Kirk cleared his throat. "Do you know who Earth's ruler is now?"
"We know almost nothing about him, except for his name … Slade."
Sarek gestured and the only known image of Earth's ruler appeared on the screen. Of course his face was obscured by a mask, so there was truly no way of being certain it was him. However …
Raven gasped. "No, it can't be. No way."
The other Titans were all speechless, though their astonished faces said everything. Sarek remain unperturbed.
"We have thought for years on Vulcan that Slade was a fabrication, a fiction, especially since he wears a mask. That he is symbolic seemed obvious, but by your reaction it appears that you know him. Am I correct in assuming that he is also centuries old? How is this possible?" Sarek asked.
"He has his own Lazarus Pit. There is no other explanation. " Starfire remarked.
Sarek shook his head. "There are other possibilities, though they are highly improbable. He could be a clone. Or maybe he is another individual impersonating him; perhaps one of the Augments has assumed his identity and hides behind the mask. Perhaps like you he has travelled through time. And if you don't mind explaining, what is a Lazarus Pit?"
"It's the fountain of youth." Gar quickly interjected.
"Yes, we are familiar with the Terran legend. It is nothing more than superstition."
Damian frowned. "I have seen a Lazarus Pit and what it can do. They are quite real, Mr. Sarek. How do you think my grandfather has lived for so long? "
Sarek gave Damian a condescending look. "And I assume this 'Lazarus Pit' is also magical in nature?"
Damian glared at the Vulcan ambassador.
"We don't know how it works, just that it does."
Sarek again shook his head. "This is nonsense. I doubt this 'Slade' individual even existed in your time. He is clearly a legend and nothing more."
Victor glared at Sarek. "Listen, man, we've fought with him, in person, many times. We know him well. Believe me, he's real."
Spock cleared his throat. "I have met Slade myself. He is an imposing individual, even more so than Khan ever was."
Sarek remained unconvinced. Kirk spoke up.
"One thing we do know is that Earth is ruled by augments and they are led by whoever this Slade is. This will make our gathering more information difficult. We are going to need to infiltrate Earth to find out what changed so we can return to the past and stop it. The question is how can we infiltrate Earth? The Enterprise is no doubt a better ship than anything Earth possesses now, but we can't approach Earth undetected. If only we had a cloaking device."
"One step at a time, Captain. First we must bring this to the attention of the Vulcan High Council. Perhaps you can persuade them to help you, Mr. Kirk."
"How long will that take?"
"I do not know, but I will arrange for a meeting so you can make your case. In the meantime you are welcome to stay at my family estate on Vulcan. I assume Spock is familiar with it."
"I am, as I was raised there. The estate has been in the family's possession for almost 1000 Vulcan years."
-(-)-
The tell tale sound of the Enterprise's transporters hummed as the Titans, Kirk and Spock beamed down, materializing in front of an impressive metal gate.
"I apologize, but we cannot beam directly into the estate, as it is protected by an energy field. We are concerned about Romulan spy infiltration. I will have the gate opened." Sarek announced. "Also, Vulcan's atmosphere is thinner than Terra's, I advise you to not over exert yourselves."
It was clear that the large metal gate, which was at least 15 feet tall was the only way into the compound, which was surrounded by an even taller wall. The gate silently opened and Sarek ushered his guests in. An elderly Vulcan woman awaited them.
"This is T'Bal. She is the governess who supervises the operation of the estate. She will show you to your rooms. I need to contact the High Council to request an audience with them. I should be gone no longer than one of your Terran hours. Spock is familiar with the compound; perhaps he will be kind enough to give you a tour."
Sarek walked away and was gone. T'Bal cast a wary eye at her guests.
"So, you are Terrans?"
"I am Tamaranian." Starfire replied.
"Yes, you are. And so is your daughter, though I can tell she is not fully of your race." She glanced at the Logans. "I was unaware that there are gray and green Terrans."
"We are somewhat unique." Arella replied.
"Yes, the ambassador mentioned that you are magicians, prestidigitators, illusionists."
Gar was about to tell T'Bal that she was wrong, but remained silent when he felt Raven's hand on his forearm.
"Rooms have been prepared for you. Please follow me."
She lead them from the main courtyard into the building, down a long hallway with large windows which provided an unobstructed view of a second court yard, where several younger looking Vulcans appeared to be practicing some sort of Vulcan martial art. Kirk stopped to look.
"Memories, Captain?" Spock asked him.
"You mean when you nearly killed me?" Kirk replied with a smirk. Damian and Dick also stopped to watch two young men spar.
"What do you think?" Damian asked his father in law.
"Not very effective technique, though Vulcans are very strong. You?"
Damian crossed his arms. "I could take any of them."
The others overheard his remark.
"Need I remind you that the air is thin on Vulcan." Spock interjected.
"I've trained in the Himalayas."
"They are still much stronger than you are."
"Irrelevant." Wayne replied.
