Morgan was breathing heavily, and small rivulets of sweat ran down his body. He stared straight ahead, his eyes glinting with determination.
"Again," Luke barked.
Morgan went through a series of movements with the dual blades, stepping forward, he swiped up, then transitioned to a stab.
He crouched and dashed forward, stabbing upward. He pirouetted and leapt into the air, executing a spinning kick. He somersaulted backward, transitioning into another movement.
His body was rapidly becoming more toned. His muscles tensed and relaxed as he pivoted on the balls of his feet, darting from side to side. He'd been practicing relentlessly for days with Luke.
At first, the moves had felt like a complex dance, but his body was gradually adapting to the swiftness required to fluidly execute them.
With every consistent day of practice, he was becoming faster, sharper, and quicker. The drill finally came to an end, and he fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
Luke tossed him a towel, his eyes glinting in amusement.
" You can't afford to wear yourself out. We're just getting started. I have something specially prepared just for you today." He said, his lips quirking up with a
smile.
" That said, I'm quite satisfied with your progress; that's why I think that you're ready.
Morgan looked up from where he was sprawled on the ground. He quickly sat up and paid attention.
" Ready for what?"
Luke smiled faintly.
" To take on a real opponent."
Morgan's eyes widened in surprise, then burned in anticipation.
Frederick Weiner wasn't green about combat. He was ex-military after all. He'd served in the military for years before being discharged due to an injury.
They'd raided an enemy base in a covert rescue operation. With the element of surprise on their side, his unit quickly gained the upper hand and managed to rescue the hostages. The whole operation was progressing smoothly until one of the hostages turned out to be a disguised hostile.
The bastard had taken the entire team by surprise, uncorking a grenade he'd hidden on his person.
Acting purely on instinct, Frederick had tackled the man through a window, saving the rest of the team and the remaining hostages from the threat.
He had taken the full brunt of the explosion. He should have died, but miraculously, he survived. Soon after he received the bad news, some of the damage the shrapnel from the grenade had caused couldn't be reversed, even with the best treatment available. In other words, he was a dead man walking.
He was honourably discharged.
From there, things had moved steadily downhill for him as he struggled to integrate back into civilian life. Getting a steady job turned out to be much harder than he'd expected.
He had no notable family to speak of, so he had to fend for himself. He'd managed to get a job as a waiter at a dainty restaurant; the pay wasn't bad, it was just enough to make ends meet.
Just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse, they did.
One afternoon, he had suddenly collapsed inexplicably at work. When he woke up, he was in the hospital. A doctor broke the bad news to him. He had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer; the microscopic pieces of metallic shrapnel from that explosion so long ago were slowly but surely killing him.
He could almost imagine the bastard who had tried to blow up his unit laughing from beyond the grave.
Frederick was promptly admitted, but despite the advances in medical technology, his body was still dying faster than they could cure it.
" This is probably it. " He thought as he lay in the hospital dying slowly with each breath.
" I should have died the day that shrapnel entered my body." He sighed
The door swung open, and the doctor, a friendly old man who had been taking care of him, entered. Frederick spared him a glance before staring listlessly out the window.
" Nope, probably not today."
"Hello Frederick, how are you feeling today?" The doctor said with a warm smile as he checked on the IV that was attached to Frederick's arm.
Frederick chuckled derisively.
" Like shit, doc. Honestly, I don't know why I'm still alive. I'm almost convinced at this point that you're secretly enjoying this and you're deliberately keeping me alive to torment me some more."
" Now, now don't be like that. Besides, things might be looking up; some people would like to meet you. They're part of a charity foundation. They think that they might be able to help you." The doctor injected another dose of drugs into the saline bag.
" Help me? Look at me, doc. I'm a dead man. It won't be long now, why bother?"
The doctor sighed, then pulled up a chair next to the bed.
" Listen to me, Frederick, I can't even begin to fathom how much pain you must be going through right now, but don't give up on living. As your friend, I'll tell you right now, if there's even a slim chance to keep living, take it."
Frederick scoffed.
" We're friends now, huh?" He silently thought.
" Why should I? Nothing is waiting for me out there. I have no loving wife or kids waiting for me out there. I gave my life for this country, for my comrades, and what did I get for it? Hell on earth, that's what. I'm done with all this crap, let me die in peace."
