Chapter 4- Ground Zero
Finally getting caught up! Please drop a favorite and a comment! I love to hear from you my followers! 3
The day went quick for Alice, sort of. The girl had gone to class and done her work, making sure to eat a good lunch before meeting up with WildSpire at the office. She had only been getting more and more anxious as the day went on. "Are you ready for your test?" WildSpire wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, a toothy grin on her lips.
"No." Alice had her hero costume on, but was shaking. "Im scared. Ive never met him before and now I have to fight him. My friends were not the best for reassurance today." She stared up at Wildspire, who rolled her eyes.
"Well I – your TRAINER- think you will do great. Now lets get going before Gang Orca eats one of us."
Alice made a choked whine in response. "Im kidding!" WildSpire laughed and they headed towards the car. They were meeting at Gang Orca's personal Gym.
The Gym was a bit out of town near the water's edge. Alice wasnt surprised by that, but the sheer size of the place made her chest flutter with excitement and anxiety. The building wasnt just a Gym, but an aquarium styled Gym. As they walked through the doors there were fish tanks that lined the walls around them, some leading off down hallways or shown the inside of personal training rooms. Gang Orca was standing near the main doors, talking to one of his assistants.
WildSpire greeted him like they had been friends for years, and maybe they had- Alice wasnt completely sure. "Afternoon, young Rise." The large male stood almost a head taller than Wildspire, his white and red eyes watched Alice with little emotion.
"A-Afternoon." Alice managed to stammer out. Gang Orca was a lot more intimidating in person. The male had the head of an Orca and two large fins were draped over his shoulders. He wore a suit and tie- which didnt help with the whole "Gang leader" approach he had going for him. Alice couldnt make eye contact. She kept her gaze to the ground, glancing up every so often to look at him.
"No need to be nervous, my dear." He held out his hand to her to shake, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I dont bite." He motioned for them to follow and headed into the main part of the gym. "Wildspire filled me in a bit about your previous issues. Although you had your license, you were put on a leave for roughly 6 months and could not preform hero work, correct?"
"Yes Sir," Alice responded shakily, her breath catching in her throat.
"Alright, Ive tailored three tests around what you similarly had gone through back in Canada to get your provisional license. A test of Stamina, a test of skill, and a test of evasion. During any normal battle, you will need to do long grueling hours that arent our typical 9-5, react quickly on your feet, and be able to keep out of the cross-hairs of future villains." Gang Orca turned on his feet, hands clasped behind his back. "Do you have any questions?"
Alice straightened and swallowed, "No Sir. I understand, No questions." She tried to sound confident, but her voice seemed to come out a lot quieter than she wanted. Gang Orca just glanced down at her and nodded. She was a nervous one, but from what WildSpire told him- that didnt last long.
They approached a series of weights tied to a lift of sorts and Gang Orca gave her the rules. She'd be working on weight distribution and Quirk control. The first part of the test was a standard plank for 30 seconds before a 10lb weight was added to the girl's back. That would increase by 10lbs every 30 seconds until she called time. Although it seemed like a lot. Chess was able to reinforce the girl's body to keep her from breaking any bones. She'd have to work side by side with the cat to keep her from breaking the pose. "Ready Ms. Rise?" Gang Orca nodded as the girl readied herself, her gaze determined.
Alice took the first several weights rather well, Chess being able to keep her body from breaking. The girl was small, just under 5 foot. It didnt look like she could take a lot of weight, but Gang Orca was pleasantly surprised. She remained completely still, her breath coming out slow. Her eyes were closed as he added more weight. It wasnt until the girl reached 500lbs did she finally say something. "Time." Her words came out choked, but she'd allowed enough time so that the Pro could remove the weights without her collapsing.
"30 minutes straight." Gang Orca offered the girl a hand and hauled her to her feet. "Ive seen some pro's cave under that sort of weight, especially for your size." He nodded and took a notebook from his pocket, writing something down as Alice leaned forward to stretch out her back. She could feel where the weight had settled on her. God damn did it hurt. "So stamina doesnt end at one activity. After holding that sort of weight, youll need to move onto our next activities. Youll be put under a lot of pressure as a Hero, even moreso as time goes on. Youll go without sleep, without food, without rest for hours at a time. So be prepared."
