Sora Gaiden

Chapter Three: Swordsman in Happy Harbor

Sora's Apartment/ Metropolis/ 11:06 a.m. / July 18, 2010

Sora stared at the woman that was currently in his shabby apartment. She had been his "mentor" these past few days or so that's what Batman called her. He had, in so many words, informed the Dark Knight and the woman present that he needed no tutor or mentor in the art of combat but they were having none of it. So he was here with his glorified baby-sitter as she gave him the same analytic look over as she always did in the morning.

"Sora," The woman said. "Batman has instructed me to lead you to the Zeta-beams where you will be reintroduced to the Team. But before then, I must ask how you are doing."

Sora scowled at the words. He had been followed constantly by the swordswoman currently present and now he had to be pitted with sidekicks. None of them could give him the skills or knowledge to defeat Deathstroke nor did they have the power to do it themselves. Worst, they wanted him to bond with the sidekicks.

'It's only until I find out where he is hiding.' Sora thought to calm himself down. 'Once I find where Slade is, I can avenge my family and leave the sidekicks and their little club.'

"I'm fine." Sora droned out.

"You look tired." Sora shrugged his shoulders, his eyes going elsewhere. "The nightmares… Did they return?"

"What do you think?" was the boy's response. "Can we go now Tatsu?"

The woman, Tatsu Yamashiro, crossed her arms with an exasperated sigh. She honestly had better things to do than to babysit a teen who wanted to seclude himself from the rest of the world. Yet, for obvious reasons, Batman felt as if that Tatsu would be able to connect with Sora better than anyone else on League payroll; if there actually was a payroll.

"I must make sure that you are ready before we get to the Cave. Batman has entrusted me to make sure that you are at least a team player and your nightmares further complicates things." The heroine known as Katana spoke. "That, and your lone-wolf personality…"

Sora glowered at the woman. "I don't want to do this. I don't need those sidekicks stopping me from getting my revenge. They'll just slow me down."

"You do know that the alternative is being locked away until we feel that you are indeed not a spy for Deathstroke, right?" It had been a fact that Batman so gingerly brought to light and Katana did nothing but reinforce it. "Besides, giving your current swordsmanship, I wouldn't be surprised if you could learn a thing or two from Aqualad in patience."

Another fact that Tatsu constantly reminded the teen was that she was the far superior swords user between the two. She has pointed out that the teenager was proficient at using his blade but was far too narrow-minded to successfully drive off a tougher opponent. Tatsu credited Sora's tunnel-vision to his need for vengeance and that one day, possibly sooner than they wanted, it would drive Sora to do something incredibly stupid and get himself killed.

"I know," Sora scoffed. "Can we go now?"

Tatsu glared at him. "Not until you tell me that your nightmares won't have any effect on your performance. Your options: Tell me now or tell Batman later. Your choice."

Sora balled his fists up before calming down. He did not have the best relationship with the Batman, and he dared someone to blame him. The Dark Knight takes it upon himself to just appear in Sora's apartment whenever he damn well pleases and leaves before Sora could even give a proper argument. Plus, the bastard had refused to train Sora solely on the grounds of Sora gaining the skills to kill Deathstroke.

"It wasn't anything new," Sora finally relented, now avoiding eye connection. "Just the night that… You know."

A hand was placed onto his shoulder, his black eyes meeting Tatsu's brown ones.

"Sora, listen to me carefully," Tatsu said calmly. "Your thirst for vengeance will lead you down the wrong path, a path that will someday cross Deathstroke or worse, me. I don't make it a habit of taking down children who I'm supposed to be babysitting." She gave him a firm glare. "Don't be the first of a very short list."

The teen released a low groan in the back of his throat but did nothing else. He did not like Tatsu but he respected her abilities. Teleporting would only get him so far if he ever got hit by her Soultaker blade.

"Come on," Tatsu said. "We do not want to keep Batman waiting. The last thing we need is for him to be angrier than usual."

Sora frowned. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"…It could be."

The teen only strapped his blade on his back. While he did not smile, he did find the statement slightly humorous. It made the day less annoying than it actually was; humor. That is, humor made the day less annoying until he was surrounded by annoying weak sidekicks.

And then hell would most likely break loose.


