Trip

Several months after establishing their lives in Gotham, almost one year after that horrendous, life-changing dinner, Bruce declared it was time for them to move on to new teachers. "I've taught you everything I possibly can," he said. "Remain here any longer and you will stagnate. New mentors, new perspectives, however, will help you grow."

Next to Roy, Jason crossed his arms. "If that's the case, why haven't you outsourced my training yet?"

"I was just waiting for the right moment," Bruce confessed. "Which is now. You're going with Roy."

"Wait, what?"

Laurel simply shook her head as she observed the scene. Bruce was a good man and dearly loved his children, but he could be such a control freak at times. This wasn't the first time he had unexpectedly dropped something on one of them that he expected them to do without actually discussing it with them, and no matter how much they complained, it wouldn't be the last.

"There's a friend of mine in Korea who's agreed to take you two in as students. He's a master of Moo Gi Gong, a weapons-based martial art focused on the practice of using external objects as weapons. Something that I think will fit the both of you."

The two best friends exchanged looks, and Jason shrugged before giving his assent. Roy was not as quick to accept, however. "I'll need to talk it over with Thea, first. We've really made a home here, you know?"

Indeed. The young couple had only grown closer together over the past several months since leaving Starling to join Laurel in Gotham, and while they still weren't quite ready for the commitment of marriage, anyone who knew them knew they were in it for the long haul. It was understandable why Roy wouldn't want to disrupt that so soon after they had settled into a new normal that worked for both of them. Such mutual consideration would be good for their future as a couple in the long run.

"Very well," Bruce acknowledged his newest student, before glancing towards Laurel. "Laurel, how do you feel about Japan?"

The legal librarian gave him a 'kinda-sorta' gesture. "I don't mind going and I think it's a great opportunity, but how long will I be gone? If it's too long, then I'll need to hand in my two weeks' notice and break my lease." There was no way she'd be able to afford paying for her apartment and all its expenses while not working. She had a good-paying job, yes, but money ran out quick — especially when you were living in a foreign country for an extended period of time.

Barbara waved her off. "You can just store your stuff at my place, and when you get back you can just stay with me until you have a place of your own again. No biggie."

"Thanks, Babs," Laurel thanked her childhood friend.

"Yes, thank you for the offer, Barbara. And do not worry about monetary compensation, Laurel — I will support your stay, for however long it might take," Bruce added. Even with all the expenses that being Batman incurred, Bruce was horrifically wealthy, even more so than the Queens, and had no problem flaunting that wealth for whatever he needed to achieve his goals.

Laurel nodded towards her mentor in gratitude. "Who are you sending me to, though?"

A shadow flashed across the Batman's face. "First, to the Crescent Order. And after you're done learning from them, they'll send you to your true teacher: a man who taught me many years ago."

Taught Bruce? Like Ted? "What's his name?"

"The Dragon."

Partings

"Does he know you're heading off to Korea?" Laurel asked her best friend as they started packing her clothes into the suitcases Bruce had provided her. With her fully committed to training in Japan, it meant a second upheaval of her life, if a temporary one. Despite its murky underbelly and chaotic atmosphere, Laurel had every intention of going back to Gotham; for better or for worse, it had become her new home.

"Yeah," Thea confirmed, bobbing her head as she folded one of Laurel's dresses. "I called him last night and told him. He surprisingly took it well; didn't try to fight me on it or anything."

"That's good," the older woman noted, a small frown on her face. While Laurel preferred not to think about Oliver as much as possible, it was impossible to do considering how entwined their lives once were. Especially since despite their parting of ways, she had remained best friends with his younger sister. Even so, with a year of separation between them, it was becoming easier and easier to do. Instead of that all-encompassing anger and resentment that used to consume her every time a single thought of him crossed her mind, there was just a brief hint of bitterness instead.

It wouldn't be long until even that was gone, and only apathy remained. And once Laurel had Sara back, she'd be free to move on and forget he had ever been a part of her life at all. That was the goal — making sure Oliver Queen no longer had any power over her, that he was just a half-forgotten memory of a life that was no longer hers.

Once they were done packing, Thea flopped onto Laurel's couch, leaning her neck against the cushions as she let out a breath of relief. "Finally, it's over!"

"At least until we have to bring it all to Babs' place," Laurel pointed out, smirking in amusement.

