New Master
The man in the mask stood outside as if waiting for us. "Warrior Shaun, I see you have brought Slade." He said. "Has he made his decision?"
"Yes, Master." Shaun said. "He has decided to become a masked."
"Good." Master said. "Come with me, Slade." Master turned around and walked to another room, as I fallowed. When he opened the door I saw a pillar of light that shown a black and orange jumpsuit with metal plates on the chest, wrists, shoulders, and ankles. "Change into this." The Master said. "And nice bling, by the way." He said referring to my "S" necklace.
He walked out of the room and I removed my old cloths and put on the jumpsuit. Obviously it was an apprentice outfit. The one thing I kept was the "S" necklace. The one thing that still tied me to my past.
I came out of the room in the apprentice suit. "You will be my next apprentice." The masked man said. "And from now on, you will refer to me as Master."
"Yes, Master." I said.
"Fallow me, apprentice." He said. "Training shall begin eminently."
Three years later . . . .
I progressed fast for an apprentice. I learned to use the exploding disc and was trained in the ancient art of stick fighting. As well I could use the two-sided blade. Plus I was training my muscles so I could run faster and longer, jump higher and farther, and have much better reflexes. My master said I was proving to be an excellent apprentice.
I didn't think of my family all the time. All though I missed them, I didn't spend every second thinking about them. I'd taken the "S" off its chain and sewn in into my apprentice outfit. It was placed on the orange side of the shirt, signifying that I was Slade the greatest there was.
One night I was training with the two-sided blade, which was shaped like a "Z" with a small amount of explosives in the center. It was the one weapon that I had the most trouble handling. I aimed at the target and threw. As it sailed through the air it began to drift to the left. It hit the bull's eye right on the outer most rings. "Slade, You have to get better at this." Master scolded. "A good masked can throw four or five of these a minute and not have to spend any time aiming."
All Around me other masked apprentices were also training. Some using sticks, others using explosive discs'. I was the only one experienced enough to use the two-sided blade.
The bell for the elevator rang and the doors opened. I looked and saw a woman in a long, black robe with a hood that hid her face and sleeves that flowed over her hands. In the center of her chest was a pin that had an "S" on it that seemed to be made of fire. Instantly I knew what that symbol meant. "Scath." I said.
Master looked and his eyes widened. In an instant, he pulled two exploding disc' from his belt and threw them at the Scath. She jumped amazingly high and easily dodged the disc'. She then jabbed her leg forward and struck Master in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
The Scath landed as easily as a cat in front of me. Spinning around on one foot, she pulled the legs out from under me and I fell too. Shaun attacked, throwing a powerful punch at her. She grabbed his arm, pulled him around, and elbowed him in the back. Another apprentice swung his fighting rod at the Scath. But she easily grabbed the other end, and threw the kid over her head.
Without thinking, I grabbed one of the two-sided blades and threw it with all my strength. The sharp blade slashed across her back and tore a line of blood. She screamed and reached her arm back around to clutch at the wound.
Once again without thinking, I attacked. I jumped and kneed her in the stomach. Then elbowed her in the back of the neck. Even as she recovered, I leapt in the air and slammed the heel of my boot into the small of her back.
As she lay on the ground mouning, I pulled a two-sided blade from my belt, grabbed her hood and pulled her head back. "This ends now!" I said. I pulled her head back so I could look into her face. The face I saw was that of . . . . "Mom?"