"Well, that wasn't a complete disaster," Donna said brightly, sipping her coffee with a smile.
Jason, who had an icepack to his head, and Kon, who was currently washing some mud out of his hair with a wet towel, gave her flat looks.
"Oh, come on! At least it wasn't as bad as the incident with the flying monkey and vegetable soup!"
There was a collective shudder. "So many apricots…" Kon muttered, eyes haunted.
"Freaking Captain Atom had a riot with that one when we called him over to deal with the radiation," Jason grumbled, shifting the pack on his head.
Donna's smile widened. "See! It wasn't completely terrible! Nobody died or suffered permanent injury, and we got a general idea of where everyone's skill level is!"
Jason sighed. "It's sad how low the bar is."
"We're superheroes, dear. The bar is always that low."
The various occupants of the hotel, once again dressed in their civilian garb, gathered in the communal dining room, where a long dining table with enough seats to fit all of them was situated. Each of the teenagers looked awkward, the recent sparring sessions still fresh in their minds and making them somewhat nervous. Hopefully, their…wildness wouldn't affect their teachers' treatment of them from here on out. Kon did look mighty angry being dumped in a mud pool like that…
A swish of the door answered that, where a cart with various foods was wheeled in, enough to feed everyone present, including a growing, hyperactive speedster. Plates were passed around, along with utensils, before the dishes were set down. However, before anyone could even think about taking a bite of the food, Jason cleared his throat.
"I just want you to know that this will be one of the few meals cooked for you. Starting tomorrow, you will be cooking your own meals from here on out."
"WHAT!" came the cry of all the teenagers.
Except for three. "So business as usual?" Tim asked, looking positively resigned. Next to him, Cass and Stephanie were piling food onto their plates while everyone else was distracted.
"It's part of the experience," Donna explained in that soothing, understanding voice of hers. "While teamwork is an important part of being a hero, so is self-sufficiency. How can others rely on you if you cannot rely on yourself? Hence, cooking."
"Don't worry," Kon told them all, smirking, "we won't leave you flailing around and burning food as you try to figure things out. Not for the first couple of weeks, at least. Jason here will instruct you, and once he's satisfied with all your skill levels, then we'll leave you to fend for yourselves."
"Just for the record, if you wreck the kitchen too badly, I won't be held responsible for my actions," Jason warned them.
"He really won't," Tim added in exasperation, Cass nodding next to him.
Dinner went off with a hitch. And then the following morning, came breakfast — the first meal that they would be making together. Jason had chosen a simple and classic recipe to start off with, pancakes, and walked those who didn't already have a vague idea of how to cook through making them. He also introduced them to the basics of batch cooking, which was a necessary skill when one of their fellow teammates was a speedster.
After breakfast was finished, they were given another hour to freshen up, and then their first lesson would begin outside. There was an excitement in the air as the children stepped outside, dressed in their super suits. Waiting for them was their teachers, also dressed in their own suits, along with the three guests.
Donna took the students aside and walked them through a basic physical conditioning workout for the first hour, while Jason and Kon took the three to the side to work on something else for the next exercise. Of course, Secret was the only one who couldn't participate in this particular aspect of the camp, so Donna had her practicing various facets of her powers instead. As for the others, however, they were either given bracers to suppress their powers and banned from using any weapons or gadgets, and then instructed to do various basic stretches and drills, such as push-ups and crunches.
Once they were done, they were instructed to keep the bracers on while Donna led them to another part of the complex, where an obstacle course had been set-up. Each of them were instructed to run through the course, without their powers, weapons, or gadgets, and to rescue a 'hostage' at the very end. They were then supposed to guide said 'hostage' back to the start line through the obstacle course as well. Seemed simple enough.
Until Tim, the first person who volunteered, managed to 'rescue' a 'hostage' — in this case, Jon Kent. The moment Tim tried to touch him, the boy started shrieking and scrambling, shying away from his rescuer. Tim was shocked, and struggled to calm the boy down. Back at the start of the obstacle course, his fellow teen heroes were also frozen in disbelief.
Cassie turned around to see her teachers, who were all looking sufficiently amused. "What's going on?"
Kon smirked at her. "My part of the exercise."
Tim continued to try and calm Jon down until a moment of clarity hit. He said something to Jon, hands held out in a calming, non-threatening gesture, and the boy's fit gradually diminished. Then, slowly, he reached his arms out, allowing Tim to pick him up and then carry him through the obstacle course. Tim was much slower this time around, especially when it seemed Jon my start to cry again. When he finally got to the end, he set Jon to the ground, who suddenly perked up and started being his cheerful self again. He ran towards Kon, who ruffled his hair and produced a candy out of nowhere, which he handedly gave to the younger boy.