Mount Justice/ Happy Harbor, CT/ 11:21:18 a.m. / July 18, 2010

"This is the Cave,"

Those words meant very little to Sora as Katana led him away from the Zeta-Tubes in the center chamber. He eyed the large holographic computer and noted that this is probably where they either monitored things around the world or was given instructions on a mission. Being freelance, he knew that computers were used for two general things; contact and obtaining the information necessary for a mission.

"This way," Katana instructed. Sora followed obediently, his eyes taking in all the sights that were around them. "I was told that the kitchen here is fully functional and normally stocked. It beats your cabinets by a mile."

Sora grunted. "How is that important to anything?"

"You are joining an undercover team for a man that found you an hour after he figured out who you were." said Katana. "Do you really want to be the one to tell him that you blew a mission because you were hungry?"

'Not really.' Sora thought though remained verbally silent. He was unsure just how Batman found out his identity or his home in Metropolis but he knew that if Batman could do so with little time, Deathstroke was probably on his trail.

The pair entered where Sora figured was the living area. It looked like an entertainment room and a kitchen put into one. He broke away from Katana and drifted towards the kitchen…

…Until a green-skinned girl appeared from behind the counter with white powder on her face.

"Hi!" Sora nearly beheaded the Martian right then and there. Thankfully, Katana had placed a hand on his shoulder to stop any reflexes that he may have had. "I'm M'gann! You can call me Megan! We were waiting for you!"

Sora gave Katana an annoyed glance, the masked woman shrugging her shoulders in response. He did not want to be here. Hell, she did not want to be here. However, the deal with Batman forced Sora to be here and Katana to at least visit twice a week.

"Um… Are you alright?" M'gann asked, her amber eyes going back and forth between Sora and Katana.

"Introduce yourself." Katana spoke.

Sora grunted. "Raijin. You don't need to know my real name."

"Oh…" M'gann said. She was able to pick up the vibe that her new teammate obviously did not want to be there, almost like Superboy, but worse. "Well, I was just putting some cookies into the oven. I could show you around and introduce you to the guys. They're at the beach."

"That would be nice." Katana said as she turned around. "Don't let him have too much sugar, he gets hyper. Oh, and his name is Sora."

'Bitch…' Sora thought, M'gann gasping the second it ran through his mind.

Sora looked at M'gann for a moment. He had never met a green-skinned girl and did not know what her abilities could be, but if he had to guess he would have to assume that she heard his thoughts. And while he did not want to assume the wrong idea about her, the swordsman knew that his reluctance to live in this place would grow if he had a mind reader walking about. Worse, a mind reader who did not respect boundaries.

"I'm sorry!" M'gann abruptly apologized, bowing her head slightly. "I… I'm not from around here and where I'm from, we communicate telepathically. The guys were telling me earlier that it's wrong but I-"

"Just stay out of my head." Sora interrupted. "Where is my room?"

"Oh, um, this way," M'gann answered. "Follow me."

The girl flew over the counter and landed softly in front of Sora. The boy did not seem to mind, flying humans- or whatever M'gann was- was nothing new to him. Deathstroke had tracked them all down before, and he was there when it happened.

"So… I heard you can teleport." M'gann attempted a conversation. "Robin says that you are good with a sword. Kid Flash agreed." Sora shrugged a shoulder. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you'll like the others." M'gann said hopefully as she led him to the room she was instructed to show him. "So are you going to be staying here full time?"

"…"

"Superboy, Kaldur, and I will be here all the time. We could use an extra face."

"…"

"They said that we'll have cable and food and-"

"M'gann."

"Hmm?"

Sora said nothing else, politely shutting her up without actually having to say so. He was already annoyed by Katana, he would hate to turn his aggression out on someone who didn't deserve it.

"Well, here we are," M'gann said stopping in front of a door. "This is your room. My room is a little further down and Kaldur's is right across the hall." She then eyed Sora. "I know you want to be alone so I'll leave. The cookies should be done soon though. Have some, okay?"

Sora did not respond, just going into his room and closing the door behind him.

'I hate this place already.' he bitterly thought with a sigh. 'At least it's bigger than my bedroom.'

The boy made it to his bed and dropped his bag on the floor. Sitting on the comfortable bed, he looked around the bedroom. This was how his time with Deathstroke began. It was a nice hotel room with a fancy dinner afterwards. The mercenary bluntly told Sora that he had killed Sora's parents because they attempted to change the deal after the job was done. Deathstroke wasn't lying, Sora's parents had left out a key piece in their original agreement, but the price that the mercenary wanted afterwards far exceeded the extra work he put in.

