Recruitment Day
Disclaimer- Only own OC's and plot changes. Don't own YJ or its characters.
Shadow Strike's POV
My eyes were glued to the stack of papers before me as I reached for another piece and read it.
After sifting through this week's reports and updates for the past hour and a half I only have a few pages left to go through. I absolutely despise paper work, but recognize it as a necessary evil to make sure I know everything and anything about my organization.
I learned a long time ago that you can't be a good leader if you don't know the day to day functions of your organization. If you don't, then that allows room for misconception and stupidity, which combined in a leader can be deadly for everyone down the road.
Thus the reason I'm sitting in my office at the BlackKnights main headquarters riffling through piles of various reports to get a recap and summary of this week's progress.
So far most of the news has been good. Both of the equipment pieces I organized an extraction of were extremely successful. Both squads assigned to the jobs were able to infiltrate the buildings and retrieve the objects without difficulty. They even managed to get in and out within twenty minutes; and for a building with one of the best security systems in the world that's a new record for us.
The agents in those two groups were heavily rewarded for their accomplishments and received high personal praise from me, which is a very rare occurrence.
Now even though that's an outstanding achievement I'd still like to shave some minutes off that time. If there's one thing my father taught me it's that you should never be completely satisfied with your results. You should always strive to be better and do better, especially if you're already the best. The people who are the best have to strive the hardest to insure that they continue to stay the best.
Another piece of good news from the report was that those same two pieces acquired a few days ago were the last pieces we needed to finish the first part of the weapon we've been working on for the past few months. This means Phase 1 of weapon's development is officially over. Phase 2 is now officially in the works and already making rapid progress. We should be done with that in a matter of weeks, just in time for the rest of the Lights Phase 2 plans.
Now, even though I love to hear good news and see that my people are doing well, it's the bad news that I really care about.
It's always nice to hear the good about your organization, but the bad news and how you handle it are what determine the success or failure of your business.
Earlier this week we had about 6 large pipes break during the day resulting in about thirty injuries. Thankfully there were no fatalities, but the injuries did put a small dent in our work force, and that's where the issue lied. Since a handful of important people were out of commission for a while our progress was pushed back a couple days.
I remember being immediately notified the minute the incident happened and racing down a second later to see the extent of the damage.
Upon arriving at the scene I concluded that the 6 broken pipes and other fallen or broken pieces of heavy machinery could easily be fixed. After assessing the facility damage I immediately conducted an investigation to discover why the equipment failed. I wanted to make sure the person or persons responsible for neglecting their responsibilities was properly reprimanded and punished for their neglect.
After canvasing the pipes I went to the base's medical center to see the injured agents, workers, engineers, and scientists. Some were seriously injured with broken limbs, severe burns from the hot gas that escaped the pipes, or large gashes on their bodies while others only had a few sprains, small burns, and cuts.
My head medical officer, Janice, was quickly but efficiently running around the room working on getting everyone back to prime condition.
Now most people would think this process would take a few days or even weeks to get everyone back to work, but with Janice it was different. Janice wasn't just my head medical officer because of her superb medical skills and intelligence, but also because of her inherited abilities.
Janice is what we call gifted; she has the ability to heal people by touching them.
For small things such as cuts, gashes, scraps, or wooziness she can heal you in a matter of minutes, but healing big things like broken limbs, loss of blood, or injuries related to weapons such as knifes and bullets takes much longer to heal. Depending on the extent of the injury healing can take from a few hours to about a day or two. Plus it takes a lot of energy and concentration to heal so she can't do it 24/7.
Of course I've hired other nurses and doctors to assist her since she can't focus on other tasks while using her abilities, but she's still in charge of anything medical related.
There are only four people in my entire organization that I fully trust and like Danielle, Janice is one of those four.
I know everyone in the BlackKnights is extremely loyal to me, but that doesn't mean I trust them enough to invite them into my home or be by my side when I'm not in uniform.
By reading the reports I could see that most of the injured were healed and back to work, but Janice was still working on a few of the more heavily injured members. As of right now there are about four people left in med bay.
As you would expect the mechanical worker responsible for the incident was severely punished for his insolence, and lets just say he won't be missing any small details in the future if he doesn't want to feel pain like that again. Unfortunately for him Janice was ordered not to use her powers to help heal his bruises and other various injuries. She could only give him normal medical care such as setting and bracing his broken arm, bandaging his head, and stitching up the large gashes around his body before sending him off. His pain will serve as a powerful reminder to never fail me like that again. He failed once and got his warning, but the BlackKnights aren't known for giving second chances.
Aside from the pipe incident the only other piece of bad news is that it seems Batman and his annoying little helpers are catching on to us. On one of our latest heists for a customer who'd payed for the extraction of a valuable piece of equipment Batman arrived on the scene a few minutes after my team got there. My people were able to retrieve the item and safely disappear without any followers or evidence left behind, but that wasn't the point.
The point, is that Batman was close to apprehending one of my men in the first place, which is dangerous for the future of my organization. We've managed to go years without a confrontation from any hero's or police force, up until now. Granted, we have been getting bolder and performing riskier heists in the past few months, but that was to be expected when we teamed up with the Light.
As long as none of my people get taken and we still perform our jobs to the letter everything will be okay, despite the annoying presence of do-gooder hero's such as Batman. However, if everything goes as planned these heroes will no longer be a problem we have to deal with.
The hard, sharp knock on my door brought me out of my thoughts as I lifted my eyes from the papers on my desk.
"Come in" I answered curtly while placing the last of the papers on the desk to be burned later. Since I've finished reading them all the reports will be burned tonight as a safety precaution. I remember everything I read in those reports so we don't need to keep them on file. Plus it prevents any evidence from being used against us if something happened.
I watched as my two large black wooden doors swung open. My office at headquarters is extremely different from my regular business office in Gotham.
The room had no windows and the only way in was through the two large doors at the front of the office. To compensate for the lack of windows, the walls facing HQ had the ability to turn from their solid dark red color to clear and see-through allowing me to see everything that's going on outside. As an added bonus I could see outside, but no one could see inside. To everyone on the outside it still looked like the walls were covered and black; this way I could keep an eye on things without people knowing or seeing me.
My office was designed to be large so I could have multiple things in it. In the middle of the room but pushed back so it's closer to the back wall is my large desk with four small chairs positioned in front of it for meetings. On my right is a large bookshelf full of all different types of books that takes up the entire wall.