"What was that?" Tim asked, expression distinctly confused and a bit haggard.
Kon straightened up, smiling not just at Tim but at the rest of the students. "What I'll be teaching you: empathy."
The confusion persisted. Kon sighed. "Empathy, as I told Superman and the others when we first proposed this camp to them, is a skill as much as it is a quality. This is one aspect of it — comforting the panicking civilians you're trying to rescue."
He gently guided Jon to his side as he stepped forward to face the group fully, with Jason and Donna watching the entire confrontation dutifully behind him. "You are heroes. Your primary job, above all others, is to save lives. This much is true. However, as a consequence of that, you also need to know the value of the lives you're trying to save."
A hand was placed on Jon's shoulder. "Jon here was instructed to act as a normal child would in a hostage situation — terrified, distressed, wary of strangers. Saving him in his current state would be difficult for anyone, even for the likes of Superman. However, just because he was being difficult did not mean you shouldn't save him. As I said, in the end he's just a scared child in a stressful and dangerous situation. He wasn't intentionally trying to make your job harder, he was just reacting as anyone would when held hostage."
"Throughout your career as a superhero, no matter how long it may be, you will face similar situations like this, where the civilians you're trying to save are difficult and unwilling to listen to you to avoid danger. Sometimes, you're not going have time and will have to drag them away to safety. Most of the time, however, you will need to calm them down and get them to cooperate for their own good, and quite possibly your own. This exercise is to help you learn that skill — like Jon, Damian and Stephanie have also been instructed to act like this when you save them, and it will be your job to soothe them to the point that they'll be willing to allow you to rescue them."
Kon swept his gaze over the group one last time. "I'm sure many of you have already been instructed by your mentors in this to at least some extent. Think of this as a refresher for now, because we will be doing more complex situations involving not just this scenario, but many more. This is the kind of skill you will be learning under me. We thought it fitting to start off with an exercise like this, considering your confusion over what my are of expertise was. I hoped this explained it adequately enough."
Slowly, the surrounding children nodded. Their enthusiasm had not abated, but was now rather subdued. They turned back to the obstacle course, and the exercise continued on.
After that exercise was finished, it was time for lunch. Everyone changed out of their uniforms and back into civilian clothing, where Jason once again walked them through cooking the meal for the day — a curry. Five large pots were used for this one, and he kept a close eyes as he watched the children mixed the curry powder and added ingredients. After making sure the food wasn't too spicy, he deemed it ready and taken off the stove to be served to the group.
Once lunch was finished, the teenagers another hour for break before changing back into their gear and walking outside for the next exercise. After the shock of the previous one, they were a lot more wary about what they would be doing. They new, tangentially, that the camp would be serious (it was a camp for superheroes, after all), but they didn't expect something so…poignant for their first major exercise. It made them wonder what else they would be made to do.
They had the bracers put on them again, suppressing their powers. Donna led them through another workout, though this one was shorter and less strenuous than the last one. And finally, they were lined up and facing their teachers. This time, it was Jason who took point, and Tim and Cass tried not to wince. They knew full well how their brother could be when teaching.
"This next exercise is a rather simple one: capture the flag. You will all be playing on one team, and the three of us will be playing on the other. Stephanie, with Jon and Damian assisting her, will be the referee."
Rather than cheer, the students looked apprehensive. "What's the catch?" Courtney asked, suspicious.
Jason grinned beneath his mask. "We get to use our powers, you don't."
Almost immediately, the children were stricken with horror. "How is that fair?" Bart demanded, biting one of his nails.
"Don't worry, there are restrictions — I'm not allowed to use my utility belt, just my weapons. Neither Donna nor Kon are allowed to fly, and Kon isn't allowed to use his super-senses or his telekinesis on any of you, just on the surrounding area." Jason shrugged. "If we went all out, you wouldn't stand a chance."
"What he has yet to mention is that you won't have to guard a flag," Donna interjected, "instead, you'll be trying to capture our flag and bring it over to your side, and the exercise won't end until you do. There's also no jail feature in the game for that same reason."
Cassie scowled. "What's the point of this? How come we don't get to use our powers?"
Jason crossed his arms. "What do you think is the point of everything you've been doing this weekend?" he asked instead of answering Cassie's question.
