Chapter 06

Chapter 06

Training the Impossible

Dr. Bannerman’s workshop had been chaotic before—but now it looked like a battlefield crossed with a science lab. Cables snaked across the floor, generators hummed, and new machines flickered with strange lights. After Obrenu’s appearance, she had worked nonstop, barely sleeping.

Adams stood in the center of the room, hands on his knees, gasping for air.

“Again,” Dr. Bannerman demanded, tapping her clipboard.

Adams shot her a desperate look. “Ei, Doc… I’m dying.”

“You’re breathing. If you’re breathing, you’re training.”

He groaned. “You’re supposed to be a little bit compassionate though.”

“I am. That’s why I’m not letting you go out there and get killed.”

Adams sighed and stood up straight. “Fine. What now?”

Dr. Bannerman pushed her goggles down over her eyes. “Reflex control test. You will move from here”—she pointed to a glowing square on the floor—“to that target”—a small red light—“without overshooting, crashing, or accidentally running through my wall again.”

Adams winced. “That was one time.”

“Three times,” she corrected. “And a fourth that nearly destroyed my solar inverter.”

Adams muttered, “The inverter attacked me first.”

Dr. Bannerman ignored him and pressed a button.

The red target began blinking rapidly.

Adams cracked his knuckles.
“Okay… let’s do this.”

He inhaled slowly.
Focused.
Let the world slow…

Then—

WHOOSH!

He launched forward.

In the span of a heartbeat, he traveled three meters too far, bounced off a crate, ricocheted off the ceiling, and landed in a pile of cushions Dr. Bannerman had placed there specifically for him.

Adams groaned from the cushion pile. “So… how was that?”

“Abysmal,” she said cheerfully.

Adams popped his head up. “You enjoy this.”

“I enjoy not having to scrape your remains off the wall.”

She walked over and helped him stand. “Your problem isn’t speed. It’s control. You’re thinking like a normal runner. You need to think like energy.”

Adams dusted himself off. “Energy?”

She pointed at him with a wrench. “You are no longer moving your body through the world. You are folding the world around your movement.”

Adams blinked. “Doc, that makes absolutely no sense.”

Oh Adams Ibrahim! Not my brightest student yet…

“Good,” she said. “That means you’re ready for phase two.”

She led him to a metal chamber that looked suspiciously like a cross between a wind tunnel and a torture device.

Adams stared. “Uhhh… Doc… what is that?”

“The Tempo Sphere,” she said proudly. “A controlled environment that forces your perception and kinetic energy into synchronization.”

Adams pointed at the cracks along its side. “Why is it damaged?”

Dr. Bannerman cleared her throat. “A small explosion. Caused by… research.”

Adams groaned. “I’m going to die in that thing.”

“You’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Probably.”

Before he could protest, she shoved him inside and sealed the chamber.

Lights flickered. The machine hummed.
Adams’s heart raced.

A screen lit up inside the chamber, showing Dr. Bannerman’s face.
“Adams, listen carefully. This machine is going to accelerate your perception of time. Your goal is to run in a circle without breaking the chamber.”

Adams swallowed. “That sounds simple.”

“And if you fail, the chamber will implode.”

“What?!”

“Begin!” she said, hitting a button.

The world changed instantly.

Time warped.
Light curved.
Adams felt as if the universe stretched like rubber around him.

He ran.

He blinked across the chamber, each footstep leaving a ripple of blue energy. The walls shook under the pressure. A siren blared.

“Adams, lower your output!” Dr. Bannerman shouted.

“I’m trying!”

He closed his eyes, focusing on the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Steady. Steady. Steady.

The blue trail behind him dimmed.
His speed evened out.
The chamber stopped shaking.

Adams opened his eyes—

—for the first time, he was running without losing control.

He skidded to a stop, chest heaving, but standing upright.

Dr. Bannerman burst into a grin.
“Yes! That’s it! That’s control!”

Adams smiled weakly. “I… did it.”

“You did,” she said. “But don’t celebrate yet.”

She held up a tablet showing a map of Nima.

“Obrenu has been active. The Black Vultures are gathering weapons. They’re preparing for something big.”

The test ended and Adams stepped out of the chamber.

His smile faded.

Dr. Bannerman continued:
“You’ve improved in the lab. But if you truly want to defend this city… it’s time to train in the real world.”

Adams stared at the map, fear and determination swirling inside him.

“Real world? You mean… out there?”

She nodded. “Tonight. We begin patrol.”

Adams’s pulse quickened.

His first real mission.

His first test as a hero—not just of speed, but of courage.

He took a deep breath.

“Let’s do it.”