Chapter 3:
–Titus–
"Hey there, junior! You look strong. Let's fight!" Hawkwoman said the moment I stepped out of the teleporter and onto the Watchtower for the first time.
"Okay," I shrugged casually.
Diana sighed next to me. "Really, Shayera? What is it with you and challenging everyone the second you meet them?"
"It's a Thanagarian thing," Shayera said, her wings spreading behind her in a dramatic display. "Your handsome son doesn't seem to mind, anyway. I want to see what he's made of." She winked at me, clearly excited for a fight.
"Fine, just make sure to take it easy," Diana warned, crossing her arms.
"I will," Hawkwoman smirked.
"I wasn't talking to you, Shayera," Diana added, before throwing me a wink of her own.
It was still early morning in America, which meant most of the Justice League members were still asleep. The Watchtower was quiet, with only a few of us up and about.
Hawkwoman led us down a couple hallways.
Welcome to our training room, Diana explained when we arrived at our destination. "It was built with the strongest metal Batman could buy and enchanted by Zatanna to contain even our most destructive powers. You don't have to worry about damaging the rest of the space station as long as you keep the fight to this room, Titus."
"That sounds good to me." I finally had a chance to see what I could really do.
As soon as we stepped inside and the door closed behind us, Shayera wasted no time and attacked immediately. She grabbed her Nth metal mace from her hip, and it crackled with electricity. "Let's see how tough you are compared to your parents!" Her eyes gleamed with excitement. I knew that Nth metal could hurt just about anyone, even people as strong as me. With a powerful flap of her wings, she blurred toward me, way faster than I expected. The information I had about her in my mind was clearly severely lacking. Her mace came swinging at my head at hundreds of miles per hour. A normal human would have had no chance to dodge!
But I wasn't a normal person. I was the Son of Wonder Woman…and Superman I guess.
Shayera's blow still wasn't fast enough to catch me off guard. I took a single step back, dodging her swing with ease. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized how completely her surprise attack had failed. While she was off-balance, I stepped forward, into her guard, and threw a punch straight into her stomach. It was a solid hit, but I made sure to still hold myself back. I didn't know how durable a Thenagarian was compared to Kryptonian or Demigoddess.
The impact of my punch sent Shayera flying backwards over fifty feet. She only managed to avoid crashing into the walls by spreading her wings wide at the last second. She landed on the metal floor on one knee, barely looking like she had just avoided puking. Clutching her stomach, Shayera grinned at me. "Damn, junior. You sure know how to throw a punch! That's what I'm talking about!" She didn't seem upset in the least bit about getting hit. If anything, she looked even more excited to continue.
I felt something stir inside my chest as well. I realized that I was grinning at the prospect of a potential challenge. I knew she wouldn't be able to actually beat me, but with her weapon, she could still land some solid blows.
"Of course he can throw a punch! He's MY son, after all," Diana said proudly from the sidelines. "Do you give up, Shayera?"
Those seemed to be the wrong words to say. "Not a fucking chance!" With a determined flap of her wings, she blitzed toward me again!
"That's not going to work," I said, easily dodging her swing again by stepping back at the last second. But then I realized—this time, it was a feint. Shayera let go of her mace at the last moment, sending it flying toward me.
I barely had time to raise my arms before the mace slammed into them. Genuine pain shot through me for the first time in this life. The Nth metal bypassed most of my natural defenses, rattling my bones with each impact. The electricity running through it didn't help either, sending spasms through my muscles. As I struggled to regain control of my body, Shayera took full advantage, throwing a punch at my face with all her strength. My head snapped back, and I realized that my invulnerability needed a few seconds to recover after being disrupted by her mace.
I hadn't expected that.
She didn't let up. Blow after blow rained down on me, her fists hitting hard, each punch designed to hurt, to debilitate. For someone who primarily fought with a weapon, this woman sure knew how to use her fists!
"Come on, Junior! Show me what you've got!" Shayera taunted, her eyes gleaming as she wound up for another strike to my face.
