Chapter 100

November 5th 8:22

I had to quickly shift my body left and then right as several knives came flying at me. They only stopped due to the fact that they had already started to swarm me. Thankfully their outfits didn’t do much to help them, as it was still early in the day and the sun was still up. Even with the roof blocking much of the light, it was still bright on the right where there was no wall.

The first jabbed was evaded, only to prove pretty quickly that it was a feint. As they kicked the side of my knee. Leading me to grunt and pull back, only to immediately be assaulted from there as well. Latching onto my arms at the same time and holding it firmly before taking their feet to the back of my knees.  

Alright, they definitely weren’t your standard criminals. I was going to need to get serious from the jump.

Drugs spontaneously filed into my bloodstream. Immediately forcing me to become stronger in the span of a second. My vision sharpening as I was able to focus much easier than before. My arms tensed and then released in response.

Then I was punched in the face.

It was a damn good one. I’m not sure I could’ve done it better myself with how they turned their entire body into it. Attempting to break my nose with the blow.

Unfortunately for them, I had already juiced up. So all I had to give them was a small rivulet of blood coming out of my right nostril.

It seemed that the assassin who had just slugged me felt something had changed, as he froze for a second. Meanwhile his allies kept applying pressure to the back of my knees, but this time I wasn’t bending.

Honestly…I respected it. Using numbers to your advantage and jumping folks. I couldn’t have done it better myself. Unfortunately, I was the one caught in the crosshairs this time.

And if there was something I hated more than one on one fights, it was getting jumped myself.

My arms ripped out the hold they were in, causing the guy in front of me to focus on them as I pulled them forward. Meaning he didn’t see my leg tilt and extend until it had already hit his stomach. The blow caused him to falter and fall to his feet.

I pivoted on my heel, prepared to mess with the two behind me, only to notice that they’ve already started to backup. The glimmer of steel in their hands was the only warning I had before they tossed even more knives at me.

This time all I could do was put my arms up to block. Which meant several of them were now embedded in my forearms. Great. So they were going to play like that huh?

It wasn’t possible for me to chase after them either, as I was approached by more assassins. Their strategy seemed to be not letting me focus on any one of them for too long.

A jab was thrown towards the nape of my neck, so I pushed it away. For a second I intended on grabbing the arm only to recoil due to another knife passing near my face. This time I wasn’t quick enough to completely avoid it, as it sliced into my cheek.

Poison flooded my system, but it wasn’t anything special. Some sort of paralyzing agent that I was more than familiar with. My eyes drifted over to see how Black Canary was faring in her own battle.

Only to see a car careen out of it’s spot and into the opposite wall. The reason for such an act seemed to be Black Canary, as she had kicked the absolute shit out of it, and in turn forced Lady Shiva to flip over it before closing in.

Her arm was extended outwards with an open palm, not even a fist, yet that seemed to not matter to Black Canary. Who was doing everything in her power to make sure she didn’t take a direct hit from her. Her legs were lashing out at blinding speeds to not only keep Lady Shiva’s hands away, but to attack as well.

The power of the blows was put on show after the side of a car was caved in after Lady Shiva dodged out of the way, and then attempted to sweep Black Canary by ducking low to the ground. In turn Black Canary jumped off the side of said car in order to get away.

…Did Lady Shiva possess an ability similar to my own? Or was there simply another reason she was avoiding contacting her as much as possible?

Either way, it was pretty obvious that Black Canary was struggling. That meant she was going to need my help.

I was forced to focus on my own fight as a pair of strikes hit my ribs. Quick fast jabs that was only slightly painful. My own fist lashed out and cracked them against their chin, forcing them to fall over onto their knees. Their weakness was there for me to abuse, but before I could a fist connected with the back of my head.

It didn’t help that they were using momentum to their advantage, as they had just jumped off the top of a car. Nor did it help that they had some sort of brass knuckles under their gloves.

My agitation grew, as I threw out my arm. Snatching them by the throat before attempting to flood their system.

…Annoying. They were dressed head to toe in a black outfit. One that didn’t allow any skin to show besides their eyes. I had assumed that it would be skin tight and allow me to get them even over their clothes…but that seemed to not be the case.

For my trouble, said assassin raised his leg and kicked me in the face. This time sending me falling back only for others to attack the back of my legs at the same time. Causing me to finally fall to the ground.

It didn’t take them long to start to swarm me.

They kicked against my arms, aiming for my elbows in particular in order to break them. Several others were stabbing me with ready made syringes and attempting to further poison me. Whenever my arms got away from my face, they made sure to aim for it.

This time I was pretty sure my nose was broken, as I felt almost light headed after the blow.

Wow…these losers are really beating you, aren’t they?

…Ignore it. I’ve endured worse.

You have, haven’t you? The streets of Gotham were unrelenting, even to a kid. You’ve been beaten and roughed up just like this. Which is why you’ve done what you’ve had to do.

My hand darted to my belt to grab a capsule, only to have said ball smacked out of my hand. Rolling underneath a nearby car. I felt a pair of legs stomp on my ankle as someone lashed out with their fist. Slamming into my already bloody mess of a nose.