The younger woman waved her off. "That's a job for the moving truck guys," she declared with assertion. Laurel laughed at the statement, and dropped herself next to Thea with an audible plop!

"I'm going to miss you," the part-time vigilante told her friend with little preamble.

Thea smiled at Laurel, a hint of sadness in her expression. "I'm going to miss you too. After everything with Ollie, Mom, and Slade, it felt like my entire world was ending. If it hadn't been for you and Roy, who knows where I'd be right now."

"Wherever that would've been, you would've been fine, Speedy. You're strong, just like your mom. She'd be proud of you, you know."

A blush. "Thanks, Laurel," the young woman said to her friend in gratitude. "And for what it's worth, I'd think she'd be proud of you too. You know how much she liked you — she would've been glad to see you're doing well."

"You think so?" The thought warmed Laurel's heart more than it should have. Despite how things went with the trial and Ollie, Laurel had never wished Moira any ill-will and had always looked up to her friend's mother. She had always been a supportive figure in her life no matter whatever transpired between their families, in many ways the mother Dinah Drake Lance had failed to be. Thea had been lucky to have a mother like her, which made it so tragic that she had lost Moira so young.

"Yeah, I do," Thea reaffirmed, swallowing. She saddled up to Laurel's side and leaned into the older woman's waiting arm. "I miss her so much, Laurel."

Laurel pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. "I know, Speedy. I know. I miss her too."

Japan

Despite Laurel's ardent protests that Economy was perfectly serviceable, Bruce got her a First Class ticket for her direct flight to Tokyo. While still better than taking the private Wayne jet, it didn't stop her from feeling like a fraud when she found herself once again surrounded by the trappings of luxury. No amount of fancy prep schools and billionaire best friends would ever truly prepare Laurel for living the life of the one percent.

After landing and making her way through immigration, she was met with a relatively average-sized Japanese woman with a short black bob and pale skin carrying a sign with Laurel's name on it. "Hello, Miss Lance," she said in slightly accented English and a bow. "My name is Tatsu Yamashiro. I will be your guide today."

Laurel bowed back. "It's nice to meet you, Tatsu. My name is Dinah Laurel Lance, though you can call me Laurel."

With the greetings exchanged, Tatsu took her to their car, where they loaded Laurel's luggage in the trunk. At Bruce's instruction, Laurel had packed the bare minimum, essentials such as clothing and a few gadgets such as her laptop, phone, and tablet. She wouldn't get to use them much, she was warned, but it would be important to have a way to contact Bruce and the others in case of an emergency — on either side of the Pacific.

Tatsu drove them away from the city and to the countryside, delving deeper and deeper into the forests until they were at a remote compound of some sorts, one with a rustic feel to compliment its classical Japanese architecture. Laurel only had a few moments to marvel at it before she was directed to help Tatsu unload her luggage. Once they were done, the older woman guided her inside the compound, walking across the courtyard wear various initiates dressed in loose pants and shirts practicing different katas together. It looked to be Aikido, judging by the movements.

"The Crescent Order is an old, remote sect, formed in response to the League of Assassins triggering the Warring States period several centuries ago by starting the Ōnin War in a bid to cleanse Kyoto through their misguided edict of ridding 'evil' with 'death'," Tatsu explained as they made it inside the dormitories and to Laurel's room. "A member of the League at the time, a Japanese national, defected in protest for this decision and founded the Crescent Order in response. Our duty since then has been to mitigate and repel the League's presence in the Asia Pacific region, something we have managed with mixed success."

"How so? Aren't the League's operations largely concentrated in the Middle East? They rarely venture this far east if I remember correctly." Ever since she had dedicated herself to this mission to free Sara from her self-imposed prison, Laurel had dug into as much of the League's lore as she could. Thanks to Bruce's ever extensive need to know everything, there was a wealth of knowledge about the League's history and customs in the Bat-Computer. But because of how secretive the organization was, there were some secrets that were lost even to the great Batman.

Tatsu nodded. "Yes, and thanks to our efforts we have made Japan and other more advanced nations such as South Korea and Singapore all but untouchable to them. But more troubled lands such as the Philippines still remain vulnerable to their presence. We have done our best to curtail their operations in such countries, but it has been a slow-going effort."

