The Arsenal "Global Conquest" Pre-Season Tour had begun.

And Milo, his agent, had booked them into a "Cyber-Future-Pod-Hotel".

"It is the future, Alex!" Milo had screamed. "Sleep in a capsule! Dream in HD!"

The room was the size of a cupboard. The walls were neon blue. And the bed... the bed had a "massage mode" that Mark had accidentally activated in the room next door.

The walls were thin. Alex could hear everything.

"HELP!" Mark yelled through the wall. "THE BED IS EATING ME! IT IS JIGGLING MY BONES!"

"Turn it off, Speed," Alex shouted back.

"I CANNOT FIND THE BUTTON! THE BUTTONS ARE IN JAPANESE!"

Alex sighed. He put on his slippers (Arsenal branded, courtesy of Milo) and walked out into the hallway.

It looked like a spaceship.

He opened Mark's pod.

Mark was vibrating violently on the bed. He was wearing a silk kimono with a dragon on the back. He was holding a samurai sword (plastic).

"Save me, Professor!" Mark juddered. "I am... being... shaken... to... death!"

Alex pressed the big red button on the wall.

The bed stopped.

Mark lay there, gasping.

"That," Mark whispered, "was intense. I feel... tenderized. Like a Wagyu steak."

"We have training in an hour, Mark," Alex said. "Put the sword away."

"It is for protection!" Mark said. "Ninjas are everywhere here. You cannot see them. That is the point."

The training pitch in Tokyo was humid. The air felt like warm soup.

Steve, the manager, was sweating. He was wearing a hat that said BIG IN JAPAN.

"Welcome to the oven," Steve said. "Today... we sweat. We sweat out the summer. We sweat out the pizza. We sweat out the glory."

He looked at the team. They were Champions of Europe. But today, they looked like tourists.

Antoine was wearing sunglasses. Jude was complaining about the humidity affecting his hair volume.

"Focus!" Steve barked.

He pointed to a young boy standing at the back of the group.

It was Leo. The kid from the U18s. The one Alex had played against in the "boot cleaning" game.

Leo looked terrified. He was holding his kit bag like a shield.

"This is Leo," Steve said. "He is joining the tour. He is the new 'intern'."

Mark gasped. "An intern? Do I get an intern? Can he carry my sword?"

"He is here to play football, Speed," Steve said. "Not to carry your toys."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. He is your shadow. Teach him. Show him how to be... stable."

Alex looked at Leo. Leo looked at Alex.

"Hello, Professor," Leo squeaked.

"Hi, Leo," Alex smiled. "Ready for class?"

"I brought a notebook," Leo said, patting his pocket.

"Good start," Alex said.

Training was technical.

Japanese football was fast. Technical. Precise.

Steve wanted Arsenal to match it.

"Rondo!" Steve yelled. "Fast! One touch! If you lose the ball, you do ten pushups!"

The ball zipped around.

Leo was in the middle. He was trying hard. Too hard.

He chased the ball like a puppy. He slipped. He fell.

"Pushups!" Mark yelled happily. "Down you go, Intern!"

Leo did his pushups. He looked embarrassed.

Alex watched him. He saw himself two years ago. The fear. The desire to impress.

During the water break, Alex walked over to Leo.

"You are running too much," Alex said.

Leo looked up, panting. "But... the manager said work hard."

"Work smart," Alex corrected. "In the rondo... don't chase the ball. Watch the hips. Watch the eyes. Predict where the pass is going. Don't run to where the ball is. Run to where it will be."

Leo nodded furiously. He took out a small notebook and wrote: Watch hips. Not ball.

"And Leo," Alex added.

"Yes?"

"Do not let Mark call you Intern. Call him... 'Old Man'."

Leo's eyes went wide. "I can't do that. He is the Arrow."

"He is nineteen," Alex laughed. "He thinks he is ancient. Trust me."

That evening, Milo arrived at the hotel.

He was not alone.

He was standing in the lobby with... a robot.

A giant, white, humanoid robot.

"GENTLEMEN!" Milo screamed, bowing. "KONNICHIWA! MEET YOUR NEW TEAMMATE!"

"Milo," Alex said, staring at the robot. "What is that?"

"This is ROBO-KEEPER 3000!" Milo announced. "The ultimate goalkeeper! It uses AI! It uses lasers! It cannot be beaten! We are doing a livestream! 'Man vs Machine'!"

Mark ran over. "I will fight it! I will score!"

"It has a reaction time of 0.01 seconds!" Milo said. "It is faster than light!"

"I am faster," Mark insisted.

They set up the robot in the hotel garden. A small crowd of tourists gathered.

Mark put on his silver boots.

"Okay, tin man," Mark said to the robot. "Prepare to eat dust."

Mark placed the ball. He ran up. He smashed it.

The robot moved. Its arm was a blur.

CLANG.

It punched the ball away.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Mark yelled. "IT CHEATED!"

Jude stepped up. "Power," Jude said. "Robots hate power."

He hit a rocket.