T'Bal approached Damian. "I can arrange a sparring session, if you wish."
Damian shrugged. "Sure. When?"
"They are completing their session. Now would be a good time."
"I'm game."
Mar'i sighed before speaking to her mother. "I really love him, but he can be so obsessed about this."
"We have to accept our husbands for who they are." Star replied.
-(-)-
There was a set of benches along the edge of the court yard, and T'Bal gestured for the visitors to have a seat, after which she lead Damian to speak with the instructor. Wayne and the Vulcan master had a brief exchange, after which he addressed those seated.
"Mr. Wayne has assured me that he is not a Terran augment, so he will spar with my newest and least proficient pupil, Sulal."
The Vulcan pupils were seated on the other side of the courtyard and the master gestured. A young male rose and walked up to his master, who spoke with him in private, and whispered.
"Do not harm the Terran, but keep the session as short as possible."
"Yes, master."
Kirk looked amused. He has read Damian's dossier, which only reported that he was the son of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Of course he now knew that Damian was the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul, whoever he was. He turned to his first officer.
"Spock, is this a good idea? The Vulcan is going to wipe the floor with him."
"Mr. Wayne's father was the Batman."
Kirk almost burst out laughing. "The Batman? Come on Spock, he's a fictional legend, a character that children are told about so they will stay in their beds and sleep. He's a bogeyman."
"I have met the Batman."
Kirk did a double take. "That wasn't in your report."
"And for good reason. Starfleet would have rejected my entire report had I included him in it."
Kirk chuckled. "Fine, so he was real, how is that relevant?"
The Batman was an extraordinary human specimen. He could no doubt go toe to toe with any augment. Damian was trained by both his father and his grandfather. He is more than up to the task."
Kirk shook his head. "This I have to see."
Back in the center of the courtyard the master announced that the sparring session was to begin. Two other students shook racks of small bells to announce the match had started. Damien bowed to Sulal and adopted a ready stance.
"Why do you bow?" Sulal asked.
"It's a sign of respect to a sparring partner. Are you ready to begin?"
"I am." Sulal replied as he lunged with super human speed at Damian. To his surprise Damian dropped and with a kick swept Sulal off his feet. Damian rose quickly. Sulal rose more slowly.
"You are fast Terran, but you will see that I am faster."
Sulal attacked again, this time with lightning fast jabs. To his dismay the Terran was able to easily parry his attack. Sulal intensified his strikes, but Damian effortlessly deflected them.
"Wayne hasn't struck back yet." Kirk murmured.
"Wait for it." Mar'i whispered back. And as she predicted it happened. The other Vulcan students stared in disbelief as Wayne returned a volley of kicks and punches. Sulal attempted to parry the attack, but failed. Within moments he was knocked out cold. Damian turned to the Vulcan master.
"You were right, he isn't very good. How about someone better?"
Gar chuckled. "This isn't fair; they have no idea of who he is."
"Shhh, I'm watching this." Raven replied.
The Vulcan master remained blank faced, but Damian could see some subtle signs, such as the way he clenched his hand that he had struck a nerve.
"As you wish. You may spar with my top student, Sepel. Hopefully you will find him more challenging."
The Vulcan master gestured again, and another student rose from the bench. He was taller and more muscular than Sulal.
"OK, this guy looks like he poses a real threat." Nightwing remarked.
Sepel grabbed two staffs and tossed one to Damian, who after catching it he performed a small kata with it, before returning to the attention stance. Once again, he bowed to his opponent.
"I see you can handle a staff, Terran. Now we will see how well you do it."
Sepel spun his staff and lunged at Damian, who repelled his initial attack. Sepel then feinted an attack to Damian's torso, but actually went for his legs. The attack was lightning fast and while Damian dodged the strike with a jump, the strike did catch the edge of one of his heels, sending him spinning. To every Vulcan's surprise he landed on his feet and parried a strike that was meant to finish him off.
"Not bad, Mr. Sepel, not bad at all. Now let me show you how it's done."
"Spock, are you sure Wayne isn't an augment?" Kirk asked.
"I assure you, he is not."
Damian stuck several times with his staff. Sepel was barely able to block his strikes and was steadily stepping back, away from the attack. Wayne paused, panting as he eyed Sepel. The Vulcan knew that Terrans had difficulty breathing Vulcan's thin air and decided he would take advantage of the Terran's sudden fatigue. He lunged at Wayne and struck at his head. Damien dropped his staff and caught Sepel's weapon with both hands. He rotated his body, and the sudden move caught Sepel off balance. The Vulcan fell to the ground and Damien wrestled his staff away from him, after which he aimed the end of the weapon at Sepel's face.
"Do you submit?" Damian asked. Tthe threat was clear. Give up or be knocked out, painfully.
"I submit." Sepel deadpanned. Damian offered him a hand to help him get back on his feet.
"You fight well, Terran."
"I had the best teachers." Damian replied.