The dipidated police station stood before Fii, casting a long shadow across the dusty street. Her eyes roved over the broken windows aher-worn doors, noting the faded lettering oerior. As she approached the entrance, she hesitated. Could she really do this?

  Fii recalled Virgil's cryptic warning ah's encement. She wao make a differen the slums, no matter what the cost. Yet, the thought of learning from the notorious Backfire made her nervous.

  As she stood before the door, a voice rang out iillness. "ing or not?"

  She turo see Virgil standing near an alleyway, a cigarette in his hand and a smirk on his lips. Fii gave him a curt nod, striding forward with as much fidence as she could muster.

  The door swung open with a creak, revealing the darkened interior of the station. As she stepped inside, her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, taking in the dust-covered furniture and graffiti-covered walls. A small beam of sunlight filtered through the boarded-up windows, illuminating a staoldy cardboard boxes and an old desk. The station had clearly been abandoned for quite some time.

  Even through her cyber helmet, Fii wrinkled her the musty smell, resisting the urge to cough.

  Virgil nudged Fii forward. "Wele to your raining grounds, kiddo."

  "Looks cozy," Fii muttered sarcastically.

  Virgil walked past, trailing smoke behind him. He sat down in a worn office chair aured for Fii to do the same. She plied, pulling out another seat from beh a desk covered in cobwebs.

  With a slight hesitation, Fii uncsped her cyber helmet and pulled it off her head. Her short, white hair spilled out, and she tucked it behind her ears, smoothing out the tangles. She set the helmet down oable, gng nervously at Virgil.

  Despite the grime and dirt, the man projected a sense of calm authority. He removed a pack of cigarettes from his coat and offered her one, "Smoke?"

  "No thanks, not my thing," Fii replied, waving him off.

  He shrugged and pulled out a lighter, toug the fme to the end of his cigarette. Taking a long drag, he exhaled a puff of smoke into the stale air. "You wanna make a real differen this hellhole we call home?" He regarded Fii with a steady gaze. "You gotta it."

  Fii stared back, refusing to back down. "I'm itted."

  Virgil smirked and leaned festuring to his eyes with two fingers. "Gotta it with your eyes, your ears, and your heart. You 't lie to me, kid. I've been around long enough to see through bullshit."

  "I'm not bullshitting you," Fii shot back. "I've got what it takes."

  He man shook his head. "You got moxie, I'll give you that. But that ain't enough. You gotta want it more than anything else. It has to be all-ing." He tapped his temple with his index finger. "It has to live in here." He pced his hand over his heart, tapping his chest lightly. "And in here, too. You uand what I'm saying?"

  "Sure," Fii agreed. "That's why I'm here."

  Virgil's expression remained unged, his gaze pierg into Fii. "Show me."

  "Huh?"

  Virgil crushed the remains of his cigarette against the table and stood, his chair screeg against the floorboards. "Let's go for a walk." He turned and started walking towards a hallway.

  Fii scrambled to her feet, grabbing her helmet and pg it ba her head. "Where are we going?"

  "To the training grounds," Virgil replied over his shoulder, his pawavering.

  As they passed a broken window, Fii caught sight of her refle in the gss. The LED eyes on her visor stared back, refleg light like twin blue stars. The sight still unnerved her, though she had grown aced to seeing it during the few weeks.

  "Quit dawdling, girl." Virgil called from further ahead. Fii quied her pace, jogging after him as he disappeared through an archway.

  The back of the police building led into a secluded courtyard, enclosed by a rusted -link fehe ground was cracked and uneven, littered with trash and debris. A pile of tires and scrap metal occupied the er, rusting away in the sun.

  In the ter of the space was a ring of crete, marked by white chalk and a crudely drawn target.

  Virgil gestured to it with a flourish. "Impressive, isn't it?" He wi Fii. "This is where we'll be training. It's not much, but it works."

  Fii surveyed the area, trying to hide her disappoi. The training ground arse, to say the least. pared to what Edith had mae up at that other building, this ractically a dump.

  "There's no equipment, no ons... Where's the training stuff?" She g Virgil quizzically.

  Virgil grinned. "In your brain, sweetheart."

  "I told you not to call me that, remember?" Fii bristled at his casual dismissal.

  "Right, sorry. Fii. Or Axion. Take your pick." He waved a hand dismissively. "Now, before we begin, there are a few ground rules. Rule number one, do whatever I tell you. If I tell you to do something, you do it. End of story. No questions, no pints. Uand?"

  Fii frowned, "I'm not sure—"

  "Rule wo," Virgil interrupted, cutting her off mid-sentence. "You will address me as 'sir'. Is that clear?"

  "Uh, yes, sir." Fii muttered relutly. This guy was really getting on her nerves.

