[2-B] Intermidiate Hero Combat Training (Ray and Danica)

Ray knew this was going to be a long day ahead of them The other kid in the class sighed at is request and even looked past him at the muscular guy. He shook his head."I see you still haven't realized that size isn't everything," he chided back at her when she scowled.

"Same goes to you," he replied with a more tired tone than upset and turned away from her to face the course. She had a lot of angst and he had no time for it. Whoever she was didn't seem like she played well with others. Something he hoped she'd get through if they were going to be in the same class. And the point of the exercise. But he had to make do with what he had.

He shrugged off the glare she shot and kept moving, a part of him thinking he should just leave her to her own devices next time instead of helping her, but it would defeat the purpose. He watched her turn into a black mist and phase through the bullets leaving him to block them. An impressive skill and he cocked his brow, now fully aware of just how solo she wanted things to be. "Do the words team not register in that thick head of yours?" he asked in a snarky way as she glared at him and ordered them to move forward once more.

More guns appeared on the buildings and Danica dashed out once again trying to instruct him on what to do. "That's it," he mumbled to himself, and while she zigzagged Ray ran straight down the side of the street. he kept his right side close to a wall and covered his left with a water dome. That way he only needed to exert half as much energy. Even with the benefits of Aquitane's quirk, he didn't want to rely too heavily on it as it wouldn't give him a good gauge of where he was if he did. The pellets pinged off of the water shield.

She zagged over in his direction and with a cheeky smile he commented, "Evasion works for you. I'll stick to blocking,"And ran past her. He arrived a few feet before the door but hung back a bit and created a bigger wall of water that they could both fit behind and blocked the pellets. Once she ran passed him and looked back to make sure he was coming,"Ladies first I presume." he said sarcastically as she entered the building and he followed.

He stood in the door behind her and walked slowly, taking stock of everything there. He let out another deep exhale and rolled his eyes as she barked another order. "Oh...You want me to go first this time?" he replied as he was walking and took a big drink of his water bottle he carried looped to his belt. If there was one type of person that got under his skin in the world it was people that had a pompous air to them.

Ray ran up the stairwell not worried about keeping pace with her but looking back occasionally to make sure she didn't mist off recklessly somewhere. He stepped into the second-floor room and immediately a gun appeared above the doorway and fired a pellet. he narrowly saw it and rolled to the side, "Stay back!" he yelled back out as the pellet exploded. He rolled back to his feet with his shoulder burned from the explosion and cut from stray bits of fragments.

The wound began to heal immediately and his own regenerative capabilities were bolstered by Aquitanes quirk. He sent a violent stream of water arching around and slicing the gun in two just as another one appeared. He swung his hand and directed stream of water at the next one slicing it in half as well. A third gun emerged and he butterfly jumped over the pellet and sent a blade water at it. he landed with a bit of a stumble and quickly regained his footing. A final trap opened by his foot and he simply stepped on it with a water shield preventing the gears from extending and the machine malfunctioned.

He ran towards the other side of the room where a door led to a skyline walkway to another building. "We gotta keep making our though the city, going up any further won't help." he opened the door and looked out. The skyline connected the second floor of this building with one across the debris-filled street. The building across the way had three floors and was nestled between some other buildings that had fallen onto it and leaned against the structure. He rubbed his shoulder again as the wound as the skin had already repelled most of the burn and the cuts went bleeding anymore.

The woman appeared beside him from a cloud of unexpected mist. She propped him up as his weight was about to send him tumbling from poor footing. He looked wide-eyed over his shoulder at her for only a moment before he stepped on the trap and faced her. "Oh...uh," he didn't know at first how to respond to her sudden change in demeanor. She was actually caring about him instead of barking commands. Maybe she was a nicer person than he gave her credit for.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks," he replied. He would have said more but danger was still all around them and they had a long way to go still. They stood at the skywalk and again she surprised him. "Sounds like you're warming up to me," he said with a smirk and was ready to agree to her plan.

They moved down fro the broken skywalk and back into an alley. His pace was slower but steady and diligent. Her idea to traverse the buildings wasn't bad but they couldn't stay in just one. But if they could move between all of them, that could work. With how they had been improving, he didn't mind leaving his flank to her as trust was building. At least they both had a common goal and that was to finish this as best they could.

He stopped when she pointed out the caltrops. But something else she said gathered his attention much more. He paused and brought his hand to his chin, "You're right. They are funneling us...and I don't like it," he voiced with concern as he tried to think of a way for them to combat the design of the course. But was it even possible to think of something unexpected? Regardless they had to keep moving.

