Serena had her arms crossed, she was tapping her feet, standing in a hallway, next to an elevator she didn't know of until the other day. She was relieved that it was finally coming around, this way she wouldn't have to rely to heavily on her mutation if she was ever in danger.

A few days ago Serena had realised that she probably needed to learn how to defend herself, because she was alone, without someone to take care of her all of the time and she really didn't want to get jumped or attacked and have her mutation activate and cause somebody to get severely injured... or worse.

So Serena asked around to see if there was anything she could do to change this. As it turned out, there is a teacher at the school named Sam Johnson, and he teaches self defense classes. So Serena sent him a message asking about lessons, and he had responded, telling her to wait by this elevator.

So here she stood, standing outside of the elevator, in the early morning, before most students were even up. Funnily enough, this would actually be Serena's first class... She had finally got her class list and would be starting in a couple of days, so self defense was technically her first lesson at the mansion.

Serena wondered what this teacher was like. Was he young, old, middle aged? Was he friendly, or abrupt. She decided that thinking such questions were sort of pointless as she would be meeting him any minute now... at 6am...

A loud yawn exited Sam’s mouth as he stretched his arms while walking down the hallway, he was tired and the third cup of coffee did little to nothing to wake him up any more than he already was, which wasn’t much at all. The last few weeks had been stressful to say the least between the riots, protests and everything else going on in the city and all the work he was slammed with back in the mansion sleep once again was pushed to the back burner. Something Sam was rather used to by now but it was apparent it had been awhile since he had a good sleep.

It was late now or rather early and instead of shutting his brain down and trying to get an hour or two of sleep like he should be doing he decided to do what he did to relieve stress and focus his mind, teach what he does best. ”You must be… Serena?” Sam asked as he caught up to the girl who was waiting by the elevator tapping her feet. Was she waiting long? It didn’t matter, wasn’t the first time he was late for one of his lessons and from what he understood Serena didn’t start classes till she was more settled in meaning either way she’d get a full lesson.

Sam yawned again and clicked the ‘down’ button on the control panel for the elevator between his tennis shoes squeaking on the ground and the legs of his sweat pants brushing up against each other he made a little noise as he got into the elevator. ”You excited for your first lesson?” Sam asked the girl curiously trying to get a feel for the type of student she was. The last thing Sam needed was another mouthy kid like Carrick; hopefully Serena would be the exact opposite.

Serena turned to give the approaching man a friendly smile "Yes, I'm Serena pleased to meet you, you are Sam I take it? or would you prefer Mr Johnson?" Serena said politely in a sweet tone.Serena was glad he was here, now they could get on with things.

Serena smiled at his comment as he pressed the button for the elevator. "Yes, I've been here long enough. I'm really looking forward to the routine that classes bring." She was so glad that she wouldn't have to spend day in, day out, looking for something to do.

Serena gave a small smile again and turned to Sam. "Thank you for agreeing to come and teach me this. Although you did pick a bit of an odd hour..." Serena said playfully.

”Sam I am.” Sam said without putting much thought into it. Silently he smirked at the rhyme and then added clearing his throat, ”I am a teacher, and however I don’t really feel like a ‘Mr. Johnson’ maybe in a few year from now but for now Sam is fine.” he paused and raised his finger, ”Though you call me Sammy and I’ll fail you.” Sam said adding a small smile to his face before exiting the elevator when it opened back up. Stepping out into the corridor Sam’s shoes squeaked a bit more on the waxed flooring as he made his way down the corridor towards the danger room.

A few doors littered the basement hallway some leading into supply closets while a few lead to a few more important rooms such as the ‘war’ room and Cerebra. Sam looked back down towards Serena with his good eye, ”Teaching this stuff keeps my mind from wandering I always pick weird hours to help collect my thoughts throughout the day and or night. Not to mention some students work better in the morning than afternoon.” Sam said walking up to the massive metal doors that kept the Danger Room separated from the outside world.

With a whoosh the doors opened and Sam stepped in to the massive underground dome. ”Welcome to the Danger Room unless I notify you before hand all our classes will be held here, got it?” Sam said trying to sound stern but never wiped the smile from his face it was hard to knowing that he was going to be teaching his bread and butter.

