Mercutia took a deep breath. It was time. She narrowed her eyes at the targets she had arranged in a semicircle around her. Maybe pasting images of certain sexist mages onto the dummies had been overkill, but it would make everything a lot more satisfying. She chuckled darkly, cracking her knuckles. She'd enjoy this.
She let her eyes fall closed and began to hum. She found that making a sound with no recognizable tune or pattern somehow helped her empty her mind. A few seconds later her eyes snapped open, irises flashing gold. She struck out at the wooden dummy directly before her, hitting several points in the joints and woodwork so that it fell apart. Mercutia studied the sight before her, voice nearly mechanical. “Three centimeters off. Minor splintering. Still not accurate enough.” She turned her attention to the next target. It was time to work on Bullet Point. Three shots were fired in succession, hitting the center of her chosen target. As the glow flickered and died from her eyes, Mercutia grimaced. “Missed.” Two shots had hit the target in the exact same spot, one making a hole and the other passing through it; the other had been off and shot a spot close to the hole. Mercutia sighed and sat down on the floor in a huff. She ran her hands through her hair, undoing her pony tail as she did so. She let herself go limp and slid down so she was sprawling on the ground.
“I need to work on the accuracy.... but I'm tired...” She sighed and squinted at the ceiling, admiring the painted targets above. Lazily, she held a finger in the air and shot an energy bullet at one. She smirked in self satisfaction as it hit its mark. The smile slowly morphed into a pout as she began to think of why she was practicing alone. Lio was off completing a mission- she thought she heard something about a broken radio and wolves, but she had been reading, so she wasn't sure- and he was one of those “I need to prove how cool I am by practicing alone” types apparently. He never asked for her to train with him, so that's what she figured at least.
“That's it, I'm turning on the stereo.” She sized up the monstrous music device before her. Lio obviously had upgraded it with his magic mechanic powers. He could go off about his epic and illustrious magic all he wanted, he was basically Thor with a tool belt and a degree in physics. She laughed, recalling the illustrations of the norse god in the mythology books Lio kept within the library. Still snorting, she scanned archive for clues on how to work out the radio. Once she turned it on, she decided now was as good a time as ever to practice her physical moves.
Ten minutes later, her hair was safely secured in a ponytail once more, and she was dressed in her gi. She tended not to follow any particular martial arts style, instead going with whatever felt natural. On an angry day this usually meant she had to deal with a frustrated guild master complaining that punching bags do not grow on trees. In any case, she had a few hours to burn, so why not punch and kick to the beat?
After about thirty minutes of uppercuts and kicks Mercutia was getting bored, and that was unacceptable. A feral grin spread across her face as she hit the bag for the last time. “Experiment time!”
A quick glance revealed that someonehad left their lighter on a table near the front of the dojo. “If anyone objects to me using this, speak no- Okay, no one objects! Woohoo!” She crept up on the bag and after disassembling the lighter, doused it with the liquid inside. “Experiment Thirty Seven initiated!” She scowled at the unfitting music coming from the radio (it involved friendship and magic) and changed it to much better- in her opinion- rock. Making her way to a spot a good ten feet away from the bag, Merry pointed her finger at the bag and smiled. “Boom.” She shot a burst of energy at the bag and it ignited. She whistled as the cloth was engulfed in flames. “Well, that was entertaining.” She folded her arms behind her head and yawned.
“Time to dig up that fire extinguisher.” She looked at the fire that was slowly growing in intensity for a moment, before leaving to retrieve the mechanism. Once the fire had been controlled, she wandered off, tossing the lighter at the table. It was nap time, and her desk was calling her name.
(794 words. 10 Power gained)
by 
Subject: Mercutia's Power Training 
