"So, Donna," Toni started hesitantly, sliding on the last strap of her sports bra before picking up her exercise top. "How have things been going with…Jason?" It was still awkward, thinking about that. Toni doubted it would ever be stop being awkward.
They were currently underground, near Catskills' large, state-of-the-art gym. While the HSR was still in repair, the gym had long since been completed, including separate locker rooms and showers for the men and women. As the children wouldn't be arriving until the evening, it was suggested they fill the rest of the time with some sparring practice. The suggestion was quickly accepted, which led to here.
Not everyone was joining in. The HSR, after all, still needed to be finished. Wallace and Kon had elected to deal with that, and Victor, still enchanted with the idea of working on the room, went with them. Wally and Jesse also stuck by, both in hopes of helping finishing the room earlier and to keep an eye on Wallace (apparently, Iris was not content letting her nephew live on his own without occasionally being checked on, even though said nephew was now older than her). M'gann had been unable to stay as well, citing a desire to visit her Uncle J'onn now that they were almost done with the base.
That still left quite a number of heroes for sparring practice, though, so the groups separated to change. The locker rooms were fully stocked with general exercise clothes of all sizes ("Jason ordered a bulk shipment," Donna had said) and fresh, clean towels and soap for showers afterward ("Kaldur handles the washing. It's easy with his powers."). Everyone was instructed to change and meet in the gym, in the designated sparring area: a flat area of panels, surrounded by barriers, standard ones, mounted with see-through glass.
Donna, either blind or deliberately oblivious to the tension, smiled beatifically. "It's going great," she said with a happy sigh. "He's always been attentive, you know? Even when he was busy with his kids, he never failed to at least check in on me. And while I love those children as almost much as he does, I can't deny I enjoy having more of his attention now that we're back together."
Kori frowned. "You two broke up?"
The second Wonder Woman stilled for a moment. "We didn't want to," she said, sounding sad. "I didn't want to. But Jason…when he found out about the lung cancer, it freaked him out. He knew he wasn't going to survive, and he wasn't willing to take any of the more…esoteric remedies in curing it. Not after the Pit. He was going to try and fight it the traditional way, but…" Donna sighed again, this time sadly. "He knew it was going to hurt everyone. For me, he wanted it to hurt a little less. So he gave me some cheap lie and broke up with me. I knew it was a lie, I called him out on it, but he refused to say and we didn't talk for months and then…He wanted me to be able to move on, after." But I didn't, is what went unsaid. Everyone still heard it.
"And you forgave him for that?" Toni asked, in slight disbelief.
Donna shrugged, looking amused and sad at the same time. "He's a Wayne, Toni. Wayne men are stupid. I should know."
"Agreed," Kori added wistfully, reflecting upon her own relationship with Dick.
The Amazon clapped her hands. "Now, c'mon. Let's head over to the gym — you're going to love what we did with the sparring area."
The gym was made of several smaller, but no less sizable rooms, each with their own function. There was an indoor swimming pool for Kaldur, a weight room for Kon, a track room for Wallace, etc. But, perhaps the crown jewel of the entire establishment was the sparring room. It had been a solid favorite of all the students who had ever studied at Catskills, and the teachers hoped it would hold true in this timeline.
Donna, Kori, and Toni, upon entering the room, noticed that they were the last to arrive. The men were already there, dressed in their own sparring clothes and talking quietly amongst themselves as Jason and Kaldur fiddled with a nearby control panel. The former noticed them immediately, his face lighting up. He reached over and wrapped his arm around Donna's waist, pulling her close.
"Ready?" he asked.
She smiled back. "Ready."
Jason glanced at Kaldur and gave him a nod. Kaldur nodded back before pushing a few buttons on the panel.
The Titans stepped back in shock as the floor panels of the sparring area fired up, glowing a luminous light blue. A giant screen, mounted high above on a far-off wall, lit up a similar color, before a series of names were listed off. Next to each name was a number, each of them in multiples of five. Dick squinted his eyes up at the screen, and blinked.