To my left is a bare wall and a large area that's cut into two sections. The first section is a workout/ training station where I can train without having to leave my office. The other section is a designated resting area. In that corner there's a large comfortable bed with a long black couch in front of it with two red pillows. There's also a large bathroom fully equipped with a shower, tub, large counter, and a face mirror. Directly next to the bathroom is a walk in closet with almost every piece of clothing you can think of and a wall mirror in the back.
Now as for the bare wall, at first glance it's merely just a bare wall, but if you know where to push it turns into so much more.
If you punch in a series of small combinations on a hidden keypad in the desk the wall will flip so instead of a regular wall you'd see a wall filled with rows of various different types of weapons.
This selection of weapons is much smaller then the large arsenal in our weapons room, but it's still pretty impressive. There are about ten rows stacked high with guns, knives, flamethrowers, katanas, poison darts, batan's, rope, and other various weapons.
And finally the room wouldn't be complete if I didn't have an escape route. Having only one way in and out of the room would be dangerous for me in case something happens at HQ and ultimately wouldn't be a smart decision on my part. If I type in the right code on the wall directly behind my desk a small escape hatch will pop open so I can disappear without anyone knowing. Me and a few select others are the only ones who know about the escape hatch and where it leads.
Those select few were told that in the case of an emergency they're suppose to meet me on the opposite end of the hatch so we can escape together. That way I can make sure I have all of my key players with me.
I leaned back in my chair as the person who knocked on my door finally walked in. I watched as a booted foot stepped in and the door fully swung open to reveal a large,bulky man.
He closed the door behind him before walking towards the desk. The minute I saw the booted foot I immediately knew it was my weapons and fighting specialist Roman. He's been with the BlackKnights from the very beginning and is in charge of training the new recruits.
He's a 6-foot tall male with massive muscles that could rival Superman's. His hair is so short that sometimes it looks nonexistant, but the small amount he does have is midnight black. His uniform consists of a pair of comfortable baggy black pants that are similar to what the army men wear. Over his broad, toned chest is a skintight long-sleeved black shirt that shows off his massive frame and bulking muscles making him seem extremely intimidating to others. His beefy hands are covered by black grip fingerless gloves.
Strapped around each of his legs are two different types of holsters. Wrapped around his upper thighs are two small holsters each holding one of his two high-tech glocks. Directly below his guns and slightly above his knee's are holsters for his two small hand carved knives.
Guns and knives are Roman's favored choice in weaponry. He's a killer shot and one of the greatest snipers I've ever met. I have a lot of good marksmen in my service, but no one near Roman's level.
Even I have to admit that when it comes to long distance shots Roman is slightly better then me, and that's saying something since not many people are better than me in anything related to weapon use.
Roman's been with me since the very beginning and I know I have his full loyalty just like he knows he has mine. In everything but blood Roman and I are brothers, which puts him in the small group of people I fully trust in my life.
Under his tutelage my recruits have become some of the greatest fighters and hit men in the world.
The floor shook under Roman's heavy footsteps as he made his way over to my desk before folding his arms across his chest.
"Jacob, its time to go" he said and I looked down at my watch to see that it was almost 9 o clock.
"Well time really does fly when you're having fun," I answered softly as I stood from my chair and walked over to my comrade.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure going through files all day long was just amazing" Roman drawled sarcastically as I grabbed my swords from their designated spot of leaning against my desk close to my feet and placed them in their respective belt holsters.
My guns were already strapped to my legs and my other weapons were hidden on my person so I didn't need to add anything else.
Roman turned from the desk and we walked towards the door side by side as I slipped my dark red mask over my head and answered "It might not be as exciting as training with weapons all day, but it's necessary to keep things running."
Roman grunted in agreement as the office doors opened and we walked out of the room. The doors automatically locked behind us after they swung closed.
The two of us made our way through the maze of hallways without having to think about where our feet were going. Since we've been here so many times and helped build the place we knew the facility like the back of our hand.
As we walked towards the back of the large building Danielle silently slid out of the shadows and took her place on my right since Roman was on my left.
Because of how stealthy she is if it were anyone else they wouldn't have noticed her presence even if she was standing right next to them in the dark, but from my years of experience and training I can always tell when she or anyone else is around me.
Danielle's code name is Red Blade due to her obsession with her four famous red knives that she always uses in battle. Her knives are slightly longer than regular knives, but not as long as a sword. They extend from her hip to a few inches above her mid thigh.
Her uniform is a fully black skintight bodysuit with a small dark red belt wrapped around her hips that holds her four precious knives. Knuckle-less black and red gloves covered her hands while knee high heelless black boots concealed her feet.
One more thing that makes Danielle unique is the fact that she's one of the few archers I have. As a result, sometimes when she needs it for a mission or whenever she feels like wearing it she'll have a dark red quiver strapped to her back with a thick strap crossing over her chest. Her bow is specially made to collapse and fit in one of her belt's compartments making it easier to carry and conceal. This way the bow's size wouldn't impede her abilities and she can wear it under her clothes when she's out of uniform.
However, most of the time she doesn't bring her bow and arrows since most of her missions require her to get into small spaces and a quiver that takes up her entire back isn't practical for stealth missions.
Today was a rare occasion where she had it strapped to her back and her collapsible black bow was loosely latched to her right hand.
Her shoulder length black hair with red highlights is tied up in a tight bun with two small strands left out to frame her face. Covering her face from the nose down is a dark red sash that only leaves her eyes visible. The strong material it's made of and the specific way she ties the knot makes it hard to tear or rip off even in a fight so it makes a sufficient mask.
As we walked through the halls I noticed people would momentarily pause whatever they were doing and briefly shift their eyes in our direction as the three of us walked by. Everyone knows that the three of us are a part of the four most important and strongest people in the BlackKnights.
"Are you excited for recruitment day sir?" Red Blade asked as we made our way to the garage where all of the cars, vehicles, and large weapons are stored.
"Always willing to accept new members as long as they contribute to the organization and are loyal to me is a better interpretation of how I'm feeling then saying I'm excited about new recruits," I answered swiftly while moving my eyes to see her covered face.
Roman snorted and gave a small smirk before saying "Well you might not be happy, but I'm sure excited to have some fresh meat to beat the stuffing out of. They're all good when we bring them in, but once they finish training they're unbeatable. Until then the fresh meat will be nice for demonstrations."
Red Blade rolled her eyes as we reached the garage and headed for the cars we were going to use for the night.
"You were always too eager to break the new men before they're even assigned their first mission. Just try not to break four of our men on the first day like you did last time. With everything going on right now we can't afford to purposely harm our own people. Well…harm them much," she replied as she stopped by the motorcycles and turned to Roman with her arms folded across her chest.
