A Twist Of Marvel || Infinity War

40. No Idea

The training room looked much like it had only three days prior, except all the cracks and rubble were in different places. This was because since Hulk had become Naomi's mentor in all things violent, the large concrete space had been broken and repaired again several times over. Once again, Naomi simply had to send a prayer to the poor servants who had to repair the space overnight so the Hulk could re-destroy it. It could be said, however, that the servants had a bit of an easier job since Valkyrie and Hulk met Naomi, since the more time he spent teaching her meant the less time he could throw his fists around.

It may have come as a surprise to some, and it certainly shocked Naomi, when the Hulk continued to insist on training Naomi, and after a day Valkyrie joined in. It was admittedly an odd dynamic between the three, since two of them could easily demolish the other one and instead chose to show her how to throw proper punches. Of course, Naomi wasn't a complete newbie to the world of combat, since moving to New York she had taken several self-defense classes, but the Marvel world of fighting worked a little different.

"Remember not to sway in your stance- stay grounded or I could easily-" Valkyrie moved a palm toward Naomi, who was currently bent in the battle stance Valkyrie had taught her. "Push you over." Valkyrie lightly pushed against Naomi's shoulder, and the woman rocked back slightly in response. Naomi nodded, checking herself to make sure her feet were shoulder-width apart, and her knees slightly bent to keep herself balanced. Glancing her over, Valkyrie grunted in satisfaction and moved into her own stance with the ease of one who had spent decades in battle. Naomi was jealous for a moment, and then remembered for the umpteenth time that she had been training for three days, and Valkyrie had literal centuries of practice under her belt, and also happened to be an alien warrior.

"Right, let's go one last time before I head out." Valkyrie said. The two women proceeded to begin a slow, spoken version of the sparring Valkyrie occasionally practiced with Hulk. She was a fair teacher, and Naomi had learnt quickly that as long as she made an honest effort, Valkyrie didn't much care if her punches weren't as strong as her own, or her kicks not as smooth. Or it could be that Valkyrie never seemed to care much about anything, and was always a little buzzed. Either way, it made for a relaxed teaching environment Naomi was thankful for.

For her training, and since Naomi didn't have any other clothes, Valkyrie had lended her an old set of combat armor that fit alright. It was very simple in style- a light brown enforced leather breastplate with straps going over her shoulders and connecting in the back. Her pants were fashioned of darker material that Naomi couldn't quite identify, but was fitted and easy to move in. A sturdy pair of leather boots that traveled up to her knees, and gloves with padded knuckles completed her new Sakaar-ian outfit. Though she would never admit it to anyone in this universe, it made Naomi rather giddy when she first tried it on- like she was a superhero too.

"I can see a gap in your defense." Valkyrie pointed out, not bothering to tell Naomi where her weakness was. Concentrating, Naomi shifted her fists until they were properly positioned, so she could easily block punched from any angle facing her. Valkyrie nodded, and continued the spar. After a series of slow kicks and punches that Naomi correctly blocked, she spotted an opening on Valkyrie's behalf- her right elbow was raised too high to protect her side, and Naomi moved in. Not bothering to curb her speed like Valkyrie did, she darted her fist into the opening, striking  the Asgardian warrior under her ribs before pulling her arm back into her stance.

Valkyrie- who had not been affected by the blow at all- gave Naomi a tight smile that was warm none the less. "Good eye." She commented. Naomi returned the smile, even though she knew that the gap in Valkyrie's defense had been intentional. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that she had actually scored a hit on the woman. "Lets leave that there for now then." Valkyrie adjusted her breastplate, moving toward the weapons rack where she had stored her booze next to a couple of Hulk-sized maces. "I need to check the trash for the princes."