"Is that a scoreboard?"
"It is," Kaldur confirmed. "In the previous timeline, when we first renovated Catskills, one of our students managed to hack into the sparring area and make certain…additions to it. It proved to be so popular with the other students that we elected to keep them. And of course, when we built this room, we decided to add it again."
Roy frowned. "What additions?"
Rather than answer, Kaldur exchanged another look with Jason and Donna before gesturing Garth to come over. An apprehensive Garth, after some momentary hesitation, complied, following his successor through the small gate and into the sparring area. Each floor panel flashed with every step they took, and once they were center stage…
"Sparring area initializing," a female voice, mechanized and clearly sourced from an AI, spoke, echoing throughout the room. A few of the Titans jumped again. "Please announce number of combatants, and combatant names."
"Two combatants," Kaldur spoke to the ceiling. "Returning combatant Kaldur'ahm and new combatant Garth."
"Combatants initialized. Is this a timed spar or a scored one?"
"Scored. Spar ends at fifteen points."
The scoreboard flashed again, before eliminating all the names but Kaldur's, and adding a new one with Garth, complete with two headshots of themselves next to their names. "Spar initialized. When you are ready to begin, say 'Start'."
"Fifteen points?" Garth asked, aware of how everyone else was listening in.
"A three fall match, basically," Kaldur explained. "Each fall is worth five points. Falls are counted by landing on your back with both shoulders touching the panels at the same time for three seconds or longer, or by submission, either verbal or by tapping on the ground. First fighter to reach fifteen points win."
"Like a video game," Grant mused.
"Exactly," Donna agreed, smirking slightly. "The kids loved it. Made them a lot more eager for sparring practice everyday."
"Which is why I didn't ground Lena for it," Jason noted.
Roy glanced at him in surprise. "Lena?"
"Helena Wayne. My second eldest," Jason answered, looking a little nostalgic. "Even by normal Robin standards, she was a troublemaker. By the second day of camp, she'd hacked into the mainframe and had the entire base dancing to her tune. All my attempts — and Oracle's too — to keep her out failed to last any longer than a couple of hours." He shook his head. "I don't know why I even bothered."
"Neither did we," Kaldur and Donna chorused.
Jason scowled. "Kick his ass, Garth!"
Kaldur rolled his eyes, before settling into a stance. "Ready?"
Garth swallowed, before narrowing his eyes and nodding, crouching into his own stance.
"Good. Start!"
Sparring, it turned out, was as much a hit with the Titans as it had been with the students. It didn't take long for everyone get into things, and soon a competition broke out, with everyone trying to top each other's scores. Jason and Dick in particular had a rather intense timed spar, trying to see which of them could get the most falls in ten minutes. Unfortunately for both, they had tied.
"Well," Donna said, glancing up at the clock as she helped Kori to her feet. "The kids will start arriving in about three hours. We have enough time for one more spar, and then we have to shower and change and start preparing dinner."
"This early?" Kori asked, dusting herself off while also staring up at the clock.
"Considering how many speedsters we're going to be feeding tonight, yes." Donna turned around and clapped her hands together. "Now, who wants the last spar? Roy, how about you? You haven't had one in a while."
Roy shrugged. "Sure."
"Great! Anyone else up for it?"
"I wouldn't mind."
Everyone stopped and stared at Jason, who gave a half-shrug. Roy scowled.
"Uh, Jay…" Dick started, looking between his little brother and his best friend. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
Weren't you supposed to be the World's Greatest Detective? Dick screamed in his head, resisting the urge to tear his hair out. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up. Jason was giving him a meaningful look, before shifting his gaze towards Roy. Dick understood what it meant immediately. Better now, than later.
Donna and Kori left the sparring area, and were soon replaced by Jason and Roy. "So, how do you want to do this?" Jason asked as they stretched.
