Author's Note: Howdy, y'all! This chapter is about average length, and I had a load of fun writing and researching for it (I think this is the second-most research-intensive chapter I've ever done, with a future chapter taking first place). I hope you all enjoy it!
Rule #7: Do not possess any weakness
To call Mister Wilson her Teacher was both an understatement and the perfect description. The word 'teacher' usually referred to someone who taught - Mister Wilson not only taught her, but developed her for what he simply called the 'project objective'.
His 'lessons', if they could be called that, could be defined as any instance in which Stormkrigeren could gain knowledge in some way, and consisted of every moment Mister Wilson himself decided to grace her Rooms with his presence. The second he walked through the door, before he even spoke to her or looked her way, the lesson would begin. She learned entrance and poise and posture, how to analyze every movement and lack thereof in a glance, how to intimidate and how to blend in, all simply from the way he moved into the Room. Mister Wilson taught by example with the occasional sharp but helpful remark, and Stormkrigeren was all too happy to learn.
Mister Wilson supposedly taught 'combat and personal protection skills' - or at least that was what she had overheard Alexander explain to her caretaker. Stormkrigeren didn't know much about personal protection (though sometimes she wished she had back when Herr Luthor used to visit her), but she knew that combat was supposed to be fighting. She also knew that after the first few months of only learning to punch and kick, Mister Wilson had stopped teaching her anything that looked remotely like fighting.
She asked him about it once, questioning why he had moved on from combat basics to seemingly unrelated subjects, like calisthenics and breath-holding and writing with a steady hand. Mister Wilson had merely grunted in response and told her she was holding the pen wrong, but afterward taught her a short krav-maga drill to practice on her punching bag. It would not be until his next visit a week later that he finally explained - Stormkrigeren was already designed and prepared to fight. She had a higher proprioception and reaction time than most people, balanced well, moved quickly, and was very quiet, all with little to no training. Her body was also physically perfect for a life of combat with her dense bones, high pain tolerance, powerful but compact lungs, steady stance, and naturally strong muscles that remained wiry enough to not weigh her down. Mister Wilson decided that she didn't need to focus too heavily on the physical basics, which were meant for the most part to condition one's body in preparation for harder skills, but that Stormkrigeren should make it her priority to condition her mind instead.
They began with simple tasks that might be required of her Outside of her Rooms. Mister Wilson brought large encyclopedias of star charts and maps and terrains, and a few times even a night sky projector to shine on the ceiling for her to study. He made her pathfind to safety through all sorts of imaginary landscapes and cities and oceans using only the invisible sky.
Next, he taught her swimming strokes and how to hold her breath for long periods of time without a pool, only a bucket of water to submerge her face in, and a bench to hold her body up while she performed the movements.
Mister Wilson also showed her which basic household cleaners could be combined to create quick-acting poisons and gases, which ratios of ingredients should be used to incapacitate, which ones should be used to kill, and how to clean up any resulting mess (dishwashing detergent and hydrogen peroxide worked well for blood on concrete or even carpet).
From the kitchen chemistry lessons stemmed a dive into the subject of poisons and toxins, especially building up a gradual immunity to both. Over a period of a few months, Mister Wilson occasionally administered small doses of powders or droplets for her to consume with her food, then they would practice some other skill while they waited for it to take effect, much to Dr. Schreyer's distress. Despite the danger, Stormkrigeren could proudly say that she had only thrown up eight or nine times during the immunity development, and otherwise had very few adverse reactions to anything Mister Wilson gave her besides maybe an upset stomach and a headache.
Mister Wilson requested for climbing handholds to be installed in one section of the northern wall of her Room, and Alexander relented soon after. On his next visit, her teacher brought with him a few boxes of oddly-shaped grips, and that day's lesson consisted of Stormkrigeren attaching each one to the wall under Mister Wilson's careful instruction. Once she was finished, the grips were painted white to match the wall they were on, and the floor was swept clean of any paint or dust from the drilling. Next, Mister Wilson sat her down and explained the physics of pressure, counter-pressure, leverage, balance, and friction necessary to carry herself from the floor to the roof as efficiently as possible. They did a few practice climbs, not very high up the wall, but enough to get her used to moving around on a vertical surface. She progressed quickly over the next few months, developing her balance and grip, doing climbing sprints using as few handholds as possible, and incorporating a daily climb into her schedule even after Mister Wilson moved on to other lesson subjects.