  "Rule hree. Always tell me the truth. Hoy is crucial in this line of work. Any questions?"

  "What exactly are we training for, sir?" Fii inquired.

  He sidered her question, rubbing his thoughtfully. "For starters, I o teach you some basibat skills. I've seen yhts, and I tell you're raw, untrained, and unskilled. Your approach is sloppy, to say the least. In the end, you rely on your power to carry you through. While that's effective against most of the scum living here, it won't wainst someone more skilled. You're a liability to yourself, kid."

  "Are you saying my fighting sucks, sir?" Fii scowled, feeling offended.

  He shrugged. "About as bad as your average crook."

  Fii crossed her arms defensively.

  Virgil held up a hand. "Hold on a sed, I'm not done. While you ck experience, you show some promise. Your athleticism aermination are uionable, and you've demonstrated that you're able to adjust and adapt to ging circumstahat's important in a fight."

  His words caught Fii off-guard. Was he... plimenting her? It certainly seemed like it, judging by the way he spoke. She was about to thank him when he added, "Of course, I tell you've rained properly in your life until Edith picked you up. That ends now."

  Fii felt the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. Of course, he had to ruin the moment by insulting her. Why did he always have to be so desding? She bit ba angry retort, choosing io remain silent.

  Virgil tinued, "So, I'm going to show you how to handle yourself physically, without relying on your power. You're a metahuman anyway so you're already stronger, faster, and mile than normal humans. Let's build upon that. Oh, and you'll also o learn how to fight dirty."

  "Dirty, sir?" Fii asked.

  "Yup, dirty. The first lesson you o learn is that in a real fight, the objective is to win. It doesn't matter how you aplish that goal, as long as you succeed. Ethid morality py no role. Only survival matters. Now, are you ready to start?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Good," Virgil smiled. "Let's begin."

  The following week, Fii stood in the middle of the training grounds, her fists raised defensively. Her bodysuit was covered in dust and sweat, and her legs ached from the stant strain. She'd spent hours sparring with Virgil, and he'd yet to break a sweat.

  He paced bad forth in front of her, his hands csped behind his back. "Keep your elbows in, and rotate your wrists slightly. Good. Now, jab!" He barked.

  Fii obeyed, thrusting her left fist forward. Virgil swatted aside her attack effortlessly and circled her, his eyes sing her form ily.

  "Elbows," he chided, spping her sharply across the upper arm. She fli the impad lowered her arms. "Rex," he ordered. "Loosen those shoulders."

  She obeyed, loosening her shoulders and dropping her elbows slightly.

  Virgil nodded, "Better. Now, let's go again. Jab!"

  She threw another punch, and Virgil parried it aside.

  He lunged forward, catg her off-bance. Before she could react, he grabbed her wrist, twisted it sharply, and pinned her arm behind her back. In one fluid motion, he spun her around, sending her crashing to the ground. The wind rushed from her lungs, and her vision blurred.

  Her right khrobbed in pain from where it had struck the hard, crete ground.

  "Get up," Virgil anded, releasing her and stepping back. "Remember, when you throunch, keep your elbow bent slightly and rotate your hips forward as you extend your arm. You 't telegraph your movements if you keep your torso tered."

  Fii stumbled to her feet, gasping for breath. " I take a break, sir?" She pleaded.

  Virgil arched an eyebrow, "No."

  She groaned inwardly but kept her posure, rolling her shoulders and shaking out her arms. She took a deep breath, preparing to repeat the exercise. "Ready, sir."

  He nodded and began cirg her once more. "Jab."

  She threw a series of rapid punches, punctuating eaent with a sharp grunt. Virgil blocked and deflected her attacks, matg her pace. As they fought, Fii's frustration grew. He never seemed to get tired, never broke a sweat, and he always had some snarky ent to make. She ched her jaw, her anger fuelirikes.

  Eventually, she lost her posure and lunged forward, aiming a clumsy right hook at his face. Virgil sidestepped the blow, catg her fist and using her momentum to throw her into the ground. She nded hard on her back, knog the wind from her lungs.

  He pced his boot oomad leaned over, fixing her with a stern gre. "Never let your emotiohe better of you. Anger makes you sloppy, and sloppiness gets you killed."

  Fii pushed his leg aside and climbed to her feet, bitioo avoid arguing. As she stood, she noticed Virgil studying her closely. He nodded approvingly and stepped back. "That's enough for today. Rest up. We'll resume tomorrow at the usual time." With that, he turned and headed back to the station.

  Fii watched him leave, fuming internally. This was ridiculous. The old bastard was making her do ps around the block, run up and down the building, and he had her pung targets for hours on end—and he wasn't eveing her use her powers.

