Risk It All: Royal Flush (ch. 11)

"I wish I could teach you the little that I know, Ren, but it is forbidden. Passing down the techniques of the Heavenly White Tiger Fist without permission from the head of the sect can never be allowed. Especially for someone that has been banished and disowned," Dad replied, sounding like he was getting tired of repeating himself. We sat at the dinner table, lingering after lunch. Mom had started cooking more, but with my increased appetite from my new lifestyle, it was just barely enough. The rice cooker was emptied, the plates were cleaned.

Mom leaned over, apparently deciding that I needed more tea. "He's not going to change his mind just because you keep asking, Ren," she pointed out. It had been a few days since I joined the team and I found myself with a great deal of free time. Too much, really. I thought that the team would be more active, but outside of a sparring match with Kaldur, I hadn't seen anyone but Superboy or Megan when I stopped by Mount Justice.

Leaving me with plenty of time to pester Dad. "He's cracking," I argued, earning a cocked eyebrow from Dad in response. "They're just techniques and the family in China are ass- buttholes." I shifted mid gear, though based on the look that I got from Mom, I might as well have committed to cursing in front of her. "Who cares what they think?"

"It is tradition, Ren. Traditions that go back thousands of years," Dad responded as if that was a valid reason. It wasn't, as far as I was concerned.

"Just because things were done that way for thousands of years doesn't mean it's a rule worth following," I pointed out. Tradition was a neat concept, but the moment it got in the way, I was more than happy to toss it out the window.

Dad remained unimpressed, "Why do you even wish to learn the Heavenly White Tiger Fist?" He asked, looking at me flatly. I had been joking about him cracking, but this was the first time that he seemed to take the request seriously.

I wanted to beat the shit out of my relatives with their own techniques for trying to murder Dad. Just to rub salt in the wound. "I think I've reached a point where I should refine what I have rather than keep coming up with new techniques. I need something to string together the techniques that I've created," I answered instead. I had a foundational martial arts, but it was reactionary. Worse, too many counters relied on me tanking hits to use the enemy's momentum against them.

That was fine in sparring, but if I was against someone like Superboy? And they were fighting seriously? I'd die.

So, I was looking for something to serve as the foundation and have the Water Streaming Smashing Rock Fist meld into that foundation to improve it where I could.

"It's my first pick, but if you really can't do it, then I guess I'll have to take Kung Fu lessons or something," I said. I had meant to provoke him a little, but I didn't expect the noise of disgust from my Dad.

Mom reached out and patted my hand, "Your father hates styles like Karate or Kung Fu. Especially Aikido," she informed me. I hadn't known that.

"They are not styles. Not anymore. They are motions created by failed disciples for other sects to make a living," Dad responded, looking like he had bit into a lemon. His dark eyes met my blue, his gaze lingering for a moment before he sighed. My hopes swelled before they came crashing down, "I am sorry, Ren, but I cannot. My family is content to ignore our existence for now, but teaching you our style would be an insult that they will not ignore. They would be honor-bound to kill you and me, or die trying."

Oh. "What a bunch of jerks," I summarized my thoughts on them easily enough. Dad let out a small huff, faintly amused.

"As you say. A bunch of jerks," He remarked. Mom reached out and held his hand, and I had to fight off a scowl. It wasn't like I was trying to stick my entire foot in my mouth, but I seemed to have a habit of doing it. Dad never went into detail about the family, other than it had been a brutal place. Dad wasn't one to use words lightly. Now I felt like crap for trying to push him into teaching me.

I scratched at my head, "I'm going to head to the hideout," I said, standing up as I grabbed my plate and chugged down my tea. They didn't know about Mount Justice and I had no idea what I was allowed to tell them. I was on a superhero black ops team. So, I defaulted with secrecy.

Dad nodded, but Mom spoke. "Is your homework done?" She asked, earning a nod from me. It was still summer, but she had taken it upon herself to assign me homework that brushed up on the stuff I had missed. I wasn't sure why, though, since I was stuck repeating a year. I think she was just trying to milk the fact that I had to get good grades to be a superhero.

Fair, I guess. She had yelled at me a lot for blowing off my homework before the coma.

