Lunar ECLIPSE (Lunetta & Pinnacle)

Israel sipped his spiced hot chocolate complete with cream and a cinnamon sprig, enjoying it thoroughly whilst watching the sunset. It was even more beautiful to his enhanced senses. He was seated in a booth by the window of a relatively popular coffee shop in Chicago.

He wasn't here to sightsee though. Israel was here to meet with a new E.C.L.I.P.S.E. applicant, and this was as good a place to meet with her as any. After all, across the street was the ISO training facility.

This new applicant had written of an impressive repertoire of abilities, including the ability to create her own weapons, which she could most certainly utilize given her training in the art of ninjutsu and its related fighting styles. She seemed to be a promising applicant thus far, at least on paper. At the end of the day, (literally,) only time would tell whether or not she would pass the evaluation that was in store for her.

That said, Israel was pretty sure that he saw her coming over as he took another long draw of his hot chocolate.

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

Cira scouted the area long before the meeting time. Gia had been quiet for quite some time, forcing Cira to act and plan on her own. It was not something she enjoyed but it was something she would have to get use too. Without her clan's resources, she had no way of tracking down targets and getting reliable work. She thought about becoming a hitman but such work was to risky to her name. She would become too well known without the proper resources. That left her with two options. Join a gang and disrespect Gia, or contribute to a greater origination.

She opened the door and an annoying bell alerted the space. Silences was a specialize of hers, so it was a little nerve racking to have her presence revealed.

"Stupid bell," she whispered.

She looked around for a guy in a white hood. She herself was in her black hooded coat and had her own hood over face to block the light. While it was sunset, there were not many shadows to relaxed in. She felt drain and was really hoping the cafe' would be a little darker. Lucky for her, every light bulb was working full power.

Over by the window, a man was looking at the dreaded sun. She looked around one more time to find a place to sit but there were no better options. She sighed and walked over to the table. Sweat rolled down her face as her face as the light was making her body feel much warmer then normal. She took a deep breath and walked over to the chair across from him.

"Ciao, are you Agent Pinnacle?"

She kept her head down trying to avoid eye contact. The only thing worst thing meeting with a complete stranger is meeting a legit professional hero. What if she gets revealed? What if he learns of her secrets? What if he said no? She had to sell this alone. She had to sell it for Gia and the teachings. After all, she was Voglia.

"Yes, Ma'am. Ms. Vania, isn't it?" Israel said, rising politely to shake her hand before offering for her to sit.

As she sat down, he added: "Would you like something cold to drink?" He asked, not waiting for a response before raising his left hand to flag down a waiter at the café.

"What would you prefer? Some iced tea? Lemonade?"

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

"Yes sir," Cira responded in a weaker voice.

Sunlights sneaked into her hood, almost defeating the purpose of wearing the jacket. It caused simple things like keeping her head up at the table to be exhausting. The light had an added effect of warming up her body, but she credit that to the jacket and the weather. The only reason she kept it on was to avoid making matters worst. She rubbed her eyes, fighting off a yawn and turned to the life draining sun. Like a newly open treasure chest, the sun glowed like a coin over the red sky. It was one of the few scenes becoming the successor robbed her of.

The beautiful rays felt like a furnish to her skin. Her jacket felt like it was laced with weights. Her heart rushed as if she had just ran a marathon. She need to turn away, but would that give away her weakness? This was an easy question for Gia, but she would not respond, especially in the sun. In the end, she decided to bare it.

Pinnacle offered of a drink reminded her of the elders. Knowing answers without a problem. Cira could only smiled, opting to rested her head in her hand to ease the barren on her neck.

"Water... would be nice," Her voice was little stronger despite her efforts to hide her excitement.

Then she return to the dreaded sphere hoping they would move on.

Israel nodded, procuring the water for her before setting the file before himself. He had noticed that she had shown signs of deception in regards to her name, but he did not act on this fact as of yet, deciding to log the information away for later instead.

"You don't seem fond of the sunlight." He said. "Allow me to get that for you." He added, before sending out a single band of cloth from himself which expanded to cover their window as an opaque blinder of sorts. "Better?" He asked.

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

Cira sighed and turned away from the window. She clenched her teeth and removed her hand from her face. This man was either really smart, or she lacked disciple. Still, she could not show her anger to him. She turned to him and tried to respond but her heart thumped. The only thing she could think of was getting help from Gia.

