show me everything you've got, isabella

[zackary]

this place looked the same as it did a century ago... zack would know, he was there. he remembered it from the second he stepped foot on campus. he was surprised the building lasted as long as he did. walking the familiar halls, almost as if he were himself as a student. of all the many places zack resided in, walker's was the only home to him. though his talent didn't get him much ranking in the threatening range, it sure gave kids a few good reasons to pick on him. zack would love to see their faces now. their deceased bodies buried, while he still lived on. sure his life was lonely, hell it was as lonely as it could get, but what good would it do to have him amongst the deceased? he'd rather walk lonely than to find out what stood at the other end. zack would never know. he knew that he could end his life any time he wanted to. it was easier than how most suicides work. all he had to do was to forget to rejuvenate himself, and in a matter of seconds, he would be dead. since he was much older than he used to be, dying would be instant. but zack would never think of committing suicide. he was interested about how much things have changed since he was a little kid.

as he strolled the training area, a place he had never really spent any time here. his power was useless to fight with. what was he going to do? the only skill about his power besides being able to cheat death, was probably shedding off the dead skin cells from scabs. even still, that wasn't very threatening. he remembered standing here so many years ago, watching kids practicing their skills, always jealous of them being able to toy with their abilities. sure zack had grown accustomed to his lifestyle. i mean, after three hundred years, it was as normal to him as a mortal's timed one. but he still wished he had something more showy, hopefully to draw the girls' affections. at least that's what he thought back then. now, after witnessing all the people he let himself get close to die, zack wasn't that intrigued to get a girls' attention.

it was particularly breezy today. zack liked the wind. it brought music to his ears. taking a seat in the shade under a tree, zack looked out at the training area. he was glad that it was vacant, though he wouldn't mind watching what these new kids had to show. zack became fascinated with special abilities since his arrival back here. these kids had new powers hidden underneath new skills. it was unbelievable the variety of different powers. zack always hated the word power, with that it usually became cockiness. you don't see him getting cocky about living and fighting in wars. for being immortal, zack had a lot of time on his hands. it was nice to be able to have time to do everything he wanted, but also it gave him time to think. he was a brilliant man, but sometimes too brilliant for his own good.

[ISABELLA HANIA ZADAN]

it was going to be a long day, isabella zadan could already tell this much about it. whether it be from the fact she woke up thirty minutes early and that there had been no hot water when she had taken a shower in the morning had not helped that tidbit. she was just more than happy that she had no classes today. the last thing she needed to add to her not so great start of the day was having to deal with a classroom of hyperactive teenagers for the majority of her day. she loved teaching, she really did, but there were days when she did question her choice to become a teacher. it usually depended on how far in the day of course they were and which classes they were teaching. she enjoyed her hand to hand combat perhaps the most. the kids usually weren't as talkative because if they weren't fighting they were listening, the majority at least. after all, most of the time they were just trying to impress each other. which she did see as a good thing, it made the class less stressful for her.

after finishing up with some papers that isabella had put off grading she had returned to her dorm and finished her mid-day coffee. it was nice to relax, that she had learned in the past thirty some-odd years. though she had never really had much of a chance at it and therefore had not bothered with it as much as normal women of her age did. then again, normal women of her age usually were already dating and had children. she had neither and for the moment had plans for neither. she was paranoid, though she would never admit it. that's why she always had the gun which she was of course licensed to carry. she felt insecure without it almost. years with russians changed a person in more ways than you imagined. of course it did depend on which russians you rolled with. the ones she had been with where not exactly every day people of russia. then again, most people overall weren't involved with major drug deals and nuclears. but she had been amongst it for the worst five and a half years of her life.

that was why she always kept in shape. isabella felt that working out was always a good way to release her anger. which is why it was pretty easy to find her in the training area, they had weights and punching bags for the physicals - though she used them anyway. she had changed into a simple white tank top and some athletic pants for working out, something her students would probably be horrified to see her in as she almost always wore professional attire. she pulled her long, curly hair back into a high pony tail and grabbed her boxing gloves, shoving them in her athletic bag. it did not take her long to find her way into the training arena as she went there nearly every day whether it was for classes or other reasons of her own, she didn't even have to think about it as she walked. when she arrived there though she was surprised to see a colleague of hers, zackary, already there though. "am i interrupting anything?" she asked politely.