"Twenty-five points."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Five falls? Isn't that a lot?" He glanced at Donna. "Do we even have enough time for that?"
Donna glanced up the clock. "We do," she confirmed.
"What? Are you scared?" Roy taunted.
To his frustration, Jason simply shrugged. "Are you ready?" he asked instead.
Roy narrowed his eyes and nodded, crouching. Jason did the same, and then the bell rung, signalling the beginning of the spar. The two men began to circle each other, as the others watched silently and apprehensively.
Finally, Roy darted over, dealing out three quick jabs which Jason blocked. He followed that up with a kick, which Jason blocked again. Jason retaliated with a side kick of his own, which Roy blocked with his knee — only to stumble back as Jason segued that into a spinning backfist. Before he could recover, Jason grabbed him by the shoulder and kneed him in the gut, before forcing him to the ground. Roy dropped on his back with a groan, with Jason pinning him to the floor. Three seconds later, the bell rang, signalling the scoring of a fall.
Upon hearing that, Jason let Roy go and offered his hand to help him up, only for his furious opponent to use the opportunity to sweep his legs. Jason fell to his back, catching himself before it could touch the floor, only for Roy to pounce on him and begin throwing punches. He immediately put up a guard to block the barrage, careful to keep only one shoulder touching the floor to prevent losing a fall, before grabbing both of Roy's wrists and flipping him off.
Roy landed on his feet, just as Jason returned to his. The latter was a lot more serious now, a certain determination and even eagerness in his eyes. They began exchanging blows, faster and faster until Jason managed to slip behind Roy and grab him by the waist, delivering a german suplex. Landing on his neck with a groan, Roy tumbled forward and went to his knees. Before he could get up, Jason delivered a sharp kick to his side, forcing him back to his back with a hiss. Three seconds later, another fall was counted.
"You can give up, you know," Jason noted casually.
"Fuck you."
"Seriously, though, that was a pretty hard fall—"
"I said… fuck you!"
The archer surged to his feet and tackled Jason, slamming him into one of the barriers back first. Jason let out a small grunt, before trying to shove Roy away. Roy, however, held on firm, forcing Jason to deliver repeated elbows to his shoulder in hopes of breaking his grip. Roy retaliated with a liver shot, ceasing Jason's struggles, before lifting Jason onto shoulders and throwing him over onto his back for a fall.
Roy pumped his fist when the bell rang. He then approached Jason, looking to follow up on his advantage — only to freeze when an arm, as fast as a striking snake, shot forward and fisted itself into his shirt.
An angry Jason, a silent snarl on his face, tugged Roy forward harshly, so they were face-to-face, befor shoving Roy away, jumping to his feet. Realizing the danger he was in, Roy immediately charged, hoping to strike first. However, Jason struck the moment he was in striking distance, delivering a double hit to the chest before planting his fist deep into Roy's gut, causing the other man to retch. Jason then kicked him in the chest and pinned him to the ground with his foot. Once the fall was counted, he grabbed Roy by his shirt again and deadlifted him with one hand, before throwing face first into the barrier.
Roy met the barrier with a crash, his face smacking the glass panes before he dropped to his knees, clutching his nose. Jason grabbed him again, this time by the scruff of his neck, and performed a chokehold on him. Roy gasped and struggled, but Jason's hold was firm, and after a half-minute his opponent tapped on the floor, signalling another fall. Jason let go immediately, and Roy once again found himself on his knees. He had a hand to his neck, panting.
"Enough," Jason said, sounding parts exasperated, parts annoyed, and all parts angry. "Surrender the last fall, Harper. You're hurt."
His opponent glared up at him angrily, before once again trying to sweep his legs. Jason saw it this time and jumped up, dodging, before grabbing Roy once again by his shirt tossing him to the center of the ring, back first. He then fell upon the archer like a ton of bricks, dropping one knee to Roy's chest and pinning his shoulders down with both hands. Three seconds passed, and the final fall was counted.