However Gia could not respond. She was alone, in front of a intelligent hero with the sun beaming her from the side. Then a cloth covered the window shielding her from the effects of the sun. She felt like she just jumped into a lake after training in the blistering heat. A cool chill ran through her body, slowly restoring her exhausted body to normal.

Cira looked up at the man, for the first time. Her lips trembled as she fought the urge to smile. She moved her head to the side of the table and grabbed the water. She sipped until she regain her self-control over her emotion. After a deep breath, she set the glass down.

"Tha-thank You."

Cira lowered her hood and aired out her hair. Then she picked up the glass and took another sip.

"I apologize. I should have... been more prepared," she turned to her glass which was half full and swirled the water with her straw.

"The sun is uh... How you American's say, minor annoyance," Cira lowered her voice, "It will not affect my mission, so I hope it won't pose a problem for your organization."

Cira set her glass down and a small grinned grew on her face. Inside though she was freaking out for speaking so confidently after showing her weak side.

Israel waved a dismissive hand. "No worries at all, Ms. Vania. Plenty of E.C.L.I.P.S.E. agents prefer to work under cover of darkness due to their abilities, training, or even on occasion, race." He said. "I, myself, even fall into that category. My ability to work under cover of darkness as if it were a bright sunny day out makes it a desirable time to work."

He took another draught of his cocoa. "That said, and taking into account your apparent dislike of the sun, would you like to eat something first before we head over to the nearby training facility? Or would you rather head over this very instant and cut out the wait time inbetween?" He asked, eyeing her micro expressions, heart rate, and other such factors with interest, though, he had no need to stare in order to do this, and indeed did not do so.

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

Cira let out a sigh. The man’s sympathy was only a reminder of how she lacked discipline over her mind and body. It took every fiber in her being to remain calm. Sympathy was either a death wish or an insult in her field of work. Given Pinnacle record and her position, she could only be insulted. Therefore, she just continued to stare into her glass.

What else could she do? To confront the man would make her appear less valuable for the position and risk ruining the whole point of her being here. Her hand dragged the straw around the cup. By now, the empty voice would have advised her but only her thoughts filled her head, and with every second of silence brought with it the sad reminder that she was on her own. At last, the only response she could give was an empty smile.

Cira’s eyes followed the water as it swirled in the glass. A minute pasted but then only change was the acceleration of her heartbeat. The whisper never came. She was on her own and, regrettably, free to do what she wanted. She released the straw and turned to the cloth, which shielded her from the solar rays. Her heart raced despite the lack of movement.

Then she dropped her smile, "Thank you, but I insist we move to the next phase. We're burning daylight..."

Her heart rammed against her chest as her eyes crawled to Pinnacle. She finished her drink and hopped out of her chair. Her hands slid across her face pulling her hair back and then she pulled her hood over her head.

Cira dropped a couple of bills on the table started walking to the door, "A young girl shouldn't walk the streets alone at night. Don't you agree Agent Pinnacle?"

With the man behind her back, she moved her hand over her chest. Every word out her mouth made her heart thrash with protest. Every step filled her with dread knowing she would not only be force to go out into the sun but be at the mercy of a powerful hero in her weakest state. However, at least the mission would still go on

Israel nodded, glancing down at the bills that "Cira" had placed on the table with a little bit of guilt. Israel was, after all, quite well off even before becoming employed at ECLIPSE, and did not like the idea of anyone paying for much of anything while in his company for whatever reason that may be.

Still, he approached the girl and the outside world, sending the cloth that had blocked the window above her and widening it, creating an unnaturally dark space beneath it as it absorbed the light.

"I apologize if my old fashioned ways seem to be bothering you, Ms. Vania... That is certainly not my intent, nor is it my intent to imply any weakness in you. Please do not mistake my intent." Israel said, gesturing to the ISO building as if to say "you first."

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

Suddenly the Draining effects of the sun vanished. She looked up to see the cloth hovering over her head like an umbrella. Next came the apology which only made Cyra lower her head.
"It's fine..." she muttered.

