Chapter 2

Ends justify the means

A crowd cheered and clapped as lights illuminated the stage where a man dressed in a suit sat behind a desk.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm Greg Jab and this is Late Night Jabs" Greg introduced himself and his talk show, "Tonight we have a very special guest. He's one of the most intelligent men in the world, the owner of a multi billion dollar company, and the first superhero since Captain America. I'd like to welcome genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Tony Stark!"

The audience cheered and clapped as Tony came out, waving with a charming smile before sitting down. He wore black dress pants, a black blazer and a white dress shirt underneath where a small circle faintly glowed in the center of his chest.

"It's a pleasure to have you here Tony" Greg said genuinely.

"The pleasure's all mine" Tony said with a cocky grin.

"It's so nice to finally get a sit down with the Iron Man himself" Greg said excitingly.

Tony chuckled, "Perhaps I should have worn my other suit"

The audience laughed.

Greg laughed as well, "Oh man, if you had came out here as Iron Man I would have totally geeked out"

Tony raised an eyebrow in amusement, "If this isn't you geeking out then I'm concerned you might turn into a crazed school girl" he joked.

Greg laughed, "You better have those signed autographs handy"

They shared a laugh.

"So, to the good stuff. What's it like? Being Iron Man that is" Greg asked with the outmost curiosity.

Tony looked troubled for a moment, he carefully chose his words, "I don't think I'll ever have to worry about being robbed" he joked.

Greg chuckled lightly.

"No but seriously, it's an honor to be a part of maintaining world peace" Tony honestly said, "Within the boundaries that Shield has given me"

"And we thank you for it, you're like a modern day Captain America" Greg complimented him.

"But with a much cooler outfit" Tony pointed out.

Greg laughed lightly, "Definitely. What about all these other enhanced groups and individuals that have been popping up? They're just coming out of the woodworks" he joked.

Tony pretended to be oblivious, even though he thoroughly researched all these people, "Who exactly are you talking about?"

"Oh well you got the guy with the hammer, that Spiderman Jameson is always going after, Reed Richards and his crew that were exposed to that spacial anomaly, and those teenagers in California that call themselves the New Warriors" he listed the ones he was aware of, "I'm waiting for the day that there's super-heroines in tight spandex" he joked.

"My friend, the day that happens, is the day that I have to start looking to settle down" Tony joked.

They both shared a laugh.

"All jokes aside though, that's a lot to keep up with" Greg admitted, "How do you think everyone is going to handle all these newcomers?"

Tony stroked his signature goatee, "I think that the world is changing, probably faster than we anticipated, and I can understand how that can be scary. Enhanced individuals are becoming more common, meaning that it will eventually be an issue that we can no longer ignore. Some may even try to use their abilities for malicious intent…but I believe, as long as there are heroes around to inspire hope, the world will adjust"

Dean tapped his phone screen and paused the video he was watching, 'If this summer has taught me anything, it's that the world is a big place and it needs heroes to keep it safe'

As the talk show host pointed out, there are a few teams and individuals that have already surfaced and are in the public's eye. At some point Dean will have to follow their lead and make a name for himself, but only when he feels he's ready.

Dean decided to go visit his home away from home and see if his friends had returned.

He walked towards the gate and stretched out.

Not too far from there, someone was crouched on a hill that overlooked the institute.

Kratos stared intently at his brother. For the last 4 months the thought of defeating Dean has consumed him. He's used his rage to fuel his desire to improve.

While his brother has been off doing who knows what Kratos has been training non-stop and has even completed a few of his father's Challenges.

Dean turned the dial on his gravity belt to 6x and adjusted to the new weight, since he was completely used to 5x he had to increase it.

Kratos looked skeptical, he didn't look out of shape, quite the opposite, he seemed as if he had been training. But then why couldn't he sense anything coming from him?

'Did you actually learn anything? Or were you on vacation getting sloppy?' Kratos thought.

A light breeze came downwind and passed by Dean. He sniffed the air and turned around to gaze at the hill up ahead, no one was there.

Dean relaxed, he could have sworn he smelled a familiar scent for a moment, must have been nothing.

Lightning began to crackle around Dean before he took off in a burst of speed that the average eye couldn't see.

Kratos peaked his head out from behind the hill and lost sight of his brother, "I'll be seeing you soon"

At the Hideout

Dean stopped in front of the warehouse.