  She'd been at this for a week now, and she was starting to grow exhausted from the relentless drilling. Virgil didn't seem to care. In fact, he seemed to relish her disfort. She grit her teeth and squatted to the ground, f herself to do fifty pushups. After finishing the set, she rolled over and y in the dust, staring up at the sky.

  It was already midday, and she hade. Her stomach growled painfully. With a sigh, she sat upright and dusted herself off, ign the throbbing ache in her joints and muscles. This was going to be a long day.

  After a few minutes, she followed after him. He stood in the office area of the police station, ing his pistol methodically. Eve looked pristine, he kept w at it.

  Weird guy.

  Fii found a pstic bottle of water and chugged half of it in a single gulp. The cold liquid soothed her dry throat, and she sighed tentedly. "When I use my pain, sir?" She asked tentatively. "You know, for bat."

  "Soon," he answered without looking up. "You have to build a proper foundation first."

  "I know that," she pressed on, uerred. "But when?"

  "When I deem you ready," he replied, finally gng her way. "Until then, focus on the basics. Stamina, footwork, teique. Once you've mastered those, we move on to the advauff."

  Fii couldn't hide the frustration iohis is going to take forever."

  "Life is full of hardship and suffering, kid," Virgil stated matter-of-factly. "Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Isn't there a saying around these parts: 'scrap today, shiomorrow?'" He finished polishing the pistol and flicked open the der, examining the chambers. Satisfied, he closed the revolver with a resounding clid holstered the on.

  "Yeah, yeah... scrap today, shiomorrow," Fii recited dutifully. "Got it. Sir."

  Virgil grunted and gave a terse nod, turning to walk away. "I'll be ba a bit. Stay here. Make yourself useful." He disappeared into the shadows of the adjat room.

  Fii stared bnkly at the pce where he'd been a moment before, then shrugged. Maybe she'd just practie kicks while he was go the very least, she could take a break and stretch out her sore muscles. She turo wander around the abaation, expl its ers.

  The wooden floorboards creaked softly beh her weight, and she traced the pattern of peeling paint with her fiips as she wandered aimlessly through the building. She hasn't had a proper tour of the pce yet, preferring to stick close to where they were practig. The dust coated everything, including herself, leaving streaks of gray across her bodysuit.

  A sudden crash startled her from her thoughts, and she whirled to face the source of the noise. A rat scurried past, fleeing from its hiding spot in a broken et. She exhaled sharply and rexed. Rats. Ugh. The creepy little bastards scared the crap out of her sometimes. They were everywhere in the slums, especially in these abandoned buildings.

  Fii shuddered and tinued along the hallway, opening each door carefully and peeking inside. She discovered an old supply closet, a locker room, and an interrogation room with a dusty two-way mirror. Everything else appeared to be offices and ste areas.

  The eation smelled faintly of mold and mildew, and the air itself seemed thid heavy, making it difficult to breathe. If it wasn't for her helmet, she probably would've had to hold her he whole time. How could Virgil stand being cooped up in here?

  In the distance, she spied a set of stairs leading to a lower level. Curiosity piqued, Fii desded the steps cautiously, reag the bottom in short order. The basement itch-bck, and she blinked rapidly, adjusting her vision to the dark. Her helmet could have provided her with night vision, but she tapped the side to turn the feature off. She still found it weird to see everything through a green filter.

  As the ambient light intensified, she spotted a row of jail cells lining the far wall, each barred with solid iron bars.

  The floor was bare crete, and the ceiling hung low, supported by thick beams overhead. Some kind of maery loomed in the darkness, hidden in shadow. Fii crept closer, peering into the cell.

  It was empty, save for a rusted metal cot and a filthy toilet. A cobweb-covered ventition grate stuck out from the far wall, its metal mesh covered in a thin yer of dust. Fii brushed aside a strand of webbing with her gloved hand and peered into the vent, blinking as she tried to see through the gloom. It looked like an ordinary ventition duct, but she couldn't be certain. Something about the pce gave her the chills.

  "What are you doing?" A familiar voice called out behind her.

  Fii jumped, nearly hitting her head oop of the ventition duct. She turo see Virgil leaning against the far wall, watg her ily. "Sir! You startled me..." she expined, steadying herself.

  Virgil walked over, hands in his pockets. "This is where people kept the prisoners, ba the old days." He gazed around, surveying the room. "Been a while sinyone's been here. Me included. Almost fot this pce existed."

  "It's kinda creepy, don't you think?" Fii remarked, taking a step back.

  He shrugged, "It's just a basement. Nothing to be afraid of. e on, I'll show you something cool." He beed her forward, leading the way deeper into the depths.

  Virgil led her down a narrow corridor, his footsteps eg against the stone floor. His pace was brisk, and he didn't say anything as they walked.

