*Earth – Underground Training Facility*

I stood in the ring across, from John, getting my hands wrapped by Sarah. She was talking to me while she was wrapping, “Now I know you have some experience in street fighting, but this isn’t a street fight and he isn’t just some normal thug. He is a professionally trained assassin and he will most likely give you a beating. He won’t kill you though, so you don’t have to worry about that at least.” I smiled at the advice, but I didn’t say anything. She finished wrapping my hands and then stepped out of the ring.

I stood in my corner looking at John standing opposite of me. He was around the same height as me and we looked like we had the same build. I was eager to check out the strength of my new body. Thinking of all the thugs I had given a beating over the years with my small frame I smiled. John noticed it and sneered, “What are you smiling about kid?” I answered him, “Nothing, I was just wondering about whether or not I would need to pay your medical bills after this.”

The small crowd that was starting to gather laughed and Sarah facepalmed. John laughed as well,

“You won’t have to worry about my medical bills. Hell you won’t even have to worry about yours, even though they will be significantly higher than mine.” I didn’t say anything else and just stood there waiting. I wasn’t being cocky or anything I just get that kind of attitude when I am under stress and pressure. That and I am sometimes sarcastic by nature.

I saw John take a stance so I did the same. Sarah said a couple of rules and stuff basically saying no eye gouges and no nut shots. After she finished speaking she said fight and blew an alarm went off in the gym. John was the first to move; he walked quickly towards me and made a jab with his left to my face. I moved my arms up in a cross to block the punch, but I was greeted with pain in my stomach. I looked down and noticed that he had punched me in the gut with his right hand.

His punch was extremely strong and it didn’t help that I wasn’t expecting it at all. The normal thugs on the street wouldn’t think of using a feint in a fight. They would normally just go balls deep and not think about anything. I stepped back a few feet trying not to grab at my gut which still hurt like hell. I glared at John who was just sneering from behind his guard. It honestly was starting to tick me off how cocky he was. Granted he does have the right to be that way, it doesn’t mean it can’t piss me off.

I made a move this time and stepped in while throwing a quick jab with my left as well. John blocked the jab with one arm while stepping in and giving me a hook with his left. I saw his fist coming towards my face and I didn’t have time to dodge it. It felt like I was hit in the face with a brick and my head was jerked to the left. I stumbled a few steps before righting myself and stopping another punch aimed at my kidneys.

I grabbed his left arm before he connected with my kidneys and then pulled him towards me. He had a little bit of shock on his face, but it quickly disappeared. When he was close enough to me I gave him a head-butt to the face. He stumbled back a few feet grabbing his face with his left hand. There were a lot of angry voices from the crowed, but Sarah calmed them down saying a head-butt wasn’t against the rules.

John spit out a little blood and then sneered at me, “Not bad kid, you may just make a good trainee after all.” After he got done speaking he got back into his stance and then rushed at me. I was already back mine and I was able to see the kick coming from his right leg. I put an arm up to block it and immediately regretted it. It felt like I blocked a metal baseball bat with my arm, I gritted my teeth and was cursing myself. That is definitely going to leave a bruise.

Not wasting any more time I wrapped my arm around his leg and then tried to drop my right elbow down on his knee. John noticed the move and did something I wasn’t expecting. He spun his body to the left bringing his left leg out from under him and heading straight for my face. I was able to notice it, but I wasn’t able to react in time and I got a full twelve and a half right to the side of my head. My vision went fuzzy and I fell to the ground, I hit the ground hard and let out a groan.

Unlike a normal thug John didn’t take advantage of this, instead he stepped back and spoke, “I’m surprised you didn’t pass out directly from my kick, but it is a good thing for me.” He sneered and then continued, “It just means I get to wail on you a bit more.” I gritted my teeth and got up from the ground. I got back in my stance trying to fight the dizziness. I shook my head trying to clear it up and it helped a little bit.

John sneered and rushed at me again, he threw out a few jabs and I was able to block a couple. The ones that I wasn’t able to block hit me in a couple of places, mainly the face and my gut. After the jabs he through a straight at me and I went to block it. I moved my arm in front of the punch and when it connected with my arm I hear a loud crack and pain went through my entire arm. I clench my teeth trying not to scream out.