"I make no promises. If they're not strong enough to handle training then they don't deserve to be here" the large trainer rebuttled while leaning his beefy arms against the hood of the sleek black car we were going to use.
"He has a point Red Blade, but I do agree that we can't afford to loose anymore valuable assets at this point in time. Not with how close we are to finishing our goal. We need every able-bodied man and woman we can use at 100%," I stated while one of the garage handlers ran over to open my door.
Red Blade lifted her arm and pressed a small button on the side of her bow causing it to collapse into a small rectangular block that was about as big as a small pen. In one fluid motion she slipped the bow into her belt and turned to face her large black motorcycle. If there's one thing Red Blade might love more than her knives it's her motorcycle's.
The only people allowed to ride Danielle's bike are Danielle and I, and God help anyone who tries to break that rule. Even I wouldn't be able to protect them from her wrath if she found out someone rode her bike without permission.
She gracefully swung her left leg over her bike and sat on the soft seat cushions. Her left foot remained planted on the ground as the bike leaned closer to the ground when after she kicked the stand back. She leaned down and arched her back as she wrapped her hands around the handles since the motorcycle is slightly lower to the ground.
"I'm just saying don't break their legs or arms, I didn't say you couldn't give them a few gashes, a broken wrist, or a few bruised ribs. Just make sure they're still able to work despite their injuries instead of not being able to walk," she replied before reeving the engine filling the room with the loud purr of her hand built masterpiece.
Roman grinned before tapping the hood of the car.
"Now that I can agree to," he stated before stepping back and climbing into the driver's seat of the black Lamborghini aventador the two of us were riding in.
Red Blade took off for the exit while I slipped into the passenger side. Once I was fully inside the same person who'd opened my door earlier shut it behind me.
Roman quickly started up the car and followed after Danielle who was already ordering the men to open the garage door. We pulled up beside her as the large door leading to the long tunnel lifted up. When the door was fully raised and the lighted tunnel was clear Danielle turned her head to us and through the car exterior I could hear her say "see you two there" before she slammed on the gas and sped off down the tunnel.
Roman was quick to follow and pressed on the gas coming up on the first major turn in the first five seconds of entering the tunnel. We sped through the tunnel until a small sliding door opened up at the end once we'd passed the motion detector further back letting the door know people were coming out.
We shot out of the door and Danielle swerved on her bike kicking up gravel and dirt as she hit the unpaved dirt road. Roman positioned the car so we weren't directly behind her so gravel and small rocks wouldn't hit us. Danielle led the way as we made our way from the deserted road to a series of back roads that led to our off sight location where we're meeting the new recruits.
We'd been driving for about 15 minutes before finally pulling into the old storage crate site. The large clearing on the outskirts of Gotham was just a bare patch of land except for the hundreds of large storage bins spread out across the dirt. I owned all of these crates under fake company corporations so no one would ever make an unexpected visit to the clearing while we're conducting secret business such as tonight.
The three of us made our way through the storage crates until we reached the middle of the clearing where a large clear space was waiting for us free of any crates. The crates surrounding the clearing were strategically placed to block the inside from any prying eyes on the outside.
As we pulled up I noticed that there was already someone waiting for us in the clearing. Even though the person was covered by shadows and hid themselves well I immediately knew who it was.
Waiting for us in the clearing was Shadow, the fourth and final member of my main group of associates. Red Blade, Roman, Janice, and Shadow create the main leaders in my organization.
Roman parked the car off to the side next to a crate in the back of the clearing and Danielle did the same. I opened the car door and stepped out once the engine was turned off.
I stalked around the car and the two others in my entourage walked behind me as I made my way over to the shadowed figure.
The closer we got the better I was able to see her in full detail. In about thirty seconds we were standing right in front of her and could see her clearly.
Shadow is a young 27-year-old Asian woman. Her thin black hair flows down to her waist and is currently freely flowing down her back with the parts closest to her face pinned back so they wouldn't interfere with her vision. She's of fairly average height being around 5'7 and like Danielle has enough curves to keep men interested, but not extremely voluptuous.
Her costume is completely different from anything the other members wear, even more so than Red Blade's. Black tights that show off her narrow waist and wider hips cover her legs while her chest is covered by a black long sleeved crop top that cuts off just under the bust line leaving a large portion of her stomach revealed. The sleeves of her shirt are tight up until slightly above the wrist where they flare out and the ends drag down a little, kind of like the sleeves on the old medieval dresses, but not as long.
Her black boots go up to a few centimeters above her ankles and have no heels so she doesn't make sound when she walks. Two thin belt like straps cross over her stomach. One end of the strap is attached to the bottom corner of her top and reaches across her stomach so the opposite end hooks onto the opposite corner on the top of her pants creating an x across her stomach.
Most of the time Shadow will wear a hooded cloak that further helps her ability to blend in with the shadows. The cloak envelops her entire body, but doesn't make a sound when she moves no matter how fast she runs.
Now, one of the main reasons Shadow is so different from everyone else in the Black Knights is because she's one of the few that possesses powers. Her powers and intense fighting abilities are usually her go to weapons in battle, but in the case she ever needs a weapon she has a few options
Her most common weapon of choice is her long black bow staff, which is casually gripped in her right hand as we speak. Hooked into the two holsters attached to the top of pants are two small numb chucks. The two arm guards above her wrists have small swords hidden inside that she can bring out with a flick of her wrist. The swords have a small metal handle at the end that she can hold so she can accurately direct where the blades are going without cutting herself.
As for her powers Shadow has the ability to communicate and control animals of any species.
She can communicate with them in two different ways. She can either talk to them directly with spoken words and they speak back or she can talk to them telepathically. To most people the growl of a bear, the squeak of a mouse, or the bark of a dog are just that, animal sounds, but to Shadow they're words and sentences. Instead of hearing animal gibberish she understands what the animals are saying and her mind translates it like they're speaking English. Telepathically, she can reach out and speak to animals with her mind and vice versa. She can also feel their presence and distinguish what type of animal it is without having to see it.
On top of being able to communicate with them Shadow also has the ability to control animals if they don't do what she wants them to do. However, she barely has to use this ability since animals tend to immediately obey her command without being prompted.
Some creatures see her as an animal queen of sorts and want to please her whenever she calls on them. Others sense the power within her and see her as one of the greatest and most powerful animals ever, so in their minds that makes her their master/ superior, even though technically she's not an animal.
She can also upgrade an animal if she touches it by giving it enhanced or superior abilities such as speed, strength, agility, night vision, or causing it to grow bigger than the animals average size.