During their very brief time together Sam already managed to get a feel out for the girl, she was polite and excited to learn, two of Sam’s favorite traits in a student. It had been a while since he had a student like this. Kat and Koga were the only two students he had who were like that. Every one else was far too different personality wise though that just meant he would have to learn how to teach those with the different personalities. Gawain turned out way better than he could have hoped.

”Alright Serena, really important your all stretched out before you come to my lessons otherwise you might pull something and keep in mind that you aren’t going to be good at anything I teach you the first time.” Sam continued to walk further in the Danger Room until they were directly under the control room. ”Have you ever practiced any form of self defense before?” Sam asked as he sat down on the ground and started to stretch his legs before he added another question, ”What do you expect to learn in my class?”

Serena nodded as Sam told her to call him by his first name and threatened to fail her if she called him Sammy... Then the elevator doors opened and they stepped out into a huge underground dome. Serena's jaw dropped. Since when had there been a gigantic underground dome underneath the mansion, and more importantly, why was it here?

Serena nodded slowly at his comment about all classes being held here. And then listened to his question "My older brother showed me how to throw a punch, that's about it, and I'd like to learn how to defend myself properly as I'm now alone, as I don't want to have to use my power." Serena explained.

She looked at him and decided to ask "By the way... wha... what is this place?" Serena asked, still astonished at this place being hidden underneath the mansion,

‘Where to start?’ thought Sam as Serena had some questions of her own standing up straight and pulling one arm across his body to stretch it out. ”This is the Danger Room Serena.” Sam said simply enough figuring she might have heard something about it. ”This room was built and designed for the sole purpose of creating a safe environment for us to practice using our abilities so we can get a better control over them.” Sam said letting go of one arm and pulling the other across his body. ”Though I use it for self defense lessons because it has almost everything you need to create any type of environment that would require you to defend yourself. Powers or no powers.” Sam said letting go of his other arm and taking a step away from her while looking up.

”Computer, one midsized dummy!” a second passed and the hard light construct started to form. Another few seconds and a life like dummy standing about five feet was looking back at Serena emotionless. ”It’s called the danger room because this room is just that, dangerous. Without the proper supervision someone could get hurt in here, so promise me you won’t try to sneak in here and use it. Always have an adult who has access to this room with you when you come here got it?” Sam said making a statement more than a question.

Now that he was done stretching Sam waved Serena closer to him, ”Now let me see how you throw a punch, throw it in the air first as fast and hard as you can I’ll be looking at a few things, the fist, the arm and the body. Keep throwing it till I say that is good alright?” Sam said as he stepped to the side of Serena to see how she threw her punches.

Serena nodded to his comments and then watched in amazement as a dummy was generated out of thin air by the computer. It was astonishing. She had never seen anything quite like it, did her want her to fight that thing? Practice by hitting it?

He answered her unspoken question. She nodded to him "Alright."

Serena stood to the side slightly, making sure she was balanced, she then tensed her arm and jabbed into the air, aiming beyond what was not there, forcing herself to punch with all her momentum (Which was not much) She sighed after a few repeats.

"My brother always said that you should use your own momentum to your advantage, and sure, he might have been able to punch like a boxer, but I seem to have zero momentum..." Serena carried on punching the air, waiting for her teacher to intercede, she suspected that he would come to similar conclusion that she had.

Maybe she just wasn't meant for fighting? Surely not being able to throw a decent punch was a good sign of that.

It took him two punches thrown by Serena to notice a few things that he’d like to change but he stayed silent while she threw the punch a few more times. When she voiced her concerns Sam nodded his head and smiled, she seemed to understand a bit about the basic punch. Silently he wondered what else her brother taught her while she continued to throw more punches a lot more.

It was four minutes later before he stood up straight and took a step closer to Serena lifting his hands up to get her attention. One of the things he learned fast growing up was if you ever are involved in a fight they have a tendency to not last long so endurance was never a bad thing to have in a tussle it just means you can last that much longer.

”Not bad Serena,” Sam said walking over to her and turning her body so he faces the same direction as her staring off into the vastness of the Danger Room. ”Further along then I expected tight fist straight wrist, top two knuckles striking the target…” Sam mimicked the striking motion with his fist and slowly threw a punch. His fist was tight and his wrist was straight so it wouldn’t buckle if it met a target, his elbow was only ninety-eight percent extended so he wouldn’t put unnecessary pressure on his elbow joints. ”Never lock your elbows, if you do you’ll weaken the joints and when your old you won’t be able to move around as much.”

