Risk It All: Check (ch. 20) (Patreon)

"Part of being a hero is that we will never fully understand any situation that we walk into," Batman began, looking at us as we lined up, standing at attention. I was braced to get chewed out, and I was thankful that my mask kept my expression from betraying the fact that I was shocked that we weren't being lambasted for breaking from the mission. "What we do, more often than not, means we are reacting to situations."

Batman's gaze swept over us, his voice low and hard. "Which is why the single most valuable lesson we can teach you is how to react as a situation develops. It is our job as your mentors to give you the skills you need to handle the crisis, no matter what it is. So that you can not only save yourself but the lives of civilians."

His gaze settled on me, "Koi, you chose to break from the given mission of recon. All of you mitigated the risks where you could and approached the situation tactfully. Because of it, a terrorist organization has been rounded up and more than three thousand doses of superhuman formula has been seized," he said, and it felt like he was staring right through my soul. "For that -- well done. All of you."

There was a collective release of breaths that everyone had been holding, myself included. One or two might have been silent, but in a team of seven, it wasn't exactly subtle. Batman chose not to comment on it.

"Our training plans will be updated to account for your decisions," Batman said, and there was the other shoe. But, I wasn't exactly going to start complaining about that. I had asked for more hands-on training, after all. The others, though, were far less enthusiastic. "You are dismissed. Aqualad, Koi -- you stay behind," Batman said, making the rest of the team cast us some looks as they started to leave the briefing room at the center of the mountain.

When the door closed, I took in a bracing breath, expecting the dress down to come now. Kuldar stood next to me, his hands behind his back. I wasn't sure if I should copy his stance or not, and before I could decide, Batman spoke. "What did you do wrong?"

That was one open-ended question. Did he mean changing the mission goal? Was he praising the team but chewing me out for the decision? Or…

"I should have made reconnaissance drones before heading in," I started, deciding to take it from the top and Batman could stop me when he wanted. "It would have given us a wider view of the situation with less exposure. I should have looked into some device that would allow the sharing of information, instead of relying on Robin to relay it to us. It could have been a backup in case our comms were jammed and if Miss Martian was incapacitated."

Batman didn't move an inch, but Kuldar looked at me while offering a small nod. "I should have been more insistent on information sharing."

"We went in before we knew exactly what the objective was. We didn't know what we were risking the mission for," I continued, listing out the mistakes I found in hindsight on the way back from Santa Prisca. "And I don't think that people's skillets were properly leveraged during the mission. Zatanna might not be able to cast invisibility for a large group, but it wasn't that or nothing. The same with Miss Martian -- we didn't use her shapeshifting abilities as much as we could have."

"Our coordination was lacking," Kuldar agreed, opening his mouth to say more, but Batman held up a hand to stall us from continuing.

There was silence for a brief moment before Batman spoke, "All of that is true, but it wasn't what I was looking for. Allow me to rephrase -- what should you have done the moment that you were discovered?"

To that, my lips thinned. "Withdraw. But Kobra and Bane's men were killing each other. I… I don't have it in me to just watch people die."

Batman nodded, "Nor should you, but you didn't have to. You touched on it earlier -- the two of you failed to properly utilize the abilities of the team. Just as they failed to properly leverage them. You could have played off the confusion of the situation, disable one group, then the other so that the former would assume their defeat came at the hands of the other group rather than a team of heroes."

He had a point there, and he cut right into the heart of the matter. We had options. We just failed to recognize them as they presented themselves.

"Koi, half a year ago, you nearly died because you couldn't quit while you were ahead," He continued, making my blood freeze in my veins. "Things worked out this time, but you have first-hand experience of how things can turn out."

Two bullets in my head, my body tossed in a pile. The loss of six months of my life because of a coma. If my dad wasn't who he was, I'd be dead. And… now, if I wasn't able to stop myself and cash out with the chips that I had, I wasn't just risking my life but others.

