Tobias joins the group in the kitchen, smiling and nodding in agreement "That and I figure it helps pass the time. Last thing anyone wants is for her wing to heal up all good and proper...only for there to be other complications."

Tobias certainly didn't want to see such a thing. From what she'd spoken of it, flight seemed like one of her real, true joys in life. Seeing that taken away from her? Well, he didn't even want to think about that. With a chuckle, he balls a fist, musculature in his arm momentarily locking in a thoroughly corded fashion, adding,

"I suppose I should see what sort of practice might be beneficial to me at some point, too. I mean, I'd see about improvising a target, too...but I don't think using the next door neighbor's face as a speed bag would go over all that well...at least not with law enforcement."

He chuckles a bit, his quip little more than a joke...mostly, before nodding to Nick and asking,

"So, what's on the cards for you, Nick? Anything exciting?"

Tobias blinks in surprise as Grace voices her opinion on the matter, strong as it was. Admittedly he'd said that the whole idea probably wasn't a good one...and Grace's reasoning highlights exactly why. With a sigh as she departs the room to likely cool off in the entertainment area, Tobi cringes and shakes his head, a hand coming to gently pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Don't worry, Levi. I know you wouldn't take it personally, but I certainly can't imagine any good coming from it...at least for emotional reasons."

He gestured behind him in Grace's direction, citing her reaction as a perfect example before adding,

"So, why don't we drop the 'My bot could totally beat you in a fight' argument before it starts up and just be glad that we're all on the same side, huh? Because even IF he can take the damage, as I said, it'd be like taking a baseball bat to a Ferrari, and that certainly isn't my M.O."

Tobias had admittedly taken Nick's comment rather well initially, however, the suggestive glint in his eyes causes Tobi to blink, his expression turning a subtle mixture of confused and slightly incredulous. He'd nod at Nick's request, adding,

"No problem. I'll see to it Aban gets your details one way or another."

As Nick says his goodbyes and moves to depart, however, his parting comment to Tobias causes the decidedly bigger fellow blink, arch a brow in his direction, a subtle flash of light rippling across his face as the word 'date' rattles around in Tobi's mind like a demented pinball. This wasn't a date! Grace was recovering! I mean, sure, they'd talked a little, and well...it wasn't a date if two people sat down and watched a movie, especially at home...right?

Whatever the case, Tobi certainly isn't ignorant to Grace's embarrassment, catching her out of the corner of his eye as she studiously examines her feet and gently wrings at the hem of her skirt, her cheeks nearly beet red. He'd nod to Levi in response...a curious sort of thoughtful smile crossing his face as Nick and Levi both left, waiting until the door clicked shut to make any sort of comment,

"Oooooh, the moment I find out that guy has a girlfriend? I'm getting me some payback. All the teasing."

He shakes his head, before softening his expression as he turns to Grace and inquires "You gonna be okay? Were you still interested in watching a movie or did you need a moment to plot some sweet, sweet vengeance?"

He chuckles somewhat wryly, smiling to her as he'd spoken. He certainly hadn't forgotten one part of what she'd said previously: 'I just don't want to see the people I care about hurt each other....' It appeared that [i]he[/i] was one among that number all of a sudden...and while he couldn't figure out when or why, it certainly does nothing toward making him feel bad in any way shape or form.

Outside, as Nick had departed with Levi, Tobias' 'charming' neighbor, Brian had been leaning over the front yard fence, watching as a smaller-framed kid in a lab coat had departed with a giant, red robot the size of a house.

Nerd alert.

Leaning an arm onto the fence, Brian grins wickedly and calls out as Nick vacates the Wishart's residence,

"Yo Nerd! Nice robot! Did you build it yourself? Because if you did, it's probably gonna be the closest thing to a girlfriend you ever see! FOREVER ALOOOOOOONE, BOI!"

Apparently, Brian hadn't thought through the concept that perhaps insulting someone in the company of a machine the size of Levi probably wasn't a good idea...though all truths be told, Brian also wasn't someone who did a great deal of [i]thinking[/i] either...

Tobias had been initially worried that between all the subtle jabs, suggestions and blatant hints that the others had been dropping, Grace might more permanently shy away from him after this...and yet as her body language changed, relaxed and opened up again, her smile returning, so he too finds himself smiling back as she hands him the movie. Though at her admission, he actually finds himself nodding in approval, a clearly impressed expression upon his face,

"Aaah, good choice! Lion King's a classic. Though, here I am standing around sounding like a movie buff when we could be sitting and watching one instead!"

A jovial chuckle escapes him as they both head to the entertainment room, with it's ludicrously plush couch and crouches again to set up the movie. Safe to say, seeing someone of six foot two hunching over to load a blue ray disk was likely a thoroughly comical sight, the occasional muttering escaping him as he set the movie to play, turning around to plod back to the couch and take up a seat close...but not uncomfortably close to Grace, sighing contentedly as he'd settled his broad shoulders into the welcoming cushions, nodding to her and hitting 'play', regarding her with a warm smile as he adds,

"This'll most likely be a lot less intense than the last one we watched. But I think you'll like it a LOT more. The last one was a little more...well, it's more of a guy's movie."

