“Oh” was right. It seemed something had finally gotten through that thick skull of hers. Clearly, she was disappointed. ”If you want to be an actress, you’re in the wrong field,” Aoi said coldly. Heroes were meant to keep the peace, not entertain people. If she wanted to act, she could just go on her television show (something that Aoi also thought was ridiculous, not to mention highly unprofessional).

Aoi watched carefully as Sunny followed her movement. ”Good,” she said succinctly as Sunny did a surprisingly decent job at copying her form. What Sunny lacked in strength, she made up for, at least in part, in technique. That was the important part. Anyone could be strong with enough exercise. It took skill to throw a proper punch. Perhaps that time on the runway had benefited Sunny after all.

Not everything was correct, however, as Sunny’s heel was raised too far off the ground, and as she twisted, she fell to the ground. Aoi thought about catching her flailing arms as she descended - she certainly had the ability to do so - but she decided Sunny deserved it. Her form was incorrect, and thus she should be punished for erroneous actions. How else was she going to learn?

Aoi crossed her arms. ”You used your powers. Five more push-ups.” Sure, her form was halfway decent, but if she was going to throw any power with that punch, she needed to increase her strength. Aoi figured this served as both a punishment and a decent way for Sunny to get in some much needed exercise.

Sunny Slater

Aoi furrowed her brow ever so slightly at Sunny’s exclamation of pain. That punch should not have hurt. It was far too weak to have any impact, and Aoi caught it in such a way that the inertia of the punch (what little there was) would be gradually slowed. Still, it seemed the minimal force of her weak little punch was still enough to reverberate down her skinny little arm. More and more, Sunny was looking like a lost cause, but Aoi didn’t give up that easily.

The lost cause notion was challenged, however, when Sunny adopted the stance Aoi demonstrated for her accurately and with relative ease. This surprised Aoi. Up until then Sunny hadn’t been anything but incompetent. There may be some hope for her after all. Aoi showed her approval with a curt nod. Aoi’s emotional range didn’t allow for much more than that.

It was when Aoi mentioned the ‘squishing the bug’ simile (that all of her coaches have used to demonstrate the proper motion when throwing a punch since she was seven) did things go right back to being wrong. The blood drained from Sunny’s face, a look of terror spread across her features. At first Aoi was confused. What was she so terrified about? The answer came relatively quickly as she acted as if she were trying (and failing) to kill an actual bug, followed by a far-too-loud expression of disgust.

“There. Is. No. Bug.” Aoi said as slowly as she could, as if talking to a toddler (in her own harsh, severe way). ”It was simply a visual to improve your form.” Perhaps she should have figured by now that Sunny didn’t squish bugs. She let out a little sigh through her nose and looked to the side, thinking for a second. ”Try that again. Return to the stance. Repeat my instructions, and twist your foot as if you got gum stuck to the front of your shoe.” She figured that would be a situation Sunny was more familiar with.

Sunny Slater

Aoi tensed as soon as she heard the sound of a chopper. No one should know where they were besides the Program. Did the Program send someone? They wouldn’t need a helicopter though, would they? She extended her wings and put up her hands, ready for action. ”Stay there. Don’t do anything.” She instructed Sunny.

The man who descended from the helicopter looked quite official, and it put her somewhat at ease. He didn’t seem prepared for combat, but she didn’t lower her stance. Not until he took out the envelope and handed it to her. Slowly, muscles still tensed and ready, she reached out and took it from his grasp. She watched carefully as the man took out the pen, drew a line in his notebook, and gave her a salute. She remained stiff as her eyes followed him back to the helicopter.

Once he was gone, she folded up her wings and turned her eyes back toward the envelope. She inspected it carefully: sniffed it, held it up to the light. There was nothing suspicious about it. Carefully, she opened it and pulled out the contents. It was a voucher for a weekend getaway spa in Malibu, with the flights paid for. It contained a message: 'You need a weekend to relax. I hope you enjoy. XXX From your tippity top secret Santa’

Spa? Relax? Who was this from? Did they even know her? “Relax” wasn’t in her dictionary. Her first instinct was to toss it away. Then she looked at the pink little mess in front of her, back at the voucher, then back at Sunny. Aoi pocketed the voucher. She could deal with it later. She put her hands back by her sides. ”Ignore that. Now, hit me.”

Deep breaths. Aoi was not accustomed to people fighting back against her orders. Her imposing demeanor and assertive voice typically shut down any dissent. It seemed Sunny’s head was so thick that Aoi’s warnings simply couldn’t get through. ”If you wish to destroy your feet that is your choice. Just know that it will inhibit your ability to effectively fulfill your duties as Hero. I am here to assist you in that manner. You can choose to either listen to me or risk endangering yourself or the public.” Aoi had given up trying to force Sunny into anything. If she didn’t listen to Aoi, it was her loss. Aoi would report Sunny’s resistance to the Program, and they would punish her accordingly.

Aoi watched Sunny as she went down in push-up position, copying her descent. She saw the effort on Sunny’s face. That was good. That meant she was trying. The pain of exercise was the first step toward gaining strength. Aoi always enjoyed the pain. Not in a masochistic way. No, it meant she was getting stronger. Everytime she did an exercise regiment, she went as hard and as fast as she could until it hurt, and then she went twice as long as the build up to the pain. It was satisfying to feel that she was bettering herself. Not the mention the endorphin rush afterwards. As far as she was concerned, exercise was the only acceptable way to get high.

