A few months had passed since Victoria had received her first fighting instructions from Sam. She spent nearly every night practicing what he told her in her room. Her technique was as close to what he had told her as she could remember, but truth was she needed the positive reinforcement of letting him see how she was doing and to give her more guidance.


Rumors and gossip had filled the mansion regarding questionable actions from Sam towards other students. This caused Victoria to hesitate going to see her teacher. What if the rumors were true? Was he really a bad guy? After seeing the variety of mutants within the mansion possibilities were endless as to what happened and why.


One evening the little red eyed girl took a deep breath and decided she needed to see Sam. So she made her way through the amazingly decorated hallways to her teacher’s office door. She knocked on it firmly and waited for a response.

He was sleeping, sore and tired but finally sleeping. The last few days had been less sleep than usual, well usual for him. He was working late in his office staring at a map of the city with a few giant X’s and a fewer circles on it. The map was starting to look like a Tic-Tack-Toe board but it wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted answers who were the people that attacked him, who was in charge and why did they specifically target him. Questions without answers continue to pop up as he stared at the map, the circles were where he was attacked and a few others none of the scenes lead him anywhere which meant they were careful and organized which meant someone was running the show.

Now however after a few days of no sleep and nearly dying a few days prior he was tired and exhausted so when his eye lid closed he didn’t have much say in the matter other than face planting on the map and drifting off. That was until he heard a knock on his office door that startled him. He stood up so abruptly the map with the red marker was stuck to his face and drifted off of him only after he was standing for a few seconds leaving a read X on his right cheek.

Looking to the clock and realizing he had been out for a few hours he rubbed his eye then spoke, ”Yeah? It’s open!” his yell was more of startle than anger he didn’t know why anyone at this point in the night would be knocking, not like he didn’t have a life outside of this place.

It had actually taken a couple times of knocking before Sam’s voice called out in response. Not thinking much of it Victoria opened the door and began to step inside the office. She was a little nervous but oddly that was pushed to the side, for a moment, as she stared at her teacher’s cheek. “Why do you have a red X on your face Sam?” She couldn’t help but ask. It was right there in plain view and stuck out like a sore thumb.

Regaining her thoughts Victoria continued. She wanted to ask him about the rumors and gossip but it didn’t feel right to start off her visit in such a manner. “I was wondering if you were going to teach me more. I’ve been practicing lots but I want to learn more.” She was unintentionally giving him blood red colored puppy dog eyes as she fidgeted nervously. Her lower lip had been drawn into her mouth and was being nibbled on.

”Excellent question.” Sam said looking from Victoria then down to the map in front of him where a red ‘X’ was clearly smudged. Licking his hand and rubbing his cheek till he was sure it was off (even though it wasn’t fully gone) Sam looked back to little Victoria the super strong and super nocturnal former student of his and smiled slightly. Even if all of his students or rather former students dropped his classes out of fear he still missed teaching all the kids. Some more than others Victoria happened to be one of them.

>>>>“I was wondering if you were going to teach me more. I’ve been practicing lots but I want to learn more.”

Sam stared at her like she just offered him a million dollars. Could it be? His first student in months, a mind to begin molding again? Had to be too good to be true. Sam smirked a little now an actual sincere smile one he hadn’t put on his face in a while in the mansion. ”Been practicing huh?” Sam looked down at the map happy she still seemed to be enthusiastic about his subject.

Deciding it was time for a break from the X’s and O’s Sam nodded his head and pushed himself up. ”If you’re sure kiddo I think we can head down to the danger room for a bit. I need to get my head cleared anyways.” Sam walked passed her and patted her on the head as he did. ”How’s it going? Haven’t seen you in a while. School going good?”

Withholding a snicker at Sam’s cheek, now smothered in red making him look like a partially made up doll, Victoria nodded. “Almost every night I practice.” Quickly she got her arms and feet into position and threw several quick jabs and punches. “See!” Her big cheesy smile was full of self-pride as well as hoping she had done everything right now that she was showing the one who taught her.

