Batman The Knight #5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story. Worm is property of Wildbow. I do not have any interest in offending anyone and only wish to entertain readers.

Note: Bonus points for those who understand the meaning of the title.

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I rose from my sleep and as I sat up I began to stretch my arms to loosen my muscles as I felt they were still asleep. I got up from my bed and went downstairs to eat some breakfast.

I saw that Sakuya already prepared my breakfast for me and I silently thanked her within my mind. I began eating and soon finished. I put my plate and glass on the sink and went back upstairs. I knew that around this time Sakuya would be shopping to restock food. This would be the best time to do my training.

As soon as I got to my room and closed the door I heard Guru's voice chime in my head.

[Alright! Now that you got your rest do you know what teacher do you want?]

Guru asked an important question what teacher do I want to learn under from to help refine my skills? As I think of a mentor I realized what made Batman so cool and awesome and it's that despite seemingly in situations where he would lose, Batman was able to get out of it and while it might seem like plot armor I know that Batman trained for it and so I needed a trainer that can teach me to adapt and be creative in any situation.

'Guru I want a teacher that can help me think outside-of-the-box and find solutions that people would never normally see.'

[Hmmm, alright now let me look.]

Guru went silent, most likely reviewing a mental archive of potential mentors for me to learn from then I heard her speak once more.

[Alright, I found the perfect mentor for you.]

'Oh? Who is it?'

[Your next teacher will be... Sergei Alexandrov]

As soon as she said that information flooded my mind about him.

Sergei Alexandrov was a former Russian inventor who designed gear for the soviets and Kremlin during the Cold War though considered them to be, "Trinkets". He was eccentric, dressing in tuxedos, coloured spectacles and a pith-helmet while accompanied by his cyborg monkey, "Maxwell". Alexandrov considered the beauty of his work to be in achieving the impossible and creating, "Wonders" through his craft. 

I have to say he's pretty impressive, considering the fact that he was the one to teach Bruce Wayne inventing and engineering and forcing him to think outside-of-the-box. He's pretty good and he was Bruce's mentor so he could be pretty good for me.

Soon the world around me began to change and instead of my room it changed into a laboratory and it wasn't your white room clean laboratory instead it was an old some-what clean laboratory which also functioned as a home. On the table was various machines, tools, and more.

I then saw him being materialized before me and his monkey as well and he soon opened his eyes and he looked at me with an appraising gaze.

He soon spoke and in a Russian accent said, "So you want to learn from me to create wonders, hmmm?"

I looked at him and I nodded and said, "Yes, I want to learn from you."

Sergei looked at me and nodded, "Alright I shall teach you how to create wonders."

I nodded and deep down I was pretty excited after all, Bruce learned from this guy and was able to make all those gadgets and be incredibly creative with the resources at hand.

...

Soon my training with Sergei began, and I must say that despite Sergei not appearing in comics that much and served as a plot device for Batman to get his training, Sergei knows his stuff.

Sergei didn't really teach me a lot of science considering I learned from Izuru Kamakura and Reed Richards who is the Embodiment of Talent and Smartest Man Alive respectively. Though, Sergei did try and impart wisdom from me about creating wonders. 

He mostly left me to my devices as I tried to create gadgets and tools for my future hero work. He would come and inspect my work and shake his head apparently signaling that I'm not doing it right. 

I could understand how he feels, after all I'm just inventing basic and unimaginative technology such as sonic radar extravision goggles, quake boots, taser gauntlets, pen-sized laser cutter, and more.

It continued on for months with sometimes him even approving some of my gadgets. I spent quite a bit of time with him and as I continued refining my inventing and engineering skills.

As I practiced my inventing skills, Sergei was looking over me with Maxwell, his monkey, on his shoulders.

He began to speak, "These blunt little tools, you've been building them for months, Ren, tinkering, perfecting... and why?

I continued using the welding tool and goggles as I responded, "I'm doing exactly what you taught me, Sergei. This technology is as sophisticated as any military's in the world."

Sergei pinched his brow in disappointment as he said, "->Sigh<- little military trinkets I was making back in the Cold War. Oh, Maxwell. The boy is hopeless.

Maxwell eeked in response to Sergei's words

I took of the goggles and looked at him and said, "You told me the broad parameters of your Final Test. Closed room. Limited oxygen supply. All I'll have with me is what I've spent the last six months working on to get out, or I'll die. I've prepared for every eventuality. I've perfected each of these tools. They will do the job. You can't beat me here. It's not possible.

...

(Later at an unknown time)

It was pitch black, I couldn't see anything. I could feel the ground around me and it was coarse and rough. My head was also throbbing in pain. I couldn't see anything and so I decided to light up a match.

