10 advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.
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(Angel's P.O.V)
The walk back to my quarters was done so silently, only for me to stop at the door before my room.
Turning around, my brows raised in confusion. I wasn't alone.
Jinx and the wild haired kid had followed after me.
"What do you want?"
I groused, not in the mood for company. I had to get ready for the meeting with Ra's.
Instead of answering, Jinx pointed at the end of the hallway,
"I'm a few doors down that way. Can't believe we're so close to each other!"
"So?"
I asked.
"Fight me! You're strong!"
The kid standing next to her butted in, an intense expression of battlelust shining in his eyes.
I crossed my hands above my chest.
"No."
"Huh? Why not?"
He actually looked confused at my refusal.
"Hey shorty,"
Jinx placed a hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face her.
"It's rude to interrupt people when they're having a conversation you know."
The kid looked affronted.
"What do you mean? I just want to fight him because he's strong. And my name is not shorty! It's Goku!"
Oh hell no. I'm out.
The door slammed shut on their faces, but I wasn't sure they even heard it on account of their arguing.
A sigh escaped me as I bumped my forehead against the door. Dammit, his name is Goku.
Goku's here too...
With Natasha, that makes it two characters from other works of fiction. I'd thought I was in a version of DC Comics. Maybe even Young Justice, but it seems I was wrong.
I wonder what this means. Do Saiyans exist in this world then? And if they do, does it mean Frieza is a thing now?
Shit. I'm not ready for that. Even 10 years are not enough to get me ready for that.
No worries. I'm adaptable.
The logical thing to do was look into Goku's history. And if possible, maybe take him along with Jinx.
If I can get Goku to Super Saiyan early, then that will be a guaranteed stop gap to anyone too strong for me to fight. By anyone, I mean bullshit dragonball villains like Perfect Cell, Majin Buu and the like.
At least until I have grown in power to match them and monsters like Superman.
It's all speculation though. And I really hoped that was all it was.
Besides the worst case scenario, studying Ki could also help me increase my power. So it's a win-win situation. I just need to be careful not to derail my plans due to these new developments.
Yes. The plan.
For now, I'll focus on it. Maybe tweak it a little, but meeting Ra's and dealing with the Light came first out of all other things. That was the priority.
"You know, sneaking into my room after what just happened can be taken as an attempt at my life, right?"
I spoke out, addressing the Shadow that peeled itself off the ceiling and landed next to my bed.
Could this be another assassination attempt? If it was, sending one lone Shadow to deal with me was the height of folly.
I turned around, ready to freeze the blood in their veins. Only to pause, a bit surprised.
[Cass? What are you doing here?]
I asked, using sign language.
[To kill you.]
She signed back, only to rub her arm and add,
[Joking]
A surprised snort blurted out of me.
[That's funny. Now what do you want? I'm serious.]
This could be a setup. But a casual scan with heat sense showed me that we were truly alone.
Well there was Jinx and that...Goku kid outside though, but no Shadows.
[I have a message. From Ra's Al Ghul]
She signed back professionally.
[After the end of the second round, you are invited to the Shadow Mansion]
A breeze swept through my room, Cassandra's form disappearing along with it and leaving my window ajar.
Heat sense revealed a shadowy form moving fast through the alcove treeline, until she was out of my range.
She's fast. A little too fast.
And now that I think of it, her body had physically bigger as well. As if she had been pumping iron a little too much.
Mmmh.
-0-
Alone in the comfort of my room, I spent the next Five hours checking on the reports from my spy group.
Or at least the barebones of what I wanted Natasha to establish with the Criminal Organization.
And what a fast worker she was. She had just sent me a bundle of information on the League of Shadows that I had requested.
One file in particular was labeled with a familiar name and face.
"Talia Al Ghul. Oh? What's this?"
I muttered, flipping through the holographic feed displayed above the watch, and started reading.
(2 hours later)
A shower was exactly what I needed to unwind after what had gone down.
And after a few minutes spent working on a fade(the superspeed helped), I placed the ice razor down and then laughed like a maniac.
My face could give the Joker a run for his money by how wide I was smiling.
I now know why Talia despises me!
The situation that went down during the end of the first round only added fuel to the bonfire.
The reason she hates me was because her father was planning to propose an alliance by having me and Talia get engaged!
That sneaky old coot. Great minds really do think alike! I came here seeking the very same thing after all.
Not Talia, mind you. but the League's strength. She's just a bonus.
Having an organization of world class Assassins on call would do wonders for the Empire I was building.
