She was getting used to the facility. The layout of Limbo was becoming familiar and Jade could make it from point A to point B without much of a hassle, and without having to stop someone to ask for minor directions. Most of her first days were spent trying to imprint that layout into her memory; while that may have been mildly excessive, familiarity with surroundings was something significant to her father and, therefore, to his eldest daughter. Especially in these facilities—who knew if, or when, things would go south for all the Supers inside? It was better to be prepared.
Other than pounding the pavement to learn the area, Jade had spent the rest of her time in the gymnasium, often slamming her fists repeatedly into the nearest punching bag and pretending that it was Lucas’ face rather than a rolled-up mat. It was somewhat therapeutic, but not quite as much as the real thing would be.
Jade’s hands were wrapped up as she slugged the bag over and over and over again. Even as she began sweating, and her exhaustion began to peak, she refused to stop, pushing through the pain that started to creep until it started to feel good again. She gave one last, firm punch into the bag’s center before taking a breather, steadying the bag and leaning her forehead against it to catch her breath.
When the door to the gymnasium opened, she instinctively glanced towards it.
And then did a double take.
“Ruby?” She breathed. Wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her wrist, Jade pushed off from the punching bag and stared at the young woman in the doorway. Same long, dark hair. Same facial piercings. Same smoky eye makeup (the “Panda” look, as Jade remembered it). Although she’d gotten older (and had she even gotten taller, too?), Ruby was unmistakable. The surprise was so visceral that Jade even forgot where they were—a smile suddenly spread across her face, and without thinking about it, she closed the distance and put her arms around Ruby, pulling her into a fiercely tight embrace.