He closed his eyes for a moment and sensed his surroundings.

'Yeah they're here alright' Dean thought as he stepped inside.

All the orphans and runaways greeted him joyfully as he entered.

"How's it going everyone, hope you've been good while I was away" Dean said as he made his way through the crowd of teens.

Dean entered the room where he and his friends had their little tournament, and where they fought Gorgeous George before that. When they left it was completely wrecked. Massive holes, cracks, blood stains everywhere, it was a mess. Now it was repaired, completely covered in workout mats.

Tim and Lily were currently sparring.

Tim ducked under a roundhouse kick, dodged two punches, and then threw a side kick.

Lily blocked the kick and went for a leg sweep.

Tim backfliped over the sweep then blocked a right hook.

Lily caught his fist with her left and punched with her right.

Tim did the same thing and caught her fist, they tugged back and forth testing each other.

They both smirked like they were playing a game.

Dean raised an eyebrow, they're getting comfortable.

The two finally noticed they had an audience and they awkwardly backed away from each other.

Dean found that odd, 'Looks like they're not comfortable showing it yet' "Hope I'm not interrupting"

"Just some friendly sparring" Tim said as he went over and gave him a bro hug, "Looking forward to some with you"

Dean chuckled, "Soon" he then hugged Lily.

Lily looked skeptical, "I didn't sense you approach, how far did you get in your training?"

Dean shrugged, "I learned enough" he said cryptically.

Billy blurred into Dean and gave him a tight hug, "Buddy!"

Dean laughed, "Nice to see you too"

"Let's go do something! How bout we go to the beach and outdo those grease monkeys at pull-ups and pick up some chicks?!" Billy asked practically bouncing from all his energy.

Dean was the only one that could deeply connect with Billy and his fast paced life.

Billy lived his life on the run. Moving on to the next venture any time he got bored, escaping any attachments, preventing any possible commitments, and altogether outrunning the problems of his past.

It took someone almost as fast as he was to catch up and help him slow down. Someone who knew what it was like to run away from a troubled past and how futile it is.

"One of these days we definitely will, I still have to catch up with you guys" Dean pointed out, "Where's Jon?"

"Oh he's outside pumping some iron" Billy said.

"I'll go see how he's doing" Dean said as he went to walk out.

"Uh, you better be careful" Tim pointed out.

"Yeah, he's been in a weird mood since he got back" Lily agreed.

Dean shrugged and kept going.

Billy smirked, 'Oh I gotta see this' he hurried behind Dean.

They made their way outside where Jon's makeshift gym was located.

Jon laid flat on the ground as he bench pressed an old truck.

Dean looked impressed, that truck had to weigh around 8-10 tons.

"Hey Jony boy, look who's back!" Billy said.

Jon stopped what he was doing and dropped the truck behind him making a tremor in the ground.

Dean watched as Jon got on his feet and slowly walked over to him. Jon was always taller than the rest of the group but he was also more on the skinny side.

Now he had become incredibly muscular, so much that he had stretch marks all over him from his sudden growth. Every step he took made a tiny thud, and as he got closer his figure became more imposing.

"Well, your master must have put you through one hell of a workout" Dean joked, "How've you been buddy?"

Jon spat on the ground, looked down at him and snarled unassumingly.

Dean raised an eyebrow, what's up with him? He looks pissed off.

Billy looked excited, for who knows what reason.

"Hey I don't know what's bugging you but—"

Dean was interrupted by Jon punching him in the chest.

He flew back and crashed right through multiple trees before skidding in the dirt.

Jon slowly walked towards Dean with purpose, "You owe me a rematch"

Dean got on his feet and brushed his shoulders off with a smirk, "Not how I wanted my first day back to go" he turned the dial on his gravity belt to 0 "But this'll be a good chance to see where we stand" lightning crackled around him and he entered his stance.

Billy smiled and moved to a safe distance.

Jon slowly walked towards him, waiting to see what he would do.

Dean stood perfectly still and fixed his gaze on him.

Jon's eyes narrowed, 'Why's he just standing there?'

Dean stood his ground as the son of Ares walked up to him.

Jon looked disappointed, "I think you've gone soft these past couple months"

Dean shrugged, "Opinions vary"

Jon threw a right punch.

Dean used his left hand to deflect it and simultaneously punched him in the face with his right in one swift motion.

Jon took a step back, how did he…

As he stepped back Dean slid his foot behind his and struck him with an electrified palm to the chest.

