Training 5

"Hello, everyone. It's nice to finally meet you all." Alesia stood with her hands on her hips as she cocked her head loftily.

The group stood together in a daze as Alesia walked toward them. They were not expecting to meet her. And they were not expecting her to be so short.

Alesia looked at Nathan first and said, "Nate, I missed you so much." She ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.

Matt was the one who answered, "You still talk like a brat."

Alesia ignored Matt before letting go of Nathan. Her eyes fell on Darren, Miriam, and Tora.

Although she had not personally made their acquaintance, Alesia was a woman who lived by the code 'knowledge is power'. She had already done research on Miriam, Tora, and Darren before allowing them to use her laboratory. She trusted Nathan, but that did not mean she would blindly trust his friends.

"Doctor Carlisle, Miss Carlisle, Mr. Kershaw, It's a pleasure to meet you all." She shook their hands one by one as she introduced herself. "My name is Alesia Wang-Haines."

The group was still in a state of shock. Although Alesia allowed them to use her laboratory as a favor to Nathan, they had no idea that they would meet her face to face only two days later. They were surprised to see her as she had given no forewarning that she would be joining them.

"I'm sorry for not sending any warning that I was coming, but I wanted to meet all of you personally," Alesia said. "Our agreement was that we would share information, but I wanted to be here to observe and help in any way I can." She looked at Darren. "I hope that's okay."

Most Vetri individuals were quite secretive about their powers, as it often brought unnecessary attention. Whether it is individuals who fear them or those who wished to exploit their capabilities, most Vetri preferred to hide their abilities. Ordinary civilians who activate Vetri abilities prefer to lead normal lives, keeping their powers secret so as not to become isolated from their communities.

Darren was one such individual. His powers were much different than ordinary Vetri as they were copied from an extraterrestrial being. It's only been three days since Darren woke up from a coma. That same day he found out that his life had changed forever. Not only did he sleep for six months, but he also awakened with new powers he had no control over. That same day, he got on an airplane to meet two people he did not know but had to trust because he had no choice.

Although Miriam and Tora knew about his powers, they had no way of helping him control them or test how they would affect his health. So, he decided to trust Nathan and Matt because they brought a lot of insight into his powers.

Curiosity overshadowed his fears. Darren wanted to know more about his powers. He wanted to test their limits in order to control them. He would be lying if he denied that he wanted to use these powers to be the hero he so desired to be since his boyhood. Testing them and mastering his powers would be the key to his desired future. So he needed a state of the art training facility that Nathan was only able to procure from Alesia, whom he trusted.

In three days, three complete strangers, people he would never meet in his life, had become the keepers of his greatest secret. Darren was conflicted about meeting Alesia. On the one hand, she was a great asset to his training, but on the other hand, she was a stranger who he knows almost nothing about.

As Darren looked at Alesia, he sighed inwardly.

My life has become so complicated, he thought.

He said, aloud, "Yeah. It's fine. It's nice to meet you, too." Darren shook her hand. "Thanks for letting us use your amazing facility."

Why was he even talking so formally to a girl who was almost a decade younger than him? Darren sighed again.

Alesia nodded. Her eyes scanned over his body, analyzing every part of him. "Do you like the suit?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's really nice," Darren replied. He looked down at his body. "It's taking some getting used to because it's skin-tight. Other than that, it's quite comfortable."

Alesia walked around him. "Excuse me. I'm going to touch you." She touched his shoulders, down his back, then touched the hem of the sweatshirt. She bent down low, touching his pants and his calves. "It was designed for athletes. The clothes are sewn from threads of carbon nanotubes and spandex. The goal was to create a lightweight fabric that allows maximum freedom of movement and protection with little wind resistance. Like a second skin. You can also wear it under your clothes without feeling like you're wearing anything." Alesia stood up and looked at Darren. "For example, if you decide you're gonna put on a colorful costume to fight monsters and criminals, this is the type of fabric you should use in your suit."

Although Darren was caught off guard by her statement, he could not deny that it was true. A thought appeared in his head, maybe Alesia would give him the fabric to make his suit. Wait, did he even want a suit? What color would it be? It would definitely have to be primary colors.

Darren had drifted off into his hero fantasy land for the moment, but all the stares brought him back. "Maybe," he replied.

Her gaze lingered on Darren before a smirk formed on her lips. "Okay, let's get started." Her eyes glimmered with the same gaze that appeared when they first spoke two days ago. Her dark brown eyes shone with curiosity and childish anticipation as she grinned. She touched the treadmill. "We'll start with speed. You get on the treadmill. It's been modified to be able to handle speeds of 500 kilometers per hour."

She saw the shock in their eyes. Most commercial treadmills can only reach speeds not much greater than 30 kilometers per hour.

"As I said before, this is a facility for testing Vetri athletes. The equipment is made for supers." She moved from the treadmill to the weights area. "Then, we'll move on to weights. We'll start on the bench with the barbell. If you can lift up to 200 kilograms, we'll move on to this beauty." She walked in front of the large weight machine that was attached to the high ceiling and bolted to the floor. "This is the Rhino. With 100 tonnes in weight, we'll see just how strong you really are."

Each person took their place. In addition to Darren, Matt and Tora had come dressed in sweat and legging to work out in the Fitness Lab. Alesia decided it would be a good idea to see Darren's vitals and stats next to the vitals of ordinary people. She gave Matt and Tora the same smartwatches that would showcase their vitals, which she would monitor on her tablet.

Miriam and Nathan decided they were too old for this and went into the adjacent viewing theater to watch the kids. There were monitors in the room, which would allow them to see the same data that Alesia would see on her tablet.

Darren, Matt, and Tora started at a comfortable pace of 8 kilometers per hour. Alesia asked each of them for feedback before she increased their speed on the treadmills. She asked for feedback once more before they repeated the process. She increased the speed by two kilometers every five minutes. Matt pulled out when he reached 16 kilometers per hour as he had to stop to catch his breath. Tora, on the other hand, continued to run until she, too, had to stop when she reached 30 kilometers per hour.

Darren stayed on the treadmill. Matt and Tora had wiped out and were resting but Darren felt quite comfortable. Alesia also noticed that his heart and breathing rates were steady and his temperature had not risen even by a decimal. He was not even sweating, which means his body did not need to cool itself down. Although the numbers were clear, she wanted to know how he felt. She asked Darren, "How're you feeling?"

Darren spoke, "Okay. I feel good. It feels like I'm jogging."

"Okay. I'm going to speed this up by 10 kilometers," Alesia informed him. "Tell me if you feel any different."

And so they continued. For an hour, Alesia continued to increase Darren's speed in shifting intervals. Even at 100 kilometers per hour, he reported feeling comfortable, like he was jogging down the street even though he was going faster than a highway speed limit. His body had become a blur to the bystanders in the room. They increased his speed, pushing the treadmill to its absolute limit until it could no longer take it, and tossed Darren off. Darren flew back, across the room. He crashed into the other equipment and continued until he hit the opposing wall.