"Guah!" Mike let out a pained groan as my foot sank into his chest.
The ex-seal quickly recovered, a training knife flipping gracefully in his finger as he suddenly launched the blade at me.
I leaned with a smirk on my face, letting the blade ruffle my hair as it missed me.
Mike gave me a wry smile, leaping backwards and grabbing a wooden sword. I grinned at him and threw my own training knife at the man, sending it blurring at his face.
Mike easily parried, deflecting the knife with a simple twist of his sword.
I used the moment to leap back and grab my own wooden sword, bringing to bear.
We began to circle the gym, each other, our eyes locked in a feral gaze.
Without warning he shot towards me, sword raised above his head.
He swung down, and I lifted my sword to block — only for him to feint. He dropped his posture and twisted slashing at my hips.
I pivoted, barely escaping the strike, I twisted, swinging down at his shoulder. The clash of our wooden swords rang out through the gym as Mike blocked.
His feet shifted, and in the blink of an eye his foot was barreling towards my face.
I leaned back, and I swear I could smell his unwashed feet. Before he could fully recover I sent a teep at his ass, sending him rolling across the rubber mat.
I followed him in zig-zagging strides, my sword coiling at my side.
Mike slammed a hand down, flipping himself to his feet and simultaneously sliced up at my face.
What is he fucking YODA?
I cursed, barely dodging out of the way of his slash. With gritted teeth I dashed at him, unintentionally channeling the Force in my steps I accelerated in the blink of an eye.
Mike grunted in surprise, his body twisting in a panic.
My sword stabbed into his chest, stealing the air from his lungs. I grinned and looked up… to see Mike holding a dagger to my neck, with a smug smile on his face.
"You had two knives…" I said pulling away with a sigh.
Mike scoffed, "Two?" He lifted the back of his shirt to reveal two more knives sheathed behind his back.
I shook my head, "Who the hell carries four knives?!"
Mike chuckled, and puffed his chest out. "A winner, clearly."
I groaned and turned to return the sword before grabbing my things.
"Well, thanks again for the session man, I'll see you on Friday."
"Hold your horses kid."
I tilted my head at the man. "Whats up?"
Mike scratched the back of his head. "Theres really not much I can teach you." He said slightly embarrassed.
"r-Really?" I asked, slightly deadpan. It had only been two months, I certainly didn't feel like I had nothing else to learn. I'd hadn't beat him cleanly a single time, every 'victory' pyrrhic.
"Yeah kid, really. Honestly what you need now is experience."
"Experience? Fighting? Like for real?"
"Like for real. Listen, Friday's session is canceled, I got a gig and if I return next week then I'm going to offer you a job."
I titled my head.
"A job? What kinda job?" Is this dude a drug dealer or something? Oh fuck is he part of The Hand?
Mike waved away my concerns. "Don't worry kid, it's nothing illegal, it's contract work."
"...and I'm assuming its going to provide me with 'experience?'"
"Yeah, just… just think about it. Get going kid, it's getting dark."
I waved Mike goodbye, and stepped into the evening air. As I walked back to my apartment I mulled over Mike's job.
Its legal?
Maybe a security job of some kind, or VIP guard duty?
Wait…
Did he say IF he gets back?
The fuck?
—
A couple blocks away from my apartment I suddenly felt a disturbance in the Force.
A scream of anguish.
My head whipped towards a dark alley, a wave of fear and suffering flooding towards me.
Then I heard a woman scream.
I don't know why I did it. I just did.
The moment I stepped into the dark alley my sweat training clothes vanished, replaced by an all black burglar outfit. A metal baseball bat in my hand.
My free hand flicked out, blurring through three gestures in a single breath. An intangible ripple of energy erupted from my fingers, my eyes suddenly warping into silvery cat-eyed slits.
The dark abyss of the alley lifted as my night vision kicked in.
I saw two guys pinning down a woman as another leered behind them, her clothes ragged, face slick with tears.
I blurred forwards, my bat swinging over my head in a rage-fueled arc.
*CRACK!
One of the sick fucks wailed, slumping forwards as I shattered his spine.