Sam threw another punch then another, slow and clear so Serena can see the movement she should learn. ”As far as momentum goes turn your hips and keep the knees bent and if you need a little extra power…” Sam moved his feet a bit so there wouldn’t be any unnecessary pressure on his knees, ”It’s okay to move the feet a bit.” Sam demonstrated a few more times till he nodded his head, ”Throw it a few more times just like how I’m throwing it. This way will kick up the power you can deliver. Seeing as you’re a bit smaller you’ll need all the power you can get right?” Sam asked looking back to her while he still threw the punch.

Serena listened to Sam's advice about momentum and watched him closely, noting how he moved his muscles and joints as he threw his punch. She didn't like how aggressive this all was, but learning how to defend herself, or others for that matter, was definitely worth it.

She nodded slowly to him and began to replicate his movements to the letter. She mentally smiled, her talent for being a quick learner was coming in more and more handy every single day.

She threw punches, but they seemed to flow better, they had more force behind them, yet Serena felt less recoil from the actual punch itself, Sam really seemed to know what he was doing, although you would suspect that the self defense teacher would know what he was doing.

She smiled to him as she continued to punch "Where'd you learn all this, if you don't mind me asking. 'Cause you seem to really know what you are talking about." Serena was actually beginning to enjoy herself.

Quick learner was an understatement he punches and body movement adapted while he demonstrated the punches to her. Nodding his head he gave her a reassuring ”Good,” while he continued to watch her throw the punches. The more she threw them the more comfortable she seemed to be. The next question she asked threw him off a bit though.

Sam let out a small laugh then took a step back and crouched down so he was eye level with her, ”I’ll take that as a compliment, I’ve been doing this since I was five, years of practice.” Sam said trying to remember everything in the past fondly however it only left a sour taste in his mouth. He frowned and realized that his expression wasn’t a good one to have while he was teaching so he exhaled and his lip turned up into a smile, ”Though the stuff I learned is a bit different, you need to learn differently than how I was taught.” ‘for your own safety and sanity’ finished Sam thinking it opposed to saying it less she’d have more questions.

”Sides, I have an eye patch.” Sam said letting out another laugh as he stood up straight and turned to his side so he too could throw punches and Serena could mimic. ”One of the younger students of mine said I must be good at fighting otherwise I wouldn’t need the eye patch.” Sam laughed and tuned his fist to the side so his index and middle knuckle were vertical.

”I like teaching three main punches to beginners,” Sam said explaining the sudden change in his striking. ”Front and reverse punch, palms facing inward.” Sam turned his fist into a hook and threw it, ”Hook punches palms face down.” and finally Sam bent his knees lowered his level and turned his body while rising into an uppercut, ”and uppercuts palm facing up.” all looked different when thrown but the basics were the same. ”and yes you should have that memorized by the end of the day.” Sam said having no trouble believing that she could have memorized that by the end.

After a second Sam turned back to her and took a step back, ”Enough punches for now, lets see your fighting stance.” Sam said taking a few steps away from her where he crouched down again.

Serena nodded as he spoke. She then chuckled at his comment about his eye patch. She wasn't planning on commenting on it as it wasn't really any of her business, and also she didn't really see how it effected his ability to teach, or for that matter him as a person.

Serena mentally noted all of the punches he had mentioned. She smiled at his saying that she had to have them memorised by the end of the day. She knew she most probably would have them memorised.

She thought about what he had asked for a moment... What exactly was her "Stance"? She had no idea... After a moment or two of debating, she just reverted to how she would assume she would get ready to fight.

She stood with her legs split, for ease of movement, and her arms, close enough in for her to dodge or respond to whatever attack a person would throw at her...

"Like this?..." The uncertainty was clear in Serena's voice.

Sam smirked when she got into her stance, ”You never got into a fight before have you?” Sam asked assuming he knew the correct answer. Her stance wasn’t bad it was just she wasn’t sure. A second passed and Sam jumped upward into a stance his feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, on the balls of his feet so he could move quickly his elbows and hands out in front of his body while he was looking through his hands. Another second passed and Sam dropped his hands and stood normally giving her the, ‘now you’ gesture.