This leads me to the most peculiar thing about Shadow; her pets that follow her around everywhere she goes and have become her loyal companions.
When we walked up Shadow was leaning against her first two and most trusted guardians, which are two larger than average black panthers, one of each three met a long time ago when Shadow was first discovering her powers on a family camping trip in the forest. When the panthers first found her she was alone and afraid since she got separated from her parents after following a talking bird deep into the jungle. The two panthers immediately created a bond when she touched them.
Ever since then the two panthers have been her best friends and swore to protect her from any harm. In return she used her powers to give them an upgrade causing them to grow large than any other panthers alive.
Shadow's abilities were actually the motivation behind the serum The Brain created to make the animals in India bigger for the Light.
The average panther reaches up to slightly higher than mid thigh, but these panthers reached up to around Shadow's belly button. They are much more powerful than most animals and can run faster than a speeding car.
The panthers are extremely loyal to Shadow and would follow her instructions without hesitation or question. The three look out for and protect one another with every ounce of their being. If Shadow got hurt anywhere other than a training session she willingly signed up for that person wouldn't live long enough to regret it before they were mercilessly shredded to pieces.
These two big cats were her first two pets, but they aren't her only ones. Her other companions came much later after she'd already mastered her powers.
Curled around her arm and loosely wrapped around her shoulders was a Papuan Taipan snake, one of the deadliest snakes in the world. The head was hovering above her shoulder as it stared us down while flicking its forked tongue out every few seconds. Its body wrapped around the back of her neck and down her arm curling around her upper bicep until its tail reached her elbow.
Perched on the shoulder of the male panther was a large black African crowned eagle. African crowned eagles aren't normally fully black, but Shadows upgrade changed the bird's brighter feathers dark. The bird's sharp, strong, and long talons were hanging over the panthers shoulder careful not to harm his comrade with their sharp tips. Its sharp beady eyes followed us wherever we went and if it were standing on the ground it'x head would probably reach up to about mid thigh. When we got closer it expanded its wings showing off its extreme wingspan before folding them back into his side. The panther didn't mind the extra passenger and didn't seem phased by the bird's heavy weight and size.
These four animals complete Shadow's entourage of creatures and have come in handy multiple times on missions. She can call on any animal if she needs to but most of the time she uses these four to help her if needed.
Shadow's currently leaning against the female panther's side while slowly petting the head of her snake affectionately with her right hand. Her male panther with the bird on his shoulder was standing on her other side slightly in front of her in a protective stance despite the fact that he knew we wouldn't hurt her.
"Well isn't it nice of you three to finally show up" Shadow proclaimed so low that it was only slightly above a whisper. A sly grin formed on her face as she said this.
"Always a pleasure to see you too Shadow" Danielle sarcastically commented with a small hint of malice in her voice.
Shadow and Danielle have always been competitive with each other to some extent. They recognize each other as allies and friends, but deep down they've always had a small grudge against each other.
I contribute a large part of the rivalry to the fact that Shadow is technically my second in command. I still handle the main office and plans, but for everything else Shadow is the one people call. She mostly handles the offshore business and foreign affairs.
"I wish I could say the same for you Red Blade, but sadly I cannot" Shadow replied smoothly before shifting her weight and straightening from her panther's side. Her hand lowered from petting her snake and found its way to her hip.
Danielle narrowed her eyes at Shadow and her stance tensed up before her icy glare lost Shadow's and traveled down to the two panthers by her side. Seeing Danielle's heated glare caused the two cats to release a small, but still threatening growl at the girl. The eagle on the panthers shoulder flexed its long talons and stretched its wings a little while the snake on her shoulder loudly hissed and lifted its head so it was hovering by Shadow's nose.
"Erebus, Nyx peace" Shadow whispered to her two panthers gently stroking their heads to calm them down.
"As much as I love a good cat fight, there is work to be done" Roman interjected before the two could further there squabble.
"He's right. The recruits will be here any moment and we cannot allow them to see you two bickering like children. We can't show any dissention among our ranks for others to exploit against us. If you two can't get your act together and act like the professionals I know you are then leave and save me the further headache of having to clean up your mess" I hissed coldly causing both girls to wisely snap their mouths shut, but they still sent each other intense glares out of the corner of their eyes.
I narrowed my eyes at the two and stared them both down making sure they felt the intensity of my glare.
"I said stop, NOW!" I snapped causing both girls to quickly avert their eyes from the other.
Shadow's snake, named Xypher, lowered itself back to its earlier position and her two panthers, Erebus and Nyx, stopped their low growls and took a small step back getting closer to Shadow. Her eagle backed off as well and goes by the name of Calathor.
"Much better, now I know you two aren't particularly fond of one another, but at the moment I could care less. I need you two to get over your issues and focus or so help me I will make sure both of you live to regret it" I growled glancing back and forth between the two females making sure they understood I meant what I said even though I knew they didn't doubt my threat.
I turned to Shadow and looked her straight in the eyes "powers or no powers" I warned before letting my eyes glance down at the wrist watch on my wrist.
It was almost ten, which means the recruits should be arriving at any moment now.
I lowered my voice and clasped my hands behind my back before straightening up.
"Line up, its time" I ordered and the three around me immediately reacted to my command.
Danielle shifted so she was standing on my right with Roman on hers. Shadow and her entourage silently glided over to my left taking her position as my second in command.
Danielle unsheathed two of her holstered knives and gripped them in her hands after twirling them between her fingers for a few seconds. Roman just crossed his arms and for someone of his size that looked intimidating enough.
Shadow held her bow staff in her right hand while leaning against Nyx's side once again.
Just a minute or two after we lined up the first recruit walked out of the shadows and stepped into the clearing
"And let the games begin" I whispered to myself as I watched more and more people fill into the clearing. Most of them hid it well, but beneath their tough exteriors I could tell deep down they felt slight intimidation.
I know seeing all four of us lined up was an intimidating and slightly fearful image for most people, especially with the added animals who glanced around the group like they were searching for their next meal.
This is why I always bring my leaders with me on recruitment day; it intimidates the new recruits and shows them from day one what will happen if they dare to cross us.
Intimidation is power, and in this world power is everything.
Jake's POV
For about the tenth time I checked to make sure I had all the weapons and tools I'd need for tonight. After taking another 5 minutes to mentally assess my inventory and search through my compartments I was finally satisfied that I didn't miss anything.
I grabbed my freshly cleaned and sharped katana's from the bed and slipped them into their respective back holsters. My mask is currently hanging from my hip waiting to be put on, as I once again made sure I had everything I needed.