"Is that why you agreed to teach me?" Laurel found herself asking. "To deal a horrible blow to the League by having me kill the current Ra's al Ghul?"

"In part, though there is another reason why Bruce Wayne requested tutelage for you."

Laurel paused. "There is?" Bruce didn't mention anything like that.

"Yes. It has to do with the method of your revival — and our means of countering the after-effects."

What?

Elixir

Apparently, Laurel was supposed to be a bloodthirsty maniac that wanted to kill everyone in sight.

Again, apparently.

"Normally, those revived by the Lazarus Pit are stricken with an insatiable bloodlust in order to maintain the Pit's healing properties," her new mentor explained to her as she poured out a blue liquid into Laurel's cup. "In addition to the bloodlust, it also enhanced their physical attributes, giving them increased strength, speed, and reflexes in exchange for being constantly plagued by bouts of rage and insanity."

"A past Ra's al Ghul took advantage of this and deliberately had several of his assassins killed and revived by the Pit in order to create an army of trained berserkers at his beck and call. To counteract this, we of the Order created this elixir, the Lotus. It can permanently cure a person of the effects of the Lazarus Pit, allowing them to continue with their lives normally, as if they were never afflicted with them to begin with."

Laurel frowned. "If that's the case, then why haven't I felt any of them?" The last time she had killed anyone was Slade Wilson, and that had been several months ago. If Tatsu was telling the truth, then Laurel should already be back in the land of the dead by now.

"The ways of the Pit are still a mystery even to the League, so we can only speculate. Though, if we are to be honest with each other, then it likely has something to do with the manner of your death."

Namely, the fact that she had been her own killer. Not wanting to linger on that or its darker implications, Laurel quickly moved on. "So, you want me to drink this?"

"Yes. Down to the last drop."

Seeing no reason to refuse, Laurel complied, sipping the blue liquid carefully. It had an odd taste to it, some mixture of green tea and mint, but she nonetheless found it easy to swallow down. She drained her cup quickly, and when she was done, she felt lighter than she was before. It wasn't a dramatic transformation, it wasn't like Laurel was a completely different person, but there was a tension gone from her that she hadn't even noticed had been there before. Like this irritating headache that was lingering at the back of her head had disappeared.

"Do you feel better now?" Tatsu asked her, peering at her expectantly.

The younger woman nodded. "I do. More relaxed, looser. I didn't even realize how wound up I was before."

"Good. Then we are free to begin." She got back to her feet. "Come with me."

Thought

Training with the Crescent Order was different from training with Bruce. With Bruce, it was all about building muscle, speed, technique — maxing out your stats, as Tommy would've called it. Being a vigilante with a perpetual obsession of cleaning up one of the most corrupt cities in all of America, his ultimate goal for his students was to get them as field-ready as fast as possible. Laurel had been the exception to that, as she was only learning under him to learn how to fight, not how to be a vigilante. That was probably why she had been sent to Japan instead of Korea with the others.

With the Crescent Order, the focus wasn't on learning new techniques and moves. Not to say they didn't do that, but it was secondary to their primary subject matter, the philosophy of combat. In addition to physical practice, Laurel was assigned numerous different texts to study every night, each with some kind of message or theme that she was meant to identify. She would discuss her findings the following morning with Tatsu and the other members of the Order, and figure out different ways they applied to her in both combat and in ordinary life.

She didn't really think much of it at first, up until she found herself struggling in a spar against Tatsu for reasons she couldn't identify. It wasn't until Laurel remembered the lesson from last night's assigned text and applied it to her strategy for the fight did she win. That was when she realized what they were trying to do — they were trying to transform her entire thought process, make her mind more flexible so it would be easier to strategize in the heat of the moment. She couldn't stick to any one philosophy for every fight she entered; she needed to be able to determine which one would win her the day in the few split seconds of reprieve she would have in the midst of combat.

After that, Laurel was far more eager and attentive to her non-combat oriented studies. Eventually they transitioned from texts to just oral teachings, and in addition to philosophy Laurel found herself learning Japanese. The tongue was foreign on her lips, but slowly, the words came easier to her. It would be years before she could call herself fluent, but she would at least be conversational.

And then, eight months later, the day came where the Crescent Order decided she had nothing left to learn from them either. Her training was complete.

"Now…?" Laurel asked Tatsu, after bowing to the other woman in thanks.

