Maverick woke up the next morning and winced as he pushed himself up.
He felt as if he had been drinking the night before but... he knew he wasn't. He suddenly remember Phoenix helping him here, and... and he learned her name.
Strange.
No agent has ever told him their name besides Slider and Ice... he was confused as to why. It just didn't make sense to him at all.
He pulled himself up and walked out into his living room when he heard knocking at the door. He walked over and opened the door.
It was Phoenix. She handed him a bag with various things in it. "There's food, there's some vitamins, and medicine since your room has none of it. Don't forget you have a class with us in an hour." She said.
Maverick held the bag and looked blankly at her in confusion.
"Wha- why?" Was all he could say.
She looked at him and chuckled. "You remind me of someone I know." She waved and walked off down to the training ground. He looked in the bag as he went back to his room.
Phoenix went down to the training ground and turned on a simulation. She started to fight holograms. She easily went up against 5 assailants and beat them all.
She panted as she looked at the settings and upped the number. "Ahhh there's the overachiever." That annoying voice said. She turned and looked at Hangman.
"And there's the pain in my ass... what are you doing here so early..."she said bluntly. Clearly she wanted to have a peaceful morning, but that quickly dissolved.
"Damn... calm down. I'm here to train before our class. I need to loosen up you know." He said as he tossed his bag down and jumped into the arena.
She raised a brow. "Wanna spar?" She offered. He looked at her and nodded. "Sure..." he said as he took off his jacket.
She grabbed some rubber knives and handed him one. "Best out of three?" She said. He nodded and waited for her to get into her stance.
Then the two switched modes and rushed each other. She swung and went for his neck. Phoenix was a fighter who wanted to take out her target fast and make them suffer less.
Hangman swung for her arm. Hangman on the other hand was wanting whoever his target was to suffer. Each of the agents were good in their own categories of fighting, so, it was a far fight.
The two eventually came to a tie. Hangman called it and chuckled tiredly. "You're crazy..." he said.
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "That's just how I fight." She said as she sat down next to him. He looked around the room and sighed. "Sorry for bugging you." He said as he avoided her gaze.
She raised a brow slightly as he continued. "I didn't mean to harass you and stuff... I'm typically like that when I know I'm in a crowd of people who can out do me in anything." He said.
Phoenix just chuckled and sighed. "I guess my intuition was correct. You're not as bad as the rumors describe." She said as she grabbed her water bottle.
He looked at her surprised. "You didn't believe them?" He asked.
"Why would I? They're rumors. You're you. The only way I would believe any rumors is if the person told me straight up." She said as she pulled out her phone and looked at the time.
Hangman was stunned. He honestly wasn't expecting anything like this. He turned and looked at his hands.
She was nicer than most....
The group got to class.
Maverick came in a few minutes later than he usually does which threw the group for a loop. Rooster watched him closely, and then everyone noticed that he placed something in front of Phoenix.
"Thank you..." he said. She looked at him surprised and looked at what he gave her. It was a snack. "You're welcome sir." She said.
"Was this a little mission we didn't know about?" Rooster said curiously.
Maverick placed his things on the podium. "Well, basically, last night when I got hurt I was drugged. The drug got into my bloodstream and Phoenix got me home, got me food, patched me up etc. so, I'm just expressing my thanks." He said as he opened up a file.
Phoenix was quite surprised but brushed it off.
"Since we all need to learn how to work as a team. I have one of the most aggressive teambuilding exercises." He said with a smirk.
Everyone started to sit up straighter.
Maverick handed out a piece of paper to everyone. Hangman raised a brow. "You all need to write your biggest fears for this group with a partner of your choice." Maverick said.
Everyone looked at each other awkwardly. Phoenix went over to Bob.
Coyote went with Fanboy and Payback.
That left two.
Rooster looked at Hangman and rolled his eyes. Hangman winked at him and sat next to him annoyed.
Maverick knew this group would never would want to talk about their fears. But, if their group knows, the group can make an effort to avoid situations that could make things worse for individuals.
Maverick knew he had fears.
He himself was scared to talk about them.
He's only told two people his fears.
Ice and Goose.
Phoenix got started and looked at Bob. "I'm scared of being hurt alone." She said quietly enough for him to hear.
He looked at her intently, and listened actively.
"We have a fear in common." He said with a slight smile.
She looked at him surprised and smiled softly. "We're gonna get along just fine." As she says that Maverick cleared his throat.
"And since everyone has picked a partner. This person with you is your partner for the rest of this mission duration." Mav said with a smirk.
"WHAT!?" Rooster and hangman said at the exact same time.