Ajax was being uncharacteristically non hyperverbal while on the company of people similar to him. He had never met a Gifted during his tenure as Weaver, but there were a lot of scenarios which went through his mind, all which involved mutual admiration by both sides. So far though, the only two vibes he was getting was hatred and indifference, both which were not as pleasant and/or warm. The soldier with the visor behaved exactly how he imagined him to be; somewhat brooding, but definitely the type of guy you ask for advice. Then came the foul mouthed silver haired girl who was really just all around annoying, even to Ajax who prides himself with having nerves of steel. She was getting along well with the blondie, in a twisted, frat house kind of way, so that was good. The one person who made chills run down his spine was the long haired one..Atlas, or whatever his name was. He looked to be maybe a bit older than 18, yet fashioned a naturally menacing look that could make a Vietnam vet shrivel in fear.
Then came the demonstration. This is where Ajax began paying attention again, and started actually learning his teammate's names. Blondie was named Archer, albeit a proper name for him would be ADHD since his demonstration was all over the place (I'll see myself out). It did put a smirk on Ajax's face tho', seeing Doc's backbone hug the wall behind him. Atlas' demonstration put Ajax on the edge, not because it was anything flashy, but because of the look in his face while he did it. His ability was nothing compared to Archer's, but when used in such an ominous manner, it sure got under your skin. What really made the young Gifted change colors was the insect girl's demonstration. He had a look on his face as it took place, not of disgust or contempt, but of surprise. He felt a little bad for her as she hurriedly scampered out of the test room.
The revelation that there was a psychic in the room rubbed off everyone the wrong way, especially considering both David and her had no respect for privacy. But of course, it was Atlas who really took it at another level. He walked right past Ajax as he issued a threat to the psychic but that sort of involved everyone, really giving a hint of what's about to happen in the next few hours.
"Ax, you're up."....
"Ax, I said you're up!"Ajax snapped out of his thoughts. He watched the doors close behind Atlas as he left. That guy was bad news. He veered his sight towards the origin of the calling, where David was motioning for him to get in the test chamber. He didn't immediately notice his aide, though, Mason. He could swear he was there a couple of minutes ago.
"Ax? I'm as friendly as they come, Doc..but only my family calls me Ax.". This is where Barnes' honesty came into play.
Doc raised his hands up in a passive manner.
"My bad."Traces of a presence got caught on the young boy's peripheral vision as somebody entered the test chamber. It was Mason, carrying four small wooden mannequins, one of which had clothes. He arranged them carefully; three of them were on the front, while the clothed one was on the back. Ajax's sight altered between the mannequins and Mason. He was confused.
"Dude, how much do these weigh?""Around 8 kilos each. Why?", Mason replied in his naturally badass baritone.
"You studied my powers. You do know it's a lot harder for me to use my ability on humans, right? If you're trying to hone my skills, these won't help much. And speaking of skills, where are my ropes?", Barnes spoke, although this time he was looking at David.
"We're not honing anything. This is just a rust breaker.", David took over. Right as he finished his sentence, Mason pulled two ropes out of his pocket as they unfurled on the floor. They were the same ropes he used as a vigilante.
"We were gonna improve on them, but there's really nothing to improve. Tensile strength's off the chart. Whoever gave you these is a genius, pal.", David commented to no one in particular, as Barnes was too busy relishing the moment. With a big, goofy grin covering his face, he uttered in determination -
"Alright! Let's do this..". He was suddenly liking this superhero business.
Both David and Mason retreated to the side, paving the way for Ajax to get a nice, good look at his targets. He needed to focus properly so that the drill can go as fluidly as possible. He already had a strategy in mind as to how he was gonna take out the targets.
He extended his arms downwards, in the direction of the ropes, and on a moment's notice they latched on his limbs and slithered around his arm bracers. He then pulled his right hand up to his chest and made a quick motion, almost like a punch, launching the rope towards the mannequin in the middle. With that same hand, he made some weird finger movements while the rope unfolded itself and took off in both sides, wrapping the other two mannequins. Now was the time for the finishing move. As he made sure all three mannequins were in sync, he clenched his fist and all three collided with each other, wooden splinters flying all around the room. The fourth and final mannequin had clothes, so it was no big deal. All Ajax had to do was wiggle at it and it's weight would allow for it to propel in the air, right as the rope in Barnes' left hand unfurled and swung at it's head, causing it to fall down in mid-air. If they were humans, that last swing would have totally been lethal, but as Doc said, it was a rust breaker so...
His little Cirque D'Soleil show obviously impressed both Mason and Doc, as they both raised their eyebrows to another.
"Gotta say, you're not half as bad as I thought.", he complimented as Mason walked back to clean the mess.
"I had four months of practice.", Ajax replied, a lingering feeling of pride and accomplishment lurking in his heart. He did use his ability a couple of times before, but never before a standing audience.
"Obviously, there's room for improvement. But for now, you deserve a rest. Head over to your room in a couple of seconds. We can arrange for a live feed with your sister, if you want some catching up."A now slightly more confident Ajax nodded, thanking Doc for his act of kindness. He wasn't used to not seeing his sister at least once a day. He bowed before the people on the other side of chamber, and then called for his ropes as they wrapped around his hand before leaving.
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FourtyTwo