1 Year Later
*Krios "James," League Of Shadows Temple, Himalayas
The underground fortress of the League Of Shadows had a strange chaos to it that stood in contrast to their overall philosophy of balance.
Miles of tunnels made traversing it a challenge for newcomers until they learned the main paths to rely on.
Then again, their philosophy of balance was to make it easier for them to kill people so maybe the chaotic layout fit better.
Walking down one of the many corridors he passed by a few of al Ghul's servants who gave a polite bow to him, avoiding eye contact and muttered "Krios" respectfully, before swiftly walking past.
Such behavior brought a frown to his face. He had been in this fortress for a year or so and many of the inhabitants were still leery of him.
'Which is fair considering what happened your first month...'
Ignoring that thought he continued his way to the center courtyard of the fort where al Ghul was waiting. Similar to the other servants and apprentices of al Ghul he wore a simple robe, similar to gi's that he had seen kids practicing karate. To his relief the League of Shadows had better tailors as the cloth had a near silky feel, clung tightly to the body but not too tightly to limit movement. He had decided to add such robes to his main uniform as he still like the look of the cloak, hood, and face mask.
His journey made him pass one of the libraries where a swarm of al Ghul's students studied tactics, languages and all the necessary skills for this assassin brotherhood. What he found ironic was after passing the lower library as it was known he passed by the gun range. Not exactly the best location for either locations but who was he to complain.
Since coming to the League of Shadows he had been treated with an unusual amount of respect and trepidation. It eerily felt similar to his time with Slade. Though he doubted the mercenary would ever admit it, they had become friends. But Krios always felt Slade kept his guard up, as if he was worried Krios would lash out by throwing a mountain at him. Something that he could not do... yet.
The other aspect he had to get use to was using his secret identity as his identity. Ra's al Ghul had been adamant that going forward he would only be known as Krios. At first it was difficult and a little strange to go about and be constantly referred his alter ego. But over time in the month he had stayed there, the lesson al Ghul wanted to teach became apparent. One way or another, he had chosen his identity, he had chosen to become Krios. That is who he was, or at least becoming.
Entering what most would call the cafeteria, though they called it something pretentious in a dead language. The cafeteria was a massive cavern with large brass braziers in the four corners providing light along with the roughly cast iron chandeliers. The roof was high enough to fit a several story building and the width boasted simple long wooden tables and benches that could host over a thousand disciples.
Right now barely a quarter of the hall was full. It rarely saw the full amount as the assassins took shifts in dining. It made it so the kitchen worked almost non-stop but also made less demand all at once.
Passing the tables with barely a glance, Krios walked to the north side which would lead to a chamber that connected you to some of the few outside locations of the fortress.
He could feel the eyes of several of the disciples watching, or taking peeks at him. His reputation was... complicated to say the least. Looking back he wondered if al Ghul had purposely set up the situation in his first month. Whether to stretch the ability of his powers or simply see what he could do when pushed he was not sure.
Either way he was not punished for killing several of the Head of the Demon's students.
From his peripheral he was a half dozen disciples hanging out near the north entrance. They were acting nonchalant but he could tell, they were waiting for him.
Keeping his pace and pretending that he did not see them he made his way to exit when one of the group step forward and blocked his way. The others following their leaders lead slowly surrounded him. The low rhythm of conversation inside the hall seemed to stop immediately.
Looking at the visage of the leader of these idiots, Krios could only sigh out loud and spoke in Chinese.
"Hello Bei Liu, can I help you with something?"
Bei Liu snarled back in his native tongue at Krios, "Only your blood on my fists will do you mongrel."
Bei Liu and his entourage were some of the few who would dare annoy him at this point in time. Ra's al Ghul had made it clear he was a guest to his disciples which limited any attempted permanent damage on his person, though that lasted less then a month before the incident. After that most avoided Krios like the plague with Bei Liu and his friends being the exception.
'Well you did kill his brother and sister.'
That thought nearly made him snort with laughter, but considering the situation, now was probably not the right time to do so.
"Bei Liu, can I call you Bei?" Krios asked conversationally.
Based on the rage on Bei Liu's face the answer was a solid no.
Krios ignoring that said, "Bei, lets be completely honest here. This is not a fight either of us want, and is one al Ghul has specifically ordered not to happen. I am not in the mood to have to do push-ups over the cavern for a few hours as much as you."
"You think you are so funny bastard don't you," Bei Liu spat, "But you are nothing more then a whore son, who was raised by whores to be a whore."
Krios eyed Bei Liu carefully for a moment before saying softly, "Please Bei Liu, don't do this."
One of his friends to his right laughed, "Oh, so the mighty Krios is scared of how hurt he will get?"
