After what had felt like an eternity of deliberation, Mercy had finally drummed up enough courage to make the phone call to Delilah's cousin, Mathias. He had been… abrasive… at first, demanding to know who this strange young woman was and why she was calling him. Also, how she’d gotten his number. All she’d had to do to smooth things over was to mention she was a friend of Delilah’s and then suddenly he became… well almost polite. That was until she had made her request.

“... I have my own training I have to take care of, kid, I don’t have time to take on dead weight. I’ve got a fight in like… Two weeks.” Mathias had said to her after her request for if nothing else a self-defense primer. “Listen… If you had asked me like a month ago… or maybe in another two weeks I’d be more than happy to help you but I just… I don’t have time.”

“But, Delilah said you’d help me?” She had said into the phone, hearing that tell-tale hitch in her voice that denoted that she was about to cry. “P-please, Mr. White… I really need the… h-help.”

There had been a long moment of silence on the line and she had sniffled a bit uncontrollably as she felt the tears start to build up in her eyes at the thought of having to wait, of possibly being put in the same situation she had that had prompted her to seek Mathias’ help in the first place.

“Aw, ********, are you crying? You’re crying… Okay look…” Mathias had said when he’d heard the sniffles. “The last thing I need is for you to go bitching to Delilah that I wasn’t helpful… So okay, here’s how this is going to go down. I’m going to add you into my routine, okay? But only for one day, and if you miss it it’s on your a**. Be at the following address at 5 am, this Saturday.”

“Five AM?!” Mercy had balked suddenly.

“Yes, Five AM, if you’re not there I’m counting you a no show and you’re done.” Mathias had said into the phone.

“F-fine… I’ll be there.” Mercy had heard herself say and almost not believe it.

“Good… now here’s the address….”

---

Which is what led her to her current predicament, dressed and ready to work out, standing in front of a newly refurbished warehouse building looking up at a tower of a man who looked like he could easily snap her in half if he sneezed wrong. He seemed surprised to see her show up, and just shook his head and gave her a smile as he produced a key to unlock the door to the warehouse, opening it up and motioning for her to head inside. As she did, she was floored to see the… various and sundry types of workout equipment on one side of the building, and punching bags and other training equipment on the other. In the center, was an octagonal ring, surrounded by what looked to be roughly seven feet of fine chain-link fencing. All-in-all she felt more out of her element than any time she’d been with Nick in the last month.

“Don’t be nervous, you’ll be fine,” Mathias said with a chuckle, before looking her over. “Though, I’m not sure how Delilah expects me to work miracles.”

“What do you mean?” Mercy asked, suddenly feeling… inadequate.

“Your arms kid, you’ve probably never done more than basic gym class, am I right?” He asked, looking her over. “And I’m gonna guess with a rack like that you don’t like to run very much.”

“I… hardly see why this is important…” Mercy said, covering her chest with an arm protectively, suddenly feeling VERY embarrassed.

“Okay, look…” Mathias said, raising his hands in front of him in something resembling a placating fashion. “I’m not trying to insult you or anything. You said you wanted to learn to defend yourself, but that’s hard to do if after the first punch you don’t have the strength to break away or worse, the stamina to keep running away. Even worse if you’re stuck in a situation where you CAN’T run away.”

“Oh…” Mercy said, lowering her arms and then her head. “I see, so you think I’m wasting my time?”

“I didn’t say that,” Mathias said with a chuckle. “I’m saying we need to play to your strengths… Which is the fact that you look like you can’t harm a fly…” He motioned for her to follow him toward the ring, and she did.

“What do you mean?” Mercy asked as they walked and Mathias unlocked the gate to let them into the ring. “That my strength is looking like I can’t hurt anyone?”

“Because they won’t be expecting you to hurt them. It will throw them off and give you the advantage. A fight - if you ever get into one - is half physical effort and half mental prep. If you can fuc… Mess with the enemy’s head, you’re more likely to win.”

“Oh… I see…” Mercy said with a nod. Some of the books she’d been reading on tactics said something similar, but she’d thought they’d meant warfare, not actual hand-to-hand combat. But then she realized, that when it got down to it, most warfare summed out to hand-to-hand combat when things reached their most dire. “So what do I do?”