It would be daft to think that Tobias wasn't paying attention to Grace as the movie unfolds, though he finds himself laughing gently as a hand lifts to palm as his face as WALL-E goes through his daily routine, at one point picking up an old bra...and wearing it over his eyes instead of the intended application. Also among the small montage is a rather unfortunate encounter with a still-primed fire extinguisher, finding an old set of car keys which de-activates a car alarm....somewhere and the eventual, slow realisation that the little robot was feeling rather lonely.

Enter EVE.

The incredible determination that little, outdated, completely petrified WALL-E shows in his initial introduction to the thoroughly more advanced and sophisticated EVE is nothing short of inspiring...not to mention the raw tenacity he shows in trying to win her over. It was this sort of juxtaposition that rather curiously matched the dynamic between him and Grace...save for the fact that Grace was much more evenly tempered and didn't have a plasma rifle mounted in one of her arms. However, as far as appearance went, Tobias with his heavy cybernetic modifications and Grace with her effortless, entirely unassuming appeal, it was almost a perfect analogue for the pair of them.

Despite the fact that EVE had spent the vast majority of WALL-E's efforts rather bluntly ignoring him, it would take an emotionally sterile person not to find some sort of appeal in it all, the little, grubby, dirty yet entirely hard-working robot trying with incredible valiance to get EVE's attention. Then comes the moment that the two bots actually converse in a strange sort of way, the sandstorm and eventually retreating to WALL-E's curious home.

Its in this scene that Tobias actually draws a starkly new association with EVE, the incredible power housed in her frame mirroring his own in a strange sort of way. Without proper control and understanding, she seems almost ham-fisted when WALL-E shows her some of his treasures, causing him to realise that without proper control of his new modifications, he too could do significant damage.

His eyes come to his steel knuckles, a hand pawing gently over one of them before he watched Grace, who seemed utterly enthralled. He never seemed to have any control issues when she was around...and perhaps there was a reason for that...

Whatever the case, the scenes immediately following, after EVE is given the seedling and goes into standby mode are just as endearing, WALL-E not really understanding...or perhaps not bothered by the fact that EVE had gone into a standby mode of sorts. Again, it ellicits a gentle chuckle from Tobias, the grubby, little bot too smitten to abandon her simply because of a minor triviality. Again, he can't help but watch for Grace's reaction to all this, smiling gently as the movie rolls on.

Tobias smiles gently as Grace shifts her right wing, deliberately drawing attention to the fact that she, too was coming to grips with new gifts...though Tobias was honestly glad that the gifts [i]she[/i] had been given weren't quite so...well, destructive. One wrong move and he could seriously hurt someone he cared about. One lapse of concentration and a hug could turn into a trip to the hospital. He'd chosen this movie as something light and entertaining, and yet even this was making him sit back and think rather intensely about his present situation.

He'd need to be careful.

That said, he can't ignore the gentle blush creeping across Grace's cheeks, it causing a shimmer of green light to occur in response. However, his attention is brought back to the movie the moment EVE is recovered, and again WALL-E is inadvertently dragged into space. It's here that the advancement in animation really gets to strut it's stuff, including star-fields, WALL-E tracing a manipulator through the icy rings of Saturn and then the spiralling galaxy that looms in his robotic eyes....and then, from behind a nebula looms the Axiom, it providing both an image of inspiration...and looming ominousness.

In the course of such, Tobias finds that he'd unconsciously shifted somewhat closer to Grace, resettling his shoulders into the couch again as his attention shifts between rapt interest...and equally rapt interest in the young, winged lady beside him.

Tobias' augmented hearing picks up on her question, a soft chuckle escaping him as he shrugs,

"Sorry, wouldn't know first-hand. No astronauts in my family. Though, if you look it up on the net, it's pretty crazy what's out there."

He smiles to her, keeping his commentary short so she can keep watching, the shuttle now boarding the Axiom. The recovery vessel WALL-E had clung to had been massive while on Earth, but now, as it enters the Axiom, it seems dwarfed by the scale of it's mother vessel. However, the moment the gravity is switched back on within the landing bay, typically enjoyable chaos ensues as WALL-E does his very best to stay with EVE, causing a robotic pileup in the transit halls as well as several rather stark paradigm shifts for two of the over-fed and under-exercised human population aboard the Axiom.

Tobi finds himself chuckling again as the droll-looking secretarial bot is introduced to the concept of 'waving', as EVE is escorted to the bridge for analysis, further mischief ensuing as the Captain is woken up, the square, orange bot doing his best to stay hidden...while still staying close to his paramour.

Tobias too is starkly reminded that even though the technology within him is now inseparable from him, he shouldn't allow it to make him complacent or instil feeling of superiority. It was his humanity that made him strong, in the end.

As EVE and WALL-E scamper about the ship, trying to save the plant specimen, there comes the heart-wrenching moment where, as WALL-E is ejected in an escape pod set to self-destruct, it seems that the plucky hero is a goner, EVE's distress utterly palpable despite the fact that there has been, between them absolutely no dialogue to speak of....

...That's until WALL-E returns, fire extinguisher in hand, using it for propulsion!