For a long moment, the two men just stared at each other, breathing hard. Then,
"Are we done?" Jason demanded.
Roy continued to glare up at him, before giving a short, robotic nod.
"Good."
Jason offered his hand again. This time, Roy took it.
"What were you thinking, Roy!" Dick asked his friend furiously.
They were in the Catskills infirmary and med bay, which was (perhaps deliberately) located near the gym. The moment was spar was over, both Jason and Roy were directed there by everyone else to get their bruises treated. Jason was currently another room, with Donna and Kaldur. The Titans were with Roy in his room, with Toni and Garth applying first aid.
"Why would you escalate things like that? It was just supposed to be a friendly spar — we have a mission tomorrow!"
Roy snorted. "You're just mad because it was your brother," he grumbled.
"I'm mad because you picked a fight with one of our hosts! The fact that it happened to be Jason was irrelevant — I would've been mad if it had be any of them!" Dick bit out, hissing.
Rather than retort, Roy simply looked away.
Dick continued glowered for a bit, before the expression faded and he sighed. "Roy," he started, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I know you're still messed up about the whole Donna thing. But taking it out on Jason isn't going to help. She's made her choice. You just need to accept it. Or at least respect it."
Roy bit lip. "I know, Dick. I know." He sighed. "Look, I'll apologize or whatever. But don't expect me to be buddy-buddy with him any time soon, alright?"
Dick puffed out a breath. "Alright. Asking for more would be asking for too much right now anyway."
"I'm sorry, Donna, I…" Jason sighed, as Donna dabbed some of the bruises on his chest and arms with cream. "I lost my temper. I thought it would be good for him to let out some steam, maybe rid the tension between us, but I overestimated my self-control."
Donna sighed, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's okay, Jay. I forgive you. I know why you really did it anyway."
Jason looked away.
"I know you miss him," Donna continued, sounding sad. "I miss him too. But that Roy in the other room — he's not the one we lost, Jason."
"But at the same time, he is," Jason reminded her, his voice almost choking. A memory flashed through his mind, of the last time he saw their Roy — the Roy had visited him while he was on the edge of life and death, who had given his blessing to their relationship. He looked so much like the one in the other room, it made Jason's heart ache. "And that's what hurts the most."
"I know," Donna told him, resting her chin on his shoulder, her chest against his back. "I know."
The two lovers took comfort each other for that long moment, as they silently mourned their lost friend.
"You guys are so sweet together it's sickening."
"Screw you, Kaldur! Screw you!"
A few hours later, M'gann, recently returned from her visit to her uncle, plopped herself in front of a still-working Wallace, tilting her head. Wallace glanced up at her for a moment, before returning to his work. Kon and Victor were conversing quietly in the corner over another part of the room. Wally and Jesse had long since-departed, taking a break back up in the ground floor of the base.
So, I heard there was some kind of pow-wow at the gym while I was gone, M'gann started, connecting her mind to both Wallace and Kon. What happened?
Sparring practice with the Titans, Kon answered, as he lifted something to show Victor, Jason and Roy.
M'gann winced. Ouch.
Yup.
Specifics?
One spar, twenty-five points, Wallace replied. Harper managed a fall.
Impressive.
Yeah. Except he pissed off Jason.
How? M'gann sounded skeptical. It's Roy Harper. You know, the reason why Jason has such a big soft spot for the Arrows to begin with? What could he have possibly done to piss off Jason?
Kon gave a mental sigh. Liver shot.
…Yeah, that makes sense. M'gann conceded. How bad?
Jason already had two falls. He collected the remaining three in like two minutes. And that was after giving Harper a chance to concede before the last one. Wallace paused. Also, he might've broken Harper's nose.
Nah. Kon disagreed. Definitely bruised it enough to give it a nosebleed, though.
M'gann hummed, only to still. M'gann? Wallace probed in concern.