And with that, I just had a clue on who had likely ordered the assassination attempts.
I'm glad I decided to attend this tournament, now I can move forward with a clearer vision.
The next day couldn't have arrived sooner.
-0-
The gong sounded out, heralding the start of the second day of the Lazarus Tournament.
On the circular Arena that had been repaired of yesterday's damages, Sensei stood, gazing up at where The Demon's Head sat.
With a nod from Ra's Al Ghul, who was alone on the second floor balcony- Talia was nowhere to be seen- Sensei turned to face the stands.
"Welcome to the Second round of the tournament! For this part of the contest, 2 fighters will meet in a clash of fists and arms."
His powerful voice echoed out across the Training Grounds.
"The rules today are different but simple."
He went on to motion at the racks of weapons close to the staircases leading to the Arena.
There were different kinds. Long swords, Katanas, Chinese Jians and Daos, pole-axes, Hammers, Sais and even staffs.
"You have the option of using any one weapon you want. To eliminate your opponent, either throw them off the Arena, land a deliberating blow, or have them submit."
Sensei explained.
"Killing is forbidden. I will stop the battle if I deem it necessary. Failure to comply will be met by harsh punishment."
From the brief glance I swept over the stands, everyone seemed to listen with rapt attention.
"With that out of the way,"
He nodded after a brief pause.
"May the first match begin. Participants, to the Arena!"
Everyone knew their assigned matchups already.
They were after all posted on the Fighter's Ranking board near the exit.
For the second day of the tournament, there were a total of 5 matches. With the number of Fighters being 10, it meant 2 people per match.
The first one was surprisingly, me vs Jinx.
The pink haired girl hadn't looked as thrilled when she found out who she was facing.
"Good luck."
Ravager said to me as I got to my feet.
"You might actually need it."
I ignored the whispers from the stands as I walked out. Yesterday's incident was fresh in everyone's mind.
I didn't choose a weapon as I climbed onto the Arena.
Once on it, Jinx and I faced each other from opposite sides. She too hadn't picked a weapon.
She seemed tense but determined, while I had my hands inside my pockets and looked calm.
Now, how do I defend against her luck powers? Easy, don't let her touch me- something that was easily avoidable as I was much faster than her.
The main issue would be the jinx bolts she could fire from her hands. Something she technically hasn't shown during the tournament, but I would be dumb to rule out.
But again, the answer to that was superspeed.
"Give up."
I told her.
Her expression turned surprised before it quickly changed to anger.
"Are you underestimating me?"
"No."
I shook my head.
"I'm just too powerful for you now. We both know I'm right."
She clenched her jaw, raising her hands in a tai chi stance.
"We'll see about that."
With a quick dash that surprised me a little, I was not expecting her to rush forward, especially by cartwheeling!
But in a few moves, she was already a few feet away.
Her palm shot forward at my chest. But I easily stepped down on it and sprung over behind her, the heel of my foot kicking out at the small of her back.
One move that would send her over the edge of the Arena.
Unexpectedly, the heel didn't connect as the Arena suddenly tilted on one side. The left.
The posts holding it up on the underside had somehow snapped, causing me to be thrown forward.
I stabilized my balance by rolling and then crouching low.
Jinx on the other hand ran up the elevated side of the Arena, her steps echoing across the wood below, before she jumped down at me.
I streamed to side, moving out of the way, only for the Arena to tilt once more as more pillars broke on the side I was now on.
Smart girl. She knows she can't touch me so she's targeting the Arena itself.
But this time, I stayed rooted, creating ice studs that protruded out of my boots and bit into wood.
Displaying expert acrobatics and balance, Jinx was on me a third time, not bothering to hide the pink aura covering her palms as she struck out my way.
The palms slimed with jinx energy, sailed close to my body, but I made sure to dodge at the last second, with the barest margin possible.
Her frustration started leaking into her moves and the Arena below us faced the worst of it, rolling around like a plate as every post below snapped like a twig, sending a cloud of sawdust up into the air.
"Will you..."
Jinx growled, throwing a chain of palm and kicks my way.
"Stop..."
All of which I dodged, retreating backwards.
"Moving..."
She overcommitted to a kick, which sailed harmlessly by my hip.
"Around so much!"
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a feint and before I could do anything, her hand had gripped my left hand.
"Got you."
She smirked at me, her eyes lighting up in a pink light.
"Blame your bad luck."
Her hands lit up as she activated her probability manipulation and the floorboards of the Arena below me shattered.