In a dark room Sports master stood in front of a series of monitors that glowed with the illuminated profiles of others. "I was only able to recover a single sample of Kobra Venom. The Cult is near broken and Kobra needs to recover."
"It can be reversed engineered." A French accented voice cut in. "We are not without options."
"First Cadmus, then Mister Twister, and now Santa Prisca. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is enemy action. The Knight is a major threat." man said.
"I may have the means to... contain or coerce my way ward child to the Light. I must find more relics of that time." A woman spoke up. Her voice chilling and cold.
"Enemies of the Light must not stand."
Chapter 6: Downtime
Mordred stood in the living room chamber of the cave leaning against the wall a book in her hand, and a backpack slung over her arm as Wally walked into the room. "Hey... Mordred, what you reading?" Wally asked.
"A book containing the stories of mine and my own compatriots quests and deeds... and well these later French authors. They did not paint me or my brother Agravain in a kind light. Though that appears to glorify Lancelot's and the Queen's affair, as well to put certain knights on a pedestal such as my nephew Galahad." Mordred said.
"You had a nephew?" Wally asked.
"Several, Gawain had two sons and my adopted brother Lancelot had Galahad, though not with the bitch queen but a lady who... well was too obsessed with Lancelot. I was more concerned with what happened to my fathers body after our deaths." Mordred said. "Cadmus thought they were cloning my father, but according to the legends my father was transported to Avalon by the fae. Where I was left on the battle field of Camlann."
"So then why would they think they were cloning the king?" Wally asked. "Unless the person who ordred the cloning wanted you instead."
"I have been searching for references to my mother's whereabouts in this modern age. I can't seem to find a scrap of any of her three aspects... I could try the lake where the Lady of the Lake resided, as that was one of her aspects and one of the more helpful parts of her. Vivianne. She who granted the legendary blade to the king of knights." Mordred turned the page. "Another person I'll be seeking out is Merlin. Trapped in the tower of Avalon, his mystic powers should be a handy resource though he may need to recover from such... isolation."
"Sure wizards... and magic lake fairy ladies that are your split personality mother." Wally rolled his eyes. "You have fun with... that. I'm going to find Robin." He walked by.
"I'm sorry for threatening your life." Mordred said.
"I'm sorry what?" Wally asked.
"On Santa Prisca I raised my sword to your life, and now as your second in command, it would be... wrong for me to not set it right. You're trusting me and Kaldur with your life on missions. So I'm sorry." Mordred looked him in the eyes.
"Look I'm sorry too, you kept telling me to knock it off and that you don like being treated like that. I was treating you like a chick, when I should have been treating you as a knight and my teammate. Kaldur spoke to me last night. You wouldn't have had to put your foot down had I listened earlier." Wally said. "And... I accept your apology. As your teammate and your friend."
"And I do the same for you. Do you know where Kaldur is by chance, I was hoping to practice with him. His mana circuits need some more work." She put the book in her bag.
"Think he's showing up soon." Wally said. "I suggest waiting at the Zeta tubes.
"Thank you." Mordred said before heading to the Zeta chamber as one of them came to life.
"Recognized B02 Aqualad." The Atlantean stepped out of the tube as the light died down.
"Mordred it is good to see you. Is there a reason you intercept me?" Kaldur asked.
"Yes, I want to train our mana circuits and grab something to eat while we discuss our new roles as leaders." Mordred said.
"You say that, yet you are wearing your hero clothes. Do you propose we just walk up to a restaurant and order food?" Aqualad asked.
"I told you I don't do the whole secret name thing." Mordred said. "I spent my whole life wherein a mask to hide my identity from those I called family. I don't want to stay like that." She looked away from him. "And besides isn't it important that Heroes are seen among the people?"
"I know a place in Star City." He said with a smile. Activating the Zeta tube the two of them stepped through.
Walking through Star City was... different. The buildings, skyscrapers as the Cadmus education called them were taller then any tower or keep she had seen. The bustling noise, the powerful hum of the city was truly alive. Civilians whispered among themselves as the two of them walked through Star City. "Aqualad? Here? Who is that girl? Isn't that the girl that was rescued from that Cadmus company? Did she become a sidekick?"