He saw that I was properly ashamed of myself before Batman finished, "This was a learning experience. No one is expecting perfection. The only way you can fail us is if you fail to learn from your mistakes. I'll prepare a breakdown for you, and I expect improvement. However… this was a win, Koi and Aqualad. Things didn't go to plan, but this was a clean win."

Kuldar frowned, "What will be done with the samples?" He asked, referring to the pallets we took before blowing up the building that produced the Blockbuster-Venom. Robin had also downloaded a bunch of encrypted files, but it would take time to decrypt them.

"For now, most of the samples will be destroyed while some will be sent to STAR Labs for further study. As of now, we don't know how Kobra managed to get their hands on the Blockbuster formula. If we learn what it's composed of, then it could provide a lead on who produced it and where," Batman answered. I shifted a bit at that.

"Wouldn't it be safer to just destroy it all?" I questioned -- I could almost see more than three thousand Mammoths. What could the bad guys do with that?

Batman shook his head, "Not when it had the potential to give us answers. As of right now, we don't know if the formula has been duplicated. What you destroyed could simply be one of many production facilities." That was a fucking terrifying thought that he sounded far too calm about. "Keep even a single dose does carry a risk, but destroying it would incur a greater risk in this case."

I nodded, showing that I understood, earning a look that Batman shared between us. "Despite your mistakes, both of you did well. Continue to do so." Batman finished before he turned on his heel and headed to the Zeta Tube. He vanished in a flash of light, leaving me and Kuldar alone in the room.

"So… you sure you don't want to be leader?" I asked since I lost my faith in democracy. People just couldn't be trusted to make the right vote. In this case, voting in a complete greenhorn over someone with leadership experience.

Kuldar offered a thin smile, "I do not think so. Despite your doubts, I do agree with Batman -- you are a capable leader. Your only shortcoming in that regard is you are expecting yourself to be perfect during your first leadership experience."

Well… when you put it that way, I sounded unreasonable. Regardless, it looks like the position of leader had a no takes backies clause attached to it. So, I was stuck as the leader. Unfortunate.

"Well… if you see something then say something," I said. It really felt like I was just shoving responsibility onto Kuldar. A responsibility that should probably be mine, but… I had no clue what my responsibilities even were. Somehow, my first time being in any kind of leadership position was in a black ops team. Really felt like I went from zero to s hundred in terms of difficulty and stakes.

I received a small nod, "Of course and likewise. I am honored that you think me so capable, but my experience as a leader is limited."

"So, call it a division of labor. You know Robin and Kid Flash best. I'll leave them to you," I decided, which I thought was perfectly reasonable, but a cocked eyebrow from Kuldar told me he saw through me. "I can't force them to obey orders, and out in the field isn't the place for malicious compliance. They know you, they trust you and I think it would be best for the team."

A small sigh escaped Kuldar, "I don't entirely disagree, but the tension won't resolve itself unless it's addressed." He pointed out, and he was probably right, but… Kid Flash and Robin didn't have to like me and I didn't have to like them. So long as we found a way to work together, then there was no issue.

Before I could respond, the door slid open, revealing the rest of the team. Megan flew out with a wide smile on her face, "Wally had a fantastic idea!" She exclaimed, and I was forced to wonder who in the hell Wally was. But, based on the wince from Kid Flash, I had my answer. So, that was just a secret from me. Lovely. "We should celebrate our first successful mission!"

"I… meant more of a thing for two, but yeah, sure. Let's invite everyone," Wally said in a low mutter underneath his breath. I couldn't tell if Megan was trying to make it a group activity to avoid a date with Wally, or if she was just that oblivious.

I glanced at my watch as I pushed back my hood and took off my mask, "It's a little late to celebrate today, but I'm game." I said, tossing my mask to my gluttony demon. Superboy looked at the spot where the mask vanished, narrowing his eyes for a second, but overall appearing unconcerned.

If anything, he seemed a bit calmer. His clothing was ripped and torn, and there was a fair amount of dust and dirt clinging to him. Despite it all, he looked good. It seems that I was right to let him work his issues out on Mammoth.