[zackary]

as he sat under the tree, he was wondering if there was anything he could be doing right now. most likely studying up on tomorrow's lesson, but zack usually winged his classes anyways. besides, the books couldn't explain the true feelings and emotions behind the lessons. that's what zack was there for: to give them a lesson they will never forget, an actual witness. zack loved telling about the history. it never got old no matter how many times he explained it. he would go on for hours talking about all the things he has done in the last several hundred years if someone would let him. he was in love with history. it was the only thing that really stood besides him. he has yet been able to find a way to transfer his ability over so that it would work on someone else. until he was able to do that, it was probably best not to get attached to anyone, especially since no one wants to marry a widow with kids, much less seven kids.

well, since they were all dead, would he be considered a married/father? zack wasn't sure. his life was all screwed up enough, he didn't need to worry about whether or not to address him as such. as far as all the people at walker's were aware, he was still a hot, studly man. though he could use a few work outs to keep him that way. there was no telling what might happen the next morning. when he stood up, he nearly fell over again as he was distracted by a silhouette appearing on the field. he caught himself before he had made a complete fool of himself. when he realized it was ms. isabella zadan, he was relieved. though zack loved his kids, it was nice to not be bothered by them on his free time. they got enough time in class. he was almost taken aback when she had spoken to him. though zack had made it clear to not get attached or to feel any kind attraction towards a person, even he had to admit isabella was one of the better looking teachers on campus.

it was so weird seeing her in normal people clothes. along with her beauty, she was probably one of the most well dressed people around. it was unusual to see her in athletic clothes, especially so bright in the day. still, she surprisingly looked as attractive as ever. he blinked at her, then remembered that she was expecting a reply. "uh, no. you're fine." zack replied sweetly. he looked at the boxing gloves sticking out of her bag. "are those boxing gloves?" he asked curiously. she didn't look much like a boxer, but she had to do something to get that body.

[ISABELLA HANIA ZADAN]

the reasons she did what she did were not typical. most women worked out to keep up a good figure or to burn off some extra weight, neither were her reasons but she did a good job about her figure. isabella had the memories as fresh as if they had happened an hour or so ago as opposed to years ago. her memory loved to haunt her, to tease and taunt her to no end and drive her up a wall during the night. she had trouble sleeping because of this, perhaps that was why she always woke up early. she hated sleeping as the nightmares reminded her, they were so vibrant and clear as if she was re-living them and there in southlake. but texas was not close to russia thank god. that would have been disastrous if it was, she would not be able to take it. the scars she saw every day were enough of a reminder added in with the nightmares. the scars that were shown right then and there because of the tank top she was wearing. it was not necessarily a good thing to show, but it did show character.

character was something that isabella had to spare. she had cuts and scars, usually bruises as well but for the moment being none where shown. she even had a few burn marks on her shoulders though they were mostly hidden, a few still showed since the tank top was a razor back. there was little she could do to cover that and she did not expect any students to be out there to see them, though instead another teacher. no one other than the school's headmaster quite knew her full story, most just knew she had worked for the bureau up until a couple of years ago and she was fine with that. she was almost certain zackary was unaware quite of the adventures she had gone through. she did not know much about his past though she knew it had to be quite a colorful one with how long he had been alive.

isabella smiled, slightly amused as she waited for an answer from him as he seemed to be distracted by something she was unaware of. once he did answer though she was glad to not be interrupting him. he was quite handsome, though she had a pack or sorts with herself to not focus on men, so she did not want to leave a bad impression. "yeah, they are." she answered, the faintest traces of a blush appearing on her cheek. he was not the first person to question the fact that she boxed, most girls didn't and found it repulsive because it involved so much fighting. she didn't though, fighting was something she had gotten used. "i box a lot in my free time. good way to help stay in shape, for classes, you know?" she offered which was paired with a light shrug of her shoulders.