The male motioned for someone to join them, a scrawny 20 something male came from one of the backrooms. He was tall, his brown hair held tints of green in it that matched the scales that covered his body. "Lee Ito, at your service. Ill be your second test. Adaptation and resistance. You will need to be able to react to the various situations that I will throw at you. You will need to defend against them, do you understand?" The male produced a small orb from his pocket- it was about the size of a baseball and jiggled like jello as threw it into the air and caught it again.
Alice made a face, but looked over the orange ball with a mix of curiosity and disgust. Lee didnt hesitate to promptly throw it at her, which caused the girl to squeal in alarm, rolling to the side as the orange substance hit the place she'd stood... and promptly exploded. "Good dodge! This is just the first level, so be ready!" He produced another ball from the palm of his hand, throwing it at her like a baseball pitcher. Chess reappeared from her shadows, putting himself between his owner and the assailant.
Alice threw herself forward and grabbed Chess, barely dodging the ball as it exploded. Lucky for her, the explosions reminded her of Bakugo, who she had watched try and harm people time and time again. "You have bad timing." She hissed down at him, which only made the cat purr in amusement.
The male shifted from foot to foot, a grey ball formed in his hand, "Level 2." He stated simply, lobbing the object at Alice, who rolled to the side as the ball hit the ground, exploding out into spires of rock and cement. She was trying to get a good idea of what his quirk was, but with how fast he was responding- She wasnt getting the chance to. The male flashed her a charming smile, "You are quick! Ill give you that!" He straightened and ran a hand through his green hair. He'd heard a lot about Alice from WildSpire. She gloated about Alice and her abilities, but right now he was just seeing a little girl and her cat.
"Thanks?!" Alice shouted and flipped her hair from her face, her cheeks red from the constant dodging. "Okay, you ready?" Chess had flattened against the ground, shifting to a shadow that spiraled up Alice's arm to take form of a large hammer.
Lee grinned and switched elements back to the standard explosion and the battle continued. He started switching between the explosion and the rock explosion intermittently. Alice danced back and forth, trying to get an opening, but the male kept her moving. Dodging constantly would do nothing for her, she had to make a choice now.
Alice waited until he'd gotten cocky and rolled to the side, slamming her hammer against one of the orange balls that zinged by her. Lee scrambled out of the way just in time, "Good reaction!" He let out a breath and switched elements. This girl was proving to be quicker than he thought, but that wasnt enough to win a battle. He was going to be skipping a few levels, see how she would react to such a change. Lee straightened and a purple ball formed in his hand, it dripped to the floor below, and gave a soft sizzle as it seeped into the concrete.
Alice's smile vanished. Posion? Lee didnt hesitate, he reeled back and whipped the ball of goo- which the girl barely dodged. He couldnt keep the grin off his face and whipped another Poison ball at her. She just barely brought up her hands to shield her face.
Chess reacted quickly and a large clawed hand shot out, shielding the girl from the sludge that hissed and sizzled upon impact. He meowed in annoyance, shifting back to a cat and shaking clumps of shadow from his body. "Holy crap." Alice knelt down next to him, checking him over. "Thanks Chess..." She looked back up at Lee- who was standing with a wide grin on his lips. That cat of hers had a good reaction speed.
It wasnt that Chess was impervious to the attacks. Alice was feeling the stamina drain like a battery. That last attack, plus the constant dodging, AND the poison covering Chess was taking its toll. Her breath came out short, ragged. Alice scooped the cat up and rolled out of the way as the guy switched back to the standard explosions. She knew Lee was going easy on her, he could make this test harder- but he was playing with her. ' Okay, think. Think. How are we gonna respond to him? He's not giving us a chance to rest.' She kept her arm around Chess and bolted to get some space between them. Lee laughed, she was clearly struggling to find out how to respond. He hadnt had this much fun in ages!
'Idea! Ive got an idea.' Alice kept Chess close to her and changed tactics, she had been avoiding his attacks for the last five minutes. Defensive wasnt doing anything. He was toying with her and he'd continue to toy with her if she just kept dodging. "Ready Chess?" Chess couldnt read the girl's mind, but he did know of her intentions. They were connected via that willpower- which made jobs like this so much easier. Alice ran towards him and the male readied himself for hand to hand combat. She'd only been dodging. He didnt expect her next move.