"We could go tomorrow," Zatanna spoke up.

Kuldar, surprisingly, was all for it. "I think that our first mission as a team is a cause for celebration," he decided. "Noon tomorrow?" He offered the question to the group. Superboy just shrugged while Zatanna and Megan nodded. And the motion passed.

I saw what Kuldar was doing -- he was forcing group interactions. And as much as I didn't want to do it because of how awkward it would be, it was a good idea. "Sounds good to me. Meet up here at noon?" I asked to get a round of affirmatives.

After that, one by one, we all left the mountain. In a flash of light, I found myself standing in the room under the house. After taking off my suit and letting Gluttony eat it, I headed upstairs. I heard movement in the kitchen, so I popped my head out to let my parents know that I was there.

Dad was in the kitchen doing the dishes -- an odd thing since it was one in the morning. He looked over his shoulder at me and offered a small smile, "Late night for both of us, I see," he remarked.

I entered the kitchen, "Yeah. The team had its first mission tonight. I've officially left the united states, making me a world traveler," I said, taking a seat at the counter.

"But so etching is bothering you," he said, proving that he could see right through me. Because something was. More than just being named leader of the team. Or the fact that there was a secret group out there that might be mass-producing Superboy equivalents.

I paused for a moment before nodding, "I ended up fighting a guy that said something about one of my techniques. He said I was… well, he said that I was using cluster universes to perform multiple attacks at the same time." I said, and my dad paused as he washed a plate for a telling moment.

"I see. And who was this man?" He asked me, a sharp gaze in his eyes as he looked up at me.

"I don't know his real name, but he's called Kobra. Leader of the Kobra Cult," I answered and I saw a faint look of recognition in his face. "You know him?"

"I know of him," Dad corrected. "Long ago, when cultivation began to decline in earnest to the point even the most stubborn of masters had to acknowledge fact, there was a range of responses. Most chose to gather all the strength that they could, increasing their efforts to hunt down Spirit Beasts and herbs so their rivals could not have them. However, there was the Ever Shifting Snake Sect that chose a different path." Dad began, resuming washing the dishes. "Their master looked to the future and saw what would transpire -- the decline of cultivation to the point that even today's Masters would be little more than novices in the golden era."

"What did he do?" I felt compelled to ask, earning a small smile from Dad.

"He chose to reincarnate himself. He abandoned his body and the strength he gathered to bide his time until the world recovered from the cultivator's shortsightedness. When Spirit Beasts would once again roam, and herbs would be plentiful," Dad answered, earning a dumbfounded look from me.

"You can just… do that?" I questioned, trying to picture it. The guy pretty much went 'this era sucks, I'm going to try again in another.' And it worked. I don't know what I struggled with more -- the fact that it was possible or that it worked.

Dad chuckled, "There is little that is not possible with Cultivation, Ren. All it requires is effort and strength. What happened to Kobra?"

"I beat him. He got all cocky, so I blitzed him," I explained, earning a bark of laughter from Dad that caught me completely by surprise. Dad wasn't the kind of guy that laughed easily. Or… at all, really. He'd smile and chuckle, but I so rarely heard him actually laugh that it actually caught me off guard.

"It seems that even he has suffered from this era of drought," Dad said, sounding darkly amused by Kobra's defeat. He seemed to catch himself a moment later though, "You did well, Ren. This technique of yours -- Kobra is likely right on the specifics, which is why I recommended caution. Such a thing is only heard of from the golden era, so our family will be… eager to learn the specifics to learn it for themselves." He warned, making my lips thin.

My family that had connections to the League of Shadows.

"Hmm…" I muttered, mulling it over in my head. Tsubame Gaeshi was hands down my best technique as Koi, but the idea I was fucking around with universes kinda threw me off. More importantly, Kobra was some ancient guy reincarnated into the modern-day. Was that common knowledge?

"Also -- Batman saw fit to return your computer. I put it in your room. Go get some sleep, Ren," Dad said and while I did want to talk some more, it wasn't anything that couldn't wait until the morning.

