10 advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.
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(General P.O.V)
"Robin, that's him right?"
Wally asked, him, Speedy and Robin watching Angel's back as he disappeared into the ship.
"Yes."
Robin replied, only to shake his head and immediately turn to his two friends, grabbing their elbows.
"But you two are in a lot of trouble."
Wally and Speedy winced at the same time.
They knew they were going to get an earful for sneaking onto the Cruise Ship without orders.
As Robin led the other two away, another conversation was taking place.
"You weren't lying. He really is a badass."
Cheshire purred, leaning on the railing.
"I wouldn't mind getting acquainted. You could introduce us Ravager. You two seem to know each other."
"Do it yourself."
Ravager snorted, walking away.
Off to the side, a girl dressed in all black raised her head, revealing a curious glint in her eyes.
"Savage..."
She muttered to herself.
X-23 then rose to her feet and left the deck as well, passing a pair of shadows cleaning up the blood and corpse of the dead fighter.
She was told to bring glory to the Court of Owls and nothing else.
But that boy had grabbed her attention due to the look in his eyes. When he had gone on the offensive, his feral side had shown itself.
They were similar.
And that intrigued her. But he too would die if he stood in her way to the top. It was as simple as that. Talons had no emotions, except their dedication to the court.
"Savage..."
She muttered once more, and disaappeared.
(Angel's P.O.V)
Getting to my room was a simple matter.
After making sure it was securely locked behind me and a casual scan with heat sense showed no one had followed, I threw the bag on the chair in the room and threw myself on the bed.
In an instant, I was out.
5 hours later, I opened my eyes, jolting awake.
I stretched my body, feeling fully rested. I had trained myself to only need 4 hours of sleep. So the extra hour was me taking it easy. An indulgence, on account of the task that awaited me
But first, I did something I hadn't in a while.
With a thought, the Interface appeared before my eyes.
{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}
[Name: Angel Savage]
[Metagene: ???
[Race: Metahuman/homo magi]
[Ability: Pyrokinesis]
: Cryokinesis]
: Speed Force Conduit]
[Equipment: Frost]
: Blaze]
{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}
A few things had changed. But a lot stayed the same.
But for starters, the Metagene tab had gone from saying N/A to ???
Interesting.
And under the ability category, SpeedForce Conduit was highlighted.
It had happened as soon as I stole The Flash's connection. Though I was still keeping the fact I was a speedster under wraps.
However, I'm sure the Justice League knows. While I did have Psimon tweak the Flash's memories, the ones concerning my identity and Klarion's involvement remained untouched.
That's besides the point.
The Equipment section displayed Frost and Blaze. Which made sense as both weapons were Soulbound to me.
The atlantean forgers that had created them used my blood in the process. And that was enough for the Interface to acknowledge them.
It didn't matter that I kept them in my shadow using Shade's power. Even if stolen, to anyone else they would be dull pieces of metal.
I closed the screen with another thought.
Then I checked the time on my watch. A quarter to 12.
Good. I still had time. Without much else to do, I took a shower, dried myself up and in less than ten minutes, I was standing before the mirror, dressed only in briefs.
Over the decade I have been in this world, my body, this body, has not ceased to amaze me.
In my last world, I never would have imagined being healthy. Confined to a bed most of my life, tubes through my nostrils due to my poor physique.
I now had abs.
The lean muscled frame refrected back at me was almost too much to believe, let alone conceive that it was built in just under 5 years.
Being a Homo Magi seemed to be more than just having a capacity to perform magic. It had also affected my physical vessel. Helped me get stronger, faster.
The hot and cold mana I sensed within me were still a mystery though. As was the Interface.
But that mystery could be solved later. For now, I'll use these abilities and fulfill my plans.
Speaking of, it was almost time. If my contant is to be believed.
With a tap to my watch, the secondary function I had Ivo install was activated, and a suit of black, made up of billions of nanites covered my body entirely, melding into my skin and hair, before disappearing in its camouflage mode.
I blinked, looking myself over. I still appeared naked. And even touching the skin, I couldn't feel the nanites, they had took on the properties of real skin.
As for their functions, they were meant to serve a few different ones. The prime function being super charging my healing.