  The tunnel opened inte room lit by a fluorest light hanging from a cord in the ter of the ceiling. There were several filing ets lined against the wall, their drawers beled with faded letters. The walls themselves were covered with maps, charts, and notes pio the faded aper.

  In the er was a cluttered desk, overflowing with papers and books. Fii sed the area, w what all of this meant. It was clearly a workspace of sorts, but for whom?

  Virgil crossed his arms and stared at her expetly, "Well? What do you think?"

  "Um...I'm still waiting to see the cool thing, sir."

  "Your eyes. Look around. And knock it off with saying 'sir' all the time. We're not training right now," He replied, gesturing for her to tinue iing the room.

  Fii examihe room more thhly, notig that almost every surface was covered with notes and diagrams. It seemed that every inch of avaible space had beeo record some piece of information. Everywhere she looked, she saw words scribbled in ink, alongside sketches of maps and diagrams of meical parts. Several equations filled oire wall, their tents indecipherable to her.

  "Is this Edith's secret hideout?" Fii asked hesitantly.

  Virgil snorted, "You thih hangs out here? Nah, she's got her own digs elsewhere. This is what the cops used to call their 'think tank'."

  "Huh," she mused, wandering over to the desk and leafing through a stack of papers lying atop the heap. Most of the writing was illegible, but every now and then, she came across a phrase or sentehat she could make out. Many of them ed gang activities or the rise in violehroughout the district.

  "So they really did try and the pce up?" Fii turo him.

  He nodded gravely. "Ba the day, the slums weren't such a shithole. It was a thriving city, just like any other at the time. But after the metropolis was built, all the wealth and attention flowed outta here, and it became a ghost town almost ht. The police force shrank, corruption took root, and everyone pretty much gave up. Those who could afford it abaheir roots for a slice of prosperity in the shiny new city. Those who couldn't...well, they got left behind."

  Fii had only known the slums as they existed now. It was strao imagiime when things had been different. She ran a finger over a tattered page, trag a line of text. "Doesn't the metropolis care about us at all?" She wondered aloud.

  "Not particurly," Virgil snorted derisively. "They care enough to appease their guilt and to ehe slums remain standing. Ain't nothing more than a ghetto for undesirables. Everyone who lives here is an unwanted, or a reject of some sort. Outcasts, refugees, vagabonds, orphans..." He trailed off, gazing at her. "Like you and me, kid."

  "You lived iy, didn't you? Before?" She asked. "Were you exiled or something?"

  Virgil fixed her with a cold stare. "We'll talk more about that ter. But let's just say I got mixed up in politics, and they kicked my ass to the curb."

  Fii nodded. She figured as much, based oh's earlier hints. It would expin his cryptiature and general distrust of authority. "Do you miss it?"

  "Miss what, kid?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  "Being a part of the city?"

  Virgil smirked humorlessly. "Sometimes. And other times, I feel like I dodged a bullet." He shook his head slowly, staring at the floor. "Let's head on out before I start rambling on about how fucked up the world is."

  Fii folded the paper ly and tucked it back amongst the others.

  Looked like she dodged a bullet as well. He could have gone on for hours rambling if she'd let him. "All right, bossman," she aowledged, mustering her energy.

  Virgil motioned for her to follow and headed back out of the basement. As they walked, she thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes, reflected by the dim light. But he moved away too quickly for her to be sure.

  As they walked up the stairs, a sudden thought occurred to her. "Hey, um...I've been meaning to ask." She stopped halfway and turo face him directly. "Does this pce have a name?"

  Virgil paused mid-step. "A name?" He gnced back at her curiously.

  Fii shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Yeah, I mean, every pce has a name, right? So, does this police station have ooo?"

  He stared at her for a moment longer before his lips curled upward into a lopsided grin. "The Vigil."

  Fii blinked. "The Virgil?"

  "No, not my name, ya moron. The Vigil!" He said emphatically, emphasizing the word.

  Fii sched up her face, fused. The LED eyes on her visor narrowed skeptically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Vigil. It means 'watg,' or ','" he expined, tinuing his ast. "Someone keeping watch over the city, making sure everyoays in line."

  "Huh, the Vigil," Fii repeated, rolling the word over her to sounded awfully like his name. "Wait...did you e up with it?"

  "You got a problem with it?" Virgil shot back defensively. "I liked the sound of it."

  "Nah, it's not bad." Fii replied as they reached the ground floor. "It's just gonna sound weird whenever I say 'I'll be at The Vigil training with Virgil' or whatever."

  He ughed, and she sensed genuine mirth in his voice. "Fair enough, but I'm not ging it. Anyways, get some food a. You got more training ahead of ya. Same time tomorrow."