Aviva Arlington has never seen the world the way everyone else does, but she's always been very content hiding behind half-inch thick frames. She was raised to ignore her abilities and channel her energy elsewhere, but one day she has to make a life...
"Probably not," she says as I walk over to the beam.
I take off my grips and re-chalk my hands. I find the old springboard and mount the beam. I start warming up and Lena walks over with an unamused look on her face.
"Can you stand still for more than two seconds so that I can carry a conversation with you," she snaps, and I do an aerial.
"Aviva!" She yells startling me.
I wobble and try to complete a balance check. My toes slip off of the beam and my body is falling towards the mat. Two arms catch my upper body and my feet smash into the ground, I am disoriented for a few moments and someone puts me back to a standing position.
"Can you not yell at me while I'm suspended on a beam?" I ask her frustrated.
"I'm trying to talk to you, and you are ignoring me," she says to me.
Sighing I make a gesture that I am listening, and she tilts her head down ever so slightly since I am almost three inches shorter than her so that we can make eye contact. I can see how frustrated she is from her posture and I just stand there quietly waiting for her to say what is bothering her.
"Why did you leave so quickly? We weren't done with the debriefing," she says uncrossing her arms.
"I thought we were done," I say honestly.
"You're upset about letting her go even though Greyson was right, it's important that we protect the people and you did a good job of that today," she says.
"I should have been able to do both," I say trying to hold back my anger.
"And one day you will be able to but for now you can train to get to that point," she says simply.
"Are we done here?" I ask walking away and remounting the beam.
"Is this how you deal with your problems Aviva? You work out until your body is ready to break? That's not exactly very healthy!" She says to me while I continue practicing my skills.
"It's better than a lot of coping mechanisms," I say back.
"Whatever Aviva," she snaps before disappearing.
I contemplate going after her for a few minutes before going back to my workout. I spend a few hours until its dark outside before leaving. My body is stiff as I walk out of the gym. I check the stupid smartwatch that M4 gave me and see that there was a fire somewhere that Lena handled along with a building collapse that G and Metallica handled.
My feet hit the floors in my apartment, and I go and throw my stuff down in my room while still checking my phone. I pause for a moment as I realize there is somebody sitting on my couch that I just walked past without even noticing. I feel the energy in the air and easily pick up on someone's enhanced electric energy.
"I can't believe it took you that long to notice me," Xander draws out from the couch.
"It's been a long day," I say leaning against my door frame.
"Well you graduated, saved the day, and worked out for over four hours. I would warrant that a long day," he says.
"Is something wrong Xander? I have a feeling this isn't a social call," I say.
"Lena is angry, and nothing good comes out of her anger," Xander says frustrated but almost in a whine.
"I'm not quite sure as to why," I say before walking the ten feet to my kitchen and starting to prep dinner.
"First of all, you shouldn't have left before the briefing was over," Xander says.
"I thought we were done!" I exclaim frustrated, I'm still learning how all of this works!
"Second of all, everyone and their brother knows that Lena is into you and when you blatantly ignore her while she is trying to help you, it makes her upset," Xander says.
"If she's so into me then she would have the balls to tell me herself. Also, I left to go work off my frustration. There is nothing wrong with that, okay? I know my limits and I didn't push them," I say frustrated.
Alexander sighs and I just continue to whip up the meal I had planned early. We stand in tense silence for a bit before I pull out two plates and serve the food. He gives me a confused look as I pull out two forks. I sit down and start eating. He sits down across from me with a questioning look on his face.
"This isn't the first time you have seen me cook, so why do you look like a lost puppy," I say.
"Is this for me?" He asks.
"Your electrical signals are low which means you haven't eaten recently. So yes Xander, the food is for you. I don't exactly plan on eating two plates of food," I say in a faint teasing tone and he chuckles before digging in.
"Don't forget you have your final fitting tomorrow for your suit," he says after he finishes eating.
"I haven't forgotten," I say amused.
"Please go talk to her; she's my best friend and so are you. I don't want to see you two fight," he says.
"I didn't do anything wrong! I wanted to work out!" I say throwing my hands in frustration and I accidentally send water droplets everywhere.
"You were clearly upset even though that was your first save as a hero," he says and my mind flashes back to all of the little events that led up today, but I keep my mouth shut, those are for me to know about.
"Yes, Alexander I was upset. The longer that woman is running out the more people she can hurt, my father included. I am allowed to be upset about that, that's why I went to work out. I worked through my emotions and now I am okay," I say in a slightly patronizing tone. Alexander pauses for a moment.
"Talk to her," he says.
"I will tomorrow, okay? I am tired and want to sleep. I don't want to be late for my fitting," I say with a smirk.
"Fine," he says before giving me a hug goodbye and leaving.
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