Bonus Chapter- I want to keep the montum going. Really appreciate the love and attention the story is getting. Share, leave reviews, and post with your power stones. Extra chappy if we hit 500 stones before the end of the week.
Artemis's gloved fist slamd into the side of my face with no impact. I flinched unconsciously, and my Cursed Energy dipped.
She shuffled back across the sparring ring with an impressed look. We were at Lowe's, an MMA gym near Artemis's place.
"I know you like to pretend like you're tough, J. But I didn't actually expect you to just stand there and take it in the jaw when you asked to punch you. I could've concussed you."
"No, you literally couldn't," I said rather glibly, and she rolled her eyes.
"I know you skip most of your bio classes, but people get concussed if you hit them in the head hard enough."
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," I said slowly. "I don't exactly classify as that anymore."
"As what? Human?" she raised a brow, and I went on.
"Sothing happened last night."
"Yeah, I can tell with that far-off look in your eyes and your bloody nails," she said smoothly, and my eyes darted down to my fingers. Damn it. I didn't get all the blood out.
She saw through in an instant.
This was one of the reasons I was hesitant to co to her. She didn't advertise it, but I knew she was an assassin in training or the kid of a vigilante. Her skill exceeded the standard for a competitive martial artist or hobbyist. Sothing drove her, and I was sure it was dark, but I trusted her.
Artemis has covered for more tis than I can count, given Ed and my advice and contacts, and taught us a thing or two about poison, knife work, and fighting. I've also known her for almost three years and have seen her be loyal to her sister when she shouldn't have been.
"I found out the hard way I was bulletproof."
Her eyes went wide. "You got shot. Wait…is that why Ed isn't here?" Her expression dramatically shifted, and she covered her mouth when she saw my face. I couldn't hide the grief.
"The job went south," I said with a shaky voice.
"I'm so sorry, J."
"I need ti to figure things out," I said. "My limits, my issues with my mom. More than anything else, I just need a friend right now."
Her lips curled into a smile. "You ca to the right place then." Her leg whipped out lightning fast, and I barely got my hands up right channeling Reinforcent. The kick moved back so.
"Not so durable after all," she laughed. "Just promise you'll talk to before you try to kill whoever got Ed. "
"Who said anything about murder?"
She gave a flat look. "Give a week at the very least."
"Funny you should say that… That's exactly how much ti I planned on spending on this side of town."
--
Black Mask's POV.
I called Gabriel's cell but received a ssage that it had been switched off for the third ti in a row.
Mark was no different.
Huh.
The safe house was still secure, so they hadn't run off with the money, and my contact and the GCPD said they hadn't dragged in anybody fitting their description either.
They couldn't have skipped town, too. Gabe was going nowhere without the pregnant nurse he saw on the side. And Mark had a good nest egg in the form of a property in one of those yuppie parts of town. He was really proud of it.
So, the kids got them? They had to have. My lips stretched underneath my mask as my heart rate spiked.
I wonder who pulled the trigger. My money was on the short one. He had that thousand-yard stare. It'd certainly make for an interesting story.
I snapped my fingers.
"Get in here," I called out, and two n walked in. They stood over six feet tall, dressed in all black, and wore the mask that all mbers of the cult wore. They were my elites—n who stood out not only for their military history but also for their devotion to the cause.
"Gabe and Mark haven't checked in yet. Find out what's keeping them."
"And if they're dead, Sir," John, a gruff, tattooed man, asked.
"Then put a bounty on the boys who stole from last night and haul them in before the police do," I commanded. "I want to hear how they got the jump on two of my best n."
Julius's POV.
"Uh, Artemis. I'm not so sure this is a good idea," I said as I stood before one of those ball machines at a batting range. She'd dragged us to the cages at the stadium and bribed the local operator to promptly fuck off. Gotham was never a baseball town, so the place was typically empty, especially during the off-season.
Her reasoning for placing in here without protective gear?
Test the upper limit of my technique with baseballs flying at my face at speeds reaching over 100 miles per hour.
"Of course, it is," Artemis said from behind the machine where she was finicking with the setting. "You've taken a bullet, and that's only at least a tenth as fast."
"I thought you were going to ease into it?"
"This is easing you into it. We'll start well under 100 miles per hour and work our way up. And besides, the ball will bounce off. We need to figure out your various limits minus luck and gradually work our way up because whoever you're going after definitely has guns."
I grumbled but nodded.
She smiled. "You need to stop doubting and trust the process. We can buy those donuts that you like when we're done."
I huffed. "If you think you can bribe with—"
The ball ca at so fast that I barely saw it travel. I tapped Inverse, but not before I flinched. It bounced off without much fanfare, most of the montum stolen from it.
"That was eighty," she shouted, and I yelled at her.
"What the hell!'
