Rise To Power
"Are you ready, Gabriel?" Slade asks me, raising his blade.
We stand in the center on a white chalk circle on the middle of his incredibly spacious training area. We had set up shop in a warehouse in the Narrows. I had started my schooling in the sword nearly a year ago. Slade was my master, and had taught me to compensate for my blind spot; My missing right eye.
I raise my plain, low carbon steel training sword, touching the flat of my blade to his. We stand for a split second, eyes locked, swords crossed. Then, he strikes. A slash meant to land at my mid chest, one that I easily parry. I counter, taking a swipe at his sword arm, but my strike wasn't heavy enough to cut through his kevlar armor. He extends his free hand, projecting a blast of flame in my direction. I dodge, doing a backward roll and resetting. We wait, tense.
Pyromancy was another little trick we'd been working on. He had learned it after a defeat by the Teen Titans, and the apparent death of his apprentice, Tara. His body had been reduced to a charred skeleton, causing him to hide himself in his armor constantly. His stints in the Lazarus Bath had healed his appearance, but the ability remained. An ability he was initially hesitant to teach me.
He rushes me again, stabbing at my abdomen rapidly. I parry each strike, retaliating with my own blast of flame. The blue-green jet left my hand in a blaze, quickly enveloping his armored form. He dives out of the inferno, his armor protecting him from the brunt of the heat. He takes another swipe, this one so powerful it knocks my sword from my grip. I leap out of the way of his next barrage, recovering my sword mid roll, standing to face him. He circles me.
"You've improved vastly from when you came to me, Gabriel." He says, no doubt smiling under his mask. "But you're no master yet." He tells me as he rushes me once more, his stroke breaking the blade of my sword and knocking me aside.
"Damn!" I shout, as I hit the ground hard, the hilt of my useless weapon spinning away from me. "Worthless thing!" I yell at it, frustrated with the weak steel.
"Now, now." Slade says as he strides up to my prone form. "The sword is unimportant, the improvement in your swordsmanship is." He says elegantly.
` "Then I need a sword that can keep up with me!" I shout, climbing to my feet. "These low carbon blades keep snapping on me." I say, a little more calmly.
"Agreed." Slade says. "Which is why we're going on a little trip." He says, smiling under his mask again.
I quirk an eyebrow, but I know better than to ask. Slade was a cryptic old bastard when he wanted to be, and I'd find out soon enough.
Slade turns away, walking toward his laptop at the other end of the warehouse. He sheaths his sword, and sits down in front of the monitor. He's probably preparing for our "trip."
I walk to my corner of the warehouse, preparing to meditate. I get down on my knees, and begin to breathe. In, out. In, out. In, out. A circle of green flames surround me, rising and falling with my breaths. I'm at peace, and this peace last for many hours. The night passes without my notice, and I drift back into consciousness the following evening.
A duffel bag lands loudly in front of me. "Pack." Slade says. "Lightly, but heavy enough to last a while in the jungle." He instructs.
"Where?" I ask simply.
"We're going to where your Grandfather and I met." He says. "Lian Yu."
