Flow was the last one to leave her room when the announcement for lunch came.
Aura gave her a sympathetic look because Flow looked worn out, as if she'd just run a multi-mile marathon.
"Are you okay?" Aura whispered while they all lined up, and Barb led the way to the cafeteria.
Flow nodded, struggling to catch her breath. It was true that she rushed back to her room when the announcement was made over the intercom, but that wasn't the true reason she was tired.
"... Did you do some kind of intense workout during the break?" Mirror chimed in curiously. Flow's face heated up, and she muttered,
"Yeah..."
"Can't you heal yourself?" Aura asked, giving Flow a puzzled look. Aura had already used her own powers to recover from her time spent with Fenix, so she was in perfect form. She was genuinely ignorant of why Flow was tired, but she assumed their healing powers worked similarly.
"... I can heal wounds but not... fatigue," Flow admitted softly.
"... Can you keep a secret?" Mirror said, while lowering her voice, "I actually snuck out to play a game with my boyfriend, I barely made it back in time, so I'm a little tired too."
Flow gave her a weak smile, and Aura put her hand on both of their backs.
They were startled at first, but then relaxed as they felt the cool, calming energy of Aura's power rejuvenating them.
Once Flow's heartbeat and breathing became steady, she smiled and thanked Aura. That's when they arrived at the Cafeteria and came face to face with the others from the group.
Flow avoided making direct eye contact with Veil as he stared her down. Aura got in line for food, and Fenix followed close behind.
Mirror grabbed Caster's hand and tugged him into the line as well. Cantarella, Shade, Vision, and Panther followed after them.
Once Dartz and Barb left the area, Veil stepped closer to Flow.
Her face reddened visibly as he took her hand and said,
"What are you standing around, acting all shy for? Come on, let's get in line."
He intertwined their fingers, and she came along with him without putting up a fight. Though she still couldn't look at his face without going into emotional overdrive.
They stood at the end of the line, then he pulled her closer and whispered directly into her ear,
"If you're this wound up now, you won't be able to handle what's coming tonight."
Her pulse raced, and he laughed lightly as he moved away to order his food.
Flow could barely get a word out, so Veil said,
"She'll have the same meal as me."
Aura, Mirror, Fenix, Caster, Shade, and Panther sat together at one table.
Vision, Veil, Flow, and Cantarella ate at another table across the room.
"I'm so glad to be on this mission with you. I haven't seen you since the tournament, and I thought we'd never get to talk since the school's collapse," Shade admitted shyly to Aura.
Mirror rolled her eyes and whispered to Caster,
"It's happening again." This wasn't the first time that someone Aura had fought had become enamored with her.
Fenix shot a glare toward Shade so intense that the tension weighed down on everyone in the area.
"Oh yeah," Aura replied, smiling and unaware of the death stares her fiancé was sending. "You fought well, and your powers are really interesting, too. I'm glad you're on our team."
Shade's heart swelled, but he could feel the pressure from the look on Fenix's face. His instincts told him to run, that his life was in danger, but he just decided to finish his meal without saying anything else.
"... There's actually a training room, I can show you all where it is after lunch is over," Fenix offered. His tone sounded friendly, but the chill in his voice was anything but.
"Really? I can't wait! I haven't gotten to practice combat in so long," Aura stated, before taking a huge bite of her burger.
"I'm excited too," Fenix replied. His eyes were still fixed on Shade, who was sitting across the table, his hand shaking nervously, while trying to eat his spaghetti.
Cantarella twirled her pasta onto her fork, then brushed her hair back behind her ear as she ate.
"Mmm... it's better than expected," she said, moaning in satisfaction.
She then glanced over, seeing Veil feeding Flow a bite of his hamburger steak.
She accepted and chewed quietly.
"I've never seen you be so affectionate with someone," Cantarella commented. Veil looked at her. Vision could sense that Veil was going to say something extremely unhinged, so he cut in and said,
"He's changed since you last saw him. He hasn't had a class with you in two years."