Alice dropped Chess as she rolled past him, her foot catching in the shadow and pulling what looked like a chain from the darkness. She landed on her hands, spinning her legs around to pull the rest of the weapon from the shadows. Chess had turned into what looked like a spiked ball connected via the chain to the girl's ankle. It wasnt the ideal attack, but she needed to at least get a hit in. The spiked ball hit right against the male's back and he stiffened to minimize the blow. Luckily his scales had taken most of the hit, but god damned did it hurt.
That small wince was all she needed to turn the tables. Alice's weapon switched back to her hammer in less than a second, her swings timed with each step she took forward. Lee held up his arms, bracing the attacks as best he could. The girl hit a lot harder than he'd expected. A hit to the chest knocking the wind out of him. Lee was able to dodge her next attack, but faltered when the attack came back around a second time. His shoulder took most off the attack and he danced away from her.
Alice came around again, connecting the hammer with his arm as he attempted to block. WildSpire was right, she hit hard. He bit his lip and tried to right himself, but the girl wouldnt let him create another element. She followed up with another smash that dropped the boy on his ass. He scrambled to the side as the hammer came down on the ground next to him. Lee choked back a noise as the ground buckled under the hit, causing a spidering effect that crumbled away as she pulled the hammer back. It was the first time in a long time that Alice had the chance to fight. Her mind was clear, for once, and she didnt doubt her movements. Chess reinforced her arms, her limbs, as if they hadnt been benched for the past 6 months. They fought as if no time had passed to begin with.
"Yield! I yield!" Lee laughed and held up his hands. The fight had gone a lot differently than he expected. Truthfully, he expected a shy hesitant girl with how things had started. He hadnt expected her to actually think while she stayed moving.
Alice blinked in surprise and opened her mouth to respond, but just ended up standing there confused. Chess detached from her arm and placed himself on her shoulders, his tail wavering back and forth impatiently. What? "Wait, why?"
Lee scooted back and stood, dusting himself off. "Because this test wasnt to beat me, it was for Gang Orca to observe you. I was just playing the act of training dummy." He offered a hand to her, a fanged smile present on his lips. "You have the makings of a good hero. Color me impressed."
Alice reached out and took his hand, which he shook gratefully. "I guess it seemed sort of fast?" She frowned. He barely had touched her aside from throwing things at her.
"Fighting goes on a lot longer than people think it does. You have quite a level head and make quick decisions on the field. Im genuinely impressed." Lee chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
A chuckle came from the tall man who approached behind her. "I was looking specifically for the switch between offense and defense. Nothing more. You were told to defend against an attacker, but making good choices in the midst of battle isnt something we can teach. You must learn." Gang Orca nodded his head. "There will be a time on the field where straight offense or straight defense will not cut it. You need to be able to identify that while on the field. Which you did a lot faster than I thought you would."
Lee broke out into a wide grin, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So did you figure out my quirk? I could see the confusion on your face when I lobbed that Explosive at you.
Alice tilted her head and frowned, "No, but I saw you shifting from element to element and you kept switching between them. So no doubled elements." She wrinkled her nose at the male, who chuckled in response.
"See Im able to cycle through the elements I know the compounds for. So Fire, stone, and water are usually the first level stuff, but you were countering that fast. So I jumped a level to Poison. I bet if we fought longer, you'd figure it out. You and that cat of yours are full of surprises and Im sure we only scratched the surface on what you can do." Lee grinned and bid his fair well, leaving Alice to turn to Gang Orca again.
"The last test will be preformed in Ground Beta. You will get a half hour to get situated somewhere on the field. Your job is to not be found until 1500 hours." The pro scribbled something down on his clipboard and turned to head towards the doors.
Alice froze.
No no no.
Wildspire cleared her throat and moved to stand in front of Gang Orca. "Kugo, maybe we can come up with something different?" She rarely used his first name, which got the male's attention.