"Then okay. Be safe and we love you," Mom said as Dad grabbed both of their plates to wash. I returned it before stepping into my room. With what was rapidly becoming a habit, I checked my computer. It was easier to just sign in with all of my accounts and keep them open in individual tabs. With a quick refresh, I checked my analytics.

My English to Chinese channel was taking off. By that, I meant that I had two hundred subscribers while my other dozen channels were between zero to fifty. At least most of my teaching videos were consistently getting some views. This whole Metuber thing was a bit more time-consuming than I thought. A lot of editing between all the channels. And half of them were just placeholders with nothing on them at this point.

Still, it netted me some Prestige. It had only been a few weeks. This stuff took time.

Stepping out, I walked back into the kitchen to find Mom giving Dad a sharp look that quickly vanished when I entered. Dad let out a quiet sigh before he looked at me, "If you are up for it, then we can spar when you get back. I'm forbidden from teaching you anything, but I took no oath saying I couldn't practice with my son." Dad said, earning a slow grin from me.

Looks like I got my ability to find loopholes from Mom.

"Awesome. I'll see you tonight then! Love you," I said, stepping out of the apartment. I did a small fist pump -- I couldn't wait to see the looks on my extended family’s faces when I started wiping the floor with them with their own style. I just had to spar with dad often enough to puzzle out how they worked.

Leaving the apartment, I walked through the streets before ducking into an empty alley, then a phone booth. Dialing in the correct number, I closed my eyes to protect them from a bright flash and when I opened them, I was in Mount Justice. I don't think I would ever get over the fact I was teleporting.

Striding inside, I saw Megan floating towards me, likely attracted to the bright flash and the robotic voice: B-06 Koi.

"Hey, Megan. Anyone else here?" I asked, striding out of the Zeta Tube. She floated nearby and shook her head.

"No, just me and Superboy," Megan answered. "He's watching TV," Megan offered to why he wasn't here.

I let out a small laugh, "Not really sure I would call that watching TV, but whatever works for the guy, I guess." Superboy was fond of watching static. I had managed to get the story out from Kaldur that they had rescued Superboy from Cadmus, which had apparently been cloning Superman. Which was a thing, I guess. So, I figured the white noise reminded him of his pod or something.

Beyond that, I hadn't interacted much with the guy. He just didn't seem to have any interest. "Does he do anything else?"

Megan looked down, "No, not really." She answered with a small shrug. It was pretty clear that it bothered her. The two of them lived here, and apparently, they barely spoke.

"Sucks. But, let's go check in on him. He might be up for doing something other than watching TV," I started, only to stop short when I saw a bright flash behind me. Turning around, I saw a few figures step out of the Zeta Tube. My eyes widened when I saw it was Wonder Woman and Zatara.

The latter was dressed in a sharp tuxedo -- black jacket, pants, and shoes with a white dress shirt, yellow vest, and a red bowtie. The outfit was made complete with a top hat on his head and a cane in hand. Both of which dissipated into a mist that vanished as he strode towards us.

Wonder Woman offered us a small smile, "It's good that you're already here, Ren. We were just about to call you. This is Zatara." She introduced as if I didn't know who he was.

"I'm here on account of your ability. It's been discussed with the League, and the conclusion we've come to is that your item creation is mystic in nature. Not wholly dissimilar from my own unique brand of magic," Zatara informed me, earning a slow blink in response.

Magic? "But… I don't have magic?" I said, caught flat-footed, earning a small smile from Zatara.

"You also didn't have Qi before being shot," he pointed out, extending a hand. "I am ignorant of the cultivation aspect, but I have had a great deal of experience with Asian types of magic. Enough to know that there is some overlap. My theory is that when you were shot, it activated both your Qi and your magic, since then both have been merged with your ability to become something unique. A simple test will see if I am right."

Right. Okay. I extended my hand to him, and he took hold of it with both hands. "Laever rouy eurt erutan," he spoke, speaking backward while his hands began to glow around mine. It felt a bit hot, and I fought off the urge to withdraw my hand.

I had no clue how long the test was supposed to take, but the moment I saw a frown tug at the older man's lips, I knew something was wrong. The glow began to die down and he let go of my hand, looking down at me before he sighed. "It would seem that I was mistaken," he voiced, his tone a little tight as he took a step back.

