The trees rustled and swayed in the midnight summer winds. Their leaves
shuffled against both themselves and the bare bark of their branches as
they shifted back and forth, back and forth, like an orchestra of nature.
Across each branch shot a dark figure, clad in black. It moved with inhuman
swiftness, making no audible sound. Its motions were as fluid as water as
it leapt from tree to tree and bounced from branch to branch, almost faster
than the human eye could pick up. It stopped suddenly, on the last tree,
and gazed out into the clear opening. The stars glimmered brightly in the
sky, twinkling like a billion diamonds on a black cloth. The grass seemed
like the bobbing ocean in the summer breeze. But its gaze was not on these
natural beauties of the night, but rather on two lone figures in the long
grass.
It watched in silence....
*****************
"You need to come at me harder, Cass," she said as she lightly pulled away a stray strand of hair from her face. The young stood tall, her muscles tensed from hours of training and battling. Her hair was a fiery red, as red as the passion, which fueled her in life. Her eyes glimmered, the soul of a warrior behind their soft gaze. At her feet, gasping for breath, was a young blonde. Sweat gleamed from her brow as she desperately tried to get to her feet. Her hair, much longer than her 'teachers', was pulled back into a ponytail. Her shoulders, bare, bore deep bruises and welts of all magnitudes. Her jeans scuffed against the grass as she slowly got to her feet.
"That *gasp* WAS *gasp* my hardest *pant pant*!" The young girl barely whispered as she sucked in the air to her lungs. She tried to look up at her instructor, but could barely find the strength.
"Then come at me FASTER!" her teacher said sternly, unsympathetic.
"That WAS my fastest!" her student responded in tone.
"We'll have to work on that, won't we 'Wonder Girl'?" She had a sinister smile on her face as she used her pupil's field name in a mocking tone. She turned and walked towards a good-sized duffel bag sitting a good fifty yards from where they were. Cassie was already dreading what form of torture she had in store for her.
She walked over, carrying in her hands a large bag. In it, Cassie could see, were several large, metal spheres. Her teacher, even with her training, had to use two hands to carry it over. She plopped it down before Cassie's feet.
*Thud*
"What are these?" she asked, not really wanting to know. "They look like metal base balls"
"You could say that," she said with a coy smile. "These are special training spheres, made of pure lead. They're actually quite heavy as you can see. Now here's the game. I'm going to throw these in the air, and your job is to keep them from touching the ground."
"Sounds easy enough," she said confidently, just thankful she didn't have to do any more sparring.
"When you can fly like me, it...."
"No flying."
"What?"
"You can JUMP as high as seven feet, but no flying whatsoever. This will require you to build your agility and speed. Speed isn't just about how fast you can run, but how fast you can react to a situation. Now, I'm starting you off slow with seven balls...."
"SEVEN?!?" Cassie was not amused.
"Yes, seven. Be lucky. When I started, the minimum was twelve. I figured I'd go easy on you today."
"Gee, thanks," Cassie said, her voice, grim, showing that her words were not sincere.
"Glad you approve. Now get ready." She picked up the bag with her hands, and slowly building speed, began to spin. Her arms, outstretched, held tight to the bag as she increased her speed faster and faster, gaining momentum to hurl the balls as fast and as far as physics would let them go. Then, suddenly, she opened the bag, and the balls flew through the air, and in the opposite direction Cassie was expecting them to go.
She leapt into action, nabbing the first ball in mid air with her first leap. She sprinted along the ground and, lunging, nabbed the second. She did a back summersault, the balls in her hands, and grabbed the third between her feet. Her trainer applauded at this feat.
The balls began to fall back to the earth, and Cassie still had four more to go. Tucking the balls quickly under her right arm, she bounced after the fourth, barely catching it midway down between her fingers. She made after the fifth, and suddenly realized that the balls in her arms were really starting to slow her down. Which, she figured, was the whole purpose of the exercise.
The fifth one was already near the ground, and Cass barely made it to it. Executing a baseball slide, she snagged it just before it made contact. The sixth one also was near the ground, and was a ways away. Balls in arm, she made a quick dash. The world around her seemed to move in slow motion, as she ran as fast as she could to catch the sixth ball. Mere inches from the ground, she dumped the balls under her arms and made a suicide dive for it. Three inches...two inches...one inch...
*Thud*
"Cassie," a voice said in the darkness. "Cassie, are you alright?" She fluttered her eyes, and her instructor was standing above her.
"Artemis?" she said weakly, sitting up. She rubbed the back of her head, which throbbed in pain. "What happened?"
"You overshot," she said matter-of-factly, helping Cassie to her feet. "It bounced off your head."
"Oh. Ouchies!" she responded, rubbing the back of her head again where the ball impacted. "How long was I out?"
"About a minute. Not a bad job though. You kept six of the seven balls from falling to the ground."
