I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.
Tested
Cassius knelt before the throne, as he had been warned to. The man before him, leader of the League of Shadows, regarded him in silence, one finger tapping the arm of his throne. Finally, he raised a hand and waved it.
Instantly, a gunshot rang out and pain seared through Cassius from his chest, followed by cold. It spread through him slowly, turning his veins to ice as he slumped to the ground. He watched the life slowly bleed out through the hole in his chest, but he couldn't move. It had hit his spine. He was paralized. He was going to die. He let his eyes slide closed. Oh well. It didn't make that much difference. He wasn't exactly losing much.
A face flashed behind his eyes. Blonde hair. Shining blue eyes. A content smile. Suddenly, he felt something filling him. A cold feeling, entirely different than before. It squeezed his chest like a vice, blocking out the exhausexhaustion and pain entirely. Fear. He was afraid, but not of dying. What was it? What scared him? And who was the face?
His eyes snapped open as his body switched to instinct, shoving itself up as black goo erupted from his chest, sealing the wound before two massive spikes of it burst out of his back, stabbing at Cain and Lady Shiva, both of whom avoided them. Then, the spikes restracted as Cassius spun toward them, goo covering his arms. He couldn't die. Not yet.
He shot forward, spreading goo from his left hand into a shield, blocking Cain's bullets before using the shield to knock the gun aside and drilled a punch into Cain's chest, hurling him. Then, he spun, right arm deflecting Lady Shiva's sword only for her to spin, dropping to one knee and slashing him across the stomach. Goo instantly shot out of the opposite edges of the wound, connecting and stitching the wouwound closed before goo coated his leg and foot and he slammed a kick into her gut, hurling her away.
Several gunshots went off behind him but goo protected him this time before he spun, right arm extending into a massive curved blade, slashing at Cain, only for him to drop under it. As he lunged at Cain, Lady Shiva stepped in front of him, stabbing him, only for his hands to clasp on his right and club her in the head, sending her flying.
Cain raised his gun again but a long spike of goo shot out of the goo around Cassius's right arm, drilling itself through the gun's barrel and smashing it, pieces of metal and bullets scattering across the ground. Cassius stepped forward, but as he through a punch, Cain stepped forward, duckinng under it then standing and drilling his own fist into Cassius's jaw. Cassius staggered away, only for a fist to impact with his gut. Then a foot his his jaw and he spun. Cain drove a knife into his back and used it to drag him backward, before ripping it out and slamming an elbow into his nose. Then' he drove the knife into Cassius's abdomen. Goo wrapped around tbe knife's hilt instantly so Cain released it, uppercutting Cassius's chin. The, he grabbed Cassius by the head and yanked him down into a leaping knee, sending him staggering backward onto Lady Shiva's sword. She knstantly slashed out through his side and stepped out of the way before Cain drilled a knee into Cassius's abdomen, then jumped and spun, slamming his other foot into his face, hurling him away. As Cassius landed, Cain ripped the knife out and pulled it back to drive it into Cassius's face.
"Stop," the man in the throne said, watching as Cassius's wounds slowly mended themselves, though Cassius only groaned weakly, head spinning and entire body feeling a thousand pounds. "That is quite enough. He needs time to get a proper grip on his powers, but we can use this one. Cain, you will train him. For the time being. Once you've decided he has learned all he can from you, send him to Deathstroke. I believe Deathstroke will find a good use for him.
"As you wish, Lord Ra's al Ghul," Cain bowed, Lady Shiva doing the same.
Cain lifted Cassius onto his shoulder and carried him out of the room.
Cassius ducked under Cain's fist and stood, drilling his own into Cain's jaw, sending him staggering backward. Cain nodded approvingly, but as Cassius threw his following strike, caught the punch at the rist and yanked Cassius forward before releasing the arm and driving his elbow into Cassius's face, flipping him backward. Cassius groaned, holding his hands to his nose.
"Don't drop your guard, even for a second," Cain said. "Always assume the enemy is about to kill you. Even if his brains are running across the floor, expect him to get up and fight you again at any moment."
Cassius nodded just before his nose reset itself. He shouted in pain, clutching his face again before standing.
"Again!"
Cassius watched the target walk down the street. Three days, the exact same schedule. Predictable. Sloppy. Beginner level. Morning run around the city, breakfast at the cafe, work in an office building for seven hours, cafe on the way home, evening run, bed. All paths taken are through alleyways, all meals are beside picture windows, office cubicle is beside the window. Easy.
The target stepped into an alleyway and Cassius dropped behind him. The moment he landed, he grabbed the man's head, goo encasing both his own hand and the man's head for several minutes before the man went limp. He retracted the goo and set the man's body against the wall of the alleyway and walked out into the nearly deserted street, walking away. Then, the world around him froze and faded to black. When he opened his eyes, he was lying on a table, Cain standing over him.
"Passable," Cain said. "But for higher difficulty missions, you're going to have to be faster."
Cassius nodded. "I understand."
"Good," Cain nodded. "Time to spar."
Cassius nodded and followed him out of the room.
Cassius watched as Cain sighted in, adjusting his scope. Then, after a moment, he squeezed off a shot, placing it just off-center of the target a thousand meters ahead of them. Cassius lay down behind his own rifle and sighted in, adjusting as necessary before placing his own shot just outside the bull's eye to the right.
"Don't jerk the trigger," Cain said.
Cassius fired again, hitting just above the bull's eye.
"Breathing control," Cain said.
Cassius fired again. Just to the left.
"Muscling," Cain said. "Again."
Cassius watched as Cain walked into the room. He awaited his assignment in silence, as he had learned to over the last few months he'd been training. Cain was a brutal teacher. In their fights, he didn't hesitate to wound. If not for Cassius's powers, he'd be long dead. But it had payed off. Cassius was a cold, efficient machine now. Capable even of facing Cain on level ground without his powers.
"You've got your first assignment," Cain said, holding out a folder. "Kill her. Do not be seen."
Cassius opened the folder and stopped. The face. The same he had seen the day he was tested. Cassius's brow furrowed.
"Who is she?" Cassius asked, only for Cain's fist to crash into his jaw.
Cain landed several more blows before stopping. "Do not question my orders. Complete your assignment."
Cassius wiped some blood from his broken nose and bowed, grimacing as it reset itself before walking out of the room. He followed the hallways to Cain's personal stealth jet he was allowed to take for the assignment, giving the pilot the coordinates, then walked to the bathroom. He stared in the mirror as his head throbbed. It had started shortly after seeing her face, and it was rapidly growing unbearable. He stared at his reflection. He was pale, sweating, and his dark brown hair clung to his forehead, reaching almost to his eyebrows on top, then shaved on the sides, like Cain's. His once light brown eyes had darkened over time to black, and the sclaera around the irises was bloodshot. He sighed, sitting down on the toilet and cradling his head in his hands as images began to assault him.
A white house, a blue SUV, the face, two children. A horrible thought occured to him. What if this was his family? What if this was his wife? He shook his head. Do not question the order. Cain's first rule.
More images assaulted him. A wedding. Chasing the children along a beach. He swallowed hard. It wasn't him. He wasn't anyone. He was a Shadow. He didn't need a past. But then, hadn't that been his reason for becoming a shadow in the first place?
A knock on the door jarred him from his thoughts. "Five minutes."
He took a deep breath. Maybe this was good. Maybe she could tell him who he was. Maybe she could tell him who the girl on the island had been. Maybe she could tell him what to do next.
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