I tried not using my left arm and started to favor my right for my jabs. After a few jabs, with my right, I found out how hard it was to use a non-dominate hand in a fight. Usually you jab with your non-dominate arm and throw straights with your dominate one, but know I was trying to do both with my dominate arm. I gritted my teeth and threw a kick to his temple with my right leg and he blocked it and caught it in the same manner that I did. I knew what was coming next, but I didn’t know how to do what he did. I watched in horror as the elbow came down on my knee.

I felt a pain spread throughout my leg and fell to the ground after he let me go. I was clutching my knee while trying not to move my left arm. I was gritting my teeth hard enough that they were starting to hurt and after a minute I finally let out a small yell in pain. An alarm went off and Sarah jumped in the ring. She ran over too me and knelt down, “Are you okay?” I spoke through gritted teeth, “Yeah I am fine, I just got my ass handed to me by a one eyed robot.”

She smiled at my attempt at humor before speaking, “Yeah, but it isn’t the end of the world. Right now I need to take you to our infirmary to get you checked out. Can you walk at all?” I nodded my hand and used my right arm to prop myself up. Sarah helped me get up and I limped over to a stretcher that was waiting. I cringed and then sat on the stretcher letting them take me away.  The guy pulling the stretcher asked me where I could feel any pain at so I told him, “Well I think my left arm is fracture or broken and my knee bent in a direction that it shouldn’t normally bend.”

He nodded his head and wrote something down on a notepad. After a few minutes we arrived at the infirmary and I was moved to a bed. A doctor came in and started to poke and prod on me. Every time he moved my leg it would send a wave of pain through me, so he gave me a shot of something. After a few minutes I felt myself drifting off to sleep. The last thing I saw was Sarah standing beside the bed and John leaning against the door frame.

I came back to consciousness and found myself lying in the same bed. I looked around the room and didn’t see anyone there. I tried to sit up and when I did I noticed that my arm didn’t hurt and my leg felt fine. I was stunned and spoke out loud, “What the fuck? How long was I out for?” When I spoke out the door to the room opened and the doctor walked in. He noticed me awake and then yelled out in the hallway, “He is awake!”

After that he came in the room followed quickly by Sarah and some woman I hadn’t met yet. The new woman was a little on the tall side and had blonde hair put up in a ponytail. She wore glasses and had a lab coat on. The doctor from before spoke to me, “How do you feel? Does anything hurt anymore?” I looked over at him and shook my head. The lady in the lab coat wrote something down on her pad and then spoke, “Can you move your right leg?”

I was wondering what the hell was going on, but I did as she told me. I bent my leg as far as it would go and she wrote something else on her pad before speaking, “What about standing?” She looked at the doctor who nodded and pulled out the IV that was in my arm. I proceeded to get up out of the bed. When I fully stood up I noticed that I was in a patient’s gown again. Why the hell did they have to strip me?

When she noticed me standing she spoke again, “Do a couple of squats if you can, but if you feel any pain at all stop and lay back down. I didn’t know what she was doing, but I did what she wanted me to. After a few squats she told me to stop and sit back on the bed. I did as she was told and after she wrote a few more things she looked at me. She just stood there staring at me for a full five minutes before I couldn’t stand it anymore. I finally decided to speak, “Can someone tell me what is going on?”

Sarah started to open her mouth, but the lady in the lab coat spoke first, “Sorry for being rude, but I just needed to verify everything that I was told. My name is Samantha Green and I am the head medical expert for the company.” She walked over and reached her hand out. I took it and we shook hands for a second. I spoke again, “Hello Miss Green, you can call me Caelum; I have no last name.” She smiled and nodded her head before stepping back.

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She stared at me again for a minute before speaking again, “The reason I am hear Mr. Caelum is because of the fact that you are healed.” I nodded my head and spoke, “I noticed that. How long did they keep me out for, a few weeks a month?” Samantha looked at Sarah and then back at me before speaking, “No you have only been out for a maximum of thirty six hours.” Hearing her speak I was shocked, “I think I heard you wrong so I was out for thirty six days?” She shook her head, “No, you heard me right; you were out for thirty six hours.”

