Across the room, Edith was engrossed in her preparations. The pistol in her hand looked deceptively ordinary, but Fii knew better than to uimate its power. It was a far cry from the pipe pistols and rifles that the smaller gangs and street thugs carried. This was the real deal: a gun that only the rger gangs had access to, thanks to their es to the metropolis or other pces outside the try.

  Fii gulped, steeling her nerves.

  The dummies stared back with their misshapen faces, their bulging eyes seeming to challenge her. They were silent wito her fear; their metallic bodies bearing the scars of her previous training sessions. But today was different. Today, the stakes were higher.

  Edith's fingers danced over the on, making minute adjustments. Nearby a speaker crackled to life, and Helix's syic voice filled the room, its toral, yet ever observant.

  [Calibration plete. Ready when you are, Dr. Edith.]

  "So...um...are you sure about this?" Fii asked nervously, keeping her hands in the air.

  "Positive," Edith replied, her voice calm and assured.

  Oh boy…

  Fii's heart raced. She'd faced gangs, dodged enforcers, and navigated the treacherous streets of the slums, but this was different.

  She cleared her throat, trying to sound more fident than she felt. "You're seriously going to shoot at me?"

  Dr. Edith looked up, her gaze sharp. "Yes. Theoretical knowledge is all well and good, but there's no substitute for practical experience. You o feel the pressure, the danger."

  Fii swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. "And if I 't deflect the bullets?"

  Edith's lips quirked in a half-smile. "Then you'll have a few bruises to remind you to do better ime. Don't worry, they're rubber bullets. Since you’re a metahuman, they'll hurt, but they won't cause any sting damage. Just make sure you wear those goggles."

  [Statistically, the ces of severe injury are minimal, provided you follow instrus and remain focused.]

  Fii took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

  Goggles ready, she slid into a defeance, feet shoulder-width apart, hands raised in anticipation. Every muscle in her body was coiled, ready t into a. She tried to recall the teiques she had learhe hours of practice, but all she could focus on was the gun ih's hand.

  Focus. This is just aest.

  She stared down the barrel of the pistol, uo tear her eyes away from the tiny bck hole at the tip. She watched as Edith's fiwitched origger, squeezing slowly, steadily, before the gun clicked.

  BANG!

  The sound of the gunshot was deafening in the enclosed space, and Fii's instincts took over. She tried to dodge, but her movements were sluggish, her reas too slow. The rubber bullet struck her shoulder with a blunt, painful thud, and a stingiion that lingered.

  "Ooo!"

  Pain radiated from the impact point, and Fii gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out. She touched the spot gingerly, feeling the beginnings of a small bruise f under her fingers.

  Edith lowered the gun, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "I expected you to use yravikinesis," she remarked, a hint of disappoi in her voice.

  Helix's voice cut through her pain. [Your rea time was 0.3 seds too slow. You 't rely on dodging. You o deflect the bullets.]

  Fii clutched her arm, trying to shake off the pain. "I... I wasn't ready," she admitted, her voice shaky.

  "No one ever is," Edith replied, a wry smile on her face. "That's why you have to be prepared. Always be on guard."

  Fii sighed, rubbing her shoulder. She got back up, pnting her feet on the ground once again. "Fine. Let's try this again."

  "Are you sure you want to tinue?"

  "Yep. I take a few punches. Bring it." Fii raised her hands into a defeance, determined not to be caught off guard this time.

  The gunsh out, eg loudly in the enclosed space. Time seemed to slow as Fii watched the rubber bullet hurtle towards her. Panic surged, but she pushed it down, fog instead on the gravitational field around her. She imagined a well of gravity in front of her, a force strong enough to pull the bullet off its trajectory.

  The bullet veered off course, missing her by a hair's breadth. It smmed into one of the training dummies with a dull thud, leaving a visible dent ial.

  Fii let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, relief flooding her. She had do. She had deflected the bullet.

  "Haha, I did it!"

  Edith, however, was unimpressed. "That was sloppy," she ented, her voice sharp. "You o be more precise. The bullet shouldn't have e that close."

  Fii bristled at the criticism but bit back a retort. She kh was right. "Got it," she said tersely. "I'll do better ime."

  Helix's voiterrupted their exge. [Prepare for the shot.]

  Fii took a deep breath, steeling herself. She couldn't afford to be pt. She o be better, faster. She focused once more on her gravikinesis, feeling the ebb and flow of the gravitational forces around her.

  Another sh out, and Fii was ready. She created a gravitational well, stronger and more precise this time. The rubber bullet veered off course, missing her by a wider margin. It bounced off the wall with a muffled thump.

