The training room was a spartan space within Professor Thorne’s secluded Chicago townhouse, stripped bare of anything that could distract the senses. Sunlight filtered weakly through the grimy windows, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air – dust that had likely witnessed decades of temporal experiments. Ethan stood opposite Professor Thorne, the old man a study in focused calm, despite the chaotic energy that seemed to constantly crackle around him.