Stardust: The First Champion

Martial Cousins 1

Her feet pushed against the walls as she swam across the length of the thirty-meter long pool. She swam several laps up and down the pool until she came to rest at the edge of the pool. She walked out of the water toward the massive wall of windows that faced the mountainside. There was nothing but trees as far as the eye could see. The different shades of green painted the landscape.

Tora sat on the lounge chair facing the windows before taking a sip of her fruit juice. She placed the glass back on the table, letting her body rest in the sun.

Some movement in her peripheral directed her eyes below, to the ground entrance of the compound. Darren and Alesia stood on the pavement before turning toward the West as they made their way down the mountain path.

She closed her eyes as a smile formed on Tora's lips as they disappeared from her sight. She was content to see Darren recovering and assimilating to his new powers quickly. Tora was also grateful to Alesia. Without her and without the facility, Darren would have not the time or the privacy to master his powers. Alesia was also a Vetri with her own powers who could teach Darren on the same level and based on her experience.

Tora had her limits. Although Darren's powers came from her, she could not train him to use them. Since she was born, she always had her abilities. They were a part of her, and she used them instinctively, like breathing. She also did not have the strength or the time to make training Darren's new abilities a priority in her life.

For that reason, when she lost them, she lost a part of herself. She had grown used to their absence, but she never discovered what happened to them until Darren awoke.

The moment he described how he felt with the new powers, she knew.

She was not angry that Darren copied her abilities. Tora was not one to regret things beyond her control. Wishing she kept her powers in the past would be denying her present self. Losing her abilities contributed to the person she had become. She was satisfied with her life, her path, and she did not wish to change anything in her past. Should they come back to her in the future, she would welcome them also.

Tora opened her eyes again to see the sun had moved from its original position in the sky. The one-piece she wore had dried, and her smoothie warmed. She looked down at her wrist. The time was 17:24. A few hours had passed, but it was quite a while away from dinner time.

After taking a shower and washing the chlorine out of her hair, Tora left her room to explore the rest of the laboratory. The structure was quite impressive as it was carved into the mountain. At approximately 50 meters tall, the building took up less than a quarter of the mountain. Many of the floors, were double height.

The roof had a landing pad for aerial vehicles to make access easier. The landing pad also served as a freight elevator that lowered the Aercars and helicopters to a top-floor garage. There was also a paved entrance at the base of the mountain. Alesia and Darren had left through the front doors.

Two levels below the ground entrance was a strange dark room that occupied the majority of the space. The door remained locked, with a keypad on the wall. Tora moved up the stairs past the Speed Lab. The entrance level was the gym level, where the Rhino rested, and the medical bay.

There was a lobby that led to the central metal doors and a garage with several cars and motorcycles. Many of the vehicles were all-terrain with large tires that allowed for easy navigation among the trees along the mountain roads.

As Tora moved up the stairs, she came to the living areas. The kitchen, the living room, game rooms, and media rooms, were all on this floor, connected to a cantilevered level with the bedrooms. These areas were filled with light that bounced off the cedar walls, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The large windows allowed the sun in with breathtaking views of the forest and the mountains around them. Unlike the other areas anchored deep in the earth, the windows let the outside into the building.

Tora continued on her tour. Above the bedroom level, was another light-filled space. She had just left this level, where the pool was. As it was near the top of the building, the windows rounded into a glass ceiling, allowing the sun to reflect off the pool.

Tora moved throughout the floor and found a room marked "Observatory" on the door. The room was cylindrical with a large telescope in the center of the room. Smaller telescopes were lined up along the windows. The floors were a beautiful black marble with a grand model of the planets of the solar system spread over the floor. The walls were painted a sleek black color, on which stars and constellations were projected all along the walls. Had it been nighttime, it would be easier to see the star constellations.

Tora reached her hand out. Centimeters from the surface of the telescope, she pulled her hand back. She closed her eyes as she painfully clutched her wrist. A desire rose inside her. How far could she see with that telescope? Although she knew she would not be able to see it, she wondered if she could see Gorian if she looked.

Rather than be disappointed, she turned around and left the room. Her heart ached as she shut the door tightly behind her. She walked down the hallway to another place.

Instead of the heavy black doors of the observatory, she stood before a pair of cedar sliding doors. Carved into the doors was the "Guan" Han Character. As a Kung Fu practitioner, Tora knew well the meaning of the character. Many people called it a "Dojo," but Tora's master could not stand calling a Chinese Martial Art studio by a Japanese name. He trained most of his life in China, so in respect for his masters, Master Levi called his studio "Wu Guan," meaning "Martial Pavilion."

Tora slid the doors open and entered the room. Her eyes widened at the images painted on the walls. Great martial artists from all over the world were on the walls, from Shasar to Japan and Europe and the Americas. From different times in history, they were each painted above weapons and equipment used from a variety of martial arts. The walls were a tribute to the great sportsmen and warriors throughout the history of Martial Arts.

Unconsciously, Tora removed her slippers before stepping onto the mat. The tight feeling in her chest had all but evaporated the moment she entered the room. She looked from her left to her right, taking in the breathtaking image of the weapons hanging on the walls.