"Now you go to the Kita Alps," Tatsu declared. "The Dragon is waiting for you."

Mountain

The Hida Mountains, or the Northern (Kita) Alps, was a Japanese mountain range that spanned multiple prefectures. Hosting the third tallest mountain peak in the country, it was also famed for its remoteness, considered to be one of the wilder regions of a thoroughly modernized nation. A popular hiking and mountaineering spot, it was an ideal location for those who enjoyed outdoorsy activities.

But for Laurel, it was the next great trial on her journey to freeing her sister. With Tatsu's help, she was outfitted with the gear and supplies she needed to hike and climb the mountain's most treacherous path. At the very end of that path was the home of the Dragon, one of the two greatest martial arts masters on the planet. "Just making it to him as you are will be enough for him to accept you as a student," her latest mentor told her, and Laurel could only hope she was right.

Her first attempt at the climb was a pitiful failure. Maybe she had been too eager or just too desperate, but Laurel made it about halfway up the second cliff before she lost her grip and found herself plummeting back to where she started. Her equipment saved her from becoming a pancake, but nonetheless caused a strain on her body, and she had been forced to retreat back to the nearest town recuperate.

The second attempt had been more successful. She made it up the first three cliffs and made it to the next town, something that bolstered her confidence considerably — perhaps too considerably. About partway through the fourth major cliff, she had an embarrassing slip that once again saw another fall and a bad knock on her head. She had been out for a long while, and the doctor told her it was a miracle if she didn't have brain damage.

That alone should've convinced her to stop. And if this were a normal climb, maybe Laurel would have. But here and now, she couldn't give up. She had given up once before and it had cost Laurel her sister all over again. If she gave up now, then Sara would be lost to her for good. After so many years of separation, after almost having her baby sister in her arms again only for her to be cruelly snatched away from her once more, right in front of Laurel's very own eyes this time, the thought was too much to bear. She wasn't going to let anything stop her from bringing Sara home, especially not some dumb mountain.

So Laurel didn't give up. She waited until she was fully healed, and then made her third and final attempt. This time, she didn't allow herself to get overconfident, didn't allow her success to blind her from anything. She took it slow and steady, every step, every movement measured. Every time she finished one of the cliffs, she allowed herself to rest as much as possible before moving to the next one. Sara would not be saved if Laurel died here and now, she reminded herself. She had to take care of herself too.

It took days to complete that third climb. But when she saw embossed doors of the hidden dojo Tatsu had told her about those few weeks ago, Laurel knew it had all been worth it. She was here, finally here.

After a brief moment to bask in her accomplishment, the budding martial artist knocked on the door with a few raps, and waited. About a minute or two later, the door creaked open, and an eye peered through the crack. Laurel swallowed.

There was a moment of observance, and then they opened more fully. Standing at the entrance was a tall caucasian man with deep red hair and striking blue eyes. Strong and muscular, he looked about to be anywhere from fifteen to twenty years older than her.

"Welcome, Dinah Laurel Lance."

Another swallow, and Laurel bowed in deep reverence. "Please take care of me, master."

Richard Drakunovski, the Dragon, smiled. "Come. Let's get you warmed up."

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. A bit of filler, but the necessary kind in order to advance Laurel's growth as a fighter. The goal here is to bring her more in line with her comics counterpart, being a stellar martial arts master that few can measure up to.

I opted to use Richard Dragon here instead of the typical Lady Shiva because of both comics accuracy and because I felt he was criminally underrated. I chose the comics Richard Drakunovski version of the character (aka the original version) because I'm more familiar with him than the comics Ricardo Diaz version. And I don't like the Arrow version, so… yeah.

Shiva will appear later on, though. I have too much fondness for her not to let her show up, especially considering how important she is to both the Black Canary/Birds of Prey mythos and the Batman mythos. As for what role she'll play, you'll see.

As for Tatsu, yes, she's aware of who Laurel is to Oliver, and of what happened between them recently. She didn't bring it up because it wasn't relevant (especially Tatsu hasn't seen Oliver in years), and because she didn't want to start things with Laurel on the wrong foot. Laurel wouldn't have held it against her, obviously, but… well, sometimes if it doesn't come up, you shouldn't bring it up.

Next chapter: Laurel's training with Dragon.