Her heart slowed down. Her breaths grew deeper. The man meant well, but the apologize only cemented the idea that she appeared weak. Inside she wanted to rebel, but her body would never allow it. She felt like a prisoner inside of her head, bound by the bars which needed her to pass this test and the walls which were build by her nervousness. She could only watch as her body moved with the shadow, growing in strength through the generosity of this hero. It was an complete insult. She did not want the help. She did not need the help. Yet, her body desired it enough to override her heart.

In front of them was the ISO building. The doors opened and Pinnacle continued his gentlemen charade but gesturing her to enter first. "Ladies first, I assume. Do all Americans do this?" She walked into the building unsure what would come next.

Israel chuckled softly. "Unfortunately, no. They do not. But they should, in my opinion. Be polite that is." He responded.

Once inside of the facility, Israel gestured around to the large single room that surrounded them as its dim lighting flared to life. In the twilight illumination of the spherical lights above, the room appeared both barren and grandiose at the same time, being quite spacious and yet, rather devoid of any semblance of furniture or reception area or anything. These surroundings made it quite obvious rather quickly that this was a training facility through and through, though it could easily double as a warehouse if needed.

"Welcome to the Chicago International Supers Organization training facility, Ms. Vania... If that's the name you want to go by." He said with a somewhat sly wink. "Here we'll be able to evaluate your combat abilities, endurance, and any metahuman powers afforded to you, and determine whether they qualify you for ECLIPSE." Israel said, pointing upwards thereafter.

"I've set the lighting to dim, as your abilities seem to be moderately, if not heavily, tied to the dark. For our first order of business..." He continued, "... Why don't we start with combat abilities?"

As he said this, a number of training posts rose out of compartments in the floor. "We can start with basic training posts for now to gauge your general aptitude, or we can cut to the chase and spar to evaluate your capabilities directly. Which would you prefer?"

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

Cira was shocked at the few amount of guards. Was this place not important? It was own by Eclipse right? She made a mental note to explore it more after Pinnacle left her alone. For now, she attempted to smile when Pinnacle chuckled. She did not pay too much attention after he say no. It was probably just another attempt to be nice about her being weak, but she couldn't show it.

As they entered the training room she noticed the lights not bothering her. It was weird because it also was not dark enough for her powers to kick in. She was just... normal. The nostalgic feeling quickly swelled into fear after Pinnacle's comment about her name. He knew something. He was dangerous. She reached for her weapon but stopped, instead rubbing her sleeve along her pale skin.

"Picking on girls is another American custom?" She turned her head and folded her arms when Pinnacle winked. She continued to look around, focusing on the lights while Pinnacle explained the purpose of the room. When he mentioned dimming the lights, she bit her lips. Yet again, the man continues to go easy on her, a train assassin and successor for the spirit of the most powerful woman in the world. She was going to make him regret throwing her weakness in her face so much today.

Suddenly training dummies rose from the ground with the option to fight them or him. She almost laugh with how easy of a choice that was. She was not the strongest person in the world and in a straight and fair match against Pinnacle, she would probably lose. However, her goal is not to win for now.

"I fail to see how post will prove my qualifications but okay," She said while pulling on her sleeve, "I'm taking off my hoodie. Please don't do any of that American pervert stuff."

She pulled the hoodie over her head and tossed it into the air so it would arc towards Pinnacle. After the shadow became big enough to cover her from the light, she followed the shadow while spawning 2 shadow daggers in her hand. Then she lunged at Pinnacle's neck with one blade while attempting to stab him in the gut with the other.

A wry smile slid onto Pinnacle's face as he eyed the girl's response to his words. As he had suspected, her true name was clearly not "Ms. Vania," but coming to apply to ECLIPSE under an assumed name was a far more common occurrence than one might expect.

What intrigued him was her apparent uneasiness at the possibility that he knew her name, which he did not. Still, this raised the question of why. Why did she fear that possibility? It seemed that her name bore some special significance, perhaps pointing to a dark or criminal past or to a life that she wished to leave behind.

Either way, he was more interested in getting through the evaluation at present.

He laughed at her response. "No, just my custom." He said. Then, upon hearing her request to not "do any of that American pervert stuff," he rolled his eyes.

Once the hoodie had been tossed into the air, arcing over Pinnacle's location, he smiled in spite of himself as the girl darted towards him, two black daggers materializing in her hand as she thrusted at him with both. One was apparently intended for his neck, while the other was seemingly aimed at his gut.