A small current rippled across the ground near exposed wires, that Danica's keen eye picked up on. "Thanks again. that'd be pretty painful," he thanked her and made his way across the street and leaned against the wall of another building with his head poked around the corner.

" I've been thinking. The people who made this course had to create it with various quirks in mind, but our greatest advantage has to be how we use it. They are probably motion sensor and I can distract them to lure them out and we can attack and make it to the next building for cover." He knew her mist could let her close the distance on an enemy rapidly and his ranged shield could give her cover.

Ray conjured a ball of water next to them if she agreed and he would roll it out into the street. Once it got in the middle, turrets on both sides sprang to life from the buildings and opened fire. "Here's our chance! On your lead," he said ready for her to leap into action. Once she darted out he would follow behind and help her take out the turrets and hastily dive into the next building.

What was unaware for the moment was the trap door that just opened behind them down the street. There was a low rumble and an automated turret on wheels rolled out from the underground ramp.

She defended herself, and Ray just cocked a brow and flashed a cheeky smile, "Assuming you're the leader might. This isn't the army and your not my squad leader." He spoke without malice but he was too stubborn to find a more tactful way to say it or to give her any slack even if she had made the right call in the beginning. She took all of his snarky remarks without lashing back out which showed that she may be a bit more level headed than him sometimes. And he would never admit that her stone-cold attitude and brashness was actually, pretty cute.

The street was wide and it would be dangerous, but she was right, they had to keep moving. The area was vast and the clock was ticking."We'll make the best of it," he said and nodded back at her.

They dashed out into the streets when event turrets sprang to life. It was well placed and the machines were at different angles making their firing pattern harder to handle. Ray tossed up a barrier and held back some of the pellet barrages. He glanced back and forth to Danica and noticed the careful placement of her feet as if she had to focus on something else while in combat. A hard impact shattered his barrier and staggered him back but he quickly threw up another. He needed to be able to make stronger barriers if he was going to rely on them like this. He dashed closer to Danica and the other side of the building when two explosions sent her tumbling back and transforming into a mist.

Suddenly she reappeared beside him and Ray expanded the shield to give them more cover. They were seating ducks out here. Her gasp caught his attention and he noted the quick look she made to her ankle, that told him all he needed to know."Yeah, its more than I expected." He held the barrier as more and more pellets rained down on them and peppered the street around them. There were burns on her arms and he wished now, that his quirk let him heal others instead of just himself. She could see the flicker of concern in his eye. he then followed the direction she pointed with her broken, "Alright. Sounds like a plan to me. First the wall turrets and then the tank."

"I can do you one better,"he replied and stepped closer to her. "Jump." Once she did, he would time his jump with hers and wrap them in a bubble barrier made of water. Their feet would land on a gentle stream of water, and Ray would hold out his free hand to make sure she had her balance still. He knew with her mist ability she may not like it in there, but it was all he could think of at the moment to keep them safe...to keep her safe. It was a technique he had held out on but was one of the fundamental ones he had learned when he began training his quirk.

"Alright hold on, I'll get you as close as I can," he trusted his other hand outward and a stream of water poured from the barrier sending them skidding across the ground to the building with the four turrets on the far side. ray was beginning to sweat from the quirk use but held his face calm. The barrier bumped into the wall of the building. "Here," he said as he opened a part of the barrier for her to either escape up or into the building to reach the turrets.

Once she was off, a heavy blast struck the barrier and shattered it, knocking Ray into the building. He tumbled across the ground, "I'm Good!" he yelled back despite the injuries. He didn't want her to stop and worry about him when her task was going to get them out of there. He staggered back to his feet with blurred vision. A couple of shakes of his head brought him to and blood trickled down his chest, slowly closing up from his regenerative ability. "Stupid tank pellet machine," he grumbled and made his way back to the hole in the building.

With Danica above, he made sure to give her cover enough to block any other turret fire aimed at her. Once those were down they could focus on the others. The turrets on the other side were too far away for his quirk to reach, but the tank wasn't. The rolling pellet machine aimed its gun higher toward Danica. Ray threw his hands forward and sent a blast of water at the treads of the vehicle. The water collided and ripped into the rubber wheels, knocking the machine off balance and its blasts fired off randomly into the air.

The bubble had surrounded them and as he reached for her his neck tensed and his jaw pulled back as the bokken swung by his face, nearly slicing the sweat from his nose. With regained composure, he grabbed her hand to give her some balance and the two were off. They reached the second floor and he couldn't help but smile as she wished him luck. He thought for a moment to say something witty or give a coy retort but instead just nodded back and dropped down to the floor below.


