There was something to be said for staying fit AND having an exceptionally supportive girlfriend. His time with her was wholesome and good for the soul. Never lacking in, well, anything really. Still it felt a shame to let his hard earned skills slip in anyway. So he had set about trying to find a place to stay fit and maintain his 'edge' so to speak. Sadly of the places he had looked into the ones that looked like they were good were too inflexible for his desires and the ones that were flexible didn't seem any good to his trained eyes. That propelled him up a step to using his mother's wisdom of 'if your good at something get paid for it.' 

That line of thought was how he ended up at a place called Alaira's Fist. The name hadn't come up in any of his initial internet searches so he deduced it had some meaning to the owner assuming her name wasn't also Alaira. Not that he felt masterful enough to be qualified to teach anyone what he knew of his combined martial arts that probably had some name somewhere.  His own martial arts was a personal journey of sorts and he felt he could take that mentality to create something personal for each student suitable for what they needed more than what they were looking for. 

It was a bit of a pain to get too the first time and a bit out of the way. A fitting temple to fighting in the otherwise urban sprawl of the city. He had called ahead and the building was unlocked so he went on inside. It looked cleaned but had that unused smell that anyone who had been in their fair share of strange of random buildings just instinctively knew. Really he should have bothered to get the owners name, but as ever he was a bit distracted by some thought or another that so frequently coalesced in his mind. 

So he just took a few steps in with his usual white t-shirt and blue jean ensemble that made him look as young as he wasn't as he stuffed his hands in his jacket with a quiet confidence and limitless ability to wait. A single sound rang out in stillness as he spoke. "Hello?" Perking an eyebrow and looking around with a critical eye.

Aura was used to heavy training, however almost all of it was with her Aura. Those who began her training had no idea Null's existed and Super was decades off. When able to access her aura, the ability to form bladed objects and a few other things would always in her opinion be more effective then any fist or kick. Still it was also a shining beacon to any who saw it, good or bad and she was to utilize in a more controlled manner. She had Leaders to serve and in the end that was what any solider needed.

She had tried a Katana, hand crafted by her friend meld, a lovely blade, well balanced and despite not having used it much in the past few years, she had retained some skill with it. However carrying a sword around tended to be as much of a problem as openly using her aura. Perhaps a touch more so since people and police were willing to question or get closer then they would knowing Aura herself. Police had stopped yelling freeze at her because they had learned she was going to use that time to close distance.

The gun had been her next try, well she had never obtained the skill with it she had with her our aura or the katana she had learned to be semi accurate with that as well. Guns also sufferd from an issue Aura exploited herself. They were great until your target closed to meelee or worse closed while in a crowd. Hitting and or killing someone was also frowned upon and in truth she had never really liked the things. Guns brought up bad memories from her past and while she would never let herself forget them she knew it was no good to dwell.

She had knew Erik was coming and had been hanging some training dummies up from machines that kept them upright. She had gotten them specifically because they displayed where organs were in red and where major arteries were in green. They were something she knew very well but figured might be useful to anyone training here.

She had left her mask downstairs as the owner of the establishment was suppose to be Kimberly. It was taking getting use to but she would complete her orders and she had to admit to herself she had always wondered what normal life would be like, still her instincts had quite litterly been beaten into her and so it would be hard.

"Hello New friend, i believe we spoke on the phone? I am Kimberly, i run the place" She said wearing a black leotard. "How are you today?" she said with a smile. She cracked her gloved knuckles a bit, the gloved slightly to big on her.

Such was his life that he was more nervous about actually having to talk to anyone then he would have been with say, a potential ambush situation. The building kind of reminded him of places he would rather not with the smells and atmosphere. Still it was time to face the music and talk to an attractive woman in a leotard and leather gloves. Not that he was remotely interested and for the most part blind to the charm of either sex when it was directed at himself he gave her a professional appraising look over. If it was all some elaborate ruse they had cast her perfectly. He let his paranoia go unchecked in situations like these for good reason. Better to look foolish once then end up washing someone else's blood and guts out of your laundry.

Right talking. He gave her a respectful nod and a polite smile as he was currently unsure of what, if any, protocol this particular 'dojo' would have. "Nice to meet you in person Kimberly, I recognise the voice easily enough I believe I forgot to get your name first." Offering her a wry smile that was slightly more genuine.  He hadn't actually expected to get any sort of job remotely like this so had been a bit excited to meet in person and get a feel for things. It also allowed prospective employers to turn him down for looking younger than any teacher had a right to be.