It also appears that he's managed to retrieve the plant in question, which elicits the robotic equivalent of a grateful peck on the cheek from EVE. Admittedly at this juncture, Tobias himself is starting to wonder if he didn't subliminally choose this movie for a reason as well, gently clearing his throat as the touching dance in space causes him to regard the winged beauty beside him, a more subtle glow rising into his cheeks before fading as best as he could stifle it.

He'd chosen this movie because he enjoyed it and thought Grace might too....he wasn't trying to allude to anything...well, not deliberately, anyway.

It would seem though that EVE's conflict between her need to complete her directive and WALL-E is causing some stress on her part...and all the while, all WALL-E wants to do is hold hands.

However, the movie takes a slightly darker turn the moment EVE returns with specimen safely accounted for, the conspiracy to never return to Earth at all revealed.

It would appear that the Auto-pilot is simply following it's directive, too...but to much more desperate ends.

What IS inspiring is to see the Captain, previously portrayed as a bit of a layabout finally stepping up to his role, openly defying directive A113, forcing 'Auto's hand....and It's WALL-E who takes the brunt of it. The movie takes a tumble into the trash compactors, where EVE finally comes to grips with what is actually more important to her, namely the critically damaged WALL-E...who curiously is desperately trying to get EVE to see something:

Earth.

Repairs could be made on Earth!

It was strange to think that something seemingly simple as a movie could create such a strong reaction in someone, Tobias' gaze turning somewhat steely....Ooooh, the damage he could do if here were there right now...

Thankfully though, he manages to dredge himself out of his flicker of righteous indignation, wondering how Grace must feel at his moment in the movie.

Tobias blinks, admittedly not ready for such a vehement reaction, one of his hands gently reaching out to squeeze her hand after she'd wiped the tears from her eyes, it a gesture of thorough reassurance.

It would get better. It always did.

The movie continues to play out, both Captain and rogue robots working together to out-wit Auto, who seems to be throwing everything in it's power against the protagonists...Well, that is until the protagonists throw a malfunctioning massage bot at the enemy. The Captain manages to fool Auto, allowing him to raise the specimen pod for EVE and WALL-E, however things swing back and forth, the entire ship yawing wildly, creating further havoc.

A flicker of anxiousness flares in Tobias' mind as WALL-E battles to keep the pod raised, Auto in the meantime doing what it can to further add more power and lower it.. Eventually, as if WALL-E hadn't endured enough, the final act of deploying a taser against the button on the bridge crushes the poor bot, much to both EVE...and likely Grace's dismay.

However, as the Captain finds his metaphorical, and physical feet, scrapping it out with the wayward ship's wheel, it was hard not to feel a newfound pride for Humanity finally getting it's act together and doing what was right.

Auto is rather demeaningly removed from the situation with the flick of a switch, however WALL-E looks to be out of commission as the Axiom races back to Earth, EVE pleading for her Beau to hang on just a little longer.

Help, was barely ten seconds away.

The Axiom lands with incredible fanfare, knocking over a spire of garbage, kicking up plumes of dust, the landing doors opening and the people aboard the Axiom likely taking their first steps on Earth, the planet in dire need of their help.

Speaking of dire need, EVE immediately blows past, heading for WALL-E's truck and the dire hope that she could fix him.

Swiftly entering and moving to repair her mangled Beau, she actually shoots a hole in the roof to immediately provide WALL-E solar energy to recharge from, waiting, and watching nervously...as WALL-E comes back online....

...but not as she'd hoped.

He seems devoid of personality, lost, as if not himself. Unresponsive.

As she tries various methods to make him remember, both her, and perhaps who he's supposed to be, it appears that WALL-E, as he was...is gone. The evidence in the fact that the circuit board she'd replaced the damaged on with seems to have nothing on it. No cheerful song. Nothing.

Tobias sighs with pathos for poor EVE, her best efforts apparently not enough to save those she cared for. For one, last time, she gently interlaces their hands, and offers him a parting 'kiss', moving to turn away...

...Which ends rather abruptly when she finds herself stuck. Looking down, she watches as WALL-E's manipulator slowly responds, clasping around her hand, the cameras of his face shifting, adjusting, focussing before going through what was apparently his trademark diagnostic movements.

Hope flares again, bringing a gentle smile to Tobi's face, as finally, WALL-E responds with a ponderous,

"Eeeva?"

Admittedly, Tobias had been feeling just as gleeful to see the protagonist...until he'd been caught off-guard by a wing smacking him in the side, and ergo the back of the head. With a startled noise, he topples over in shock, but can't help himself, gently laughing at the realisation that Grace had been so caught up in the moment that she'd forgotten herself to some extent, thwapping him with a wing.

He manages to wave a dismissive hand in her direction, nodding as he rights himself, smiling all the while,

"I'm fine, I'm fine. My skull's made of titanium after all. You'd need to throw a bus at it to do any damage."

He then smiles to her, nodding to the movie as the credits roll, a curious take on modern hieroglyphics playing out as the new human civilisation learns to farm, take care of the planet and generally do a better job of staying healthy,

"So, I take it that movie was a little more fun?" He asks, his expression still entirely mirthful, as if him taking a wing to the side of the head had actually been the most delightful thing he'd ever experienced.