My body had recovered! I gritted my teeth and slammed my head forward, driving it straight into Shayera's nose. A loud crack echoed through the sealed sparring room as her head snapped back. Blood ran down her face, but the grin never left her lips.
"That's more like it!" she laughed, wiping the blood from her nose with the back of her hand. Without missing a beat, she held out her arm. Her discarded mace flew from the ground and landed perfectly in her outstretched hand. "That was a pretty decent warm up. Now I'll show you what I can really do."
My eyes widened in surprise as Shayera's wings crackled with the same electrical energy as her mace. What was this ability? It had never been documented before.
Then she blurred!
For a split second, I thought I was fighting a speedster. She was moving at least five times faster than before, her mace swinging at me from every angle, relentless and wild.
I had no choice but to up my speed as well. My arms blurred as they started shooting out to block each of her strikes. The force of her blows numbed my hands, but now that I knew what to expect from her mace, I wasn't getting fully stunned anymore. I deflected her swings one after another, matching her speed and staying just ahead of all of her attacks.
Sonic booms echoed through the room as we sparred, the air between us crackling with energy. Shayera seemed determined to land a solid hit, but I wasn't going to make it easy for her. I continued blocking, waiting for her to wear herself out. Whatever technique she was using to draw power from her Nth metal, it didn't seem like she had mastered it yet.
Sure enough, after about thirty seconds, her speed started to wane. In that time, she had swung her mace hundreds of times, each one with the intent to knock me out cold. But I kept up, staying just a step ahead, deflecting and dodging.
Finally, I saw my chance.
Shayera gritted her teeth and brought her mace overhead with the last of her strength, aiming for a knockout blow. Both my hands shot up, grabbing the handle before it could connect. The weapon immediately retaliated, shocking me with even more electricity, but I didn't let go.
"Dammit!" Shayera hissed, realizing she couldn't win in a contest of pure strength.
With a sharp yank, I ripped the mace from her grip and tossed it across the room. Before she could summon it back, I tackled her to the ground, pinning her arms above her head with one hand. My other hand wrapped gently but firmly around her throat, applying just enough pressure to get my point across.
"Do you give up?" I asked, locking eyes with her.
She panted erratically beneath me, her body tense for a moment before she smirked despite the blood still dripping from her nose. "You win this round…Titus," she chuckled, saying my actual name for the first time. "That was a good fight, we should do this again sometime soon," she said.
I let go of Shayera's arms and stood up, offering her a hand. "Anytime," I said.
"Aw, I wouldn't have minded having you on top of me a little bit longer," she teased shamelessly, accepting my help to her feet.
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Shayera was incredibly beautiful, with her long red hair and piercing green eyes. Add in those magnificent white wings, and it was impossible not to be flustered.
"Shayera..." Diana's voice cut in as she approached, her expression half amused, half exasperated. "Are you really flirting with my son right in front of me?"
Shayera just smirked, entirely unbothered by Diana's glare. "What can I say? He's an absolute hunk. Plus, he beat me while I was going all out. That's a very big turn-on for a Thanagarian woman." She turned to me and bluntly asked, "So, Titus, are you seeing anyone currently…?"
"He's been alive for less than two days!" Diana cut in. "When would he have had time to meet any girls?" she asked in disbelief.
Technically, I had met one girl already…
The girl I saved with Diana, Stephanie, actually slipped her phone number in my back pocket when she kissed my cheek before running off. I might have even considered calling her, but I didn't want to be like my father. He was dating a regular mortal woman despite being an unaging Kryptonian. His relationship was bound to end in heartbreak, either from Lois Lane dying of old age, or one of Superman's enemies getting to her first.
"You don't need to answer for him, Diana," Shayera said, her teasing tone still present. "Unless you're jealous and trying to keep him all to yourself. I've read up on the ancient gods since I arrived on Earth. I know the Greeks liked to keep it in the family."
To my shock, Diana blushed with her usual composure cracking as she sputtered, "Th–that has not been my intent at all! I simply want to spend time with my son!"
