SDC 4

Bonus Chapter- I want to keep the momentum 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 slammed into the side of my face with no impact. I flinched unconsciously, and my Cursed Energy dipped.

She shuffled back across the sparing ring with an impressed look. We were at Lowes, 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 me 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. 

"Something 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 me in an instant.

This was one of the reasons I was hesitant to come 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. Something drove her, and I was sure it was dark, but I trusted her.

Artemis has covered for me more times 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 time 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 came to the right place then." Her leg whipped out lightning fast, and I barely got my hands up right channeling Reinforcement. The kick moved me back some.

"Not so durable after all," she laughed. "Just promise me you'll talk to me before you try to kill whoever got Ed. "

"Who said anything about murder?"

She gave me a flat look. "Give me a week at the very least."

"Funny you should say that… That's exactly how much time I planned on spending on this side of town."

--

Black Mask's POV.

I called Gabriel's cell but received a message that it had been switched off for the third time 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 that pregnant nurse he saw on the side. And Mark had a good nest egg in the form of a property in one of those yuppy parts of town. He was real 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 men walked in. They stood over six feet tall, dressed in all black, and wore the mask all members of the cult wore. They were my elites—men 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 keep them."

"And if they're dead, Sir," John, a gruff, tattooed man, asked.

"Then put a bounty on the boys who stole from me 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 men."

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 me 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 me 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 me and trust the process. We can buy those donuts that you like when we're done."

I huffed. "If you think you can bribe me with—"

The ball came at me 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 momentum stolen from it.

"That was eighty," she shouted, and I yelled at her.

"What the hell!'

"Surprise. That's the name of the game. 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 slammed 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 hummed. "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 came, and a fourth and 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 meta-ability doesn't give me 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 enhancement hell of a lot longer than you can hold the impact nullification thing—which is blatantly unfair if you ask me. That additional strength could help you win fights once you learn proper martial art 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 came faster than before, and I activated Inverse. A second, third, fourth, and fifth ball followed, each slowly ramping up at speed until they came 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 time we spared, you held your strength enhancement 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, Reinforcement."

"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 me 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 me," I admitted.

I still had trouble adjusting to my new superhuman status, even with screens, meta-ability, and powers as constant reminders. However, I was determined to overcome 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 have practiced a way out of a dicey situation if I'm ever on an apartment building rooftop."

Artemis chuckled. "Slow your roll now. Let's start with some 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 me.

"Super solid fundamentals, Reinforced or not, but still very human…well except for the stamina thing. You recover freaky quickly. Give it a bit more time, and you'll put most Olympians to shame."

I grunted in appreciation. I had done hundreds of push-ups, squats, sprints, jumps, and even hit the weights at some 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 me a single point in every stats except vitality.

Name: Julius Spencer

Race: Meta-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 recommend tons of meditation and heavy bag work to practice Reinforcement. 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 regimen of yours got me feeling like some kind of Varsity athlete."

"Except your coach is not getting paid," she grumbled, and I laughed awkwardly.

"You take IOUs?"

She stared at me long and hard. "Just promise me you won't die, J. That's all the payment I want."

I swallowed and nodded.