GOLDEN AGE | ON HIATUS

XVI | NARCISSA

Anyway, Finn would be able to take them on easily enough, wouldn't he? 

As much as Narcissa hated to admit it, she knew that winning a fight on foreign land would take some time - and up against Rex, she didn't know whether she stood a chance - alone, that was. With the rest of Project ORDER, she realised, it couldn't be that difficult. Pulling her t-shirt over her head, Narcissa stopped herself, restraining the urge to bash her head against the concrete wall.

When did she start thinking of herself as a hero?

The word tasted disgusting on her tongue, all sickly sweet and wrong. She wasn't a hero - after all that she'd done, she could never be. Heroes didn't knock down buildings, crush innocent people under the rubble. Heroes didn't watch people die and call it a victory nonetheless. Heroes didn't shoot to kill when handed a fresh stack of hundred dollar bills. Heroes didn't abandon the people they loved so that they could come back with hardened hearts, willing for everything to be the same.

No, the Scarlet Serpent was not a hero.

With a sharp tug at her belt, she bundled her clothes into her arms, a pant leg dangling over her forearm dismally. The image of scrabbling hands and apartment railings echoed in Narcissa's head, lingering for a moment too long before she was finally able to banish it. Pushing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath as she opened the door, where Finn was sat on one of the benches, whistling as he fiddled with his own belt.

"You ready?" he asked as he looked up, dark eyes bright. The golden light made him look like-

No. It didn't matter, Narcissa scolded herself.

Her legs were trembling with anticipation by the time she was finally at the sparring mats, but the teasing look on Finn's face made her signature scowl creep back onto her features.

"No armour?" he asked with a laugh.

She shook her head. "We won't have it in an actual fight, will we?"

That was how she'd always worked - if the technique couldn't be exactly done in a real-life scenario, she wouldn't do it. There was no point in wasting her time. Besides, her enhanced durability and stamina took care of the struggles that a regular opponent might have, giving her more time to focus on the things that mattered. Namely, absolutely destroying the golden boy in this fight.

Finn cocked his head, muscles in his shoulders rippling as he raised his arms, warming up silently. "Nope. Smart thinking, Corvus."

"Coming from you, that's not much of a compliment. I've met toddlers smarter than you, Johnson."

"Back up, Nana. You haven't met a toddler in your life, unless you've dangled one out of a building or something."

Nana?

The nicknames brought back an influx of memories, and Narcissa forced herself to keep her legs planted firmly on the ground before her knees buckled beneath her. 

"First of all, hurting kids is against my moral compass-"

"Good to hear."

"Second of all, what did you call me?"

Finn shrugged. "Enlighten me, Scarlie."

"You need to be stopped."

Satisfied with the makeshift warmup she'd done, jogging on the spot and a few stretches, Narcissa nodded towards the centre of the mat, where the two of them stood for a moment, squaring each other up somewhat jokingly. 

At least, she was. 

Finn just stood there grinning like an idiot. 

"Fight me," he said at last, opening his arms before bowing at the same time Narcissa did. 

Balling her hands into fists, Narcissa bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, furrowing her eyebrows as she thought of a way to bring him to the ground without cheating as much as she usually would've liked. They hadn't sparred in a long time - she supposed she would spare him the embarrassment this one time. 

He aimed a kick at her side, but she deflected it easily, scoffing between long breaths, filling her lungs with glorious air.

"Come on, you're gonna need to try a little bit harder, Midas."

"You sure?" Finn's eyes flashed as he backed away momentarily, coming back with a flying side kick that heavily collided with her skull. A normal person would've been sobbing with pain, but, of course, Narcissa was anything but normal. With a smirk, she ignored the hit, delivering a few rapid-fire punches to his stomach. In return, Finn kicked her a few more times, becoming more and more confident when she stopped hitting him back, resorting to just blocking.

The sharp rustle of their suits as they moved continued for a minute or two longer, in a steady rhythm that Narcissa found herself listening along to until the set of Finn's jaw alerted her attention. As his kick, which he'dd evidently been planning for a while, went soaring over to her head, she ducked, slipping under his bent arms and elbowing him hard in the abdomen. Almost instantly, he keeled over with a groan, hands clutching his stomach, Narcissa standing over him with a devilish grin overpowering the indifference she'd tried to paint on her face.

Seizing the collar of his suit, she forced him into an awkward stance, legs bent underneath him, before raising her leg in a swift kick that sent him to the floor with a thump. But before she could gloat about her victory, unbearably strong hands tugged at her legs, locking them together and pulling her down as she stood, shock stopping her from doing much other than falling.

It wasn't a great move, but it was a dirty one, and the beam on Finn's face told her that he knew. 

"Gotcha."

It was only them that Narcissa realised she'd fallen on top of him; their noses were now nearly touching, and she could feel his cool breath tickling her cheek. She rolled over forcefully, landing on the mat next to him, foam sinking into her limbs as she sprawled out, spread-eagle, breathing heavily.

"I hate you," she told him for the second him, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow.

Finn smiled. "I know. That's what makes this so fun."

Nearby whoops and barks of laughter revealed themselves to be Wildfire and Sasha, chocolate frappucinos clutched in their hands, of which they took several loud sips before speaking.

"That. Was. Fantastic," Wildfire announced, nodding at Narcissa. "You totally kicked his ass, dude."

"We've agreed that you won, Narcissa," Sasha told her with a giggle, casting an amused look at Finn. "I don't think he's used to losing."

"Really?" Narcissa arched an eyebrow. 

"I don't mind losing!" Finn called, taking a swig from his water bottle. "It's the experience that builds up my endurance."

"God, I forgot how disgustingly optimistic he is. Please don't tell me he's always like this."

Sasha laughed. "Then I won't say anything. Come on. Press conference at six. Let me help you get ready."

"A press conference. Nice."

It was not, in fact, nice. Reporters were very high on the list of things that Narcissa didn't like, but pinning her exasperation on Sasha would be pointless and make everything worse than it already was.

For once, Narcissa decided to shut up and let Sasha drag her along.

[ end ]