Today is finally the day I've been waiting for ever since I became BlackBlade and started my mission. Today is recruitment day for the BlackKnights, and more importantly the day I officially get one step closer to the man who killed my family.
I glanced down at the small piece of black paper lying on the middle of my desk. The letter's black background was covered in bold blood red writing from top to bottom. The ends were strained and slightly ripped from me gripping them for hours on end staring at the paper as I counted down the seconds before I went.
The letter was an invitation from the BlackKnights. In the letter it said I was chosen to join for my unique and superior skills. At the bottom I was given a location and a time. It said to meet at a storage clearing outside of Gotham at 10 o clock tonight.
It was now 9:15 and it takes about twenty minutes to get there. I wanted to get to the clearing a little before 10 so I wasn't late and also have enough time to canvas the area before going to the meeting.
I turned away from the letter and looked into my full-length body mirror hanging on the wall. I had my full BlackBlade uniform on except for the mask which was still hanging from my hip. I pulled the mask free from my belt and looked down at it fondly while rubbing my thumbs against the soft material before glancing back up at the mirror.
I stared at myself for about a minute thinking back to when I was a young defenseless kid constantly running from everyone and everything just to survive.
"Now the hunted becomes the hunter," I muttered to myself before slipping the mask over my head completing the BlackBlade uniform.
"It's time" I whispered before turning away from the mirror and walking towards the window on the side of the building facing the alley.
I slide the window open and slipped out without any difficulty. Once I was on the outside ledge I closed the window and activated my self made security system by typing in a code on the keypad hidden behind a brick close to the top of the window. After the security was up and the window locked shut I put the brick back in place and hopped down from the ledge flipping in the air before landing in a crouch on the cold slightly damp floor.
A second later I was on my feet and walking towards my motorcycle. I quickly grabbed it from behind some dumpsters and rolled it out to the street. I swung my leg over and started it up the second I was on. Once it was running I kicked the stand back and blasted out of the alley quickly making the turn towards the various back roads only a handful of people knew.
Once I made it to the storage facility I parked my bike behind one of the storage bins covered in shadows hiding it from view. I snapped the kickstand down and hopped off before pocketing the key. Once my feet were firmly back on the ground I turned to the storage bins and silently made my way towards the center.
As I walked I pulled out a throwing star from my pouch and twirled it in my hand twisting the metal star between my fingers with ease.
Not only did I have the star in my hand to keep my hands occupied, but also to be ready just incase someone happened to attack me while attending this meeting. You can never be too careful when you're dealing with notorious criminals.
I paused for a second when I heard faint voices just a few crates away from where I was standing. I cautiously lurked closer and hid in the darkness before peering around a crate to get a good look at the middle of the clearing.
When I glanced around the crate there was already a handful of people in the clearing. Most were young men and a few women scattered around here and there all dressed in black or dark clothing. Based on their body language I assume that all of them were new recruits like me. However, the four people standing in a line before them were the ones who peeked my interest the most.
Standing in a row before the new recruits was a large man with muscles as big as cannons, a girl dressed in black and red with red knives hanging from her belt, an Asian women dressed in all black with a cloak hanging from her shoulders with a hissing snake, two panthers, and a large eagle positioned next to her, and finally the leader of the group; the one person I hated with all of my being.
Shadow Strike himself.
I suppressed the urge to throw my star directly at his face and bit back my blazing anger. It would do me no good to get rid of him now; that would just result in my death along with his. It was better to wait and take him out after I've learned everything I can about him and his plans. Plus I had to think about Dawn and her safety as well, not just my own. The Black Knights wanted her for something and it was my job to figure out why.
After collecting myself I skirted out from behind the crate and into the open making my presence known. I looked straight ahead and stared at the four leaders showing them I wasn't intimated by their expression of power as I twirled my star in my hand and casually leaned against a nearby crate.
I could tell Shadow Strike was following my movements, but fortunately for me he couldn't see the heated glare I was sending him behind my visor and I made sure to keep the rest of my body relaxed so he couldn't tell. Unlike most of the people around me I didn't give the leaders the satisfaction of making me afraid of them. In fact I gave off an aura of board-ness and impassiveness as I leaned against the crate and stared them down
I could tell my actions and body language caused them to look at me with a mixture of curiosity, slight respect, and a little bit of well hidden frustration that I wasn't affected by their presence.
As more recruits started to file in I took the opportunity to canvas the group and evaluate everyone. Almost everyone had some type of weapon or multiple weapons strapped to their body or hidden beneath their clothes. My training allowed me to tell when people were wearing weapons even when they tried to hide them.
Out of everyone in the group only a few people stood out due to their appearance.
One guy quickly stood out because he was the only one with a quiver strapped to his back. All of his arrows were black and by studying his bow I could tell it was hand crafted and high tech. There were a few small buttons lining the inner side of the bow that I assume were some type of control panel for his special arrows. His bow was about as big as him, but he held it with ease and the weight doesn't seem to bother him at all. I'm guessing he was recruited for this specific talent since I know the Black Knights are in short supply of archers.
Another person who immediately stood out was a young woman who appeared to be around 20 years old. What set her apart from everyone else was her uniform.
Her dark red hair was tied back in a tight bun with no stray hairs poking out. Unlike everyone else her outfit wasn't completely black or bland. Her sleeveless v-neck top was dark purple down the middle with black on the sides that created triangle edges towards the purple. Smooth black tights covered her legs and over the tights was a knee length skirt with slits in the sides. The slits went up almost the entire length of the skirt making it look more like two pieces of fabric covering both sides rather than an actual skirt. The only thing that technically made it a skirt was the small piece of fabric at the top of the skirt holding the two pieces together.
A thin dark purple belt attached to the tip of the skirt decorated her waist keeping the skirt snug around her hips. Comfortable black slippers were her chosen piece of footwear and her hands remained uncovered. Her mask was a lot like Dawn's and only covered her eyes, but instead of being fully black the mask had strips of purple along the edges mixed in with the black.
Her stance was light but firm giving me the impression that she's more of a fast and agile fighter then a brunt and powerful one.
Another thing that caught my interest was that she didn't have any weapons on her. She didn't even have some hidden under her uniform because I checked three times just to make sure I didn't accidentally miss some.
This meant one of two things, either she's one heck of a fighter and doesn't need weapons to fight or she's incredibly stupid and naive.
Now there's a slight possibility that she has powers, but that's a slim probability since the BlackKnights don't usually hire people with powers. People with powers have the potential to be more powerful then you and if you don't have their full loyalty they pose a threat of possibility overthrowing you in the future.
