Author's note;
Sup. There's gonna be some child abuse in here. And some attempted murder - aka "training."
"Here's the scenario. You've been picked up by the authorities after a job gone wrong. You're being escorted into a holding cell, hands cuffed behind your back. You discombobulate the cop escorting you and make it to the door. The moment you leave that door you have 10 seconds to free your hands and either escape, or kill anyone that opposes you."
Marcus placed the cuffs on his son, opened the front door, and held up his wrist; "10, 9..." Mercury starts off in a sprint, wracking his mind for ways he could bust open his cuffs. It's hard to workshop a solution that both works and doesn't damage his hands whilst also planning his esca-CRUNCH. He tastes dirt, grass, and blood.
"Again." Marcus climbs off his son, dusts off his jacket, and walks back towards the shack.
/
Attempt 2;
"10" Out the door and beelining it for the forest. Maybe he could use the trees as cover to but time? Without his hands he would need to find a convenient step-up, then he could take his time with ope-SLAM. Bark, ants, blood.
"Again"
/
Attempt 8;
"T-" Mercury is out the door before he hears the end of the first count. Trees make for poor cover unless he can get deep, but there's no time. Large boulders taste like dirt and moss and don't provide much cover if he's seen ducking behind them. The road leaves him in the open and an easy mark. He could try the lake again, but drowning is not a fun time, especially not the third time.
At least he's still running, he only stopped to think once, he learnt that lesson quickly. What if he tried jumping off a co-WHAM. Dirt, grass, mud, blood, apple?
Marcus hogties his son, disappointment and anger clear on his face. "Take a break to use your brain. Enjoy your dinner, I'll come for you in the morning." He can hear his son mumbling something through the apple but walks away. Maybe he'll do better tomorrow. Kids are supposed to be creative, right?
/
Attempt 37;
"Same scenario. 10 seconds to get the cuffs off before someone comes for you." The moment he hears the cuffs click he's pulling his arms over his head and bringing his cuffed hands to his front. He's out, door slammed behind him, before Marcus has even raised his watch up to count. Rather than sprint, he sneaks around to the back of the shack. Once he's in position he grabs a stone and counts down. 4,3,2 He awkwardly yeets the stone into the forest opposite the shack and he can hear the door slam open moments before Marcus sprints off into the forest.
Mercury gives it a minute before he begins phase 2, dislocating his thumbs and freeing his hands, it's a painful process but he endures. Phase 3, he sneaks over to the treeline behind the shack, jumps off a couple trees, and settles into a small alcove. Will this count as a success? He doesn't know for sure, but he hopes so.
/
Movement;
"You should always be on the move during a fight. Idling only presents an easier target for ranged foes, and in an age where every sword is a rifle and every boot has a pistol taped to it, movement is key to survival. Here's the scenario, you are to not leave this square", Marcus points to a 10 meter x 10 meter square on the ground that's been marked out by red tape, "and you are to not stop moving." Marcus pulls out his pistol, "this will also double as evasion training. Now get in the square and don't stop moving."
Mercury tries, and fails, to hide his incredulous gasp. "You haven't unlocked my aura yet!"
"It'd make you complacent, sloppy, arrogant. I'm teaching you to appreciate evasion, to dodge on instinct - If you're never hit, you'll never need your aura. One of these days, no matter how good you are, you will get matched in a fight and have your aura broken. What happens then boy? Will you scramble to survive, or will you dodge and weave your way out of a bad situation?"
Mercury steps into the square and starts jogging. BANG. He jogs a little faster. BANG, a puff of dirt an inch from his foot. He starts running.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Mercury is at a full sprint for a minute before he slows to a stop. Impressive for a twelve year old. The wonders of adrenaline and proper motivation.
"Decent. You have until I grab a box of rounds to catch your breath." Marcus started his walk to the shack as Mercury just focused on calming his breathing.
/
Final Author's Note;
This was a fun idea I had for a few characters. We've seen how abused characters usually end up as villains, successful villains. And I thought, "hey, there must be something to this training, right?"
So here we see that training in progress.
You ever watch that show "Fish Hooks"? There was an episode where the characters are putting Milo into dangerous situations to help him cram for a test. There is science behind this.
Adrenaline assists in the consolidation of new memories – strengthening neural pathways through long-term potentiation.
Mercury is learning in a situational context – the only time he'll be dodging attacks is in a stressful situation, so he should be learning in a simular context – aka, if you're planning on dodging gunfire you should learn by dodging live gunfire.
(Is any of this correct? Who knows. I probably misused some terms and swapped some definitions by accident. I didn't major in psychology, but someone did and they're free to correct me at their leisure.)