Jon lost his balance and fell on his back with enough force to make a small tremor.

Dean then grabbed his leg and swung him around, smashing him into several trees, before tossing him farther into the woods.

Jon bounced and tumbled across the ground until he skidded to a halt creating a mini crater.

Dean stepped forward, never dropping his guard.

Jon got back on his feet, covered in scrapes, bruises, and a ton of dirt. He clenched his fists as he laid eyes on his opponent.

Dean stepped into an isolated space that didn't have any trees in it but was surrounded by them, it would be difficult to escape an attack in that space.

Jon charged furiously, every step he took sent little tremors through the ground.

Dean patiently waited until Jon entered the isolated space. He then swung his electrified foot into the ground, kicking up a huge pile of dirt.

Jon was a few feet away as the flying dirt covered his entire field of vision. Regardless, he stayed his course and swung a heavy right hook that went right through the dirt and hit nothing but air.

Dean snuck up behind him and shoved him into a tree with a thick pointy branch.

The branch pierced Jon's chest, not too deep.

Dean then charged his right hand with as much lightning as he could before he hit Jon on the back of his neck with a karate chop.

There was a crunching sound before Jon went flying forward.

Dean again carefully approached, 'It wasn't a clean break but he's definitely damaged'

Jon slowly got back up losing his balance ever so slightly every few seconds.

"You're probably noticing that your body is feeling strange" Dean said as he walked right up to him, "I damaged your cervical vertebrae, it's messing with your equilibrium"

Jon swung wildly but his attacks were sloppy and nowhere near their mark.

Dean dodged with ease before striking him a few dozen times with electrified punches, "I told you before man, an angry mind is a narrow mind"

Jon reached out to grab him but Dean backed away letting him trip and fall to one knee.

Dean knelt down, "Are you satisfied now?"

Jon smirked and whispered, "Almost"

Dean raised an eyebrow as he saw a clear aura envelop Jon's arms and fists, 'Oh no'

Jon threw a well aimed punch that would have taken Dean's head off had he not blocked with his gauntlet.

The gauntlet absorbed the impact of the attack but the shockwave it created sent Dean flying back at an incredible speed. He crashed through several trees without any sign of slowing down.

Dean quickly turned the dial on his belt to 10x, increasing his weight and almost instantly coming to a halt.

Jon got back up and ran at him.

Dean turned the dial back to 0 and spotted his opponent charging, 'Damn, his neck is already recovered. And the more power I show off the more battle crazed he'll get'

Jon pulled back his right hand, preparing for a powerful attack.

A thought popped into Dean's head, 'Maybe a show of force is not what he needs' he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

Jon punched with his right as he entered his opponent's range.

Dean raised his right arm with an open palm. His hand was engulfed in a thick clear aura.

Dean's hand caught Jon's fist, the impact created a shockwave that echoed through the forest. However both stood their ground and didn't move an inch.

Billy's jaw dropped.

Jon snapped out his battle craze as he realized that his full powered punch did nothing. He backed away, "Wow…that was impressive" he said with a tiny smirk, "You gotta teach me how to do that"

"Sure, why don't we head inside? It's been a while since we were all together" Dean proposed.

Jon nodded, "Yeah, let's have some drinks!" He said with excitement as he and Billy went inside.

As soon as they were out of sight Dean held his aching hand, "FUCK!" He shouted, "Holy shit that hurt!" He shook it around to ease the pain and swelling.

They all sat around the table in the green room in a cloud of smoke.

"Oh man I've missed this" Billy said as he brought the joint to his lips and inhaled. He accidentally coughed some smoke out, "Shit"

"So" Tim rubbed his hands together with excitement, "I think it's time we all shared our experience"

"Yeah, it seems the two of you were in a hurry to show off" Lily said to Dean and Jon.

Dean shrugged, that wasn't his choice.

Jon smirked as he spat out a glob of tobacco juice, "I wanted to see where we stood"

"Out of all of us, regardless of how much we learned, Jon you've physically changed the most" Tim admitted.

Jon nodded, "It was a lot of hard work"

A few months ago in Texas, the cloudless sky left the unyielding sun to beat on Jon's head.

Jon walked along the empty road for miles.

'If I see one more god damn corn field…' Jon thought in frustration, that's literally all he's seen for days.

Then a little farther down the road he saw a path that led to a farm which he followed.

