Stormy nights like these always bothered Lindy. They always left her feeling cold, and while she wasn't afraid of storms, they left her feeling a bit on edge. Well, she assumed the storm was the cause of it. Or maybe that's just what she wanted to believe, as the thought of all this fear coming from one phonecall sounded worse in her own head. Mr. Hassan had always been good to her; Taught her to defend herself, motivated her to be fit and prepared for any situation that came her way. Though, with all the nonsense that had been going on, Lindy felt like there were definitely things she could have never prepared for with his teachings.

Her friends could shoot fire, change appearance in the blink of an eye, bleed acid. When she compared herself to that crazy stuff, suddenly having the strength to toss dump trucks didn't seem so weird. She was partially grateful for the small mercy of having simple powers, and a bit jealous, too. She wished she could do cool things too! But instead she was given pure strength. It had been difficult learning to control it; She still didn't have a good grasp on it, yet. She had to quit training with Mr. Hassan... What if she hurt him, or one of his students? All it took was going a little overboard, and someone could be down for the count. What could her normal punches do to a normal person? She didn't want to find that out; Considering it was easy enough to send them straight through brick walls without feeling a thing.

When she called in to tell the man she couldn't show up anymore, it was in a very insisting tone that she came to see him. The rain hitting against her rain coat was a minor distraction from the still busy streets, the girl stepping around people as she tried to hasten herself along so she could get out of the rain. The building, 'Nat. Martial Arts', was often debated on. Did it mean National, or Natural? Lindy personally thought natural sounded stupid, but some disagreed. Mr. Hassan never gave any of them an actual answer, so it was stuck in a 'The World May Never Know' scenario.

Ducking into an alleyway, Lindy approached the entrance to the building: A short set of metallic stairs leading up to the door. Reaching out, she hesitated as her fingers gently touched the door knob. She could just go home, and avoid all the questions. She could possibly just never come back or speak of it again, right? Nah... She knew Mr. Hassan was a persistent guy. He'd probably have Matty drag her here, or something. There wasn't really any winning in this situation, so she needed to get it over with instead of standing there with a dumb look on her face, not walking inside.

It took another moment of hesitation but she twisted the knob, pushing the door open. The familiar bells on the door jingled in her ears, and the place was unlike she'd ever seen it before: Empty, and dark. Aside from the man sitting facing away from the entrance; Towards the back wall. That was where they pinned up all their pictures. Even if it was mainly a class for training one self, everyone was pretty close here despite their different walks of life. They'd occasionally go out together, as a group. Eat, maybe an activity. Her time here was some of the best of her life: She had fun, felt the pain, learned so much. But as she approached her now former trainer, her eyes locked on the wall he was staring at. She wasn't just losing her training schedule: She was going to lose all that time she spent with them. It wouldn't be a thing anymore, she'd be gone. The wall was enough to make her realize the heft of her decision.

"Thank you for coming." Spoke the man; Her trainer. Tamar Hassan, an imposing man that despite standing at only five foot seven inches, which was still tall compared to Lindy's mere five foot height. He stood, staring at the young woman now standing beside him with eyes that shot straight through the darkness and into her soul; Intimidating, as always. "So you've made up your mind?" He added the question with a firmless that carried weight through the air; The young woman beside him feeling the heft of them almost crash her to the floor. Despite her strength, she was still in awe and wary of the man: He was strong, and very kind, but also ruthless in his teaching. To a point where the kindness might be overlooked by outsiders.

"Yeah. I'm dropping out permanantly." Lindy answered, her voice lacking the same confidence that Tamar's did. She kept her eyes firmly planted on the wall, scanning the pictures. Seeing one of her and Matty's tournament photos. He had only lost that final match. If she hadn't gotten scared, maybe she could've won it all. But considering who Matty had to fight in an attempt to get the number one spot, maybe she never had a chance to begin with. Especially since fear of that man was what caused her focus to waver so much. She still did admirably, according to Mr. Hassan, but--

A hand grasped her shoulder. The young woman looked up, the middle-aged man staring down at her still had such a stern glare but she could feel that he was trying to comfort her. She didn't need that, was that why she got called all the way here? "Why'd you invite me this late?" She questioned, curious eyes staring up at the man.

