"So, sensei. What else can we do?"
Fallon helped Coulson up to a standing position and pushed on a loose brick in the wall they had been leaning against. The wall opened up to reveal...a hole. A large, deep, hole. "After you," Fallon suggested.
Coulson raised a curious eyebrow in Fallon's direction. When Fallon remained unfazed, Coulson took a 'leap of faith' and jumped, landing in what looked to be a sparsely decorated executive's office. He rolled away from his landing spot, expecting Fallon to follow shortly after him. Coulson then tried to get up...and failed. His left ankle refused to support his weight.
Fallon landed in the room a moment later, rolling up to a standing position with practised ease. It was only then that he noticed that Coulson wasn't getting up. "What happened?" asked Fallon.
"My ankle," Coulson replied, "I think I twisted it."
Fallon had zero compassion for Coulson's injury. "Get up."
Coulson looked up at Fallon, stunned, confused, and slightly frustrated. "I *can't*," he complained.
"You're *wrong*," Fallon insisted. "Get up."
At Fallon's insistence, Coulson tried to put weight on his ankle again. He gawked at the younger man in amazement when he was able to push himself up to a standing position free of *any* pain. "I *swear*," he insisted. "A second ago I couldn't stand on this ankle."
Fallon smiled. "Oh, I believe you," he agreed.
It only took a split second for Coulson to make the connection. "Tiger spirit?"
"Haven't had to visit the Yīzhì once," Fallon replied confidently. "The tiger's taken care of any injury I've ever had."
Coulson's eyes widened. "Any?!"
Fallon nodded. "Part of the possession gig. When the spirit's taking care of you, you're pretty much indestructible."
"So that's the same for anyone?" exclaimed Coulson.
"Yep," agreed Fallon. "I even know somebody who got flipped because the tiger had to heal so many of her injuries..." Fallon's voice trailed off when he realized he had said too much.
Coulson make the connection almost immediately. "You're talking about Alexis Castle, aren't you?"
Fallon, reluctantly, nodded again. "She got mauled by a demon during that Mayan apocalypse battle. When she healed, let's just say she *really* became a chip off the old block."
"Wow," Coulson exclaimed, amazed. "No wonder Cap's so protective of her."
Fallon was beyond ready to change the subject. "Yeah, he's probably going to try to kick me into New Jersey for what I've said already...But enough about that," he declared. "I had a private combat training session scheduled to start in a couple of minutes. You're going to take my place."
Coulson swallowed hard. "I *am*?"
"You've had some combat training, right?" asked Fallon.
Coulson nodded. "I'm just wondering...since you and I are the only ones who have the tiger's constant protection...I just don't want to hurt anybody."
"Don't worry," Fallon teased, "I'll tell my trainer to start things off slowly."
Confused, Couson followed Fallon through a door to an adjacent room. The room was small, but well padded and reinforced. The room was clearly designed for very active workout sessions.
In the middle of the room was a petite brunette with exotically asian-looking features. She reminded Coulson of a smaller version of Melinda May...and was decidely *not* the type of person he had expected to see. "Is she your combat trainer?"
Fallon nodded, grinning wickedly. "Agent Coulson, meet my wife, Ekaterina."
"Okay, what am I missing, here?" asked Coulson.
"You will see, Warrior Coulson," Katya replied, her gaze never looking up from her centered focus on a spot on the floor mat. "Shall we begin?"
Coulson looked to Fallon for silent 'permission', and Fallon nudged him into the room. "Go on," he teased. "She won't bite. I promise."
Coulson shrugged, then decided to just give in and discover what he was in store for. He approached cautiously, keeping his hands up in a defensive position, before attempting a basic punch to Katya's undefended shoulder...
He was on the ground before he knew what had happened. Katya's face hovered over his with an obvious smirk. "I thought you said he had some combat training, darling?" she asked Fallon.
"All SHIELD agents get extensive combat training," Fallon replied with a shrug. "Or at least, I *thought* so..."
