The full moon's light shined through the window of the room that Jonathan stayed in as he slept. It had been an hour since he fell asleep and was having a dream about... chickens... pirates? It didn't really matter what he was dreaming about; all you really needed to know is that it was an extremely strange dream that he probably won't remember once he wakes up.

In reality, Ice had just opened the slightly creaky door to Jonathan's room. He glanced upon the still sleeping pupil that lay on the bed as he crept into the room without making a sound while leaving the door open, letting some amber light come in from the upper hallway.

He silently walked up to the side of his bed while looking down at Jonathan, who was covered by a white blanket, and his head was on a blue pillow. Not wasting a moment's hesitation, he brought down his fist, aiming for the head...

Only for Jonathan to dodge his fist at the last second as he turned his head, and the fist ended up hitting the part of the pillow that Jonathan's head was previously on. Still asleep.

Seeing this, Ice nodded. They were ready; either that, or they were just really lucky to turn at that exact moment.

Maybe he should try and punch him again... He raised a fist, another fist, prepared to strike him down before thinking for a couple seconds and lowering it... fast towards Jonathan's torso as he once again dodged the fist as he turned to his side while mumbling something incoherent... something about fish? Ice was satisfied; Jonathan's reflexes were perfect now.

He left the room with the thought that they could finally start on actual combat now.

"What?" This left word left his mouth after hearing his mast- teache- instructor's words. It was currently 9 in the morning; the sun was being blocked out by the clouds in the sky, making it even colder than it normally was.

Ice nodded as he walked in the cold snow below his feet. "You have learnt the first most practical skill. Dodging. Now it's time for you to learn the basics of fighting."

'If I was going to be honest, I really thought this would have taken longer. Didn't think I was a good teacher... probably.' Ice thought that due to the first day they began, he had sent Jonathan flying exactly 20 times. By the end of the first week, Ice did break a... couple of bones inside Jonathan's body. Maybe one or two

Ice felt quite bad when he accidentally broke his bones and when he tried to apologize Jonathan didn't seem that bothered by it which was strange, making him ask questions.

It was then Jonathan revealed to him what had happened to him in the base. They had used him as a guinea pig, and they would repeatedly damage him, then heal him, over and over again in their experiments.

The worst part was that they barely allowed him to rest the first week to a point where he felt he was losing his own mind and began seeing things that weren't there, which made the crime lord have to put him on halt for a bit before resuming after that problem was taken care of. So, it was no wonder that even a broken bone didn't bother him since his pain tolerance was just THAT high.

Jonathan's body began to react to his punches as Jonathan's eyesight also adjusted with it no longer seeming as if Ice just disappeared.

He also decided to double his student's regiment to speed things along. The results were coming along perfectly as his speed had increased dramatically along with his strength and stamina.

"Really? Finally... " Jonathan cheered... well, internally, as it was more of just a feeling of relief no longer having to be a punching bag. It had been a month since training began, and he had been doing nothing but dodging fists. Be it day or night, Ice just randomly came in and beat the ever-living hell out of him until he learnt.

'Wait, did I just admit to myself that I have been a piñata for a month and am only now moving onto the basics?' He quickly washed this thought away.

Seeing his enthusiasm (?), Ice, but then a question came to the ex-PARIOT member's thoughts. 'Why do I have to learn more basics?'

He decided to enquire to clear it. "Do I ... really need to learn more of the basics of combat at this point? Can't I just... I don't know... skip this part? I mean, we just went through a month's worth of training just learning dodging. Can't I learn maybe... more advanced skills?"

Hearing this, Ice wasn't sure how he should respond to this as he quickly made an excuse off the top of his head as his mind raced. '####! He thinks he is ready to skip basics! Quick! Think of something to say! How do I say 'you're not ready' without crushing his soul!?... WAIT! I know!'

Ice proceeded to say this in a hesitant tone, unsure of how to say it properly. "Well... I don't think you understand the basics."

Jonathan just gave him a look while furrowing his brows as Ice decided to rephrase what he just said, seeing this expression.

"Think of it this way..." He attempted to draw a good comparison of his situation. "Like an equation!" snaps fingers "Dodging is just one part of it. Right now, you're like a really sturdy wall that understands how to move to the side when a wrecking ball comes, but again, you're just a wall. If we were to stop here and immediately move on, you would JUST be a non-punching back. You'd still be useless if you don't properly know how to throw a punch."

Hearing this made Jonathan just look at him with a drawn-out expression since what he said was true, but it still felt quite embarrassing to hear. He opened his mouth to form a response only for Ice to instantly put up a hand.