With a gentle nod, he finds himself reclining again, almost feeling as though he'd managed to make up for the previous movie selection yesterday. At her faint smile, however, he can't help but smile in kind, adding "Glad to hear it."

Truthfully, he'd somewhat lost a good deal of his care for the movie at this stage, more concerned with the thoroughly fetching way she seemed to inadvertently advertise just how pretty she was. Not so much in a glamorous manner, but in a more down-to-earth, but equally stunning way. It was a more natural beauty that didn't need to be dressed up in order to shine...though, he had to admit, yesterday she'd taken more than a few of his breaths away. Gently diverting his eyes elsewhere lest he seem like a creep, he moves a hand to pause the movie, then returns his glowing gaze to her and inquires,

"So....now what? Did you want to try a bit of target practice?"

Tobi watches...again somewhat bashfully as Grace rolls her shoulders, stretches and checks the movement of her left arm, it causing all manner of fetching movements and displays from her shoulder and back musculature which he had a hard time forgetting. God, it was like she didn't even know....

Collecting his composure again, Tobias follows, curious to see just what was in the big, black case, blinking in surprise as what emerges is actually quite a complicated-looking compound hunting bow. He lets fly with a soft whistle of clear approval,

"Wow, that's a nice bow! I mean, I can't say I know archery equipment all that well but...it certainly looks nice!"

As she hitches the quiver to her belt, there appears a curious juxtaposition between soft and feminine appearances thanks to her choice of dress that morning, and the decidedly more martial, disciplined nature of her holding what could be considered a lethal weapon with decided comfort. He rounds up the bottles, leading them outside and peers about, wondering just where they could set them up. On one side of the yard, there exists a retaining wall which sits at about chest height, perfect for a bit of target work, Tobi gesturing to it and asking,

"Will that do? GUARDIAN didn't really upload anything in regard to archery, so you're officially the expert here."

Tobias nods at that, moving to the retaining wall on the other side of the yard to set up the bottles in a fairly narrow profile, occasionally looking back to make sure that Grace had a clear line of sight from where she intended to stand, to the targets ranked up on the retaining wall. Satisfied with his efforts, he trudges his way back to Grace and nods, gesturing to the targets,

"Alright, that should probably do. If you need me to move anything, sing out. Though in the meantime? I'm gonna stand out of the way so I don't wind up in the firing line."

With that, he smiles, more than confident that even IF he were in the line of fire she wouldn't hit him, perhaps banking on the fact she had far greater skill than her demurity might suggest. He stands to one side and slightly behind her, but at an angle where he could watch her firing technique, GUARDIAN subliminally as interested as Tobias was. After all, this was combat information, and new information was always useful.

If only she could see this sort of thing the way Tobias did. While it was a matter-of-fact action for her, most likely, GUARDIAN had begun analysing body mechanics, ballistic trajectory, tracking and pathing everything from the moment she let fly with the arrow. It was an veritable orchestra, a ballet of skill to watch her draw back, shoulders and arms flexing with flattering strength, a moment's concentration where GUARDIAN automatically predicted firing arc and force loading, before she loosed, watching as the predicted arc is followed perfectly.

On the other side, the bottle is speared through perfectly, square in the middle...and for the life of him, Tobias has to raise his hands to applaud....though that's after he's finished feeling slightly warm and fuzzy inside thanks to Grace calling him by his nickname...before he shook himself out of it and blinked, recalling how WALL-E had reacted to EVE speaking his name.

He finally brings his hands up to applaud, smiling with vehement appreciation and utters,

"I really wish you could see that the way I did. It was poetry."

Tobias, not ignorant to the ways of the nature of ballistics to say the least watched as the arrow Grace had loosed flew in an elegant arc, something far more graceful than the motions of a javelin maestro. it sailed, through air and intention, vanishing amid the torrent of effort that was the release of Grace's arrow into the air, it singing with skill and effort toward it's target.

And with an accuracy that she might've not known beforehand, she strikes the target she'd been intending to hit, perfectly, no less. The shot she'd launched had struck home on the bottle she'd targeted with inhuman accuracy, it leaping into the air with a multitude of spins, before politely tumbling to the ground from it's perch with a gentle clatter, the sound an almost pathetic handshake of congratulations compared to the deployment of dexterity required to make the shot a reality.

Tobias in the meantime can only be further impressed, watching as what was once a wine bottle of Moet and Chandon topples into the grass just in front of the retaining wall, Tobias sighing before bringing his hands to clap with thoroughly honest inflection, nodding, and commenting with,

"I have a newfound respect for Nick, bearing in mind what he did...I mean, I know you'd never hit the guy....but Damn, that must've been a hell of a shot!"

Tobias blinks in surprise at her suggestion. It would be interesting to see...and for the most part, any injury he might sustain would be little more than a glancing graze. A smile slowly crosses his face as he glances back toward the house, then to Grace, before uttering,

"Gimme a sec. If we're going to the trouble of something like this, may as well go the whole way with it."

He quickly pads his way to the house, collecting an apple from the bowl in the kitchen before returning at the speed of a lazy jog, moving to stand where the bottles had been standing, before pointedly setting the apple on his head and placing his hands behind his back, standing still as he calls out

"Alright, Miss 'Tell'. Take the shot when you're ready."

