(General P.O.V) ( North of Japan - Sea of Okhotsk)
"We should…escape, this is soo not how… I wanted to spend my weekend."
Wally complained, breathing heavily. He dropped the two buckets of water he was carrying on the ground to swat a mosquito that was trying to land on his face, with superspeed then he caught the buckets before they could fall more than an inch. He bent his legs to keep the same angle as before, in line with the rules.
"Shhhh. Don't let him… hear you complain or else he will torture us even more."
Artemis whispered at their resident speedster. She was tired but was not as out of breath as Wally.
She nudged him with her foot to keep walking. Robin was already a couple of steps ahead of them, straining under his load. The goal was to carry two buckets of water on both hands. The twist being the arms needed to be outstretched straight to the sides. If any of them were seen lowering them for even a second, a peeble would shoot out of the darkening forest and hit them. It gets worse. Whenever any of them were hit, another trip down the mountain towards the stream was added.
Wally had already added one trip to their initial ten. The speedster being impatient and thinking he could cheat by using his Super-Speed. This sort of exercise was nothing to Robin. Batman was harsher to him during any of their spars. However, that notion was quickly broken as more and more trips were added to the initial number. His arms shook. Tired and stiff. The weight had not increased whatsoever but the strain had more than doubled after each successive trip. It didn't help that the mountain was steep. They were currently in an island near Japan called Kumashijima. It was inhabited due to the weird weather phenomenon and ocean currents that made docking on the island a headache.
"Ok…I agree. This…this is sooo not…how I wanted to spend my weekend either."
Robin said. They had finally done it. They had filled up the clay tank, he had instructed them to.
"I just…want Pizza…a nice, hot long shower and sleep."
Artemis added from her position.
"Me too…but add like 50…more pizza slices… something to drink…a soda maybe…then churrios, fries, a burger and then a shower and sleep."
"Ew."
Artemis commented at Wally's voracious appetite, making Robin chuckle a little. Then their own personal torture expert appeared.
"If you have the energy to laugh and talk…it means you're ready to go again."
Of course they groaned. Richard Dragon laughed, hands on his hips as he remembered the exercises, O-Sensei had ingrained into them. Him, Bruce, Shiva and Ben had faced similar challenges and…he honestly wondered how they even made it out intact. Then again, everything O-Sensei instructed them to do was an exercise that hid the lesson underneath layers of pain, frustration and exhaustion. Richard was only continuing the Legacy.
"Get up or you're going for another trip down the mountain. Your choice."
He told them with a glint in his eyes.
"God, M'gann had the right idea to train with her uncle."
Wally grumbled as they all got back up. To think that these 'island getaways' were planned for 3 more weekends made Artemis wish she'd known what they'd been getting into. Then again, while Richard was a slave driver, he was no Crusher. Her dad was an aggressive piece of shit that didn't know when to stop.
(Elsewhere) (Earth's Atmosphere)
"M'gann, your telepathic potential is the highest I have ever seen. And that is taking into account both sister planets. Your technique however, lacks finesse."
J'onn J'onzz informed his niece. They were above the Earth's atmosphere on Bio-ship. The walls of the Martian craft provided a clear see-through scenery of space and the earth in all it's glory.
"For some time now, I have wanted to us complete your lessons with no interruptions or… distractions."
Manhunter told her prompting M'gann to blush and look away as the image of Connor and then of Aden appeared in her mind.
"I… don't know what you mean uncle."
She said bashfully.
Manhunter smiled fondly.
"Very well, M'gann. Now it's important we get right to it. The mind is a flexible tool with practically no limits. It's how we perceive the world. How we attach meaning to nebulous, tangible and intangible aspects of reality. Our eyes see, our ears listen, our noses smell, our tongues taste flavors and our skin feels but that is not the true crispness of reality. It's all the mind attaching definition to our perceptions."
M'gann nodded as she listened attentively. Uncle J'onn was one of the premier Manhunters in her home world. If there was anyone who could help her get to a level where she could harmlessly take down Aden by the use of her mind, it would be him.