"Doing pretty good. A bit nervous since I wasn't sure what to expect. Your place basically just had a name and number and that is it. You never know when your going to run into trouble these days. Figured I could be walking into an elaborate blood fighting abduction ring." Giving a bit of a shrug as it wouldn't be the craziest thing he had heard of. "How are you doing? Can't be easy looking for an instructor. What exactly were you looking for?" 

Part of mind recognized the appraising look from her own simmeler looks in the past. They had lead to success just twice, which was more then she assumed. Both were gone now, the frog woman long gone and the other, with her child away from her. It was a kicker that even playing someone of respect she had no better relations with the kid. It was for the best though.

"To be honest i never ran anything quite like this before. Life was always far to hectic" she said leaving out she had also never expected to live anywhere near this long. That by hectic she meant bloodshed and combat, that her best friend for much of the past years had been a skunk.

"Well would not be the first underground fighting ring i have seen in the city. " she said, realizing to late that was prolbely not something to admit in this form. "These are interesting times to be sure" she said with super and the police out, Their were many dangers for her people.

"I thought it would be tough as well, but here you are. I Know little of how to fight, but i wish to teach mutants how to defend themselves without resorting to straight killing their opponents. Hull, Vicente, Isabell, Meld, Abyss, Ginats bane, Aura......all of them killed so many humans and yet we now have Super and mutants still face oppression. The humans retaliated with the camps, robots, power nullification, Super and more. I hope to train mutants to defend themselves without revealing who they are unless they need to. I want them to be safe and by learning myself and teaching others through instructors and eventually myself maybe we can actually make a difference" she said shaking her head softly.

"It is not easy to find what i am looking for in an instructor no. I simply want someone, who wants mutant children to grow up in a world where a death robot won't blow their brains out. And if stopping the rivers of blood that coat this city from both sides does not rouse your interest, we pay well" she said mentally chastising herself, for sounding more like the mutant supremacist she was then she intended, but the words were out and it was much to late to take them back.

There was.. quite a bit to unpack there. Paranoia was justified yet again. Mentally giving himself a thumbs up for his continued vigilance as he listened quietly to what she had to say. Spending most of his life as far from any sort of spotlight, but close enough to smell crap served him well. You learned how to know who was in the whose who and who to keep clear of when your survival depended on it. Now it served him to inform him of motives of his employer.. the opens she didn't say. Though he had a feeling she was being uncannily honest. What a refreshing change of pace. Erik rarely lied and it was never for himself. Saying a bold faced truth no one believed was far far more fun.

He gave a little shrug at the mention of underground fighting rings. "When I first came to the States I was homeless and often paid for things with blood sport money. Betting on yourself when you know you won't lose is pretty lucrative." Mentioning it mostly because it wouldn't hurt his credentials any. Still the rest of what she had to say.. this was going to be an interesting night.

He was quiet for a long moment as he considered how to say what he wanted to say or even if he should. After a long moment he looked around slowly at the room before pulling something out of his pocket slowly and showing her it wasn't dangerous before turning it on. A dull background noise of static would hit anyone listening in, cause paranoia. "Bit of a kit-bash I made myself. Federal offense to screw with certain bands of radio waves, but unless someone has one of those window telerecievers we should be good. So!"

He looked at her flatly. "Assuming this isn't an elaborate set up of some kind, what is it you really want and who are you working for? I'll tell you. If I wasn't also a mutant, assuming you really are one yourself, I do believe in safeguarding mutants. You can check on it yourself. I volunteer at Sanctuary and help mutants in various ways." Not that he did anything outright murder-y for anyone but himself. Lots of odd jobs and donating stuff to the public eye though he did employ a few people on the way down low or helped others get identities. 

"You really want someone to teach mutant kids and yourself how to defend yourself. I can do that. If you want someone who can teach people how to kill with their bare hands I can manage that as well. So if your establishing some elite squad of mutant assassins I want to know so I can teach them right.. and get paid accordingly of course." His face was an all too practiced flat and devoid of any emotion. "On that point however I must say.. killing humans wantonly serves no purpose save against us. Public awareness and news coverage of mutant catastrophe's only makes it easier for this countries congress to skim more money off taxpayers into projects like SUPER and who knows what else. A true victory will only come of a shadow war if there is such a thing. A very carefully planned and coordinated shadow war. Anyone who lets a camera hit them for anything besides good PR or lets the cops know they even exist is an idiot and a fool. "

True he was trying to get a rise out of her. Make her angry. Push her a bit to see which way she would break. If you got a person angry you could see what they really stood for and cut through all the bullshit faster then a hot knife through butter. Erik was confident he could survive the consequences.