While having a connection to the SpeedForce gave me enhanced healing, it wasn't to the level of my father who could regrow entire limbs.
But with the nanites, as long as my heart and brain remained whole, I could heal from anything.
Someone had tried to kill me 2 times and failed. It only made sense they wouldn't stop until I was dead. And I wasn't willing to let that happen.
So call it a precaution or call it cheating, but my life was the most precious thing to me.
With the nanites operational, and molded to my body like a second skin, I threw on a change of clothes and sat on the bed meditating.
Exactly at 12, a knock sounded on my door.
"It's time."
I muttered to myself.
"Good luck young master."
Shade's voice reached me. From here on out, he was going to retreat.
He would be on call if I needed him but there was a more important duty I wanted him to carry out.
"Keep Candi safe."
I instructed, moving toward the door.
I opened it and before me was a Shadow. Not any ordinary Shadow, however.
[Follow Me]
Cassandra, the daughter of Lady Shiva, signed at me.
The same Cassandra that had been my opponent to qualify for the Lazarus tournament. After that encounter, I did some digging and found out who she was.
And a few more things. Let's just say, David Cain- her father and Vandal Savage both shared the same principles when it came to raising their kids.
[Where to?]
I signed back.
She briefly hesitated.
[Just...follow]
Then she walked away.
I quietly followed, moving through the hallways on a path that found other fighters joining us, also led by a few shadows.
I nodded at Ravager but kept our interaction minimal. We might be acquittances, maybe even friends but she was currently an enemy. As far as the tournament is concerned anyway.
In no time, we found ourselves out on the Private deck.
The stars on the sky and the glare of the full moon shone down on us, providing the only source of light.
The lower decks of the ship had lights on of course.
Tourists and other travellers were enjoying the cruise without the slightest idea of what was happening on the top deck.
Before us, stood a group of Shadows in formation.
"Everyone!"
A voice called out from their front.
Lady Shiva.
The murmurs and grumblings that had risen from the fighters due to being called out during the night, ceased at her authoritative presence.
None of us forgot how she had executed someone for breaking the rules.
"Now, all of you must be wondering why I called you here at this hour. We are still a few days away from the Island after all."
She paused, eyes scanning the crowd.
Seeing that everyone keenly listening, she nodded in satisfaction.
She started pacing,
"As fighters, you're expected to showcase your fighting prowess. But the Lazarus Tournament is special. It's not simply a Martial arts competition to test your combat skills. It is also a series of tests designed to push you to the extreme. For that reason, weaklings and those of brittle resolve shall be weeded out."
Her words sparked a round of speculation and chatter.
"Silence."
She ordered and the deck became as quiet as still water.
Shiva turned her gaze to the ocean.
"This is as far as the Cruise Ship goes. From here, Infinity Island is a mere 70 kilometers that way."
She pointed East of the Cruise Ship.
"You will swim across the ocean and get there before dusk tomorrow. The fights on the tournament will be arranged according to your rankings. Get there first, and you won't have to fight many opponents. Get there last and you will slog your way through a battle royale just to qualify for the Arena."
Naturally, a fresh round of complaints followed after she was done.
"What?!"
"You can't be serious!"
"She really expects us to swim across the ocean in the middle of the night?"
"I don't care about the tournament. I value my life more."
"What about Sharks?"
"This is unfair..."
She waited until the commotion died down and then snapped her fingers. Everyone that had been vocally against the arrangement, found a sword pointed at their necks.
"I don't care of it's fair or not."
Shiva addressed.
"Either way, you're getting in the water. Whether as food for the fish or willingly, it matters little. This cruise is over."
She coldly stated.
Quietly, I shrugged out of my clothes, packing them in my bag and leaving myself only in briefs.
Then before astonished gazes, I walked over to the railing.
"I assume, our stuff will find us on the Island?"
I asked, throwing the bag at a Shadow close to Shiva. They caught it and placed it to the side.
Shiva stared at me up and down, a frown on her brows before nodding.
"You assume right."
"Okay, good."
I turned to the rest of the fighters with a smirk.
"See you guys later."
I saluted and without another word, leaped over the railing and dove head first into the water.
My contact had been right, the tournament had begun on the Cruise Ship.