[zackary]

there was something that zackary liked about isabella. it wasn't just her looks or her skills, but there was something, zackary just couldn't lay his fingers on it. maybe it was because she was the only female teacher who wasn't completely infatuated by him. all the female teachers were very friendly with zackary, some of them even quite touchy. zack was used to it, everyone wanted a piece of him. hell, sometimes he caught himself checking him out in the mirror. in fact, now that zack thought about it, he has never seen her with anybody else who could even resemble a significant other, not even in pictures. he didn't know much about isabella, besides the fact previously she worked for the bureau, and that wasn't even much of a story. she wasn't the type to open herself up to people easily. zack understood that, probably more than she would ever know. he never opened up to anyone, especially after everyone seemed to die anyways, leaving him to mourn alone. but that was his choice. the only reason he had kept himself alive for so long, was he had this hope that maybe, just maybe, someone else was also cursed with this so he wouldn't be alone anymore, or he could figure out a way to get it to work on another human being.

so far, no dice, which is why zack kept his distance from people. sure he liked having companions, but he purposely didn't let himself get too close. he couldn't stand watching another funeral. he wondered if he had eventually decided to end his life, or his energy regeneration gave out, that who would come to his funeral. the thought scared him, enough for him to just hope that it wouldn't happen before he was ready. though zack knew the answer to how many people he would see there. zero. they were all dead. and what would happen to all his things? it wasn't like he had any relates to claim possession over it. his house, car, everything would be gone. this thought caused him to decide that whenever he decided to stop being peter pan, he would settle down with someone and let his body continue to age. but hopefully not too soon, he thought.

her reply brought his attention back to her. he smiled, glad that at least someone took their work seriously other than him. "well, can't argue with that." zack stood up, brushing off the grass off his clothing. "care to show me what you got?" he asked, smirking. "pretend i'm one of the bad guys." he held up his hands. "and please don't go easy on me. i've got plenty of years of practice." he joked. zack did take a few boxing/fighting/kickboxing classes in his time. though he was a bit rusty, fortunately his body was still limber.

[ISABELLA HANIA ZADAN]

it was well, rather obvious that there was something different about zackary. something good. obviously he wasn't going to exactly be considered average considering he was quite a bit older than herself. that being a slight understatement. ideas and personalities were often different just from one or two generations and well, he could have been her great great great - you get the point - grandfather or something like that. she had heard that he had kids but they were all dead at this point, but he could have had a few great-great-great-great or whatever grandkids. she didn't know and had no intentions of asking a question, it would seem odd. and unnecessary. but she saw women flaunt around him any how in hope they would get something in return so didn't bother with that thought anyway. not that her constant paranoia would let her regardless. it was just reminded by the gun in the waistband of her pants, digging in lightly in her back and within grasp oh so easily if anyone decided to pop out. it was loaded and she didn't think her luck was terrible enough for it to accidentally shoot her in the butt or something like that, her gun wasn't faulty. which was good because if it misfired she would have been in a hell of a lot of trouble.

the question made her laugh halfheartedly. he would have not been the first to underestimate her. isabella was used to that as her thin and weak appearing body made her seem more gentle that she was, because she knew how to kick some serious ass to be honest. "you'd be surprised how good i am." she remembered quite a few people (the ones that she hadn't gotten put away for life thank god) being surprised at how strong she was. they expected her to have a much weaker physique than she actually had which in turn had worked to her advantage. because she had been stronger than him, and that was always a good thing in that kind of situation.

isabella allowed herself to smile at his comment about him being one of the bad guys. "not the best idea, a few people come to mind when you say that. damn russians, she hissed in her thoughts after she spoke. they had pretty much ruined the rest of her life for her, which pretty much just sucked overall. never fun to go through something at such a younger point in your life. "but sure. it's amusing to see people's reactions," she said with a shrug, placing the gun in her bag and the gloves on her fists. "i had no intentions to go easy," she replied with a smug expression crossing her face. she hadn't warmed up but in real life you didn't get time like that to warm up before having to go in and take someone down. okay, well in some cases and on television they did do a good job of making it look like that. but if were life that easy she would not have the paranoia problem. with that on her mind she swung out her left fist aiming for the bottom of his jaw, keeping her right back for the moment.