Reluctantly my attention shifted away from the girl when someone at the front of the group cleared their throat.
Everyone's attention immediately turned to the front where the four leaders were standing. From the volume of the voice I would assume it was Shadow Strike that cleared his throat, but I couldn't tell for sure.
After making sure he had everyone's attention Shadow Strike unclasped his hands and placed his hands firmly on his hips.
"Welcome to Recruitment Day lady's and gentlemen. You have all been chosen for your special and uncanny abilities in your respective fields. Some of you are fighters, others assassins, some hackers, engineers, and world-class spies.
Now I'm not going to sugar coat it people, since you decided to accept our invitation these next few days will be the worst few days of your life as you go through standard training. But rest assured that you will come out being the best in the world in whatever field you operate in.
Before we go over positions and stations I have a little test for you. To make this day a little more interesting and to evaluate your skills first hand we're going to have a couple of sparring matches. Even if you are primarily a hacker, an engineer, or any other non-field job you wouldn't have been recruited if you couldn't hold your own in a fight so everyone will participate. When I call your name come to the center of the field and fight whoever I pair you with. The only rule is that you can't kill each other; I don't personally care about your well being, in fact I could care less, but I don't need any of my assets becoming unvaluable on the first day."
After explaining the rules and expectations Shadow Strike called on random pairs to fight in the middle of the clearing; however I knew his decisions weren't random. I could tell he'd put some major thought into these match's to really test people's abilities and creativeness. The two different types of fights he'd have would be pairs of people who are relatively on the same level and have similar weapon choices or pairs of people who have completely opposite skill sets to see who'd come out on top.
As the fights progressed I took mental notes of everyone's performance making sure I filed the knowledge somewhere in my brain for future reference.
Most of the matches weren't very interesting and I didn't fully pay attention to most of them except for the two people I talked about earlier.
The archer, whose code name is apparently Ghost, got paired with a bulkier male assassin whose name is Venom. Venom uses knives and small sharp syringes filled with different substances for different situations in a fight.
When the fight began Ghost evaluated his opponent first and allowed him to make the first move. Venom gladly obliged and ran forward at top speed while grabbing a knife from his belt.
Ghost remained still and motionless until the very last second when Venom lunged forward. He swiftly sidestepped out of Venom's path allowing the man to run right past him. In the time span of a second Ghost loaded his bow, spun, and fired a sharp black arrow at Venom's leg.
Venom saw the attack coming and moved his leg, but not fast enough. The arrow didn't go through his leg like it was intended to, but it did leave a large gash in his left calf slowing him down just enough for the attack to be affective.
Not allowing him to have any time to recuperate Ghost ran forward and used his bow to nail Venom in the gut knocking the wind out of him before flipping it in his hands and whacking Venom in the back of the head successfully knocking him to the ground.
When the assassin hit the ground he was on the verge of unconsciousness and Ghost placed the edge of his bow on the man's neck showing he would have killed him if it weren't against the rules.
Internally I applauded Ghost's performance and ranked him on the top of the list of today's recruits.
Now, even though Ghost's performance was excellent, the girl in purple and black was by far the most interesting and surprising of them all.
When she was called up Shadow Strike thoroughly scanned the rest of the crowd before picking a man close to the back named Bonecrusher. What surprised me the most by this decision was the fact that this guy was the biggest out of all the recruits, thus the reason his codename's Bonecrusher. Size wise he's almost as big as Shadow Strike's weapon's specialist, and looking at him I wouldn't be surprised if he could actually break bones with his bare hands.
Like his opponent he didn't carry any weapons, but with his size and muscle he doesn't really need weapons to take someone down.
Bonecrusher rumbled with laughter as he pushed his way to the center bumping people much smaller than him out of his way. He blazed a path through the crowd before finally facing the girl he was chosen to fight.
"Are you sure you want to pair me up with her? I don't wanna break her on the first day," he asked smugly while staring at Shadow Strike.
I narrowed my eyes at the overconfident man and folded my arms across my chest. From the very beginning this guy sent me all kinds of bad vibes and I immediately didn't like him. His overconfidence and condescending tone just made my dislike for him grow.
"I don't make decisions I'm not sure of Bonecrusher. You fight who I tell you to fight no questions asked" Shadow Strike answered sharply not liking the fact that someone was questioning his call.
That statement struck all kinds of alarm bells in my mind. So far Shadow Strike hasn't given anyone a match where there seems to be a clear winner because of superior ability. Most of the matches have been evenly matched even if they specialize in different fields.
Shadow Strike's methodical; he doesn't make mistakes or suddenly change a good strategy unless he has to. This must mean that the girl is much more than what she appears to be, and Shadow Strike knows more about what she's capable of then we do.
I watched intently as the girl unfolded her arms from their previous position of being crossed over her chest. She placed one hand on her right hip and let the other hang by her side while raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.
"Are you gonna continue to stand there like a big beefy idiot and talk a whole bunch of smack you can't back up or are you going to shut up and fight me so I can defeat you and move on with my night. I don't like it when people waste my time and I know this might sound shocking to you, but I do have better things to do then making fools out of people like you" the girl responded calmly causing her opponent to growl under his breath.
He cracked his knuckles and twisted his neck releasing loud pops as his limbs loosened up.
"Now you're asking for it. I was going to go slightly easy on you before, but not anymore" the guy snarled as he planted his feet firmly on the ground.
"Then bring it" the girl fired back as she let both of her arms fall to her side and shifted her feet so they were shoulder width apart.
I quickly noticed that her stance wasn't defensive or offensive and from her earlier stance I could tell she's a skilled fighter so her choice of stance right before a fight confused me.
However, the reason for her stance was quickly explained after Shadow Strike yelled begin.
The second the match started the girl's face split into a large sinister grin and her hands by her hips opened up so her palms were facing Bonecrusher. He tilted his head to the side confused by her course of action before his eyes widened when he saw what happened next.
When her palms were fully open thick black smoke started to swirl and slither around the area like long withering snakes. The smoke rapidly billowed out of her hands and quickly created a large smoke ring around the two fighters.
Finally realizing that this girl wasn't as much of a weakling as he originally thought Bonecrusher rushed forward hoping to subdue her before she could use her powers against him. He rushed through the smoke and clenched his hand into a fist before going for the punch, but it never reached its target. Just before his fist hit the girl's face she stepped into the cloud of smoke and disappeared into the dark fog.
Bonecrusher turned in a circle and whipped his head around trying to look through the black smoke for the girl, but to no avail. The black cloud was too thick and you couldn't see anything in it.