Above him was a medley of battle as she tore through the turrets. "Well alright." He replied, impressed by her skills yet again. And more so that they finally seemed to be in sync about things. He watched her back with the water shields and then followed the giant pellet blast that collided with the ceiling above. If that had hit him it would have no doubt tested the bounds of his regeneration.

Before he knew it Danica had arrived back down. "Good job up there," he felt it polite to stir their energy to something more positive than snarky retorts back and forth and she had already changed since the trial had begun. He took a drink of water and cracked his neck while listening to where request. "No problem. One bubble coming right up," he said and once she was ready he would jump in unison with her and surround them in another bubble. He looked all around the bubble as Danica turned into a mist and pressed the particles into the water itself. "Just full of tricks aren't you Dani." He lifted his foot and looked beneath it at the spreads of particles stretching out all around the bubble. "Hope I'm not stepping on you," he said both concerned and a tad confused but there was no time to be caught up in his thoughts.

The Bubble slowly turned invisible and he looked at it with wide-eyes, "Well I'll be. That's quick thinking. let's make up for the lost time." Ray took a wide stance and put one hand on the side of the bubble he was looking at and held the other aimed behind him. "3..2..ready!" He said and sent a stream of water outward and, propelling the bubble forward. They skitted on the ground out of the building and diagonally across the street.

The pellet tank spun its wheels on the ground, burning the rubber as it veered left and right in place, trying to find some traction to carry it. Eventually, the tank managed to hit a good spot and roared to life down the street. Its cannon scanned from left to right and completely overlooked the invisible bubble of water that dipped into and ally. All that was left on the street was a stream of water behind them, but a simple machine lacked the capabilities to track something as discrete as water.

Ray darted them into an ally and then turned down another. He was beginning to sweat with how much he was using his quirk but he had plenty left in him thanks to the instructor's quirk. They still needed to get a good lead and he raced them a block down the street. next to them was another tall building Ray rushed the bubble over to it and redirected the propulsion stream at the ground to send them soaring upward and into a large blown open part of the second floor.

"Get ready to de-mist,"He said as a warning and then once inside the second-floor office area, the bubble popped and splashed on the ground. Ray exhaled and took a few steps into the building with a big stretch of his back. "Phew well that should get us a good lead. It's not moving as fast with that messed up wheel," he said and walked to a hole in the wall to peek out of it at their further off destination. He looked over his shoulder at Danica and saw her more as a partner now. For a moment he looked into her eyes, and didn't say anything, then quickly cleared his throat and looked back at the city.

The building next to them was lower and they could probably jump down to it. But there were also turrets to worry about. He gave a small grin, "You trust me," and extended his hand to her. If she took it he would jump with her to the lower building. beneath their feet, he created a wide barrier of water that was riddle with turret fire from beneath them. Numerous turrets were on that roof and it could only mean they were getting closer to the goal. They would fall down with the barrier beneath them but it was left open so that Danica could spring into action.

"I can take the right side," he quickly added and fed into a bit of the breakneck pace that Danica had started with. His pace had been more slow but he knew there were times for haste.

Ray nodded when she managed to say 'Dani' through a tired breath. He smiled and took it as acceptance of the nickname until she continued. "uh oh. right then, well it sounded better than Nica. But whichever you prefer," he shrugged and stepped over to help her but stopped short, realizing she would rather stand on her own accord. The technique she just used seemed to take a toll on her and showed a bit more of just how that misty state translated into her solid and normal form. Something he assumed she'd want to avoid if possible in t future.

She urged them to move forward, but he still waited a moment to see that she was completely ready, but time was against them in this scenario. "Right," get replied and pushed onward with her.

Ray dashed to the right and left the other side to Danica. He held up a barrier of water and pushed against the incoming pellets. With his other hand, he sent sharp blades slicing around his barrier and striking at the turrets. Unfortunately, direct damage was not his strongest asset. The pellets kept hammering in and Ray surrounded himself in a bubbled and rolled towards them. Once he was right on them he burst it open and surrounded the turrets themselves in a bubble barrier that got increasingly smaller until the exploding pellets destroyed themselves. One burst through the barrier at the last moment and seared into his hip. "Dang it,"he grumbled as he hopped in place and rubbed the wound that was just beginning to heal.

