5997/No A/C Outside the Armor

No A/C Outside the Armor
Date of Scene:	21 April 2021
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Training Room
Synopsis:	Rhodey gets his butt kicked running around an obstacle course at Nat's command.
Cast of Characters:	James Rhodes, Natasha Romanoff

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James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes arrives in his usual PT gear from the Marines. A USMC t-shirt, black shorts, tennis shoes. He goes through his stretching routine. He warily eyes the...setup one might call it in the training room. It is a full on obstacle course. Ramps, things to dodge around, a rope bridge, more ropes to swing across a gap in the platforms. This is a /REAL/ setup.

"Only have yourself to blame Rhodes," He says under his breath, as he continues stretching, and then spies the woman he's come to work with finishing her run through the course. "Nat, when I said I was worried I was a little out of shape, that I wouldn't be able to keep up in a running fight if I lost my suit, I figured like...maybe some running, maybe some krav maga. This...uh..this is part of your usual rotation?" he asks.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Breathing slightly heavier than normal, but looking little worse for the wear, Natasha gradually slows to a stop while studying her watch to judge her time as she passes the proverbial finish line. "There you are." She greets simply and steps off of the course.

    Asked if this is normal, Natasha wrinkles her nose a little and shakes her head. "No, of course not."

    Natasha walks past James while adding, "I figured I'd take it easy on you, to start."

    "You've gotten too reliant on the suit." She claims, walking around to the other side of the beginning of the track. "You don't want to be the soldier who gets winded, and I don't want to be the Spy who relies on him. So." Natasha gestures toward the starting point, "Whenever you're ready."

James Rhodes has posed:
"This is easy?" Rhodey asks as he walks around Nat to the starting point of the course. "I'd carry you if YOU got winded," nevermind the size and weight difference. He nods at her instruction, and then is off.

So, the thing about Rhodes is he's a straight foward guy. He sees an obstacle course and he hits it like a tank rolling into a brick wall. That usually works for the suit, but...not so much for the man. He hits the first wall, and while he makes it up it is not clean nor quick. Then he's sprinting across one of the platforms, heading for the ropes. He crosses that part of the course fairly easily, but when he actually has to climb the rope itself? A bit slower. It's clear by the time he's gotten to the top of the rope that he's starting to slow down.

The rest of the course is no picnic. The rope bridge is wobbly and he nearly flips off the side of it a couple of times. The tunnel at the end he makes it through fairly quickly, but then to have to go through the agility lane trips him up a little. He rappels down the side of the course, before it's time for over, under, over, under bars and then a sprint to the finish.

"Time?" he asks as he crosses the line by where Nat is standing, before he immediately doubles over, huffing his breath in and out.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    When asked for the time, Natasha checks her watch again, and simply answers, "Unacceptable." while affecting a pleasant smile. She watches James gasp for breath for a few seconds before picking out a look of mild concern and asking, "Should I call an ambulance?"

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes straightens up and puts his hands over his head, "Can I ask what IS an acceptable time?" he asks, as he paces around a little bit, sucking in air. Her comment about the ambulance gets a sarcastic 'Ha ha' from him before he says, "I'll be fine...just realizing I'm on the wrong side of forty," he eventually gets out. After a minute or two of walking it off, he returns to the line, ready for round two, "Tell me when," he says.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha peers up and to the side with a thoughtful expression for a moment before she determines, "A time where you don't collapse at the end. That's not happening today, though. Back on the line, come on."

Natasha wanders back to the start and readies her watch again and simply says: "Go."

    It's gonna be a day.

James Rhodes has posed:
"Y'know, Tony's right when he says you're a real..." And then Nat says go, and Rhodey goes. He is back off through the course. This time, he does a LITTLE bit better. The first run was a warmup he'll tell himself later when he's trying to unstiffen locked up muscles and joints. It is going to be a long day that has been a loooong time coming.