Training

"This is a horrible idea!" Jeremy said struggling to not knock on the door. Odd was trying to make him knock it. The group was at Mr. Lion's room. William opted out.

"Come on, Einstein. What do you have to lose?" Odd asked in a strain.

"One's thing for sure, Jeremy's definitely gotten stronger," Yumi said. Jeremy couldn't resist Odd's strength before. Then the door to Mr. Lion's room opened. Jeremy stood straight up while Odd hit the ground.

"Can I help you?" Mr. Lion said in his usual appearance.

"Um...Mr. Lion, you said that you did some fighting training in your travels, right?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes, I did," Mr. Lion said in an unsure voice.

"Well, have you ever trained anyone in those arts?" Jeremy asked.

"Ah, well yes. I was able to teach many people how to defend themselves and enhance their unique abilities. I've even taught some of the students here when I opened up a summer camp. Four of my best students. Why do you ask?" Mr. Lion asked.

"Well, we would like for you to train us," Jeremy said. Mr. Lion was surprised.

"Really? Don't you already train with Jim. He's a good trainer, too," Mr. Lion credited him.

"Yes, but we've already finished his entire course. He has nothing else to teach us," Ulrich explained. "So we were wondering if you could help us."

"Of course I can, meet me at the crossroads of the forest at 4:00pm," Mr. Lion said

"Whoa, wait! You mean today? So soon?" Yumi asked.

"Of course, especially you, Jeremy. I've been dying to give you some help," Mr. Lion said with a smile. "Remember 4:00Pm." he said as he closed the door.

"Well, if it's anything like Jim's program I think we'll manage," Yumi said patting Jeremy on the back.

LATER

"The next time Yumi says anything, stop her," Jeremy said out of breath to Aelita. He just ran five miles. The others were doing some other exercises.

"Um... Mr. Lion," Aelita called.

"Please, just call me Lion. I'm starting to get tired of that Mr. stuff," He replied.

"Um...Lion, why are we all doing different stuff?" Aelita asked.

"Well, you're all different and have different abilities," Lion said in his white t-shirt and black sweat pants. "Aelita, you must learn to concentrate while chaos is happening around you," He said as he turned up the loud music. He had her stacking a pyramid of cards with many distractions. "Ulrich, you have to learn to make your reflexes, willful movements," He had Ulrich locked in place with a tennis ball machine throwing ball at him. Ulrich could only dodge so far. Every now and then, Lion would throw a ball beside him to test his awareness. "Yumi, you must be flexible. On account that most of the battles you'll have will call on your maneuverability. But you must also be strong," Lion said. Yumi was basically doing Acrobats with weights strapped to her. It threw off her balance many times. "Odd, your punches have to be spot on," Lion said as Odd punched a wooden dummy that keep punching back and knocking him down.

"And what about me? You basically have me doing the same thing Jim does, only worse," Jeremy complained. "I know that I'm weaker than the others but I-" He bumped into the back of Lion.

"Weak? You're not weak. In fact, you're the link that holds the five chains together. So you, above all people must be tried the most. You may seem the weak link, but you're not. And you must be mentally and physically strong. Now, I think that's enough. Let's all rest," Lion said releasing all of them from their torture. They piled out and plopped on the ground. "Don't worry, some more practice of this and you'll be much better, faster, and stronger," Lion assured.

"Hey, Mr...um...Lion can tell us about your past life? We know that you're new and all, but just so that we can better understand each other," Yumi asked.

"Well, I've traveled the world. Studying for teaching, fighting, and sciences and culture," Lion said.

"Wow, do you have any family?" Odd asked. This made Lion a little sad.

"Father and Mother passed away. I had a brother, but he disappeared. I don't want to talk about it," Lion said. Just then the team's watches started to beep.

"An activated tower," Jeremy whispered. Suddenly, a man came out of the bushes. The team saw that XANA sign in his eyes. "Uh-Oh!"

"Hey, do you know this guy?" Lion asked. The guy looked to be a farmer. "He looks like trouble. Hey! Fellow you looking for something?" The man just shot a bolt of lightning at Lion. Lion was thrown back but still stood.

"Whoa! No one's ever stood up to a shock from a polymorphic specter!" Aelita said.

"Really? I wonder why?" Lion said gracefully dodging the lightning bolts, flipping and double flipping. "Alright, sparky. My turn," Lion charged on. He punched the specter but it just fade like it always did. "Well, that's not fair." He said as he was thrown back. The specter threw a bolt cutting the bottom of Lion's rear. The cut revealed something the group didn't think to see. A Tail! "Hey! That's cheating! Alright, take this!" Lion said as he took out his taser and electrocuted the specter. It stunned it, struggling to recover. "Well, that worked."

"He's got to come with us," Aelita said. The team quickly agreed. "Mr. Lion you have to come with us. We need you to stop him," Aelita said.

"Are you sure?" Lion said.

"Don't worry, Ulrich and Odd will take care of them," Yumi said.

"No problem," Odd said confidently. "Hey, big bad! Wanna dance?"