Jon looked around but couldn't find anyone, 'Don't see anyone, but this is supposed to be the place'

Then he felt tiny tremors in the ground. Jon looked in their general direction and saw a tiny man holding up a truck in each hand that was full of hay.

Jon stared at the tiny man in disbelief.

He dropped the trucks as soon as he saw Jon and walked over to him, "I wasn't expecting any guests"

Jon scratched his head in confusion, "Uh yeah, Chiron sent me"

The man looked skeptical, "He did huh? If that old horse wants me to come back then he can forget it" he started unloading the trucks.

Jon helped him unload, "He sent me here to learn from you not to bring you back"

He stopped and stared at Jon for a moment, "You must be pretty special for him to send you to me"

"I'm the muscle of my group, so I'm looking to increase my strength any way I can. And it seems like that's your expertise" Jon deduced.

The man chuckled, "That's putting it lightly. But if you wanna learn to channel your inner power like that I can teach you how"

"It took a bunch of beatings, a lot of boring training, but eventually I learned how to channel my power, not perfectly but at least I learned. Also in order for my body to handle the strain of the power I strengthened my body, which is why I'm so much bigger" Jon explained.

"Makes sense Chiron would send you to someone like that" Lily said.

"What about you?" Tim asked her.

"My master had a very different skill set" Lily said.

A few months ago, Lily made her way through the city of Chicago.

It was a very populated and loud place, definitely not somewhere she'd expect to find her teacher.

Lily stopped in front of a shop, "Demi's Flowers". This is where she's supposed to go. She walked inside, a bell rang as she opened the front door signaling her entry.

Lily looked around the shop, it was completely empty, "Hello?" Her voice was drowned out by the noise of traffic outside.

"Back here" she heard a voice.

Lily followed the voice to the back where there was a small garden and a lady watering some of the flowers.

"I'm surprised you were able to hear me through all this racket" Lily said barely hearing her own voice through a blasting truck horn.

The lady put down her watering can, "Oh I didn't hear a thing. I saw you" she pointed out.

Lily looked perplexed until the lady turned around and looked at Lily with her pale lifeless eyes.

Lily found it even harder to understand her meaning knowing she was blind, "I can't imagine you ever seeing anything"

The lady laughed, "Not with my eyes no" she pointed to her head, "With my inner eye, I could sense your power from miles away"

Lily became concerned, "If that is the extent of your expertise then I fail to see why Chiron sent me here to learn from you"

The lady grinned and nodded. She turned towards a small plant with gray flowers and held out her palm. The plant stretched until the flower was in her hand.

She then plucked the flower, rubbed it in her hands and threw it on the ground where it burst into a thick cloud of smoke.

Lily was taken by surprise, who knew a flower could do that.

Suddenly vines grabbed her sword and shield from behind.

Lily quickly drew her bow and pulled back an arrow.

The lady chuckled, "How can you hit your mark if you can't see your target?"

Lily looked around frantically, searching for the source of her voice but it echoed making it impossible to pinpoint.

Another vine quickly yanked her quiver off Lily.

Lily turned around and saw the vine fade into the smoke.

"What If victory depended on the success of your one last shot…and you missed?" The lady whispered.

Lily turned towards where she thought she heard the voice and fired her arrow.

The smoke cleared and revealed that where Lily heard the voice was a vine that had grown a mouth and the arrow flew right past it.

Lily followed the vine and noticed that lady was somehow standing on the wall behind her.

"Wasted" The lady said as she slowly walked down the wall and onto the floor.

Lily dropped her bow and conceded, "When do we begin master?"

The lady smirked.

"I'll admit I didn't learn the most offensive abilities but the control necessary to perform them is immense" Lily admitted.

"Never underestimate any ability you can learn with our inner power, I've come to learn that" Dean said.

Tim looked over to Billy who was stunningly silent, "What about you?"

Billy shifted uncomfortably, "I don't wanna talk about it"

Dean looked amused, "Am I hearing this right? You don't have anything to brag about?"

Billy frowned, "It wasn't anything special"

A few months ago, Billy sped around West Virginia looking for a specific person.

'This place is so boring, nothing but small town hicks and oak trees' Billy thought.

He sped by an old station wagon with four average looking girls.

'And everyone here is so ugly' Billy thought.

He stopped in front of an old run down home. It looked like the house where they would film every Texas Chainsaw movie.