"I worry when students decide to suddenly leave," He began, glancing down at the floor. " 'Why?', I have to ask myself. Was I too harsh? Were they too weak? Is there something a trainer-- No, a friend, should know about the person leaving?" The man looked at her again, his eyes narrowing. "I know you aren't the latter, Lindy. You've always been strong."

"Neither, sir. I just think I'm ready to move on." She answered, trying to avoid much in the way of questioning. She couldn't tell him, could she? She was warned to not let anyone know about this, but at the same time, he was one of the most trustworthy people she knew.

_"Hahah..." A light laugh escaped Mr. Hassan, causing Lindy's face to scrunch up as she stared, unsure of what she said that was so funny. "You think you're ready? That you know everything you need to know?" He questioned, but added: "Are you satisfied with your knowledge, and believe it's enough to protect not only you, but your loved ones?"

Lindy looked away, uncertain of what to say. "Y-Yeah, I'm strong enough." She insisted.

"I did not ask how strong you think you are." Mr. Hassan replied with a venomous tone that sent a chill up his student's spine. "I asked if you believe you know enough."

"Yeah, I do!" Lindy retorted, raising her voice as she tried to flush away her more emotional side with a spout of anger. She realized what she had done a little too late, her eyes widening and her hands going over her mouth. Mr. Hassan's glare was like being at gunpoint. The intimidation just from his eyes locking onto her with a lack of visible emotion made so much uncertainty fill Lindy's gut that she felt ready to vomit from the stress of his silent judgement. "I'm sorry--"

"Don't apologize." He spoke over her, causing Lindy to instantly silence herself. The man began pacing away silently, coming to a stop a few feet away back towards the entrance. "Remove your coat."

Lindy felt her spine tingle. Her head slowly turned, startled by the command. "What? W-Why?!"

"Now!" The man shouted, his voice echoing through the room. Before he could turn, Lindy had already tossed her coat to ground in front of the wall. Underneath she was sporting her usual black tanktop, facing against Mr. Hassan with a worried expression. "You said you know? That you're ready? Then I'll put you through a drill. We'll see how you fare."

That stance he was taking. She knew it anywhere.

"Mr. Hassan, please..."

"No more words. Ready yourself."

Instinctively at those words, Lindy attempted to prepare herself: There was no room to talk, when Hassan was serious. She'd never fought him before, and she wasn't eager to do so now. What if she hurt him? She wasn't as afraid of being hurt herself, but he wasn't a pushover even if he didn't have powers like her, or so she'd assume. Unfortunately, reasoning wasn't one of Mr. Hassan's strongsuits. Obviously he wanted to see what she was made of, but she was extremely hesitant.

Unfortunately, he wasn't. Lindy felt herself shaking as he began to approach her, hesitation to oppose him due to her strength he had no clue about. Her mind continued panicking, she had no idea what to do or how to respond. What the hell was--

Lindy's thoughts were interrupted by a kick directly to her torso; Her body unprepared, she flung back onto the floor, grunting as she hit the ground. Despite her reaction, it didn't really hurt. She had already learned that along with her strength came durability: The durability to get hit with a car being used as a damn projectile, and still get back up. But it didn't change the fear in her heart and the fact he had kicked her to the ground.

"You know everything you need to, but you let a kick like that through? Get up."

Lindy pulled herself to her feet; Preparing herself for him this time. But she was still hesitant. Something that was clear as she managed to block the kick that came at her, but hesitated on a response; Allowing him to grab her smaller frame and throw her to the ground, Lindy landing on her stomach. The girl quickly pushed herself up, only for the man to not give her a chance to prepare again; His leg sweeping her off of her own two feet and directly back onto the ground.

She noticed Mr. Hassan step back, as if he was done. Lindy pulled herself to her feet, breaths heavy not from being tired, but from panicking. Even if she hadn't been hurt, the fear she felt from the man, and the idea of hurting him, was enough to essentially cripple her. "Please, I can't do this!" She cried out, only for him to begin approaching her again.

_{"God damn it..."} She cursed under her breath, getting angerier. This time, she approached him as well; A slight change in his expression marking surprise from this. Lindy chose to throw the first punch, attempting to jab at him, only for the man to grab her arm with ease. Lindy felt her frustration spiking, causing her to raise her leg in attempt to kick him in retaliation, but paused realizing the force she had intended to kick with. This was enough for her to lose her balance on her one remaining leg as he pulled her forward, throwing her on the ground. This time, with a foot firmly pressed against her back.

