Kara lands behind the man, curiosity upon her features as he seems to examine an empty expanse before him. “I don’t mean to be rude but, who are you and where did you come from? I could sense the surge of energy from miles away, been waiting for someone to show back up, but it’s all gone now..” It was strange, almost like something from space having created itself and canceled out within moments. Though, it was enough to tell Kara that this person was at the heart of it. 

Lincoln nearly jumped out of his own skin (and believe him, he knew a guy that could do it, so it wasn’t a figure of speech) when someone broke the silence around him. The woman alarmed him so much--what with the get-up and the sudden appearance--that his palms crackled with electric nerves. He raised his hands, knowing from what he read that if this became a fight, he wouldn’t win.

“I’m Lincoln. I’m guessing you’re Super-Someone. As for where I come from, well, it’s kind of a long story, but let’s just say I’m not in Kansas anymore.” He remarked, backing away somewhat from her.

Go bravely and boldly where no agent has gone before.

     “I’d like to see you try.” Masha half-challenged with a smile– a real smile that lit up her face. “Together.” She repeated, allowing the word to wash over her for even after all they had been through, a part of Masha had almost expected him to want to leave, to take back his life in this new place. If she was honest, at a time, there was a part of her that had planned the same. Except, somehow, along the way Masha had stopped seeing herself as a lone-wolf, and Lincoln and her as a ‘we’. She didn’t want to see this world alone, didn’t want to be alone anymore. Taking his hand she steps forward to lead the way out of the wooded area, them coming upon an active street which was clearly part of a much larger city. With a clear view now, large buildings could be seen in the near-distance; buildings that Masha had never seen before. 

Lincoln felt the awe dissipate slowly as he realized wherever they were (according to the paper, Metropolis) wasn’t so different from his own world. Skyscrapers, sports teams, and super aliens. Did they get out of the frying pan and into another fire? He hoped not.

“I can’t believe we pulled this off. I never really considered what was on the other side of the portal, but here we are about to cross a highway with a barrier. Isn’t life wonderful?”

Go bravely and boldly where no agent has gone before.

     A smirk crosses Masha’s features almost instantly, as the wind around them picked up, a stream of leaves rising into the air and crashing into his face. “So be it then.” And the laugh can almost be heard in her voice. There’s something suddenly lighter to her, less tense, and yet still controlled like the operative she had been trained to be. “Part of me feels like the first thing we should do is create identities on this Earth but– I think…” There’s a pause as she bites her lip slightly. “… maybe we could just explore a little first.”

Lincoln paused and turned around completely to face Masha, a small frown poking out his bottom lip as a spark popped from his fingers. “Keep that up and you’ll have static cling on your clothes for the rest of your life.” He warned, half-joking. 

She had a point: they could use identities right about now. His ID would probably look fake in this world given that the information on it could be completely irrelevant to the cities here. “Then let’s explore.” He concluded as he held out his hand for hers. “Together--no more running.”

Go bravely and boldly where no agent has gone before.

     “слабоумный.” Masha mutters, playfully calling him an idiot in Russian as she hits him lightly in the arm. “On me? Why not you?” She jests before her attention falls back onto the paper. She analyzes it more closely, opening it and closing it as she views the pages. “Some things are closer to my Earth than yours– there’s a few companies with the same names, but it’s still different. I think, this is a new dimension entirely. Not mine, and not yours.” If that was true, they really did have freedom to do anything they wanted with their lives moving forward, except, now that they had reached this goal, Masha wasn’t quite sure what that would mean for her. Did she have a purpose anymore?

Lincoln’s grin widened when she hit him. “It’s simple: you’re the witch.” He joked as he began to walk off towards the distant sounds of traffic. “Just companies, huh? Well, that’s a start.” He said. It was intriguing--all that she mentioned--but he, too, wondered what they’d do now. “I’d ask what our next move is, but since there’s nothing to worry about, I’ll ask this instead: what do you want to do?”

Go bravely and boldly where no agent has gone before.

     How they had managed it, Masha wasn’t sure. Of course, a part of her held faith they would– wanted to stay positive as they had lived those months on the run– but to now find themselves on another Earth, a different dimension completely, their paths free for the first time in ages– well, it was surreal to say the least. “We– we did it.” Masha states, before almost in a cinematic fashion a newspaper– she surmises comes from wherever the sounds beyond the trees were originating– slaps against her leg in the wind. Picking it up she sees stories about the death of an alien hero and mentions of a Batman. “Okay, we definitely aren’t in Kansas anymore.” Not that it was the first time they’ve heard of alien heroes, but this was, based on the paper’s reports, a whole new level.