Aoi let out an exasperated breath as Sunny collapsed into the grass, unable to perform the simplest of exercises. Sunny had tried, she really had. It was obvious. It seemed she was physically incapable of fulfilling Aoi’s request. She was an even more desperate case than Aoi had anticipated. There was no way Aoi could teach Sunny the art of combat if she didn’t have any muscles to combat with. Muscles were a combatant's weapon, and one could not fight without a weapon.

Aoi breathed in deeply, then let the breath out, slow and steady, still in the downward push-up position. ”You can go on your knees.” The words hurt to speak. Doing a push-up on one’s knees were the weakest way to perform the exercise - they communicated fragility. Aoi had never done a push-up on her knees in her life. But it seemed they had no other option. ”Let’s try again.” Aoi extended her arms so she was in the upward position. ”On your knees, if you must.”

Sunny Slater

Aoi exerted little to no effort as the strength left the young metahuman, holes ceased appearing in the walls of the safe. ”Language, Paladin.” She scolded as his body went limp. She uncoupled herself from her hold, his limbs falling to the floor, and stood above him. He was breathing steadily. If not for the awkward position his body was in, he would’ve looked quite peaceful. Bruises would certainly show on the areas she had put pressure on - particularly around the neck - but other than that, she’d caused no harm.

”He showed a willingness to harm others and contains a potentially lethal force in his palms, it was absolutely necessary.” Aoi responded. ”I warned him of the consequences of his actions were he to retaliate. He did not cooperate. He aimed his palm at me, which I believe is how he directs his powers, so I took the appropriate course of action and neutralized the threat.” She spoke plainly, professionally, giving a report of the events that occurred without opinion, emotion, or embellishment. ”I caused no more or less damage to the perpetrator than was necessary. My actions were reasonable and justified.”

Aoi picked up his body with ease, slinging him over her shoulder, not harshly, but not exactly gently either. “He needs to be transported to containment before he regains consciousness. Since I am the one that neutralized him, I believe it is my duty to turn him in and give the report. If you would like to accompany me and give your own report, you may, though I would suggest you continue the patrol without me and give your report once you have completed the route.”

Aoi started walking out of the safe. ”I would also request that you do damage control here. I would assist, but it’s imperative that I contain the perpetrator before he regains consciousness to reduce further risk of damage.” She walked out of the bank and took off into the air, holding on to the unconscious body of the young man, heading straight towards a place where they could contain him.

Alice Morrow

”I’m sure you have plenty of other hundred dollar bills that you can give out to people.” Aoi said. She stood still, body and face unmoving as Sunny gave her speech. She sucked in a sharp breath as Sunny proudly explained that she was a good person because she didn’t kill the assailant. Sunny absolutely should have used lethal force in that situation. It would’ve saved countless lives. But she didn’t say anything. She let Sunny finish talking without saying a word.

Once Sunny had finished her spiel, Aoi pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep breath. She had gotten emotional. She’d put herself in Sunny’s place. She was thinking of all the people she could’ve saved should the assailant have attacked Aoi instead of Sunny. She was speaking as if Sunny had any agency in the situation. It was quickly becoming clear that she simply didn’t know any better. She was substituting will for incompetence. They were not here to argue right and wrong, what someone should have or should not have done. They were here for physical training.

”I apologize.” She said, straightening out. ”My qualms are not with you, but with the Hero Program. We’re here today to learn combat, not argue. My emotions got the better of me and that should not have happened.” She spoke plainly and professionally, like a subordinate officer speaking to their chief. She still had that edge in her voice, she always did, but her sentiment was genuine, and she hoped that came through in her words. ”But do not bring up the police force. Your ignorance of the subject is insulting and you have no right to talk about them.” She said evenly. She didn’t intend any malice, she was simply giving Sunny an order.

Most of the people she trained came to training willingly. They did what she said without protest. It was obvious that this wouldn’t be the case with Sunny, so she’d attempted to use Sunny’s failure as a means to motivate her to participate and better her abilities. Things, however, got impassioned, which was unproductive. Aoi had never been good with emotionally volatile situations. She found she had a difficult time empathizing with others, thus when others got upset, her instinct was to simply tell them that they were being unproductive and that they should stop. If they didn’t comply, Aoi would sometimes get angry and yell at them. This didn’t often work, and typically another officer or Hero would have to come in to deal with the emotions of a victim or a witness or a suspect. It was a weakness that Aoi was working to rectify. Thus far, she hadn’t made much progress.

It seemed, at least, Sunny was attempting to follow Aoi’s orders. She was still using her powers to avoid touching the ground, but at least she was trying to take off those ridiculous shoes.

Aoi watched for a moment as Sunny struggled before sighing and bending down. ”Straighten your legs.” She ordered. Using her enhanced strength, she pulled off Sunny’s shoes (boots) and threw them by her own. ”Next time wear something more practical and easier to remove.” She repeated, standing up. ”And you can do forty push ups without the use of your powers. It may take some time, but I’ll wait.” She didn’t increase the number of push ups she required from her for the continuous use of her powers as a silent means of apology. Still, ”That means you need to stop using your powers. You will have to touch the ground.” She ordered.

Sunny Slater