The prisoner opened his eyes and realized what was happening, but felt a strong headache. Soon after, a flood of information entered his brain, almost making him lose consciousness. He observed his surroundings.

The cell was a 3x3 meter cube, with walls made of an ultra-resistant metal alloy, capable of withstanding extreme impacts and variable temperatures of the space. The interior walls were lined with a resistant material.

The furniture was minimal and functional. A bed built into the wall, a sink and a stainless steel toilet, all fixed to the floor to prevent them from being used as weapons. There were no loose objects or furniture that could be dismantled.

The prisoner was dressed in a white jumpsuit, with his serial number written on the chest. Lying on the bed, with his arms behind his head, he watched the cell. There were surveillance cameras in every corner, monitoring the prisoner's every move 24 hours a day.

The door was made of reinforced titanium, with a biometric locking system and access code. Only authorized officers could open the door, using a combination of facial recognition, fingerprint, and a security code that changed every 24 hours.

 The prisoner opened his eyes and realized what was happening, but felt a strong headache. Soon after, a flood of information entered his brain, almost making him lose consciousness.

 "I went back in time... it really worked."

 Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he returned to his thoughts.

 "Hey... Hello? I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING... STOP PRETENDING... OR DID YOU FORGET OUR AGREEMENT?"

 A second, cold, metallic voice in his mind spoke.

 'I DIDN'T FORGET, USER. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE SIMILAR IN 87%... SUCCESS RATE ABOVE 90%, POSSIBLE OBSTACLES 95%...'

 "Okay... I get it... but did it have to be in the worst period of my life? Wasn't there a better option?"

'NEGATIVE. IN YOUR PERIOD OF LIFE WHERE WE ARE, WE HAVE MORE CHANCES OF SUCCESS AND SURVIVAL IN THE INITIAL STEPS IN 80%. PROBABILITY OF MORE FREEDOM FOR OUR PLANS IS...'

 "You know we're in a prison."

 '...AFFIRMATIVE...'

 'And you know where I'm going...?'

'AFFIRMATIVE.' "Literally, I almost died there."

 'AFFIRMATIVE.'

 "So... HOW CAN THIS BE MORE 'CHANCES OF SUCCESS FOR US'?"

 There was a silence in the prisoner's mind, waiting for a response.

 "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

 Tired of talking to his new travel companion, the prisoner got up and left the bed. He looked around, took a deep breath, and began to do some basic stretches. Among the exercises were arm stretches over the head, shoulder stretches, tricep stretches, forward bends, and seated leg stretches, among others. The stretching lasted about fifteen minutes and helped with muscle relaxation, improved blood circulation, and reduced stress and fatigue.

 "Ah... that was relaxing..."

 Observing his body.

 'I'm back to my 15-year-old self again.'

 His body was in excellent physical shape, with scars from cuts and bullets on his skin, but his face was disfigured with scars from his forehead to his nose, reminding him of the hours he spent in excessive and dangerous training since childhood. His innate talent was martial arts, with the use of various weapons that he remembered. But his life was not pleasant. his family always disapproved of his existence, since he was a bastard son of an elite father...

 'Let's not think about that... let's start with some light flexing...'

Before he could start, a man entered the cell, a low-ranking soldier, dressed in a uniform made of a lightweight and resistant material, with the ability to change color for camouflage or signaling. The uniform could also monitor vital signs and send alerts in case of emergency; its color was black.

 Equipped with holographic communication devices, miniature surveillance drones, and energy storage compartments. In addition to being bulletproof, the vest could generate a temporary force field for additional protection and had heating and cooling systems. The soldier's rank and unit were displayed digitally, and could be projected onto any surface.

 "PRISONER 7745 or VIKTOR WARLOCK!!"

 Sighing deeply, Viktor replied.

 "Ah... it's just VIKTOR ROSS."

 Irritated, the soldier grabbed his electric baton, ready to attack.

 "How dare you!"

 Viktor, unarmed, watched the soldier advance with the electric baton in hand. He knew he had to act fast. The soldier attacked with a horizontal blow, but Viktor ducked, barely avoiding it. Taking advantage of the opening, he took a step forward and punched the soldier in the stomach, making him retreat.

The soldier, irritated, tried a vertical blow. Viktor rolled to the side, quickly getting up and grabbing the soldier's arm. With an agile movement, he twisted the soldier's arm, forcing him to drop the baton.

 Now with the baton on the ground, Viktor kicked the soldier's leg, knocking him down. The soldier tried to get up, but Viktor was faster, immobilizing him with a precise blow to the back of the neck. Breathing heavily, Viktor looked at the fallen soldier.

"I said, it's just Viktor."

Watching the soldier on the ground, Viktor mentally spoke to his companion.

"Hey... are the cameras off and the sound blocked inside the cell?"

 A cold, metallic voice replied,

'AFFIRMATIVE!! I HUNG UP THE MOMENT HE ENTERED THE CELL, BUT KEEP IT BRIEF.'

 Viktor looked up, closed his eyes, and sighed.

 He picked up the electric baton and stuck it into the soldier's back.

 "HAAAAAA!"

 The soldier woke up with intense pain, still dazed, trying to remember what happened. He was frightened to see who was in front of him, not before feeling a sharp pain in his arm.

 "HAAAA... MY... ARM!"

 He observed his twisted arm, crying in agony. Tired of watching the drama, Viktor approached him and put his arm back in place. Surprised, the soldier looked at Viktor with blood in his eyes. But he was frightened when he saw his weapon in Viktor's hands, fearing what was to come. He tried to move away as much as he could until he hit the wall, but Viktor approached him closely.

The silence of the cold cell was interrupted by a single sentence.

 "Was it my family who sent you or someone else?"