Wonder Woman seemed surprised, "You found nothing?"

Zatara looked to Wonder Woman, and I recognized that look. It was very similar to the one that Mom had just sent my Dad. The one when you were sending a message with your eyes.

"No, nothing," Zatara quickly answered. He was lying. He found something. He looked to me and offered a polite smile, "I am sorry, Ren, but I found no evidence of any magic nor talent for the mystic arts." He was lying. I think. I'm pretty sure, at least. I think he found something -- his stuff reaction and stilted apology gave that away.

Should I press the issue? I wanted to, but Zatara and Wonder Woman were both members of the Justice League. If Zatara was lying to me, then he probably had a reason for it. Or, maybe, he just wanted more verification before he told me -- like a doctor that waited until after all the tests were run before informing a patient what they were sick with.

With my ability being so shrouded in mystery, I couldn't really blame them for it either. Right now, I could buy a couple dozen hand grenades. That was a few ranks in, and the higher I climbed, the more there was available. So, right now it was hand grenades. In a year, I could possibly buy nukes.

Taking in a deep breath, I offered a small nod of my head. "Okay," I agreed. They were superheroes. I was a little disappointed with how the team was coming along, but that didn't mean I couldn't trust them. Or that I didn't. "I mean, that sucks, but I already had my hands full with martial arts."

"With that option off of the table, it is prudent that we search for other alternatives. I will be continuing my own research. Wonder Woman?" Zatara informed, looking at her and she sent a nod in my direction.

"As shall I. I know how tempting it might be to pursue answers on your own, but you need to be patient, Ren. We will get to the bottom of this," Wonder Woman reassured, reaching out and giving my shoulder a squeeze.

I… wasn't going to do that anyway, so it kinda felt like she was talking past me, but whatever. I get brownie points for not doing something I already wasn't going to do. "It's fine. Honestly, I'm more concerned about the team."

That caught both of their attention, so I continued. "Do we have team training or anything that I just wasn't told about? I mean, I didn't know it was a black ops team until I was already on it, so it was probably already covered, but no one's really said anything about it? And I was kinda doing my own investigation in Little Asia, but I'm not sure if that's allowed because no one exactly taught me how to perform a proper investigation and I kinda thought that's what I was here to learn?"

The questions caught both of them off guard. That much was easy enough to see. They shared a look and Wonder Woman withdrew her hand.

I looked between them, a suspicion rising. They looked like they had absolutely no clue what I was talking about.

"Batman spoke well of your capabilities at gathering information, so it should be fine for you to continue as you are, provided you don't take unnecessary risks," Wonder Woman stated, offering an encouraging smile. My stomach should have been filled with fluttering butterflies, but my suspicion was confirmed.

"... I'm pretty new to this. I have no clue what an unnecessary risk is. I've just been winging it for a while now," I stated in no uncertain terms. "So, there's not like a class I could take or something?"

Wonder Woman's lips thinned, though she didn't seem angry at me. Zatara shook his head and answered, "I am afraid not."

Right. "I… guess I'll just try to pick up a PI skill, or something," I hedged.

"You've brought an important point to our attention," Wonder Woman decided. "The others all received mentorship before joining the team. It was poor judgment on our part to expect you, and any other that will one day join, to come pre-trained. Something that we will remedy shortly." She offered a thin smile before she turned around and started walking.

Zatara tipped his hat at me, which reappeared as he made the motion before both of them vanished in a flash of light from the Zeta Tube. I looked at it for a moment before I shrugged to myself.

That was weird. I brushed dangerously close to calling them incompetent, or at least unprepared. But it sounded like the situation was about to be taken care of.

Looking away, I started walking to the door to the hallway just to see it open up to reveal Superboy. "I heard members of the Justice League. Do we have a mission?"

Megan shook her head, having remained silent throughout the entire ordeal. "We don't. Batman handles mission assignments," she informed. Superboy scowled as he crossed his arms.

I opened my mouth, but the Zeta Tube activated behind me. "11 Zatara," the voice rang out, and I guess he forgot something. Turning around, I saw that wasn't the case.

Not unless Zatara turned himself into a teenage girl.