He glanced at the door and let amused surprise cross his face as not a soul busted in. That scratched off any local law enforcement agencies and a few three letter ones. Curiouser and curioser.    

The man had a point, though Aura had not better she had won some prize money fighting other Mutants. She had a feeling Erik had been more experienced in the pits. Aura had done so for fun, never to pay bills, the Order had handled all her finances because at the time Aura did not understand the value of cash. Her father had given her access to the family account a few years after and now she in the Syndicate. Still she did understand. "That is fair" she allowed, understanding what he meant quite well.

She watched as he looked around the room, clearly searching for something before he pulled the object out and showed it to her. Her arm was already in front of her, forearm diagonal to her face, the moment practiced and fluid. She never let her aura flare however, though had it seemed a weapon she had been planning to slice him from his left shoulder to his right hip, severing the spine in the process. It would have been beautiful but messy and the last thing she wanted to do was have to call a clean up crew this early. She was not going to mention their was one such device planted by the Syndicate, just in case someone said something that might prove important at some point.

The tone changed after that, the air almost rippled with it. The doubt about her being a Mutant made her want to display her power and prove him wrong. Aura was quite proud of being a mutant and defined herself by that power. The few times Aura had been robbed of her power she had tried to kill herself. He mentioned volunteering at Sanctuary, it had been some time since she lived there, but she still had a number of friends who lived there who she would need to tap to confirm his story.

She dropped her hand back to her side and smiled. Mutant assassins, now that was an idea she had never considered at all, though she did love the idea. He seemed quite eager which Aura found quite nice but it also alerted her sense of danger as well. Most people did not offer to train kids to be well like Aura in a way and yet not. The child Solider in her could understand how effective kids could be in combat and yet part of her also recalled that life.

If we was with Super, he already suspected something strange in the business. That issue could be removed of course. "Some of us had no idea how to be more then an idiot and a fool" she said calmly though her face took a bitter look as she stared at Eric. "Taken after my powers emerged, my memories shattered, rewritten and invented from scratch. Told not to make future plans as i would likely only be alive a month or may behalf a year if i was good. Trained of Guerrilla warfare and front line cone combat" she said shaking her head a bit sadly, more as she recalled all those who died. Sure two hundred had died in the end but their had been so many before that.

"My friend, i do like your words very much and so let me slip into something a bit more comfortable" She said and without any of the showing off she liked, her pink aura snapped into existence around her, twin swords flowing from the tips of her extended finger out almost a foot. She could do longer but liked to keep the extra half a foot or so to herself. People might underestimate her range if so. "I am Aura and i am one of those fools who brought the wrath of SUPER upon us. I had been taught Mutants and humans were in all out, open war, so when i wondered into the city, i acted as such and the groups i joined had no issues using me for that violence and power i could provide. These hands have killed 1764 people i can confirm dead. Orders are orders, even the suicidal ones she said with a cheerful smile. She closed the distance between them quickly and swung her swords in a scissor like motion, her aura blades while still pink lost their solidness in her swing so that if she connected, she would not actually hurt her new friend. She kept the aura around her body solid however just in case something happened. in many ways it was a test.

"My friend I do like you and do understand i am willing to tell you who i work for, but understand, if you betray them or me, i will ensure you and anyone who knows you dies quite brutally. We are the Syndicate" she said simply, pride in her voice.

Let it be said Erik never once said he had the worst past. He knew it could have been worse, much worse. This lady.. he wasn't entirely convinced you could get much worse without being dead. She even had the good sense to agree she was an idiot. Points for her. Though this certainly wasn't boding well for their new friendship. Erik never seemed to mesh 100% with other military types even if he had some training in that regard now.

He very carefully hid a pleased smile behind hi s concrete neutral mask. He was exceptionally pleased with himself. Spend enough days fishing and you eventually catch yourself a big fish. Last he checked he could probably get a decent reward for informing on one of FBI's most wanted list. That would however be boring and anticlimactic. Mundane threats were.. usually reacted to, but not feared. The thrill of playing a larger games was really the only thing aside from his romantic life that gave him much of a thrill. Tinkering, building, and helping other people was fulfilling in a different way.

Before he could consider a response she stepped forward. Oh? OH?! Was she really going to try and kill him? That would be even more interesting! His eyebrow slanted as he imagined what her reaction would be to what would amount to a wasted effort. Steeling himself internally for the pain of being cut apart and fusing back together only to have nothing happen. A soft "Hm." Escaping him. Mixed in reaction, an odd blend of disappointment and curiosity. He doubted he would get another freebie, but talked plainly anyway.