”Your legs aren’t bad but bend the knees more. More relaxed and calm.” Sam said walking next to her and standing beside her while he jumped back into his stance, ”The key is to remain relaxed until the last second before you strike.” Sam demonstrated by his stance once again then snapping his fist out quickly and snapping it back even faster.

”Hands need to stay up otherwise your face will be black and blue.” Sam smirked and turned his head, ”How ya think I got the patch?” Hands weren’t up.” Sam said giving the girl a white lie. He lost the eye in Romania not in a fight but as a prisoner but his message should have been clear enough. Hands up.

Sam demonstrated the stance again and took a step back to see Serena in her stance. After a minute or so passed Sam smiled to Serena and then asked her, ”What’s the best defense when someone throws a strike?” he paused for a second then added, ”Stay in the stance.” that wasn’t the answer but Sam turned away from a second and walked closer to the hologram partner that the danger room created at the beginning of the lesson.

Serena smiled awkwardly. "Once or twice... but, I guess my power sort of protected me..." Serena shifted about uncomfortably for a moment. She didn't like the feeling of fighting with her power, it was as if she wasn't controlling it, it was controlling her...

Serena nodded taking in his advice on her stance and then adapted accordingly, bending her knees to the correct length, and then moved her arms into the correct position and relaxed her muscles so that she was loose enough to react properly.

This was turning out to be a little easier than Serena had expected... Although, she hadn't actually fought yet, so it might just all be in her head.

Serena pondered his question for one moment, and then thought of an appropriate response. "At a guess, I'd say, either avoiding the strike via dodging, or using the momentum of the opponent against them..." Serena's video games were teaching her these terms... Stupid older brother, getting her into video games...

Serena changed stance quickly enough and then answered both of his questions, she never was in a fight without her powers and the way she made it sound she wasn’t happy with the outcome. He read the file on her the day before last when he first found out she was going to be his student. Her mutation dealt with blood and the extent to it was unknown to Sam so he was tempted to ask but held off for a moment.

”You’re batting a thousand! Smart kid, good!” Sam praised her trying to get her a little less focused his pervious question in hopes she wouldn’t think to much about her mutation. Kate was the same way too afraid to try and learn how to control it. If it wasn’t for his childhood and how he was raised he was pretty sure he would have been in similar shoes to both of the girls.

”Today we are going to focus on side stepping, dodging before the strike comes in. I’ll teach you the other stuff next week or something.” Turning his body Sam got into a stance and lowered his body a bit so everything was very obvious to her. With one foot slightly in front of the other Sam used his front foot to step forward and to the side. ”Notice when I step its still forward so I am closing the distance but I’m still stepping off to the side so I’m not there for the strike.” Sam paused then looked back to her to see if she was doing the same thing.

”Computer!” Sam yelled out to the danger room, ”Run simulation basic dodges 101 one for my height and one for Serena’s.” a second passed and the hard light constructs formed in front of both of them. ”I want you to watch while I demonstrate, foot work body shifts all of it. It will be slow enough so you can see alright?” Sam said nodding to his hard light partner who threw one of the punches Sam had taught Serena a few minutes before.

Sam sidestepped slowly and with ease moving before the punch connected to the place where his face was seconds before. This continued for two minutes every time the construct human swung, Sam stepped forward and to the side occasionally switching up his stance so he could do it on both sides. After he figured it was enough time Sam caught the oncoming punch and turned it into a throw forcing the construct to flip over. Looking back to Serena he nodded his head, ”Now you. Give the construct a nod when you are ready to go. Remember hands up and keep breathing.“

Serena nodded as she took in all of the information her teacher was giving her and neatly organised it in her mind.

She nodded to her training construct, after watching Sam demonstrate how to dodge, she saw what he meant about waiting until that last second, not only did it mean that he dodged more smoothly, she made the connection that it also meant that the opponent wouldn't see the dodge coming.

Or for that matter, the counter which might follow it.

Serena watched closely, keeping herself as relaxed as possible. The first blow proved more difficult than she had expected to dodge, but as it continued on for a few minutes, she hastily got the hang of it, adjusting her stance without thinking about it.

She began to see the path of the swing as it flew towards her and dodged accordingly as if she had seen the end of the swing before it occured. She was tiring rappidly though, but detrmined to carry on as long as possible to show her teacher that she was serious about these lesssons.