Needless to say what happened next.

A knock came on the door, causing the swordsman to look at the door.

"Hey," From voice alone, he recognized it to be Robin. "Wanted to know how you're doing."

"Fine," Sora returned in a flat voice.

"Right, right," said the Boy Wonder. "Hey, we're going to go out for a spin on Megan's bio-ship. Wanna join us?"

"Yeah," A new voice, Kid Flash's, came in next. "But hands off of her! I saw her first!"

Sora rolled his eyes lazily. "Go away."

"Dude, are you serious? We have the whole place to ourselves and-"

"Go. Away." Sora's voice had taken a noticeable darker tone, stopping Kid Flash dead in his tracks.

"C'mon KF, let's give the guy some space." Robin said. "Hey, M'gann left you some cookies in the kitchen. You'd better get them before KF comes back to finish them off."

Sora scoffed quietly. He didn't care about any cookies. He didn't care about the people present either. What he wanted, what he dreamed, was to avenge the deaths of his family members and friends. A group of sidekicks could not get him that.

Silence soon came and Sora was more than relieved. Batman said that he had to stay in the Cave- he never said that Sora had to actually become friends with the sidekicks. So if Sora had to remain in his room until the others left, like now, then he would do so until Deathstroke was dead and he could move on with his life.

Yet, to be sure that he was all alone, Sora remained in his room for a few more minutes before quietly stepping out.

'This place is bigger than I expected.' Sora thought as he walked farther down the hall. 'Quieter too without those sidekicks.'

The teen found his way back to the kitchen, his black eyes scanning the area carefully. He saw the plate of cookies left on the counter; chocolate chip from what he could tell. He neared them quietly, still searching around for anyone or anything. Slowly and silently, he took a warm cookie into his hand and brought it to his lips.

The boy paused. How ironic would it be for him to be belittling the abilities of the sidekicks and they are the ones who take him out with a chocolate chip cookie?

Sora bit into the cookie and sighed. Surprisingly, the Martian knew how to bake a cookie. But Sora was not interested in her baking skills. He was more or less interested in how long he had to stay here with the others. Once again, he did not care about who they were, just if they were strong enough to help him kill Deathstroke.

And they weren't.

First off, there was Robin. Sora had heard the boy's skill from Deathstroke time and time again to the point that Sora assumed that he was going to have a partner outside of Slade's recently estranged children, Grant and Rose. Sora knew that from skills alone, Robin was his best asset and could potentially find Deathstroke's whereabouts.

Next was Kid Flash. Sora knew nothing about the guy other than he was fast. And upon meeting him in D.C, he realized that the speedster was quite talkative as well. Despite this, Sora felt something strange about Kid Flash. An attraction, not like a physical or emotional one, that caused Sora's body to tingle when the two touched. The last time Sora felt a tingle like that, Slade told Sora that his powers were mutating, allowing Sora to travel farther, faster. To Sora, it just felt like lightning running through his veins in the most addictive manner.

He next thought about Aqualad. The guy seemed level-headed for the most part, though that did necessarily make him useful. Sora also knew that the guy could control water though he did not know whether it was through Aqualad's mind/will or through other means.

Sora then assessed the Superman clone- Superboy he remembers hearing earlier. The guy was headstrong, Sora figured, more so than any of the other three guys that Sora had helped back at Cadmus. Other than that, Sora assumed that Superboy could do everything Superman could. Well, except fly. Sora remembered clearly as the clone began to fall in the elevator shaft instead of flying out.

And then there was the new girl, M'gann. Sora knew absolutely nothing about the girl other than she could read minds and could bake cookies. One of those talents could actually help him against Deathstroke. The other was baking cookies.

By now, Sora had finished three cookies and was walking into the kitchen to find a cup or glass for something to drink. So this was the life of a corporate saboteur. While the teen was not necessarily broke, per se, he did not make as much money as the veterans in the business. Most of his payment was saved for a later day but there were moments when bills had to be paid then and there.

Thus, he took a job the find out something- anything really- about the Cadmus Labs in DC. That led him to meet the sidekicks which revealed himself to the Justice League. The job itself was supposed to be easy and yet it grew to the complications that were that large gray monstrous thing that he had battled before escaping.

And now he was here, in a cave, eating cookies, with freaking sidekicks. Sora scoffed. He was a warrior of his clan who had traveled the world with Deathstroke the Terminator. And he was eating cookies baked by some jubilant alien.

