shield and Adam kept running. He kicked off of the shield and jumped behind her. The energy beams were too slow and slammed into the shield, knocking the woman over. The ground stopped reforming, and Adam ran away from his opponent.

"Adam! We've done it! You can retreat!" A soldier called out from an opening in the wall created by explosives. The woman got up and fired more energy at Adam, who slashed it away. However, one caught him off-guard and his slash was sloppy. The energy made him stagger, and he had to roll to dodge the next energy beam. He kicked off of the ground and flipped over the beam, running after the soldier. He unsheathed his sword and the sheathe began to change until it looked like a rifle. He fired it at the woman's feet and she stepped back instinctively. She cursed as Adam escaped. She couldn't catch him now. Adam, for his part, regretted not being able to stay and fight the woman. It wasn't every day that someone got to fight one-on-one with Glynda Goodwitch.

As Adam evaded his wily Huntress opponent, Blake was having problems of her own. She had made no progress. She wasn't skilled enough to twirl her blades, and couldn't prevent her body from turning with each of her strikes. Cursing Adam's name, she tried again, and ended up falling down this time. She was getting very, very tired. She wanted to sit down and rest, but she thought of Adam coming back to find her doing nothing. The thought stung, and she kept going, trying to find equilibrium in her strikes. She met failure yet again.

"I'd like to see him try fighting with two swords," she spat. She swung one of her blades to get a better sense of its weight, and frowned even deeper than she was before.

"I can swing one fine, why not two? Besides, shouldn't they counterbalance each other?" She mused aloud. She swung her katana over and over, absentmindedly occupying herself while thinking of some sort of technique to use. As she swung her blade one last time, the thought hit her. She used a two bladed style, but there was no rule saying she had to use both blades at the same time. She slashed once with her katana and then shifted her stance, attacking with the other blade. It felt sloppy, but balanced. She could do this. She'd prove it to Adam.

"Honey, I'm home," Adam said jokingly. Blake turned red ever so slightly at the words, but he didn't see. She was in the next room, waiting proudly. He cracked his neck, a habit he knew Blake hated, and walked in.

"So. Have you found your answer?" She puffed out her chest, trying to look impressive.

"I have," was her confident answer. Adam smiled.

"You sound sure. Go ahead," he said calmly. And with that, she sprung into action. She held one hand behind her back, and with her free hand, she sliced four times, and then did so with the other hand after switching her position.

"What do you think?" She asked hopefully.

"Huh," was all she got. Blake snarled.

"Huh? Is that all? Is it?! I worked my butt off trying to think of a way to impress you-" And with that, she stopped. She'd said the wrong thing.

"That's why you were looking for a new tactic? To impress me? Blake, I'm not worth impressing. Besides, this is survival, right? You said so yourself," Adam told her. She scowled and walked off.

"Whatever!" She shouted. Adam walked in a different direction.

"Are you sure you should just leave her alone?" A soldier asked, the same one Adam had been working with during the mission.

"I have no idea what her problem is, and she doesn't either. I'm her mentor, not her boyfriend. She can work out her teenage drama by herself."

"Okay..."

"Don't give me that. You can go talk to her if you're so eager," Adam said. The soldier laughed nervously.

"Hey, I'm not looking to be a part of this, I'm just surprised you're not with her. Even you can see how much she admires you. You're like her idol."

"And that's why I'm not with her. I'm no idol, and one day she'll see that. Blake's gotta walk her own path and learn to idolize no one."

"Even so, she did figure out how to use her swords effectively."

"She did. I wasn't expecting her to go with the path of least resistance, but she's smart, probably smarter than I give her credit for," Adam said. The soldier began to walk away.

"When do you think she'll be ready for a mission?" He asked.

"No idea."

THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL CONTINUE WITH THE FLASHBACK FROM BLAKE'S POINT OF VIEW. AS USUAL, I'D LOVE FEEDBACK. THE MORE I CREATE MY OWN VERSION OF ADAM, THE MORE I WANT HIM TO APPEAR IN THE SHOW SO THAT I HAVE AN ACTUAL PERSONALITY TO WORK WITH AS OPPOSED TO A FEW LINES OF DIALOGUE AND A LOT OF SPECULATION. RIGHT NOW, I REALLY WANT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK ADAM'S SEEING RED INTO THE STORY, LIKE IN A FLASHBACK. IT SEEMS HIGHLY IMPRACTICAL TO USE WITHOUT SOMEONE TO BUY HIM TIME, BUT HE PROBABLY HAS OTHER POWERS THAT ARE A LOT EASIER TO USE. BESIDES, HOW SEEING RED WORKS IS, LIKE A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT ADAM, PURE SPECULATION.