With that, he takes a deep breath, and readies himself to ignore every single ounce of survival instinct he has which would presently scream that standing in the way of a drawn bow was a colossally bad idea and should be avoided at all costs.

As Grace nods, and then nocks the arrow and readies to fire, Tobias felt strangely calm. Perhaps it was due to the fact his skull was now constructed from reinforced titanium alloy and any lethality associated with a maneuver like this was pretty-well null and void. Perhaps it was the fact her arrow was rubber-tipped, again removing the chance for him to be seriously injured...

...Or perhaps, it was a significant showing of trust in Grace's abilities as an archer. Whatever the case, the fact that he had willingly submitted to standing in harm's way says a lot about Tobi's confidence in her ability, a shining compliment if there ever was one. As she draws the bow string back, a series of warnings appear in Tobi's vision, indicating that the predicted trajectory of the loaded projectile staring him down had a significant chance of hitting him. Evasive action was highly recommended.

As the arrow is loosed, the world seems to drag into the depths of slow motion, his eyes actually able to follow the arrow's path through the air, watching as the shaft wobbles and flexes, the way the arrow spins through the air, drawing closer and closer to his face...

*FTHUNK*

The apple atop his head suddenly lifted from his scalp and thudded into the grass, partially impaled by Grace's arrow. Seeming as though he were coming back to reality, or in fact out of his hyper-focussed state, he reaches a hand up to wipe a few chunks of apple out of his hair and chuckles,

"Well, I can officially cross that off the bucket list. I'm sure you're probably used to hearing this by now, but: nice shot!"

Tobias crouches and picks up the impaled apple, chuckling gently as he spins it in his fingers via the arrow shaft, if looking like some soft of demented toffee apple. He plods his way back to her, nodding in gentle agreement, turning to observe the targets once he's at Grace's side.

"Yeeeeah, I can't see much productive target practice getting done if I'm standing in the way. And you may as well finish them off. I mean, we went to the trouble of setting them up, right?"

He smiles gently, folds his arms again, then gestures to girl and bow alike with the impaled apple,

"That, and it's actually quite fascinating to watch you shoot. I mean, I've watched archery competitions on TV, what with the Olympics and all, but to see it first-hand is really interesting...though not quite as interesting as being on the receiving end, mind you."

This admission of his causes him to smile gently, somewhat bashfully scrubbing the back of his neck, again his cheeks taking on a slightly luminous quality. His words weren't a idle compliment either. Seeing Grace come into her own as she did with a bow in hand was a thorough delight, her confidence as a person seeming to ebb through at just the right moments to make Tobias sit up and take notice. That and she'd shot an apple off his head. He had to admit, that was kinda hot.

However, what he was unaware of was the fact that Grace wouldn't be the only person being put through their paces today. Discussions between the three chief staff involved with Tobi's surgery now bounced back and forth the idea of seeing just how physically capable he could be. With Alan's suggestion of using the barbells in the garage as a starting point to test his strength, it seemed a sort of plan was starting to form....

Tobias watched with rapt fascination as Grace unwound a bit, letting fly with two shots in rapid succession, her drawing action remarkably precise and effortless, before upping the ante with a 'trick shot' of two arrows let fly at once. He raises an eyebrow as she tilts the bow vaguely sideways, watching as she draws, then releases a shot admittedly he'd not pay much attention to.

The moment she'd let fly, the bow string had slapped against the inside of her forearm, Tobias instantly wincing at the sound of it, as well as her yelp of distress. He immediately turns to check to see if she's alright, peering at her as she reveals a rather painful-looking welt just below her inner elbow.

"Hold on a tic. Lemme grab some ice for that." He says gently, quickly jogging to the house to place some ice in a resealable bag, before returning with it and gesturing to take her hand for a moment. If she agrees, he'd turn her arm over, welt facing upwards to gently apply the ice, smiling as he nods over a shoulder,

"You still managed to tag both targets. Like to see those Olympic archers pull of a trick shot like [i]that[/i]." He'd lift the bag of ice after a moment, sighing as he examines the mottled welt on her forearm, smiling "We need to get you a guard for your forearm or something. Do they make anything like that for archers?"

As Grace rather briskly chides herself, Tobias can only find himself gently shaking his head, a statement of disagreement as he continued to apply the ice gingerly to her forearm,

"No, you were just trying something new. Thing about trying out new techniques is that often you make mistakes. But that's okay, because that's how you learn to improve. I mean, if it's a life and death situation, yes, making mistakes can cause problems...but you shouldn't be afraid of trying new things in a safe environment because you might make a mistake. That's what practice is [i]for[/i]."

He smiles, lifting the bag of ice to inspect the welt on her forearm, the skin now reddened thanks to the cold compress, but it appears that there's not broken skin, and the swelling has reduced rather considerably, much like that of Grace's momentary outburst of self-chiding.

Such a thing seemed entirely unlike her, Tobias for a moment wondering if perhaps she'd picked up this attitude from someone else. Still, he manages to peer over a shoulder, both cans now utterly ruined by the efforts of Grace's arrows,

"And hey, you DID get both targets. I'd call that a 'win'."