"Martians are blessed with the capability to mend or break a mind. The Latter is something abhorred. Each mind is a sanctuary to the core of oneself. Mess with one and I wouldn't wish that fate upon my worst enemies." M'gann rubbed her hand nervously. Sometimes… sometimes her fear and anger felt overwhelming to the point where she could feel herself losing control of that power. Especially during the fight with Aden…she had felt as if she was on the brink of blasting him apart. Her friend who had betrayed her and left. The prime reminder of her past sins. Aden had betrayed them, just as she had betrayed her brother M'comm. What if she had another bad day and…and…
"M'gann… your psychic presence is in disarray. Calm down."
Her Uncle's voice brought her back. He looked concerned and worried, making her feel guilty. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down to ease his worries.
"Perhaps we should move on to our lesson on shape shifting? We can come back to the mind exercises later on."
Manhunter suggested. M'gann nodded, happy and relieved with the suggestion.
"Yes…that would be great Uncle."
(Elsewhere) (Poseidonis - Atlantis)
"There is no such thing as weak sorcery. Only a weak practitioner. In simple terms, Magic is a tool to access the world's vast impalpable resources. Magic and sorcery are the basis of mystical powers. Again, magic can be considered a substance and sorcery the manipulation of that substance. It can be a shortcut but I advice you not to think of it that way. Magic always comes with a price. That is the first rule you should know. It is as Ironclad as the foundations of Poseidonis itself. If you exhaust your magical reserves, the spell WILL take from your vim vitae or life force so be advised, never bite off more than you can chew."
Queen Mera, The Headmistress of the Conservatory of Sorcery and the Atlantean minister of magic was giving a lecture to the first year class. Connor was a part of it and he was... bored. That is not to say he wasn't attentive or did not get what she was explaining. However, Connor wanted to get right into it. But, he understood he had to take matters slow. His fists clenched. He would do anything to get that feeling of power again. This time... however, he was going to keep it.
His hand shot up and caught the pen thrown at him from the head of the class. Queen Mera looked at him with her eyes narrowed.
"Connor, I expect you to pay full attention to the lecture when you're in my class."
She said sternly.
A few giggles sounded out from the other students. Connor cleared his throat.
"Sorry Headmistress. Understood."
He said, pressing down on the urge to blow up rudely. He wasn't that short fused guy anymore. He liked to believe he had changed. Queen Mera nodded.
"Good. Moving on. Anyone can use magic. But not everyone is naturally gifted or possesses the necessary requirements to become adept. Let me explain, Atlanteans are all natural magic users. The first of Atlantean Homo Magi were descended from Arion and over thousands of years through breeding, that gene has been passed down generations, ensuring that almost every Atlantean can use magic but to varying degrees. The more pure and closer your bloodline is to Arion, the more easily sorcery comes to you."
Connor's hand rose up.
"You have a question Connor?"
He nodded.
"I just wanted to know, what if you don't have that Homo Magi Gene? For example, in the case of a normal human."
It was something he wondered due to his own special heritage. Superman was a Kryptonian and his powers came from a biological source rather than a mystical one and his other side was Luthor. And from what he knew, he was more into science than Sorcery. Otherwise being as resourceful as Luthor was, there was no doubt he would tap into magic and bring about a fresh hell for Superman.
"A good question. Homo Magi are hardly exclusive to Atlanteans. People like Zatara are natural magic wielders. Homo Magi use a form of magic called direct magic. However in the case of people with no talent for that, they practice Indirect magic. The whole branch is called Occultism. Where practitioners channel magic through objects to power their sorcery."
Connor's eyes lit up. So there was a way.
"Is that what the Atlanteans tattoos are?"
He asked, curious about Kaldur's Waterbearers and glowing skin.
"No, The Skin Icons are used to enhance sorcery. In my case, I can still use magic even without activating them. However activating the inscriptions can help increase the effects of your sorcery."
When the Lecture ended Connor felt that he had made the right choice. He waited until everyone had filed out of the class before walking over towards Queen Mera.
"Yes Connor, what can I do for you?"
She asked, turning her attention from her tomes.
"I wanted to ask...is there a way to find out if I have the Homo Magi Gene?"
Connor had decided he would try everything. If it turned out he didn't have the natural access to magic...then Occultism it was. Either way, he wasn't giving up.
