"You're not strong enough"

Carol had been lagging behind her group. She hated that she was the slowest runner yet, no matter how hard she pushed herself, she always ended up at least a foot behind the group. Maria, on the other hand, leads the gaggle of men with her head held high and proud.

The two-hour run had been lead by the group's commander. He was rhythmically yelling incoherent noises in an attempt to maintain the group's coordination with each other. Even when one of the men stumbled and fell the commander failed to slow down, yelling as he continued to run. Carol had swiftly skipped over the trampled man, casting a worried look down at him- after all, he may have been injured.

As they gathered around the first stunt course, the men were already pushing each other in line, eager to prove themselves to their commander. In front of the kerfuffle was Maria, she stood with her arms crossed and was hardly fazed by the jostling of the adult children behind her.

As soon as the fallen trainee had dragged himself up behind Carol, bruised, grazed and breathless, the commander blew his whistle.

Maria sprang into action.

She launched herself at the first piece of rope hanging from the suspended wooden beam. Shimmying her way up the rope, Maria paid no attention to the stares boring into her back and managed to convince herself the floor was nonexistent- that way she'd have nothing to break her fall should she slip and would, therefore, have no reason to even consider falling.

She swung the rope and leapt across, grasping and wrapping the second rope around her arm before hitching herself onto it comfortably and repeating the motion. Eventually, she made it across all six rope swings with ease and, as she lowered herself to the ground, she was greeted with a few whistles from the other end of the obstacle. Rolling her eyes, she high fived her commander.

A slow clap echoed around the area catching everyone's attention. Wearing a duck blue suit- alike to her outfit the night before- Lillian Love gracefully stepped into view of the group, her blonde hair slicked back into a tight updo and a pair of heavy-duty gloves hanging from her pocket.

"Impressive." She compliments, offering Maria a wink.

"Lieutenant Love," the commander greets her, saluting.

"Lieutenant Colonel Love." She corrects him with a wave of her hand before sending a meaningful look towards the mumbling group. "Don't you worry about me, I'm simply here to observe for a short while- every team is receiving this... inspection."

As if on command, one of the trainees launches himself at the ropes. That's how the morning continued, each of the men taking their turns to scale and cross the rope swings in a desperate attempt to impress the woman and their superior.

Soon enough, it was Carol's turn. As she stepped up to the wooden post marking the run point, she was greeted with a few whistles and a yell.

"Just skip it! You're not strong enough!" Shaking her head and nostrils flaring, Carol charged the first rope swing and successfully latched herself to it. For five minutes she scaled the swing, finding herself breathless at the top.

Closing her eyes and bowing her head, Carol attempted to calm herself down and regain her energy.

"Get down, you're going to get hurt!"

"You're not strong enough!"

With a determined look in her eyes, Carol swung the swing and propelled herself forwards. Her arms reached out and her legs kicked through the air.

She missed the rope.

She fell.

Landing on the ground with a thud, the men laughed at her.

"You're not strong enough! You'll never be a pilot!"

"Can you stand?" Looking up, Carol finds Lillian stood in front of her, her hand outstretched. Accepting the gesture and ignoring the jeers, Carol holds Lillian's gaze, brushing herself up and standing straight.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel." Carol's small smile diminishes as the blonde turns away from her and to the group. Her sharp gaze silences the rowdy men and with an affirmative nod, she turned back to Carol and dragged the woman away by the arm. Protesting silently, Carol sighs. "You could have told me to follow you."

Lillian said nothing, releasing the woman as they walked. Neither of the blondes spoke until they reached a gym, the blue floor padded and obstacle courses lining the walls ready to be pulled out for use. As Carol stood in the centre of the room, confused and staring down her own reflection in the mirror, Lillian paced the room, running her hand over her face ever-so-slightly before spinning to face Carol with her arms crossed.

"What's your workout routine like?" Carol shrugs.

"Every night if I can, sometimes a jog in the morning if I do miss it."

"Weights?" She shakes her head.

"No, push-ups." Lillian tuts and shakes her head, walking closer to Carol.

"That's not good enough, Danvers! If you're even considering becoming a pilot comparable and possibly even better than the boys out there on the playground, you need to sort yourself out. Prioritise your success."

Carol looked down at her feet, as Lillian continued to circle her like a predator. She could feel the woman's stare boring into her head and that was all, she was burning. The Lieutenant Colonel gracefully walked in circles, her outfit glamorous and smart despite her occupation. She was effortlessly beautiful.

Carol shushes herself while Lillian's back was turned and held her head high as her superior came to stand in front of her. The two women stood at the same height, one eyeing the other up and down while she fought to squirm beneath her gaze, overly conscious of the tear across her abdomen and the dirt on her face.

Heaving a breath, Carol smirks slightly.

"What do you suggest I do?" Lillian tilts her yead with a matching look.

"Get a trainer, they dedicate themselves to you and that's what you need."

"Where can I get one?" Lillian shuffles slightly, glancing away from her inferior and biting her lip.

"You're looking at her, Miss Danvers."