Cassie looked and saw the six balls sitting in a small pile near her feet. "But where's the seventh ball?"
Suddenly, if answering her question, the ball fell with a thud between the two of them.
"Stand ready," Artemis said. "We're not alone."
Leaping to the ground from a nearby tree was a female, clad in dark. Her garb clung tightly to her as she silently landed in crouch position. She wore a mask, a mask like no other Cassie had seen, but looked familiar.
It looked like a giant bat's head.
"The bat mask of the Tengu," Artemis said. "So you must be Lady Shiva."
"Indeed I am," she responded. "And I have come to challenge you, Artemis."
"I would have expected no less from a murderer like you." She looked at Cassie, who was awestruck at what was transpiring.
"Stay back, Wonder Girl," she said, making sure to use her field name to hide her identity. "This is my fight."
The two warriors stood in fighting stance across from each other, and for what seemed like hours neither of them moved. Each waited for the other to strike the first blow. Each one tensed, each one anticipating the other to make the first strike, to make the first mistake...
And Artemis struck first. She lunged at Shiva with a vicious right hook, which sent her reeling. She followed it up with a left jab into the stomach, bringing Shiva to her knees. But Shiva swung her right leg, tripping Artemis and momentarily knocking her off-balance. She capitalized on this, lunging upward with a powerful uppercut. Spinning on her heels, she followed up this blow with an elbow thrust to the throat. Artemis gasped for air, giving her opponent time to land a sound blow to her gut. She doubled over as Shiva stood confidently above her. Bringing her leg up, she scissor-kicked Artemis in the back of the head, knocking her straight to the ground.
"Proud Amazonian warrior," Shiva preened above her fallen foe. "Fear not, for your end shall be very quick." She brought her hand up, ready to strike the fatal blow, when the force of a freight train clipped her in the lower torso, pushing her through tree after tree.
That freight train was Wonder Girl.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!" she screamed as they plowed through another birch wood. Shiva, fighting back, bashed the sides of her temples with the palms of her hands. She whelped, and released her, as they both tumbled to the ground. Shiva was the first to her feet, as Cassie was still woozy from the concussion she had sustained.
Shiva strode over, and pulled Cassie to her feet. "Foolish girl," she said. "You cost me my match. A match which as a CLEAN victory for me. For that, you will have to face ME now."
Her words were like daggers of hate, which stabbed into her soul. Cassie tried to look her in the eye, but was met with the blank stare of the bat mask. Somehow, it seemed worse than actually looking her in the eye.
She tossed her down, and began to walk away.
"I will come for you, young child," she spoke back. "I will come for you where you feel most safe. Until then, I would suggest you say goodbye to your loved ones."
And, with that, she melted into the shadows from whence she came.
Leaving Cassie to mull over her fate.
************************************************************************
It watched in silence....
*****************
"You need to come at me harder, Cass," she said as she lightly pulled away a stray strand of hair from her face. The young stood tall, her muscles tensed from hours of training and battling. Her hair was a fiery red, as red as the passion, which fueled her in life. Her eyes glimmered, the soul of a warrior behind their soft gaze. At her feet, gasping for breath, was a young blonde. Sweat gleamed from her brow as she desperately tried to get to her feet. Her hair, much longer than her 'teachers', was pulled back into a ponytail. Her shoulders, bare, bore deep bruises and welts of all magnitudes. Her jeans scuffed against the grass as she slowly got to her feet.
"That *gasp* WAS *gasp* my hardest *pant pant*!" The young girl barely whispered as she sucked in the air to her lungs. She tried to look up at her instructor, but could barely find the strength.
"Then come at me FASTER!" her teacher said sternly, unsympathetic.
"That WAS my fastest!" her student responded in tone.
"We'll have to work on that, won't we 'Wonder Girl'?" She had a sinister smile on her face as she used her pupil's field name in a mocking tone. She turned and walked towards a good-sized duffel bag sitting a good fifty yards from where they were. Cassie was already dreading what form of torture she had in store for her.
She walked over, carrying in her hands a large bag. In it, Cassie could see, were several large, metal spheres. Her teacher, even with her training, had to use two hands to carry it over. She plopped it down before Cassie's feet.
*Thud*
"What are these?" she asked, not really wanting to know. "They look like metal base balls"
"You could say that," she said with a coy smile. "These are special training spheres, made of pure lead. They're actually quite heavy as you can see. Now here's the game. I'm going to throw these in the air, and your job is to keep them from touching the ground."
"Sounds easy enough," she said confidently, just thankful she didn't have to do any more sparring.
"When you can fly like me, it...."
"No flying."
"What?"
"You can JUMP as high as seven feet, but no flying whatsoever. This will require you to build your agility and speed. Speed isn't just about how fast you can run, but how fast you can react to a situation. Now, I'm starting you off slow with seven balls...."