I was extremely shocked, “How is that possible? I shouldn’t be fully healed in thirty six hours.” She shook her head, “We don’t know either and that is what we want to find out. We took you in for some x-rays when we got here and after the first one, we noticed that on the second one the crack in your bone had gotten smaller by a little bit. By the time we got done with the x-rays the crack in your left arm was almost gone.” I was getting more and more surprised as she spoke.

She stopped speaking for a second before she continued; “Now the tendon that was over stretched and the knee cap that was shattered took a little longer than the arm did. After a few hours though we couldn’t find any trace of it being shattered.” My knee cap was shattered? Did that mother fucker wanted to fucking cripple me or something!? I was starting to get mad and Sarah noticed it.

She saw me getting angry and started to speak; “Now before you get pissed at John he didn’t mean to do it. He got caught up in your fight and went a little overboard. You are the first new person to last that long in hand to hand combat with him. Hell the last person who was able to land a hit on him and make him bleed was our leader.” Hearing how I made him bleed made me feel a little better, but I didn’t really forgive him. Hell, if it wasn’t for the fact that I could apparently heal really fast I wouldn’t be able to walk without a limp, even with a new knee.

I pushed that matter to the side and focused on what was going on right now. I looked at Samantha and spoke, “So, what exactly is going on with me?” She looked a little conflicted before she spoke, “We honestly don’t know. All we do know is that your body’s repair functions are working at a speed way faster than any human I have seen.” I sighed in my heart. It really isn’t a bad thing to heal really quickly, but it would be nice to know why it was happening.

I spoke to her again, “Is there anything else you need from me Miss Green or can I go now?” She shook her head and smiled, “Just call me Sam and no you can go. Just let me examine you if you ever get hurt in the future.” I laughed before responding, “I don’t plan on getting hurt, but if I do and you are available you will be my first call.” She smiled and nodded her head before leaving the room.

The doctor handed me some papers, “These are your discharge papers. Now if you ever start to feel any pain please come back and see us immediately.” I nodded my head before leaving the room. I walked into the hallway and Sarah followed. After a few minutes of silence she spoke, “Well let me take you back to your room. We will start your training tomorrow morning.” I nodded and followed her back to my room. She said a few words before leaving to do something else. I admired the view as she left and then unlocked the door and walked in. I laid down on the bed and felt really tired for some reason. I soon fell asleep and entered a very nice dream.

I was awoken the next morning by a loud knocking on the door. I grumbled and then rolled over to see what time it was. The alarm on the table said it was five thirty in the morning. I groaned and then got out of the bed walking to the door. Whoever was there kept knocking so I hollered out, “I’m coming, I’m coming.” I made it to the door and opened it up. I was greeted with a splash of water to the face.

The water was very cold and woke me up instantly. I yelled out, “What the fuck!” I looked to see who the culprit was and I was greeted with a burly man in a camouflaged outfit. He stood eye level with me and looked like he hit the gym two times a day. He yelled at me, “It’s about time you maggot! I want you dressed and outside in five minutes!” I was shocked, but I have seen this in movies way to many times. I did what he said and rushed outside.

When I was outside I got a better look at the man who splashed me. He was African American and looked even buffer than I thought. He saw me coming and yelled at me again, “It’s about time! You’re late I want you to drop down and give me fifty!” I was startled and blurted out, “But you said five minutes and I made it out in three.” The man smiled and yelled again, “Make that one hundred maggot!” I cursed at myself and proceeded to do what he said.

I was cursing myself constantly during those pushups. It was nobody’s fault but my own that I was in this predicament. I was could feel my arms burning by the time I hit fifty pushups and when I got done with all of them I collapsed on the ground. I was excited though, before my body changed I couldn’t do more than thirty-five pushups in a row. I was greeted with some more yelling next to my ear, “Did I say you could lay down you sack of shit!?”

I immediately got up and looked at the man. He sneered and then yelled again, “Now we are going to go for a run shit stain! Let’s go!” He took off running and I ran after him. We ran past a few people and I was able to hear some chatter from them, “Oh shit. The newbie got the Sarge. I wonder who he pissed off.” I could see why they call him Sarge, but what does pissing someone off have to do with anything?