The soldier remained silent. "Look, I know you're alone, because I know you were confident in not using your elemental powers and abilities."

 "..."

 "I also know that no soldier can enter the cells of criminals."

 According to the norms that Viktor remembered, to prevent criminals from negotiating or corrupting the jailers, any member of the military militia was prohibited from entering the prison area.

 "That means you're a member or doing a favor for someone from the elite, right?"

 The poor soldier's face turned white with fright and fear. Viktor, tired of the soldier's silence, took a deep breath.

"Ah... look, just answer yes or no... okay?"

 The soldier couldn't respond... what was happening in front of him? How did he know? More importantly, how did he find out? His mind was wondering if this was real or just a dream. But he was interrupted by the baton hitting the ground. Looking at Viktor with cold eyes in front of him, without reaction, he replied.

"YES?" with fear and astonishment.

 Viktor looked at him with a happy smile.

"Great."

"..."

"Look, don't worry about what answer you'll give, I won't hurt you. I even used a little force with the electric baton."

'USER IS LYING, YOU USED MAXIMUM LEVEL TO WAKE HIM UP.'

 Ignoring his partner, Viktor continued.

 "So, are you a member of the elite or not?"

"YES!"

 "Was it my family who sent you?"

 "NO."

 "Was it someone else?"

"NO."

 "Then who was it?"

"I... DON'T... KNOW... IT WAS... ANONYMOUS..."

 Closing his eyes, Viktor looked up and sighed deeply.

 "HÁA, OK..."

 "..."

 "What did they ask you to do?"

 "They told me to give you a lesson... they promised to pay me a lot... but just to hurt..."

"You're fighting... HÁAAA... How much did they pay you?" putting his right hand on his face, not believing what he was hearing."

"Half... a billion units of..."

 "Seriously...?"

 Surprised by the price, he changed to another question.

"After receiving your reward, where are you going? And do you know where I'm going?" The soldier hesitated with the question he received. "

"To planet ICE... and I don't know where you're going."

 "What's your name?"

 "J... Joe Alfredo..."

"Do you have relatives where you're going? Anyone you know on the ship?"

"No... just... me." He replied with a hesitant tone. ".... but I have some colleagues in my quarters."

Returning to his thoughts, Viktor analyzed with his partner in his mind.

 'Is what he's saying true?'

 'AFFIRMATIVE.'

 'But isn't this too easy?'

 'AFFIRMATIVE.'

The soldier interrupted the conversation between the two.

"So can I go?"

Viktor looked at him with a sinister smile, which made the poor guy tremble.

 "Unfortunately, I can't. I'll take your life on loan, but I promise to return it."

 "W... what??"

 "According to the rules, not only can soldiers not talk to prisoners, but also, for security reasons, soldiers cannot talk to other members of the ship. They can only stay in their cabin, along with their roommates. Since you're from the elite, they ignored it this time. And since the ship's members don't even know who the detainees are, to prevent future problems, only the captain and vice know. Unfortunately, neither of them checks the system. I just need to change my name, photo, and, of course, my serial code. Isn't it a good plan?"

Frightened, the poor soldier tried to call for help, but was interrupted by a spinning kick to his face, fainting afterwards.

 'Hey, my dear guest, can you change the access codes and photo for me? I'll have to borrow his identity. Reprogram the cameras for my face where he passed and turn them off...'

 'I'M ALREADY DOING IT WHILE WE TALK, BUT I CAN ONLY DO IT FROM HERE. YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN.'

 'Okay, time to get ready.'

Dressed in Joe's uniform, Viktor left the cell and began walking through the prison corridors, keeping his head down to avoid drawing attention. He knew he needed to get to the command room to steal the system codes and free other prisoners.

 The corridors were silent, except for the occasional sound of guards patrolling. He passed by several surveillance cameras, but thanks to his partner living in his mind, his identity was temporarily camouflaged.

As he approached the command room, Viktor spotted the guards watching the entrance, as well as the prison commander. He knew the commander was a major threat and needed to be neutralized first.

Viktor hid behind a column and observed the guards. All three guards had elemental powers of fire, making the situation even more dangerous. He needed a quick and effective plan.

With a swift movement, Viktor threw the beret on his head in the opposite direction, creating a noise that caught the attention of the guards. Taking advantage of the distraction, he silently approached the commander and, with a precise blow of his baton to the head, knocked him out, cracking his skull.

The guards noticed the movement and turned to Viktor. He activated his electric baton and prepared for the fight. The guards with fire elemental powers attacked first, throwing flames in Viktor's direction. He rolled to the side, dodging the flames, and struck one of the guards in the stomach with the electric baton at maximum power, knocking him down with uncontrollable spasms.

The other guards continued to attack, but Viktor threw his weapon at the head of one of them to distract him, getting close enough to kick him in the groin with all his strength, causing his face to turn blue, feeling as if something in him had broken below and he lost consciousness.

The last guard was shocked to see his partner lose his head after the situation, not realizing that he had received a spinning kick to the chin, feeling that he was losing consciousness he received another gift from Viktor, a left cross, fainting at the time.

With all the guards neutralized, Viktor entered the cell's control room and began searching for the system codes. Time was against him, but with the help of his nameless partner in his mind, he managed to access the system and find the codes needed to open the cells of the other prisoners.

Catching his breath a little.

"Now, second phase."

"WARNING: CHANCE OF SURVIVAL 30%.'

"I'd rather take the risk than be a punching bag in this place again. I won't make the same mistake again."

"USER, BASED ON YOUR HISTORY, THE MARGIN FOR ERROR IS VERY LIKELY..."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"YOU'RE WELCOME, THIS IS MY JOB."

Sighing to keep his patience at bay.

"Will this partnership really work out?" Looking up at the ceiling, wondering what awaits him in this partnership