You guys better finish whatever you're working on right now. The kids have just arrived.
The last person Tim expected to see when he arrived at Catskills with his friends was his eldest brother. They had decided to use the Super-Cycle (which was now being kept at the JSA Brownstone now that Mount Justice was only being sparingly used) to fly over to the base together since the JLA teleporters were still down. Tim knew from the frequent texts Jason sent to the entire family that the entire place was getting another remodel now that they had the schematics for a lot of technology that they wanted to add to the base to enhance training. If Dick was here, that meant the remodeling had to be almost finished, which was fast even by superhero standards. Jason wouldn't have let the Titans visit otherwise.
The moment they arrived, the group dispersed to talk with their various predecessors and other associated heroes. When Dick saw Cass and him, he adopted a small smile and then scooped them both up in a hug. Tim put up a half-hearted struggle before sighing and returning the hug alongside Cass. It had only been a week since they had last seen either of their big brothers, but it felt almost like a lifetime. Things had been so busy on every end that other than some short text messages, the siblings hadn't been able to really keep up with each other. Hopefully this weekend would partially mend that.
"No Dami and Jon?" Dick asked the moment the embrace ended.
Cass shook her head. "They're already off to the Kent Farm," Tim explained. "And before you ask, Steph is doing an internship at Leslie's clinic. She thought it was best since she can't participate in this week's training."
Dick hummed. "Sorry you lost out on time with your girlfriend, Timmy."
Tim shrugged. "It's fine. According to Jason that by the summer she'll be far enough in her own personal training to join the camp if she wants." He ducked his head. "That is, if everything that's happened lately hasn't scared her off by now."
"Has she given you any indication of that, Tim?"
The three siblings glanced behind them to see their fourth, and technically oldest, sibling leaning against a nearby door edge, staring at Tim expectantly. Tim shook his head. "No, but—"
"But nothing. Steph is made of sterner stuff than you think, Tim. More than that, she cares about you." He stepped forward, looking between both his younger siblings. "She cares about both of you. Even if she doesn't become a vigilante, that's not going to change."
The current Robin stared up at his older brother, before carefully stepping forward and spreading his arms. Jason pulled him forward — and Cass as well — into a hug. "I've missed you too," Jason chuckled.
Tim didn't say anything, but the hand he twisted into his brother's shirt was enough.
Dinner that night was raucous. The accompaniment of seven teenagers of varying ages had already made a somewhat unruly gathering into a chaotic blowout of almost epic proportions. Powers had been banned almost immediately for that reason alone, but that didn't stop the place becoming something resembling a pigsty, much to Jason's horror and the amusement of everyone else.
A Wii, newly-bought with Wayne money, was plugged into the television, initiating a contest between several teams. Jason was whipping up food at almost lightning speed while shouting out warnings and other recriminations to keep some semblance of order. Wallace was egging everyone on while pointedly ignoring Jason's shouting. Kon was in a quiet corner of the room, making arrangements with Clark and Diana over the phone to meet before heading off to Themyscira the next morning.
It was a good night of fun and relaxation. The last night before the hard work begun.
BROOOM!
"Gah!" Tim squeaked out as he tumbled out of bed, he sheets tangling around his body. The horn continued to air for a moment, before abruptly ceasing. Then there was banging.
"Up and at 'em, Timmers!" Jason's voice called out. "It's time for breakfast!"
"I hate you!" Tim replied with an audible groan.
"No you don't!"
"Yes I do!"
"No you don't!"
"Yes I—"
"Guys!" Donna interjected, her voice slightly muffled by the door.
"Sorry, Donna!" Jason quickly apologized.
Tim snorted. His brother was so whipped.
When Tim and the rest of his fellow students arrived to downstairs, the table was already a mess of plates that were being piled into the sink. There was still plenty of food, more than enough to feed them even with Bart's appetite, but it was still a rather shocking sight to see. As the teenagers, still slightly rumpled and sleepy and dressed in their pajamas, stared, they heard some slight commotion from the foyer.
