Foot of the "Mountain", Happy Harbor, 7:50 AM.
July 8th, 2010.
Thunderous booms echo throughout the forests as the mountain shakes from Perseus' and the now 2-story building sized Minotaur's clashes. The Minotaur slams its great sword onto Perseus, but he raised his arms to block it just in time but not without consequence, the force of the blow caused Perseus to lose his footing and trip over himself slamming face first into the ground.
Perseus snarls at the holographic monster as his nose begins oozing blood, "I made it to the mountain why are we still fighting?!" The sound of chains straining against each other enters his mind and once it finally snapped under pressure silver and gold lightning engulfed flames erupt from his body.
Unbothered by this development the monster got down on all fours and charged at Perseus and he responded in kind. A bright flashed filled the area and the Minotaur was gone; Perseus waiting for it to return like it did once before and for a couple of minutes it didn't… the area was silent… until Perseus heard the crunch of burnt grass behind him.
He whipped his head around fully prepared to incinerate the hologram only to find his mother looking at him proudly.
"Congratulations Perse! You completed your first trial!" Diana pulls him into a big hug. "Although I didn't expect you to use magic so suddenly… how did you manage that with no training?"
Perseus lets out a tired sigh, "Self-taught." He said cheekily until something clicked. "First trail?"
Diana nods with a bright smile, "Like me you will have various trials to complete." She sighs, "Unfortunately Themyscira isn't readily available so we will have to make do with what the League makes."
"First… trial…" Images of being tossed around like a ragdoll flash in his mind. "Just like this one?!"
"Of course not!" Perseus shows a look of relief for a split second until, "Each one will have different monsters from my- our culture." A look of dread washed over him.
"Come on." Diana said, guiding him to the mountain, "Time to meet your team."
Mount Justice, 8:04 AM.
Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, and Superboy stood at the center of a room while some Leaguers were fixing up the place. Batman, Red Tornado, Black Canary, Aquaman, Hawkman and Flash stood near them with Batman taking the lead.
"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League. We're calling it into service again." Batman turned to the four teens, "Since you four are determined to stay together and fight the good fight… you'll do it on League terms." He gestured to Red Tornado and Black Canary, "Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."
Robin raised a brow, "Real missions?"
Batman stepped forward, "Yes, but covert."
Flash spoke up from behind Kid Flash, "The League will still handle the obvious stuff." He points out the logos on his costume, "There's a reason we have these targets on our chests."
"Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly." Aquaman added.
"The six of you will be that team." Batman finished.
"Cool. Wait, six?" Confusion spread on Robin's face.
Batman looks pass Robin to the four people walking in. "This is Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian." Then he turned to Perseus, whose face was lightly bruised, and a smear of blood was under his nose. "And I believe you all know him, Project Thaûma, now named Perseus Zatara Prince."
"Nice meeting you all again." Perseus says.
"Hi." Miss Martian shyly greeted the team
"Liking this gig more every minute…" Kid Flash muttered to Robin before stepping forward. "Welcome aboard, I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad, it's cool if you forget their names."
"I'm honored to be included." Miss Martian said, clasping her hands together as three of the four teens made their way over to her and Perseus.
Robin cackled and poked Perseus' cheek, "Dude what happened to you? Training with 'mom' gone wrong?"
"I got ran over by the Minotaur." Perseus deadpanned smacking Robin's hand away.
Robin waved Superboy over, "Hey Superboy, come meet the newbies."
Superboy walked over and Perseus stretched out his hand toward him, "Hey, I know what a handshake is now so let's start over." Superboy returned the gesture, "Like you heard my name is Perseus now what's yours?"
Superboy frowned, "Superboy."
"Oh! Is this one of those secret identity things? My bad." Perseus said turning to his mom who shrugged.
"No…" Superboy replied, "That's my name."
"Oh… maybe talk to Superman about it." Perseus patted his shoulder with a smile and Superboy looked hopeful before turning to Miss Martian.
She took one look at him and changed her outfit to look similar to his, "I like your shirt."
After introductions were done Batman spoke up, "Superboy, most of us are leaving. You are not to go anywhere. Just sit tight until Red Tornado returns."
"What's the situation Batman?" Robin asks, following behind his mentor.
"We're headed back to Gotham." He answered simply as the heads towards the zeta-tubes.
"Wait," Perseus called out wrapping his arm around Superboy, "Can't I take out Superboy to the city at least? I want to explore those arcades J'onn showed me and it'll be fun to have someone who's new to this as me with me."
Batman looked toward Wonder Woman who just nodded, he turned back to Perseus and gave him a stern look, "Okay, but the both of you will be under the supervision of Wonder Woman the entire time. Don't ever leave her sight… got it."
Perseus nods and gives Superboy a fist bump.
"Also." Batman says as the zeta tube activates, "We'll talk about your little 'interview' later." Then he and Robin disappear in a flash on light.
"We will be leaving soon as well to gather M'gann's belongings. I brought her by to familiarize herself with the new living environment first." J'onn said facing Perseus and Superboy.
Kid Flash rushes by and placed a hand on Superboy's shoulder, "Hey, before you head out to the arcade you should pick out a room. It'll beat sleeping in the closet all Dracula-like." Then it his and Flash's turn to head out, "Don't worry Supey! We'll be back before you know it! See ya around Perse, we all should go the arcade next time!"
"It might be a good idea to pick out rooms. We're the only two from the team who will actually be living here full time." M'gann started flying, "I think the rooms might be this way." And Superboy followed behind.
