Extra piece for Intelligentgravity because I rudely forgot Kayo! x

ooooo

These hands are fighting hands.

If they aren't clenched into fists then she hasn't really started her day. They are as rough and ready as any of her siblings, because one things for sure, she isn't a princess. Her nails are cut short to avoid scratching herself – or one of the boys – during training. Manicures, nail polish - it means nothing to her. It doesn't mean that she disregards other girls for liking it, she's proud of them for knowing what they like. It's just not her style.

Because Kayo knows her own style as well as she knows her mind, as well as she knows her hands. Her cuticles are pushed down too low, and bits of skin hang off the side of her index finger, but it doesn't matter. Appearance doesn't matter. These hands aren't just skin and bone; they are her instrument, her weapon.

These hands have got her through dire situations. They've fought off the Hood; they've landed a sabotaged fire flash, and most impressive of all, they've won against Scott Tracy in a boxing match. Nowadays he's the only one that's enough competition for her, and that makes her happy. Not just because it means she's good – but because it means she's a part of something.

Once, these hands had to fend for themselves. That's what Kayo has been conditioned to feel, that she has to be independent, that she can't ask for any help. So these hands are not trusting. As much as she wants them to be, it takes a long time for her to let anyone in. It took long enough with the boys.

Especially since, when she looks down, she sees the Hood's hands. Her dark skin is nothing like his, but she can still feel that same blood pulsing through her veins. These hands remind her of him, and she despises that. It reminds her of the lie, that she still isn't quite able to be truthful with the boys. Her brothers. Her family.

When she looks down at her hands, she wants to be reminded of them, not the Hood. So she's trying now, to be more open.

These hands had once been lost, thin, afraid. Bruised for the wrong reasons, desperate, lonely. But she doesn't like to look back on those times. Unless to see how much she's grown. Now these hands fly Shadow. They are in charge of covert operations for International Rescue.

So yes, Kayo knows how to fight, and she knows how to fight well. But that's not all that makes her. Kayo isn't just her hands. There is so much more to her than what she does.

She's part of a family now, one that she – with these hands – will protect at any cost.

These hands are as resilient as the woman they belong to.