  "That was better," Edith admitted, l the gun. "But you still improve. Remember, it's not just about defleg the bullets. It's about trolling where they go."

  Fii rexed her stance, her body buzzing with adrenaline. She felt exhirated, empowered.

  I block...freakin'...bullets!

  "I got it," she replied, grinning. "Bring it oh—"

  Before Fii could finish her response, Edith raised the gun again, firing off a rapid succession of shots.

  Fii's mind raced, her gravikinesis w overtime as she tried to deflect each bullet. She danced and weaved, using her powers to alter the bullets' trajectories, sending them flying in all dires. But the sheer number of projectiles was overwhelming, and she soon found herself dodging and weaving, trying to avoid getting hit.

  Despite her best efforts, she felt the sting of rubber bullets all over her body. But she didn't let the paier her. She kept moving, kept defleg, using every ounce of her power to protect herself.

  Finally, after what felt like ay, Edith stopped firing.

  Fii colpsed to the ground, panting heavily. Her body was covered in bruises, and her muscles ached from the exertion. But despite the pain, she couldn't help but grin.

  Edith k down beside her, handing her a bottle of water. "Not bad," she remarked, a faint smile on her face. "But you've still got a long way to go before you're ready to go out there and take on the gangs."

  Fii nodded, wing as she prodded one of the bruises on her arm. "Yeah, I tell." She gulped dower, letting its ess soothe her parched throat. She wiped her mouth, gng at Edith. "How long do you think it'll take?"

  "Holy, it's up to you. There aren't aahumans with gravikinesis out there that I know of. So, yoing to have to learn based on your own intuition and observations. I'm only helping you with theory and some practical applications that I think of. But most of it is on you to figure out."

  Fii sighed, staring down at her battered and bruised body. "So, does that mean we're done for the day?"

  Edith discarded the empty magazine and reloaded the gun, then pressed her gsses up her nose. "Hardly. This is only the beginning. We still have a long way to go. Now, get up. We're going again."

  Fii groaned, but she obeyed, getting ba her feet.

  The sun had begun its dest, casting long shadows across the warehouse. The dimming light gave the p eerie ambiance, but Fii was too focused oraining to notice. She stood in the ter of the room, her eyes darting around, trying to anticipate where the projectile would e from.

  Edith had set up a series of automated unchers around the warehouse, eae capable of firing projectiles—more rubber bullets, pellets, and even paintballs—at different speeds and ahe maes moved silently through the room, almost blending in with the shadows. Their targets: Fii.

  The uability of the unchers was meant to simute a real-life bat sario, where Fii wouldn't have the luxury of knowing where the attack would e from.

  "Remember," Dr. Edith called out from her vantage point near her desk, "the key is to anticipate the trajectory of the projectile and create a gravity well in its path. You won't always have time to react, so you o be proactive."

  Fii crouched low, shifting her weight from side to side as she prepared t into a. She could hear the whirring of the unchers as they powered up, and she braced herself for the onsught.

  The first projectile shot out from a uo her left, and Fii reacted instantly, creating a gravity well that deflected it harmlessly away. But before she could celebrate her success, another projectile came hurtling towards her from the right. She quickly shifted her focus, creating anravity well to deflect it.

  The projectiles came faster and faster, from all dires, and Fii found herself dang around the room, creating gravity wells left and right. The strain was intense, but she mao keep up, using her powers to guide the projectiles away from her. She ducked and weaved, aying in one pce for too long, and deflected each of the attacks.

  The rhythm of the battle became clear.

  Every now and then, she would be able to breathe and steal a moment to reflect, to think of how to adapt to the ging situation. Other times, she had to respond within a split-sed, f her to rely on instind raw taleher way, the repetition made Fii's reflexes sharper as she became aced to the ebb and flow of the exercise.

  She could feel herself gettier with each defle, her reas being sharper, her gravikinesis more precise.

  Suddenly, a projectile came hurtling towards her from above.

  She hadn't anticipated that, and she barely had time to create a gravity well above her head. The projectile veered off course, narrowly missing her, but the close call cost her. In the split-sed she was distracted, another projectile struck her on the shoulder, sendiumbling backward.

  Fii cursed under her breath, but she recovered quickly, pushing herself bato the fray.

  "That was close," Edith remarked, her voice eg across the room. "Stay focused."

  Fii nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow as she steadied herself for the wave.

  The training tinued; projectiles kept ing, and Fii kept defleg them, getting faster and faster with each attempt. She lost track of time, her entire world narrowing down to the projectiles and her gravikinesis. She felt like she was in a trance, her movements being fluid and instinctual.