CRACK SNAP
"OH SHIT F&*K $&#%@^ $&#^@("
Everyone in the hall jumped at the familiar sound to these training and trained assassins. Bone breaking was a fairly common occurrence at this training base, though it really only happen during sparing.
Now though, Bei Liu's friend who had laughed at Krios was on the ground with his right leg twist to have the knee facing backwards. Blood was slowly pooling around the area as the man screamed in agony.
Even for these soon to be assassins, such a grisly and disturbing sight caused most of Bei Liu's friends to back away in fear.
Bei Liu to his credit only looked more angry, "You truly are a whore son..."
SNAP CRACK SNAP CRACK
Bei Liu's arm twisted from the elbow once and then twice. The man yelled in pain collapsing against one of the columns at the entrance before sinking to the ground.
Holding his limp arm gingerly, Bei Liu gritted his teeth but held in the pain with a grimace. A much better and impressive showing of fortitude in comparison to his still screaming friend to the side.
Kneeling down, Krios spoke quietly, "You are lucky that my respect for your master is greater then my desire to shut your mouth forever. But if I ever hear you utter the word whore in my presence again, I will grind your bones to dust."
Standing up be looked around the cafeteria to see several nervous faces beyond that of Bei Liu's friends.
"Sorry folks," He raised his hand and waved, "Just a little disagreement, but we are good."
Looking back at Bei Liu he gave a polite nod and said, "Evening Bei Liu." And walked out of the cafeteria.
'Shit I am late,' he thought as he started to jog through the chamber to the center courtyard.
Walking through a corridor he was greeted by the bright light of the outside world as he entered a near picturesque massive courtyard. The courtyard was covered in vines, plants, flowers and grass. Fed by a constant hot spring that kept the area noticeably warmer then anywhere possibly in the whole Himalayas. Cavern walls surrounded the sides with the jagged ledges ensuring no random explorer would find this open faced cavern leading to the fortress.
Walking to the center, Krios saw Ras al Ghul sitting watching a watcher feature dripping the warm water down into a pond. The man looked completely relaxed and undisturbed which for a thousand year old paranoid immortal was impressive.
Ra's al Ghul was the epitome of what you would expect a kung fu assassin master would look like from the movies. The hunched shoulders and weathered tan skin betrayed the fact that the man could still out bench press and kill dozens of men. Supposedly, the man at times looked younger, with black hair, mustache with only a few gray streaks. But during his time in the League of Shadows Himalayan fortress he was looking more his age for a several thousand year immortal. Just as when he met Krios, he wore simple robes with a green cloak underneath.
Reaching him, Krios gave a bow of respect and held the position. While he refused the offer to join the League of Shadows, he still wanted to offer the proper respect for the man who had taught him so much.
"Please, sit my friend. I understand you might be a little tired from your recent altercation," al Ghul said amused in English.
Krios sat across from the aged assassin, "How you hear about things in this place so quickly has to be magical."
"Or perhaps I just have good ears," he replied still amused.
Krios rolled his eyes, but then said politely, "Bei Liu still has his desire for revenge. I know you ordered no more fighting and for that I apologize and accept any punishment you see fit."
Al Ghul waved his hand, his gaze still on the water feature, "I know he goaded you and sought the fight. Consider it a learning experience for you both and move on."
Two sat in comfortable silence for a moment, both enjoying the sound of the the hot spring and garden.
Finally, al Ghul spoke, "You have trained here for a year and expanded your abilities far beyond that which I thought possible."
"But yet," here he looked at Krios, "I sense we have yet to even cause your Awakening."
The Awakening. Ra's al Ghul spoke of this interesting phenomenon when he first came to him. When he had pressed the old man for more information, al Ghul had hesitated. But over time he had explained a few details though it was obvious the master assassin was hiding things, just like Deathstroke.
Instead, as if to satisfy or maybe distract his new apprentice, Ra's al Ghul told him stories about his parents. Details that Jane didn't know and Penguin never talked about.
The perhaps most surprising revelation was the relationship Slade Wilson had with his father, or his mother's complicated one with the League of Shadows.
Apparently, John his father was a powerful meta mercenary who got into fights with Slade, like a lot of fights. So naturally they became co-workers and somehow friends, enough at least for Slade to be his father's best man at his wedding. Such facts shocked Krios and made him determined to confront his mercenary mentor the next time they met. Though knowing Slade it would end with him running drills for asking too many questions.
John grew to become a quiet legend in the underworld with his ability to manipulate energy. He had used such skills and abilities to becoming a menace to whichever warlord in Africa and Asia who could pay the best. Some started even giving him the codename of Raijin, a name he both hated and was mocked for by Slade. He became particularly notorious in the 80s where he made a lot of money killing Soviets in Afghanistan. That was at least until he met Sarah, his mother.