"Your one of those weirdos that keeps count?" Mostly buying himself time to consider what she said. The Syndicate.. mostly boogeyman rumors, but enough of them that to anyone street smart would know that amount of rumor amounted to 'something' even if it was overblown. This did not seem to be the case. So he considered her words and shrugged. 

"I can't promise either of those things unfortunately. I don't know you well enough to make a promise of that caliber and I have no ties in particular to your organization to speak of. Even if that wasn't the case I answer to a higher code. Namely I will do whatever I think is best for the mutant community at large. If you don't like that we best get on with the killing one another part." It might sound particularly lofty or arrogant from someone else. With Erik it was stated as a simple deadpanned fact. The driving force on which he lived his life.

With that said he took a carefully measure step back and finally slid his hands out of his jacket pockets smoothly, ready to defend himself. "So what is it going to be Aura? You going to try and kill me? In which case I will just run away and one day you will fall asleep and never wake up. Or we can be.. civilized." His mask cracked into a smile that was far more predatory then kindly.

Aura watched as her blade passed through like a ghost, her smile never Wavered. She could have made it solid at any point of course, but killing perspective employees for no reason would only draw attention and their was no reason to hurt him, yet. However their were other reasons for her ploy. She gave im and laughed happily at the situation.

She shrugged as she stopped laughing. "Oh, I like you. It was one of the few games we were permitted back in the woods. A way to compete between squads." she said. It had been a habit she had lost over the Years. The Lord of soul would know the number, and only his word matterd in the end.

"Kill you my friend? No, you claimed to a fighter, a frequent in blood sport. Anyone can say that but warriors react in certain ways. My friend, you had no idea my blades was not and would not become solid and trisect you and still you held your ground. Even looked a little Disappointed when my blade did not cut" she said quite enjoying this.

"No attempt to dodge, no attempt to block. You planned to take the hits. You wanted me to strike you and i admit part of me wishes i had to see why, see what power you have that makes you think you can tangle with me and you even suggested using child soldiers like myself. " she said, the curiosity was clear in her voice.

"It's almost tempting to try and hurt you for that. she closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them with a shrug."Sleep would not be the preferable way to go, but better then old age. Still no reason to kill you until you make it through the rest of the interview right? You claimed to be a fighter, your reaction shows me that. Whatever power you have you knew you would be safe and have done it before i would guess, am i right? How could i hire someone who cowered and showed to much fear? Aura said the attack and the number having been to gauge his reaction. His responses had validated his claims so far. She was also quite enjoying their encounter so far.

"Our kind deserve a future, and as long your code includes that i see no issues. I fight because if i don't someone else will have to take my place, and that may not be able to fill the role as well. but Tell me are you this sweet to everyone or just the girls? As for being civilized, we are my friend" she asked, a joke on her part. She took the threat in stride, maybe he could kill her, but their were worse things that could happen and well Aura wanted to live as long as she could she also wondered what the next life would be like.

Erik wasn't entirely sure what his reaction was supposed to be to meeting a curious mass murderer. One that seemed to be having an inordinate amount of fun despite his own seriousness. "A bit disappointed I admit to see if I could handle it, but also trying to figure you out." He admitted honestly enough. He seemed to earn some strange sort of respect from her though. That was something. Running wasn;t the least bit dishonorable or impinging on some moral code in the least except if it accomplished nothing and he did so without learning anything. Confirming the Syndicate really existed should have really been enough, but this was all the most excitement he had for some time and he intended to ride it out.

"I never said anything about child assassins. Just that it is a good way to see if someone has the temperament and mindset for it." Eesh this chick had some wild ideas. "Sorry I don't take requests. You would be too much of a pain in the ass to try and kill when your awake, sorry." Taking a deep breath he let it out slow and relaxed his guard. His hands into his jacket pockets and he flopped backwards to the floor. 

"Don't consider myself anything other then bored... survivor is probably the most accurate term. Done a bit everything really." Staring up at the ceiling apparently totally relaxed. Which would be pretty ridiculous for most people when confronted with a mass killer.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "What can I say I have a soft spot for beautiful people." No trace of sarcasm present. "So any other questions you have for me? This is only the second weirdest interview I have ever had. I can see why normal people hate them." He tried  his own joke in return.  

She kinda wished she had struck him now, simply because he seemed interested in if he could take it as she was. Still she rejected the idea unless she was forced to do so. "I am a simple woman" she offerd on him trying to figure her out. Aura knew things were more complex then that but she was offering him in road to ask what he needed.

