Open Letting off some steam

Manta Carlos Fitness Center
2:30 AM

There weren't many people here tonight. A few oddballs dedicated to their training, or the odd executive getting off work, and needing to get their workout in before bed. That was why hope preferred to come here at these times. As it stood she already had trouble sleeping because of her nightmares. But when she came here after having one, she somehow felt better. It was good to exert herself, escape from her thoughts and let out her anger in a physical way.

She sat on a bench wrapping her wrists, knuckles and ankles. She did this carefully, taking her time with each pass of the black fabric roll. This was her protection, it would save her joints from excessive strain, and save her knuckles from being torn open too badly. She needed to be careful, given that an injury would take long to heal. It was a strange concept to her, back home, she never gave much thought to her own protection, it wasn't what she was made for. Here however, she needed to think of herself.

The almost ritualistic process of applying the wraps took nearly ten minutes, but once it was done she stood up and proceeded over to the heavy bag that hung in the middle of the open section of floor. She started off slow, a few quick punches, before slipping side to side, and throwing a few more punches. She struck imaginary targets on the bag, aiming for weak points in a would be opponent, and avoiding imaginary retaliations with speed and precision that would have surprised anyone who knew her. By day she was meek, shy, and an everyday person. But here, with no one around, when she needed to let loose she showed her true self.

She was wearing a grey sports bra and matching leggings, and her white hair had been pulled back into a pony tail. While this look was not very modest, she found that its form fitting design allowed for better range of movement and was much more comfortable that loose shorts and t shirts.

She continued to fight her imaginary foe, attacking the bag more aggressively as her work out continued. Before long she was lost in her mind, slipping and sliding, evading, and striking. She wasn't even noticing as people arrived or left the facility anymore.

Hope continued her assault on the punching bag. Her imaginary foe was relentless, and she mirrored its aggression, striking harder and faster as time progressed. In her old life she would never have allowed a fight to go on this long, but this wasn't her old life. She wasn't fighting to the death, no matter how much she imagined it. Still she fought with intensity, anything else was an insult to everything she used to be. She had not noticed the younger lad watching her work out her aggression, though it wouldn't have bothered her if she had.

After a few moments she kicked hard against the bag. A push kick designed to move her opponent backwards. The bag swung back, and she moved instinctively to teleport behind it. At least that's how it was supposed to work. Instead her power null bracelet activated, suppressing her ability, and giving a loud beep. Instead of appearing behind the bag, she was left standing in its trajectory as it swung back and collided with her, sending her to the floor with a loud thud, and a surprised yelp.

From the flat of her back Hope lay, looking up at the ceiling, breathing heavily. Another beep from her bracelet alerted her that it had now gone back into passive mode. She sighed, refusing to move for a few moments. She had lost herself, and had almost made a terrible mistake. But that's why she had the bracelet after all, to keep those kinds of accidents from happening.

She sat up again, as her breathing slowed, and finally took notice of the young man watching her. She nodded to him, standing up and stretching her arms out over her head before going back to her duffle bag and taking out a bottle of water.

Hope looked over at the young man as he spoke to her. He had been watching and seen the entire thing. While not at all odd, it had been unexpected as now he seemed to have an interest in her. She offered a smile and nodded to his words. "I uh, Yeah no My uh, powers are suppressed." She managed to stammer. Socializing was not her strongest point. In truth she had always been more comfortable in a fight than talking, but since coming here she had resigned to not fight, and learn to be normal.

"You... You saw that eh? I'm not much of a fighter really. I took a couple classes when I arrived. For self defense." She lied now, looking to the floor before taking a long drink from her water bottle.

As she finished she finally gave him a good look over. He didn't appear old, but his language suggested an intelligence not often found in youth. Perhaps he was one of those individuals who had managed eternal life, or maybe he was just a really smart kid. Either way it seemed rude to ask about such things with no other context. Instead she opted to introduce herself. "I uh, I'm hope."