[zackary]

before she swung, zack contemplated whether or not he should mention that he was a war veteran? it only seemed fair, since he knew she was apart of the bureau that she knew about his past... well, actually, he didn't know anything about the bureau or what she did for it, so it was fair. still, she was a tiny girl, there was no way he could believe she used to beat the crap out of people for a living. there was just no way. he's seen girls who are way more buff, some of them even body builders, struggling with a task like that. but then again, zack sure had seen a lot of weird things in his time. he almost had completely zoned out this time, but fortunately he moved his hand in between her fist and his jaw. any second before, he would get smacked right in the face. he used all his strength to stop her fist, trying to ignore the screaming pain in his hand. wow, that hurt. that really freaking hurt, he thought. his hands wrapped around her fist until he was completely sure all her force was gone.

he dropped it and shook his hand. "not bad." he said, biting back his affection towards it. "try again, this time, you've got to be quicker than me." zack said, almost feeling the adrenaline rushing through his head. he hadn't done any physical combat since he got out of the war in iraq. but technically this wasn't any real combat since zack would never hit a girl, no matter how hard she had hit him. it wasn't his style. he put his hands back in their original positions, this time bracing himself even more than before. "so, what kind of stuff did you do?" zack asked, curiously. since she hadn't told him much about her life herself, he had to resort to asking her. it was a lame excuse for getting to know her, but what did he have to lose?

zack knew that he probably needed to keep the questions to a minimum, knowing sometimes people didn't like talking about themselves or their previous work. zack could tell she was that type because there was no gossip talking about her job. no one really knew what it was all about. most of the teachers thought of crazy rumors, but zack wasn't stupid. there was no way some of the stuff they come up with was true about her. hell, they even tried spreading rumors about zack's life, and even though he's been alive for a long time and the potential that those stories might be true, zack sure set them straight. he hunted down whoever thought of the rumor and set things straight. but with the rumors floating around about her, zack wanted to know if they were true or not.

[ISABELLA HANIA ZADAN]

the first thought that came to mind when instead of the side of his face she hit his hand rather forcefully was damn. isabella was the type of girl who rarely missed her target, whether it was a fist, foot, or gun. though she expected him to be more, ehem, experienced in fighting as she had heard he was a war veteran. but with how people talked about others these days you could never be sure if what you heard about them was actually the truth or just a piece of crap. but him actually blocking her meant he had to have some experience fighting. her dark eyes glanced down at his hand as he shook it out and it was difficult to bite back the smirk, though faint traces did appear. "hurt more than you thought? don't worry, you're not the first person to think so." she could probably put more effort behind her fist into a contact with her right hand than left hand, which was why she was planning to do next if her allowed her.

isabella nodded as if she didn't already know that. she hadn't expected him to be as fast as she was. she knew a double hit often left you wide open but with two fists they focused more on blocking that fighting back. of course in the real world there were many more options that just throwing fists, knees often came in handy though that was basic women defense. this wasn't quite as basic and usually was considered more complex than that. "just be glad you're not an actual bad guy." she murmured with a grin. those, those she brought the gun out. often more effective and saved from bruising her knuckles. focusing on the actual hit though instead of strategic thoughts, she braced her fists once again before swinging. the left toward his side and the right fist right below the rib cage. with most two-fisted swings you'd expect them to go in more opposite of directions. instead of less than a foot away from each other, but when each fist came in contact with something (hand or her target she was unsure) she was satisfied enough.

the question caught isabella by surprise and she raised her eyebrows faintly. if only she could tell someone other than the people who had read the reports from it the pain she had been through. the reasons she had had a psychiatrist and had scars beyond galore, most of them on her back and abdomen where no one could see them. "well, the first few years in the bureau i just did basic field ops. i went undercover in russia for five and a half years - mainly because i was the only woman in the fitting age range that speaks fluent russian. after that was over, i stayed with the bureau six more months and then left. i became a teacher last year after a break from employment." that was as much as anyone really knew and that was how she kept it for the most part. she rather not have everyone know her whole life story as it wasn't a pretty one after she graduated college. "i told you, you tell me. what's your story?" she prodded with a grin.