“You hit them where it hurts and where a lot of people don’t think to guard,” Mathias said with a chuckle. “You hit them as hard as you can, as fast as you can and you hope to god they go down.”

He walked her to the center of the ring and rolled his shoulders. “Okay… So I want you to hit me as hard as you can.” He said, holding his arms out to his sides so she had an open shot at him. “Just to see how hard you can hit.”

Mercy frowned, but did as she was told, balling her hand up in a fist, she ran at him full force and yelling, slammed her fist square into Mathias’ stomach like she’d seen done in the movies. This caused her to cry out, as her wrist rolled and it felt like she was punching an actual brick wall. Pulling back, she cradled her hand close to her body with a whimper.

“Ow!” She hissed loudly. “Ow, ow, ow… Owwwww. I think I broke it… I think I broke my hand…”

Mathias snorted and shook his head, moving over to her he reached out and took her hand, shaking it a bit, which caused her to hiss, and quickly jerk it back.

“OW! That hurt!” She whimpered, pulling it in closer to her body.

“It’s not broken.” Mathias said with a small smirk. “If it’d been broken you’d be screaming and probably on the ground right now.”

Mercy looked at him in absolute horror. “You’re… you’re cruel.” She hissed at him, turning away.

“Yes, I am cruel. I’m surprised Delilah didn’t inform you of that.” Mathias said with a small chuckle. “And I make no apologies for it. If you want to learn from me, then you’ll have to put up with my s**t. If you don’t like it, doors over there.” He motioned with his head toward the door.

“No… No… I’ll stay…” Mercy said with a hiss of frustration which caused her cheeks to puff out. “Tell me what I need to do next.”

“Well for one, your punching technique is absolute s**t.” Mathias said with a grunt. “Here…” He took her arm again, and she hissed, but otherwise didn’t stop him. He closed her hand into a fist again, but this time, he slid her thumb over her index and middle finger. “That’s a bit better… Now…” He pulled her arm back. “Swing from the shoulder, and don’t lock your elbow. Throw your weight into it a bit too, shift your body forward as you punch, and let it follow through…”

Standing back against he once more held out his hands at his sides. “Now then... “ He said with a chuckle. “Go ahead and punch me again.”

Mercy made a face, but this time she followed his advice, and taking a step forward, she swung the punch back at his stomach. This time, instead of her wrist rolling, the blow connected square and proper. It still felt like she was punching a solid wall, but it wasn’t made of bricks this time. Mathias even let out a low grunt of air when she’d hit him.

“Better,” he said with a huff. “Much, better…” He took another step back and pointed at his nose. “If you can, punch someone here if they’re leaving their face unguarded. It’ll make their eyes tear up and they won’t be able to fight as effectively.”

Then he pointed to his throat. “If you’re desperate, and you really need to get away, punch them in the throat as hard and fast as you can. They’ll choke for a minute, it’ll make it hard for them to breathe and most people will simply just go down from the shock.”

Next, he pointed at his sternum. “A good hit to the sternum will knock the wind out of most people, but you have to be careful, because you won’t always hit head on, and then you’ve lost your chance to take them down.”

He pointed to his groin next. “Effective for males, but can also be pretty painful for women I’ve heard. Most people say you should only do it if your life's in danger… But look kid… You do what you gotta do to end the fight and get away, if that means going for the jewels, then go for the jewels. But most people are pretty good about guarding those so… yeah… Your mileage may vary.”

Then he pointed at his knee. “If you can get a good kick to the knee, either to the side or striaght on, you can generally shock most people off balance. Better if you can sweep the leg. I’m not… even going to get you started on kicking today, mainly because I don’t want to go through all the kinds of them, but if you want to come back after my fight’s over… We can talk about more classes.”

He then pointed to his in-step. “If you can stomp on their foot hard enough, get right into the instep, it helps you knock them off balance. But for you, I suggest keeping focused on punching for now, so upper body and groin if it’s completely undefended…”

Mercy nodded, biting her lip and nodding her head. “I see… I don’t suppose I get to… practice on a live target do I?”