"Alright, love ya'," I said, getting up and heading to my room. Like Dad said, I saw my old computer on my bed -- it was an old, dingy piece of crap compared to my new set up. Given the circumstances, I wasn't sure why Batman bothered. All the same, I grabbed it and cracked it open. There was a sticky note on the inside with the password, complete with the message to destroy it after memorization.

I fed it to Gluttony instead and booted up the laptop. Only instead of getting the spinning wheel of death as it booted up, I was instantly taken to the home screen. That… "Ohhh…" I muttered, looking at the only shortcut on the home screen. Clicking it, I had to type in the other password, and I saw a database.

The Justice League database.

So fucking cool.

"Alright… what do you have on Kobra?" I questioned, leaning against the wall as I sat in my bed while Guppy let himself into the tank by my bedside. Instantly, I saw reports. A lot of reports. The kind of stuff you wouldn't get by doing a Google search. It also displayed his recent incarceration by the UN after an elite team of soldiers 'defeated' them in a long-planned sting operation. So, lies to cover for our existence. Did that mean the UN knew about us? Were we a government-sponsored team?

I bit my lip when I saw a note icon where I could add to the file list. Hell -- I saw where I could message the Justice League. My fingers hovered over the keys for a moment, thinking it over. Part of me was hesitant, but it was there for me to use, right?

"Kobra is an ancient cultivator that reincarnated to this time period. The Blockbuster-Venom formula could have been created to replace Spirit Beasts," I muttered aloud as I typed. Then I pressed send, my heart pounding like I just sent a risky text. There wasn't an answer after a minute, so I was forced to distract myself.

I turned my attention to the notification I had gotten after we completed the mission, but I had been expecting to get chewed out by Batman so I ignored it.

[center]You have completed a quest! [/center]

[center]Here are your rewards: [/center]

[center]50,000 Prestige. [/center]

[center]1 Item Roll. [/center]

[center]1 Gacha Roll. [/center]

I ignored the rolls for now. What I focused on were the Prestige points -- mission, it seemed, paid a lot of points. Which was great considering that it was a black ops team, so I had thought that I wouldn’t be gaining any Prestige from the team at all. I sat back, leaning against the wall, and stared at the Market for a long moment. It was tempting to just dump the points into more Skills, or risk gambling with them.

I could admit to myself that I was screwing up a bit -- during the mission, I used Airbending a few times. More than that, I was being a little too caviler with buying skills. But… it was just so… convenient. If I needed a skill, I could just buy it if I had the points. However, it was at the cost of neglecting my stats and skills that I previously bought. So far, I was getting by with what I had.

But, Dad was right. I couldn’t just spam my best move. And I did have to maintain a separation of my abilities -- I wouldn’t let someone die just to avoid using bending, but if I had other options, then I should use them. Meaning it was just a case of making sure that I had those options. Which meant buying more skills.

And there it was. The temptation to just keep buying skills until I was a Jack of Trades, Master of None.

I let out a sigh and brought up my Stat screen.

[center]Ren Song[/center]

[center]Rank: Named Character[/center]

[center]Prestige: 65,000[/center]

[center]Strength: 53[/center]

[center]Perception: 65[/center]

[center]Endurance: 76[/center]

[center]Charisma: 52[/center]

[center]Intelligence: 60[/center]

[center]Agility: 67[/center]

[center]Luck: 55[/center]

I had some points to play around with, but I should be smart with them. I did have an eventual goal of gaining Multiform, so I should take actions to move in the direction of that goal. Which meant increasing my stats. After doing some quick math under the assumption that the cost to increase my stats would go up by five for every milestone of twenty-five, it would take just over five thousand points to bring up all my stats to an even one hundred.

It felt fairly cheap compared to some of the skills I was buying, so I dropped the points. In response, my body knew pain. It felt like every muscle in my body was cramping all at once, my eyes were forced to clench shut because any source of light suddenly felt like daggers in my eyes, skewering my brain that felt like it was being tenderized with a red hot hammer. I anticipated the pain, and this time I didn’t blackout, but it was really unpleasant.