"BEFORE you say anything, I just want to remind you that this entire month you have JUST been dodging; even when you attempted to punch or kick me back, it always missed. You need to learn balance, timing, and precision. You may think learning more advanced techniques is just learning a fancier trick, but it's far more. Alright? So, are you ready to learn?"

'Plus, I don't think I am able to teach you any advanced techniques outside the basics, but no one needs to know that." Ice thought to himself while leaving that part out of his speech.

For a couple of seconds he just kept looking at Ice as Ice felt himself sweat internally. He let out a sigh while looking down as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, I guess..."

"Great!" Ice clapped his hands together as he spun around before sliding five meters away before turning back around. "Alright! Today, for our new lesson, we shall be doing a little sparring session to see where you are at."

Jonathan nodded. "Oh, okay." He then looked around. "So, who... Oh. Right." He and Ice were the only one's here. By that logic, it meant he was going to fight Ice. A Super-Agent. The Super Agent who took down an entire base that he and two others couldn't even breach the gate of.

He could practically feel the color immediately drain from his face as he let out a chuckle that was caused by remembering the month-long beating he had received. "Hahahaha. Sparring? Against you?" He could barely dodge his fist now. What chance was he going to have in a spar against him?

'I can barely dodge your attacks. I doubt I'll even land a hit on you.' He wanted to say this out loud but couldn't.

Ice nodded cheerfully. "Yup! No worries. I'll hold back."

This did not reassure him in the slightest. It only made him more uneasy because he had been on the receiving side of Ice "holding back," and it still felt like a truck crashed into him at full speed.

"No worries. I have gotten a lot better at holding back." It was true, Ice had managed to control his strength much better compared to at the start over the month thanks to training Jonathan.

He cracked his knuckles as well as his neck as Jonathan heard a few bones popping. "Alright, Jonathan. The goal of this excursion is pretty simple. Try to hit me, and I try to avoid getting hit. If you can land a successful blow, then today's lesson will be a success."

Jonathan looked at him a bit stunned at how simple it was. "I just have to hit you once?"

"Yep. Just once." Ice stood casually, not raising his defense in the slightest as he put his hands in his pockets. "Remember. It's much harder than it sounds."

He was right. Jonathan quickly focused, as this wouldn't be a simple task. Ice was a Super-Agent after all.

Jonathan took a deep breath in and out. He could do this. He had been training for a month now. He was much stronger than before.

Of course he knew he was lying to himself while he invigorated himself as his body tensed while taking a fighting stance prepared to move at a moment's notice.

Ice on the other hand, was completely relaxed as he even let out a yawn. Was he even taking this seriously?

"Alright! Here I come!" Jonathan launched forward in a burst of speed as he sent his fist forward to Ice's chest.

He simply looked at the incoming fist as he waited until it was only a couple of inches away before dodging at the last second. He grinned. "Too slow, pal."

He screamed internally. 'Too slow!? Bitch! You're too fast!'

Jonathan responded with a grunt as he quickly changed direction as he used his other fist to throw a punch at his head, only for Ice to duck under it and yawn as a kick was sent in his direction, only for him to sidestep it again.

"Come on, Nathan! You can do better than that!" Ice taunted, wanting to push him to his absolute so he could see where his pupil's current limits were.

They grew frustrated as their movements became less refined with them throwing out a flurry of punches and kicks. Hoping to overwhelm Ice by sheer volume and land at least one, but he simply dodged them all, yet always being one step out of reach.

After several minutes Jonathan was panting heavily and would have been drenched in sweat had it not been for the cold weather. Even Ice was a bit out of breath from having to dodge for several minutes straight. He had not expected him to fight for this long. It was surprising and refreshing.

Each punch Jonathan threw grew weaker and weaker as Ice made it seem like he was still acting casual as he dodged another attack as if he was simply taking a walk in a park.

"I am guessing you're nearly finished. Right?" Ice asked as he dodged another punch while trying to sound disappointed.

Jonathan glared at him while smiling with anger. "Ha! I am... just getting started!"

"Great! Since you have not even come close to touching me!" He leaned more forward as if he was daring him to hit him, which pushed his buttons. "Let's see if you can at least touch me."

In a move fuelled with anger, determination, and whatever energy he had left, he lunged at Ice as fast as he could. Yet, as always, Ice simply moved to the side, except Jonathan had expected this as he redirected his fist at the last moment.

Ice's eyes widened as he quickly moved away from the fist's second coming. That was close. Too close.

After the failure of the second, Jonathan stumbled forward trying to stop himself, but before he could regain his balance, Ice flicked him on the back of his head, which caused him to fall and crash forward onto the snow.

'That looked painful... maybe I should have let him land that punch after all.' Ice mused.