[zackary]

zackary chuckled at her comment. "you surprised me alright." he smiled, feeling his hand start to go numb. imagine if it had actually hit him in the jack, he might actually bleed or get hurt. zackary wasn't a fan of injury, which is why he never let his enemy get a swing at him. because of that, zackary's self defense skills and reaction times were incredible, it could possibly be another special ability of his. still, it scared him, and reminded him of fighting in an actual war. when robbed of a gun, and his fists were the only things that could protect him, zackary had to make sure he knew how to fight with them. those long hours in the gym sure helped him, as well as real life actions. he could tell she was surprised that he had managed to stop her from hitting him in the jaw, but the truth was, he surprised himself. he watched how quick she was, and surprised he was able to stop her. he almost thought she had him.

he laughed again, glad he wasn't too. although he had been able to stop her, he had left the rest of his body completely off guard, so she would have gotten an easy second punch or kick if he were an actual bad guy. he listened intently as she told him about her previous life. it cleared up a bit of the rumors for him, though he could tell there was a bit more to than what she was telling him, but he knew that if he had to explain to her him, there would be some parts he would leave out as well. he had been too busy thinking about what she had told him, that he hadn't been paying attention again and she managed to strike him in the ribs. his hands had covered it shortly after. she got him good. "shit." he said. "good one." he leaned to the side, as he tried to ease the pain.

he rubbed the spot, trying to get over the initial shock. he wasn't expecting her to ask him about his life, but it was only fair since she did tell hers. "my story is about a thousand pages long and as interesting as an encyclopedia." he joked. he looked at her in the eyes, realizing that she wouldn't let him go that easy. if she had hit him that hard and he was only a friendly target, she had to be one tough cookie. "alright, i've been fought in a few wars back in my day. i've fought on many different sides of it as well, depending on where i lived during that time. i never thought that was enough though, so i used to spend countless hours in the gym, just practicing self defense as well as taking classes and training, of course." zackary replied.

[ISABELLA HANIA ZADAN]

the words were so familiar it nearly made her flinch though did cause her to glance away from a moment, biting down on her lower lip slightly. damn vladimir. it made it all of the worst knowing he had gotten away and was still out there... it sure as hell did help that she hadn't been around when they had gone in and raided, so he still wouldn't know that she had been working for them the whole time she was there. the fear that he would find her again was a haunting one, even if he didn't know that fact. but what he would expect from her was the terrifying part of her story. the things she had done she would regret for all of her life, that was for sure.

seeing him lean to the side, obviously in pain, isabella wandered if she was being too rough. she had noticed she had a habit of doing that with people in the past. so she had been informed previously. "i presumed," she mused allowed, pulling off the gloves and tossing them gently on top of the bag, stretching out her fingers slightly. with a soft, near inaudible sigh she tucked back a strand of loose black hair that had previously fallen into her eye line. his words were something she could sympathize on though, she felt like what she had experienced in the last time was more than an average person had to end up going through in their entire life time. there were days when she wished she had picked a more normal career or had just started out as a teacher. because quite frankly that would have been a hell of a lot easier instead of enduring the physical and mental pains that she had been through. there were days naturally when she did regret these choices. in fact, there wasn't a day that she didn't regret the things she had ended up doing to get them arrested for the most part and stay in disguise, because she knew if she didn't that would be the end of her.

"well apparently those classes didn't do you much good," isabella teased with a grin. sure, she had experience. she had been through the twenty-one week academy and been in the bureau for ten years before leaving, so yes, she did have an experience. but if he had been through wars and worked out who knows how much... she honestly would have expected a bit faster reflexes than that. "i suppose we both have our fair share of tales then, don't we?" she said though she already knew the answers. russians weren't fun, being fired at with multiple guns and trying to get a man down who was across the battle field wasn't gun. thank the good lord for putting people on the earth to invent bulletproof doors and windows, as well as railing on top of the car to grab onto when someone drove you across while you had at least five men shooting at you. now that, that had not been fun.