"SEVEN?!?" Cassie was not amused.
"Yes, seven. Be lucky. When I started, the minimum was twelve. I figured I'd go easy on you today."
"Gee, thanks," Cassie said, her voice, grim, showing that her words were not sincere.
"Glad you approve. Now get ready." She picked up the bag with her hands, and slowly building speed, began to spin. Her arms, outstretched, held tight to the bag as she increased her speed faster and faster, gaining momentum to hurl the balls as fast and as far as physics would let them go. Then, suddenly, she opened the bag, and the balls flew through the air, and in the opposite direction Cassie was expecting them to go.
She leapt into action, nabbing the first ball in mid air with her first leap. She sprinted along the ground and, lunging, nabbed the second. She did a back summersault, the balls in her hands, and grabbed the third between her feet. Her trainer applauded at this feat.
The balls began to fall back to the earth, and Cassie still had four more to go. Tucking the balls quickly under her right arm, she bounced after the fourth, barely catching it midway down between her fingers. She made after the fifth, and suddenly realized that the balls in her arms were really starting to slow her down. Which, she figured, was the whole purpose of the exercise.
The fifth one was already near the ground, and Cass barely made it to it. Executing a baseball slide, she snagged it just before it made contact. The sixth one also was near the ground, and was a ways away. Balls in arm, she made a quick dash. The world around her seemed to move in slow motion, as she ran as fast as she could to catch the sixth ball. Mere inches from the ground, she dumped the balls under her arms and made a suicide dive for it. Three inches...two inches...one inch...
*Thud*
"Cassie," a voice said in the darkness. "Cassie, are you alright?" She fluttered her eyes, and her instructor was standing above her.
"Artemis?" she said weakly, sitting up. She rubbed the back of her head, which throbbed in pain. "What happened?"
"You overshot," she said matter-of-factly, helping Cassie to her feet. "It bounced off your head."
"Oh. Ouchies!" she responded, rubbing the back of her head again where the ball impacted. "How long was I out?"
"About a minute. Not a bad job though. You kept six of the seven balls from falling to the ground."
Cassie looked and saw the six balls sitting in a small pile near her feet. "But where's the seventh ball?"
Suddenly, if answering her question, the ball fell with a thud between the two of them.
"Stand ready," Artemis said. "We're not alone."
Leaping to the ground from a nearby tree was a female, clad in dark. Her garb clung tightly to her as she silently landed in crouch position. She wore a mask, a mask like no other Cassie had seen, but looked familiar.
It looked like a giant bat's head.
"The bat mask of the Tengu," Artemis said. "So you must be Lady Shiva."
"Indeed I am," she responded. "And I have come to challenge you, Artemis."
"I would have expected no less from a murderer like you." She looked at Cassie, who was awestruck at what was transpiring.
"Stay back, Wonder Girl," she said, making sure to use her field name to hide her identity. "This is my fight."
The two warriors stood in fighting stance across from each other, and for what seemed like hours neither of them moved. Each waited for the other to strike the first blow. Each one tensed, each one anticipating the other to make the first strike, to make the first mistake...
And Artemis struck first. She lunged at Shiva with a vicious right hook, which sent her reeling. She followed it up with a left jab into the stomach, bringing Shiva to her knees. But Shiva swung her right leg, tripping Artemis and momentarily knocking her off-balance. She capitalized on this, lunging upward with a powerful uppercut. Spinning on her heels, she followed up this blow with an elbow thrust to the throat. Artemis gasped for air, giving her opponent time to land a sound blow to her gut. She doubled over as Shiva stood confidently above her. Bringing her leg up, she scissor-kicked Artemis in the back of the head, knocking her straight to the ground.
"Proud Amazonian warrior," Shiva preened above her fallen foe. "Fear not, for your end shall be very quick." She brought her hand up, ready to strike the fatal blow, when the force of a freight train clipped her in the lower torso, pushing her through tree after tree.
That freight train was Wonder Girl.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!" she screamed as they plowed through another birch wood. Shiva, fighting back, bashed the sides of her temples with the palms of her hands. She whelped, and released her, as they both tumbled to the ground. Shiva was the first to her feet, as Cassie was still woozy from the concussion she had sustained.
Shiva strode over, and pulled Cassie to her feet. "Foolish girl," she said. "You cost me my match. A match which as a CLEAN victory for me. For that, you will have to face ME now."
Her words were like daggers of hate, which stabbed into her soul. Cassie tried to look her in the eye, but was met with the blank stare of the bat mask. Somehow, it seemed worse than actually looking her in the eye.
She tossed her down, and began to walk away.
"I will come for you, young child," she spoke back. "I will come for you where you feel most safe. Until then, I would suggest you say goodbye to your loved ones."
And, with that, she melted into the shadows from whence she came.
Leaving Cassie to mull over her fate.
************************************************************************