[04th March 2011]
[Workshop Area, Mount Justice, Happy Harbour, Rhode Island, United States of America]
'Katana's' weapon was a work of art. A rather horrifying one in my senses, but still a work of craftsmanship superior to most of the things I'd seen on Earth. That was the funny part really; most of the magical gear in this dimension was dross, yet there were always these works of supreme skill that popped up like the Ace of Winchesters and now this enchanted necromantic katana. Soultaker was its name, and I could feel the souls it had taken with its power over the length of its existence. Honestly it was the sort of weapon that would have put an automatic Kill Order on the wielder in quite a number of dimensions due to its unholy and horrific nature.
"Thank you for letting me study it, it is very impressive weapon" I told her as I stepped away after she'd held the weapon out in front of her so I could inspect it. She nodded politely as she sheathed the weapon once more, the ominous energy of the negative planes vanishing. A stoic person as best I could tell, tragedy at work having turned a bubbly and cheerful girl in the calm and weary aura before me as best I could tell from the reports I'd read. Still she smiled now, faintly, a little amused perhaps despite the faint sadness tingeing the smile, having adopted that sword over back stance I found so awkward; as show with her sheathing it was hard to pull off.
"Strange. It make many with magic uneasy"
I shrugged in response to her bemused tone. Zatanna had certainly found it so, having retreated to the other side of the workshop to talk to, rather closely, Robin. Maria though was interested, albeit standing a little distance away with Gemma, and her terrible Daddy, due to instructions to stay away from the magical soul eating murder sword. Thankfully she, and Gemma, were mad at John Constantine rather than little old me because he'd told them what I'd been thinking of saying, as unlike Zatara's daughter they were interested in such darker spell-working the same as me.
"Eh, I can guess why, but it's interesting as well. I help craft my own weapons after all, so it's always useful to see the works of those superior in skill from the past"
"Ah, are you sword-master yes?"
I shook my head with a smile, resting my back against the work table behind me "Heh, no, not really. I can swing a blade competently, usually with a shield, but I'm no blade-master as you are I'm afraid. Though I suspect you'll get to trash in me in a few spars in the future"
Another faint smile "I look forward. It will be honour"
"Heh, to beating me up?" I replied with a chuckle "...far too many look forward to doing that for my liking let me tell you. Anyway, enjoying your tour of the facility? Happy with your decision to join I hope?"
"Hai" she answered with a polite nod "See it, may I?"
"Ooh, ooh, come'on John! Let's see the shiny sword!" Gemma intoned cheerfully, coming over with an suddenly faintly nervous Maria who folded her arms across her chest, making a huffing noise as she spoke.
"How bout' we don' rite?"
I shrugged, pushing off the table, then turning around to my workbench "Okay, Okay, give me a moment, I was planning on doing some work on it later anyway"
There was a big going on in the Middle East, against Tiamat...and thank the heavens it wasn't the Tiamat I'd feared it was when I'd first heard...and I was not involved thankfully. I was in the Reserve, and on leave, and Nabu seemed certain they had the firepower available between the Justice League and various military forces deployed. Not to mention the alien smurf Bobble-heads, and their equally crazy kinfolk apparently wandering in space above the planet. Robin was whining about it, loudly, earlier on, as he wanted to be out there throwing things at the terrible monster rampaging through the desert.
So I, along with Robin earlier, had got to play tour guide to our newest member as the others gathered upstairs to either spar or just relax in the suddenly alive feeling place. There were even actual staff here now, armed ones in several cases, to help guard the place and to help teach communication support and other paperwork oriented things to those joining up blind. Mean Robin was never out of costume now, despite staff being security checked and sworn to secrecy, but that was just a price to pay...as my near dying had shown the facility to be not exactly safe till then anyway.
Opening up the spell locked storage box on above the workbench I drew out the sheathed blade resting within, along with a few other things, and closed the storage as I placed the bladed on the table. Maria didn't like it of course, since she'd seen me use it and the thing was very much anti-demon and anti-undead in its basic orientation. The sheath was pitch black with silver trim, and marked with equally silver marked runes and symbols of magic, same as the hilt which I'd planned to work on later on. Like 'Katana's' Soultaker it contained, and hid, the power of the blade itself.
"It is...Silver?" Katana queried as I unsheathed the celtic longsword, though it had a lenghted hand and a half grip "Metal, is not best"
I nodded as fully drew the blade out, shimmering silver with runes in black and gold across the length of the blade itself "Hmm, Hmm, indeed. Part of the actual spell-work is ensuring its durability and sustain sharpness despite it being a soft metal not ideally suited for combat...it's just too useful not to use, considering several beings are naturally vulnerable to it. So the base was making it durable, and then the other spells are built from there with some divine and fire based spells. Still working on improving it really...though I'm more of range fighter to be entirely honest"
Not that I wasn't trained heavily in hand to hand, or couldn't fight as a sword wielding fighter, but I didn't train enough at it to match someone like this who'd dedicated themselves to it like Katana, Robin, or Huntress. Well, if I fought fair at least, but I'd only do something like that in a spar, or I was absolutely forced too by lacking access to spells to cheat with. Something that I was going to get trained into Zatanna along with the help of Artemis, and my two merry Constantine blooded apprentices as well; at least something other than the dirty fighting John would teach them.