Interesting... He thought.

His reaction "time" being what it was, there were a number of reactions that crossed his mind, but he ultimately decided to simply turn aside the weapons in a flowing circular motion, primarily utilizing elements of Baguazhang, and Taiqichuan to redirect the force of the attack, he would also slide in his leg between her own as they ran forward in an attempted tripping maneuver, using her thrown off center of gravity and momentum to complete the move.

If this was successful, he would consider cushioning her fall briefly, but decide against it, given her apparent abhorrence of any sort of coddling.

"Umbrakinesis. I had expected as much given your love of the dark." Israel said, calmly. "Sparring it is then." He continued, as the lights in the room turned off completely, seemingly of their own accord, as the training posts retracted into the ground.

"Let us evaluate your capabilities in your home element, then." He said, his eyes piercing the darkness with their own dim illumination, and his senses heightened to pick up on the faintest of sounds.

Cira Vania (Lunetta Voglia)

Her strike missed and the man went in for a counter attack. His movements were weird but coordinated, a martial art not from Italy nor her family. However, what was more surprising was that he knew this attack was coming. Their was no fear, no since of stress, no weakness to exploit. He not only reacted but devised a counter attack. Was she this slow without the protective cover? Maybe but this was not a competition of speed. Even if it was, she doubted she would win without the darkness.

She tripped, falling backwards and dropping her weapons. Her hands flew back, transiting her fall into a back-flip to gain some distance. It was not the best move, but she never praised herself on sparring.
"You... knew my plan..."

Then the lights went out. Power surged through her body. Her aches were gone. The weight from her clothes disappeared. Her vision was clearer then ever. Yet, the man did not seem worried. Only a fool would hand their enemy their greatest weapon. Only a bigger fool would blindly accept.

"Agent Pinnacle... you know my weakness, you are gifted with wisdom in battle, yet you offer me this as an advantage. To call you a fool would be... how do I say this... expected. But you do not fear me."

She widen her fingers so black daggers would form between them and lowered her head. "I... I ca-can't win. You can see this."

Her eyes started to water. Her hand trembled. Her heart sucked away her anger and pride. "I'm not strong without her..." she whispered before throwing the daggers to the ground.

"I am out of my element Agent Pinnacle, but I will give you what you want." Tear's rolled down her face as she ran at the man as fast as she could. Her fist were clenched and drawn back. Her goal was simple, try to overcome him with speed and punch him as hard as she could. Her objective however was not so straight forward. She gave a battle cry before lunging.

Behind the man a spike of black formed ready to try and strike the man in the back after he shrugged off her attack.

"I... I ca-can't win. You can see this." She said, widening her fingers so that her black daggers would form between them, then she lowered her head and her eyes started to water. Her hands trembled as she continued. "I'm not strong without her..." She whispered before throwing the daggers to the ground.

Israel shook his head at her words, dropping his defensive stance, (though this did not make him incapable of defending himself,) but before he could respond, she continued: "I am out of my element Agent Pinnacle, but I will give you what you want."

Tears rolled down her face as she ran at the man as fast as she could, her fists clenched and drawn back as if to go in for a punch. Even without his abilities, the attack was highly telegraphed, and out of character from her first sneak attack. She even gave a battle cry of sorts before lunging in for the punch.

Something was off.

That is when he felt a ripple in the Fateweave, alerting him to the danger behind him, but this was superfluous, as he had also heard the air moving out of the way of something solid taking its place there, and his echolocative abilities mapped its exact shape. Finally, he could feel the vibrations of the air around him as well, and knew that behind him, a spike of some kind had formed, most likely another shadow construct, waiting to stab him in the back after he presumably shrugged off her attack, and so, ultimately, Pinnacle decided to do a spinning kick in her direction, taking care to absorb some of his own force if it did connect with her so as to not hurt her too much. Then, as the spike came at him from the other side, if successful, he would continue this spin and grab onto it, emitting just enough light from his hands to disintegrate it but not enough to light up the room at all, then he would land after a somersault onto his feet.

"You do not need her to be strong. Your confidence should come from within. Yes, we may all need help on occasion, but that does not make us weak, it makes us human." Israel said, turning toward her.

"You shouldn't have such little confidence in yourself, nor should you compare yourself to others in this matter."