It didn't take long for him to look behind him and see Danica had gone missing. His eyes grew wide and trailed back to one of the machines that was unloading on a dumpster. A trail of water and blood seeped out from below the dumpster and then he heard her yell out. "Hang on!" He yelled back and rushed over to the side of the building. "think think think...." he mumbled and tried to formulate a plan. Once he was closer the machine began to turn on him. "Here we go. Double Ray," he said as he made a water clone of himself and thanked G for that lesson at the pool. The clone followed alongside Ray and took the barrage of pellets then punched the turret just hard enough to get its attention and was soon dispatched.

Ray jumped up and created a barrier of water that acted as a slide that he rode around, headed for the opposite side of the dumpster. He could almost see her when the machine fired more pellets, he brought up a barrier but miscalculated the speed he was traveling and the placement. The pellets shot into his left arm. Ray grounded in pain and the barrier fell apart, luckily only a few feet above the ground as he crashed next to Danica.

"Hey," he said breathing heavily as his own blood trickled down his arm, but the wound was already slowly healing. "Getting into trouble is my job from now on okay," He stood up and cast a barrier around the turret causing it to malfunction once more with a small surge of sparks.

He then cast a barrier over their heads and extended it out ten yards. "You okay," he asked and lowered his hand to help her up. It wasn't much further now, they could see the end from where they were.

"You think you can handle the offense for a second if we run into anything? I can only cast a barrier until my left arm finishes regenerating. Aquitane's quirk is helping a lot though," he asked with a casual smile as if nothing serious was going on. But he had learned a valuable lesson about his own quirk and that regenerating and fighting with it at the same time taxed it faster. he looked down at the foot she had been nursing this whole time and offered her his shoulder to lean on so they could walk, at least until danger struck again. He held the barrier closer to them but open enough so they could see their surroundings. With Aquitane's quirk, he was still able to cast a barrier while regenerating but that would be it until his arm fully healed which wouldn't take too long. It was already looking better.

"Almost there."

He cocked a brow at the streak of blood beneath her eye left behind now. Could she have been? No not her. "Great. Then let's get the hell outta here." The look of worry on her face was almost expected. It was a big question to ask. He just hoped that if she didn't have to worry about defense t would be a little easier. But they were both battered up a bit.

"That's all I'll ask," he said with a nod. No smart remark or smirk with it this time. Just thanks. His arm was healing faster than it normally would, but the throbbing sensation made him wince once Danica had turned away from him. He gripped it so it wouldn't dangle and pressed it against his body. Ray followed her lead into the street. She was still fierce and battered turret after turret. Pellets flew freely and Ray cast barriers to block the incoming assault from reaching Dani. Blood still trickled down her leg from the wounds earlier. He couldn't help but curse the quirk he had for only being able to heal himself. He hadn't even done the one job he was supposed to and take damage for his teammate.

Finally, the point was in sight. Only a block left to the red flares that burned like welcoming beacons. But turrets were more present now than ever. They took aim at the two of them. Ray glanced over his shoulder at the tank that burst onto the scene. All the aches and pains he felt subsided to painful realization of the dire situation. The tank rumbled and its massive turret took aim.

Ray dove to the opposite side of the street for shelter as Dani fell back to the dumpster. He was breathing heavy and blood still ran down his arm. He slumped against the wall. His head pressed against the cold concrete. They were so close. Dani called from the other side, demanding a course of action. Ray snapped lifted his wounded arm and flexed his finger, forcing them into a fist. There was only one course of action to take. "Streets. We go for the win!" He yelled back.

The tank wobbled down the street. It's wheels sparked on the ground from the damaged track. The treads that wrapped the metal wheels were torn off and the metal scraped across the ground. He ran out of the corner and sent a splash of water at the tank that harmlessly fell off it and created a puddle on the ground. The tank's turret spun to face Ray, who was smirking at the impending defeat.

The tank's turret began to spin. Ray stepped on the ground splashing into the stream of water he created that led to the tank's exposed wheel. The water stiffened like concrete and shot up like a solid door. It struck the barrel of the tank's turret and pushed it upward just as it began to fire. Pellets whizzed by Ray and arched upward into some of the turrets that lined the left side of the street.

"Come on! We win together or not at all right," He cast a barrier above himself big enough for two, like an umbrella. Pellets rained down on them as Ray dashed to the extraction point as fast as his weary body could take him. He left the sides open in case Dani needed to mist in and out of his aquatic canopy. Each pellet strike chipped away at the water barrier. A few penetrated the barrier and struck his arms and torse, most of the momentum stolen by the barrier. He was taken deep and slow breaths to keep himself going.