He tilted his head. "Something different? Akiyama, you know as well as I do that your student needs to be able to stay hidden for extended periods of time." He sighed. "But if yo-"
"-Ill do it." Alice choked out the words and stood straighter. Her cheeks were red, but she kept her head held high. "I have to rip off the bandage eventually." The thought of being stalked by the Pro-hero was one of the most anxiety inducing things she'd even come across, but if this is what it took for her to get her license- she'd do it. "If its what I have to do. Ill do it. I just will make sure I wont get caught."
Wont get caught... The words echoed in her head as the two hero's exchanged a glance. "Are you sure, love?" WildSpire furrowed her brows. She knew what Alice had gone through back in Canada. She didnt want to cause the girl to relive those memories.
"Yeah. He's right. I'll have to learn to stay hidden. Im eventually going to be put in a place where I have to hide. Where I have to make sure no one finds me." Alice swallowed and ran her hand through her hair to calm her nerves. Chess let out a soft growl in response. He wasnt happy with the arrangement either.
"Alright, only if you are sure." Gang Orca turned his attention to Alice to study her. "Instead Ill give you a full hour to get situated. You will need to stay hidden until 3.30pm. Is that fair?"
Alice nodded slowly and took a breath. "Yeah. That's fair."
The next hour went by fast. The group made their way to Ground Beta and Alice was released to go find a place to set up camp. She had placed herself atop one of the buildings, keeping towards the shadows. Chess stood next to her on the edge of the building, his ears perked for noises. "This wont be another repeat of The Poacher. I know it wont." She looked down at Chess, who meowed softly in response. "Right? We got this. We just have to stay hidden for..." She looked down. "Two hours, right?"
Chess shrugged absently and turned his attention to the field again. He could hear the doors to the main grounds opening and leaned forward to see if he could get a good look. He couldnt. "It's 1.30 now. So "The Villain" should be entering the field. Chess, search."
The cat flattened into the shadows and zipped down the side of the building, trailing through the various alley ways and roads to find Gang Orca's location. The male was making his way down the center street, hands shoved into the pockets of his suit. He'd heard about what happened earlier this year and hoped this might help Alice work through her trauma. She had a lot of potential. It'd be a shame if what that bastard off a man had done took her from being a hero.
The Poacher was a man who was kidnapping Hero students and hunting them on a secluded property somewhere in the Canadian wilderness. It was reminiscent of Stain himself. Authorities had crashed the camp site, but the villain kidnapping students had escaped. It'd left the girl traumatized afterword, but from what the other students had said. Alice was one of the first kids to fight back while being hunted for sport. She'd been the only one to escape, still able to notifying the police of the location after almost two weeks of limited food and water. Gang Orca sighed softly- for someone so young to have gone through that. His heart ached. It was disgusting to think that someone was hunting students like animals. No wonder the girl was anxious to do the last test. It felt inhumane, but it was a trait that Alice would eventually have to get over if she were to remain a hero.
After the events, Alice had been benched until further notice. She'd spent a lot of time in physical therapy and pushed into Trauma counseling. It wasnt until she'd lashed out at another student did her mother ship her back to Japan. Maybe a change of scenery would do the girl some good. Wildspire had stepped in after. Stating that she'd keep an eye on the girl her first few weeks, so if anything happened. She'd have someone to look out for her.
Chess had found the male as he turned down an alley. He'd spotted Gang Orca passing and zipped back to Alice immediately. "What'd ya find?" She ran her hands down the cat's body and he motioned towards the direction that Gang Orca was coming from. "Good. Unless we do something stupid or he decides to go atop the buildings- we should be good to hunker down for a bit." She sat back and let out a breath. Chess was just as anxious as she was, she could tell. The cat was having trouble maintaining form, his cat-like body shifting and jittering constantly. This was the first time in a situation like this after they escaped. Chess had suffered just as much as she had.
