{Zoey}

  "Did Elite 55 piss in your breakfast today?" Junior asked.

  His right hook sailed slowly past my face. The small breeze from the punch ruffled a loose strand of hair that escaped from my ponytail.

  I snorted as I ducked and stepped left. "No, but I'd rather drink Elite 55's piss-" His left hook came slower this time. So slow that I could've caught it if I wanted to. "And not deal with…" I croaked. "Claire."

  Junior scoffed. "Figures." He threw another lazy right hook and then paused. "Okay this is getting boring. Lion time?"

  I smirked. "Lion time!"

  A second later fur sprouted on my arms and legs. Eight paws landed on the blue mat with a thud. A loud roar vibrated through my chest before I could stop it. Junior's lips curled back enough to bare his fangs. "Now this is going to be fun."

  "So," Junior said as he took a playful swipe at me. "Tell me what's on your mind, child."

  I jumped back and extended my claws. One of my claws grazed his cheek and I smelled the metallic taste of blood. "Claire already has her sights-" Paws slammed down on the mat. "Set on me romantically." I growled. "She's dating someone already."

  After Junior licked his cheek his jaws bit my tail.

  "Tell me more," He mumbled with my tail still in his mouth.

  I yanked my tail out of his mouth and lunged at him. Instead of landing on his back my fangs caught on the mat and I tasted the blue vinyl with stuffing. Getting to my feet I spit the stuffing out. "I don't understand how she can move on so quickly." Junior turned around and smacked his tail on my nose.

  "She didn't-" I huffed. "Seem like a cheater."

  Junior spun around so that he could face me. Paws swiped at each other and the thuds from them echoed off the walls in the training room. My paws vibrated with every swipe that landed. Another ripping sound came when Junior reared up and kicked at me.

  Heavy footsteps approached the ring and I heard Elite 37 scowl. "Could you two stop destroying my gym?"

  Shifting back into our human forms, Junior laughed. "Sorry Boss."

  Elite 37 swung his leg over the rope. "Elite 29, out of the ring, Elite 81, we're sparring."

  Junior didn't say anything as he turned and hopped out of the ring.

  Elite 37 cracked his knuckles. "Let's begin."

  Dragging my left foot against the mat I rolled my shoulder up towards my ear and I rotated my wrist. Instead of hitting my target a faint breeze whooshed past my face along with a faint popping sound and he was gone. Stumbling forward I almost kissed the mat but I caught myself in time.

  "Is that all you got?" Elite 37 taunted. I could feel his breath just inches from my ear; making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  I spun around and cranked back my right fist but he was already gone. Popping sounds that sounded like a mix of gunshots and firecrackers echoed off the training room walls as he zipped around the ring. Instead of throwing punches and hitting air I stood still and waited. My eyes darted around the fighting ring; the ropes would vibrate the second he disappeared. Beads of sweat ran down both sides of my face as I clenched my fists tight enough to turn my knuckles white.

  I sucked in a breath the feeling of swallowing sandpaper scraping my throat.

  Blue sparks and crackling sounds came from my hands that shot out like lightning bolts. Black marks on the mat and the smell of burnt rubber wafted through the room every time Elite 37 dodged one of my lightning bolts.

  Good thing the gym was closed today or the customers probably would've run out screaming about an active shooter.

  A grunt escaped my chest as Elite 37 landed a kick to my back and the mat dipped under my weight.

  "Get up!" he growled. "I know you have more fight in you!"

  Just as I got up he landed another kick on my stomach. I wheezed and black spots danced in my vision for a moment before I got to my feet. He kicked at me again but this time I blocked it by grabbing his ankle. Yanking him towards me I threw him down the mat. The momentum pulled me forward as his shoulder slammed into the mat.

  When he stood up he said, "Stop acting like you're fighting Elite 29 and start acting like you're fighting your Boss!"

  I clenched my jaw and flexed my fingers.

  Elite 37 cocked his head to the side. "Show me what the star student from Boot camp can do!" He stalked towards me, knees bent low like a Border Collie herding sheep. My body moved before my brain caught up. I pivoted on my right heel and tripped him after he lunged at me. The ropes hummed as he fell into them. "Not bad, but not close enough!"