She had bright blue eyes that were narrowed into a glare, and a mane of black hair that was let loose past her shoulders, while her lips were pressed together in a frown. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she strode forward. She wore a purple tank top, white yoga pants, and a pair of slippers. More noticeably, she seemed every bit as surprised to see us as we were to see her.

"Based on the outfit, I'm guessing you aren't Zatara?" I noted, turning to face her as my grip tightened on the bokken I had slung over my shoulder. She also wasn't exactly dressed how I expected an intruder to be dressed -- more comfy and casual, less armored and armed to the teeth.

The girl looked a bit put out, "You know my dad?" She questioned, sounding like her guard was just as up as mine.

"Zatara is your dad?" Megan questioned, floating over, her guard completely down.

She looked to Megan and I could see her own guard dropping as well while Superboy approached from behind me. "Yeah, my name is Zatanna. Is my dad here?" She asked, looking over all of us. Based on her tone, and her posture when she arrived -- I'm guessing that yelling would be involved when she found her dad.

I shook my head, "You just missed him," I told her, making the conscious choice to lower my own guard. I'm pretty sure between the three of us, we could take her. "But… you used his command code. So, I'm guessing that he doesn't know you're here?"

To that, Zatanna winced before shrugging, "He left without saying anything and tried to leave me with a babysitter," Zatanna informed with obvious disgust. Her eyes met mine, and it seemed to click what she just said. "I don't need one! Obviously. I'm nearly sixteen, so I followed him to tell him so."

Fair enough, I guess. If my parents tried to leave me with a babysitter at fifteen, then I'd exit stage left to spite them too.

"So, where is here, exactly?" Zatanna questioned, her gaze flickering to Superboy, her gaze darting to his chest for a moment, then back to his face. I could practically see her questions piling up.

Megan was a little too eager to answer. "We're inside Mount Justice in Happy Harbor," she informed. "I'm Megan! And that's Ren and Superboy."

The news caught her a bit flatfooted, "Superboy? As in his kid?"

Superboy glowered, earning a wince from Zatanna, "His clone." He bit the words out, anger lacing his words. I glanced at him to see that he was glaring at Zatanna. He seemed to realize he was doing it because he looked away sharply.

Seeing how Megan just kinda tossed my secret identity out in the open… "I'm Koi. New hero in training. Sorta," I tacked on since I haven't exactly received any training.

Zatanna looked to Megan, then at Superboy, then lastly at me. "Oh. So, this is the base of the junior Justice League?" She questioned before she stepped forward, throwing on a confident smile. "In that case -- S'tel wohs ffo eht wen kool!" If I had any doubts that she was Zatara's daughter, they vanished when I heard her speak.

Light swirled around her body for a split moment, and when it faded, her body was covered in a new outfit. It was similar to her dad's, just with stockings and a high waisted bikini bottom instead of pants and high heels. Megan gasped at the slight, smiling in delight.

"Then I should fit right in," Zatanna decided, speaking with a casual confidence that told me everything I needed to know about her. She was a girl who knew what she wanted and knew how she was going to get it.

I smiled, "Sure, but there's kinda the whole black ops thing to deal with." That took the wind from her sails, her eyes looking to Megan for confirmation.

It was Superboy that spoke, "We don't exist and it's not our call who joins and doesn't."

Megan looked uncertain, "We don't?"

At first, I leaned towards Superboy, but how puzzled Megan sounded made me have doubts. And Zatanna looked more uncertain by the second. It seemed no one had solid answers. Glad it wasn't just me.

Looking at Zatanna, I offered a shrug. "The team is pretty new, so we're still working things out. But, since you know about us, you're here, and your dad is a member of the Justice League… you should be in the clear." Theoretically. I think that’s how it worked… but, if it wasn’t, then I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get yelled at alone.

To that, Zatanna smirked, "Were you going to tie off loose ends if I wasn't?" She questioned, and I just smirked back. Mostly because I didn't have a witty one-liner in response.

I was saved by my phone going off. Reaching into my pocket while the dam burst in Megan and she began to question Zatanna, I checked it. It was from my Dad -- a short video that was barely a few seconds long. A video of Solomon Grundy in Chinatown, picking a car up before he hurled it into a building.