Tobias gently shook his head again, smiling to her and retorting with,

"You don't have to kill or hurt anyone if you don't want to. Sure, I could say that the people I presume you're training to shoot at have it coming, I could say that they've earned it for all the other people they've hurt, or will hurt.

The fact is, Grace, you always have a choice as to whether you take a life or not, and whether you use your skills to nurture or harm. I mean, take a look at this situation right now. My hands are essentially designed to hurt people. The augmentations I've been implanted with were originally designed for combat purposes...but in the end, I make the choice as to who gets a helping hand and who gets an ass-whooping. And I certainly make the decision as to whether or not I kill someone."

He smiles, his gaze flicking down to his hands ever so kindly helping her with her welt, then back to her eyes again,

"I know I haven't really done much of this 'hero' stuff, but I like to think that we're the ones in control. We make the choices."

He huffs a soft chuckle and smiles to her again, his expression turning somewhat wry,

"And that's my 'Captain America' moment for the day."

Tobias, seeing the water-filled bag starting to shed it's contents, gently removes it and nods, sighing gently. Here was someone who'd never had to defend themselves from another human being in their lives, thrown into the deep end of animosity and cruelty that the world beyond constantly harboured. Grace's favorite pass time was now as much a martial discipline as it was a hobby. To have the sheen of something taken away from something that was once so very enjoyable...well, Tobi couldn't even begin to fathom what that was like.

He finds himself sighing, setting the watery bag down and nodding gently,

"I know, and it sucks, because just now I saw how much you enjoy archery, how much joy it brings you. It's gotta be brutal to need to turn that toward hurting people, just because you have to in order to survive...And believe me, I know just how hard a lesson that can be. After all, the moment I woke up into a vaguely healthy state of being, someone tried to kill me, too. But..."

He glances over a shoulder, reminded of Wren and Nick, the larger than life personalities that only a day ago were filling the previously empty house, giving it life.

"I know it's hard...and I know it's difficult to watch your favorite hobby suddenly turn into a matter of life or death....but I know if you went home, a lot of people would be real sad that you did, me most certainly included in that number...and I've only really known you a couple of days."

Tobias, perhaps bravely moves to bring his arms gingerly around Grace's shoulders, embracing her before uttering,

"Though....though maybe we can sorta figure this out together, huh? I mean, I hate to think it's gotta be this way, but you're certainly not alone in it. I've gotta deal with the same problem...and as you said, I don't get to put my weapons away at the end of the day."

Tobias nodded at that, their embrace lingering for a comfortable moment as he utters,

"Yeah, yeah I am. And so are you. We've both had our situations turned on their ear...but that doesn't mean we've gotta sacrifice who we are."

Eventually, he takes his arms back, though leaving a hand to rest on her shoulder for a moment longer, smiling at her, his luminous eyes lowering to meet hers. A mirthful flicker of mischief flashes across his face as his smile subtly changes to reflect such, adding,

"And I gotta say, you shooting that apple off my head...was probably the most exhilarating thing I've ever done. Just sayin'."

It would seem that their embrace had ended with fortuitous timing, as no sooner as he'd finished speaking, Dr. Wishart, Dr. Price and Aban all emerge into the kitchen, chatting with wildly excited tones in their voices, before halting at the pool deck, all of them abreast as they apparently were waiting for whatever Tobi and Grace were doing to finish so they could talk. With a blink and a curious glance at the trio, Tobias arches a brow and glances back to Grace

"This looks like it's gonna be interesting..."

As Alan approaches first, smiling as disarmingly as he can, Tobias manages to smile a little, answering Grace's question with a conspiratorial mutter,

"Me? I was fine. I knew you had that shot in the bag. GUARDIAN was having a freaking conniption, though. Guess he's not really big on the whole 'fun' thing."

Dr. Wishart came to a halt at a reasonably friendly distance, smiling, but noting her stern grip on her bow,

"No need to be alarmed, Grace. We're not here to do any more work. Tobias has been through more than enough surgery to last him a lifetime."

Tobias, knowing he wasn't in any sort of danger simply smirked, arched a brow and added,

"Buuuuut?"

At that, Alan nodded, cleared his throat and made with a slightly nervous glance, as if what he was about to ask was...perhaps somewhat awkward of him? He flicked a gaze behind him, Catherine making a gesture for him to speak up, as Tobias' father nodded and spoke,

"We wanted to try and do a rough test of your strength to see just how effective your modifications had been. I can promise that it won't be invasive, it's just going to involve a bit of heavy lifting. You can more than gladly tell us 'no' if you want to, but from a medical standpoint it would be interesting to see..."

Tobias gently raised a hand to smile at his dad and chuckle,

"It's okay, dad. I kinda wanted to figure that out myself, in all honesty. Haven't really had a chance to be put through my paces since the attack."

His gaze swings to Grace, a bit of a smile crossing Tobi's face as he nods and asks,

"What do you say, Grace? Ready to take a break and watch [i]me[/i] practice for a little bit?"