  Finally, after what felt like hours, the unchers powered down, and the room fell silent. Fii colpsed to the ground, her body ag and covered i.

  Edith approached her, a look of approval on her face. "Well done," she said, nodding. "You've e a long way in a short amount of time. I'm impressed."

  Fii smiled weakly, too exhausted to speak. She just y there, trying to catch her breath.

  After a few moments, Dr. Edith spoke up again. "Now, let's move on to the phase of your training."

  Fii groaned, rolling her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered.

  Edith smirked, reag under her desk and pulling out a small remote. "This," she said, holding it up for Fii to see, "is a drone troller. The drones are equipped with paintball guns, and they move much faster thaomated unchers."

  Fii gulped, her eyes locked onto the troller. She had seen drones before, and she knew how fast and agile they could be. "This is going to be fun," she deadpanned.

  "For this one," Edith tinued, "we're going to work on advanced defle teiques. So far, you learo create individual gravity wells to deflect projectiles. Starting now, you'll learn to create a tinuous gravitational field around you. Think of it as a shield."

  Fii's eyes widened. "A gravity shield? That sounds... intense."

  "It is," Edith firmed. "But it's also essential. Sometimes, you won't have the luxury of creating individual gravity wells for every bullet or projectile. You fall ba this method as a catch-all defehe principle is the same as before. But instead of creating individual gravity wells, you'll be creating a tinuous gravitational field around you. The challenge is to maintain the field for aended length of time."

  "So, I'm creating a bubble of gravity around me?"

  Edith nodded. "Exactly. But remember, the field o be strong enough to deflect projectiles but not s that it pulls everything towards you."

  The whir of the drones' motors filled the air, and the sleek, metallic maes sprang to life, zipping through warehouse. Fii's eyes widened in arm as she scrambled to her feet, her exhaustion fotten.

  As the drones closed in, Fii took a moment to visualize the cept in her mind. She closed her eyes, fog on her gravikinesis. She imagined a bubble of gravity f around her, a protective shield that would keep her safe.

  She felt a familiar pull, and when she opened her eyes, she saebbles and debris floating around her, caught in her gravitational field.

  The first drone fired, but its paintball whizzed past her, deflected by her defenses. Fii grinned in satisfa. But before she could celebrate, another drone opened fire, its paintballs ricocheting off her invisible barrier.

  "Keep your focus," Edith shouted from a safe distance. "Don't get cocky."

  Fii bit back a snarky reply, keeping her tration on maintaining the gravitational field. The drones swarmed around her, relentlessly peppering her with paintballs. Some of their shots slipped through, nig her, but the majority missed thanks to her efforts.

  As the battle wore on, Fii began to feel the strain. Maintaining a stant gravitational field was taxing, and she felt beads of sweat trig down her forehead.

  The assault tinued, and Fii found herself surrounded by a storm of paintballs. She deflected each attack with retive ease, her gravitational shield proving effective. But she soon realized that Edith had been right—maintaining the shield was a drain on her reserves. She could already feel herself tiring, her tration faltering.

  Eventually, the drones flew back to their charging stations, and the warehouse fell silent. Fii released her gravitational field, colpsing to the ground again as exhaustion washed over her. She rolled onto her back, gazing up at the ceiling.

  "How did I do?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  Edith peered over her desk, her gaze inscrutable. "You're improving," she said. "But you still o work on your stamina. You'll burn through your reserves far too quickly if you don't."

  Fii sighed, closing her eyes. Her limbs felt like lead, and she could barely lift them. "Yeah, I know."

  Edith offered her a small smile. "Don't worry. We'll keep w on it. And I promise you, you'll master your power."

  Fii cracked open one eye, a weak smile. "Thanks, Edith."

  With a groan, Fii hauled herself off the floor, stumbling to her feet. She gingerly stretched her arms, wing as her muscles protested. "So, no more training, right? You said this was the st one."

  "Yeah. Teically, I said the final phase of training, but same thing. However, that doesn't mean your training is over. If anything, that means you start practig on your own. Once I've seen that you've fortably passed the minimum requirements that I've set for each training phase, you'll be cleared to go out and start making a name for yourself."

  "A name for myself?"

  Edith leaned ba her chair. "Well, yeah. How do you expect to bee a superhero if no one knows who you are?"

  Fii shrugged. "I dunno, I figured you'd help me with that."

  "Oh, I will," Edith reassured her, smiling. "I'll make sure you've got the equipment you need. You just have to e up with a name."