It had been a long - and there was no amount of emphasis that could be overstated - LONG couple of days that Zerori had spent trying to get the Gravity Chamber back into a any kind of working condition after the absolute shit show that she was going to gracious call ‘test 1’ with her and Korn. By the end of the third day of her work on the chamber, Zerori could say with great satisfaction that it looked… marvelous. Sitting in the middle of the gravitron with her lunch she’d snagged from the next city over (profuse flirting had happened, it had been a LONG time) Zerori was munching on some of the nostalgic sweet bread that she used to get back in East City. Rather than her usual get-up or the armor she used as Red Doll, Zerori was clad in a set of tattered work jeans and a white shirt that she’d shucked off when things had gotten too hot, now wearing mostly a black sports bra.

The walls were properly plated, the wires and exposed energy valves had been covered and she’d hoped that in her search for the perfect metal… they’d hold well enough against most attacks. At the moment, however, Zerori just wanted to bask in the glory of the Gravitron finally completed.

Earlier, she’d gotten a call from Shen after she’d told him that she couldn’t stay at their little resort the entire time she was training if she was also going to be his ‘escort’ to events and when he’d declared that he would simply ‘bring the training to her’, Zerori saw an opportunity. Her visor was summoned with magic upon her face, checking the time and task list she’d made and decided that now was plenty of time to get cleaned up and begin her plan.

Within an hour, Zerori was cleaned up and in an apron - she’d taken over for some of her employees to take a break before she was going to take off and she just… liked to be around the baked goods. When Master Shen walked in, however, her gaze and his would lock for a tense, awkward moment before Zerori grinned and Shen held a hand over his face as if he was trying to stifle his laughter.

“What? Never seen a woman in a bakery before?”

“When you put it like that, it puts me in a terribly sexist position, doesn’t it?”

Zerori gestured dismissively, “Oh, I’m sure you’ve been in plenty of other positions before,” She teased boldly, eliciting a choked response from Shen before her girls came back from their break.

“I’ll be downstairs! You know what to do if shit hits the fan!” Zerori called, giving all of them a little fist bump as she took off her apron and threw it in the clothes bin. She turned to Shen, waving for him to follow, “C’mon, I got a surprise for you!”

“One that’s not a cookie? I’m heartbroken,” Shen returned with witty banter, following Zerori as she descended down into the real purpose of the bakery. Once Shen realized this as well, he’d give a whistle - impressed. “You’ve been a busy bee!”

“Of course, I’ve been stagnant for far too long,” Zerori returned, walking up to the hatch of the gravitron. “And I’m also impatient, too. Get in and let’s get going!” Ignoring the look of confusion on Shen’s face, she sauntered inside and waited until he was inside with her before shutting the door. “I’ll explain it fast because I know you said I was almost done with that… what was it called? Solar Scare?”

Shen sputtered indignantly, “Solar FLARE! Of all the-”

Zerori’s laugh soothed a bit of his ironically ruffled feathers, “Right right! But I figured we could both benefit from this! See, this is what’s called a Gravitron and I’ve got the feeling that because you’re the master of a martial arts school, you’re probably really strong, right?”

The way Zerori had worded it like a question made Shen give a grunt, “That is the point, yes. I am stronger than most on this planet.”

“Great! Hey Bixby!”

With a sudden chime that echoed through the room, Shen would jump ever so slightly but made no other gesture that whatever was happening was disturbing him, Zerori would finish, “Adjust Gravitron settings! Forty times Earth Gravity, approximately twenty minutes!”

Shen turned to Zerori, “Wait, forty times?!”Just as the AI would chime back with a musical affirmative. Zerori scoffed, arms crossed.

“You said you were strong, I just want to see it in action! Now,” The air became oppressive as the gravity started to gradually set in, lights dimming for effect. She adopted a stance, watching as Shen’s normally poised stance would spread out as he had to force himself to save face by doing his best not to fall to the ground. Where as Korn was as clumsy as a newborn baby when he struggled with gravity, Shen was… well, the best way Zerori could describe it was ‘beautiful’.

She could see his muscles expand and become more defined and the expression on his face was a window to show just how much concentration he was putting into this. His balance was impeccable, even as she could see him strain to keep standing. The only issue that had Zerori wince was that his shades had fallen from his face and broke upon impact on the floor. He didn’t show any outward reaction to this however and that probably scared Zerori more than it should have.

“I’ll have you know,” He spoke, his voice sounding delightful menacing, “I’m deducting that from your pay.”

With a laugh, Zerori smirked up at him knowing that she was… perhaps a little enamored with her new master for all the surprises he was full of. For most of her life, Zerori had always had some kind of teacher or instructor so this wasn’t unusual in the least but learning martial arts from a master just felt different.