Underneath it was a message. More of an order.

Challenge yourself.

A Quest has been created!

Defeat Solomon Grundy.

Bonus Objective: Defeat him before there are any casualties

Rewards: 25,000 Prestige.

Bonus Reward: 1 Item roll, 1 Summon roll

"Looks like I'm heading back home. Grundy is tearing through my neighborhood," I said, throwing my phone into my pocket and striding forward. I didn't mean to bring the mood down, but I sure managed to. The quest and the rewards came second to that fact.

Megan hovered over me, "Do you need any help?" She asked, and I had no clue how to answer. Solomon Grundy wasn't consistent in the slightest. He had been attacking Gotham for years now, longer than I've been alive.

Sometimes Grundy was incredibly strong but dumb as a bag of rocks. Other times he was almost intelligent but vastly weaker. Sometimes he was smart and strong. Other times he was neither. It was like his character was randomized each time he came out from the swamp outside of Gotham. The only thing that was consistent with him was that killing him meant that it would take him longer to come back, compared to capturing him and letting his body rot away. In the latter case, he would come back as soon as his zombie corpse gave out.

"I don't know if you can," I admitted, stepping past Zatanna. "It's Gotham, and the team is supposed to be black ops. I don't think it's a good idea if we're seen together."

Zatanna sent me a smirk, "But I'm not on the team," she pointed out.

"And I can turn invisible!" Megan added.

The three of us turned to Superboy, clearly expecting him to pitch in. To that, he simply shrugged as he walked forward. "I don't exist and I don't care who sees me."

Not exactly the attitude you would want from a member of a black ops team, but I wasn't going to complain.

I activated the Zeta Tube and glanced at Zatanna, "Do you have any training?" I asked, and to that, she offered a hesitant smile. I returned it. "Yeah, me neither. Can you do a wardrobe change for me?” I added, gesturing to my bag.

To that, Zatanna nodded, “Egnahc otni ruoy tiusrepus!” In response to her words, my bag glowed and a split second later, I was wearing my undersuit and mask. Zatanna gave me a once over and a smirk. “Nice outfit.”

“Thanks,” I answered shortly. I was… seventy percent sure that she was flirting with me, but I had other matters on my mind at the moment.

With that, I stepped inside the Zeta Tube. Closing my eyes to protect myself from the flash of light, I opened them when I heard the sound of chaos and screaming. Pushing the door open, I stepped out of the telephone booth and looked to my left to see people running past the opening of the alley. Pivoting, I flash stepped forward, reaching the end of the alley in a moment. Looking to my left again, I saw another car fly through the air and impact the asphalt. It tore through it, bouncing as it skidded down the road until it came to an abrupt halt on impact with another car.

My grip tightened on my bokken, and suddenly I felt incredibly ill-prepared. Grundy was in his car throwing phase at the moment. That was a far cry from anything I had fought before. I'd blitzed thugs, and most of my fights lasted until I hit my opponent. That wouldn’t be happening here.

“Born on a Monday!” I heard a guttural roar before the pale hulking form of Solomon Grundy entered my view. He was closer to seven feet than six and built like a brick shit house -- barrel chest, thick arms and legs. His body was clothed in old and rotting threads that had once been an ill-fitted suit. As if his gaze was drawn by a magnet, Grundy looked to me -- his eyes were bloodshot and his irises were an ice blue. His hair was a dirty white that was complete with white stubble that coated his cheeks and chin. “Christened on Tuesday!”

Solomon Grundy. Technically speaking, I was about to fight my first villain. Black Mask wasn’t exactly a fight, and he was just a mob boss.

I took in a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs as strength swelled in my body thanks to Moon Breathing. My eyes narrowed into slits before I flash stepped forward, closing the distance between us. Two steps later, I could smell Grundy through my mask. He smelled of bog water and rot. Gritting my teeth, I slammed the bokken against Grundy’s ribs in a slash.

It impacted, but I knew that it did nothing. Flash stepping back, I avoided a backhand that probably would have taken my head off. Grundy looked at me, his face twisted unhappily. “Married on Wednesday,” he continued, leaping towards me and bringing his fists down on where I stood before flash stepping underneath him. Dust and rubble exploded up upon impact. If that had hit me, then I would be dead. No ifs or buts.