"Sergei, are you out there? I can't see a damn thing.

As the match was lit and gave me a light to see I looked around and I noticed that I was in a small room and it has enough room for me to move my body around and stand up, but I noticed there was no entry way. I was literally stuck in here with only the tools I had on me.

I looked at my tools that was on the floor which included my taser gauntlets, sonic radar extravision goggles, laser cutter, and quake boots.

"Damn... half the components are missing... none of these are operational.

I looked at my gadgets and they look damaged with pieces broken laying on the ground.

I stayed calm and tried to keep my breathing steady. This room has a limited oxygen supply and I shouldn't waste it.

"Okay... think Ren think... What are you going to do? You're going to die. And that crusty old Russian's going to feed you to his damned monkey.

Then a flashback hit me as I was taking to Sergei.

"Impossible, eh? That is why you summoned me, no? To learn the impossible. And yet, you are so wrapped up in the outcome... in your planning. You are inflexible. You do not allow yourself to make new connections. You do not allow the impossible.

With the flashback over I steadied my breathing

"Steady your breathing. You can make ten minutes of air last an hour. You know that much. Just think. Be flexible. What can I do with this crap?"

I looked over my damaged gadgets and began to think of ways to re-purpose my damaged gadgets.

"No there isn't enough power...keep thinking. Maybe if I amplify the sonic blast..."

I smirked in victory as I came up with an idea to get out this place.

"...heh. This is crazy."

...

Meanwhile above ground,

Sergei was sitting on a chair and Maxwell his monkey was on his lap sipping a drink that Sergei was holding for him.

"Not crazy enough, Ren. This is the problem, Maxwell. He is smart, yes. I would have hired him as an underling back in the Kremlin. Given him a little kernel of the idea. He would have cracked it. Improved it. But he's no dreamer. He would never produce something new. 

Behind him I coughed

"->koff<-, wanna bet? 

I crawled out of the ground sweaty and dirty and used the gloves I repurposed to crawl out of the hole I dug myself through.

"I used the motor for the quake boots to overclock the sonic radar system in the eye-set by 10,000 decibels. Built them into gloves. Took a few tries to find a shatter point. But I broke through. And dug. 

"It was thrilling, wasn't it?"

I smiled wrly, "Actually, I think I burst one of my eardrums..."

Sergei looked at me with a smile as he patted Maxwell, "Not the escape, Boy! That moment. That perfect moment when you let go of your rigid concepts of what was possible. When there was nothing left to do but step beyond anything you'd learn before... when you stopped being a poor mimic and become an explorer of the mind. How did that feel?"

I smiled happily and said, "Empowering."

Sergei stood up from his chair and put both his arms up in the air in happiness and Maxwell moved to his shoulder, "YES! YES! As it should! Power lies in the impossible... doing the impossible is the very origin of this art... imagine the ancients, when compelled to do something new, for the first time... when their mighty kings told them to build wonders that the world had never seen before. They could not rely on what they had done before. They had to create. They had to break out of the rigidity of the contemporary mindsets..."

Sergei started walking away and I soon got up and followed him. I looked behind me and it was the Egyptian sphinx that I was under.

Sergei continued talking, "... That is why your test was here. That is what I wanted to show you. When you can wield the impossible... you can create wonders."

Sergei looked at me with a proud smile and even Maxwell his monkey was smiling at me.

"You've done well, Ren. You have learned how to create wonders there's nothing left for me to teach you."

I smiled as well as I passed his test and I improved tremendously.

The world around me, Sergei, and Maxwell started glitching out of existence and soon they disappeared and I was in my room again. 

I heard Guru's voice chime in my head.

[So do you have ideas for you next trainer?]

I began to contemplate what teacher do I want to learn from next. While I have a solid foundation in everything there are things I want to improve.

I already have a very advanced education, combat skills, inventing skills and body enhancement. Now what more do I want to learn and refine? Aha, I got it.

'I want training from an Assassin. Not your generic assassin training which I already did with Izuru, but an assassin with a unique skill set that would help me even more.'

[Hmmm, an assassin with a unique skill set to teach you and not just your generic assassin training.]

Guru remained silent for quite a bit as she looked through her archive of potential mentors. She stayed like that for quite a bit possible choosing the best mentor for me.

Soon I heard her voice chime once more

[Alright, I found your assassin teacher!]

'Really, who is it?'

[Your next teacher will be...]

XXXXXXX

Author's Note: The fifth chapter of his training arc is finished! I will be moving a bit faster now to get his training arc finished. My posting schedule will be every Sunday, but I will post this Tuesday. After that it will only be every Sunday.