'Ally wouldn't believe it.' He amusingly thought as he fished a canned soda out of the refrigerator.

The silence gave him a familiar feeling of loneliness which caused him to take his drink out of the kitchen to find his room once more. This loneliness was welcomed to Sora greatly as it told him that he was, in simpler terms, alone. No one was watching him. No one wanted to use his abilities for their personal gains. There was no one but him. And that was a pleasant thought with the knowledge that some highly trained assassin was searching for you.

Sora casually thought back to a time when he was not alone though. A time when he was there with Sora…


Hideout/ Calgary, Alberta/ 01:34 p.m. / January 24, 2005

At eleven years old, Sora Takashi had already seen the deaths of his parents and relatives first hand. He had traveled, illegally, to foreign lands where he was taught some of their languages and customs. But none of that mattered as he endured the cold Canadian winter next to a fire snapping in the fireplace. Cold winters were nothing new to him but it did not mean that he did not feel it.

Hell, coldness was the only thing he felt now…

"You should eat," the masculine voice behind him said. "After the storm passes, we're going to make our move."

Sora releases a quiet "Hai" beneath his breath but does not move. His body stayed bundled under the blanket that was draped over his shoulders, his knees pulled against his body. His sword lied next to him on the woodened floor, still covered in the elk's blood that he had slain earlier. The same elk that he was being made to eat.

Footsteps caused Sora to look to over his shoulder as the white-haired man approached him. The man's face was sympathetic, or as sympathetic as it could be, without removing the firm stare it always held.

"Sora," Slade said to the boy. "You need to eat. Your abilities won't work without some substance. And I doubt I could conduct enough electricity to energize you here…"

This was Slade's way of telling Sora that the boy still had his uses and Slade was not done with him. He took care of him just to use him. It was a bittersweet deal as Sora was never hungry. And Sora was never really alone.

Grabbing his sword, Sora rose to his seat and allowed Deathstroke, who was somehow in a plain t-shirt and shorts in this freezing weather, to a small table where three plates of food rested.

"Rose," Slade called. "Come. Dinner is done."

Sora growled as he sat in an empty chair. Rose Worth appeared from the backroom in her long sleeve shirt and pants. Her disheveled hair only proved that she had been asleep prior to her father calling her. Sora, however, did not care about what Rose was doing before as the one-eyed girl trotted towards the table and sat across from him.

The two glared at one another. While Sora's English was currently not the best, he had been around with the white-haired girl to pick up one phrase and say it flawlessly; "I hate you." And he hated her as much as she hated him.

"You two," Slade said. "Eat. It won't do either of you any good if you try to attack each other and I have to put you out."

Rose gave her dad a pout. "Why is he here? He smells funny."

"He just killed a deer so that you can eat. You owe him, Rose." Slade replied to his ten years old daughter. "And to him, you smell funny.

"But-but-"

"No buts Rose," said Slade. "Eat your food." The girl sighed before doing just that. Sora gave her a look of pure hatred before Slade got his attention. "Sora, eat. Don't make me force feed you again."

That got Sora to eat while Rose gave her roommate a smirk. The food was not bad. For all of his crap, Slade knew how to cook. Not on the levels of a highly trained chef, but enough for a kid who had to survive on the run to actually look forwards to dinner.

"You two need to listen to me," spoke Slade. "Like it or not, we have each other and we'll only have each other. So you'd best to learn how to work together or learn how to face the world alone."

"Why Daddy?" Rose questioned.

"Because," Slade answered. "The world, the real world, is after kids like you two. Kids with abilities that they consider dangerous. They will jail you. They will enslave you. And in the end, when you've served your use, they will kill you." Slade gave Sora a glance. "People always kill what they cannot understand."

"I don't understand Japanese…" muttered Rose.

"Then you'll learn. Just like Sora is learning English." Rose grunted quietly at the thought. "Like I said, we are all we have now. So we'd better get used to it."

Oddly enough, this was actually the last group of people Sora saw as family…


Mount Justice/ Happy Harbor, CT/ 11:35:18 a.m. / July 18, 2010

Sora blinked out of his thoughts. He was now just standing in his bedroom with soda in hand. Memories such as that one normally snuck up on him, haunting him of the past he tried so hard to forget. He hated to think that Deathstroke, despite killing his family, took care of him thereafter. The man had homed, bathed, and taught Sora a great deal.