"Sure, sure…" Shayera's tone implied she didn't believe Diana at all. She walked across the room and picked up her mace. "I'm gonna head to the medical bay and get my nose fixed up."
"Do you want me to walk you there?" I asked Shayera, not missing the pout Diana was giving me. I was just trying to be polite…I was the one who broke Shayera's nose in the first place.
Shayera smirked at me. "Sure." She waited for me at the door to catch up with her.
"Meet me in the control room when you're done, Titus. Diana called out to me. "I'm going to start the process of getting you registered as a member of the league with Batman."
…Crack!
"Son of a bitch!" Shayera exclaimed, wincing as she snapped her nose back into place. I handed her a towel to wipe the blood from her face. "Thanks, Titus," she said, starting to clean herself off.
I used my X-ray vision to make sure her nose had set properly. To my surprise, the cartilage was already healing back together. "I didn't know Thanagarians had such fast healing," I commented.
"We usually don't," Shayera replied, tossing the bloody towel into a nearby trash can. "The Nth metal in my mace gives me a bunch of powers. Rapid regeneration is one of them. I can even restore lost limbs if given enough time. Don't ask how I found that one out…" She trailed off, a distant look crossing her face.
I was curious, but I didn't want to push. "How have you been enjoying Earth so far?" I asked, deciding to shift the topic.
Shayera chuckled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Have you even done anything fun yet?"
"I had pizza with Diana yesterday," I told her. "It tasted amazing! Although the drink Diana ordered wasn't very good. I could taste all the chemicals…" I recalled with a small shudder.
Shayera laughed. "Pizza is definitely one of the best parts of Earth! Thanagar's food is all bland military rations—nothing like the delicious cuisines available on Earth."
She began telling me more about her home planet, Thanagar. It was an interstellar empire, highly militaristic, where citizens were bred for war. They prided themselves on being the greatest race in the galaxy, constantly seeking out planets and species to conquer. Shayera admitted that, at first, she believed in the cause—until the endless cycle of violence wore her down. She eventually abandoned her post, fleeing into the stars in search of a different life.
By chance, her ship stumbled upon Earth. After months of secretly observing humanity and learning about our culture and language, she decided to reveal herself as Hawkwoman and debuted as a superhero. Diana later invited her to join the Justice League once Hawkwoman started becoming more famous–which didn't exactly take that long considering she was basically a sexy warrior Angel.
"There is so much porn of me on the internet…" Shayera shuddered. "My fanboys are relentless…"
I was impressed by her story, despite her leaving out some of the obviously grittier details. "Sounds like you've been through a lot," I commented.
Shayera shrugged. "We all have. That's why we do what we do, right?" She looked at me. "What about you, Titus? Why do you want to be a hero?"
"I want to be like Diana," I said without hesitation.
Shayera raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Not like Kal-El?"
"Nah, he was an asshole the first time I met him. I don't need his approval. Besides, I'm stronger than him already," I said, folding my arms smugly.
Shayera smirked at my confidence. "That remains to be seen. How much were you holding back when we fought?"
"...A fair bit," I admitted. Shayera had been impressive, especially once she used her Nth metal to enhance her speed, but I could've ended the fight much sooner if I'd wanted to. "I was matching your speed on purpose."
Shayera chuckled, shaking her head. "Looks like I'll need to step up my training then." Her sly grin returned as she stepped closer until we were almost face-to-face. Leaning in, she whispered in my ear, "You did offer to join me before. Still interested? We could spend some time together... one on one, getting all hot and sweaty. What do you say?"
I swallowed hard, caught off guard by her flirtatiousness. Dealing with women was turning out to be a lot more complicated than I had anticipated.
"I'm happy to spar with you anytime," I managed, trying to keep my cool. "As for the other stuff… I'll have to get back to you on that."
Shayera backed away with a satisfied smile. "Sounds good to me! Let's head to the control room and meet up with your mother. If we take too long, she'll come looking for us, thinking I took advantage of her precious son."