Lincoln hovered closer to Masha after sparing a glance to see if anyone was around them. With the coast clear, he looked at the newspaper that so rudely interrupted their accomplishment. He saw the headline likely at the same time as her, meeting her eyes when she spoke again. “Too bad a house didn’t fall on you.” He admitted, smirking momentarily before returning his attention to the paper. “Same year, different situation. Does anything on it sound familiar to you at least?”

If possible, Masha’s smirk grows later at his agreement. Really, it wasn’t a fair fight but that was why they were training wasn’t it? To get him at least parially close to her level? 

“Oh there’s a few options…” Masha trails off, biting her lower lip slightly. “I could kill you..” Her hand runs over his heart for effect, placing slight pressure. “I could knock you out… but those are the less fun options.” 

Lincoln’s brow creased at the first two options, a soft exhale from him stating his refusal of the two presented to him. His eyes follow her hand over his heart, his chest twitching just slightly from the gentle touch that’s rather foreign to him.

“And what would be the fun ones?”

There’s a moment that everything suddenly seems to move in slow motion. The ticking of an old clock on the wall that reminded her entirely too much of the one in her bomb course classroom back in Russia.. the distant sounds of cars honking outside in rush hour traffic.. his face as it paused, him leading down to speak to her. So close.. Damn him, he’d be the death of her at this rate. “No, you’re not.” 

And suddenly her leg wraps around his, arm moving as she suddenly uses all her strength to turn the tables and flip them back over so she was on top. A smirk of her own courses her features. “I win.” And yet, she doesn’t move to get up yet.

Lincoln grunts when Masha pins him down once more. He thought about tapping out right about now since this was a rather no-win situation, but he chose not to do anything. He maintained his smug grin and enjoyed the view instead. 

“You win.” He agreed.

Glancing down, he knows there’s no way out, so he looked back to her for some sort of guidance here.

“And what would a super spy do to get out of this...predicament?”

There had been a time that Masha had been an optimistic girl. A girl who trusted, who wanted to see the light in every person, who allowed herself to hope and trust that all would be well. That girl, however, had been killed at the tender age of seventeen. That girl had been forced to survive, in some cases brainwashed and beaten into believing in one mission. No longer did she trust that all would be well, but, if there was one person that dared her to want to believe it could, it was Lincoln. 

Suddenly finding herself in the air again, Masha’s back hits the floor, the feeling of his weight holding her down causing her to squirm in a very unspy-like fashion. She’d allowed herself to be distracted and had paid for it. He’d be a quicker study than he believed. Again she was impressed.

Pulled out of her thoughts, Masha looks into his face, a pout forming in response to his smirk. Her heartbeat speeds up slightly felt by him given is proximity and her lips part slightly as her breath seems to cease momentarily, at the echo of his words to her own. God he was distracting but she couldn’t bring herself to care. 

Lincoln felt rather victorious when he knocked the spy flat. He half-expected to be on his back already before he could even blink, but Masha seemed to have no such luck right now. He stared right back at her, waiting for a response, but when nothing came from her, he felt frozen on the spot despite neither of their powers having anything to do with the like. Her pout made him smirk even longer, his forehead wrinkling as he silently gestured for her move to be made. Leaning in, he stopped a few inches short of her face, the grin now full-blown on his face.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to get this distracted in a fight...” He said to her in a teasing tone.

“Don’t think about it like that. Even a doctor can learn self-defense and combat. Or do you think that military doctors don’t go through basic training?” Masha questioned, as she made a move toward him but then stepped back again. She was testing his reflexes. 

“Look, I’m not saying you need to go out there be kill people.” She’s not asking him to be like her. “But given who we are up against you need to be prepared to protect yourself in case something happens.” Masha continues, another move forward as she lets him duck her advance and she moves behind him, pushing him slightly in the back before letting him regain his balance. 

“Everything eventually falls but— Lincoln…” There’s a pause as she seems unsure how to word her thoughts, distraction encasing her just this once. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you… I can’t lose you.” And while she says the words she’s not going to even allow herself to ponder the further implications of what she actually might mean. 

“Fair enough, but I’m not a soldier.” He said, leaning back when she lunged in his direction.

In case something happens. So much for assuming the worst, but then again, he understood why she did. The worst had already happened to him not long ago.

When Masha shoved Lincoln, he stumbled only momentarily before regaining his footing. He let her continue talking, though he kept his focus on her next move until she finished speaking. He hesitated for only a moment when he saw the opening, moving right in to tackle her on the floor again. As he glanced down at her, he nodded with a half smirk.