“Oh yes please?!! Can we go?!!” Every ounce of giddiness burst forth when Sam mentioned going to the Danger Room.

Following her teacher’s lead Victoria walked out of the office and towards the Danger Room and her new training. “Umm… things have been going ok I guess.” Typical vague kid/young teen answer. “School has been fine too. All my grades are good. What have you been up to?”

”Practice makes perfect!” Sam said nodding his head when she threw the punches. ”Not bad, not bad!” His sixth sense activated and the hallway became slightly cooler. No one else was in sight meaning he could walk around freely in the mansion without alerting anyone he was around. One less ghost sighting.

Once in the elevator to head down to the danger room entrance Sam relaxed a little the doors opened up in the long metallic hallway and he smiled when he saw those doors. ”You guess or you know?” Sam asked Victoria when she gave him a round about answer. ”But that’s good about school. Got to train your head like you would any other muscle.” Sam said nodding his head.

The large metallic doors opened up before he looked to Victoria, ”Been better.” he didn’t think he needed to say anymore at this time if she was going to be vague then so could he. The doors closed behind him and he looked up to the danger room controls. ”Computer, California woods, nighttime. Full moon.” the computer flickered and shifted to mimic a forest he had been to once. He liked the scenery in the daytime but knew Victoria would have another panic attack if he did. She was tough but still a scared kid sometimes.

”Let’s see.” Sam said as he walked past some trees till they came to an opening. ”What punches did you learn last time? And what is a good stance?” he stopped once he walked into the center of the clearing where tall giant trees parted overhead so the moon acted like a spot light.

The praise from her teacher made Victoria smile big. She had been hoping he would be pleased with her performance, and now she had finally showed him and he liked it. “I told you I’ve been practicing a lot.” Giggle.

Going down the hallway a slight temperature drop was easily felt. No recollection of chilly drafts surfaced in recent memory. The mansion was always set at a comfortable atmosphere. Victoria remembered Sam’s mutation dealt with ice, but why would he make it cooler? The thought was shaken away as it didn’t seem to be very important.

“Oh, I know my grades are good. It’s just kind of boring when there’s not really any other students to interact with. As peaceful as it is at night it’s also very lonely, but I’m doing well. It gives me time to think about my girlfriend and my other friends I’ve made.” A quick thought of Kait smiling and laughing received a content sigh.

‘Why have you been better? Are you sick?” Maybe that was why the hallway got cooler.

Inside the Danger Room Sam instructed the computer to create a scene and a scene it created. It was beautiful. Full moon, night time forest and a clearing where the moon could be seen in all its glory. “Wow! I like this!” Another big smile before her teacher’s questions snapped the girl back to the new lesson.

Feet moved to shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, arms up with fists ready in a guarding position. “I learned this is a front punch”. Right arm snaps forward but elbow doesn’t lock and retracts back to guarding. “This is a reverse punch.” Left arm snaps forward and back. “This is an uppercut.” Legs bend lowering the girl’s body and then like a spring moves up diverting the energy from legs to hips and up through the body while her right arm hooks upward then back to guard position. With that done Victoria fired off a flurry of combinations of punches that she had practiced ending with a double uppercut and a ducking move as if avoiding a swing from an imaginary opponent. “And I learned to not be there.”

Sam nodded in approval when she recounted her previous lessons in a matter of seconds all seemed to be good and there was good control there as well. ”Excellent!” praised before he raised his hands and got into a similar guard his was a little more over-exaggerated for the moment making sure she could see what hers should look like. Once he was satisfied with that he went about answering her questions some more reluctantly than others.

”Not sick, died recently.” Sam said crouching into a wider horse stance and exhaling slowly, ”But keep it a secret for now alright? No one is supposed to know I’m alive.” Sam said trying his best to make light of the situation the last thing he needed was Victoria to start talking about late night danger room sessions with Sam. He didn’t one anyone to assume she was ‘seeing’ a ghost.