I should be scared. And I was, just a little… of a whole lot. But, it was different. Right now, I was more afraid of what would happen if I couldn’t keep Grundy’s attention.

I sucked in more air, filling my lungs to the absolute brim, until they began to ache. I needed to calm down. The others had my back. I just couldn’t see them at the moment. Right now, I needed to keep Grundy’s attention on me. The more he focused on me, the less of a chance there was that he would attack civilians. If I couldn’t do that, then people would die.

“Took ill on Thursday,” Grundy continued, slowly turning around to face me. I didn’t wait. Flash stepping forward, I closed the distance between us in an instant. Energy flowed to my bokken as I activated Reinforcement -- the ironwood was stronger than the yew I had previously. It could take more, and I pushed as far as I dared to. Letting my strength guide my arms, I slammed my bokken against the back of Grundy’s knee.

His bones were solid. Same with his rotting flesh and bone. It felt like I had swung at a brick wall rather than a reanimated corpse.

I pivoted, saving my momentum and building up more of it as I dodged underneath a clumsy grasp from Grundy. Letting go with one hand, my free hand curled into a fist -- Batman said that this was saved for emergencies only. I’m pretty sure that not only did this apply, but it was the only thing that I had that could possibly hurt him.

A Soul Crushing Strike slammed into Grundy’s chin, and I was rewarded by his head jerking to the side. That was it. My hopes soared just long enough that I stopped moving until I felt Grundy’s ice cold fingers brush my face when he lashed out in turn. I flash stepped out of reach. Grundy looked at me, his jaw still intact. He proved that much by continuing, “Grew worse on Friday…”

“Okay,” I muttered to myself, grabbing my bokken with both hands. It seemed that Grundy was made of some pretty stern stuff. My gaze strayed when I saw Zatanna run out to the middle of the street, throwing her hands out as a car bent to her will. A door opened that had been bent shut, letting a man and a woman escape.

Zatanna was here, which meant the others were too. Megan was invisible somewhere. Superboy… was he keeping a low profile? Didn’t seem to be in his character, but I didn’t exactly know him well enough to say that with confidence.

Regardless, I was faster than Grundy. Couldn’t compete in a contest of strength, but I didn’t need to.

I just had to fight dirty.

“Died on Saturday,” Grundy said, lunging for me. I flash stepped back out of reach from where he landed before darting back in. With his head at my level, the tip of my bokken went for his eyes. My muscles protested the move, rebelling at the thought of the thrust that I used to skewer one of Grundy’s eyes.

I anticipated that. I just underestimated it.

It was like a jolt of electricity flowed through my body, making every muscle seize for a split second, but that’s all Grundy needed. “Buried on Sunday!” He roared, closing the eye before he reached out. He grabbed me by the arm, his grip like iron as he tried to crush my arm with his strength. He didn’t manage it, but it felt like he nearly ripped it off when he flung me to the side.

My heart lept to my throat as I felt my body fly through the air at nauseating speeds. It was impossible to judge where I was for a moment, only that I was going to make a very wet impact on concrete. The human body couldn’t withstand slamming through a brick wall, no matter what the stories said.

Double Jump saved my life. That, and Zatanna. I jumped, rebelling against my fate. It felt like drop kicking an oncoming car, but it slowed me enough to let Zatanna catch me. I felt something brush against my body, almost like a ghostly touch, before I was gently lowered to the ground.

‘Are you okay?’ Megan asked me with telepathy as I crouched, one hand gripping my shoulder.

‘Arm is dislocated,’ I answered, gritting my teeth as I stood. My heart pounded in my chest, hammering at my ribs and making my blood surge in my veins. If Grundy had done anything but throw me, I’d be dead right now. Yet, my heart pounded not out of fear.

I really didn’t get it until now. Not really. Dad had talked a bit about the family now that the secret was out, but I really just didn’t understand how you could be so obsessed with strength that you’d risk your life for it. Even now, I didn’t fully understand.

But, I had an inkling of what my ancestors felt as I strode forward.

“And that was the end of Solomon Grundy.”

...

No update next week! Risk It All will be back on the 25th.