They peaked their heads into the hall, where they saw the Titans, fully dressed in their costumes and a few carrying bags, exchanging farewells with their teachers. Upon spotting the children, they were beckoned over so the Titans could say goodbye to them as well.
Tim and Cass saddled up to their oldest brother, slightly downcast. "You're leaving already?"
Dick gave an awkward chuckle. "Sorry you two, but we've got our own team and our own missions to deal with. We took a day off to visit Jason and his team, but we really can't afford to stay any longer."
"But if it makes you feel any better, you'll get to see him next week," Jason added, swinging an arm around their older brother's shoulders. "Dickie here agreed to help us out with something next Wednesday, something involving your training. We'll tell you the specifics after Kaldur's class, but it should be fun for all of us."
The two siblings brightened upon hearing that.
After the Titans were gone and breakfast was eaten, the children were instructed to head to the locker rooms to change instead of their rooms. "No costumes for the next couple of days," Jason had explained to them. Perplexed but obedient, they abided by his words, with the boys following him while the girls followed Donna. Before they did, however, M'gann had taken Secret aside and had quickly scribbled something a scrap of paper she was carrying. She said a few words before sticking her hand in the surprised girl's ephemeral body. There was brief glow and then…
Well, Secret was no longer floating, nor was there anymore smoke surrounding her. Honestly, if it still weren't for her odd coloration, one could still mistake her for a ghost. She pinched herself a few times, observing the wiggling of her fingers, before glancing up at M'gann in disbelief. "How…?"
M'gann winked. "I've picked up some tricks over the years, and you're hardly the first ghost student we've had to teach. Unfortunately, it isn't permanent. That's beyond my power. However, it should last you through these week's classes. After that, if we need you corporeal again, I'll have to renew the seal with a new one."
"So, I'm…?"
"A normal girl. Just for now."
Greta gasped, before throwing her arms around the Martian. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou…" she chanted, her eyes wet.
M'gann smiled down at her fondly, patting the girl's head. "Don't thank me yet, Greta. You still need to go through Donna's training."
"Today, children," Donna started, clapping her hands. Instead of wearing her costume, she was wearing leggings, a sports bra, and tennis shoes, with her hands wrapped in bandages. "We are focusing on combat training. Specifically, hand-to-hand combat."
The young heroes, all dressed in near identical exercise clothes and wearing their own tennis shoes, were lined up outside the base in the backyard. They had just finished their stretches, led through them by Donna, and were now waiting to learn what, exactly, they'd be doing today. The crisp mountain air made a great contrast to the pits of dread forming on the bottoms of their stomachs. Jason had given them to Donna for the entire day, citing it as a punishment. There had to be a reason for that.
"Your clothes are lined with a special material that suppresses metahuman abilities. You have not been allowed any weapons, and Cassie, I've sealed your powers away for the duration of the weekend. Essentially, you are all baseline human for this class, and for the rest of your classes for the weekend." She smiled beatifically. "No enhancements at all. Just pure grit, strategy and skill."
Half the class swallowed. Really, the only ones that didn't look worried were Tim, Cass and Cissie. Even Courtney looked slightly apprehensive. She had fought for so long with her belt and staff, it had been a while since she had to rely solely on her own abilities.
"For the morning, we're going to be doing drills. Many, many drills." The smile was still beatific, but there was now a sharp edge to it. "Starting…now."
CR-CRACK!
Bart glanced down at the ground, and shrieked. Not only was the ground cracking, it was shifting.
Suddenly, an absolutely massive Chinese dragon made out of earth burst from the, well, Earth, roaring into the sky before glaring down at the terrified students. Donna clapped her hands again, catching everyone's attention.