He also taught her to improve her body's physical speed and endurance with long sprints around her main Room, often through challenging obstacles or conditions. The rule was that Stormkrigeren must run as fast as she could for as long as she was capable - over high stacks of pallet boards or low stretches of sharp gravel, whether her Room was freezing cold or swelteringly warm, ignoring her body's protests that it was tired or hungry or thirsty - only continuing to run until she could run no more. Mister Wilson explained that most opponents would be much bigger and stronger than her, so the only way she could properly win a fight was if she had more stamina and speed than them. She would need stamina if she was being hunted or if she was chasing down a target - if she had enough stamina, she could outlast the opponent to the end. Speed was not as important - most people often confused 'speedily' with 'hastily', but 'hastily' was messy and could get you killed, while 'speedily' was precise and smooth and kept you alive.
"Take your time, Storm," Mister Wilson often told her when she was impatient, which she often was, "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."
He would then make her repeat the action or task as slow as she could bear, over and over and over again at minimum speed until she moved as smooth as a lake without wind. And slowly, he would allow her to work a little faster, her muscles retaining their fluidity as she gained speed. Once Mister Wilson was thoroughly satisfied that she could be relied on to maintain that speed and smoothness, they would move on to something harder.
Despite how much he valued the art of defense, Mister Wilson knew very well that no one could defend themselves from every blow thrown their way - that was what armor was for. The best armor was always durable and protective, but still highly customizable to one's needs and fighting style. Mister Wilson once brought his armor for her to look at and study, pointing out all the important parts of the orange-and-black-and-silver suit. It had hidden pockets for tools, sheaths for his weapons, and most importantly, his helmet to hide his face, house a small computer and communicator, and shield his head from any strikes from the rear. Different plating and materials were designed for different pieces - some were made of layered nomex, light and flexible so he could move easily with them on, and others were constructed out of heavy tri-weave kevlar reinforced by ultrathin layers of titanium so that they could protect him against stronger blows. The entire suit was designed with the sole purpose of protecting its wearer and providing them with the tools they needed.
In his following visits, Mister Wilson also brought along other materials and more examples of a variety of armor and tools for his student to work with. Under his experienced tuition, Stormkrigeren gradually garnered an understanding of the passive defense. She learned which pieces of armor were best for various fighting styles based on the wearer's required movement, weight, and arsenal, and what combinations of metals, plastics, and aramids protected effectively in all sorts of environments and situations. Some armor could be customized to defend in an ingenious or unexpected way - for example, one of Mister Wilson's prototype suits could create a sort of 'gravity sheath' powered only by stored kinetic energy, and he knew of a few fellow 'security consultants' who designed theirs to focus on digital espionage or even take a part in a fight by electrocuting any enemies that got too close to the wearer. Stormkrigeren was fascinated by the concept of a 'lightning suit' as she called it, and spent hours with her teacher designing and discussing various ideas for one, a few times even pulling together materials to construct a piece or two.
Of course, there was one thing more important than armor that worked perfectly with the fighter's needs - and that was their weapons. Mister Wilson found that both worked best when created by the person that would use them the most, so he considered it essential that she not only understand the art of armor-smithing, but bladesmithing as well.