Suddenly the guy punched to his left thinking he'd heard her feet moving, but unfortunately for him hit nothing but air. That was the last thing we saw him do before the cloud of black smoke closed off and completely shielded the two from view.
"Why don't you come out and fight me head on like a man. This just shows how much of a coward you really are 'cause you don't want to fight me," Bonecrusher yelled from inside the dark bubble.
From the outside we couldn't see what was going on inside the bubble of swirling smoke. I stared at the cloud trying to make out any movements, but couldn't find any. If it were me fighting against the girl I wouldn't be doing what Bonecrusher is probably doing at this point in time.
He's relying solely on his sight to try and find the girl in the dark, but that's not the way to go about this fight. What you really need to do is give up your eyesight and rely on your other senses entirely. When your eyes are open and trying to see in the dark you get distracted, and that's why this tactic is so brilliant for the girl in purple. She can use her darkness to distract her opponent before going in for the attack.
A few seconds after Bonecrusher's outburst the girl finally responded, but for some reason her voice seemed like it was amplified so it sounded like it was coming from everywhere in the cloud and not one specific spot. Because of this I couldn't tell where she was by retracing where her voice came from. This also meant her opponent couldn't either.
"First off I'm a women so of course I'm not going to fight like a man, I'm going to fight like a women; which means I'm going to fight smart.
You want to know what the universal fault in big, strong, men like you is? It's that you never see the full picture, you only see what's on the surface and not what's underneath. If someone's smaller or doesn't have as much muscle as you then you automatically start to believe that they're not as good as you and let your ego get in the way. This brings your awareness level down because you're not anticipating a real and strenuous fight. But when your opponent starts to show signs that just because they're not bigger in size or muscle mass doesn't mean they can't fight it's already too late to recover from your initial lack of awareness. This is why I like being underestimated; because the second you underestimate me is the second you sign your own defeat in stone," she taunted before I heard a series of grunts, punches, kicks, and yells.
And just as fast as it appeared the cloud of smoke was sucked into the middle of the bubble until the girl and her opponent were back in view. The smoke went back into the girl's palm and disappeared into her body leaving no trace that it ever existed.
When the smoke was cleared and everyone could once again see what was happening I couldn't suppress the small smirk that crossed my lips behind my mask as I saw Bonecrusher lying on the floor unconscious with the girl standing over him.
She turned to Shadow Strike and gave him a small bow before casually stepping over her defeated opponent and back to her previous position in the crowd. As she walked through the mass of people some tried to discreetly shift away from her, which I wasn't surprised by.
Most people don't have a problem being in a group of highly skilled assassins and criminals if they're all relatively on the same level, but throw in someone with a few superpowers and the whole dynamic of the group changes.
"Impressive, nicely done Lady Smoke" Shadow Strike praised as the girl, who I now know is named Lady Smoke, turned back to face the front of the clearing
Knowing Shadow Strike he's probably just happy to have another super powered human in his organization, especially one as talented as Lady Smoke.
By the time Lady Smoke reached her spot everyone had moved away from her area of the clearing except for me. There was a small empty circle around her that was about a few centimeters wide clearly separating her from everyone else.
I noticed she turned to me slightly surprised that I was still standing next to her even after her display of power. She raised an eyebrow and even though she couldn't see mine we locked eyes for a second, as she looked me up and down trying to figure me out. Everyone else around her was slightly afraid of her powers, but not me and by not moving away from her I was showing her that.
I mean come on you have to give me some credit. I have a sister who has multiple different powerful powers on top of possessing one of the most powerful ancient powers in the world. I've also met her friends and some of the most powerful hero's in the world. A girl with the ability to create thick black smoke and fight doesn't scare me at all compared to all of that.
Of course she doesn't know that, so I'll let her continue to wonder why I'm not afraid of her.
"Now last but definitely not least, BlackBlade please step forward" Shadow Strike ordered and since I was one of the two people left who hadn't fought some people turned their eyes to me. I hid the smirk that wanted to form as I saw some people's eyes widen upon hearing my name. Most people have only heard of me through my reputation and stories, but very few other than the members of the Light have actually seen me in person. I'm known as one of the best around, but was more like a legend then an actual person; until now.
I silently pushed off of the crate I'd been leaning against and walked over to Shadow Strike. I continued to twirl the throwing star in my hand as I walked forward and stopped a few feet away from the line of leaders.
I stared at Shadow Strike and for the first time I took into account that I was in reaching distance from the infamous leader of the BlackKnights. I snapped my eyes shut and looked forward clearing my mind as I took a silent breath to calm my nerves.
I knew I had to win this fight not only for myself, but to show everyone my skills. I'm not dumb I know that this is a test to see whom Shadow Strike will allow close to him. He's not going to allow inferior people close to him, but if you show him you deserve the right to be by his side you'll be given a high position in his ranks.
A high position for me means closer access to Shadow Strike and more opportunities to take him down.
I only opened my eyes once Shadow Strike called my opponent up.
"Slash, please step forward," Shadow Strike ordered and this was when I decided to open my eyes.
I turned my head to get a good look at the person I'd be fighting and raised an eyebrow when I saw whom it was. Slash was another person that peeked my interest when I first canvased the group before the fights.
Slash was a man around my height who seemed to be a few years older than me. His build was close to mine and his uniform was a fully black body suit with high combat boots that reached his mid calf's.
A band of small knives with black handles hung from his waist and clutched in his gloved right hand was an impressive sword. Its width was about three times the size of my katanas, but lengthwise isn't as long. The sword was fully black with small strange grey symbols etched along the edges of the metal.
Slash sheathed his sword on his back wanting to start off without his large weapon so he could move swift and sure-footed before pulling out the heavy artillery.
By quickly assessing him with my eyes I came to the conclusion that we're close in skill and similar in weapon choice so we both know how to wield a blade. However, even though he had a few years on me I would bet anything that my training was slightly more strenuous than his so I was pretty sure I could defeat him.
All throughout this process I continued to twirl my star and I'd continue to do so until the very last second. It was my trademark and most of the time it unnerved my opponents by making them think I wasn't paying them any attention or didn't think they were worthy of my time. This strategy would usually make people angry which makes them predictable and easy to defeat since their mind's clouded, but this man didn't fall for my trick.
I gave Slash a greeting nod acknowledging his presence and he did the same to me.
The second Shadow Strike yelled begin we started circling each other. I analyzed his foot movement and waited for him to make the first move. Eventually he got tired of circling me and sprang forward for the attack.