Once his legs were further apart in a horse stance he looked to her and slowly raised his hands up his arms extended outward and his palms facing up. ”This is a horse stance.” he said simply as his knees bent more and his breath was slow and steady. ”Why its called a horse stance I don’t know but teachers have been teaching their students this stance for thousands of years. Builds the leg muscles up and puts a strain on the will.” Sam said as he held the pose for her to copy, ”You’ll need the leg strength for the kicks I’m gonna teach you later. Until then whenever you’re bored get into this stance and hold for a few minutes everyday.”

He breathed in slowly and breathed out slower his breaths loud enough for her to hear them. ”So you got a girlfriend now? Me too.” Sam said smirking.

Big red eyes stared at Sam while Victoria’s jaw dropped. “Died?!! You can’t be dead cause you’re right here.” Her disbelief swirled with other emotions like confusion and fear. Yet, Sam seemed to be blowing the whole thing off like it wasn’t a big deal. Anger was beginning to slither its way into the mix of emotions making the young girl’s eyes start to glow.

Stepping closer to Sam as he started talking about the new stance, Victoria kicks Sam’s left leg out to the side and simultaneously thrusts an open left palm into his stomach. The intent being to send the man down on his rear so the little blonde girl could make sure she had his attention.

Now standing over the fallen teacher Victoria’s fists find themselves on her hips. A very stern look shooting out to her teacher. “What do you mean died? Why shouldn’t I tell people? If they think you’re dead then they’re worried and should know you’re ok.” Her red eyes flare with brilliance. “And what happened to not being there?”

The room became colder as he fell his own student sweeping him from his stance then knocking the wind out of him. If it were anyone else they’d get frostbite or a black eye. He recalled Gawain trying something similar and getting tossed around quite a bit. Sam kept forgetting Victoria might seem like a sweet and innocent kid but she was stronger than most guys he had fought with.

Looking up at the ceiling Sam took a deep breath trying to keep himself calm (and filling his lungs full of air). When he was calm and had his lungs full he lifted his head up and his eye fixed on Victoria who was standing with her hands on her hips a stance he had seen multiple times from other women. He knew at once she was upset with him. Sam smirked then started to laugh when she asked him ‘what about not being there’ the smirk was followed by an intense fit of laughter till he found himself back on his feet again.

Scratching behind his head he took a step back from Victoria and then crouched down till he was eye level with her. ”Obviously I’m not dead, though they said it was a close call.” Sam thought for a second then shook his head trying a better way to word what had happened so she wouldn’t be another person who became worried about what Sam was doing with his life, ”It’s complicated.” there was a good start Sam thought lying to himself.

”You know how I’m teaching you how to protect your friends?” Sam asked the girl trying think of what to say next. ”Some very bad people tried to make sure I couldn’t protect people, and they attacked me in a very public setting and they didn’t care who got hurt in the process.” Sam said continuing to explain it after another breath, ”and if they knew I was okay they’d try to find me any way possible including coming here and putting everyone in the mansion in danger.” Sam paused and let the words sit before he continued, ”So me and a few of the other people in charge here decided it would be best if we let them think they had beaten me to make sure they don’t attack the mansion trying to find me.” Sam made sure he didn’t mention kill or died (again) those words seemed to upset her.

”Which is why me being okay needs to be a secret for now. At least till we can figure out who attacked me and why.” Sam said to Victoria hoping that would paint a PG-13 picture one that wouldn’t upset her in the process. ”I wasn’t paying lose enough attention, they got me before I could not be there.” Sam said simply enough. ”Learn from my mistakes got it?” Sam said before he noticed the air was still cold and a few of the trees closest to them started to develop a thin layer frost.

