Training days
My apartment wasn’t much, but it worked. Typical guy thing. Bed, TV, computer, and a kitchenette. Bit messy, but I lived alone and didn’t spend much time there, and it was quiet and private.
But when I went to pick up Glacia, I got a look at how the other half live.
The address was uptown in one of the high-rise apartment buildings on Ritz Street. The second I pulled up I felt out of place in my old car. Geeze, she even had a doorman in a spiffy uniform. Goes to show you, I guess.
I shot her a text, and she must have been waiting for me because no sooner was it sent Glacia burst from the doors and raced down to the car. She was wearing a thick, white fur coat despite the summer heat, I noticed, and her eyes were bright. The eyes of her doorman however were not particularly friendly, glaring at me from under his hat. Yeah, fuck you too, buddy.
“I can’t wait to begin, sir,” Glacia said as she slid into the passenger side, her normally pale face flushed with excitement. “I could hardly sleep last night. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m ready to start with simply bated breath, sir!”
“Right, good,” I said as I put the car in gear and started off down the highway. I spoke little with her on the way to the trainyards, instead going over the plan I’d come up with in my head. I’d never actually trained someone before, but I did know enough of the ins and outs of the trade to hopefully get the ball rolling.
We reached the trainyards and I left the car near the fence, taking out a bag of empty beer cans I’d been meaning to deal with, but was glad I’d delayed. Glacia gave them a curious glance, but I’d explain it all soon, so I led the way in silence. Among the aged cement and maze of rusting boxcars, I knew we wouldn’t be disturbed. I’d often come here back in my early days to practice my powers and refine my control, and it felt strangely good to be back among the old metal and machinery. I walked over weed-choked tracks and towards the old loading bays, where a forsaken crane stood in abandoned salute, creaking in the wind. The feel of so much raw metal was oddly soothing, and its hum as I moved among it resonated in my bones.
“Alright,” I said, stopping near an old shed, the cement tagged with so much graffiti you couldn’t even see the brickwork under it anymore. I dropped the bag of cans and opened it up. “Here, I’m going to see what you can do, and start getting you trained up on what to expect.”
“Yes sir!” Glacia said, straightening sharply and God as my witness she actually gave me a salute. “I look forward to it. I have some excellent control over my powers, sir, and am excited to demonstrate it.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “First off, did you wear your costume?”
“As instructed, sir,” she said, shrugging off the heavy coat.
I had to admit, it was a good suit. Carter may be a gigantic pain at times, but she knew branding, I’d give her that. The sleek suit was white trimmed with an icy blue, clinging to Glacia’s curves in a highly appealing way. Her baggy coats had largely hidden her figure, but now that I could see it, I had to admit she was lovely. Trim but not lacking in curves. Her coat had masked a smaller one, this with a thick furry collar that framed her silver hair nicely. It hung loose, more a cape than a coat, the sleeves similarly trimmed in fur, which would probably have PETA all over her ass if those morons had dared try anything. Gold ornamentation decorated it, giving her a look like she was ready to conquer Narnia. Likely an homage, knowing Carter’s sense of style.
“Not bad,” I said. A lot of it was impractical in a real fight, but Glacia wouldn’t be seriously throwing hands unless something went very fucking wrong. “Good style. Very ice queen.”
“I am pleased I meet your approval, sir,” she said.
I gave her a look at that, but she looked sincere. “Mhmm. Alright,” I said, sensing the metal around us, wrapping my magnetic grip around several of the cans in the bag and lifting them to hover in the air. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Smirking, Glacia spread her hands at her sides. It was a familiar pose, though I couldn’t place it at first. A cold wind blew through the air, swirling around her. Stirring her coat, lifting her into the air. That’s when I figured it out.
It was the same stance I used to fly.
Intrigued, I wondered what else she could do. “Good. Now,” I said, as the cans rotated around me like boozy satellites, humming with magnetic fields. “Stop these.”
I flung them at her, lightly enough, since though I doubted they’d hurt, I wanted to see how she’d react. Fortunately, it wasn’t looking to be a problem. Glacia swept up one hand, and from her palm blasted a pillar of air so cold it steamed. It caught the hunks of metal with ease, freezing them midflight into pillars of ice and anchoring them to the ground.
I nodded in approval. “Good. Not bad. But keep in mind you don’t want to do that with people. At least, not all of them. Up to the shoulders is the rule,” I said, tapping my own. “Otherwise, they’ll just suffocate. Or get thawed in a few centuries.”
“Of course, sir,” Glacia said, floating with quite the smug air about her.
Hmm. Not good. Confidence was good, but overconfidence killed more villains than falling from tall buildings. A frequent hazard. If only heightened narcissism didn’t always demand one rule from a perilous vantage point over their subjects. So often villains didn’t even install railings around their nefarious balcony. The perfect place to get kicked off by some enterprising hero, conveniently freeing the good guy from actually murdering the villain properly.
And that was exactly the sort of excessive confidence I didn’t want Glacia getting.
“Alright,” I said, lifting more cans out of the bag. “Let’s try it a bit faster.”
“Ready, sir,” Glacia said, her palms up, the cold air swirling around her.
“We’ll see,” I said, and sent the pieces flying at her.
Glacia directed another blast of freezing air around the cans, encasing them in ice and sending them plummeting to the ground, too heavy to remain airborne.
Most of them, anyway.