'This should be the place' Billy walked up to the door where he noticed something peculiar.

The doorbell was in the shape of a naked man posing with his legs spread out, allowing his fifth long appendage to hang.

Billy snickered, "That's awesome" he slapped his knee, "I'm totally stealing that when this is over" he said as he knocked with the appendage.

The door mysteriously swung open.

Billy raised his arms and playfully shook them, "Ooh, spooky" he said as he walked in without a care.

It had on old musty smell, the kind that elderly homes have.

Billy looked around, the inside looked just as run down as the outside.

Old wooden floor that hadn't been stained or cleaned in decades, the boards to the steps going up were cracked or broken, and monochrome pictures hanging all over the walls.

Billy looked down at what he was standing on. An old doormat with a posing curvy woman who had large breasts, but the middle of it was black, as if someone had been coming and going quite often.

Billy walked over to the wall and stared at the pictures.

The same attractive woman was in all the pictures, but in each one was a different handsome man.

The woman wore provocative bikinis and expensive looking dresses and always had an expression of pure glee.

The sound of a woman cooing came from further ahead, "I smell a man in my home" she said with a husky voice.

Billy grinned, 'Looks like this trip might be eventful after all' he ran his fingers through his hair as he approached a doorway with a bead curtain.

"What brings a young stud like yourself all the way out here?" The woman asked.

Billy stared at the woman's curvy shadow coming from inside the room, "I was sent here to find a teacher, I thought I was gonna find some old geezer but I guess it's my lucky day"

The woman purred like a cat, "I'll teach you what you want to know, under one condition…you do everything I say" she said seductively.

Billy smirked deviously, "Deal!" He rushed through the bead curtain.

The shadow that he saw lead to an old obese woman with stringy gray hair, wrinkly botchy skin, and sagging breasts.

The old woman smiled, showing off her toothless mouth, "Come to mama"

Billy screamed and sped out of the room as fast as he could.

He went to run out the door but it closed on him. Billy ran into the door and banged on it frantically, "Letmeoutletmeoutletmeout!"

Suddenly he felt a hand caressing his backside, "Mhmmm, nice and firm" the old woman said.

Billy screamed and ran towards the steps.

Before he could blink the old woman was standing at the top of the steps, arms stretched out ready to grab him.

"OH HELL NO!" Billy turned around to run again but as he did the step he stood on broke and he fell through the floor.

Billy landed on the basement floor and a second later the old woman zipped next to him.

Billy gasped and crawled backwards until his back was against the wall, "Oh man this is so messed up"

The old woman stepped closer with a devious smirk, "Class is in session"

Jon fell back in his chair and rolled on the floor laughing hysterically.

"Fuck you!" Billy shouted.

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose with a smile and shook his head.

Lily covered her mouth and giggled, "Now that's some well deserved karma"

Tim chuckled, "Only you man, that could only happen to you"

Billy glared at him, "Well who did you learn from that was so special?"

Tim placed his hands behind his head and put his feet up on the table, "Well now that you mention it…"

A few months ago Tim was in Baltimore in search of his teacher.

He wandered around the wilderness of Marriottsville, eager to begin his training.

Not too far from where he was, he saw smoke rising. From the looks of it it wasn't a fire, more likely a controlled flame.

Tim followed the trail of the smoke which led to a well built stone house that was next to a lit forge.

Tim approached the forge where he found a man beating his hammer on a heated piece of metal that was on an anvil.

The man took long powerful swings and pounded the heated metal until it was flat. He then pounded the base into a handle shape and then formed the shape of the tip.

Tim figured out that it must be a dagger, "Wouldn't casting it be easier?"

The man smirked, "Yes it would, but it'd also be more fragile. The better way is to draw out the metal to the shape you desire, the result is stronger and far deadlier" he placed the dagger in a bucket of water that began to sizzle.

Tim nodded, "Perhaps, but not everyone is gifted with shaping steel"

"Very true" The man agreed, "But" he held out an open palm. A silver white aura surrounded his hand for a few seconds before an energy sphere the size of a golf ball emerged in his palm, "Anyone can shape energy" he juggled the ball a little bit before passing it to Tim.

Tim carefully caught the ball, it was warm to the touch, and way heavier than he thought.

He passed it back and forth between his hands testing its weight, then he let it fall testing its durability and elasticity.

The ball bounced like any other one would. Tim then focused on the ball trying his best to get some kind of reaction out of it.