"w-what! The fu—!"
I twisted, interrupting the started thug to my left with a Force enhanced swing to his face.
The crumple of his nose was sickening, a gush of blood exploding from his cratered face.
The last man screamed, a switch-blade flicking open as he wildly stabbed at me.
I weaved inwards, slamming my elbow into his face, before catching him on the way down with a BONK of my now blood drenched bat.
The spine-shattered thug screamed in pain, something about not feeling his legs.
My bat swung down, the force of the blow bouncing his head against head concrete below.
The ensuing silence was heavy.
I turned to the woman, making her tense as our eyes met.
"Can you walk?" I asked with a deadpan tone.
The woman stared at me before slowly nodding.
I returned her nod and turned away, walking back towards the road, my bat held loosely at my side. "Make sure to call the cops." I yelled over my should as I disappeared around a corner.
—
"Whats wrong?" Tao asked me while she overlooked me practicing a cloaking spell.
"huh?" I said, turning to her.
"You're distracted and you've had this look on your face for the past three hours."
I flexed my face muscles, feeling a frown I didn't know I was wearing relax.
"Oh, sorry."
Tao's face softened, she snapped her fingers and the dojo warped, twisting into a cozy study with a fire-place and two couches. Of course, there was also a steaming pot of tea.
"Come, sit."
I sunk into the velvety cushions with a sigh. As Tao began pouring us tea she spoke again.
"You know… this is all quite new for me as well." She admitted, "Not knowing that is — like I said when we first met, it's refreshing. The unknown used to scare me, now I find myself enamored with it; here." She gently held a steaming cup of tea to me.
I cupped it in my hands, feeling the warmth seep between my calloused fingers.
"I… I saved a woman yesterday." I said, finding the words harder to say than expected.
Tao nodded, taking a sip of tea, a thoughtful look on her face, "And am I correct to guess that in the process of saving this woman you had to do something…"
"Violent." I answered for her.
"Heroic." She added.
I chuckled. Taking a sip of the honey sprinkled tea.
"I went overboard."
Tao's face softened. "Perhaps you did Riven…" She said, using my first name for the first time.
"…and that's a choice only you can make. I won't argue over black and white of our rather complex universe, but what you're currently feeling? Whatever it is, don't ignore it, trust yourself Riven."
I stared into the jade-like waters of my tea. The steam making my eyes water, clearly.
"I see."
I looked up at her with a smile, then a smirk.
"Thank you, Tao~"
Her brow quirked, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards.
"Tao?"
—
The weekend passed in quiet magical bliss, as long as you ignored Tao's completely spontaneous increase in physical training. It seems she was quite fond my my nickname for her, fond enough to personally beat the shit out of me with all manner of Eldritch weaponry, spells and bloody whips.
I didn't mind to be honest, getting 1 on 1 instruction from the Sorc Supreme was always welcomed. Even if she was a little heavy handed.
The requirements to become a Master of Mystic arts was both soft and hard.
There were the tangible checkboxes: Mastery of three Eldritch weapons both in terms of conjuration and martial prowess, mastery over the sling ring, and a mastery in two other chosen subjects.
Then a final evaluation.
I was getting close, primarily because I was using the Force for my energy medium, making all the spells I learnt easy as pie to master, as well as significantly more potent.
Portal creation was by far my most competent spell. I'd long since achieved mastery, as the requirement was creating a reliably stable portal with a sling ring.
The Force itself was an energy of space and time, only compounded by the fact my Spatial Storage dimension was also an ability revolving around space and time.
It was a cheat through and through.
Strange had turned sour when he saw me begin to open portals without a Sling Ring. His jaw dropped when I opened a portal with a swipe of my index and middle finger, then a twist of my wrist before I snapped my two fingers open.
The portal was completely different from the normal eldritch portals, instead of a slowly expanding circle of golden-orange fire — my portal opened with a downward slice in space, before ripping open like elevator doors.
I called it my Space Door.
When Tao saw my new and improved portal she immediately ordered me to read fifteen books on the topic of Space, Dimensions, and all the unholy horrors waiting beyond the universal veils and my comprehension.