"You say you're ready, but you're not even fighting. This is worse than when I first let you in." He scolded, pressing his foot down harder. "Where's the young woman that wanted to be a police officer? Who wanted to be able to take care of herself in this city?"

The questions stung her, as she realized she had really not put up a fight. Her fists unclenched, realizing that if she couldn't fight him head-on and prove herself, she'd never live it down. But how could she do it, holding back? She was so scared... She couldn't hardly bring herself to pull herself up, though his foot wasn't-

-It wasn't doing anything at all. Her fear was keeping her down on the ground, not the force he was using! Lindy pressed her hands to the floor below, pushing down and slowly lifting herself up. She could feel Mr. Hassan attempting to keep her down, but it was fruitless: She easily stood, causing him to take a step back in caution from her suddenly rise. The young woman turned, facing her teacher, glaring into his eyes as she lightly tilted her head.

"Hit me again." She dared, tone eager as she steadied her body. Mr. Hassan was cautious, but decided to humor the girl by coming back at her; Another kick coming her way, connecting with her torso. Except this time Lindy hadn't budged from the hit whatsoever.

Another kick. And another. The man tried to budge the young woman to no avail, as she glared at him no matter where his blows connected: Her knees, her stomach, he attempted to sweep her legs again but they were practically glued to the ground, unmovable. He began to get careless with his attempts, and as a final kick flew Lindy's way, she grabbed it with both hands: Firmly holding it in place refusing to let him go, no matter how he struggled. With ease, she pulled him towards her; Releasing his leg and causing him to stumble forward just long enough to collide with her smaller frame, the man falling back like he slammed into a wall.

"There's things even you don't know." Lindy commented, offering a hand.

Mr. Hassan took it, pulling himself to his feet. He stared at her, curious, concerned, but not willing to really question what had happened. "Clearly." He replied, amused. "There's something you didn't want to tell me. I could see you hesitating and holding back the entire time, but after witnessing that... I am not certain of what to say."

"Jeez, how about a sorry for calling me out here just to try and kick my ass?" Lindy remarked, a smirk on her face as she placed her hands on her hips. "I can't really talk about it, Tamar. But I think you understand why I can't be around the other students training with them."

"With strength and durability like that, I can understand." He nodded, feeling humbled, but also saddened by the fact he had in no way convinced her she wasn't ready to go.

Lindy giggled, amused by his response. "You don't know even half of what I'm capable of."

He stood there, staring for a moment. His glare observed her body, as if looking for anything odd or different, but he found absolutely nothing. "You might be strong, but your technique is undoubtedly still poor." he scolded, crossing his arms.

"Poor?!" Lindy replied, her tone expressing that she was insulted. She crossed her arms exactly like he did, glaring up at the man.

"Even if you insist on not training with the others, you still need to learn. Even if we have to train you between the two of us." He remarked, a grin crossing his face.

Lindy paused, looking at the man. Just the two of them training together? He thought she was worthy of that? He wasn't afraid of her hurting him, or anything? She didn't display that much power, but still. She figured he would have been at least a little shook! "I suppose if my fearless teacher insists, how can I refuse?" She grinned at him as she spoke, happiness beaming through her expression.

"Not just a teacher." Mr. Hassan replied, placing a hand on Lindy's shoulder. "Training here or not, you're family. My family."

Lindy felt her eyes water up as she was tugged forward for a hug; A few tears streaming down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around him, happy that she wasn't rejecting him despite witnessing her take blows that weren't at all possible for a person like herself. She couldn't form words, so she just kept hugging the man.

"Save the tears for when you say goodbye to your fellow students tomorrow."

Quickly, Lindy's teary face pulled away, the girl using her arm to wipe her face. As her arm lowered, her face was more startled than sad now. "S-Say goodbye?!"

"Of course. Did you think we'd all just let you leave that easy?" Mr. Hassan questioned.

"I guess not." Lindy responded, deadpan.

A moment of silence filled the room, before the grown man began to laugh. Alongside him, embracing the sillier side of the night, Lindy began laughing as well. Despite the emotions, the situation had left Lindy happier than she we had arrived. She felt a new warmth in her heart, glad to still be welcomed by the man she considered to be the strongest she knew. This laughter carried on for awhile, the sound of it echoing even outside the building.

This was possibly the happiest she'd felt since this whole shitshow started...