The ball was unresponsive, regardless of what he thought of or tried.

Tim grit his teeth, 'C'mon you bastard do something'

The ball suddenly exploded in Tim's hand sending him flying back. He tumbled a few times before skidding to a halt.

Tim's clothes were singed and the hand he held the energy sphere in was burned.

The man brushed the dust off his shoulders and raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I didn't think you would do anything to it, yet alone trigger it to burst"

Tim stood up and groaned, "Is that bad?"

The man laughed, "No, that's actually really good. I didn't expect Chiron to send anyone capable

"And so I learned some new tricks" Tim said as he created an energy sphere the size of a marble.

"Seems fitting" Dean said.

Jon looked unamused, "So you can make balls" he stated plainly.

Lily giggled at the simplicity of his description.

Billy laughed, "Nice, now you can grow a pair"

Tim flicked the marble sized energy sphere at him which burst in Billy's face making him fall on his ass.

Every laughed lightly in response.

Billy sped over to Tim and tackled him to the floor, "Asshole!"

Dean got up and separated them, "Ok you two, break it up, not in the circle"

Billy muttered under his breath, "Ball buster"

Tim straightened out his clothes and went to sit down, "Teacher's pet"

"So what about your teacher?" Lily asked Dean.

Dean shrugged as he sat down, "Well…my experience was…different"

Los Angeles, California 4 Months Ago

Dean rode his bike on a highway in a massive valley. This was a long way from home.

He had just arrived so didn't get a chance to see the city just yet.

Dean took a right turn on a steep dirt road.

As he left a huge dust cloud behind him Dean thought back to the conversation he had with Chiron.

"You still haven't told me anything about this guy" Dean said.

"He's old, very old, and powerful so treat him as you would one of your uncles" Chiron said.

"What else?" Dean asked.

"He has little tolerance for cockiness so try to be humble. And he's the most talented student I've ever taught" Chiron said with great pride.

Dean looked impressed, "He's that good huh?"

Chiron chose his words carefully, "He's that wise"

Dean rode towards the top of the valley until he came across high stone walls.

'This definitely seems out of place' Dean thought as he approached the wooden gates.

He pushed the gates open and was awestruck.

The place was enormous. There were about a dozen buildings give or take, the area surrounding the buildings was serene, covered in bright green grass, flowers, a river flowing through it all, and tall sturdy trees. The whole place looked like a beautiful haven.

There were men of various ages in white Gi's attending the flowers and trees.

'Is this a Buddhist temple?' Dean thought as he approached the biggest structure that was in the center.

Dean went inside and eventually found himself in a hall filled with people. They were sitting along the sides of the room, most with white Gi's but a select few with other colors.

They were watching two guys spar in the center of the room.

"Stop!" Someone shouted.

All the way at the back of the hall there were two figures.

One stood tall with his arms crossed. He wore a sleeveless black Gi and had a stone cold expression.

The other sat on a cushion in a lotus position. He was an old man wearing green robes. His head was bald and his beard was white, thick, and extremely long. He was the one who spoke, and presumably the man Chiron was talking about.

The two guys who were sparring stopped and took their seats on the sides of the hall.

Dean approached.

The old man stroked his beard as he stared at Dean intently.

Dean met his gaze and didn't stray from it. The old man's stare was without emotion, which made it impossible to figure out what he was thinking.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" The old man asked curiously.

"My name is Dean, Chiron believes I am worthy to be your student" Dean said genuinely.

The old man looked pleased to hear his name, "Ah, my old mentor sends you here. If that is the case then he must see potential in you"

"He's told me that I'm quite capable" Dean said.

"We will decide your capabilities, or whether you're worthy to be trained by master Yoshi" The man standing in black said not showing the same respect his master was.

Dean eyed him carefully, he wasn't as friendly as the master, 'Did he just say Yoshi? Like from Mario?'

Yoshi noticed his hasty reply but chose not to act on it, "He speaks the truth, I will decide if he you're worthy" he looked at Dean, "Step forward boy"

Dean came closer.

"Do you consider yourself a skilled fighter?" Yoshi asked.

"For someone my age, yes" Dean said.

Yoshi nodded slightly, "And do you want me to train you? Or is this all Chiron's wishes?"