  He swung his right leg at me and I stepped left. "Excellent combat skills they said." He kicked at me with his left leg. Air rushed out of my lungs in a sharp hiss as I stumbled backwards. "Bright mind when it comes down to strategy they said." He charged at me and pushed me into the ropes across from us. My back tingled on impact. He stepped back and I landed on the mat with a thud. I laid on the mat panting. "And…" His voice dropped low. "Powers that could potentially match Agent 36."

  I stood up and cracked my knuckles. Elite 37 smirked. "Are we going to get somewhere finally?"

  Taking a breath and letting it out, red light glowed under my skin. A piece of wood appeared and bent itself into a bow. The string for it whipped from the left side of the bow attaching itself on the right side.

  Elite 37's smirk stretched into a grin. "I hope you're not thinking that I'm going to stay still?"

  I narrowed my eyes. "Nope."

  Red light glowed under my skin again— an arrow quickly formed in my palm. Flexing my fingers from my left hand on the bow I notched an arrow on it and pulled the string back. The moment I let the string go Elite 37 had already disappeared. I pivoted on my right heel to my left firing arrows. One arrow appeared after the other the moment I pulled the string back. My right arm burned every time I pulled back the string.

  Gale force winds kicked up like a mini tornado— whoosh-click-whoosh-click— when the dust settled every single one of my arrows landed on the floor with a loud clang.

  Elite 37 stood there without a scratch on him. He raised his arm pointing a gun at me— M1911.

  Elite 37 laughed. "So, you're bringing a sword to a gunfight? Interesting."

  I looked down to see my right hand gripping the edges of a simple black handle. A silver blade slowly hissed into existence with a metallic whine under it. "Huh, I guess I am."

  "Alright then," He racked the slide.

  Pop-pop-ping-whine-pop-pop-ping

  Every bullet that bounced off my sword sent a shockwave from my wrist to my shoulder. By the time Elite 37 almost emptied his magazine my arm had gone numb.

  Elite 37 finally emptied his gun. The heat from me deflecting bullets with the blade seared my hand. I flinched and dropped it. Big mistake.

  Elite 37 charged at me and pushed me to the ground. The mat dipped under my weight as my back thudded against it. Before I could react Elite 37 raised the butt of his gun and brought it down on my right eye. My ears started ringing and I rolled over to my side. The metallic taste of blood ran down the back of my throat. He waited for a moment and reached out a hand to help me get up.

  I sat up and with trembling fingers I grabbed his hand. Looking around the room I surveyed the damage. There were black marks on the mat, the blue vinyl was ripped in different places and even the ropes were sliced down the middle and hanging by a thread. Even the poles supporting the ropes were off center from where I got slammed into them. They had dents in them from where my body landed.

  Elite 37 chuckled. "Hmm…" He walked around the mat and quickly jabbed his pointer finger forward. "One, two, three, four…" When he stopped counting he said, "Aim."

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I blinked.

  "Look," He said as his gaze swept the room. He pointed at the black marks on the mat. "Fourteen misses with your Electricity Power." He pointed at the arrows on the ground. "Thirty-two misses with your arrows." He looked at my sword on the mat. It was hissing and glowing red and vinyl it lay on was starting to melt. "Endurance."

  One of my brows climbed my forehead. Elite 37 looked at me. "You dropped your sword, why?"

  "Because it got too hot."

  He nodded. "And what consolation prize did you get for that?"

  My lips parted then I snapped them shut with my jaw clenching hard.

  Elite 37 crossed his arms. "I'm waiting."

  I gently touched my right eye and winced. "This…"

  "Exactly." He walked around the room. When his gaze met mine he said. "You didn't use your Lioness ability. Why?"

  I opened my mouth. "Because that's not-"

  His eyes went wide and the corners of his mouth turned down. "You gave yourself a handicap in the name of fairness?" He snorted. "You do realize that enemies never fight fair, right?"

  A noise vibrated through my chest— half groan, half growl. "Yes sir."