Mathias laughed and shook his head. “No, of course not, I kind of like not getting hurt before a fight, but look…” He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder lightly. “You’re free to use the bags and stuff while I start working on my routine, my only request is if you don’t know how to use something you ask me first. I don’t want you breaking anything.”

Mercy nodded, and slid past him to look toward the bags. She could see the large body bags, and the smaller speed bags. But decided to focus on one of the larger body bags because it seemed like the better choice. She watched as Mathias moved out of the ring and closed it up behind him, before moving to one of the treadmills and turning it on. He hopped on the thing and started to run. She had to admit to herself, that he was…. Nice, in his own way. Completely terrifying and she felt he could kill her without blinking…But nice…

Turning her attention back to the bag, she started to practice her punching, taking the lesson Mathias had taught her to heart. She thought of that strange… Half-Youma woman… That… horrible jerk of a Negaverse officer who had attacked her on the roof… The other who had frightened her into realizing her need for these lessons. So she focused, and she made sure that if she ever threw another punch, it would be flawless.

It lasted all of thirty minutes, and then her arms felt like they were lead. She shook them out and looked toward Mathias again, who was still running on the treadmill like it was nothing. Finally she moved over to him, and he waved as she approached.

“Good work, kid,” He said with a chuckle. “Your arms have gotta feel like noodles huh?”

“Yes, yes they very much do…” Mercy said with a wince. “Do you have… any water by chance?”

“In the cool-case over there… Normally I’d charge but you’re a family friend…” He said with a chuckle. “Don’t tell my girlfriend.” He added with a wink.

“You… have a girlfriend?” Mercy asked, her brow suddenly going up. She didn’t know weather to be jealous of the woman, or sorry for her. Mathias was one of those men that had to be… impossible to live with.

“Yeah, she manages the place and will probably be in here closer to seven or eight… I always open… Not that we’re… officially open or anything.” He said with a chuckle.

Mercy moved over to the chill-case and grabbed one of the water bottles out, cracking it open she took a long sip and watched him. “I see… Will I be getting in anyone’s way if I want to continue these lessons after your fight?” The last thing she wanted to be was a burden.

“No, not really. If nothing else you’ll probably get to see some actual fights… Or some decent spars, it might be educational.” Mathias said with a chuckle. “Hey, why don’t you grab a treadmill and get some cardio in. It’ll do you some good.”

Mercy made a face but moved over to the treadmill beside him, setting it for a brisk walk and climbing up on it to start. “You were correct in your assessment of me not liking to run…” She said with a grimace.

“Kid, trust me, I don’t like it anymore than you do,” Mathias said with a chuckle. “But cardio is important for your stamina and it’ll be worth it. Trust me.”

Mercy sighed and nodded, and continued the not entirely bad pace, that was until one of Mathias’ long arms reached over and hit the up speed button on her treadmill causing her to have to start jogging in order to keep up.

“Hey!” She yelped, suddenly finding herself moving at a much faster pace than she prefered. “That’s not cool!”

“Won’t get stronger if you don’t push yourself, kid,” Mathias said with a chuckle. “Look, if you can make it the next half hour at that speed, I’ll let you call it a day, okay?”

Mercy’s eyes widened. “You mean there’s MORE?!” She asked as she kept her legs moving at a brisk jog.

“Oh yeah, weight training for strength… Probably arms since you definitely need a bit more mass there… If this becomes a more solid thing I’ll probably set up a full rotation for you.” Mathias said with a grin. “What? You thought this would just be all fighting? Body’s gotta be strong first, kid.”

Mercy could feel the color leaving her face. Just what horror did she get herself into? Still, she forced herself to keep the pace with the machine, and it wasn’t long before she started to break an actual sweat, rubbing her face with a hand, she looked at the heart monitor on her wrist and stared at the fact that her heart rate was actually in the triple digits. She wanted to die. Her chest hurt from bouncing a bit, her legs were sore. Sweat was getting into her eyes, and she was absolutely miserable. Still, her pride would not allow her to back down, so she pushed on. It started to get harder and harder to breath, and soon she found herself gasping for air.

“In through your nose, out through your mouth kid…” Mathias said with a chuckle. “Come on, just five more minutes, you’ve got this.”