Still… Sora had to kill him.

"Sora!" The voice of M'gann reached him. The boy grabbed his sword at her frantic call and ran out of the room. He found Miss Martian through the living quarters. "The boys…! They need you!"

"Me?" Sora questioned. "Why me?"

"Because… I don't work well with them." Sora was more confused at her words, dismissing her saddened appearance altogether. "I can take you there, but we have to hurry. They don't have much time."

"I don't-" were the only two words he could say before the Martian flew towards him and grabbed his wrist, pulling him away. "What are you doing?"

"If you don't help them… They might die." Miss Martian stated. "I tried to help but I only made things worse. You helped beat Blockbuster with them. You can beat this guy as well."

Sora grunted. "And why can't you do it?"

"Because when I tried, I only made things worse." Sora sighed at her explanation. That was a very good reason to get help in his eyes. It always worked for Rose. "So will you help?"

"Tell me everything about this guy." Sora stated.

"Alright. So it all started when we decided to go on a joy ride…"


Happy Harbor, CT/ 11:39 a.m. / July 18, 2010

Robin groaned as he struggled to stand. Their plans did not work. Their plans did not even slow the android down. And he, the most experienced of them all, could not think of a safe way to get them to retreat. Superboy would not just back away and Aqualad would not leave Superboy behind. Worst, he had sent Miss Martian away.

No, they had sent her away.

"Well," Kid Flash spoke with a small smile. "This isn't exactly how we planned on being a part of the Justice League."

Robin sighed as he helped his friend to his feet. "No. But we're not done yet." As soon as Robin finished, Superboy's body topples towards them. "…"

"You were saying?" Kid Flash questioned.

"I fear that we are over our heads." Aqualad stated as the four regrouped at the shoreline. "I hope that Miss Martian actually called for help."

Robin nodded. "Ditto…"

The four boys grouped together as the android known as Mister Twister hovered above the water in front of them. Clouds began to form over the bay as the red robot glared down at them.

"I grow tired of you pests." Mister Twister bellowed. "Now I will destroy you before finding Tornado and doing the same to him!"

"Let them go."

If there were ever a time to be thankful for having an aerokinetic robot, this would be that time.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash and Robin exclaimed.

"Miss Martian must've told him in time," Kid Flash added. "I knew she'd be helpful."

Mister Twister released a snicker. "Ah, Red Tornado. So glad that you could finally join us."

'Guys,' Miss Martian telepathically reached to her four male teammates. 'It's me, Miss Martian!'

'I thought we agreed not to do the mind reading thing?' Kid Flash returned.

'Not a lot of time to explain. Just get ready.' Miss Martian responded.

Mister Twister held his hands towards who he thought was Red Tornado, twin funnels of wind blasting towards the alien in disguised. To the boys' surprise, the maneuvered worked and knocked Miss Martian backwards. Mister Twister pursued as he was more than ready to finish his opponent.

"You are pathetic," Mister Twister sneered as he stood over Red Tornado's body. "And now I can start the reprogramming sequence." Wires shot from Mister Twister's arms, attaching themselves to Red Tornado's body. "It shouldn't take long for the sequence to be completed."

"It should take longer than you think." M'gann said as she revealed herself.

It was at that moment that Raijin appeared, without costume, on Mister's Twister's back, hacking the cords that extended from the machine's shoulders. Mister Twister went to swat at the swordsman, only for him to vanish nearly as fast as he had appeared.

Robin's eyes went wide…

Kid Flash's jaw dropped…

Aqualad muttered, "Merlin's beard…"

And Superboy just blinked in surprise.

'Now!' M'gann commanded.

Kid Flash was the first to respond, running towards the descending Mister Twister. The self-proclaimed Fastest Kid Alive ran in a circle around his opponent, forming a sand-filled tornado of his own. Mister Twister attempted to blast wind of his own, unable to achieve much due to his damage cords.

"Up here!" Mister Twister looked up to see that Superboy was now free-falling with one fist cocked back.

The impact of Superboy punching Mister Twister into the ground was enough to disperse the wind funnel that Kid Flash had created. Superboy gave the armored being several of punches into his chest, the final blow knocking Mister Twister into to the bay.

Aqualad took that as his sign to attack. He dove underwater, taking the motor from a nearby boat with him. With a heavy swing, Aqualad shoved the motor into the chest of Mister Twister before sending a current of electricity. The resulting explosion sent Mister Twister flying back out of the water where Miss Martian raised him with her telekinesis.