  He took a breath and let it out slowly through his nose. "Okay, we can call it a day. Don't worry about the-"

  My skin was already glowing red and a whoosh air shot out from my hands. Seconds later a new fighting ring sat on the ground in front of me. I walked over to the destroyed fighting and yanked it up from the ground. The ground whined and groaned as I pulled it out. My hands glowed red once more as I replaced the screws and foundation that nailed the fighting ring down. Picking up the new fighting ring I placed it over the new foundation and pushed it into place.

  My toes curled as heat surged from my waist downward. The walls groaned and whined as every dent and crack was filled in.

  I turned around to face Elite 37 and smirked. "You're welcome."

  His gaze flicked over to the new fighting ring and back to me. "That is something Agent 36 would do."

  "Huh?"

  He shook his head. "Thanks for the new gym. You're dismissed."

  My back straightened and I dipped my chin once. After hitting the showers, I got dressed and left.

  ***

  My footsteps thudded against the creaking stairs as I walked up to my apartment. When I put my key in the lock, I heard muffled voices behind the front door.

  The moment I entered the room, their conversation stopped and Claire looked up at me. Her brows furrowed with her gaze fixed on my right eye. "What happened to you?"

  "Got into a bar fight." Then I delivered the most cliche line known to man. "You should see the other guy."

  Elite 55 snorted. She grabbed her mug of coffee in front of her and raised it to her lips. While taking a sip she looked at me over the coffee mugs edge.

  Claire opened her mouth but no sound came out. She half laughed. "Well at least you won, right?"

  "Mhm," I nodded. A brief silence filled the room. The hum of the fridge making the loudest noise. Elite 55's mug clinked when she put back down on the table.

  Walking over to the fridge I pulled it open. The light from it stung my right eye making it water. On the bottom shelf were my leftovers— a medium rare steak and a huge helping of scrambled eggs.

  The plate clinked against the shelf when I took it out.

  Just as I was getting a glass of orange juice Elite 55 said, "Hey Zara, why don't you have a seat with us?"

  I didn't even look at her as I watched the microwave going like it was the most amazing thing in the room. The red numbers on the screen ticked down slowly. "Nah, I'm good, I prefer to eat in peace at the moment."

  When the microwave beeped Claire said, "Zara, why don't we hang out today? We can spend some time together? We could watch-"

  I looked over at her. "No thanks, I'm good."

  The corners of Claire's mouth turned down and her gaze dropped to the kitchen table. "Okay…"

  The microwave beeped again and I yanked it open. I snatched a tray from the cabinet and after placing my food and orange juice on it I balanced it in my hands. The orange juice spilled a little onto the tray as I turned on my heels and walked away.

  ***

  Sunlight peeked behind the drawn curtains in my bedroom. I opened my eyes and rolled over. The clock on my nightstand and it was already noon. Getting up I grabbed my clothes and went to the bathroom. The shower turned with a light hiss. I sighed as I washed up and the tension rolled down my back with the warm water.

  After donning sweatpants and a tan t-shirt I walked down the hallway. The smell of fresh coffee hit my nose when I rounded the corner. I stopped when I got to the kitchen.

  Claire and Elite 55 were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch. Elite 55 had two medium rare cooked steaks on a white plate in front of her with a side of fluffy yellow scrambled eggs. Claire had one medium rare cooked steak with half a side of scrambled eggs.

  Claire looked up. "Zara!"

  Before she could say anything else there was a knock on the door. I swiftly turned around and strode over to the door. "Coming!"

  When Claire saw that it was Elite 37 at the door her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth curled back. "Aaron! Hey-"

  His gaze locked on mine. "Zara and I are going for a drive. Don't worry Zara, you're good. No need to change."

  My footsteps thudded down the stairs as I followed Elite 37 and got into his car.

  We pulled up to a local fast food restaurant and went through the drive-through. Sitting in the parking lot and just after mid bite Elite 37 said, "General 92 thinks you'd be a better pick for the bait instead of Elite 46."

  Food lodged in my throat. I pounded my chest a couple of times and drank a sip of my drink. "Excuse me? Why?"

  He cocked his head. "Why do you think?"

  The hum of the AC cut loud through the silence. I lowered my cheeseburger to my lap. The wrapper crinkled in my tightened grip. Grease ran down the wrapper and spilled onto my hand. "Do I have a choice?"