Mercy sighed, but she focused on breathing in through her nose and then out through her mouth, and was surprised when it actually did make things easier, and everything (well aside from the bouncing of her chest anyway) had gotten a lot easier. Her legs didn’t hurt as much, and breathing was easier. She could hear Mathias running faster, and faster beside her, suddenly breaking into an all out sprint as the machine suddenly whirred into what she could only assume was a super high speed. Finally he slowed to a brisk walk and reached over and slowed down her machine to the same.

“You did it kid.” He said with a grin. “Ten minute cool down, and then you’re free to go.” He watched her for a moment. “How did you get here anyway? You got a ride?”

Mercy nodded her head slowly. “I had my Dad drop me off he thought I was nuts.” She said with a sigh. “But he said he’d come get me as soon as I called.”

“Alright, I just want to be sure because this isn’t the best area and like hell I’m gonna let you wander off alone. You can stay in the office until your dad shows up.”

“Thank you, Mr. White.” Mercy said with a small sigh of relief of not having to wait outside for her father.

“It’s Mathias,” Mathias said with a chuckle. “You don’t need to call me Mr. White.”

“Oh… Okay… Mathias then.” Mercy said with a small nod as she continued to walk. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, kid.” He said with a smile.

“Mercy,” Mercy said. “My name is Mercy.”

“Yes, I know your name is Mercy, kid.” Mathias said with a smirk. “Still gonna call you kid.”

Mercy rolled her eyes, but she supposed to Mathias, she was a kid. All the same it irked her. But she supposed it was just part of that… abrasive charm he had going.

When her cool down was over, she hopped off the treadmill and grabbed her water, taking a sip she texted her Dad and made her way into the office. Mathias followed after her and tossed her a towel, which she took happily and wiped herself down with.

“You did good for a first day, kid,” Mathias said as he sat down at his desk and turned the chair to face Mercy. “Call me in about two weeks if you’re still interested in learning how to defend yourself, and we’ll whip you into shape.”

Mercy nodded, and gave him a small smile. “I’ll remember Mr…. Mathias… Thank you.” She sighed and sipped at the water. “Is it… always going to be this intense?”

“Oh, today was light,” Mathias said. “Once I’m sure your dad has you I’m going to go back to my routine, that was light for what I normally do. Like I said, next is weight training.”

“I see…” Mercy said with another sigh. “Well I suppose that I will just have to rise to the challenge then!”

“Now that is what I like to hear,” Mathias said, leaning toward her with a grin. “You’ve got spunk, kid. Keep up that attitude and there’s nothing you won’t be able to do.” He said with a nod.

Mercy smiled and looked down at her phone to see her dad had texted her that he was there. Standing up she smiled. “My Dad is here to pick me up, Mathias. Thank you again… I will contact you in two weeks.” She said with a small curtsey.

Mathias waved her off with a small laugh. “Oh please, none of that…” He got up and walked her out of the gym, standing at the door. “That your dad’s car?”

“Yes, that’s it… Thank you again.” Mercy said with a small smile. Before turning to make her way to the car and get in.

Mathias watched her standing by the door until they pulled out of sight. Then he turned, and headed back into the gym to finish his morning training.

“How was it?” Sam asked Mercy as they headed back to the house.

“It was more than I expected… But I liked it. It was good Daddy… Thank you for taking me.” Mercy said with a small nod. “I… think I’ll keep doing it. He said he’s free again in two weeks.”

Same nodded and sighed. “It’s a shame that the world today requires my daughter to feel the need to take up self defense classes… really…”

Mercy reached up and touched his arm. “I know, Daddy, I know… but I will feel safer if I know how to defend myself.”

Sam sighed, but nodded. “If it makes you feel safer… well then I really can’t argue that now can I?”

Mercy smiled. “Thank you, Daddy, for understanding.”

“Of course, Mercy… Now then, since it’s still so early, why don’t we surprise Mom and Nathaniel with a nice breakfast, yeah?” Sam said with a chuckle.

“That sounds great, Daddy,” Mercy said with a grin. “After all that working out I’m super hungry.”

Sam smiled, and turned the car toward home. Mercy relaxed in her seat, cursing her sore muscles but knowing that the next time she went on patrol, she wouldn’t be as defenseless as she had been before. And in two weeks… well…. She’d be even stronger.