Listening to Sam speak about what happened and why it was best not to tell people he was ok started to piece everything together within Victoria’s mind. The glow in her eyes faded away as did her anger towards her teacher. In fact, she started to feel terrible about what she had done now. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” Her tone was softer and sorrowful. One thing the little vampire girl was always full of were emotions.

Regaining her composure and taking a deep breath the girl did her best to take up the new “horse” stance and as usual, looked to her teacher for immediate feedback. Looking down at her feet and her legs then back to Sam. “I think it’s called a horse stance cause it looks like you’re on a horse’s back.” A slight tilt of her head and a few strands of hair fell over her face. Her innocent childishness now showing through.

“I promise to do whatever I have to do in order to protect the people I care about. I’ll become stronger and faster so I won’t be there but they will be and they’ll be in big trouble when they are.” A stern huff of air and her arms were up in a defensive posture awaiting Sam’s next instructions.

Sam smirked and nodded to Victoria as he severed his control over the cold in the area and it warmed up quickly. ”That was the plan kiddo.” Sam said as she got back into the horse stance and started to talk again. Sam started to laugh, ”I like that, that’s a good mantra; I promise to do whatever I have to do in order to protect the people I care about. I’ll become stronger and faster so I won’t be there.” Sam repeated the first half and left the second part hang in the air for her to finish again if she wanted.

”You hold that stance till I get back.” Sam said nodding his head as he turned and started to walk off into the woods that were scattered throughout the danger room. While he was gone he pointed at several trees and created targets of snow people about his height and build. Some sat down others leaned up against trees and some even stood out in the open. There was a dozen or so and none of them had their hands in the same place. (Something he would explain later to Victoria).

After twenty minutes or so passed he walked back into the clearing where he left Victoria in her horse stance he had no doubt she could hold it that long even though some adults would have had difficulty her legs should have been sore at least and maybe even a bit tired. ”Alright kid, you ready to learn some kicks?” Sam asked curiously.

Smiling at Sam with a nod Victoria finished the quote. “...but they will be and they’ll be in big trouble when they are.”

It seemed like forever had passed when her teacher finally returned. Her legs burned from being in in such an unnatural position for so long while supporting her stance. A look of discomfort was plainly covering the girl’s face.

“Kicks?” Heavy breath. “I might be strong and unbreakable but it doesn’t mean I don’t get tired. May I please stretch first?”

Sam laughed when she asked to stretch first; she looked uncomfortable meaning she wasn’t as strong as she had thought. ”The kicks are your stretches, at least for right now.” Sam said shaking his head and denying her request. ”First kick!” Sam said as he got into a fighting stance and fired the first kick out a slowly as he could putting emphisies on all the positions, ”Most kicks have four positions of the leg, up,” Sam lifted his leg, ”Out.” Sam’s leg went out the ball of his foot being the place where the contact on the body would be made, ”Back.” he pulled his leg back and then set it down, ”and down.” Sam did it a few more times before stopping and looking to Victoria.

”Keep in mind like the punches, never give one-hundred percent extension, it hurts your joints in the long run.” Sam did the kick a few more times, ”This is one of my favorites, called a front kick. You strike with the ball of your foot so make sure you pull the toes back other wise you might break them.” Sam said as he continued to throw the kick out a few more times.

”Good targets for this kick are the chest and groin. I’ve seen them go to the head or the legs before but those are more dangerous to throw them to. Both leave you too unguarded.”

Taking a breath of disappointment when her request to stretch was twisted into something she wasn’t expecting Victoria focused on Sam. His new instructions were just as plain and easy to follow as always. That made it so much easier to understand and learn. Kicking was the new lesson.

Watching Sam’s example Victoria did as he did with her right leg up, out, back, down without fully extending. That was as easy as the punches. A few more practice kicks from both legs and then the usual look to Sam for his critique. The girl still wanted to do proper stretches but this was keeping her muscles from getting stiff so she would continue doing as per instruction.