T2M Central HQ, Addis Ababa

"No."

Eyes the colour of a fine summer's day faded from piercing blue into a cloudy blue-grey at the single word. Anger and sorrow lanced through a sensitive heart, making her want to cry and rage, but she would do neither in front of the man who blocked most of the view from the narrow window he stood in front of with just his shoulders. He disrespected the weak and undisciplined, and if she was to succeed here, she could show neither. Even if he was supposed to be a hero.

Caestus Pax lounged against six-inch thick glass, pinning the two trainees down with a gimlet blue stare. The changeable eyes of Balm dropped down in submission, but not before he noted the colour of them. Impulsive and compassionate, she would throw herself into the pit of hell to help someone... which going to Chechnya, or even near it, was certainly doing. After Slider's death, the Project didn't need any more bad press by letting trainees go into dangerous situations. Especially trainees with problems using full force offensively in conflict, as Balm had demonstrated more than once.

Interestingly, Obsidian matched his stare long enough to show he wasn't intimidated before sliding his jet-black eyes in Balm's direction. Juan de la Cortez may have been a brooder, but he possessed all the pride - arrogance - of an Old World aristocrat (which he was) and a major European actor (which he was also). Unlike Balm, he knew his exact worth, and wasn't above extracting the most he could from it. That he bowed his head to the leader of Team Tomorrow showed just how canny and shrewd he was, because he knew only Pax could keep him in training. Shelby got the feeling that this one would never be fully submissive.

"I'm not going to send two trainees with very little combat experience into the Balkans," he explained softly, but firmly. He had made them both back down, and with Balm's efforts to keep her temper or tears in check, there was no need to rub it in. Obsidian was more concerned with his girlfriend than getting into a pissing match with Pax, so he wouldn't flay the Spaniard alive with his tongue today.

Though to get him in the proper mood of humility, some harsher testing might be needed. Obsidian was as hard and sharp as the volcanic glass he transformed himself into when he invoked his quantum powers - a little blunting might be in order.

But not too much - he needed to have the edge that Balm lacked. There was little reason to separate the two when they meshed so well, and when their training was complete, Thorn had indicated he could use them both in T2M-Eu. Even if Pax thought the ex-mercenary was too fond of combat, he could see the point of having a weather manipulator on board, and a European superstar who knew just about everyone.

Satisfied, he nodded to them both. "Dismissed."

They left immediately, as well they should.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Balm was shredding flower petals in the garden, an act which would have brought Antaeus upon her in an avalanche of greenery had he seen it. The soft rain, brought in at the command of her trainer, bothered her not at all; but Juan complained about what it did to his newly styled hair.

She knew why he was complaining about the rain. One could hardly complain about the commanding officer after all. It was a sign of poor discipline.

Pax had been gentle on them, keeping them confined to the HQ for a week, when she was pretty sure he wanted to flay at least one of them alive. Juan... did not play well with others... At least with overbearing tyrants with more muscles than hair, as she had heard him mutter once out of the building.

But they needed to learn discipline, even she could see that.

It was such a pity that young Sascha suffered because of it.