'If I find out you've been enslaved by some — petty, dimensional lord because you inadvertently portal'd into their bedroom — I'm going to seal your magic, strip you naked and throw you into the arctic.'
Or so she threatened…
The worst part is that she actually would do that to me.
Needless to say I read with fervor, coming out the other-side of my Force Trance with a newfound fear of space in my eyes.
For my other two core subjects I decided to focus on Ancient Runes, which was a prerequisite of Enchanting, Relic creation and warding. All highly important magics for a proper secret lair.
And healing magic, which Tao was very happy about. It was an incredibly hard magic to learn — apparently.
That is, if the practitioner in question didn't have access to the Force, which, surprise surprise, has innate healing properties. I didn't know how to Force heal — every attempt left me with small, unhealed cuts across my arms — but channeling the Force into a healing spell?
Oh my god it was too easy!
Like swapping out a coal-powered generator for an Arc reactor. Night and day, Heaven and fuckin Earth!
Needless to say, I think I'm going to try for Master of the Mystic arts in two weeks, or whenever I finish all my Rune readings.
I wanted a relic! Can you blame me?
When Tuesday rolled around I was in high spirits. I had finally become a minor force to be reckoned with, both in terms of my Martial prowess, Force abilities, and Mystical Arts.
It didn't even phase me to read about the Solovakia accords that morning in the paper.
So it begins…
Civil War, the breakdown of the Avengers — which means Spider-man is getting active — and Stark is going to start snooping around.
I thought about everything that was about to go down, the sheer wanton destruction of superheroes clashing over goddamn, governmental polices.
If I had to choose, I'd probably side with Cap, Tony's fears are valid, sure, but he's not thinking straight — too caught up in the what ifs, to realize the consequences.
Not like I was going to do anything about it.
The only interesting part of the whole thing was getting my hands on some Hydra Super-Soldier-Serum, and potentially making connections with Wakanda or something.
Damn, I wonder what'll happen if I save the King T'Chaka from that explosion?
…Tao would be PISSED.
I have a couple weeks to decide, as that was when U.N conference was to set to start.
If I did go about doing it, I'd be a quiet as I could be, I really didn't need any heat — not until I became a Master of the Mystic Arts and had an established base.
Always things to do, always things… to do.
I stepped into Mike's gym, finding the man dressed not in his training gear but instead in casual clothes. A button-up flannel and jeans.
"Yo!" I said as I entered.
Mike gave me a nod, wasting no time , "Have you thought about it?"
I nodded, "Yeah, I do need a job to be honest, and I might as well hear ya out — as long as it isn't something fucked up." I finished with a sarcastic chuckle.
Mike chuckled, "Thanks kid, and I promise — no organ harvesting. Come on."
I followed Mike as we entered the back of the gym, passing his practically abandoned office until we stopped outside of a storage closet.
I quirked my brow at him, "Hey man… I don't swing that way, just so you know—"
Mike cut me off with a smack to the back of the head, which I could've dodged. "Shut the hell up kid, that's nasty — I have a girlfriend, dumbass. Just go in, and try to be a respectful."
I rubbed the back of my head in mock pain, still utterly confused as to what the fuck was going on.
"who the hell would date your violent ass…" I muttered under-breath as I stepped into the storage closet.
I had long since known this wasn't a simple closet. I'd spread my Force sense the moment we approached, sensing a large room with a table and two chairs in its center.
Inside, seated on the far chair was a strong steady presence, guarded by two equally as strong presences hidden in the corners of the room.
The moment I stepped into the room I had to control my surprise.
Seated, slightly obscured by shadows, just out of the light of a singe light-bulb hanging above the metal table was a large, well-built, very, very bald dark-skinned man dressed in a turtle-neck and leather coat, like some wanna-be vampire hunter.
The moment I stepped into the room he leaned forwards, bathing his shadowy form in the light, showing me that he was in fact, not a vampire hunter, but instead — apirate.
Motherfuckin…
The pirate gave me a disarmingly relaxed smile, a look of utter confidence and control in his single eye.
"Hello Mr. Thorne, my name is Fury. Have a seat."