Chapter 6: Combat for all ages

Although she was disappointed to be dumped at the daycare, Sun found that she really enjoyed the company of all the other kids. None of them asked any questions besides what her name was and what color she thought was best, which meant there were no looks of judgment from any of them. She didn't need to know how life worked here since everyone else was still trying to figure out the rules too.

The jungle gym was by far her favorite thing in the daycare. She loved seeing the horrified faces of the adults supervising when she gained some momentum and let go, sending her flying through the air. Some of the younger kids tried it, but couldn't reach the top bar. Most of them stopped when one of them fell and bumped their head, yowling loudly until a teacher scooped them up and brought them inside. Sun felt a little bad, but she was overtaken by a swarm of kids playing hide-and-go-seek and immediately forgot the feeling.

"Sun!"

She turned her head to see who was calling her. It was Leslie, the person who had talked with Roger and settled her in. Leslie motioned her over to talk.

"How do you feel about becoming a secret agent?" Leslie whispered in Sun's ear with a smile.

Sun didn't really know what that meant, but Leslie's expression was so light that she nodded immediately. It did sound pretty cool anyway, whatever 'secret agent' meant. She followed Leslie inside and down a corridor to a locked room. Sun walked in, eager to find out what her task was. Everything in this world was so exciting!

"Okay, what I'm going to show you has to remain super-duper top secret, alright? That means you can't even tell Roger. It has to remain a secret between the two of us. Capisce?"

Sun rolled the thought over in her mind. Not telling Roger something was going to be challenging since she did have a mouth on her, but she really wanted to know what secrets Leslie had in store for her.

"Yep!" She answered enthusiastically.

"Okay, I'm going to hold you to that. Remember, a secret between me and you."

Leslie shifted the rug they were standing on to the side, revealing a trap door. A set of iron rungs lead down into a dark hallway. Leslie led the way down, flipping a switch at the bottom that lit up the darkness. Sun was beginning to question her choice to become a secret agent but, as usual, her curiosity outweighed her sense of fear. Plus, if for some reason there really was a trap down there, Sun was immune to everything.

With a newfound sense of courage, she jumped down the opening, landing nimbly on the balls of her feet. Maybe in her previous life she was a gymnast? She remembered shattering the cup that morning and cringed. Maybe a clumsy gymnast?

Sun continued to follow Leslie down the dank corridor until they came to a large room decked out in an arsenal of every weapon imaginable. She gaped all the different swords, guns, and various other tools that lined the walls. All this was under a daycare?

"Don't forget our promise." Leslie reminded her. "Secret."

"What is all this?" Sun asked when she found her voice.

Leslie gave her a knowing smile and gestured to the many weapons around them.

"This is a secret base for heroes. We're going to train you to fight. Not to kill, but to protect. We know about your power and its extent. There is a lot you need to learn. A lot."

Leslie strolled over to the corner where a punching bag stood on a portable rack. She rolled it into the center of the room.

"This is going to be your friend for the next few weeks. Your job is to protect him from me whenever you're not practicing on him. Go ahead, try out a punch."

Leslie stepped aside. Sun was eager to prove herself to Leslie, who trusted her enough to show her a secret base. Using as much strength as she could muster she threw her arm at the bag, hearing a satisfying pop when she made contact. She glanced over at Leslie for approval but found none. Although Leslie's mouth was smiling, it didn't meet her eyes. A little surprised at the cold reaction, Sun tried again and punched the bag, but it didn't change Leslie's expression a fraction. Not even a twitch.

"I can see I've got a lot to teach you," Leslie stated.

Not bearing her frigid demeanor any longer, Sun tried changing the subject.

"What heroes use this base?"

"Right now, only you. This is just a training base, our real base is out in the city. And before you ask, I'm not telling you where it is otherwise you'll go looking for it. Just know that we're out there fighting for the greater good no matter the cost."

Leslie shot Sun a genuine smile and Sun relaxed. She liked this Leslie a lot more than the one that faked her smiles.

"Now back to you. Your form is awful."

Sun watched as Leslie gently moved her out of the way so she could show her how to do it correctly.

"Make sure you stay light on your feet and keep them under your shoulders. Your shoulders should naturally face your opponent. Don't keep them squared up otherwise you lose all your power. Keep your guard up at all times like this."

Sun mimicked Leslie's stance, this time getting a nod of approval.

"When you throw a punch, make sure your hips follow through since your legs do the majority of the power."

Leslie suddenly threw a punch at the bag, knocking it back a few feet and releasing a wicked-sounding boom from the impact. Wide-eyed, Sun absorbed the rest of Leslie's lesson, though she got nowhere near as much power as Leslie had. For an hour Sun threw punch after punch at the bag with Leslie supervising and critiquing. Even though Sun wasn't satisfied with her progress, Leslie pushed her out of the room, saying that they would only practice an hour a day whenever she was there otherwise people would start getting suspicious.

When Sun got to step out on the play yard again, she found that the games the other children were playing didn't sate her hunger for approval from Leslie.

"Don't rush yourself," Leslie told her when she saw what was running through Sun's head. "It takes a lot of practice to get strong enough to protect someone. We're only touching the tip of the iceberg. For now, focus on literally strengthening your muscles, like swinging on the jungle gym and running around. Take a page from their books and enjoy yourself."

Sun had the sudden realization that she was getting frustrated over something she couldn't control. Leslie was obviously bigger than her and had bigger muscles, so of course Leslie would be stronger than her! Plus, Sun couldn't get hurt by anything so there was no reason for her to put so much effort into something that wouldn't let her enjoy her new life. In a huff, she ran towards the other kids in the hopes to forget the feeling of frustration she had felt that past hour. By the time Roger came to pick her up, she had practically forgotten her hour of training.

True to her word, Sun didn't tell Roger about the secret base.