"You mean use the children's martial arts program to filter thrue those who wish to take a proactive roll in destiny? It would be a good plan. I Take pride in being a pain to kill, so no need for sorry" she said cheerfully. She had in fact done so, her nightly hunts back in the day were nothing more then a way to keep her skills sharp. She had been so convinced they would fade away on her.

"What particular experience do you bring? Is it all from underground fighting or have you learned anything formally?" she said already liking the guy and in truth she was willing to give him the job now, but she knew being diligent was a good thing as well. He was the first person Aura saw as decent who applied, despite a few unconfirmed worries.

"I will admit i have done this only a half dozen times. Never did an interview myself. I always assumed they were like a polite form of an interrogation. Which is not quite the case, far less violence this way and less rope. You are the first whose been what i need for this" she said honestly. She had a feeling they could go far, though Aura had her questions about him for sure. His lack od complete devotion botherd her a bit but they could work on that.

Erik quirked an eyebrow from his spot on the floor. "Destiny is a rather heavy word for it don't  you think? There are simply the choices we make in life or the choices we have had made for us." Destiny implied fate and fate could just go right to hell in his opinion. 

"My uncle taught me 'formally' I guess. Military martial arts and I earned my bruises and broken bones. He figured as a mutant I should be able to take care of myself without using any powers." Which to this day was sound wisdom in his opinion. Far too many off their kind relied solely on their powers where the proper application of more mundane skills would be better and more subtle. 

"That is good news I suppose. Again, mostly just applied out of boredom truth be told. I also like to keep people from having the same crappy childhood of survival I did for numerous reasons." Rolling backwards he stood back to his feet. "I would have to figure out appropriate moves for kids that still lay the groundwork. My style tends to focus on breaking the other person before they break you kind of thing." He had to agree about the interviews being interrogations. Just speedy ones with less physical or mental anguish.. for most people.

"In all fairness however just about anything can be redirected from nonlethal to lethal intent. It is all a matter of mindset of the user." Reflecting somewhat that if he was in any way reformed he should just walk away and call the xmen or something. Not the cops.. no definitely not the cops. "So what else you want to know Ms. Syndicate? Actually you have an office perhaps? And maybe some pants? I feel like a bit of a creeper with you in that and me in street clothes."

She shrugged relenting, it did not seem worth clarification to her though she did recognize that her words may have been exactly what she had meant. She had a path to follow as did they all, ignorant of it of not. It was the trouble with being one of the only ones who knew their pantheon existed though she had yet to meet them, she was no priest.

She liked the sound of military, she had only encountered a few military units and she had chosen to avoid them. To much firepower for an assault alone and even so forcing their hand was a bad idea. "That makes sense. Well i have tried expanding past my power before, A katana and i was trained some with a Pistol. The blade was difficult to use and retreat with and the gun made way to much noise. But my mentors taught me to rely almost entirely on my power though they also assumed i would be dead in weeks so" she explained comparing. Their was little point in misleading the man now after all and she figured the more he knew where to start the more she could benefit.

They were on the same page in preventing the childhoods many mutants were almost famous for. Breaking somone before they broke you seemed a simple way to put it but she could not argue the strategy either, comapring it to kill the target ebfore they kill you.

"That is true, i am use to to holding back my power enough to keep targets alive. Perhaps a better example would be a few minutes ago, i could have turned my attack lethal at any point in the swing or changed the weapon before making it solid, however i assume you mean without powers?" she said knowing while her example worked it likely did not entirely apply to what Erik was telling her.

She gave a wave to follow as he asked about an office, and began down short hall. She knocked on the first door twice before moving a few rooms down. He Aura came to life around her finger and she inserted the aura into the lock letting it fill the lock and form a key, a simple mental push twisted her key and the door came right open.

Weather she was followed or not Aura would not think twice and simply began to change. Aura understood modesty but saw little use in it. Having grown up in a forest around boys and girls who shared her barracks, Aura cared little about who saw her body. "I have actually spared a few x men and a wide number of mutants over the years even if it may have been easier to simply kill them. Their leader arrested me anyway, my father broke open the place, freed me and the walls and guard towers to splinters as well as free our kind" she said recalling the initial sounds of the AByssi, their had been several, flattened the prison.

She had switched to pants and a loose t shirt. "I'f the x men or government kill me i am a martyr to our people, alive i ahve mostly killed gang members and other dredge" she said in case he was curious why they had not just wiped her out.