"Alright, Frederick."
The doctor rose to his feet and made for the door.
Frederick sighed and looked out the window. His room was situated on one of the uppermost floors of the skyscraper that the hospital occupied.
" At least it's got a nice view."
He could see the clouds at this height.
The old man paused at the door.
"I've lived a long life, Frederick, and I've come to learn that whether we know it or not, there's always something to live for, if not for ourselves then for others. There's always hope as long as we're alive, and if there's hope, we shouldn't give up on it."
Frederick sighed and continued staring out the window.
A few days later, he agreed to meet with representatives from the McAllister Foundation.
The old doctor arrived with two men. One of them was stylishly dressed in a crisp white suit. His unusual white hair was tastefully slicked back, and his piercing blue eyes bore into his own.
The other man was also impeccably dressed in a black designer suit. Despite being indoors, the man wore black sunglasses that hid his eyes from view.
"Probably the bodyguard," Frederick thought.
"Frederick, these are the gentlemen I spoke to you about," the doctor warmly said.
" They believe that they can help you recover from your unique condition." Frederick nodded.
" Thank you, doctor. If you may leave us for a moment, we'd like to speak to Mr Frederick in private."
The doctor turned to Frederick hesitantly.
" It's alright, doc, I'll be fine." The doctor smiled and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
" Hello Frederick, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Damien. I'm a representative of the McAllister Foundation." Damien said warmly, offering Frederick his hand.
"Not to be rude, but can we cut straight to the chase? Why are you here? I'm sure you know from my case that not even the latest nanite technology could help me if I could afford it. "
"I already tried it as a volunteer in one of those experiments, and it didn't work. So tell me, what kind of miracle cure are you trying to pitch me?"
The man in the black suit lightly chuckled. Damien slightly frowned in reproach.
"I fail to understand whether it's my condition that causes you amusement or my words just now," Frederick said calmly.
" I apologize for my colleague's unseemly behaviour. I'll get straight to the point. We believe we can help you. And cure you completely. But there are some conditions."
Damien produced a document.
" Before we go any further, you'll have to sign this confidentiality agreement. If you are to refuse our offer under no circumstances will you reveal what we're about to talk about or reveal to you."
Frederick chuckled in amusement before breaking into a short coughing fit.
"Excuse me for laughing, I just couldn't help myself. You do realize I'm not long for this world, and of course, even if you were to sue me, I'd have no way to pay if I did breach the contract. Besides, how would you know?"
Damien smiled calmly.
" That's fine. We have our ways."
" Is that a threat?"
Damien calmly stared at Frederick.
Frederick sighed in resignation.
He turned his head to gaze out the window.
" You know it's a pretty beautiful view from up here." He reached out for the document and signed it.
"What would I have to agree to?"
"You'd have to give up the life you now know, your old relationships, everything you held dear. You'd work for us. "
Frederick frowned.
" What you're essentially saying is that I'd have to disappear."
"Exactly. We will remould you, shape you, into a weapon, a living weapon. You'd become an assassin, one that worked for us and is bound to us, for the rest of your life." " That wouldn't be a problem, I have no one like that after all. And how would you cure me?"
Damien smiled once more.
" We'd use the power and technology from a different dimension, an alternate world to be precise. To turn you into something superhuman, of course, the possibility of this plan's success also depends on you."
Frederick regarded the two men with a hint of amusement before bursting into laughter.
He laughed for a long time before eventually the pain became unbearable.
" Please do forgive me,"
He gasped for air, wheezing violently.
" I haven't laughed like this in a long time, and twice on the same day at that. Is this supposed to be some kind of prank? Did the old man put you up to this?"
Both men regarded him silently.
Eventually, Damien spoke.
" This is not a joke, Frederick. We are being quite serious. We looked into you, your unique circumstances. This world can still use someone like you, and we want to offer you a second chance.
Frederick sighed in annoyance.
" Alright, suppose everything you're telling me is true, show me something, proof, do you have that. Something from this supposed other World."
Damien looked at the man behind him and silently nodded.
The grey-haired man smiled and took off his sunglasses. His crimson irises glinted eerily in the dim light of the room.
" With pleasure."