Honestly Maria, assuming she inherited a standard demonic heritage, would likely be able to generate claws so hand to hand with her shouldn't be too hard to train. It'd be the 'Not Killing' part that would be most hard to get right there. She of course hovered away from me till the blade was sheathed, then she came over as her father was called away [to his relief it looked like] and Gemma moved over to talk to Zatanna and Robin along with Katana. Idly I wondered where Jinx had wandered off to in the meantime, though if I had to guess it was off with Kid Flash, before glancing at the blonde haired demon girl looking at me.
"Yes I'll make your own sword at some stage. When we get permission anyway, your barely started probation, so you'll get a enchanted mace canister is all for self-defence right now"
"Awwww"
I gave her a firm look, touching on the familiar bond 'Hey, don't start. You're lucky not to be in lockdown, and I'm already in the bad books giving the leeway I have'
'Of course Master, I obey' the thought was too automatic, too tinged with fear and submission for my liking. I placed my hand on her shoulder, ignoring the flinch and surge of fear "I'm not your grandfather or mother Maria. So, relax"
The oscillating between terrified obedience and arrogant self-assurance was a problem. I was definitely making sure to get her a therapist, and make sure I sat in on the sessions to stop her mind controlling them, as between being a Constantine and her screwed-up upbringing the girl was a murderous time bomb if left untrained and not properly socialised. For now though I called Gemma back over and allowed the two of them, with Zatanna hovering in the background, to watch and 'help' me go about updating the spell wards on the blade by removing the hilt and inserting a prepared gemstone...
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[04th March 2011]
[Burnley, Gotham City, New Jersey, United States of America]
His city was struggling, suffering, and there was only so much he could as one crisis after another hammered away at its foundations. What was worse; outsiders stuck their nose where it didn't below, meta-humans, magicians, all bringing their troubles to his home. For now he had accepted their help, along with that of the Army, in dealing with these problems of vampires and other creatures that had invaded Gotham; even down to tolerating the criminals like Monaghan and the Cobblepot in their little fiefdoms.
For now at least, when the time came he would once again purge the corruption attempting to take root her just he had done with GCPD when this all began. First though; he watched his prey move over the rooftops, wearing a cap but not masked, and barely any armour over a simple t-shirt, jacket and jeans. One of the other unwelcome 'Hunters' that had appeared in Gotham, but this one had caused a major problem by all accounts he had been presented with so he moved to deal with it.
Feet moved, hand moving and making use the grappling-hook pistol to 'fly' from one side of the street to the other. For a few moments he was in flight, black cloak flapping around him as the distance between himself and his quarry. Silent, but not silent enough it seemed as she spun in place, good ears really, and a crossbow was lowered in his direction as the grapple returned to its place in the pistol just seconds before his feet impacted the rooftop...
Thwanggggg
...he pressed forward despite the faint sound of a crossbow bolt been shot, his body angling to the right as his left arm moved up to deflect with the blades of his gauntlet. The right reattached the grappling pistol to his utility belt even as the silver tipped wooden bolt shattered off the hardened steel of his gauntlet's blades, booted feet moving forward to close the remaining gap in mere moments. His target, Tig Rafealson for sure as he noted her face and matched it to photographs he'd been shown, discarded her crossbow as her eyes showed her realisation there was no time to reload it.
The kick was fast, good training, but he'd seen better and easily swatted it away. Unfortunately she used the block to kick herself away from him, hand flashing inside her jack and to her back to grab and an axe in one hand, and a stake in the other. Used to fighting faster than human enemies he guessed, moving with her to block the axe swing before she had any time to get her footing and put some force behind the attack. Instead he grabbed the hilt with his right hand, then driving his knee into the girl's stomach to stagger her; to his mild surprise she took it, grunting in pain but not having the breath driven out of her as expected.
Her other hand stabbed towards him with the stake. Fast, but not fast enough as he tore the axe out of the other hand, flinging it away as he blocked the attempted strike with the wooden stake. Axe gone his right hand was free again, allowing him to grasp the wrist of the hand that held the axe; another knee to the stomach, harder, and this time she gasped. Twisting one arm up and back he kicked the legs out from under her as she cried out in pain, grabbing the other wrist he soon had them cuffed together behind her back as she cursed at him with some rather filthy insults. Clearly she thought he was a vampire, but that was for later, and he managed to silence with a spray that after he'd bound her ankles so he could carry her back to a secure location and get some answers...
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