But you know…there’s a difference now.

You aren’t a kid anymore.

White liquid flooded out of my wounds. Quickly patching me up as well as causing my arms to thicken and grow. Even so, the assassins didn’t pause in their movements. My arm moved from guarding my face to extending outwards. My now sickly white fingers stretching apart.

They assumed that it was an opening, and when to attack me now that I was unguarded. Of course they did, that was the reasonable thing to do after all.

Who would’ve guessed that my fingers would surge out, extending like tendrils at an alarming speed and slamming into the five closest assassins? Slamming three into cars, one into the ground, and the last into the far wall.

The white liquid started to bubble around my nose, attempting to cover our-my face. For now, I held off on embracing it completely. It was difficult to hold back when I was in that…that…White Titan form? I don’t know, never really considered naming it before. It was always just felt like…us.

Finally! I thought you’d never get around to naming it. Alright, that’s not a bad name, but let’s table it until you’ve heard my suggestions. I’ve made a list of potential names that I think work quite well. Enter the Dragon. Full Drive. Embracing Chaos. That’s my personal favorite by the way-

A kick slammed into my thigh, but instead of even making me budge, their leg simply bounced off. In exchange I slammed them into the nearest car. It was almost too easy to dent them into the door. Shattering the glass as the car bounced from the blow.

Several other assassins attempted to stop me by throwing more knives, but whenever they pierced my skin, they were pushed out by the white liquid that would flood out.

My body was steadily forced to grow as a thick white membrane started to cover my limbs. Causing them to look much bigger than they originally were. No…it was almost as if they were muscles as well. It was me as much as my own flesh was.

An assassin went to kick my stomach, and I simply let him. Though I hadn’t foreseen the hidden blade in his shoe, likewise he didn’t foresee me raising my arm and shattering his leg at the knee.

As he cried out in pain, several more assassins rushed forward. So, I rushed them back. Rushing straight through the man who’s leg I had just broke and extending my hand outwards.

An assassin seemed to have learned from earlier that it was a bad idea to stand in my path. So, he tried to side step as my arm extended out. Unfortunately, his dreams were dashed as my hand simply pivoted in the air towards him before slamming him into the cement ground.

My arm slid back into place as I prepared to finish the rest-

A weigh landed on my back as some started to carve up my arm like a goddamn pumpkin. I turned, attempting to throw him off only to have no luck. My eyes pivoted back to the assassins I had already taken out, only to see them standing back up.

Even the one who’s leg I had BROKE.

Were they serious!? Just how hard did I need to hit for them to stay down?

My eyes darted back towards where Black Canary and her opponent had been fighting, only to no longer see either of them. I didn’t hear anything from that direction either…

It’s pretty obvious what happened, isn’t it?

…It’s not. Anything could’ve happened.

My annoyance grew as several more knives dug into my skin. At this point I had more of the white substance showing than my own body. Even my suit was becoming consumed in it…

Yes, you’re quite right about that. Anything could happen like say…Black Canary lost and is currently getting her throat cut as we speak.

Quiet. I’m trying to focus.

Then by all means, focus! Feel free to ignore me. Mmm, I wonder if she’s making Black Canary suffer before ending her? She gave off those kinds of vibes…you know what I mean?

Stop it. As much as I may want to, I can’t risk going all out with Black Canary so close.

My hands were starting to shake as my emotions threatened to consume me. I needed to calm down before I started to hurt myself. Yet that only caused the white substance to grow even quicker through my body. A shadow fell over my face as a wall of it started to attach itself to my face.

Oh, of course. It’s not as if Black Canary’s life is all that important. She’s not even one of the Titans like Ravager. We can just replace her with Hawkgirl. She seemed interested in taking you under her wing anyway.

…That’s right.

Black Canary was a good asset for the Titans. She was the closest in age to the Titans out of every Justice League member. It only made sense that she would meld so well with the team.

But she was hardly the only one who could do such a thing. Realistically anyone could, albeit likely a worse job. Yet the job wasn’t exactly something that was all that important.

Her most important contribution would be her training. I had never been taken underneath someone’s wing like this before. Sure, there were some of the gangs back in Gotham, but that was just learning a tip or a trick. It wasn’t a master student sort of relationship.

I’ve learned a lot under her. Being her sidekick even if only half a year had been fun. I certainly couldn’t complain.

Yet logically I could learn more if I switched teachers. I wasn’t even all that sure what Hawkgirl and Hawkman specialized in, but from what I can gather they probably have their own ways of fighting. Not to mention the wings.

When I thought about it like that, it was a no brainer what the right choice was.

…Even so.

Even so, that wasn’t an answer I could accept. No, it was the choice I was raised to accept. It was an answer I would’ve come to had I not joined the Titans. It was the answer I would’ve come to if I was still the guinea pig of the government.

Yet I wasn’t the same Lawrence as I was before.

Yes…that’s right. I see now. If I really thought about, I wasn’t really Lawrence anymore, was I?