"This one is going to chase you around the mountain for the next hour. Your goal is to not get caught. And don't bother hiding — I'll know, and I'll just form a new one to chase after you personally," she explained cheerfully. "Your goal is to just keep moving as much as possible for the next hour. After that, we'll move on to the next exercise. Understood?"
Instead of answering, the children just stared at her. Mostly in horror.
Then the dragon roared again, and the chase was on.
The morning continued like that for hours, and when noon arrived and Donna ceased the morning session, the kids were about ready to sob in relief. They dragged themselves back into the base, where they quickly showered and changed into new uniforms before heading into the dining room to eat. After lunch was over and they had their one hour-break, they walked into the base's sparring room with trepidation. Having had a taste of Donna's more…extreme training methods, they were dreading what was coming next.
Maybe we shouldn't have sneaked onto that mission… Tim idly thought to himself, before dismissing it. Sure, they were in pain now, but the mission wouldn't have worked out as well as it did without them. It was worth it.
Donna soon walked into the room, observing all of them closely, before heading over to the nearby control panel and pressing a few buttons. Her students watched in awe as the sparring arena came to life, the bioluminescent colors embedding themselves into their minds.
"Sparring area initializing. Please list combatants for today's session."
"Seven new combatants. Timothy Drake-Wayne, Cassandra Cain-Wayne, Courtney Whitmore, Bartholomew Allen II, Cassandra Sandsmark, Suzanne King-Jones, and Greta Hayes."
"Style of session?"
"Tournament. Round Robin-style. Each match is a timed spar of five minutes. Final match is sudden death, one fall."
"Session initialized. Please send in combatants Timothy Drake-Wayne and Greta Hayes."
Donna glanced the two in question, and made a gesture with her head. After some reluctance, both Tim and Greta stepped into the sparring area, heading to the center and standing awkwardly apart.
"You've already heard what I've told the AI," Donna started, gathering everyone's attention again. "For the rest of the afternoon, we're doing a round robin-style sparring tournament. Each of you are going to fight each other at least once in a five minute-spar, trying to score as many falls as you can in those minutes. Each fall is worth five points, and after the match is over, the point totals of both fighters will be added to your scores there." She pointed up at the mounted scoreboard, which had a list of seven names, each with a '0' next to them.
"After everyone has fought everyone, the total scores are calculated. Those with the two highest scores will fight again in a sudden death match of one fall. The winner of that match will win the tournament, and gets to decide what movie we're going to be watching tonight after dinner."
Cissie raised her hand. Donna nodded to her, gesturing for her to speak. "What counts as a fall?"
"Either by throwing your opponent onto their back, with both their shoulders touching the floor for three seconds, or by submission: verbal, or by tapping the ground at least three times." The Amazon shrugged. "Wrestling rules, basically."
Another hand was raised. Bart. "What if there's a tie at the end?"
"Depends. If it's for the highest score, then there's no tie-breaker. Those two will be the final two. If it's for the second-highest score, however, then there will be a tie-breaker. It'll be sudden death, like the final."
She glanced between the students. "No more questions? Very well." Donna gave the nod to Tim and Greta. "Just say start, and the match will begin. A buzzer will tell you when the match is finished."
"So, what movie are we watching today?" Jason asked casually.
There were a series of groans as nearly every teenager present gave him a tired glare. The only one who didn't gave a beaming smile.
"How to Train Your Dragon," Cass answered.
The sparring arena, as you can probably guess, is inspired by the one used during the first season of Young Justice. Still my favorite season of that show, by the way.
Anyway, the reason I was so late posting this chapter is because I've been distracted by ArlyssTolero's Forging a Better Future series, which I am not officially co-authoring as the idea person and editor/beta. Arlyss have finished the first story up to the halfway point and is now focusing on Arrow: Rebirth, allowing me to focus on my own writing.
If you like Arrowverse but hate the bad writing it went through during its later seasons, I highly recommend both series (unless you like Olicity). It's really good!
Next chapter: Wallace.