The two of them stopped at a small dinner, 'Star Arrow dinner.' a image of Arrow over star was painted in the window. "So what brings you two to star city?" A woman asked.
The two teens turned to see Black Canary and Green Arrow. "Grabbing something for lunch and do some studying of magic." Kaldur said.
"Then I trust you two don't mind if I pick up the bill then?" Green arrow asked.
"Not at all sir." Kaldur said opening the door. The four of them walked into the dinner and were quickly seated as Paparazzi gathered outside the restaurant.
"People never change, Whenever my brother Gawain returned from a quest all the women of Camelot would clamor to see him." Mordred said as she looked over the menu, a small smile on her face.
"You seem fond of your siblings' memories." Black Canary pointed out as she browsed the menu. "You miss them all dearly, don't you?"
"I do. But they were people of action and... I had my time to grieve, now I hold their legacy and the legacy of my Father." Mordred looked down at the menu, and was lost in thought as she looked at the menu. I was different in this time. "Um I don't really know what to order, food has changed so much, and I've only really had Megan's baked sweets and cooking since I came back. I mean, corn, potatoes, tomatoes and many other foods just weren't in Camelot."
"Well then I suggest you try a a nice hot bowl of chili." Green arrow pointed on his menu."
"Arrow, she's a knight, a prince even. Do you really think that's a good idea?" Canary scolded him. "I suggest you have something like the fish and 's something casual but familiar."
"I'll be having the king crab leg platter." Kaldur said setting down his menu.
Mordred looked at the menu and pointed at what she wanted. "I'll have the double bacon burger. with a side of chili and fries."
"Hah, see she knows what's up." Green arrow reached across the table to ruffle her hair. "How good are you with a bow?"
"I'm not doing the sidekick thing." Mordred fought off his had while laughing lightly.
The waiter came to take the order and as they waited for their food Black Canary spoke up. "Have you taken a hero name yet?"
"No, I told Aqualad and the team i don't do the secret identity thing." Mordred said.
"Well one way heroes make money is merchandise, so maybe you should take a Hero name just so you have that option." Green arrow suggested.
"What's wrong with just using my name, Sure i have to spend some time setting things straight about my identity and how certain authors wrote about me from the twelve hundreds to fourteen hundreds." Mordred said.
"Well it's that your whole life story is in the public domain. And well it is more complicated then just setting things straight." Black Canary explained. "And Knight of Treachery isn't exactly gonna inspire hope."
"Fine what do you suggest?" Mordred asked.
"Well Black Canary, Green Arrow, the Green Lanterns, Red Tornado in the League, out side the league are Black Lightning, Blue Beetle, Blue Devil. You seem to be fond of the Color red so perhaps Red Knight?" Green Arrow suggested.
"That was the title of a few knights of my time, Including Lancelot." Mordred shook her head.
"What about Red Sword then?" Canary suggested.
"No that would work as 'Mordred of the Red Sword.' Not a stand alone name." She turned that suggestion.
"What about Red Saber?" Kaldur suggested.
"A bit more elegant a refined the being called sword." Black Canary pointed out.
"I like it." Mordred smiled as the food arrived.
"Breaking news from Metropolis, the suspension bridge has become unstable as the cars pile up." Mordred looked up from her plate at the tv. It displayed footage from a helicopter as the cars collided with each other, sections of the bridge swaying in the wind. "Look it's Superman!" The man of steel flew under the bridge to stabilize it.
"Given how far Metropolis is from here... it could have taken months for the information for such a event to be heard of here when I lived the first time. Yet watching I'm watching it in real time." Mordred said as the footage of the event zoomed in as Superboy landed on the bridge, the clone hero pulling cars from the edge.
"I mean for us you are out of story books." Green Arrow said as he dipped some bread in the chili.
Mordred went back to her large burger happily eating it. Her green eyes flicked up as Canary pressed the radio communicator in her ear. "Sorry, what was that, Alright Arrow and I are on our way. Just got to wrap up our lunch. Sorry Red Saber, Aqualad, the job calls." She stood up. Green Arrow scooped the last of his chili bowl in his mouth before wiping his face. "Remember, training this evening."
The two heroes paid the bill and left the dinner leaving the two young heroes alone. "Tell me about your home." She said as Kaldur switched seats to sit across from her.