Veil clicked his tongue, seeming to be disappointed at being cut off, but returned to quietly feeding Flow with his eyes locked on her lips.
"Oh, has he? I guess time does change people. Even you seem different from the way you were just a few months ago," Cantarella noted, turning her attention to Vision.
"I haven't changed much," he replied bluntly, while mixing the melted butter around inside his baked potato.
"Why did you join this mission?" Veil asked. Cantarella's eyebrows rose in surprise, and she glanced back in his direction, watching him hand Flow a napkin.
"... Teaching was my entire purpose for so long... I guess I just wanted to feel useful again," she admitted calmly.
She seemed deep in thought and slightly sad as she finished her food.
As they were getting up to leave, Panther walked over and tapped Aura's shoulder.
When Aura looked at her, she grinned.
"Fenix and I have gone on missions together before. He's mentioned you a lot, so it's great to finally meet you!"
Panther extended her hand for a polite handshake. Aura only frowned at the gesture.
"How many missions?" she inquired. "Because he hasn't mentioned you at all."
Panther lowered her hand and took a step back.
"Not many lately, it was mostly before he met you."
For some reason, this explanation disturbed Aura more.
"... Well... welcome to the team. What's your power, by the way?" she replied, struggling to be nice.
"I can travel through shadows. I trained with a short sword and specialize in sneak attacks," Panther described, with an easy grin.
Aura stayed silent for a moment, then she muttered,
"... Like a ninja?"
Panther laughed loudly and said,
"Yeah, like a ninja."
Fenix appeared and pecked Aura's cheek.
"Hey, I see you over here talking to my fiancée. I hope you two are getting along."
Panther nodded in response, and Aura gave him a double thumbs up.
"I didn't realize you were already engaged, though," Panther commented, shrugging as she strolled away.
"You didn't tell her?" Aura questioned. He's definitely told everyone else she's met so far, so why not Panther?
Fenix tilted his head and gave her a quizzical look.
"I'm pretty sure I did, maybe she just forgot... Later, I'll make sure she knows that we're not just engaged, we might as well be married already."
He sounded sincere, so Aura sighed and decided to let it go.
"Come on," Fenix began, while gently leading her by the hand, "I'll show you to the training room." Then his gaze shot across the room, and he shouted, "SHADE!... come with us."
"I want to train too," Caster stated. Veil and Flow joined the group, too.
"I'm going to take a nap," Mirror announced, kissing Caster quickly before they went their separate ways.
Vision and Cantarella returned to their rooms as well. Panther stood in the corner of the room, thinking deeply before making her decision.
The training room was large. They could spar, but there was also a simulation mode that allowed them to test their powers against computerized training dummies in a controlled environment.
There was a keypad in the corner. Fenix walked over there, and after he input a code, a robotic voice said,
"Power containment barrier activated."
"I tested this system myself, so I know it can hold up against anything," Fenix declared proudly. "I'm going to give you all a demonstration. Shade, assist me."
Shade looked around, but everyone in the room was smiling and urging him into the arena with Fenix.
He was left with no choice.
Once the two men entered, there was a BEEP, and then the area around them turned red.
A transparent shield surrounded the arena. Fenix put on a pair of MMA gloves and tossed an extra pair over to Shade.
He caught them and exhaled.
"Don't worry about holding back," Fenix said, seemingly to Shade, but also as a reminder to himself that he didn't need to hold back. "We have two healers in the room, so we can go all out."
He gave a grand smile with his last statement.
Shade swallowed hard, but in that moment, resolved himself to give it all he's got.
That would be better than just taking a beating.
Fenix sensed Shade's sudden determination, and that thrilled him.
The same voice from before declared,
"If both combatants are ready, please get into position."
Two glowing circles appeared on the floor. Shade and Fenix made their way over to them and got into fighting stances. Then the voice said,
"Begin!"