THE SHADOWVERSE

Calm Before the Rage

Sonovan rose from the ground. He had just finished twenty minutes of pushups and exercising in the dull abode he now called home—no matter how temporary. Nevertheless, its gray paint and windowless walls served his needs adequately.

During his stay, he made sure to meet the guards stationed in the bunker. Pleased to see humans other than himself and The Shadowforce, he made time to always greet them and converse. They were enamored with him and his story.

At this very moment, though, Sonovan prepared the team for another lesson. This time, Rose was a new addition. Sonovan had never taught her, so during the session he was her sparring partner.

At this moment, The Shadowforce was learning a new move from an ancient, unique fighting style.

"This is another one of my creations, part of the Kage No Michi," Sonovan said, walking through their midst. "Translated, it means 'Way of the Shadows.'"

"This is your art," Ryan said, trying to clarify.

"Yes, it is."

"Cool."

"So, begin by performing a boshi-ken."

"A what?"

"Boshi-what?" Dustin replied. "I'm sorry, but I didn't take Japanese in school. Spanish made more sense."

"The boshi-ken is a thumb strike. I want you to close your hand into a fist. Now bend your thumb but stick it out a bit." Sonovan helped Ryan as the others watched intently. "Excellent. The way this move is incorporated in this technique is for you to stab the side of my neck with it."

"Stab you with my thumb's joint?"

"Yes, but go slow for the demonstration, of course." Ryan slowly contacted Sonovan's neck with his hand. "Good, now use your left knee and ram it into my stomach." Following his teaching, Ryan did it correctly. "Perfect. In your rock form, this will annihilate the opponent. Johnny, I want you to come up behind him."

Following directions, Johnny activated his powers and approached Ryan from behind. Ryan utilized his own training and back-kicked Johnny, who moved out of the way.

"Outstanding!" Sonovan praised. "For the rest of you, you can optimize it by using your own technique. Instead of a back-kick, you can freeze the opponent, or blow him away, etcetera."

"Got it," Sam replied.

"If not, and the opponent is stronger, then once you kick him with your shin, knee him twice with alternating legs. Johnny, you, for example, would likely do this."

"OK, got it," Ryan replied.

"Gotcha," Johnny replied.

"Now, continue."

Rose chuckled to herself and said, "Gives a whole new meaning to shadow boxing."

"Ha! That's funny," Dustin snickered.

Once the lesson had ended, Sonovan retired to his room. Johnny did the same, but the others went for a snack. JC came by Johnny's room. "Are you OK, sir?"

"You don't have to call me sir," Johnny replied.

"It's mandatory," JC replied, smiling impishly. "Anyway, I have come here to relay a message from the President. You are not allowed to leave the premises. So please, make our job easy and don't try."

"Can I at least call anyone? You know, Mom and Dad type anyone?"

"Yes, you can."

Appearing tentative, the man spoke up before leaving. "By the way, how many of you are there?"