Tobias blinks at Grace's reaction to his mention of GUARDIAN, but immediately figures that she didn't know. Alan looked just as confused, thankfully Tobi clarifying by tapping the side of his head with a finger and adding,

"She doesn't know about GUARDIAN."

Alan simply made with an 'aaah' expression as she returned, Aban in the background having vanished in the meantime, was now returning with what looked to be a weightlifting bar and disk weights, setting them out on the deck as he and Catherine muttered, perhaps to the effect of wondering if all three hundred and thirty pounds worth of weights would be too much.

Tobi could only bring himself to grin, knowing full-well what he'd done the day of the attack. Three hundred and thirty pounds would be a drop in the bucket.

Alan and Tobi both watch as the weights are set up, Aban first adding about half the weights present, Tobias shaking his head in response and calling out,

"Tell you what, Aban: throw it all on there. I'm feeling brave."

Before returning to explain to Grace,

"GUARDIAN's a backup AI protocol installed on my brain. He's pretty basic, like a computer BIOS and about as interesting as watching paint dry, but if I get knocked unconscious, he takes over 'keeping Tobias alive' duties until I can be roused from my stupor. He's also responsible for probably the ninety-eight percent of the combat knowledge I have in my brain right now...the other two percent was the result of too much gaming."

He smiles wryly at Grace in that regard, as Aban finishes loading up ALL the weights onto the barbells, Tobias padding over to regard the lift thoughtfully. The Omani engineer raises both hands and offers,

"If it's too heavy, there's no need to stress yourself. I mean, I know you're big but that's a LOT of weight, Tobias...So...are you ready?"

Tobi gently arched down to set a single hand on the bar, lifting his gaze to Aban, a remarkably confident smile on his face as he retorted with,

"Are [i]you[/i]?"

Tobias wasn't necessarily being cocky, but he knew full-well that three hundred pounds wouldn't be enough to stress him. Far from it, in fact. However, he'd play the game for now, if only by his rules. Curiously, it appears that Brian, the slime-ball neighbor had also started paying attention, having heard the sound of familiar equipment being moved. He'd initially scoffed at Tobias' over-eagerness. Olympic weight lifters couldn't handle that much at the best of times. Sure, the previously wheelchair-bound, weedy kid next door was all buff now, but this? This would break him.

Glancing between Catherine and Aban, he pauses for effect, a single hand on the barbells before with all the effort it took for a regular person to pick up a half a gallon of milk from the floor, Tobi hefts the three hundred and thirty pound barbell up like it provided absolutely no stress on his muscles at all...and all of that on ONE hand. Safe to say, Aban and Catherine are dumbstruck, Tobias at one point flinging the weights into the air and catching them, a single brow lofting as he sets the barbell back onto the pool deck gently, not wanting to be so brash as to drop them...and potentially crack the concrete beneath his feet.

With stunned gazes, including that from Alan, Catherine blinks, gapes slightly and exclaims,

"We're going to need more weight..."

At Catherine's dumbfounded suggestion, Tobias raises a hand interjecting with,

"Guys, I'm aware we're all excited to see exactly what might be possible with my level of cybernetic augmentation, but pointing at random heavy stuff and telling me to lift it doesn't sound very scientific to me."

Alan had nodded in agreement, adding,

"He DOES have a good point. I mean, that demonstration is tantalizing evidence, but until we can appropriately and accurately measure his strength, anything we do here is entirely subjective. Besides, we're here to examine the results of the surgery and possible implications for medical use...and for that we have all the information we need."

Admittedly, Doctor Wishart's concern was not only for Tobias' safety, but also wondering as to just what would be the next subject of Tobias' man-handling. His car? The box truck still parked outside? Neither of them were what could be considered a 'safe' increment, though, he had to admit he was curious...

Tobias in the meantime starts to come to grips with exactly how strong he could potentially be, gazing at his hand with a wide-eyed expression. Sure, he'd basically thrown a giant robot several days before, but that had been done in a state of desperation. This was a controlled, concerted and conscious effort...and little effort at that. His gaze swings to Grace as he realises that without proper control, he could do her significant harm. And yet, every time he'd laid a hand on her, he'd been nothing if not kindly and incredibly gentle...

Maybe there was something to that.

As the two doctors and one engineer filter back into the house, the demonstration a tantalising snippet of potential, their conversation continues, though before she departs, Doctor Price furrows her brow thoughtfully, her eyes levelled on Grace, then swinging to Tobias before a gentle smile crosses her lips. She'd read reports about how increased dopamine levels could aid with motor neurone regeneration...Perhaps the young lady's presence was doing more for Tobias than she thought it was...thought that would also indicate some manner of connection between the two of them...

With a blink, she turns and follows her colleagues, leaving Tobias out on the pool deck, calling back with a,

"Yeah, no problem guys. I'll just put all these weights back..."

With a sigh, he shakes his head, his luminous eyes finding Grace's as he intones drolly,

"[i]Doctors[/i], am I right?"

Tobias would watch as the group finally vanished from view, though not before Doctor Price paused to peer at them both with speculation written upon her face, before she followed suit, leaving the two, younger occupants of the house to their own devices once more. With a sigh, Tobi picked up the barbell again, casually hefting it onto a shoulder despite it's colossal weight, Brian next door having been watching, now utterly agog as Tobias now seemed entirely in the realms of super-human. The grating neighbor would finally slink away to do something more productive with his time...or something.