He went for a quick jab, but I quickly dodged his attack and moved to grab his arm as it sailed past my head, but he quickly twisted out of my reach before I could get a firm grip. He then crouched down and spun trying to trip me up, but I jumped up before he could reach me. While in the air I kicked to the side hitting his shoulder causing him to stumble back a few steps. I took this opportunity to grab another throwing star from my pouch and throw it at him while he stumbled back, but even as he regained his footing he didn't let that faze him. He dodged both stars by turning to either side just before the stars could hit him.
After regaining his balance he grabbed two knives from his belt and spun them in his hands before gripping them firmly while running towards me once again. He gracefully swung for my chest and I instinctually brought up my hand to knock his wrist away before the knife could penetrate my skin. He brought his other hand forward and continued to slash at me with his blades. I managed to block or dodge all of his advances while simultaneously creating some distance between us when he started to spin with his swings adding power to his movements.
At one point when he swung for my arm I grabbed his wrist successfully restraining him for a split second. I used that time to hit certain spots on and around his wrist to make him loosen his grip on his knife. Once this happened I quickly twisted my hand around his wrist and grabbed the knife as it dropped from his hand before using my free arm to block his other arm and elbow him in the face to push him back. After hearing a distinct cracking sound I jumped back and prepared for another attack.
He ignored the pain from his blood gushing nose and his eyes blazed with fury for two different reasons. He didn't like being disarmed during a fight and he definitely didn't like me possessing one of his weapons to use against him.
He quickly reached for the sword strapped to his back and unsheathed it without difficulty. As he reached for his sword I threw his knife and a few throwing stars at him hoping to hit an opening, but he was expecting that.
As the stars spun towards him he brought his sword up and hit most of them away like a bat hitting a ball except for the last one. The last star was aimed for his upper chest and since it was coming towards him head on at such a high speed he calculated where it would go and did something I didn't expect him to do.
He waited and swung down on the star in-between two of its points creating the star shape and with the right amount of speed and force he was able to break the throwing star in the air.
I narrowed my eyes at him as I saw my star fall to the ground in multiple pieces. I know this might sound a little foolish, but my stars were special to me and not once has anyone managed to break them due to the strong metal they're made of. Most people just see their weapons as tools they can use in battle, but to me my stars and katana's are an extension of myself and seeing one of them shattered filled me with blazing fury.
Now internally I know this was a one time thing since everyone knew Slash couldn't do that again and it was pretty much all luck that he managed to hit the star in the right spot to break it in the first place, but I still didn't like it. And the confident smirk he was sporting filled me with even more anger. If he knew what he'd just unleashed he wouldn't be smiling.
"All right you want to pull out the big guns, let me introduce you to mine," I hissed lowly speaking for the first time since I got here while reaching for my katana's with new energy.
Just like me Slash decided to throw his small knives at me while I reached for my swords, but I wasn't fazed. I quickly brought up my swords and without blinking an eye I knocked all 10 knives thrown my way away from me without moving more than my arms. For the last knife I even performed a special trick my mentor taught me just before I left.
I lifted my sword under the knife as it came for me and lifted it up tilting the knife upwards. I then kept the blade of my sword on the knife guiding it in a u-turn away from me and back towards were it originated from before quickly bringing my other sword forward and hitting the butt of the knife so it went flying back towards its master.
Not expecting the attack Slash barely moved in time to dodge his own weapon coming back for him. I then raced forward with my swords close to the ground so I could go faster before jumping up when I was close enough. I brought up my swords from the ground and slashed at the man, but he brought his sword up to block my attack at the last second.
For a while we went back and forth attacking and blocking each other's advances. Sparks flew and the sound of blades clashing resounded throughout the clearing. As we continued to fight Slash's movements began to slow down slightly as he started to get tired. After seeing an opening I moved to disarm him.
When he made a thrust for my side I brought up my katana and blocked his attack while sliding my blade against his. Once my blade was close to the middle of his I tilted my blade downward so the tip went under his sword before pulling my arm up. This resulted in his sword flying out of his hand before he could re establish his grip leaving him defenseless for a few seconds.
Before he could grab a knife from his belt I brought up my leg and kicked him in the stomach causing him to hunch over before delivering a roundhouse kick to his cheek. The kick sent him stumbling to the left so his back turned to face me.
Once his back was facing my chest I came up behind him and crossed my blades across his neck in an x formation pressing the blades against his skin forcing him to stand up straight and not hunch over anymore. The blades were so tight that they started to draw a small trickle of blood from his neck, but not enough to actually kill him.
Slash immediately stopped moving so he wouldn't get his head chopped off and the clearing plunged back into silence as I stood there with my blades against his neck in a universal kill formation.
I leaned forward and whispered in his ear "don't mess with my stars, ever again or I might not stop myself from finishing this motion" I threatened before retracting my katana's from his neck and stepping away.
As I walked away from Slash I sheathed my swords and went around the clearing gathering the few stars I'd thrown during the fight from the ground before walking back towards the middle of the clearing to face the line of BlackKnight leaders.
I glanced from face to face and gaged all of their expressions. The large weapon's specialist had a large grin on his face and under his breath I heard him say with amusement "well he's going to be fun having around for training."
Red Blade was giving me a calculating glance, but I could tell her body language was slightly different then when I first started. Before she looked at everyone here like they were all below her, but after my performance she had a slightly less cocky stance and I could tell she appreciated and acknowledged my skill.
The girl with all the animals around her remained stoic and impassive so I couldn't read her thoughts through her facial expressions like the others.
My attention was brought back to Shadow Strike when he started speaking.
"Impressive. I can see that the reports of your abilities and talents weren't exaggerated BlackBlade."
I nodded in thanks and smirked inside for winning my match. Like always I immediately pulled out one of my throwing stars and started flipping it back and forth between my fingers.
Slash and I stepped back as Shadow Strike started to address the entire group once again.
"Well I've gathered all the info I needed. Immediately after the conclusion of this meeting you'll all be sent coordinates for the location of tomorrow's training session and placement assignments. We have no tolerance for tardiness so don't be late unless you want to be punished on your first day, and trust me when I say our form of punishment is never fun."
Then he finally said the seven words I've been waiting to hear ever since I figured out who killed my family.
"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the BlackKnights!"
And BlackBlade has officially infiltrated the BlackKnights! This chapter was more of a plot and character development chapter and focused on the things that have been going on unrelated to the team. I liked writing about the BlackKnights and absolutely loved writing from BlackBlade's point of view. He's one of my favorite characters in the story and is always fun to write.
But really its more about what you guys thought about the chapter then what I think, so what did you think? Did you like the new characters such as Shadow, Lady Smoke, and Ghost? Let me know what you think and please review!