“You’re right about two things: one, everything eventually falls, and two, I can’t lose you either.”

For someone untrained– at least by her standards– he had good form, ducking her advance. However, a look of confusion creases her features when he doesn’t attack back. “Thinking like that will get you know where. Come on, come at me. Try to hit me.” Masha seems to command. Yes, this wouldn’t be without hurt but, she also wouldn’t be as hard on him Russia had been on her. “It’s going to take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s also going to hurt, but everything worth anything does a bit.”

Lincoln tried to think back to when he and his brothers would fight--how he’d react in those situations. He only resorted to violence as a last resort, but still, with how Masha was, he kept his arms up to protect himself.

“You don’t get it: I’m a doctor. I don’t think I can do this that easily.” He admitted, though he kept his movement going just in case she struck at him.

“And look what happened to Rome.” He said, tilting his head for a moment as if to reinforce his sarcasm.

Oh them being close wasn’t unwelcome in as much as it made her brain suddenly go blank and her heart pound inside her chest. She needed to focus, teaching him even basic combat was important. Their powers were great– when controlled– but who was to say that someone wouldn’t find a way around them? They were fugitives now. Still, she couldn’t help the sudden feeling of loss when they pulled away from each other. 

“You’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact we aren’t using powers this time.” And suddenly without warning she moves toward him with a punch, her stance bracing her in case he countered. “Don’t be scared to hurt me.”

Lincoln took a deep breath, shaking off the uneasiness that their previous position put him in. He watched her now, nodding as he silently agreed not to use his powers. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the punch coming. He ducked to the side, dipping the way a boxer might. He didn’t lunge back at her, though. Instead, he kept himself light on his feet as he moved around the training room.

“It’s not that I’m scared to hurt you...” He started, now watching her every move.

“It’s that I don’t think I can.”

“Tisktisk..” Masha said, leaning her mouth toward his ear and whispering. “..no breaking the rules.” A slight pause as she pulls back her head a little. “Besides, I’m too cute to fry.” Except, a moment later, as Masha seems to become aware of the position they are in, the air in the room seems to suddenly create a breeze that knocks something off the wall with a thud. 

Eyes close for a moment before opening as she begins to shift in order to get off of him and stand up. They really should get moving with their training… yes, training. 

“That’s debatable.” He joked.

Lincoln stared awkwardly at Masha given how close they were suddenly. It wasn’t unwelcomed, but he could tell she must not like hi--it. He could understand that, so when she shifted away, he got to his feet immediately.

“Since when does a fight have rules? Since when do you play by rules?”

There’s a slight gasp as Masha feels herself suddenly falling, landing harshly on the mat only to be pinned to it a moment later. Her lips part momentarily her biting her lower one. She’s impressed yet her face returns to normal once again. 

“Oh, I’m sure you do. But there’s a difference between street smarts..” Masha stated with a smirk, shifting and then rolling them over so she was the one pinning him down. “…and spy level training.” 

At this point Lincoln knew there was no way out. Jiaying may have trained him, but he was a nonviolent person. He had always helped people channel away those feelings and focused on helping them heal--medical school helped with that. He knew Masha was right, but it was hard to admit it when he’s had his powers for so long.

“Who’s to say I can’t fry you off of me right now?” He asked as he tried to lean up and shake her off.

“Powers are great but one can’t rely only on them.” Masha begins, moving around the little gym area that’d managed to find. “You are useful, more than just useful…” She conceded with a look that lasted a moment longer than it needed to. “…but..” 

And now she moved toward him as she talked seemingly normally. “..there’s ways to get around them…” Masha used her foot to kick at part of his leg, moving fast to flip him onto the ground. “…and you never know if someone can find a way to negate them.” 

Lincoln fell for the distraction. Maybe he was staring too long, too, but he wasn’t going to let her win that easily. He grunted as if in pain, but when Masha continued her lecture, he spun himself and swept her legs out from under her. He moved to pin her down, a small spark popping off of his shoulder from the excitement.

“Who said I don’t know how to get around?” He countered, returning the mocking tone as he grinned down at Masha.

“If you want to hang out with spies you’re going to have to do the time. Don’t tell me you’re scared you won’t be able to keep up with me.” There is a teasing challenge in her voice.

Lincoln made a face that said everything. He didn’t bother to mock her back; instead he simply raised his brow and folded his arms. 

“I’m not scared; I just don’t see the point. I’m already useful, aren’t I?” He asked, staring her down.