Cold Revenge (A Star Wars Avengers Crossover)

Chapter Seven "Skip the Capes and Spandex"

Now that Tony had been banned from all training sessions, things had been running more smoothly. At least from Obi-Wan's perspective. The bumps and bruises from training sessions were beginning to pile up for Riley, but she wasn't letting that stop her.

She held the wooden sword in front of her, imagining the "blade" shining brightly and crackling with energy. She couldn't wait to build her own lightsaber.

"The weapon is an extension of yourself," Obi-Wan was saying. "The Force flows through it just as it flows through you."

Riley regulated her breathing and tried to lose track of where her hand ended and the hilt began. She pictured her arm stretching out into a blade. She had done the same thing when learning to fire her crossbow. This was just a bigger version of that.

Obi-Wan struck first. He had said it was best to start with defensive moves. The blow was almost gentle, and Riley blocked it easily. Obi-Wan used one hand like a fencing master. The "foil" seemed too heavy for that, but Riley tried angling her body like he did and balancing out with her off hand. Gradually, Obi-Wan's strikes began to come faster and heavier. Riley actually had to try to keep from getting hit. She switched back to two hands on the hilt, beginning to feel each blow reverberating through her body. Riley had a strong suspicion that Obi-Wan had been lulling her into a false sense of security with his initial assault.

It wasn't until she was three feet back that Riley realized she had been retreating from the onslaught. She planted her feet firmly, but that only meant she had to block more. It hadn't been very long, but her arms already felt tired. With each blow, Obi-Wan came closer to ending the fight. Riley decided to try something different. As she blocked another hit, she attempted to go on the offensive. Obi-Wan saw it coming and blocked before she was even halfway into her swing. Her grip loosened, and Riley's sword fell to her side as if she couldn't control her arm anymore. At the same moment, she felt a sharp, stinging pain in her left thigh, accompanied by a loud thwack!

Riley dropped the sword and rubbed her leg. "Was that necessary?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Obi-Wan looked mildly apologetic. "It is a bit heavier than I'm used to." He twirled his sword around his hand absently. "And I thought I'd spare you the burns."

"Did you have to learn with the real thing?"

"Training lightsabers. They don't have as much power, but they still hurt."

Riley picked up her sword again. "You think maybe we can slow that down?"

Obi-Wan smiled faintly and nodded. He raised his sword in front of his face, and they began again. Riley got the feeling he was proving a point before. He could have beaten her a lot faster if he'd wanted to. She had a lot to learn.

A few defeats—and bruises—later, Obi-Wan told Riley to take a break. As they headed out of the gym, Riley pushed her damp hair out of her eyes. No matter what she did, it seemed to stick to her sweaty face, even if she tried to put it up, it always managed to escape. She was considering cutting it to save the trouble. That is, until Obi-Wan made a suggestion.

"It might help to braid your hair," he said, as he watched her picking single strands off her forehead.

She looked up at him for a moment. "I don't know how," she said.

"I can show you."

Riley put up her hand. "I don't like people touching my head."

Obi-Wan seemed to be thinking. "Maybe there's a video on it somewhere. You seem to have videos about everything here."

"Probably," Riley agreed.

They reached the end of the hallway and got into the elevator. Obi-Wan still called it a turbolift sometimes, which was understandable since the word meant the same thing.