My stats all got a boost, some had nearly doubled, but that was just to bring up to level. I had to approach with the assumption that all my stats would get cut in half. Ideally, all of them would be at least two hundred, but for now, it would be best to pick one to focus on then bring the others up in incriminates. My first choice was endurance -- the higher it was, the more abilities I could use.

With that in mind, I dumped more points into it, bringing it to a nice one fifty so my stat screen looked a little more… rounded.

[center]Ren Song[/center]

[center]Rank: Named Character[/center]

[center]Prestige: 57,625[/center]

[center]Strength: 100[/center]

[center]Perception: 100[/center]

[center]Endurance: 150[/center]

[center]Charisma: 100[/center]

[center]Intelligence: 100[/center]

[center]Agility: 100[/center]

[center]Luck: 100[/center]

I could dump more into my stats, but for now, I think I should hold off. It had felt like night and day the first time I doubled my stats, and I just more than doubled them again. I would feel it out, adjust, then dump more points into them. For real, this time.

That being said, I did have a number points. Twenty-five thousand was now my nest egg, so everything above it could be spent if I felt the need. And, after the latest mission, I did feel a need. I choose to invest a chunk of my points into a handful of Skills -- mobility was the most important, so it got the bulk of the points until it hit a point that I had hoped it would.

Flash Step

T4R1

The Flash Step Stance's foundation is rooted in explosive movement to advance or retreat from an enemy’s position. To the untrained eye, the user will move in a blur -- however, the technique is limited to only being able to move frontwards and backwards.

Tier 2 Rank 4: Marginal increase in distance.

Tier 3:

Rank 1: Marginal increase in speed.

Rank 2: Lateral movement has now been enabled.

Rank 3: Marginal increase in speed.

Rank 4: Diagonal movement has now been enabled.

Tier 4: Elevated Movement is now enabled.

Rank 1: If the user has direct shot to desired location and is within range limit, flash stepping is viable.

That, in theory, should take care of any issue I would have with nonflat surfaces as Koi. My range was a full block in any direction. With double jump, mobility shouldn’t have any issues. It costed me twenty-five thousand points, though.

To wrap everything up, I decided on a final purchase from the Market given that my bokken had broken. I needed a replacement, so I picked one out. I ended up picking a reverse katana -- I was striking out when it came to bokkens, the wood could only endure so much before it shattered. Reinforcement was next to be boosted, but for now, I needed something that wouldn’t shatter so easily.

The reversed blade had the dull side acting as the edge of the blade, ensuring that I couldn’t cut anything off of anyone. There was still an edge that followed the inward curve of the blade, so I had options with it. Hopefully, it would last a little longer than the bokkens. And since it only costed a few hundred points, I decided to get a skill to go with it because I had no clue what self-control was, much less practice it.

Batto Sword Drawing

T1R1

Qi circulates around the blade in its sheath, allowing for a quick unsheathing. This is the fastest drawing technique of the New Shadow Style.

It gave Koi a little more to work with since Beifong was currently spoiled for choices. Satisfied with my choices, I shoved my katana into Gluttony, and turned my attention to my computer. I thought it might have timed out by now, but my efforts to distract myself weren’t for nothing because I saw an icon that told me I had a reply.

Noted.

Short, simple, and sweet -- I’m betting it was Batman that gave the reply. Hopefully, it would be of some use to the Justice League. Closing the computer, I settled into bed and turned off the lights.

“Night, Guppy,” I said as I tried to get some sleep… but it was a long time before I managed to so much as get a wink of sleep.

…

There were few people that could truly unnerve Ras Al Ghul. In his many centuries walking the world, he found most people were simply… generic. Fodder. Some possessed a notable talent that was worthy of attention, but you could eliminate half of the world population and lose nothing of value.