Kayta knelt down and helped Coulson up to a standing position. "Don't think, Warrior Coulson," she instructed him calmly. "Just fight." Coulson nodded, and bent over to a crouch, tensing up in anticipation of Katya's opening attack.
He wasn't disappointed. Katya tackled him with the force of a freight train, knocking him on his back for the second time in seconds. "Don't think," he grunted out as he caught his breath, repeating his the words of his 'trainer' so they had a chance to sink in. "Just fight." He kipped back up to a standing position, only to notice out of the corner of his eye that Katya was about to rush him again.
It felt like he was seeing things in slow motion. Katya was moving deliberately, but at a rate that allowed him to anticipate where she was going. He stepped aside, knelt down, and laced his hands in front of his knee. When Katya stepped into his 'trap', he flung his hands into the air...taking Katya along with them.
Only when he saw the speed with which Katya hit first the ceiling, then the floor did Coulson realize that 'reality' had returned to normal speed. He raced over to Katya's side. "My God," he exclaimed, "is she okay?"
Katya didn't miss a beat, flipping Coulson over and landing him on his back for a third time. "Never inquire into the well-being of your opponent, Warrior Coulson," she ordered. "It will only give a stronger being the chance to get the drop on you."
Fallon finally decided to give Coulson a moment's peace. "Give him a break, Kat," he told his wife. "That last move was pretty good."
When Katya helped Coulson back up to a standing position, he turned to Fallon. "What happened back there? Did time slow down or something?"
Fallon nodded and mouthed a silent "ah" before shaking his head. "Time moved at the same speed it always did. But since you were moving at a speed your body's not used to yet, it took your brain some time to catch up. That's why it felt like everything was happening in slow motion. Happened to me at first, too."
"Does it still happen?" asked Coulson. He grunted as his back hit the floor, knocking the wind out of him once again.
Fallon's face filled his field of vision as his mentor grinned mischeviously. "Nope."
#
An hour later, Coulson was drenched in sweat...and wondering how his sparring partner *still* looked like she did when they first met. Finally, Katya stopped attacking and stood across from him on the opposite side of the room. "You have done well, Warrior Coulson," she complimented him. "But since I have a class to teach, we are done for now."
"Will I see you again?" asked Coulson.
"If you like," Katya agreed. "I'm free in a couple of hours...if you'd like to try again?"
Coulson nodded. "As long as you answer one question for me."
"What would you like to know, Warrior Coulson?"
"What *are* you, exactly?"
Katya turned to her husband. "Mark...you did not tell our guest what kind of a fight he was walking into?"
"I didn't want him to have any preconceptions!" Fallon exclaimed defensively. "Besides...he had started talking about himself as being a 'superhero'. I figured you could knock that thinking down a peg or two."
"Like I do for you, darling?" Katya teased.
Fallon blushed, suitably chastised. "Do you want to tell him, or shall I?"
"I will do it," Katya replied. She turned her attention back to Coulson. "I know that someone in your line of work understands that not all legends are pure fiction."
Coulson nodded. "I've met too many Asgardians."
Katya allowed herself to break into a smile...a smile wide enough to reveal a startlingly inhuman set of fangs. "Those are not the only legends to be based in a grain of truth, Warrior Coulson."
Coulson's eyes flew wide. "You're a vampire?!" When Katya nodded, Coulson turned to Fallon. "So that crack you made earlier about how she wouldn't 'bite'..."
"I survive primarily on animal blood, Warrior Coulson," Katya explained. "Human blood, for my kind, is similar to alcohol for yours. The only human blood I've had since I've been married is my husband's."
Coulson tried and failed to keep *that* particular image and all of its implications out of his head. "You do keep the tiger busy," he muttered.
"So would you still like another training session later this evening, Warrior Coulson?" asked Katya. "Now that you 'know what you are getting into'?"
Coulson thought about the fight he had just experienced. It was humbling, sure...but he had learned a great deal about what he was capable of. And he knew that if they were ever to defeat the clairvoyant, that he would need to push himself as far as the tiger spirit was willing to take him. "I would be honored, Mrs. Fallon," Coulson finally replied. "And please, call me Phil."