They kept low for awhile, letting the minutes trickle by until Chess heard the Pro-hero enter his territory. He pawed at Alice, who nodded and motioned for Chess to take hold of her. Their normal means of travel was to have Chess hold onto the back of her jacket, using his 4 additional clawed arms to maneuver across the tops of buildings and climb to higher areas. He looked like a small backpack, his little face the only thing visible in this form. She hoped that heading back to an area that Gang Orca had already been in would help keep him off the trail. It was a great plan if Alice hadnt stumbled landing from one building to the next. She hit the cement hard, letting out a soft hiss as Chess helped her to her feet. He kept her suspended in the air as the girl rubbed her elbows. "Ohhh, that hurt so bad." She whined softly and Chess set her on her feet- his hands retracting to sit on her shoulder and hold her hips.
Gang Orca's head snapped around and he stopped walking. He had been listening out for the girl for the last few minutes after he detected movement, but the tumble had given him an exact location. His abilities helped enhance his hearing enough to pinpoint where she was in the grounds. He had hoped she'd stay hidden from him so he wouldnt have to track her down. "Sorry Kiddo." He turned on his heel, heading in the direction of her fall.
Alice groaned softly and went to look over the side of the building. She didnt see the hero, but that didnt mean he wasnt still after her. The fall was a stupid mistake, she'd hoped that a stupid mistake wouldnt be her downfall, but the gods had other plans. "We gotta find a place to lay low and fast." She backed up and took off running, jumping from one building to the next as Chess was careful to help her land. Her anxiety was spiking again, which only turned into a trigger the moment the male came into her view as she landed.
She noticed him before he noticed her. The Pro knew she was in the area, but it was hard to tell where. She had gone quiet to his ears and ducked down behind the building ledge, her hands over her mouth. She had been trying not to hyperventilate. The anxiety had escalated into a panic attack the moment she saw him, her heart was roaring in her ears. Chess wrapped his arms around her chest to calm her and give her some sort of reassurance. He felt bad that his master was struggling, but their job was to hide- not fight back. He knew that this was training, Alice had said it was training. The big fish man said it was training, but her fear felt so real. He tightened his grip and Alice whimpered. It hurt, but he didnt notice much. He wanted his master to feel better. Pressure helped. She was scared. He could help. He wanted to make it go away.
"Chess, please!" The girl choked out his name and the cat snapped back to reality. Gang Orca was standing over them, his hand on her arm to reassure her. She was gasping desperately for breath and trying to push the cat's arms off her. The cat retracted, alarmed and reformed next to her. He could tell that a few of her ribs were broken. Chess flattened his ears and reached out to touch her. "Im okay. Im okay." She coughed, wiping the blood that dripped down her chin. The pain shared between them was obvious now that his brain wasnt hyper focusing on her fear. He rubbed his cheek against her leg, meowing anxiously.
"It's alright. Take a deep breath. We will get you checked out. Can you stand?" Gang Orca had a look of concern on his face. The girl could have stayed hidden if she wouldnt had been gasping for breath. He'd heard and gone to investigate, only to find the teen clawing at her chest to get the cat's paws off her.
"Yeah. I just need a moment." Alice took a deep breath in and started hacking again. It hurt so badly to take deep breaths. She stood shakily and Gang Orca braced her with an arm on her shoulder. Chess flattened his ears and slipped into her shadow. He felt so guilty, but he knew she understood. The cat had gone through just as much as she had. He just wanted to help. He just wanted to keep her safe.
The pair made it back to the main gate and both WildSpire and Recovery girl were there to meet them. WildSpire was a worried mess, but Recovery girl got to work right away making sure there was no lasting damage. "He did a number on your ribs." She clicked her tongue and pressed a gentle kiss to the girl's cheek. "The pain will subside in a few minutes, but you must take it easy for the rest of today. No workouts, no strenuous activity. Just go back and relax."
Alice nodded, truthfully the whole panic attack had made her tired. She really didnt think she would get her license at this rate. The whole trauma had really set her back behind her peers. She had been at the top of her class back home. Now she was here. "I know. I will. Thank you." Alice kept her gaze on the ground, a faint frown on her lips.
"We'll take you back to the dorms, kiddo. Do you need anything?" WildSpire wrapped her arm around Alice's shoulder and steered her towards the car. She glanced back at Gang Orca, who looked just as guilty as the cat. She'd talk to him later. This had been too much for the girl, she knew that. She should have put a stop to it when Gang Orca mentioned the final test. But right now, she just needed to get her student home.