There was an exchange of looks. Finally, it was Tim who answered back. "To test us?" Though it was more of a question than an answer.
His older brother shrugged. "Close enough. Before this camp started, we compiled profiles on each of you, extrapolating data from public videos, interviews, and our own personal interactions with you, and built a curriculum according to that. However, we still needed to see, in person, what you were capable of. The purpose of the spars yesterday were to see your full physical abilities, so Donna can determine what she wants to work on with each of you. The purpose of the hostage simulation this morning was for Kon to gauge how much empathy you had, how much you understood and appreciated the lives you were trying to save."
"The purpose of this exercise is to test your mind." The teenagers shivered; they could just feel Jason's smirk. "I'm not going to lie to anyone here. You're not going to outfight us, you're not going to outrun us, and you're definitely not going to outpower us. However, you might be able to outhink us, and that's what you're gonna have to do if you want to get the flag and go home today. I want to see how flexible you all can be, how well you can work together and coordinate for something like this. Because trust me — this will be the least difficult exercise I will be giving you for this entire camp."
It wasn't a promise, or anything like that. It was just a fact, aided by how casually and nonchalantly Jason spoke those words. Considering how arduous the upcoming task would be, the young heroes didn't want to know what else their teachers had in store for them.
With that final word said, everyone went to a nearby field where things were already set-up. One side, back towards the forest, would be the teacher's side, where a flag with a red banner was neatly set up at the very back. The other side had the students. There was also a box with some seats on it, where Stephanie and the boys were to sit.
The game started, but no action was taken. Instead, the students huddled together towards the back of the field, as far away from earshot as possible, before trying to come up with a game plan. Meanwhile, Jason arranged his team so Kon was guarding the flag directly while Donna and him played the first line of defense. And then, they just waited for their students to make the first move.
After a few minutes, that's what the kids did. It seemed Tim had been elected the leader for this plan, and he arranged things so Cass was directly facing against Jason while Cassie, Cissie, and Courtney were facing Donna. Then, with a signal he had them pounce. Cass immediately engaged Jason while the girls did the same with Donna. Meanwhile, they were distracted, Tim and Bart immediately headed for Kon.
Kon cocked an eyebrow at the headfirst charge, before holding out a hand and making a symbol with it. Almost immediately the ground beneath the boys shifted before bursting upwards — not too much to cause injury, but enough to send them on their backs. He then turned around to see Secret trying to reach for the flag, and used his other hand, lifting it away from her before she could touch it. Then, it suddenly began to spin, creating a makeshift fan that blew the ghost girl away, all the way back to the other side of the field.
Over at Donna, the girls had tried to use a cat-and-mouse tactic, trying to distract her from reaching one and trying to constantly shift her attention. It worked, until Donna decided it was time for enough games and slammed her fists onto the ground, creating a fissure and enough force to send all three girls flying away as well. She then went over and grabbed the heels of Tim and Bart, tossing back over the line.
Jason, meanwhile, was going toe-to-toe with Cass. Owing to her body-reading ability, she was matching him blow-for-blow, but the sheer experience gulf meant Jason was able to keep up with her. Until, eventually, she found herself grabbed from behind by Donna and tossed away as well. Jason hefted one of his sticks onto his shoulder and tilted his head as he watched the groaning and recovering teenagers.
"You're going to have to do much better than that," he proclaimed.
For the next two hours, similar instances occurred. No matter how many different plans the kids (or more specifically, Tim) implemented, they were instantly countered. It was only remembering the exact words Jason said (no powers, nothing about weapons) that they were able to finally make headway.
Finally, two and a half hours after the start of the exercise, the children finally managed to grab the flag and bring it over to their side. During that final play, Cassie managed to snatch the Lasso of Persuasion from Donna's hip and used it to tie up her predecessor — while her will wasn't as strong as Donna's, the lasso itself was virtually indestructible and so Donna hadn't managed to break out of its bonds once it had been wrapped throughly around her, even with her super strength.
With her out of play, the children managed to gang up on Jason and tie him up with rope Cass had on her, being careful to disarm him beforehand. That left Kon, who was by far the most difficult to deal with. He had created an entire telekinetic barrier around himself and the flag, and there was no way for them to break into it. The only way to get rid of it is for Kon himself to take it down, and they could only do that by breaking his concentration. Of course, as an experienced superhero Kon was immune to almost all their attempts. It wasn't until Tim used a flashbang from his utility belt that the barrier dropped, allowing Cass to dart in and grab the flag before he could put it back up, and making a direct beeline for their side of the field.
