How old was the girl now? Nine? Ten? Lenna considered. Not old enough for live rounds, not old enough to learn to kill. Lori would have her neck if she taught Kaitlyn anything grisly. That narrowed down the options. Lenna reasoned, she could teach Kaitlyn self-defense. She could teach Kaitlyn how to escape from bad men. Gun safety could come later.

With that decision settled, she had no trouble setting up the lesson plan.

Two days later, the lesson was set. Kaitlyn had been contacted, told to dress for exercise. Lenna had told her they were going to do some training. She'd cleared the plan with Lori. She'd dressed for it herself, in a white tank top and yoga pants. She'd arrived on time.

Now, all she had to do was wait for Kaitlyn. It was nearly time for the class.

Kaitlyn walked into the gymnasium one minute before they were supposed to start, wearing a red-orange long sleeved shirt, navy blue windpants, and a pair of tennis shoes. Good for mobility, but nothing too short.

"Hi, Lenna." her voice echoed in the massive, brightly lit room as she approached the probably-a-senior-Order-member.

The setup here was similar to that of many school gymnasiums. Basketball hoops hung from either end of the room, and the floor was designed to look like a basketball court. In an unlocked closet accessible from the gym, there were cones, balls, and equipment for a number of different games. Many Sanctuary residents had fond memories of what were usually mundane games made vastly more interesting with the added element of their mutations.

For the last few months, a soccer ball could be seen rolling around on the ceiling. It was still there today. Nobody knew exactly how it got there or who was responsible, but nobody really felt like doing anything about it, either.

Right now, the gym was empty except for Lenna and Kaitlyn, and they weren't here to play games.

"Hi, Kaitlyn." Lenna replied. "You ready to train hard today?" She asked with an understated grin, resting her hands on her hips. "Because I've planned this all out. You're going to like it. It isn't anything too hard, starting out. It'll give you a feel for fighting." She'd give her some practical moves, some practical disciplines, and... well, she wasn't a teacher. She hadn't thought that far. But! She knew it was going to be good, and Kaitlyn would learn something. Of that, she was confident.

She held up a teaching finger and continued, bravely. "Do you know how to use pepper spray?" First question. "Or where to kick people to get them to leave you alone? Where to punch, pinch, hurt? You'll learn that, and so much more today~ But first," Pause, open eyes, actually look at your student. "Have any questions for me?" Do the worst possible thing. Put yourself in a situation where you have to answer for stuff you just might not know.

Lenna was a great teacher, right?

>>"You ready to train hard today?"

The kid's head bobbed up and down excitedly. From then on, Lenna had Kaitlyn's rapt attention. Anything Order-related tended to get the girl excited, no matter what it was, and even if a little bit of pain was involved. Being part of a team, part of a family, made it more than worthwhile.

Did she know how to do any of that stuff? Her red head shook left and right; that's a negative.

Did Kaitlyn have any questions? As always, the answer was a resounding yes. "Why do we call it 'The Order?'"

"No idea," Lenna replied quickly, still smiling. "Alright, so first up. This," She reached into her pocket and pulled out a can of mace. "Is pepper spray. It's illegal for the most part, so don't go waving it around for everyone and the police to see if and when you're carrying it. It's made of the pepper derivative oleoresin capiscum, comes in aerosol cans, and it's non-lethal. You can use it to get away from people bigger than you. Just one spray in their faces ought to do it. It temporarily blinds them and it hurts like hell. Be careful, though. It works the same for you. If you use this, do not touch your eyes under any circumstances. Don't eat it, either. It isn't like the pepper you use on food. This isn't a toy. Got that, Kaitlyn? This stuff is good enough to scare away angry bears. It'll be good enough for you."

She held the tiny can up so Kaitlyn could see, but did not hand it to the girl yet. She wanted to make sure the girl knew just how potent the stuff was before she lobbed it her way.

Kaitlyn looked at Lenna, at the pepper spray, and back again, paying close attention to every syllable that came out of the older Order member's mouth.

>>"Got that, Kaitlyn?"

"Got it!" she proclaimed, eagerly extending her hand for some illegal chemical weaponry. Being in the Order was so awesome.

Lenna pressed the pepper spray into Kaitlyn's hand.

"Now, time for some martial arts training. I'm... not quite sure what the best way to teach you this is, so... this'll be experimental. For the most part, you should learn to escape trouble. You're a bit too young for punching in faces and slamming thugs into walls, Kaitlyn. So listen..."

Lenna spent the next half hour demonstrating helpful maneuvers to Kaitlyn. They were things that'd allow her to get out of sticky situations. Shin-kicking, between the legs, eye-gouging. Most of it was pretty basic. They were almost common sense, but they'd help if Kaitlyn ever needed them. She ended that segment, lecturing Kaitlyn. "With the complex moves, you'll want to learn how to fall properly and take punches. I'll show you that next time, so don't start practicing kung fu stuff you don't know until I say you're ready."

As Lenna demonstrated martial arts, Kaitlyn paid close attention, while enthusiastically kicking at imaginary X-Man shins and poking out imaginary X-Man eyes alongside Lenna. It was good to ways to deal with X-Men without having to give herself a concussion. Concussions were not fun.

At least, not when they happened to her.

Lenna had plenty more to show her when this was over, and Kaitlyn stayed enthusiastic through each short lesson. It was all stuff that would be useful to an Order member, and anything that had to do with the Order was awesome. Unfortunately, they couldn't spend the entire day on it, and the two eventually had to bid each other adieu. The youngest Order member was able to leave that room a slightly more dangerous person than she had been when she walked in.