Sarah was similar if a little different from his father. Her exact origins were unknown but al Ghul made it clear he believed Krios inherited his abilities from her bloodline. When he asked al Ghul what he meant by bloodline the old man always clamped up and refused to elaborate.
From a young age thanks to her ability to manipulate space she proved adept at stealing. When she started using her ability to teleport to steal things thought impossible, that was when the League of Shadows tried to recruit her. Ra's al Ghul retelling the tale seemed to shudder at the thought of dealing with his mother, a fact that brought a smile to Krios' face. She originally accepted the offer to join the assassins but after a few years grew weary of the rules and demanded released.
But you do not just leave the League of Shadows.
The efforts strived to stop her resulted in nearly an entire year of trainees dropped from a mountain, and Ra's al Ghul personally interfering just to calm the raging dragon, a nickname she earned after killing three of her teachers.
After she left the Shadows, she used her skills to continue stealing and occasional assassination missions. She became famous or more accurately notorious after a particularly nasty mission in Kahndaq which al Ghul did not elaborate on. Either way her actions would gain the attention of some powerful figures who hired several mercenaries, like his father.
What happened next no one knew, only that at some point the assassin and mercenary met, fought and fell in love.
Little stories and details of his parents thrilled Krios as he knew so little of them. But despite al Ghul's attempts at distracting him from asking too many questions, it would not work now.
"You speak of Awakening, yet even after a year you have spoken little of what it is." Krios remarked to the old man.
The master assassin sighed and prepared to say something else but Krios beat him to it.
"I know based on what little you have said that it is a power increase or evolution. I know you believe my unique powers come from a bloodline of my mother, though you have never explained that aspect. Did my mother experience an Awakening? What makes my blood so special? Why do I have to be kept in the dark?"
Finally the old man looked away from the pond and stared directly at the young man. Despite Krios' greater confidence and abilities he knew he had to tread carefully. Ra's al Ghul was an immortal who had slain more powerful beings then him before.
"Your mother never awakened her power," al Ghul said slowly.
"Your blood holds with it great potential, but only when in connection with the right soul will what was once primordial be Awakened."
Krios snorted, "Yes as you have said many times before. I think we are far past the times for some half ass riddles, I want answers."
"And you shall have them," al Ghul said firmly, "But only after your Awakening."
Deciding it was pointless to continue this line of thought and that he had not the mental energy to deal with the old assassin. Krios irritated turned his attention back to the flowing pond.
Ra's al Ghul watched him carefully before saying,
"I believe the time has come for your final challenge."
Krios gave him a confused look.
Chuckling al Ghul stood up and motioned for the man to follow him.
Traversing out of the garden they traveled to the main hall and began to weave into the tunnels. The occasional stair and increasing slope told Krios they were climbing high in the fort, but the path al Ghul took was one he had never before taken.
Finally they arrived at a wooden door where al Ghul stopped to look back at his young apprentice.
"Through this door will be your final challenge." He explained.
"Should you complete it, I have no doubt it will force your Awakening."
Opening the door a blast of cold wind hit Krios face as he stared into a beautiful sight of the Himalayan mountain range. Al Ghul motioned for him to join him on the small stone outlook that showed the snowy peaks of one of the worlds highest ranges. The brisk cold wind and whine it made added to the esthetic.
It was mesmerizing.
Al Ghul pointed to a slope a few hundred yards away where an unusual rock formation was.
"Several ages ago, that rock use to make up the tip its mountain. Now time has caused it to crack and slide down to where it rests."
Putting his hand on Krios shoulder he said, "I would like you to return it back to its place."
For the first time since coming to the League of Shadows, Krios felt a certain sense of impossibility with what was being asked.
"You want me to do what?" He whispered.
"Return it to its place..."
Krios interrupted, "Ya I got that!"
Al Ghul raised an eyebrow at his brisk tone but merely smiled at the annoyance of his young apprentice.
The rock itself that made up the tip or based on what he could see buried under the snow was massive. It was a summit of an actual mountain after all!
This was not some small thing, at best he reasoned it would be like lifting a few story building. At worst it might be the equivalent of lifting an actual small city. This was literally beyond anything he could do before.
Sure he had made great strides in his powers. The limitations of effecting peoples bodies al Ghul had helped break through. The overall strength he had could be equated to lifting and if necessary throwing a yacht. His concussive blasts could crush an armor tank if he focused sufficiently. But moving a mountain, even just a portion of one was well beyond his capabilities.
"What you ask," he said evenly if a bit strained, "Is literally impossible."
Ra's al Ghul smiled.
"Only because you deem it so..."