As the children collapsed to their backs, exhausted, Kon untied Jason and Donna and the three went to face their students with smiles on their faces. "Well done," Jason praised them, "You managed it before the three hour-mark. That's better than most of our other beginning students did back in the previous timeline."
There were happy expressions upon hearing that. There was some discussion over some of the tactics they used, along with some critique, and then the children were allowed to take their bracers off. With that final exercise done, it was time to go home.
"That was…something," Cissie commented as she slung her bag over her shoulder. The students had been allowed to shower and clean up before leaving. All of them were still dressed in their super-suits however, as they would be using more esoteric forms of transportation, such as the Super-Cycle or flight, to head to their respective homes.
"I thought we were going to have fun," Bart complained. "And I guess we did, but it was…hard. A hard kind of fun."
Courtney rubbed her arm. "I, for one, am glad we're only doing this on weekends. I don't think I could handle doing this everyday. And it's only been the first week!"
"At least you don't have to live with one of them," Tim said darkly, his sister and girlfriend nodding next to him.
"I hope our individual mentors go easy on us this week," Cassie added, shivering. "Or just go easy on us in general. Because if that's just a taste of what's to come…"
"I didn't have that bad of a time," Secret added cheekily.
Her fellow students glared at her.
Over at the side, wearing domino masks to hide their identities, were Damian and Jon. The former scoffed, tipping his nose into the air. "You are all weak and incompetent. Jon and I would've completed those exercises on our first try."
Tim gave him a flat look. "I don't want to hear that from a kid who couldn't figure out how to operate a potato peeler."
"Shut up, Timothy! You promised to never speak of that!"
"I see you are all lively now," Donna said as Jason, Kon and her all exited the building with their own bags. Jason went over to the gates and unveiled a hidden keypad, which he began typing a code into. An invisible forcefield encased the entire resort, shielding it from attack and hiding it from outside view.
"There. That should keep the place safe while we're not here," he glanced at his students. "Remember, from now on you'll all be arriving her Friday afternoons, so you can settle in quicker and we can have all of Saturday to ourselves. Understood?"
"Understood," was chorused from everyone present, more than a few half-heartedly.
Jason ignored those, and clapped his hands. "Good! Now let's—"
Before he could finish, there was a flash of green light. When it was gone, everyone stared as a tiny blue midget with long white hair wearing a red suit floated in the midst of them all. None of the younger heroes recognized him.
The older ones were a different matter.
"Ganthet!" Jason, Donna, and Kon all shouted, shocked.
Ganthet hummed as his wizened gaze swept over them. "I would ask how you know my name, but there simply isn't time for that. I do not know why the Martian suggested I bring you, but I suppose more help could not hurt."
Then, another flash of green light. This time, when it faded away, there was not a soul to be seen.
Kyle Rayner was having a terrible day.
A really, really terrible day.
But that was just par for the course lately. Not only did he have Alan Scott tailing him all the time (something that they had both gotten sick of two days in, as much as they liked each other) but he also had a host of commissions to finished when he got attacked by the blue midget's illusion-test thing. And then this guy showed up, who turned out to be his predecessor Hal Jordan, aka the guy who destroyed the Green Lantern Corps, aka a bunch of people who were way, way better using this ring than he was…
It was a shitty day all around. Jordan attacked because he wanted the ring and Kyle wasn't willing to give it to him, the midget dude ditched them, Alan got his ass kicked early on, and now Kyle was getting his ass kicked in his place. He had managed to hold out longer, much better than he thought he would (something even Jordan commented on), but seeing as he was now in the grip of a gigantic construct of his predecessor and unable to make a dent into it with his energy blasts, he wasn't going to be doing much anymore.
And ooh, there was the concrete street.
Pain. An unfortunately familiar feeling, ever since he got this damn ring. Why did he want it again?
Before Kyle could answer that question, there was Jordan, and he was jawing a compliment as he reached for the ring. Then there a flash of green light and there was like several members of the JLA, Hawkman, Green Arrow, and…Young Justice? Plus Donna and Nightwing's other brother, aka the one Donna ditched Roy and him for after she time-traveled or whatever.
There was a beat as Kyle reflected on that thought.
…why did he want the ring again?
