10 advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.
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(General P.O.V)
-Gotham-
-Unknown Location-
The catacombs were filled with individuals in black clothes and white masks that resembled the face of an owl.
These individuals were humming a tune. One lost to centuries for the general public.
An ancient hymn meant to be a celebration for the recruitment of their next Talon.
At the head of the group stood a man dressed differently from the rest. A black tuxedo where his compatriots were in robes.
With a raise of his hand, the humming ceased. And he turned his attention to the girl who knelt on a circle in the middle of the room.
"X-23 no more, arise, Talon and claim your place as our enforcer."
The girl raised her head as the Mysterious Speaker walked down the steps, a black owl mask on a red cushion held in his hands.
The girl stared at the mask with a naked hunger.
Only, instead of giving it to her, the Speaker chose to hand the mask over to a Talon who jumped down from the ceiling.
"Before you can claim this honor, X-23, you should prove your mettle."
The Speaker told her, holding up a letter bearing the Isignia of the League of Assassins.
"Defeat everyone else on the Lazarus Tournament and gain the Demon's Head approval. Bring Glory to the Court of Owls."
The Speaker informed.
"""Bring Glory to the Court"""
The people gathered echoed.
X-23 bowed her head in subservience.
"As you command."
(Angel's P.O.V)
The first stop before getting to the Island, happened to be Ivo's lab.
Which was ironically, in Metropolis. Yikes. That's 'HIS' territory. His city.
Even with my powers and the plans on top of plans on top of contingencies I had in place to deal with the Justice League, Superman was a different issue all together.
All my research, including the memories from my last life placed the Man of Steel in a category of his own.
Speed matching that of the Flash, Strength matching that of...no one. Because he had no upper limit, as long as the sun was shining down upon the Earth.
And so was his durability, endurance, senses and God knows what other powers he had but didn't use.
All in all, I was planning on having Ivo move his lab somewhere else. At any time, the Blue Boyscout could use his enhanced senses and ruin things for me.
Metropolis was just too risky.
Maybe Massachusetts. No that's too close to home. Or maybe Washington then.
Yeah, that works. With such close proximity to my company's hq, I could benefit from any scientific break throughs the professor made.
Note to self:- introduce Ivo to Christopher.
But that's a matter for another time. For now, my visit to the good Professor's lab was strictly business.
As soon as I exited the Shadow, Ivo perked up from where he was working on the Fatherbox.
"Oh young Savage! You're right on time. I just finished your order."
He motioned me over to another section of the Lab.
-0-
After leaving Ivo's lab, Shade's immediate next portal emptied us out onto a dock in the city of Georgetown, in the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands were part of a group of an Archipelago called the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean seas, located in between Cuba and Puerto Rico.
This Island was the agreed meeting point, being the closest to the general location of Infinity Island.
The Invite letter had consisted of a ticket to board a cruise ship, which was meant to transport all the fighters to the Island under the guise of normal tourists.
Behind me was the Grand Cayman Resort, and in front was the private harbor where the Cruise Ship was anchored.
To my sides were palm trees swaying in the salty breeze. Bits of sunlight penetrated through the leaves and added more beauty to the atmosphere.
I couldn't help but whistle at the large stretch of blue water before me.
And the beach filled with numerous dots that were people sunbathing far to my left.
Everything about this place screamed 'vacation spot'.
"Shade, remind me to bring Candie here in the future. I'm sure she would love it."
I spoke to the empty air, knowing that he could hear me through the shadow below my ear.
Man, sometimes his powers make me envious.
"Duly noted young master."
He informed me as I walked down the steps to the wooden walkway leading to the Cruise Ship.
A structure of metal, the massive craft was the size of 4 of my mansions stacked together, and sat on the calm waters.
To get to it was a speed boat waiting for me at the end of the harbor, two Shadows on it.
I adjusted the small bag with a change of clothes on my shoulder, having decided on physically carrying it despite having Shade on hand.
For starters it would have been weird if I showed up empty.
And I also wanted to keep his presence in my shadow a secret. And pulling clothes in and out of one, would ran the risk of being found out.
I showed the Invite letter to one of them while the other searched me for hidden weapons.
When he got to my watch, I raised an eyebrow,
"I need some way to tell time don't I?"
They stepped back and I was allowed on the boat.
The engine was switched on and we shot across the water, headed for the Cruise Ship.
(General P.O.V)
At the same time as Angel was approaching the ship, two individuals standing on the deck of the Cruise ship were watching the Speed Boat he was on.
"Is that him?"