"Now Sora!"

Once more, Sora appeared, his blade slicing the arms clean off of Mister Twister. The teen teleported in time for two red disc to lodge themselves into Mister Twister, the ending result being two small explosions that sent the menace onto the ground.

Aqualad was on the downed machine quickly with Superboy, he and Superboy ripping open the armor to reveal an unconscious man beneath the armor.

"It was a man in armor." Aqualad spoke as Robin neared him. "Do you know him?"

Robin shook his head. "No. But I'm sure that we can run a facial recognition and find out."

"Why was he after Red Tornado?" Kid Flash questioned as he zoomed next to Robin.

"Maybe we'll find out after…" Robin was stopped when he looked up at Sora. "Well look who finally decided to show. Nice to have you Raijin."

Sora gave Miss Martian a glance. "Are you sure?" The Martian nodded. "Fine then."

Aqualad's eyes widened as Sora raised his blade. "Raijin, don't-"

But it was too late. Before anyone could stop him, Sora drove his sword directly through the unconscious man's face. The other four males stood in astonishment before Sora ripped his blade away, electrical sparks and wires now being seen and heard.

"It was just a robot…" Kid Flash noted.

"Miss Martian," Aqualad stated. "We are sorry for not believing that you are ready. We should've listened to you." Aqualad then glanced at Sora. "And we are thankful for your assistance Raijin."

"Hn." Sora grunted. "Just don't let it happen again."

Robin was going to respond until he saw Kid Flash pick up one of the machine man's eye balls.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked.

"Souvenir!" Kid Flash responded.

"Come on," Aqualad stated as he looked around at the visible destruction caused by their altercation. "Let's go."

"Ditto."

"Right behind you."

"Fine…"

"…"

Miss Martian giggled at the other boys' response as she left with them. Robin was too eager to leave, probably used to always leaving a destroyed museum or such during his time with Batman. Kid Flash saying "right behind you" while dashing for the bio-ship was amusing. Superboy's mumble was hardly heard. And, once more, Sora had returned to a state of quietness.

'Sora,' M'gann sent mentally. 'Thank you.'

He casted her a small nod and nothing more which made her smile. Maybe she would fit in after all?


Mount Justice/ Happy Harbor, RI/ 10:19 p.m. /July 18, 2010

It was like watching some dance that they never showed on TV back on Mars. The way Sora moved his blade could be hypnotizing and dangerous intoxicating. M'gann was enthralled by the sword-play, the Martian girl watched Sora practice while Kaldur and Superboy had given Sora the privacy he apparently wanted. M'gann also wanted to give her new teammate privacy but she wanted to at least know something about him which is why she wandered into the training room where Sora was.

"You're very good!" M'gann cheered.

Sora paused with a grunt. "What do you want?"

"Well… I wanted to talk." Miss Martian said. "Like… Where are you from?"

"Away."

"Do you have parents?"

"No."

"Did you go to school?"

"No."

M'gann sighed. "Will you talk with me?"

"I am."

His statement made her want to comically fall to the ground like on the cartoons she had seen before. It was easier talking to Superboy than Sora- and that was saying something! But, her attention was directed towards the swordsman as he approached her.

"Um," she began. "I'll leave you alone now. I know you want to be left alone and Kid Flash was talking quite a bit before he left. Must've been a sugar rush like Robin said. You don't have to tell me anything now. I can understand that you-"

Two fingers pressing against her forehead immediately stopped M'gann's words like he had just poked an off-switch.

"M'gann," Sora said calmly. "Shut up." He removed his fingers and moved for the exit. "You should get some rest."

"Will you ever tell us who you are?" Miss Martian questioned quietly.

"Maybe next time."


Author's Notes: I tried to get this out closer to MoaH update, but oh well. Anyway, here's more of Sora. His story, unlike my other two, will have flashbacks that will explain his character and actions throughout the tale. And there will be times when this strays from canon quite a bit due to his presence. Also, his relationship with M'gann/Miss Martian will not be a romantic one. Just a spoiler. And for those who do not know or got it confused, Sora Gaiden and Markings of a Hero will be here until October when I go back to Arkham Rising. So Sora and Eli now. Jake later. Anyway, if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments about the story, review or PM and I will respond as soon as it is possible for me to do so. Till then, peace.