Now sprawled out on the snow, he turned himself over while groaning in frustration as he felt the feeling of pure one-sided defeat. "I am... Huff... never... Huff going to hit you." He could barely let out those words since he was already out of air.

Looking down on him, Ice's expression softened as he really couldn't be too hard on him. He began thinking of the right words. 'All right, now it's the time for some encouraging words so he doesn't give up. What would a good mentor say? Something wise... something that is profound...' "You will. It's just that, that day, isn't today, but it shall be someday."

Ice thought of himself proudly after saying that. 'Nailed it. I'm pretty much a motivational speaker now.' He bent down before lending a hand for him to stand back up.

'Ice, please stop. No more motivational speeches. I just want to contemplate all my life choices that made me end up here.'

With much reluctance, he took the hand and allowed himself to get pulled back up by Ice.

"You have improved." This sudden compliment surprised him. "I can see that you're pretty good at fighting. Had I been the average agent, you might have won."

'I might have won? You mean if I wasn't against a superhuman, I would have stood a chance?"

He was still slightly winded as he nodded slowly. "Thanks... I guess?"

Ice gave him a playful punch. "Well, go lie down. We can pick this up later or tomorrow. You can go train for a bit. I got to go do something."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow while cocking his head slightly. "What is it?"

"I am going to go check the internet to see where the nearest city to here is. We're going to go there after this part of the training finishes up for your next lesson."

He couldn't help but want to groan because that would be a long trip since they didn't have a vehicle, they could travel in. "Hooray..." He let out a fake cheer.

"That's the spirit!" His teacher didn't seem to notice or didn't want to notice. Either way, it seemed like they would have to go there once they were finished with the basics.

It was late at night, probably midnight, with Jonathan already being asleep in his room with the lights being turned off. The lights downstairs in the living room of the safe house, however, were still on.

Ice was pacing around the living room with him getting a grip on his situation. It had been an entire month since they had been here. He was both panicked, a bit angry, and concerned.

All these emotions were directed to one place. The organization he had wasted most of his life at. The organization that allowed him to become the way that he is. The SYNDICATE.

Every day that passed had slowly tested Ice's patience for them. He had waited a week and still Nothing. Not a single thing

Were they even bothered looking for him? He had waited an entire month for them to arrive. Did they just forget him? Perhaps they truly have done what he thought and have already moved on to create a better version of him. Was it because he got kidnapped?

He hadn't seen a sign from them or even an agent of theirs. Hell! He had seen a PATRIOT inspector come here during the month before leaving after finding the boat and reporting it to their organization, and the SYNDICATE is supposed to be an organization that spans across the globe! You would think they would be here by now!

Had he really wasted his entire life training day in and day out in order to defeat any evil genius that may arise to try and manipulate "The Forces of Justice" from the shadows?

This thought clawed into his head as he stopped his pacing. The silence, the lack of communication, and all of the time spent here... it all pointed to either one of two conclusions: they had moved on to the next thing... or were waiting for him to make a move and impress them. He still wasn't sure how expendable he was to them or if he could have stopped himself from getting kidnapped somehow since he didn't have any memory of getting kidnapped before waking up in that cryopod.

He tried to keep calm as he sat down on the couch, gripping his hair, placing both hands on his head, and resting his elbows on his legs as he stared down at the floor. A whirlwind of emotions was pulling him—frustration and worry if this is all for nothing. All of that time training... wasted. He had just wanted even a simple message to show it was the latter option, but there was nothing.

Without acknowledging it, he was scratching his skin while trying to understand what they were trying to do.

His fists clenched as another possibility rushed to his mind that was far worse. 'What if they think I am a liability that needs to be taken care of?' He quickly stood up at this very notion proposed by himself. It made too much sense. After all, he had already told someone about their existence.

Who is to say that they think word won't spread of their existence due to a certain loose end or ends?

His eyes glanced to the stairs and who was currently upstairs. Jonathan. He was a good kid- he really should stop saying kid. He is only three years older than he is after all.

No matter what he called him, he saw he had potential even if his first mission ended in complete failure from what he was told. They just needed some good training... Now that he had time to think about it, maybe punching him for a month straight really wasn't the best way to get him to learn how to dodge, but he did learn, so it was a good method of teaching him... even though there is a nagging feeling that this teaching style shouldn't have worked.

Until further notice, he would just have to assume that he was all on his own and the SYNDICATE was against or watching him. He needed to assume the worst and every other possible case scenario.

Then build his own team if he had to and then show the SYNDICATE that he was still useful by taking down crime lords and such; perhaps then they shall reconsider their decision, or maybe he really is just overthinking this.

He just had to show them that he was still useful.

He IS still useful. He is useful...