Chapter 2 — Survivor

After the first week, the Legendary 12 have not told any of the Titans (including Titans X and Team Z) about their plans. They needed just about every minute of thought for the first half of the month, so they kept it a secret.

It is currently 7:00 PM in the Danger Room, where Sweet's sons wanted to train more with their newly taught powers.

"Hey Slowpoke!" called Bongo.

"What?" the sloth responded to his brother.

"Remember all those times when you thought you were better than the four of us?"

"Yeah... your point...?"

"I challenge you to a one-on-one fist fight."

Slowpoke lowered his eyebrows. "You can't be serious." he spoke lowly.

"I am, dude. I won't use any fire, so long as you don't use your laser." Bongo said.

Slowpoke knew that Bongo was always the one that would want to put himself in crazy situations. Sometimes, he gets in over his own head. Because of this, Slowpoke is not as cocky as he was when he was younger.

"Fine... but just know that you're gonna lose." Slowpoke warned him.

Bongo immediately started the duel, rushing in and attempting to punch Slowpoke in his face. His fist was blocked.

"This oughta be good." Cheeks thought, stopping to watch.

"I guess." Congo agreed.

"Boneheads." Mooch murmured.

"Cut that out. Who was the only one of the five of us that beat Wrinkle, huh?" Bongo questioned boldly.

"Don't take the credit for yourself!" Slowpoke yelled, pushing him away. "We all were there, and we even carried you out in victory!"

Bongo kept talking as he threw his arms and legs at his brother.

"Okay. I'll admit I got carried away just now... but there's one thing that bothers me though." Bongo said.

"What?"

"The fact that you're still alive after what happened to you when you fought Scurry. I'm not saying that you SHOULD be dead, and I don't know exactly what he did to you... but I just don't understand how anyone could still be breathing from all those wounds."

Slowpoke narrowed his eyes, distraught by those words. "Shut up." he muttered.

Bongo rushed in again. "For what?"

Slowpoke stopped Bongo's fists without looking. "The fact I'm still alive means something, man... and the 'I'm better than you' mindset I had proves why I really am better than you. Your will is weaker than mine!" Slowpoke claimed, throwing down Bongo's fists and then punching him point-blank in his chest.

The reaction to this punch made it seem like Slowpoke had super-strength, as Bongo flew back and dented the back wall of the Danger Chamber. Slowpoke did not intend on using that much strength at all; as a matter fact, he did not have it until now.

"What the hell?" Cheeks and Congo exclaimed at once.

"Someone's gonna have to fix that..." Mooch said calmly afterwards.

"Ow..." Bongo uttered weakly, peeling off of the wall and landing on the floor.

"Congo... what just happened?" Slowpoke asked, knowing that Congo was one of Dotty's apprentices.

The gorilla went up to the status boards and read the new information about Slowpoke. He picked up the mic. "Dude, you have the earth element and super-strength now." he announced.

"He does?" Sweet questioned, entering the Danger Room with Roam. He believed it when he saw the dent on the western wall of the Danger Chamber.

"Cool! That means I get to use Hippity's moves!" Slowpoke spoke joyously.

"Can I put it to the test?" Mooch asked, unsheathing his zanpakutō.

"All right. Let's see... Armor of the Mantle." Slowpoke beckoned, as a hardened rock armor formed on his body. Mooch swung his blade to use his Energy Slash, to see how durable the armor was. It did not break.

"Is that it, Sweet?" Roam asked.

"No. In order to test a new power, three trials must be given to the person with it." he answered.

"This is awesome." Slowpoke smiled and nodded.

"Hold on, bro. You have two more tests." Mooch reminded him.

"Whenever you're ready."

Mooch motioned his blade in a circle. "Transcend... Zen no Kyoudoutai." The metal on his zanpakutō turned into diamond. "Soshi: Stoneblade." The zanpakutō glowed in a golden brown color, and half of the diamond pieces on the blade turned into solid rock.

"Uh oh." Slowpoke uttered.

Roam entered the Chamber. "Use Meteor Crush against it... hopefully your arm won't get diced." he advised him.

"Let's see just how strong it is!" Mooch said, jumping into the air and descending on Slowpoke, aiming to clash his blade with the sloth's arm.

"Meteor Crush!" Slowpoke called out, grasping as much energy as possible in his right arm and forcing it against Mooch's sword.

This clash caused a quake inside the entire Danger Room, making Cheeks and Bongo shake while they were still inside of it.

"You pass." Mooch announced to his brother, seeing that his arm stayed intact.

"Wait a sec... I thought that Meteor Crush always pushed someone back." Slowpoke mentioned.

Mooch sheathed his zanpakutō, after it turned back to normal. "It's because of one of Zen no Kyoudoutai's special effects. No matter what form of element is thrown against me, I am automatically given the option to either negate elemental effects or manipulate them to use as a blast. Your Meteor Crush is an earth technique, and I cancelled its knockback effect completely. Still, I will admit that your earth powers are strong."

"No kidding! Ha ha!" Slowpoke boasted.

"You still got one more test." Roam said.

"All right then. Bring it."

"I will give the test, but not just yet... I'm gonna need your brothers and your father to support you from behind."

Sweet entered the Chamber, curious about what Roam had planned. "What are you gonna do?" he asked the buffalo.

Roam was backing up to the other side of the Chamber. "I heard about how he lived through immense pain a few years back... he nearly died. I won't kill him... I just wanna see how tough his spine is. If it is, then his having the earth element to use for himself is a good omen. I suggest that y'all support his back though, because I'm gonna charge into him, full force.

"Oh damn..." Slowpoke murmured in concern, for his own health. His father and brothers were in a line, holding his back.

Roam got on all-fours and kicked his feet backward off of the ground, like a bull seeing red. He ran in. "Don't worry, survivor... this'll only hurt for a DAY!" he told Slowpoke, making an impact on his gut. The entire line was pushed back to the other wall; that was how strong Roam's tackle is.

Slowpoke was struggling to cough up a bit of blood afterwards, having his air immediately stolen from him. His family released him.

"He passed." Roam said, leaving the Danger Room.

"You okay, son?" Sweet asked.

"No... my back hurts and my organs might have gotten rearranged!" he whined.

"I'll get him to the Healing Room then." Cheeks volunteered.

"I agree with Roam... he is a survivor." Mooch said.

"He cheated death again!" Bongo exclaimed.

Knowing that, this gave Sweet something to consider while thinking about placing Titans in the New 12. He left without mentioning another word, as it was still a covert plan in action.

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Ah yes, Slowpoke... you can shake him, but you just can't break him. Will he be one of the chosen Titans in the New 12... after he heals from the big hit he took?

Find out later.