"I'm sorry? You want to know about Atlantis?" He asked.
"Well I told you about Camelot, but Atlantis was myth when I was born, I didn't believe it was real." She had a drink of water.
"Ah yes... well its not just one city, it's a whole nation beneath the sea. I grew up in the Capitol studying sorcery at the Arcanium with my best friends Garth and... Tulla." He looked away from Mordred, a faraway look in his eyes.
Mordred felt a odd thought in the back of her head. "Your friends what are they like? Do you miss them?"
"Why do you want to know?" Kaldur asked. "Out of everyone on the team you seem the most comfortable with me. You only talk to robin on missions and training, on the mission to Santa Prisca I thought you may actually kill Kid. You don't talk to Superboy or Miss Martian despite living with them."
"Ah... I see... well I did apologize to Kid before intercepting you... Robin... is well different from what I would consider a honorable warrior, the jokes, the hiding in the shadows, the misdirection. I can get used to that being not as looked down upon in this time. However with Megan and Superboy it's... well even with superman, I see them and they look human but something is off, a uneasy feeling that unless I think about it sets off a warning in my head." She explained. "I only had that feeling before when looking at a Barbarian king that led a hoard against Camelot. Something about him wasn't quite human."
"Ah I believe the term is the uncanny valley, how something looks human but your brain is telling you it isn't. And the rest of us are far more adjusted to this that it's less likely to go off in our brain." Kaldur explained. "Talk to them, it'll help you get to know them better."
"I'm fairly certain Megan would rather be making out with Superboy then talk." Mordred chuckled.
"You picked up on that too? Well I can't her blame for having a crush, and it doesn't appear to affect eithers ability to function as a team. We should keep a close eye on them" He said as he broke open his last leg. "Crab?" he offered her half.
"Thank you." Mordred took it and tried it. it was a steamy and sweet. But also soft. The two of them finished thier meals. "Head back to the cave then?" She asked.
"Of course." Kaldur said as they left the dinner. Walking through star city they soon reached the hidden Zeta tube and went back to the cave. "Shall we practice the mystic arts then?" He asked as the training system came online.
"Of course, shall we start with the basics? Mana circuits." The intersecting lines of Mordred's mana system appeared on her body. Bright red and beautifully complex. "Mana Circuits are inherited, from a casters parents. Your mana circuits are highly specialized with the icons that power water bearers. A beautiful display of how magic evolved within Atlantean study. A physical path for the mana, as your natural Mana circuits aren't as developed as my own. But this also limits your spell range."
"That is correct, electrical generation while my water bearers are tools through which i manipulate water. However you aren't without your limits, unable to cast your mothers grander scale magic spells or match her range of magical effects. You have poured all of your mana into your red lightning and body reinforcement spells to boost your already powerful might." He pointed out as he generated sparks of electricity.
"Perhaps its more limited but we aren't trying to unmask the secrets of magic are we?" Mordred picked up the practice blade she used for training as Kaldur drew his water bearers. Red lightning arcing along the dulled steel blade. The two circled each other as Miss Martian, Robin and Wally came to watch.
Mordred was the first to strike, a power high kick at Kaldur's head but the Atlantean sidestepped the attack while swing his twin blades at her. Mordred parried the strike with the blade stepping into the teen' guard to strike with pommel. They blocked the blow pushing her back firing blasts of water at her which she swung her blade to cut through.
Then she threw the sword straight at Kaldur who crossed his blades in an X and deflected the blade up into the air but as is if she was a bolt of red lightning she leapt in the air catching the blade and brought it down on Kaldur
The Atlantean created a wall shield with water bearers but the dull blade still cut deep into the magically formed water. As the shield solidified Mordred tried to wrench the blade but it wouldn't move. Grabbing blade of his opponent Kaldur sent a powerful blast of charged electricity into the weapon and it's wielder.
Yelling pain Mordred let go of the blade as Kaldur reforged the water he wielded into a massive spiked ball and slammed it up under the knight's chin knocking her off her feet onto her back with a thump. "You're holding back." He said.
"Lucky hit more like." She rubbed her chin while wincing. "Hell of a blow though. And besides, I'd never use my full power on you or the team while training. Don't want to kill you."
Chapter is completed, hey let me know what you think?