Dean looked down and sighed, 'Figures this wouldn't be that simple' he stared at Yoshi intently, "If, you are as esteemed as Chiron claims you to be, then I would like to learn everything you know"

"And why is that?" Yoshi asked.

"My fath...my biological father" Dean faltered for a moment, "Has charged me with protecting the world from a powerful threat. My mission is to become as powerful as possible in hopes of stopping that threat" Dean said.

The man in black chuckled in amusement.

Yoshi looked baffled, "Your answer is most...unusual. If what you're saying is true then you would stop at nothing to have what you seek. Are you willing to stand against those greater than yourself?"

"Always" Dean said with confidence.

"Then let's see how good you are against one of my students" Yoshi said before pointing at one of his students with a white Gi, "You, step forward"

The student stood up and faced Dean.

"Show him our strength brother" The man in black said.

The student inhaled and exhaled deeply. He closed his eyes as if he were focusing on something.

Dean felt a small rumble under his feet. The kind you would feel in a subway when a train was coming.

Then a faint clear aura surrounded his opponent.

Dean stared at him with fascination.

"Begin" Yoshi said.

His opponent dashed forward with a barrage of swift attacks.

Dean moved as fast as he could to block the attacks, 'He's taking this seriously'

The student managed to punch Dean in the face making him stagger back.

'Hmm, I actually felt that' Dean thought as he rubbed the bruised spot on his face.

His opponent then cupped his hands to his side. An energy ball formed in his hands.

Dean tilted his head, 'That's new'

He threw his hands forward and the energy ball flew towards Dean.

"Let's see what you got" Dean crossed his hands over his chest blocking the energy ball with his gauntlets.

He skid backwards a few feet from the force of the ball.

'Nothing compared to what Selene threw at me' Dean moved out of the way of the energy ball, letting it fly past him, before charging at his opponent.

The student went on the defensive, the boy was physically superior.

Dean quickly wore down his defenses. He swept his opponents legs from under him and spun around with a flying knee.

His nose was shattered from the knee and was knocked flat on his back.

Dean went to continue his assault but was stopped by Yoshi's voice, "Enough"

Dean backed away from his opponent.

The man in black was surprised and looked somewhat irritated.

Yoshi stroked his beard as he looked at Dean with interest, "Not bad. But he was a beginner"

Dean smirked, "Then perhaps someone more advanced"

The man in black glared at Dean.

"Wohan" Yoshi called out.

A man in a white Gi stepped forward.

Dean entered his stance once again preparing for battle.

Wohan stretched out his arms and focused.

Like before there was a rumble in the ground, but a little stronger this time.

A clear aura surrounded Wohan's body, this one being more pronounced than the previous.

"Begin" Yoshi said.

In the blink of an eye Wohan had closed the distance between them and elbowed Dean in the face.

Dean was sent flying backwards, past the seated students, and right through the wall.

The man in black laughed, "Such is the fate of any overconfident fool"

Yoshi didn't share his thoughts, "Look again Amaku, I don't believe he's finished"

Amaku looked back at the entrance.

Dean walked back in with lightning crackling around his body. His forehead was cut with blood trailing down his right brow.

"You caught me off guard, won't happen again" Dean charged at Wohan.

Amaku stared at Dean's lightning, "What form of Chi is this?"

Dean and Wohan traded blows at incredible speeds.

"I don't think it is" Yoshi said carefully studying the boy.

Wohan struck Dean with an upward knee to the jaw.

As Dean was sent upward he kicked Wohan in the face making him skid back a little.

Dean did a couple of backflips in the air, landed on the ground, and charged back in.

Wohan pointed his flat palm at him and an energy ball flew out of his hand.

Dean jumped over it and aimed a downward kick at his opponent.

Wohan grabbed his foot and slammed him into the wooden floor breaking it.

Dean groaned, 'This guy's good' he got back up.

Wohan went to press his advantage.

Dean turned around and threw a lightning bolt at him.

The bolt hit Wohan shocking him literally and figuratively.

While he was distracted Dean hit him with a powerful punch to the gut doubling him over.

Dean was about to flip him over but Wohan punched him in the chest sending him flying backwards.

Wohan fired another energy ball and and ran at his opponent.

Dean threw a lightning bolt.

The lightning bolt and the energy ball collided and they cancelled each other out.

Dean was about to intercept his opponents attack when Yoshi raised his hand, "I've seen enough"

The two of them stopped.

Dean looked at Yoshi, "Well?"