With the weight equipment still on his shoulder, Tobi turns to Grace and asks rather calmly

"Alright so...what did you want to do, now? I mean, we could watch another movie, hang out and talk a little while...." he pauses to glance back, into the house, then swings his gaze to her again, "Basically, anything that would involve the two of us would be worlds better than submitting to a scientific poking and prodding..."

Tobias dutifully nodded, much as he always did, padding inside to put the weights away inside the garage, again setting them down as gently as he could as to not cause too much of a ruckus, before returning outside to assist Grace with the shade umbrella that sat at the far end of the pool. Currently folded downward, it takes all of a gesture for Grace to take a few steps back, before he crouches down and rather effortlessly opens the umbrella, restoring some much needed shade to the heat of the pool deck.

He adjusts it, raising the umbrella to the point where it allows for a greater deal of comfort, then checks the reclining pool chairs over for any sort of thing that may have made a home in them recently, thankfully finding nothing to worry about. He dusts off his hands, nodding to Grace and then offers,

"Sandwich for lunch, then? I can't say I'm really an expert chef bearing in mind that required a lot of standing back in the bad, old days...but I know how to make a good sandwich!" There's a jovial chuckle at his mention of such, smiling to her, his ease of character having returned the moment the air was no longer clouded by the influence of others looking to poke, prod, test and analyse.

Tobias nods at that, smiling before offering,

"Don't worry. I got this."

That statement may or may not inspire a good deal of confidence as he makes his way back to the kitchen, opening both doors of the fridge, peering into it...before going to work. Bread is laid out, meet and other foodstuffs added as lunch begins to take shape. Occasionally, Tobias would pause, watching as Grace gently came to drape her legs into the pool, a gentle smile crossing his face at the touching scene, her wings, even the one which had been bound for it to heal glimmered brightly in the midday sun. Not to mention the fact that again he was reminded of how unwittingly shapely she was. He as to shake his head to snap out of his reverie to continue making lunch, a gentle glow on his face as he continues to work.

After a little while, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, he returns with a basket looped over one arm, likely filled with pastries leftover from breakfast, as well as a flask of tea. Though this isn't the focus, all told.

In his hands are two very contrasting sandwiches, one clearly Grace's, the other clearly Tobias' in it's almost ham-fisted nature. Grace's sandwich seems to be a dainty contrast of ham, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, as well as mayo and good, old-fashioned American mustard. Tobias however has a gargantuan monstrosity of several different kinds of meats, multiple sauces, several pieces of bacon...and some lettuce and tomato as an afterthought. With a proud smile, he hands Grace her plate, intoning,

"Here we go. One catch-all ham and salad for the lady...and a Noah's Ark special for yours truly."

Tobias chuckles and nods as she'd figured out his jest, smiling as he comes to take a seat beside her at the pool's edge. For a moment he allows her time to let her laughter subside, which was good, as he also needed time to gather his composure as her mirthful giggling had admittedly done him quite a number. It were almost as if she had no idea how pretty she was even at the worst of times...a fascinating, and thoroughly endearing quality. He waits until the heat in his face subsides some, then gestures to his sandwich and then to himself,

"Well, I apparently HAVE to in order to keep this thing fed and running! And you can't fault me. It does have salad on it...somewhere..."

He peers at the contents of his sandwich, attempting to locate said salad, before nodding and taking a hefty bite, sighing contentedly, an almost stunned expression on his face, uttering,

"That sandwich, though...."

Before managing to heave back the mouthful of food he'd bitten off and sighing, the wondrous feeling of nourishment almost as good as the unseasonably warm day and the warmer company. He'd wait until she was done with the flask before having a swig himself, everything about this meal, above all others seeming to be entirely more nourishing than he'd banked on. Though he highly suspected that Grace's presence was the reason. How could it NOT be?

At the front of the house, Alan quietly closes the door, and begins gently unwrapping his package...only to smile, chuckle and shake his head with mirth. Sitting in his hands was a bright blue mug, white lettering proudly proclaiming,

"Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

He makes his way back to interject in the conversation for just a moment, adding,

"Thank you, Wren. I'll put this to good use. Immediately, actually. I was just about to grab myself another cup of coffee."

With that, he disappears, leaving the three youngsters to their conversation, as Tobias sits down as obliged, opening packages here and there, his reactions ranging from nods of approval, especially at the Converse All Stars emblazoned with the periodic table of elements, to outright laughter when he unwraps the "Go home, evolution. You're drunk" t-shirt with the image of a platypus between the text. He obligingly shows Grace exactly what was so funny, it likely more than a gentle jab at the deviated genetic structures that had caused him to fall ill. There's also a swathe of other shirts and pants that was direly needed...unless of course he [i]wanted[/i] to wear shirts that were about six sizes too small.

As Wren sets about explaining the situation in detail, Tobias nods, then frowns thoughtfully as she makes mention that the young lady was capable of altering the properties of metals.

"So...I should go easy on the friendly hazing unless I want to find my skeleton oozing out my toes, then..."