27 A New Teammate

"And so, everyone, this is Byrd." Waze gestured to Byrd as if presenting a work of art. They stood in the entrance to the training room where all of the other teens waited inside.

"She's so..." Duke started to speak but then trailed off. Michelle finished for him.

"Cute! She's adorable!" Michelle ran over to squeeze Byrd, but Waze pulled her out of the way.

"You'll suffocate her." Waze said, giving Michelle a matter of fact expression.

"Did she really pass your little test?" Marco gave Waze a doubtful look, which gave Waze an idea.

"Hey, how about the two of you spar right now? No abilities." Waze beamed at the two, who both gave her equally shocked expressions.

"I-I-I couldn't... I don't think..." Byrd stuttered off before Waze pulled her to the side and whispered to her.

"Just put up a good fight and show them what you're made of. You gotta prove yourself to these guys too." Upon hearing her words, Byrd's face grew hard with determination.

"Waze... I don't know about this..." Marco trailed off.

"It's alright. I mean, if it comes down to it you can just go easy on her right?" Marco sighed and the two approached the center of the room. Marco took a fighting stance and Byrd did her best to imitate it, failing miserably.

"H-hey Waze, you sure this is a good idea?" Duke looked at the small girl with concern.

"Just trust me." Waze spoke up so the two people readying themselves to fight could hear. "And... go!"

Immediately Marco lunged forward. It seemed as if he had no intentions of going easy and was planning on ending the fight quickly. He was quick, but Byrd was quicker. She quickly dodged to the side putting slight surprise on the faces of the other teammates.

"Not just anyone can dodge one of Marco's punches..." Michelle looked at the girl, analyzing her closely. But it was hard to look past her dainty atmosphere.

Byrd dodged around Marco for a while until they were both relatively out of breath.

"She's got some skills, huh?" Duke nodded in approval.

"That she does." Waze smiled. This was nothing compared to what she had seen earlier. But, it seemed like Byrd could use a bit of encouragement.

"You can do it Byrd!" The girl looked in Waze's direction. Waze gave her her best smile. "I believe in you!" That seemed to be the final trigger for Byrd. As Marco approached to hit her once more, Byrd swept in and swung her leg up in a high arc, slamming it into his face. Marco stumbled away. After all his training, one kick wasn't enough to bring him down, yet it still did quite some damage. The two flung at each other once more, this time in a flurry of hits. Waze and the others could barely keep up with the fight at the speed they were both going. Suddenly, Norris entered from the store where she had been helping the last customer.

"That's enough for now." Everyone spun around, startled at the sound of the old woman's voice.

"N-norris..." Waze stuttered. May the stars look down upon her and spare her Norris's wrath.

"This is the girl you have brought, Waze?" Byrd stood panting in the center of the room next to an equally worn out Marco. Norris scanned her up and down before grinning.

"You were right, Waze, she does hold great potential." Waze beamed at Norris's praise. "But, that doesn't mean you should fling her in a fight against one of your teammates. You're stocking tea after training today." Waze groaned. It wasn't a horrible punishment, but it was still a bother.

"S-sorry Waze... It's my fault..." Byrd looked at Waze with a downcast expression.

"It's not your fault. I don't regret it anyway, you showed off some awesome moves." Waze flinched at the glare sent in her direction from Norris.

"W-well! Time to start training!" Waze rushed into the stretches before anyone could comment.

On break, Cassidy approached a decimated Byrd. She was laying on the ground, wrecked from the intense training. Though Byrd was in good shape, the workout regime was hard for any new comer. Cassidy had yet to comment on Byrd, or speak to her.

"It's Byrd, right?" Cassidy looked slightly nervous.

"Oh... mhmm."

"Oh... I'm Cassidy. Which you may or may not know... anyway. I think that you're kinda small like me and you know, un-intimidating and girlish. So I kinda get it... a lot of people messed with me before they knew I was strong too. So, I hope that we can work together and get along. I think... you'll be a good addition to the team." Wade's beamed. She may not be on good terms with Cassidy, but it was important for Byrd to connect with the other kids.

"I look forward to working with you too!" Byrd gave Cassidy a glowing smile.

"She's too bright..."

"She's glowing... It hurts my eyes..." Waze frowned at Duke and Michelle, who were shielding their eyes from Byrd's so said brightness.

"Stop being rude, weirdos."

Sable approached Byrd behind Cassidy.

"I'm the same as Cassidy." It was blunt, and slightly confusing. At least, Byrd looked quite confused.

"O-oh... well I look forward to working with you too!" Sable merely nodded and walked away, taking a long drink out of her water bottle.

Marco had been especially polite to Byrd as well, saying she was a 'maiden' and 'at least she has some starting strength' with a glare in Waze's direction. This resulted in a small squabble that Duke had to break up. Waze smiled despite it. Though she and Marco still bickered, they also joked around and encouraged each other. Since their 'date' that the other members had yet to find out about, the Marco had been especially helpful during training, pushing Waze to new limits. She really did appreciate having him around.

As she waved goodbye to her teammates, Waze smiled. She was so lucky to have what she did, so many friends around her. Waze just hoped she could connect with more people in the future, and continue expanding her relationships. In the end, she really did love spending time with the people around her.