"Surprise. That's the na of the ga. Training isn't very useful if you can't use it in the real world."
"And in the real world, you don't get any warning…" I realized, squaring up.
"Now you're getting it."
My technique flashed as the second ball connected, flying even faster. It slamd into my chest and fell, most of the inertia stolen. I blinked. I hadn't picked up on that last night.
"You noticed it too, huh?" she called. "So, the hits are definitely not getting deflected, just absorbed with no effect on you?"
"Mostly," I said. "There's a power threshold."
"Would've been surprised if there wasn't. Most powers work that way. There's gotta be a weakness."
"What about Superman?" I spoke. "What's his weakness?"
"Probably a nuke or people from his personal life," she humd. "I doubt getting either would be easy."
"Considering what he does, do you even think he has people?" I asked.
"He has to," she replied. "That much power without any checks or people in your life to keep you grounded. Recipe for disaster."
It was a warning if I'd ever heard one, but nothing I had to worry about just yet.
A third ball ca, and a fourth and a fifth.
"Ninety," she yelled. "Got a good feel for your baseline. But if you're going to be getting in fights, I need to know what we're working with physically."
"You'll be disappointed. My ta-ability doesn't give superhuman strength or anything. My stamina and regeneration are the real stars."
"Don't count yourself out just yet," she said, "You can hold that enhancent hell of a lot longer than you can hold the impact nullification thing, which is blatantly unfair if you ask . That additional strength could help you win fights once you learn proper martial arts technique."
"What's wrong with my technique?" I said, standing up a bit straighter.
"How do I put this delicately…It sucks."
"Hey!"
Another ball ca faster than before, and I activated Inverse. A second, third, fourth, and fifth ball followed, each slowly ramping up at speed until they ca at a pitch so fast and frequent that I didn't dare take down my Cursed Technique.
I broke just after the fifteenth shot, not because I ran out of Cursed Energy, though I only had about 50 left, but because my mind couldn't take any more. I had the beginnings of a headache, and I rubbed my forehead.
"You good?"
I gave her a thumbs up.
"Case and point," she said with a small grin. She was enjoying herself a bit too much. "Last ti we sparred, you held your strength enhancent for five whole minutes before you needed a break. Still, it's kind of crazy you can take 15 shots to the body without so much as a scratch on you. Your damage nullification thing is kind of insane."
"Inverse," I said in between breaths. "I'm calling the damage nullification Inverse, and the strength boost, Reinforcent."
"Been thinking about that for a while, have you?"
I gave her a middle finger. "Everybody is a critic. It's my power. I can call it whatever I want."
"Fair enough," She shrugged. "So, how well do you think Inverse will stand up against bullets or arrows?"
"You want to turn into a pincushion now?" I groaned.
"You asked for this," she pointed out, and I waved at her.
"Sorry. This is just all kind of still new to ," I admitted.
I still had trouble adjusting to my new superhuman status, even with screens, ta-ability, and powers as constant reminders. However, I was determined to overco this hurdle and make this new power mine. It presented an opportunity most could only dream of.
"We could try jumping off a rooftop," I said slowly as the headache subsided. "Worst case scenario, I test how effective my healing is. Best case, I would've practiced a way out of a dicey situation if I'm ever on an apartnt building rooftop."
Artemis chuckled. "Slow your roll now. Let's start with so exercises first, hmm?"
--
Artemis bit into her donut on the seats of the bleachers as she went over my performance, and I lapped up oxygen. The little she-devil almost killed .
"Super solid fundantals, reinforced or not, but still very human…well, except for the stamina thing. You recover freaky quickly. Give it a bit more ti, and you'll put most Olympians to sha."
I grunted in appreciation. I had done hundreds of push-ups, squats, sprints, jumps, and even hit the weights at so point, shattering PRs like glass. It was far from what better-fed, professionally trained bodybuilders or athletes could achieve, but it was nothing to scoff at.
My efforts gained a single point in every stat except vitality.
Na: Julius Spencer
Race: ta-Human--Sorcerer
Class: Sorcerer Level 2 (3rd Grade)
Techniques: Inverse Lv 1
Health: 290/290
CE: 150/230
SP: 10/310
STR: 18 AGI: 21
PER: 38 VIT: 29
END: 31 CP: 23
Free points: 2
"I'd recomnd tons of ditation and heavy bag work to practice Reinforcent. Weights, jogging, and sprints for your endurance and body. We already know how to train your Inverse, as you call it. We'll also be sparring a lot because your martial art is--"
"Don't say it." I held up a hand, wiping the sweat from my brow. "This regin of yours got feeling like so kind of Varsity athlete."
"Except your coach is not getting paid," she grumbled, and I laughed awkwardly.
"You take IOUs?"
She stared at long and hard. "Just promise you won't die, J. That's all the paynt I want."
I swallowed and nodded.
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