"Be careful," Lion said as he ran off with Aelita, Yumi, and Jeremy.

"Hey guys, there's a-"

"We know already," Jeremy said interrupting the Mechanist. "We're on our way to the factory. Can you contact William?"

"He says he's in detention. Can't make it out. You guys are on your own."

"Okay, got it." Aelita said signing off. "So, how could you fight that specter, Mr Lion?"

"That thing's nothing. I've been in worse situations. Plus, since it seemed to be electrical it only seemed sensible. Now will you tell me what's going on?" Lion asked.

"We'll explain on the way," Jeremy replied as they ran across the bridge of the factory. They went down the elevator and to the Supercomputer.

"Whoa! This amazing! I'm definitely keeping this a secret," Lion said.

"Okay, Aelita, Yumi, you guys go into Lyoko." Jeremy said.

"What about me? Maybe I can help. You never know," Lion said. The team considered it.

"Okay sure. But just try and stay alive," Jeremy said.

"Don't I always," Lion said smirking.

"Okay. Transfer: Lion, Aelita, Yumi. Scanner: Lion, Aelita, Yumi. Virtualization!" Aelita and Yumi landed safely. Lion landed too, but he was much different.

"Well, this is interesting," Lion mentioned looking at himself. He resembled a big Lion with a huge tan mane. Nothing looked human on him, other than he had a pair of black pants and two Criss-crossing black straps across his chest. His big tail swung lowly to the ground.

"Well, get going to the tower, quick. Odd and Ulrich can't hold much longer," Jeremy urged virtualizing their vehicle. "Sorry Lion. I don't have a vehicle for you."

"I do," The Mechanist said. Then a flame red chopper motorcycle with two lasers in the front.

"Oh this is nice," Lion said getting on the cycle and revving it up. He rode off with the others.

"Nice ride, Mechanist," Jeremy commented.

"I do my best," The Mechanist said quite pridefully. "But looks like you have company. Computer says five green Megatanks."

"Great," Yumi said annoyed. "That's just going to be bad. And Lion doesn't even know what his powers are."

"I think I have an idea," Lion said moving in on the chopper. One of the Megatanks started rolling towards him. Lion waited and then moved his hand up. The earth beneath the Megatank moved and flung the tank into the Digital Sea. The next tank shot its sideways laser wave. Lion jump into the air, letting his chopper crash into the tank, making it explode in the tank. Two down in one shot. Another aimed for him. Lion punched at it, and flames shot from his hands and incinerated the Megatank. He was about to be de-virtualized by one of them, but Yumi threw her fans, cutting the tank to pieces. Aelita's energy field destroyed the other one.

"Okay, all clear. Now take care of the tower, Aelita," Jeremy said.

MEANWHILE

"Hey, I think that this training is really helping us. We're able to stand against these things," Odd said battered and bruised. The specter wasn't done with them.

"Yeah, but still barely," Ulrich muttered. Just as the specter was about to shock them to oblivion, it dissipated. "Whew, that was close. And best part, we have Mr. Lion on our side, so we don't need a 'return to the past'."

BACK ON LYOKO

"Wow, Mr.-I mean Lion, how did you know that you could do that?" Aelita asked coming out of the tower.

"Simple, I've been here before." Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremy were all stunned at his answer.

"What?! When?" They asked.

"I've known for a while about Lyoko. Come on, I'll explain in the real world," Lion said.

LATER

"You knew?!" Odd asked flabbergasted. William was there, too as he watched Mr. Lion tape his pants, hiding his tail.

"Well, I guess since you guys virtualized him, you deserve to know," The Mechanist said over the intercom, "You are looking the Boss of our little team."

"So you're with the Mechanist and the others?" Ulrich asked.

"Yeah, I've known about the Supercomputer for a long time. Actually, I'm the one that recruited the others. And I guess you deserve to know that you've found another one of us. We call him the Spy," Lion explained pointing at William. They were completely surprised. Yumi was a little disappointed.

"You were spying on us from the very beginning?" she asked getting a little upset.

"He was spying to help me get my brother back," Lion said crossing his arms. "His speciality is sneaking around and gathering information. Weapon: Five inch wide, five foot long blade sword. Super power: Super-smoke to travel long distances." Lion talked like a computer rattling off status.

"What about you? You're the boss right?" Odd asked.

"Not only that, but he's special," The Mechanist said. "You are looking at the one and only mythical Lion the Lion Warrior!"

"What!?" Aelita gasped.

"You've heard of this guy?" Jeremy questioned.

"He's legendary! My father use to tell me stories about them. They could bend water, wind, earth, fire, and other stuff at their own will. And they could live for a long time," Aelita explained, "But I thought that you weren't real."

"And many people would say that XANA wasn't real," Lion said smirking, "But we know better."

"That explains the tail. Now could you tell us why your brother is on Lyoko?" Jeremy asked.

"I still don't know. Come on, it's getting late. Let's talk about this at the dorms," Lion suggested.

To be continued