They started off with a study of metals - their forging temps, carbon levels, tensile strength, crystallization, and more. After that, they moved on to actual forge work and welding, ensuring that Stormkrigeren was able to put the knowledge she had gained into practice. The tasks and weapons were basic at first - craft a small blade from an easier steel, maintain the perfect forge temperature, confirm that your blade was symmetric and well hardened - but Mister Wilson's challenges soon increased in difficulty. Forge a series of identical daggers, create a full-length wakizashi, and once even a pair of combat bowies specifically designed to electrocute any enemy upon contact thanks to a powerful battery in the handle and conductive filaments along the blade. Afterward came weapons testing, in which Mister Wilson's taught her to push her blades to their limits in tests of strength and edge retention and ability to take apart a sandbag dummy before her teacher would give his approval. Even after creating all of this to the best of her ability, Stormkrigeren was not allowed to use anything that she created after having confirmed that it was suitable for heavy use, and all weapons and armor were confiscated until further notice - though Mister Wilson promised that when she was older and had moved on to actual combat lessons, he might bring some of her work back to practice with.
Mister Wilson also took it upon himself to teach his student some more refined arts besides the basic skills she would need in the Outside. The first of these lessons began the day he brought two large and oddly shaped black boxes to her Rooms, sat her down on a stool, and showed Stormkrigeren the proper way to hold a cello bow. She struggled to play the instrument properly at first, her small, calloused hands unsure on the steel strings and soft wood, but she took to it slowly, then smoothly, and eventually with good pace. It only took a few months of practice before she could play the cello at an intermediate level and switch easily between hands, but still did not play nearly as well as Mister Wilson, who had complete mastery over his instrument. Though with more practice, her deft bow strokes and quick fingerwork gradually improved her cello playing - and her precise reflexes.
A few more 'useless' skills Mister Wilson had her practice were calligraphy and origami - not for mastery, but to improve her coordination and steadiness in her hands. A goal was presented to her, whether it be to copy a detailed paragraph or recreate a complex series of paper folds, and she was given mere minutes to complete it. Her hands were often scratched or ink-stained at first, but with time her mind became as sharp as the pen tip or paper's edge in her skilled hands. Not only did her precision improve, but also her puzzle-solving skills, and attention to minute details and measurements.
Mister Wilson also considered it of great importance that she understand the management of both time, money, and resources, so one lesson they both sat down on the concrete floor so he could teach her how to break down large tasks into smaller ones. She caught on quickly, her young mind much better suited to rigid organization than to the complicated art of fluid creativity. Together they wrote out every element of every task she was required to complete, compiling and summarizing and understanding till the day's tangled web became a pattern easy to follow. Mister Wilson also taught her to apply the organizational management skill in other ways, not just to neatening her schedule, but to predicting how long certain routines would take even if she had never done them before, and quickly calculating what resources would be required for what tasks, and how to gain those resources in the first place. With Alexander's approval, she began a part-time telecommuting job organizing the transportation of various LexCorp assets both internationally and domestically. The pay she earned went straight to a personal savings account, and Mister Wilson helped her write out a tax and personal finance plan that would hopefully help her accumulate a decent pile with a few years of work. He also trained her in the skill of transferring information or money digitally across borders, often untraceably as Mister Wilson often did for his regular job (he still refused to tell her exactly what he did, but Stormkrigeren knew that it had something to do with security, that it paid very well, and that she would eventually be able to take up a similar profession).
Partly related to her more 'essential' training was Mister Wilson's lessons in food preparation. He was a firm believer in the fact that Stormkrigeren's biggest strength was her stamina, and one of the most fundamental ways to maintain stamina was to make sure one had plenty of energy. This could be achieved by an efficient balance of vitamins/minerals, carbohydrates, antioxidants, protein, and healthy fat in a variety of high-calorie meals. The second priority in food preparation, besides energy and nutrient content, was how easy it was to consume on the move. Mister Wilson considered compactness a key essential, and made sure Stormkrigeren followed the rule of keeping her meals small and highly nutritious. That wasn't to say he was completely against large meals or 'comfort' food - in fact, Mister Wilson once admitted to her that Thanksgiving was one of his favorite holidays because he could spend all day preparing the bird. Comfort food was a rare treat though, and only deserved when the coast was clear and one could afford some time to let the adrenaline die down. But Mister Wilson relented, and along with some of his more 'essential' recipes, he took the time to teach her how to make creamy rice pudding - and afterward how to eat it on the run.
After all these lessons, when he finally decided that she was adequately prepared, Mister Wilson taught her how to fight.