Billy makes the training more interesting

“Ach! This is hard, sensei!” Selena moaned, as she jumped back onto the soft leather couch to catch her breath, after the latest post-lesson spar. “When am I going to get to hear your snoring?”

Billy scoffed, packing the boxing equipment back into his bag at the end of the long session. As usual, Selena had made notable progress, but she was still nowhere close to Billy. She might’ve been a good listener, but the girl was a total rookie.

“When you hack my brain, maybe.” Billy said sarcastically, under his breath. He knew that boxers didn’t snore. But Selena’s ears perked up at his words, not recognizing sarcasm when she heard it.

“How do I do that?” she asked, tilting her head. “Like with a computer?”

This girl really wasn’t socially aware, was she? Billy turned to her. He was about to tell her that he wasn’t being serious, but paused. Maybe this was an opportunity he could use to get out of the deal somehow. Even if he couldn’t get to Karen’s phone, there might be other ways of coming out on top.

For example - If, when the day came to finally lose, he made Selena believe that he’d been knocked out legitimately, without it actually being realistic to anyone who saw it. He didn’t need to make her look good, he didn’t need to make it look real, he just had to make this girl who couldn’t recognize sarcasm think it was real. If she came home and told Karen that she’d finally knocked out Billy at the boxing club, then he would be free. And he could make that happen without ever needing to sacrifice his record, his belt, his reputation, or his chin.

Billy might not have gotten the best grades at school, but he wasn’t dumb. He was a lightning-fast thinker and improviser. It was part of what made him such a good boxer. He only got average grades because he didn’t pay attention or try very hard in any of his classes, not because he was some kind of oaf. He just wasn’t motivated to learn something like math, or Spanish. But now, he once again put his quick thinking skills to use, to try and wriggle his way out of this servitude contract he had to Karen.

“…I really shouldn’t tell you this,” he said, putting hesitancy into his voice. “You’re still a beginner. You’re not ready.”

“I’m ready!” Selena leapt from the couch and stepped towards him, confidently. “I’m ready, sensei. How do I do it? How do I make you snore?”

Billy bit his lip and looked away, pretending to think. After a small silence; Selena spoke up again.

“You said when I hack your brain… I can make you snore. What does that mean?” she pressed him. He had her attention.

Billy held his tongue a moment longer, then looked back at her, and met her eyes. He would have to make this sound convincing - though given his target audience, she might just believe him anyway.

“There are more ways to win than with punches,” Billy began. “Punches can shake your opponent’s head around and make their brain glitch, but there are other ways to do that. The same as you can trick your mind with optical illusions, there are more… complex things you can trick a mind to do…”

“How!?” Selena asked, stepping forward again. “Please, sensei, teach me!”

Billy looked her up and down. Her face was ****, excited, and hopeful. She was beautiful. And so was her body. Maybe he could use that.

“You have certain advantages that I don’t,” Billy explained. “I’m a master of making the brain glitch physically - the best there is - but some people are more suited to the art of brain hacking… And I think you’re one of them. If I teach you, you might become too powerful… You could defeat me in moments. Defeat anyone.”

Selena gasped in excitement. Billy figured she would like that. The idea of being some kind of natural-born, special chosen one. Somebody who could be all-powerful, with the right training and guidance.

“Please, sensei,” Selena begged. She had puppy-dog eyes as she stared at him. “Please. I’m ready.”

“You don’t understand,” Billy shook his head, hiding a smile at how easily he’d brought her in. “If I teach you this, you could use it for evil. You could knock out anyone. I wouldn’t be able to stop you. You could make me… Make me…”

Billy played up his voice catching in his throat. Selena was hanging onto every word. He licked his “dry” lips, then spoke.

“…You could make me snore,” Billy gulped. “And I couldn’t stop you. I can make anybody sleep in a physical competition, but I’m not a brain hacker… And I think you might have the potential to be a very, very powerful one.”

Selena was hooked. He had her completely wrapped up in this fantasy. Looking at her awestruck face, Billy could tell she was already imagining all the possibilities.

“Please…” she begged again, with what sounded like a quiet moan.

Billy looked her in the eyes. And then, he agreed. He would start teaching her brain hacking over the next few weeks.

And that’s exactly what he did the next time he came over. They still both kitted up in the boxing gear each time, as Billy told Selena this had to be kept a secret, and so any time Karen was nearby they would switch back to normal boxing training. But while Karen was out, or wasn’t around, Billy continued mentoring the anti-social weird girl in this made-up style of boxing. Lying to her about how to win, teaching her fake techniques and advanced combinations.

“Brain hacking was only discovered recently. It’s all about activating certain cheat codes in the brain - a bit like pressure points are for the body. You trigger the right series of stimulations, and you can make the brain respond. You can make somebody fall asleep, or fall in love. Make them angry and reckless, or utterly afraid,” Billy explained. “New combos of these stimulations are being discovered all the time. Faster ways to achieve the same goal. But I’ll start out by teaching you one of the earliest knockout spells people found. It’s less powerful, and I don’t want you to become too strong too fast.”

Three loud stomping sounds, the sight of a swaying butt, the smell of peaches and apricots, and the feeling of something touching your chest. All within 3 seconds, and you got knocked out. That was the combination Billy had made up. According to him, it wasn’t popular anymore as it only had around a 30% success rate when pulled off correctly, and it was harder to pull off than more modern “knockout spells”.

Selena practised this all day. She wore a peach and apricot perfume, and tried to perform all the other actions within the three seconds. Stomping quickly, turning around and swaying her butt, then rushing to tap Billy on the chest for the finishing blow. But she was far too slow.

“It’s faster if you start already facing away for the stomps, so you don’t have to turn before you swing your butt,” Billy guided her. Any excuse to look at that cute butt he would happily take. Maybe he should make more spells take advantage of it…

Whenever Selena rushed to tap him on the chest and complete the spell, Billy would back up and try to defend himself.

“Most boxers will recognize what you’re trying to do, and know to keep away for an extra second or two so you can’t tap their chest in time. Any fighter worth their salt knows about this knockout spell, it’s one of the most famous brain hacks.” Billy told her. “Of course, sometimes they’ll cover up their chest too closely with their gloves, make contact, and complete the spell for you. A lot of boxers have been knocked out that way.”

“This is hard, sensei!” Selena panted, pausing and bending over to catch her breath after another failed completion. “You have to be so fast!”

“That’s why we’re training,” Billy answered. “The modern knockout spells are much easier, and more reliable. And the deadliest of them can’t be defended at all - it’s purely about what the brain hacker does, with no compliance from the target necessary.”

“If brain hacking is so powerful, how come you’re an undefeated champion?” Selena asked, lifting her head. “You said you were no good at brain hacking…”

Thinking quickly, Billy replied.

“Because I’m a great boxer,” he said. “And I might not be a natural brain hacker, but I do have a lot of natural resistance to it. This spell has a 30% success rate when completed, because it’s not as potent of a hack. Against me, and my resistance, it’d probably be more like 2%.”

“Wow…” Selena whispered. “And could you resist the most powerful knockout spell? What would happen if someone completed it against you?”

Billy scrunched his face up.

“I’d be out like a light, without a hope of fighting back. Fortunately, most people don’t have the natural gifts to pull that spell off…”

Selena smiled when she heard that. Now she understood why he was teaching her the weaker brain hacks first… He was afraid of her knocking him out too soon.