I followed her out of the infirmary, grateful for the shift in conversation. As we walked, I asked her about the control room. Shayera explained that it housed a supercomputer with dedicated servers monitoring Earth around the clock. Any major crime or disaster would trigger an alert, immediately notifying heroes on the ground or in the Watchtower.
"So it's basically like the nerve center of the Justice League?" I asked.
"Exactly," Shayera replied. "Nothing happens on Earth without us knowing about it. Usually, we have at least one hero monitoring for trouble at all times. That tends to be the Martian Manhunter more often than not."
We hopped in an elevator and rode it up a couple of floors. When we stepped off, we arrived at our destination. I found Diana standing with Batman next to the biggest computer I'd ever seen. They weren't the only ones in the room though. The room was packed with other members of the Justice League. Everyone was busy staring at one of the monitors. It looked like a massive super volcano was in the process of erupting in Canada. The fallout would be enormous unless it was immediately stopped.
Diana noticed my arrival and smiled despite the tense situation. "Welcome, Titus!" Everyone's attention focused on me, but only for a brief few seconds.
That attention was interrupted when Batman started barking orders to all the heroes in the room! "Superman and Flash will be primarily in charge of evacuating the nearby town before the volcanic ash reaches it. That ash is 800 degrees and will boil people alive in less than a second. You two need to hurry."
I didn't miss the glare Superman sent my way before he and Flash moved to the nearest teleporter pad. It looked like someone was very unhappy to see me again so soon…
Well, fuck him and his approval. I'd already told Shayera I didn't want it anymore anyways.
Once they had vanished, Batman turned to me. "Titus… I have an important job for you. I'm going to need you to collapse the volcano. Just keep smashing the inside of it until it crumbles in on itself."
"I can do that," I told him.
"I'll help him!" A beautiful blonde girl zipped over towards me from the other side of the room. "Hi there, second cousin! I'm Kara!" she definitely had the bubbly blonde vibe going on. "I've been waiting to meet you ever since I found out that you exist!" I recognized her from Diana's description. She had nothing but good things to say about Kara…other than the fact that this girl tends to cause a lot of collateral damage. That didn't seem like it would be a problem here. We were trying to cause as much damage as possible after all.
"It's nice to meet you too, Kara. I'm Titus. Would you like to come and destroy a volcano with me?" That was a strange sentence to be sure, but I supposed this was going to be my life now.
Kara grinned brightly. "Absolutely! I've been waiting for something like this! Let's go!" She grabbed my arm, practically dragging me toward the teleporter.
Before I could fully process everything, we were standing on the teleporter pad, surrounded by the familiar blue glow as the Watchtower's system prepared to send us down to Earth. I barely had time to look back and catch Shayera giving me a thumbs-up before we vanished.
The sensation of teleportation was quick, and within moments, we were standing near the base of the erupting volcano. The ground trembled beneath us, and I could see the immense plume of smoke and ash billowing into the sky. Lava was already pouring down the sides, and the roar of the earth splitting open was deafening.
"Let's do this!" Kara exclaimed. She immediately blasted into the skies towards the center of all the commotion. She flew right into the heart of the mountain with no hesitation. I immediately followed after her. "Ok then… let's…" Kara paused for a second and gaped at me. "Titus!? Why are you naked!?" Kara squeaked, covering her face with her hands. I could tell she was still peeking at me through the gaps in her fingers. Her face was bright red, and it wasn't from the heat.
"Did you not notice that I don't have a costume yet? I was just wearing regular clothes. They immediately turned into charcoal when we flew in here…"
XXX
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Current Advanced Chapters:
The Fallen Gamer ch 285-289
The Blood Queen ch 6
The Titan ch 5
The Blood Queen ch 5
The Fox Hole ch 9
The Supe Devil ch 6
The Titan ch 4
The Blood Queen ch 4
The Fox Hole ch 8
The Blood Queen ch 3
The Supe Devil ch 5