The robot saved it. One-handed.

"It is strong," Jude admitted, rubbing his chin.

Antoine tried a curve ball. The robot saved it.

Everyone looked at Alex.

"Go on, Professor," Milo said. "Calculate the weakness."

Alex looked at the robot. He looked at the cameras.

He remembered his physics.

Lasers. Sensors. Motion detection.

The robot reacted to movement. Fast movement.

Alex walked to the ball.

He didn't run. He didn't wind up.

He stood over the ball.

He moved his leg... incredibly slowly.

The robot twitched. It was confused. It was waiting for the strike velocity.

Alex just... rolled the ball.

Slowly. Painfully slowly.

It rolled across the grass at 1 mile per hour.

The robot didn't move. Its sensors didn't register a "shot". It thought the ball was just... wind.

The ball rolled into the corner of the net.

"GOAL!" Mark screamed. "THE SLOW MOTION SHOT!"

The robot beeped sadly. Its eyes turned red.

"You broke its brain!" Milo yelled. "GENIUS! I AM SELLING THE ALGORITHM!"

The match against the J-League All-Stars was the next day.

The National Stadium was full. Sixty thousand fans.

They were polite. They clapped for everything. Even the warm-up.

Alex started in midfield. Leo was on the bench.

The J-League team was good. They were organized. They passed in beautiful geometric patterns.

Arsenal struggled with the heat. It was sticky.

In the 20th minute, the Japanese striker, a fast player named Maeda, scored.

One zero.

The crowd clapped politely.

"They are too polite," Mark huffed. "I need boos! I need hate to fuel my engine!"

"Just run, Speed," Alex said.

Alex took control. He slowed the game down. He used the "Brake Pedal."

He passed to Jude. Jude drove. He scored.

One one.

Halftime.

Steve looked at the team.

"You are tired," Steve said. "The jet lag is hitting you."

He looked at Leo.

"Intern. Get ready. You are going on."

Leo turned pale. "Me? Now?"

"Yes," Steve said. "The Professor needs a rest. You are the brain now."

Alex took off his captain's armband (Harry had subbed off). He walked over to Leo.

He put the armband on the kid's arm.

It was huge on him. It slid down to his elbow.

"It... it is too big," Leo whispered.

"You will grow into it," Alex said. "Just remember. Don't chase. Predict."

"Predict," Leo repeated.

Second half.

Alex sat on the bench next to Mark (who had also been subbed).

They watched Leo.

The kid was nervous. He gave the ball away his first touch.

"He is shaking," Mark said. "Like a leaf in a blender."

"Give him a minute," Alex said.

Leo took a breath. He looked at the pitch.

The J-League team attacked. They played a through ball.

Leo didn't run to the ball. He ran to the space.

He intercepted it.

He looked up.

He saw Martinelli making a run.

Leo hit a pass. A left-footed curve.

It was... perfect.

It was an "Alex" pass.

Martinelli ran onto it. He scored.

Two one.

Alex jumped up. "YES! THE INTERN!"

Mark whistled. "Okay. That was... not bad. For a baby."

Leo didn't celebrate wildly. He just pointed to his head.

He did the Professor celebration.

Alex laughed. "He is stealing my brand!"

"He is paying royalties," Mark grinned. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Or copyright infringement. Milo will know."

The game ended 3-1. Arsenal won.

Alex walked onto the pitch.

Leo was standing there, looking at his feet.

"Good game, Leo," Alex said.

Leo looked up. "I... I did the celebration. I am sorry. I panicked."

"It was good form," Alex said. "But work on the finger point. It needs more... authority."

Leo smiled. "Yes, Professor."

Milo ran onto the pitch. He was wearing a kimono made of Arsenal shirts sewn together.

"TOKYO CONQUERED!" Milo yelled. "WE ARE BIG IN JAPAN! ALEX! THE ROBOT VIDEO HAS TEN MILLION VIEWS! 'THE TURTLE SHOT'! WE ARE SELLING TURTLES!"

"No turtles, Milo," Alex said.

"FINE! TORTOISES!"

They flew back to London.

Alex sat next to Leo on the plane.

Leo was studying a textbook. Advanced Chemistry.

"Homework?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Leo sighed. "I have an exam on Monday. Periodic table."

Alex smiled. He remembered.

"Carbon is six," Alex said. "Oxygen is eight. Don't forget the noble gases. They are stable."

Leo looked at him. "You know chemistry?"

"I know a lot of things," Alex said. "I am the Professor."

He leaned back in his seat.

He watched the clouds go by.

He was eighteen. He was a legend.

And now... he was a teacher.

The cycle was starting again.

The Hurricane was growing. New winds were joining the storm.

And Alex... Alex was the eye. Calm. Stable. Ready.

"Hey, Leo," Alex said.

"Yes?"

"When we land... Mark is going to try to make you wear a cowboy hat. Don't let him."

Leo laughed.

"I will try, Professor."

"Good man."

Alex closed his eyes.

School was out. But the lessons... the lessons never stopped.

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