  He tipped his head forward. "Yes. But even if you choose not to, can you at least pretend to be friends with her?" He glanced over at the melting ice from the soda in the cup holder. "Or at the very least tolerate her?"

  I ground my molars once. Letting out a breath through my nose I said, "No. I don't want to."

  One of his eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure?"

  My gaze dropped to my lap. "Yes I'm sure."

  Elite 37's shoulders moved up towards his ears. "Alright then. But at least pretend to be friends with her?"

  A low growl rumbled from my chest and pushed up out of my throat. The noise was just a hair louder than the car's idling engine. "Fine. I'll at least try to tolerate her."

  Elite 37's hand dropped to the gear shift. The car rolled backwards and the parking lot lights shone through the windshield.

  ***

  {Claire}

  I stared at the closed front door. My coffee was half finished and getting cold. Turning my gaze back to Jenny I said, "I still don't get why Zara doesn't like me."

  Jenny's gaze locked on mine. "I talked to her about it and apparently you look like her ex."

  Sucking in a breath I hissed. "Fuck."

  Jenny leaned back and her chair creaked under her as she crossed her arms. "I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I know you like Zara. And I like her too."

  My fingers reached out and gripped the coffee mug in front of me. "But aren't you Nick's sister?"

  Her nostrils flared and a scoff escaped her lips. "And? I'm not related to Zara. She's my friend…" She smirked. "Who I just so happen to like." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to make things easy for you."

  I gripped the mug tighter; my thumb slowly caressing the handle. "Fine then, I'm not making things easy for you either."

  Jenny's gaze traveled down to my stomach then back up to my face. "What about your child? Do you really think that Zara will be okay with taking care of someone else's kid?"

  "Don't worry about my child." I snapped. "Worry about how you're going to win Zara over." My chair scraped the tiled floor as I stood up. "Thanks for inviting me over today, I shall take my leave."

  Jenny stood up and held out her hand. I shook it and after grabbing my things I turned on my heels and walked away.

  ***

  When I got home I saw Nick sitting on the couch in the living room talking to another woman. She was dressed in business casual attire and she sat on the couch with her back straight and legs crossed.

  "That should be enough information for today, thanks for keeping me updated. I would say more but your girlfriend's here so I'm leaving." The woman stood up and grabbed her briefcase.

  My eyes followed her until she left the room. "What was that all about?"

  He lazily waved his hand. "It's nothing. I was just talking to my Uncle's divorce lawyer. He's in the hospital."

  I lowered my voice. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that your Uncle's in the hospital."

  Nick shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm not that close to the guy. I just so happen to owe him a favor."

  I sat down next to him on the couch. The couch dipped under me. "I need to tell you something." My breath hitched. "You're a good guy Nick, but Zara and my ex are so similar-"

  Nick clenched his fists and his knuckles turned white. "So you're only after Zara because she looks like your ex? The ex that you cheated on?" Unclenching his fists he gritted his teeth. "If you loved your ex so much then instead of being selfish and cheating maybe you could've just talked to her about bringing in a third partner?"

  I exhaled slowly. "I was going to but I had a feeling that she would say no. But I'm breaking up with you now so that I can go after Zara."

  "Okay then, I guess I'll be finished packing my bags and leaving tonight." He stood up and marched down the hallway with heavy footsteps to the bedroom.

  I followed him to see him pulling out six suitcases and started unzipping them. "Wait, where are you going to live? Just because we're broken up doesn't mean you have to move out!"

  "Why would I live with my ex when I can take care of myself?" Nick asked as he yanked open his sock drawer. "I only moved in with you to help take care of you and the baby when it arrives." He looked up after he threw his socks and underwear in the suitcase. "But since we're broken up I'm not going to stay and play nanny for free."

  When he walked out in the hallway I blocked his path. I opened my mouth but no words came out.

  He looked at me. "Do you have anything to say?"

  I stepped aside. Lifting my chin I held his gaze. "No. I just wish you luck with finding the person you're supposed to be with."

  "Alright then." That was the last thing Nick said to me as he continued packing his bags. I stood leaning on the doorframe, watching until his taillights disappeared into the night.