A girl in a white Mask with red marks and a Green outfit, enquired from another, who was dressed in a red and black outfit, cleaning her sword. (How she had sneaked it on board was anyone's guess)
The latter stopped, turning to gaze at the oncoming speedboat. A snicker escaped her,
"Yup. That's him alright. Angel Savage, 'one badass motherfucker,' according to him anyway."
"I don't see what's so great about him."
A dark skinned muscular teen with dreadlocks falling across his back stated, knuckles cracking in anticipation.
"Oof."
Someone collided into him from behind, causing him to stumble forward.
"Oh sorry man, I didn't mean to do that. You okay?"
A voice came from his back, and the three of them turned to stare at the newcomers.
A ginger haired boy with freckles across his face stood beside a sour looking taller boy, with hair similar to his friend, only his was cut short while the other boy's was unruly and a bit wild.
"I'll break you in two for that."
The muscular teen growled, jumping forward and throwing a punch.
One that was blocked by the taller boy.
"Hey muscle head, he said sorry."
The taller boy said, forearms locked with the attacker.
"Don't care."
The Muscular teen shot back, throwing the taller boy back with his pure strength.
"Mess with me and you get your ass kicked. I'll give you a chance. Both of you come at me."
The two boys stared at each other, nodding while falling into a stance.
"Remember you started this."
The freckled one said.
"But we'll finish it."
The taller one added, much to the joy of the muscular teen.
"Good. I came here to fight. So let's fight."
The latter stated with battlelust.
"""Fight! fight! fight!"""
The crowd of fighters watching the confrontation begun to chant.
"Incoming!"
Someone yelled, pointing at the sky, where something was falling towards the deck. Fast.
Bam!
With a loud impact, Angel landed in between the three, knees bending as he absorbed the force.
Before everyone's eyes, he straightened, cracking his neck.
"Note to self:- leaping off a moving boat is so fucking goated."
That's when he noticed the stares of disbelief aimed his way. Why were they so shocked?
"Mmh? Did I miss the target?"
He scratched his head in confusion,
"I thought this was supposed to be the deck reserved for fighters. Why are you all so surprised?"
In his eyes what he did- jumping off the speed boat, scaling the Cruise Ship by leaping off the railings to get to the top, was nothing special.
How was he to know that the others had used ladders and a ramp?
(Watchtower)
Sitting in front of the main Watchtower's console, Batman was monitoring over twenty feeds.
All of which displayed a different perspective on the Cruise Ship.
His eyes tracked an unassuming black haired boy dressed in a blue Hawaiian shirt as he moved across the ship.
The boy would occasionally duck in and out of sight of the other tourists, displaying expert sneaking, while occasionally fixing cameras on concealed locations across the ship.
The boy entered a bathroom and Batman lost sight of him.
A few seconds later, his earpiece buzzed.
"Robin to Batman, radio check."
A young voice came through.
"Roger. I hear you loud and clear. Proceed."
Batman responded.
"I'm done with the northern section. All camera feeds are operational."
The young voice replied.
"Moving on to the left wing of the southern section."
Behind Batman, Green Arrow whistled, before commenting,
"While I still don't like sending a Kid into such a dangerous mission, I gotta say, you trained your Protege well Batman. Thanks to him, we have a list of everyone attending the tournament."
"Robin might be young but he's a professional."
Batman stated.
"You lucked out."
The Flash chuckled, from where he sat, an open bag of chips in his hands.
"Half the time getting Kid Flash to do what I say, is like expecting rain in a desert."
"It does rain in a desert."
Batman replied.
"Rarely."
"Exactly."
The Flash threw in.
"You're complaining about your sidekick? Maybe you should spend a day with Speedy."
Green Arrow countered.
"Speaking for the rest of us."
Black Canary cut in.
"Focus, boys."
"Canary's right. Look, something's happening on the deck."
Superman informed them, hands crossed over his chest.
All their attention turned to the screen.
A minute later, the Flash cursed. Shortly followed by Green Arrow.
The reason? None of them were expecting to see their proteges, Kid Flash and Speedy on the deck of the ship.
And if that wasn't enough, it seemed they had gotten into a fight with one of the fighters.
"Robin, get to the top deck immediately."
Batman spoke into his earpiece, and a second later, the boy who had entered the bathroom rushed out of it.
Batman turned to the Flash and Green Arrow with a glare.
"When they get back, Mandatory training sessions for both of them on following orders and respecting the chain of command. And you'll be joining them."
Off to the side, Black Canary couldn't help but snicker in amusement.