She missed several, which flew at her in a group. She had to make a somewhat awkward swerve in the air to avoid them, but she still smiled confidently.
Until one smacked her in the back of the head.
“Ah!” she gasped, thrown off balance. She tumbled through the air, landing on the pillar of ice before sliding down it in a tumble.
“Always watch your back,” I said, a gesture bringing up the can that hit her. “A lot is going to be happening during an encounter. You need to be aware of everything going on. Some civvie might want to play hero and pull a gun to shoot you from behind. An attack can come from anywhere, not just the dumbass in spandex in front of you. Practice and reflexes will save you in those times.”
Getting back onto her feet, Glacia was blushing with embarrassment. “I… I understand, sir,” she said.
I nodded. “But that said, you did well,” I added. “Though your output is impressive, your control might need a bit of fine tuning. The more you can do with your powers, the better.”
“As you say, sir,” she said.
“Good. Now, let’s get back to it.”
We practiced for the rest of the morning, and I could already start seeing the improvements. I still hit her with some pieces as she flew about, but she became more aware of them as we went on. Soon, she was able to dodge and weave in the air, evading the projectiles with more ease than I expected.
“Good,” I said, dropping the remaining cans to the ground. “Very good. And getting better. You’ll be ready to deal with the combat, I think, but we should also go over the presentation of villainy.”
“Presentation, sir?” Glacia asked as she drifted to the ground, her coat fluttering as it settled and the chill wind died.
“Yes. Presentation! If you truly want to menace your enemies, you have to present yourself appropriately. If you try and come off as an evil queen, but act more like a cockney bitch, people will notice, and that’ll mark you. Likewise, trying to sound cultured while acting like a thug will confuse your audience. You want a consistent image you’re presenting, and try to make it as authentic as possible.”
“I see,” Glacia said, nodding along seriously. Again her notepad made an appearance, her pen eagerly scribbling things down. “What would you say my theme should be, sir?”
“That largely depends on your protagonist,” I said. “Evil opposite, class warfare, muscle versus brains. For you… I’d say evil queen is probably the best angle to work with.”
“I agree, sir,” Glacia said at once. “Miss Carter said I hit all the proper haughty notes, and that I would come off as appropriately arrogant and condescending.”
“Well, she would know,” I said drily, though I had to admit Glacia hadn’t exactly been sending those vibes thus far. She struck me more as an eager puppy than some ice-cold bitch. But then, I did sense a certain rigidity in thought and pride in her that would really turn on the simps in the right way. The style of her dress would only further it.
I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out, spotting a message from Steve with an attached address. I couldn’t help but raise a brow. Really? That was going to be interesting... “Alright,” I said as I stowed away my phone, “I think that’s good for today.”
“You do, sir?” Glacia asked.
“Yeah. I have to go meet Steve and his sister.”
“Ah, yes. Of course, sir. She may prove an excellent villain,” Glacia said.
“I suppose,” I sighed. “Come on. I’d better get this over with.”
“You don’t want her as a protégé, sir?” Glacia asked.
“I didn’t want any of this,” I said with an impatient wave, heading back across the railyard and towards the car. “Sidekicks, training, henchmen, it’s all a pain. I just want a quiet life of being at home, watching tv, and battling superheroes for fun and money.”
“That seems a shame, sir,” Glacia said, jogging quickly after me. “I suspect you would make an excellent leader.”
That was a new one. I gave her a sceptical look, but Glacia’s earnestness didn’t seem feigned. I doubted she could fake it, really. She was terrible at hiding her emotions. “Maybe,” I conceded. “I never thought much about it. That kind of work gets complicated. Draws in all the wackos. Normally, villain team-ups are for rogue galleries ganging up on some lone hero who keeps thwarting them. Or something like the Guild.”
“But what if you were to, sir?’ Glacia asked quickly. “Surely you’ve considered it. I believe if you truly wanted to, many villains would flock to your side.”
I shrugged. “To do what? I’m not interested in taking over the world. Hell, I don’t even want to take over a city! Not my style.”
“I suppose so. But it seems a waste, if you don’t mind me saying, sir.”
“You’re starting to sound like that Guild recruiter.”
Glacia flinched. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said, looking down at her feet. “I didn’t mean anything like that.”
Aw dammit. I didn’t mean to make her upset. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. This was why it was so tough to get a girlfriend. Well, that and the whole villain thing. Don’t get me wrong, many are attracted to the villain lifestyle, and not only for the leather and alpha vibes. But most women who want to date a villain are more psycho than a schizophrenic cat. Your average supervillainess may look like a bombshell, but she’s equally liable to go off like one, or try and drag you into a battle against her nemesis, only to develop feelings for the hero and ditch you. Never happened to me, but I’ve seen it too many times to risk it. Not to mention then you get some weird spiral of revenge schtick from the jilted lover.
And don’t even get me started on breaking up with a supervillainess. I shuddered. I’d done that before, and the fallout made the Bikini Atoll look like a pleasant vacation spot.
“I… look,” I said. “It’s fine. I just prefer to work alone. It makes things easier for everyone.”
“As you say, sir.”
I could tell she wanted to say more, but kept quiet, my own point leaving little room for argument. And I’d be the first to admit I had considered getting a villain crew together. Only briefly, and mostly as a mental exercise, but there were always too many issues to address. So though she may have a point, I wasn’t about to entertain it. I had a lot on my mind.
And was about to have even more.