We were Law.

The thick white substance attached itself to our face. There wasn’t even a brief moment of discomfort as we started to view the world out of a different set of eyes. Our vision having extended further up with our added height. Everything about us had grown substantially.

For a brief moment, the assassins simply stopped. Whether it was out of fear of what we’ve become, or to simply reassess the situation, it was hard to tell. Not that we particularly cared.

They were dead men either way.

Our arm shifted into that of an axe head. Immediately the assassins took to fleeing back, only to crushed under the weight of our arm. The sharpness was surprising to even us, as it cleanly went through the top of a car, through an assassin, and into the cement below. Creating a sizable hole.

Huh. It was so much easier than we remembered. Why exactly had we been holding back for so long?

Several tendrils extended out of our body. Quickly shooting out like bullets before piercing those who were already running away. Those who stayed to fight weren’t the priority.

After skewering several of them, we were left with those who stayed. There were three who were trying and failing to use their martial arts. Unfortunately for them, this form was too strong for such things. One of them was quickly snatched up into our hand, lifted up slightly as they squirmed and writhed in it.

Our thumb was smaller than their head, but not by a lot. That much was obvious when we applied pressure. Their neck cracking against the pressure as their struggles slowly started to die down. Until finally they were no longer moving.

But we had already learned our lesson from last time, so we continued to crack their neck until it suddenly popped off like a bottlecap. The body slipped through our hand as we turned our attention to the others.

Our leg shot out and pressed an assassin against the wall. Pinning them there as they struggled to breath. Even so, they fought viciously to be free. Interestingly enough, the remaining assassin seemed to be panicked. Perhaps they knew the other one well?

Well, they really should’ve thought of that before they picked a fight, huh?

We grunted as we put more and more effort into our leg. Until the cement wall behind the assassin was starting to crack as well. Blood was pouring out of their mouth and nose as if it was trying to escape, and still they attempted to claw out of the stark white substance that kept them pinned.

An explosion was felt on our right, causing us to momentarily shift to the left…but it wasn’t enough for us to release our hold. Our gaze turned, to see that the other assassin seemed to have hit us with some sort of grenade like object.

In response we quickly picked him up by his arm before swinging him into the ceiling. Their body was much too fragile for the swing, as their arm gave a sickening crunch in turn. They didn’t even seem interested in stopping themselves as they slumped and fell all the way back down to the floor. Splattering and forming a rapidly growing red puddle.

At the point the last remaining assassin seemed to have lost the fight in them. Either due to seeing how pointless it was, or because they were no longer conscious. It was with a final kick that they were pasted against the wall.

For a moment their blood stained our sickly white form before quickly be adsorbed into it. After a few seconds it was completely clean, as if we hadn’t been involved in this mess at all.

“My my…someone’s made a mess.”

Our head turned, only to be greeted from Asian woman from earlier. The one who had been fighting our Black Canary.

The same Black Canary that was no where to be seen.

“…Where is she?”

Our voice rang out. It’s deep and reverberating tone was surprising, but not enough to catch our attention from what mattered. Lady Shiva smiled slightly; her eyes closed as she took a step forward.

Despite seeing what carnage we’ve wrought; she wasn’t afraid to continue forward. Was she stupid? Or simply that confident?

“Oh? Are you sure you want her to be here? To see just what you’ve done?”

…Our eyes gazed down at her balefully, causing her to shake her head after a period of silence.

“Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s foolish that most frown upon taking a life. If I have the power, why not use it? If anything, I’m impressed.”

Her eyes narrowed. A smirk on her face as she took another step, and another.

“Though…it would’ve been much more impressive had you been able to deal with them without resorting to such abilities. But how can I blame you? I doubt Dinah had the stomach to teach you how to fight with claws and fangs.”

Our hand shifted, yet she didn’t even seem particularly concerned with it. Instead looking up into our eyes with some sort of intense looking gaze.

We didn’t much care for it.

“Mmm. You know, I wouldn’t mind teaching you a thing or two, but only if you decide to fight fairly without that form.”

Hah.

“We don’t fight fairly.”

“Good.”

Lady Shiva’s voice came out a hiss as she pulled out a blade from her back. In exchange, our hand had formed a massive sledgehammer. One that instantly went to paste her into the ground. Our movement was so fast that she didn’t even seem to have noticed it until it was already on its way to make contact with her.

And by then it was too late.

The floor shook from the blow, having almost shattered through to the below level of the parking lot. Shards of cement scattered every which way and was even embedded into our body as we started to pull our hand back.

Yet our hand did not return.

Worse still, Lady Shiva still stood, without even the slightest scratch on her person. Her eyes narrowed as looked to her side…where our arm rested disconnected to the rest of our body.

“…Powerful, but sloppy. You didn’t even try to hide the wind-up.”

We blinked at the sudden criticism before reanalyzing Lady Shiva once again. Yet it didn’t seem as though she was interested in waiting anymore, as she lifted her sword and pointed it in my direction.

“Do better.”

…Alright then.