Yoshi stroked his beard, "You intrigue me boy, I will take you"

Amaku didn't seem pleased with his decision.

Yoshi slowly floated above the ground. He unfolded his legs and stood on them.

"Continue the lessons for me Amaku" Yoshi walked towards Dean, "Follow me" he said to him as he led him out.

Dean awkwardly followed, 'Did he just float?'

Dean followed the old man outside and stayed silent as he slowly walked around taking in the scenery in complete silence.

Yoshi grabbed a watering can and began to water flowers.

Dean carefully stepped forward so that he was in Yoshi's field of vision, "Do you need help?"

Yoshi smiled, "No thank you" he politely refused, "Tell me, do you know how my students managed to match your strength?"

Dean shook his head, "No"

"Yet when they did you didn't seem surprised" Yoshi pointed out.

"I've seen it before, even felt it within myself. I just don't know what it is" Dean admitted.

Yoshi nodded, "It has many names. Ki, Chakra, Nen, Spirit, Haki, furyoku, Soul, but we prefer chi"

"Chi" Dean spoke the word to see how it sounded, "So what is chi?"

"Well" Yoshi put down the watering can, "To my understanding, it's everything. It resides in all living things, the fish in the ocean, the people in the cities, the trees in the forest, the birds in the sky" he bent down and placed a finger on the ground before bringing back up with an ant on it, "Even the insects beneath us" he placed his hand on the ground and let it crawl away.

Yoshi looked up at the bright sun, "Even beyond our blue world it lies within the sun, the stars, and all the planets. One day when you truly understand, you may even feel the earth's presence and realize just how small we all really are"

Dean nodded, that was a lot to take in.

Yoshi released his chi and a pear green aura came to life around him.

Dean stared at him in awe, he could feel this immense pressure emanating from him.

"The reason why some call it soul because without it you die. It may very well be our souls that we're expending when we use our chi, for intense emotions causes it swell, but I don't know for sure" Yoshi said as his aura faded.

Yoshi grabbed a rock and threw it above them before pointing a finger at it, "Chi is death" a thin green energy beam shot out of his finger and blasted the rock to dust, "In the wrong hands it can cause immeasurable amounts of destruction. It can shatter rocks as well as cripple entire worlds" he then walked over to some flowers.

One of the flowers was withering away while the others bloomed beautifully, "Chi is life" he waved his hand in front of the healthy flowers and little sparkles fluttered out of them.

The flowers weren't as healthy looking as before but they were still alive, "It can be borrowed from other sources" Yoshi said as he manipulated the chi and gave it to the withering flower, "And it can heal" it grew out to a reasonable length and bloomed like the other ones.

Yoshi then gave his full attention to the son of Zeus, "The only limit to what you can achieve is the one you put on yourself"

Dean groaned internally, 'Where have I heard that before?'

Yoshi could sense that he doubted his words, "Can I see one of those lightning bolts you can conjure?"

"Sure" Dean summoned a lightning bolt to his right palm and showed it to him.

"And why is it that you can do that?" Yoshi asked curiously.

"I'm a son of Zeus" Dean said plainly.

"Yes I figured as much. Can you conjure anything else?" Yoshi asked.

"No" Dean said.

"Why is that?" Yoshi asked.

"Because that's the only ability I inherited from my father" Dean said as if it was obvious.

"So you believe your abilities are determined by lineage?" Yoshi asked.

Dean sighed, "Yes, that's how it works"

Yoshi grabbed the lightning bolt out of Dean's hand and was unaffected by it.

Dean stared at him with a puzzled expression.

Yoshi waved his hand around in a circle and the lightning bolt began to change. It became a ball of fire, then it changed to a water sphere, then it changed into dirt, then it became wind that blew around both of them before returning to Yoshi's hand and becoming a lightning bolt again.

Dean eyes widened in disbelief, "H-how…how did…what did you…huh?"

Yoshi handed him back the lightning bolt, "And I have no godly parent, I am just a man"

Dean took the lightning bolt to make sure it was real, it was and didn't feel the least bit different.

I told myself that day that I would never doubt master Yoshi's words every again. I took anything he said seriously and would do exactly as he asked

Author's note: Yes another delayed update, blame it on the epidemic :p, still haven't seen what the son of Zeus can really do! But you will soon (hopefully), no worries true believers the story will continue. Can't stop, won't stop, that's my motto. Hope you enjoy the read :)