Needless to say I found out the hard way. After a ten mile run, one hundred suicides, twenty five snakes, five laps around an obstacle course, thirty laps in an Olympic sized pool, hurdles holding one hundred pounds above my head, and a lot more it was pretty obvious. I could barely walk after all of that and I was lying in the middle of one of the many training fields the company owned. The Sarge looked down at me, “That was a good first day pri, but tomorrow isn’t going to be any easier so get some rest.”

A while after he left I got up and trudged my way back to my room. I was cursing with every step I took. I made it back to my room after an hour of slow walking and laid down in the bed again. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was almost nine in the evening. Damn all of those exercises took all fucking day? I am surprised that my body was able to keep up with the training. After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling I fell asleep.

I was woken up by a knocking at the door again. I immediately got up and opened the door. I was once again greeted with the water. I got dressed and proceeded to run outside. I stopped for a minute and stood there in shock. Why doesn’t my body feel sore? I moved my legs and arms a bit and sure enough I didn’t feel any soreness. I was ecstatic; I ran out the building and found the Sarge waiting for me.

He sneered at me and then started yelling, “Let’s go maggot!” We quickly began our training for the day again. I collapsed on the ground again after the training was over with. The Sarge said a few words before leaving. I laid there for a few minutes before I got up and trudged over to my room again.

This training continued for the next two months. My alarm went off at five in the morning and I got dressed and made my way to the door. I saw the Sarge coming down the hall and I met him halfway. He smiled at me before speaking, “Well you have come a long way in these two months maggot, but today is the day we finally move on to some different training.” I was shocked at the new, but happy at the same time. I had just gotten used to this hellish training in the last two weeks and now it was going to change.

When he said this I saw Sarah coming up the hallway. I saw her and smiled. She smiled back and walked over to us. She greeted Sarge and then spoke to me, “Now that your physical training with Sarge is over it is time for some weapons training.” I was excited; I finally get to train with weapons. I had always liked guns and other weapons. I smiled at her again, “Who is my demon teacher this time?” Sarge laughed and then spoke, “You’re looking at her.”

My jaw almost hit the floor, “What?” Sarah laughed before speaking, “When I am not on mission I am actually the senior weapons trainer here at this facility.” Surprise was radiating through my body. I knew that this woman was potentially deadly, but I didn’t think she would be the weapons trainer. She saw my surprise and laughed, “More than just my looks are deadly you know.” After she said that she turned and walked back down the hallway giving me a wonderful view.

Sarge elbowed me in the side, “Better not get left behind, by the way you’re drooling.” I wiped at the nonexistent drool on my mouth, which brought a laugh from Sarge. I glared at him and then shook my head before following behind Sarah. We walked out of the room and headed across the property. A lot of heads were turning and starting at Sarah. It was kind of understandable, she was pretty hot and she was one of the few girls around here.

We made our way towards what looked like a shooting range and a round field surrounded by a fence. I knew what the range was for, but what about the round field. I didn’t say anything and continued to follow Sarah. After a few more minutes she stopped us in front of a shooting range. She looked back at me and spoke, “Okay first we are going to be training in firearms. Due to the age that we live in this is the main way of fighting. After the firearm training we will train you in fighting with weapons such as swords and whatnot.”

As soon as she said that I knew what the round field behind us was for. She led the way to a stand of weapon and pointed at them, “We are going to train you in how to use almost every type of gun you could possibly use. You will train in them until they are almost second nature to you.” I nodded my head and spoke, “Okay, what is first?”

She smiled and then held up a pistol, “First you are going to learn how to take apart and put a pistol back together. Once you can do it in ten seconds blindfolded we will let you shoot it.” I was a little disappointed, but I could see where knowing how to do things such as this would be important. Sarah took apart the pistol and started to point out all if its parts and what they did for the weapon.

After a few minutes of listening to her explanation of the parts and watching her put it back together she handed it to me. I held the pistol in my hand and looked at it carefully. Sarah started to speak, “Now I want you to take it apart and tell me what the parts do.” I stared at her in shock, really? You just did it once and told me about them once. Now you want me to do it two? I already forgot what some of the things did. I sighed and looked at the pistol; this training is going to be longer than the other isn’t it?