The next day was finally the day the whole team was scheduled to attend a training session with Black Canary.
I was feeling pretty excited about it mainly because I got to show the hard work I have been putting in these past few weeks.
My training sessions with Wildcat had been going well and my need to use the Ox Talisman power has been growing less and less as my experience and marital skills have grown.
I was also still feeling giddy about last night's discovery and the fact that I now had access to the ShadowKhan, a practically endless resource of professional assassins that had absolute loyalty to me and could serve as a force multiplier.
One should never underestimate numbers.
It's what allowed organizations like the league of assassins lead by Al'Ghoul to be major players on the field.
Admittedly, them being not that durable put a dampener on things, sure they wouldn't be dispelled from one hit, but they were still shadows given physical form.
They would probably excel more towards covert operations; infiltration, gathering intel, assasination and perhaps even a workforce if I wanted to build something.
'Hmm, I wonder if I could teach one of them how to scuplt.'
I was shaken out of my thoughts by the sound of the Zeta-tubes announcing new arrivals.
Martian Manhunter and Black Canary who seemed to be sporting a slight limp were heading towards us. Mildly concerned by her injury I quickly went up to her and started healing her using the horse talisman's power.
" What happened?" I asked.
"The Job." Canary responded
She grimaced a bit in pain, but as I healed her her features smoothed out.
" We faced a difficult opponent today." Martian Manhunter said.
I turned a quizical look towards Martian Manhunter.
"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann said happily as she runs up to her uncle giving him a hug.
"M'gann, I was... in the neighborhood. So, I thought I'd see how you are adjusting." Martian Manhunter explained to her.
We all gathered around the sparring area and stood at attention waiting for today's lesson to start. Canary stepped into the middle of the room. The floor under her lit up white, and she turned to us and started speaking.
"I'm here to see what you can do without the use of your powers and to teach you more about the art of combat so to prepare you when you face a skilled opponent. I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you. Everything I've learned from my own mentors and my own bruises." She said as she took off her jacket.
"Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting and never reacting."
Canary smiled "I'll need a sparring partner."
Wally was about to speak but, I interrupted. "I'll go first. "
He shot me an annoyed look but I didn't care.I stepped forward, ready to spar with Black Canary.
As we squared off, I couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. This was an opportunity to show all that I have learned since I started training with Wildcat.
She adopted a seemingly relaxed stance but I knew better. Her body was like a coiled snake ready to strike or retreat at a moment's notice, a testament to her years of training.
I mirrored her stance, trying to anticipate her next move while remaining alert for any openings.
She started off with a combination of punches and kicks, forcing me to react and adapt to her movements.
She moved with remarkable grace, which made landing a hit on her a challenge. But I refused to back down or use any of my talismans.
I was determined to prove myself without them.
I took the initiative to put her arms out of commission for the fight but she wouldn't let it happen so easily.
Slapping away my lead hand, she just about deflected the other upward, forcing me to backpedal.
Darting forward, a shot at her head was easily evaded. She slipped the blow almost effortlessly, and drove a fist into my stomach. I gritted my teeth in pain, and trapped her arm in the crook of my elbow.
She broke the hold and back flipped away from me and studied me curiously.
With the momentary pause over, the fight reset and we met in the middle.
She struck with a right hook, left leg placed in front of her right. Two more strikes followed. I ducked again and blocked, careful not to get my feet tangled as we danced around the ring.
We exchanged so many blows that I could feel the bruises beginning to form, each a negligible weight slowing my punches and kicks, but together, they were beginning to take their toll.
I knew I could easily use the horse talisman's power to heal my injuries but it would defeat the point of this spar.
As we exchanged blows, I focused on keeping myself compact, weaving around to throw her off and dodge from different angles, making sure I applied what I learned from my training with Wildcat.
He was a truly skilled fighter whose fighting style was primarily a mix of boxing, judo, acrobatics, dirty street fighting and surprisingly Tai chi.
I stamped down and slapped away a lead palm strike, eyes flickering between her poised back hand and her front leg. Time almost felt like it slowed down as I tried to predict her next action.
Which would she choose? A kick or a punch?
The distance between us was wide enough that she'd be able to pull off either. I met her eyes and committed to a course of action.
If I was wrong, I would lose, and that would be that.
She shuffled back, chambering her lead leg to snap at me on the way in.
I was going too fast to come out completely unscathed so I weaved to the right, tensing my stomach. Her foot slammed into the left side of my body her heel digging painfully into my ribs.
But that was it. It wasn't anything particularly damaging, she was nowhere near as fresh as she was at the start.
Using my momentum from the attempt to dodge, I spun around and slammed my elbow into her head.
She jolted as I landed the blow, stumbling off to the side. But, she regained her footing and shook off the sense of vertigo.
Her next kick glanced over my head as I ducked and slammed my foot into her side.
She grunted in pain and quickly backed away and stood there panting. And, judging by the way she was holding her side it seems I may have cracked a rib.
The fight paused. This time, our breaths were audible.
" If you want I can heal us both and we can just keep going. It was a lucky shot anyway." I offered.
She shook her head. " That wasn't luck. It seems your lessons with Ted have barren fruit."
I shrugged." The man has a lot of experience and what can I say I ended up picking up a few things. "
She chuckled. " I'll take you up on the healing, but I think I'll hold off on another round. Still have the rest of your team to go through. "
I walked over to her and quickly healed her. After that, the rest of the training session went by quickly. I could tell she was pleased by my improvement, but both of us understood that I was quickly reaching the point of lessening returns.
I was almost sure that the talismans and the mask weren't the only boons I received upon my arrival to this world. Because, quite frankly it didn't make sense that I was quickly reaching the same level that had taken Dinah literal years to reach in only a few short months, so it was almost a certainty that my martial talent was the result of ROb's meddling.
The sparring sessions continued and Kid Flash wanted to be next. Funnily, enough it didn't take long before he was lying on his back groaning in pain. He may have super peed but he was still very predictable and in the end not as fast as his uncle Barry.
Robin did better but then again he was trained by Batman so that was a given. He still lost, but it was something to watch.
Kaldrum also did pretty well, but was also defeated in his spar. Although he had enhanced strength and was formally trained in combat. I could tell there were moments were he hesitated in his movements as if he wasn't completely used to fighting in only 2 dimensions instead of three like he would in water.
Megan was less enthusiased to participate, citing that her innate nature as a shapeshifter made martial arts less useful for her and the she would benefit more by learning close combat from her uncle. Dinah, acquised to her reasoning and excused her from the training exercise.
And, Superboy...
Superboy ended up storming off in frustration after Dinah played him like a fiddle.
He kept making the mistake of rushing in without a plan only relying on his superstrength. Which, was a mistake especially against someone as skilled as Dinah. God knows how many times that lesson got beaten into my skull.
Although, he was a decent brawler, I figured it would take sometime before he got rid of that habit.
Our training was interrupted though, when John received a transmission from the league.
" It seems that you are needed for a mission. The league suspects the transports carrying Amazo's parts to Star Labs are going to be attacked." Martian Manhunter announces.
( Chapter End)
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A/N : A bit of shorter chapter this time but next time we're up for the Amazo mission.
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