"What the hell were you thinking, bringing them to a fight against Parallax!" Jason shrieked at Ganthet, pointing one hand at the aforementioned Parallax who was now engaging his former compatriots in battle, and the other at Young Justice, Batgirl, and Stargirl, who clearly had no idea what was going on, and Stephanie, who was hiding an apprehensive Damian and Jon behind her.
Before Ganthet could reply, Donna cut in. "Knight! Lantern!" she yelled, Kon and her having gone to check out the prone form of the current Green Lantern.
Jason twisted away from Ganthet to look and flinched at the numerous injuries on Kyle's person. Then he clicked his teeth. "You're going to get Superman, aren't you?" Jason predicted.
Ganthet cocked an eyebrow before nodding. Jason sighed, before turning back to look at the teenagers. They looked ready to fight, if a bit out of their depth and scared. He didn't blame them — against a Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan, he was going to be absolutely no help here. Young Justice were good for their age, but quite frankly none of them had the experience or firepower to challenge someone on that level directly. But…perhaps…
"Fine. Impulse," he barked, causing the speedster to stand at attention, "take those three," he pointed at Stephanie, Damian, and Jon, "and get them away from here. Then come back and take Batgirl, Arrowette, and Robin with you. You three are to protect them — you'll be no help here against someone with Parallax's powers, especially at your current experience level."
He then glanced at the the remaining students. "After Impulse drops them off, he's going to come back here. Wonder Girl, Stargirl, Secret, you three along with Impulse are to stay here with Green Lantern and guard him. Do not engage Parallax unless you absolutely have to. If you do, your primary objective is to make sure he does not get Green Lantern's power ring. Be careful, though. Hal Jordan is still in there somewhere, and you're children, so he's unlikely to harm you too badly, but do not count on that. If you think he might go lethal, get out of dodge."
Not bothering to wait for confirmation, Jason then turned his attentions to the last two members of the group. "You two think you can handle him?"
Donna and Kon smirked and floated upward, with the former drawing her lasso. "Do you remember who you're talking to?" Kon boasted.
Jason smirked beneath his mask. "Right. Go. Hold him off as long as possible." As he friends flew off, he finally settled his gaze back on Ganthet.
"Before you head to get Superman, teleport me to Kyle's apartment. I have some business over there that should help with the current situation."
Why don't they understand? Hal thought viciously as he created another pair of chains to restrain J'onn. Why?
He would make everything right. Coast City would be reborn, along with so many other places lost, like Mars and Krypton. Loved ones returned, lives restored. No more tragedy, no more pain. All he needed was the ring, it would be the first step to making things back to what they used to be. How they should be.
J'onn tossed away, over at Rayner — who was now being guarded by a bunch of kids, what the hell — and there was Arthur and Carter and no, he can't have them meddling either. Ollie is trying to talk him down but Hal can't be swayed by him either, he can't. Then there was Wally, talking with him, pleading with him, and Hal can't help the pride he feels, the pride he knows Barry would feel if he was standing here right now. Even so, he blasts Wally away, telling him he would understand one day that he was right, and he's sorry sorry sorry…
…but this is for the best. He knows it is.
Enough of this. It's time take back what's his. He flew over to Rayner—
And slammed into an invisible wall.
"Sorry, Jordan. We can't let you do that."
Hal shook his head and turned around, stiffening slightly when he saw his attackers. "Donna Troy. You've grown up. You look a lot like your sister. And Superboy, I see you've adapted to the superhero life."
Kon shrugged, though he was still tense, ready for battle. "Thanks. Now leave."
"Why are you trying to stop me? You have no stake in this."
Donna narrowed her eyes as she grabbed her lasso from her side and gripped it. "Now that's where you're wrong, Hal."
Before Hal could comment on that, he was slammed with one of the strongest telekinetics blasts he had ever felt. It sent him flying, far away from Rayner, and careening into the street. Before he could react, he felt a lasso wrap around his chest, binding his arms to his sides. "Not gonna try and order me around, are you Troy?" he grunted as he flew back up into the sky, the lasso still restraining him. "You know it won't work."
"Of course not. My will might be strong, but you were the greatest of all Green Lanterns for a reason," Donna retorted, before using her considerable strength to hurl to him away into another street. Couldn't do buildings, didn't want to risk civilians. "But it's still a lasso and I'm plenty strong enough to toss you around with it."
"True," Hal conceded, before bursting with power, causing the lasso to loosen. He then created small jet-fighter plane to attack her, but once again found it smashed down by a powerful force. He let out another scoff and glared at the culprit — Superboy, who was floating behind him. "I thought you needed to touch stuff to use your telekinesis."