However, as he sat across from Laohu Song, the Chinese man at complete ease while taking a sip from his steaming cup of tea, Ras Al Ghul found himself unnerved. The man was a mystery, he moved with a dangerous grace, and he carried himself with an air of confidence that Ras Al Ghul recognized in himself. Slight he might be, Laohu seemed to feel right at home on Infinity Island, surrounded by his shadows.

Not only did Laohu not fear him or his shadows, but Ras believed that he would welcome the challenge.

“My Nephew has defeated Kobra then? He’s progressing faster than anticipated,” Laohu said, his lips curling into a small smile as his gaze shapened.

“It is little surprise. Kobra believed himself far greater than he was, regardless of what he might have once been,” Ras dismissed the man easily. Kobra believed himself to be a living god, yet he was so soundly defeated by children. He was talented, of course, yet Kobra had pointedly refused any challenge issued by Lady Shiva. He could claim that it was beneath him all that he liked, but it was a simple thing to see the truth. For all of his talk, he was just a man. “Your Nephew has costed us twice, so far.”

Laohu smiled pleasantly, “Have your agents not been returned to you?” He questioned, a challenge in his tone.

“They have,” Ras admitted. The point being that his Nephew, the fledgling hero called Koi, was actively working with the Justice League and their newfound team of sidekicks. Cheshire and Black Spider were freed. “The Light has lost Sportsmaster, in addition to three thousand and six hundred serums.”

Laohu laughed lightly. It was a mocking sound. “Bargaining for the Light, are you? I thought that beneath you, Lord Al Ghul,” he said, taking a quiet joy in mocking. The blatant disrespect riled him, but he swallowed it down. In the end, Laohu didn’t understand anything but force. The act of give and take was something he saw as beneath him. It was a useful weakness that Ras intended to make full use of, but it was grating.

“We all serve the Light,” Ras parroted. “Your family has incurred costs, and we ask that you pay them. Unless the Song family does not pay their debts?”

“I would say that it is your own foolishness and weakness that incurred those losses, but this is convenient for me,” Laohu stated without care for tact. Ras found those that saw the world as a nail and themselves as a hammer tended not to. In response to his words, the sliding door to the room they resided in opened. Without his permission. The servant in question would be punished for the transgression. Severely.

That was for later. For now, Ras looked at the young woman that the door slid open to reveal. Ras would admit to certain expectations of the daughter to a creature like Laohu -- a traditional jade-like beauty from the near-mythical Song family. What he instead saw was not that, yet no less impressive. She was a young woman in her late teens, her dark hair cut short with pink dye marked out in a single lock of hair. Her suit was Chinese-inspired, form-fitting, and not wholly dissimilar to the garb of his shadows.

There was a Jian on her back, sheathed and the stark whiteness stood out on the dark clothing.

“With the fall of Sportsmaster, I offer my daughter to serve as his replacement,” Laohu said, gesturing to her. “Rise, Jin.”

“It would be my honor to make of for your forces inability,” Jin Song spoke, her tone as sweet as poison. Her tone was arrogant. Even as she looked up at him, she was looking down at him. The unrestrained arrogance was almost too much to bear.

However, Ras smiled thinly, swallowing his vengeance for every slight. For now. “You have the thanks of the Light, Jin,” he said, pointedly not using a title and her eyes narrowed dangerously in response. “Your second with by a shadow of my own -- Lady Shiva?”

Lady Shiva appeared by kneeling next to Jin, the older woman not so much as giving the arrogant heiress a glance as she did so. “Your wish is my command,” Lady Shiva agreed, her gaze rising to meet his. He saw a desire there, but he could not indulge it. Lady Shiva, quite simply, was too valuable to let die.

And if there was anyone that could gleam the arts of cultivation from the Song, who so jealously guarded their secrets…

Then it was Lady Shiva.

...

One of the commissioners was unable to provide a chapter this month, so Risk It All will receive two chapters this month. Next month we should be back to our three chapters a month rotation, so nothing to fear there.

Since there won't be a chapter next week, I decided it would be a good time to take the week off so there will be no updates on any of my stories between the 6th to 13th.