Kon smirked. "That was the old me."
"Good to know." And then, a green clamp burst into view and tried to grasp the young clone. Kon formed a bubble of telekinetic energy around him to block it, which Hal had been anticipating — he used the clamp to grab it like one would a ball and threw it into a nearby building. Kon tumbled with it and landed into the building with a crash, dispersing the bubble.
"C'mon, c'mon, where is it…?" Jason rifled through the various paintings and commissions and old junk food. Even in the past Kyle kept a messy apartment. It was something oddly comforting to realize, if incredibly inconvenient considering the current situation.
Finally, after pushing away some knick-knacks, he found it. Jason picked up the lantern by its handle, watching his face reflected against the gleaming green exterior of the power battery. He put a hand to his comm. "Impulse. I need you come to this address and pick me up. I've got something for Green Lantern."
Donna pounded her fists against the shield, ducking when she saw it shift and subsequently dodging another blast from Hal's other hand. From behind Hal, Kon was holding on for dear life, trying to use his telekinesis to pull the other man down back to the ground so he could suplex him. Hal, however, had gotten wary of his powers and was repeatedly slamming his back into various surfaces, preventing Kon from concentrating. Eventually, the blows became too much and Kon's hold loosened as he concentration fully broke. He began falling, causing Donna to give up her assault to catch him.
The moment she did, however, Hal blasted her in the back. He kept it up until he was sure she was unconscious. Donna began to fall with Kon still in her arms, until she felt herself caught as well. Her eye opened slightly, sight bleary. "Clark?"
Superman smiled comfortingly at her, nodding slightly. "I'm here, Donna. It's going to be okay." He gently flew down and set her and Kon next to the still-recovering Kyle, before flying up again to meet Parallax. He faced the distorted version of his old friend, arms crossed. "That's enough, Hal."
As the two began to duel, Impulse finally returned with Jason in his arms. Ganthet, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, frowned when he saw what Jason was carrying. "The power battery? It will be of no use. Kyle Rayner cannot defeat Hal Jordan. Not as he is now."
"He stands a better chance than anyone else here," Jason shot back, before setting the power battery down next to Kyle's prone body, tangentially aware of the young heroes gathering around them in curiosity and fear. "Rayner. Wake up."
Kyle opened his eyes, though no one could see it beneath his mask. "What…?"
"Charge your ring. It should heal you enough to fight."
"But…I can't…"
"You can and you will. You're Green Lantern now. Superman can't hold him off for long but he'll exhaust him enough for you to finish the job. Parallax only has so much power before he needs to grab your ring and recharge using it."
Ganthet whipped his head around to glare at Jason. "How do you know that?"
Jason ignored him. "Kyle—"
"Excuse me."
Everyone froze as they spotted Parallax descending upon them, a defeated Superman floating next to him with a green glow. "I'll be taking my ring now," Hal said, smiling with uncharacteristic viciousness.
Wonder Girl and Impulse immediately charged him only to be slapped away, their backs impacting a nearby light post. Secret tried to swallow him up, but a cube construct formed around her, and she was shocked to realize that she couldn't phase out of it. Stargirl leveled her staff and fired, but the continuous beam of starlight energy did nothing to slow down the former Green Lantern. Upon realizing that, Jason stood up and drew one of his sticks and electrified it.
Hal noticed this and scoffed. "You don't actually expect that to work, do you?"
"I don't know," Jason admitted grimly. "But if the alternative is letting you have that ring, I'm willing to try."
The former Lantern tilted his head. "Oh, really? I can see that bat on your chest. I guess the apple doesn't really fall far from the tree."
Jason barked a mirthless laugh. "You have no idea."
Stargirl stopped with the beam and, with a cry, flew forward, striking at Parallax with her staff. Jason followed her with his own attack, aiming for the exposed junction between Hal's neck and his armor. Both were immediately blasted away before they could connect. Hal continued striding forward, as if he were on some leisurely stroll in the park.
Kyle, seeing the last of his defenders gone, ignored the pain in his body and tried to reach for his power battery. Hal lifted a hand to blast that away too—
And then, a white glow.
I hoped you like that cliffhanger. I've been meaning to write that for a while.
I based the camp (and the training system, for that matter) on some of the stuff I've seen in My Hero Academia. Tell me what you think about it, but remember, this is the first weekend. Things will get much harder for the kids from here on out.
Next chapter: Kyle Rayner.