Perseus tried to follow but Diana stopped him, "Unfortunately, you have to get patched up before we head out so you will have to explore later."
Perseus groaned, "Aw, come on."
"You're becoming more of a teenager with each passing second." Diana sighed.
5 Minutes Later…
Superboy and M'gann walked back to the common area to see Diana finishing up patching up Perseus.
"I've been meaning to ask," M'gann spoke up to Perseus. "What happened for you to be so injured?"
Perseus looked at his mother before turning to M'gann, "Mom thought good training would be fighting a famous monster from our culture."
Diana rolled her eyes, "Did you really think I would make you fight the true thing?"
"I know it was just a hologram but-," Diana interrupted him.
"That's not what I meant. The real Minotaur is miles stronger than the hologram you faced." She stated but quickly added, "But that doesn't mean your victory over the hologram is any less impressive."
"Well, that's a terrifying thought." Perseus turned to Superboy, "You ready?"
Superboy nods.
"Like I said before M'gann, and I will go gather her belongings, so you do not have to worry about her." J'onn said, Perseus nods and rushes to the zeta-tube.
Happy Harbor, 9:15 AM.
As Wonder Woman, Perseus, and Superboy walk down to the nearest arcade eyes of nearby pedestrians followed their every step; more specifically Wonder Woman's every step. One even managed to gather the courage to walk up to them.
"E-excuse me," The teen stuttered out before holding out her phone, "May I get a picture with you." Her eyes trailed off and noticed Perseus and Superboy staring at her curiously. She didn't recognize Superboy but immediately noticed Perseus and quickly stuttered an apology before attempting to leave.
"Wait," Perseus calls out causing her to pause, "Do you know where the arcade is at?" She nods and points at its general direction.
Perseus nods and walks toward her and takes the phone from her hand inspecting it, "Do you still want that photo?" She looks in shock before nodding quickly. "Great! Mom, Superboy come here!" The girl's shock increased at a rapid rate from hearing Superboy's 'name'.
They all gathered around Perseus and the girl, albeit slightly for Superboy, and took the picture, "T-thank you!" The girl stammered out before running away.
"Batman's not going to like it if that photo gets out," Diana looked toward Perseus with a smile. "Superboy's supposed to keep a low profile, a photo with us defeats the purpose."
Perseus shrugs then started walking in the direction of the arcade, "I doubt a single photo will cause too much trouble."
Once they finally made it to the arcade Superboy and Perseus found themselves overwhelmed with the number of games at their disposal.
"So," Perseus started, "What should we do first?"
Superboy shrugged, "Maybe that." He pointed at a game.
25 minutes and 47 seconds… that's how long Perseus and Superboy has been playing Dance Dance Revolution. At first, they were a bit clumsy but now it has evolved into a full-on competition between the two. It wasn't long before a crowd started gathering around them recording them, cheering for one or the other, some were even placing bets.
"You might as well give up." Perseus says completely focused on the screen before him, "I don't plan on giving up anytime soon."
"Right back at you." Superboy glanced at Perseus but that was all it took for him to mess up, giving Perseus.
"Yes!" Perseus cheers jumping off the machine. The crowd, particularly the ones that placed bets on him, cheered with him. Despite the loss Superboy smiled and walked toward Perseus.
"What should we do next?" He asked.
Perseus looked around and smiled, "Everything!"
3 Hours Later…
Superboy and Perseus made it back to the cave with a myriad of items they won. Wonder Woman followed close behind them with a smile of her own.
She walked in front of the two with her smile widening, "Seeing you to compete against each other gave me a brilliant idea." She points at the two of them, "The both of you will be sparing partners!" The duo looked at her slightly confused and yet interested.
She began pacing back and forth, "You will still be doing training away from each other but… let's say once a week, you will come together and battle! Whoever has the most wins by the end of this year will be declared the winner!"
Perseus smiles and nods at the thought, meanwhile Superboy scoffs at it, "Please, I'm a Kryptonian remember? The whole contest would be a breeze."
Perseus wraps his arm around Superboy and yanks him down, "How about we test that theory?" He looks at Diana as Superboy pulls himself out of the hold with an angry look on his face. "Could we start the competition now?"
"That's the spirit! Let's head outside lest the both of you break anything in the cave." The two nodded and made their way out of the cave.
After Diana makes a makeshift arena with nearby logs being used and substitute for the arena's edge, "Okay." She sighs out, "Rules are simple: You exit the area you are out, if you are knocked unconscious you are also out, and finally no maiming. Ready?" The two teens nodded looking directly at each other. "Go!"
Superboy wastes no time as he charges forward reminiscent of a certain bull, arm cocked back.
"Oh, I got this, just step forward." Perseus thinks to himself, ducking forward and landing a punch on Superboy's ribs, not enough to knock him around but enough to earn himself a grunt and a resounding growl.
Superboy whips around and throws a right hook at Perseus' head, he raises his arms to block it.
"Maybe blocking was a bad idea." That was Perseus' last thought before the punch landed. A loud crack echoed through the forest and Perseus is pushed back a bit, his arm now aching from the blow.
"Owww," He groans, "You hit like 5 freight trains."
Superboy huffs, "Then just give up if you can't take it."
"I never said that." Perseus says as he closes his eyes for a split second, visualizing himself encased in chains and soon, one of the chains snaps. The nerves of his limbs began to glow in a sliver light and even became visible to the naked eye.
Superboy looked at his now healing arm weirdly, "What… are you doing?"
Perseus smirks, "Enhancement." Before he rushes back at Superboy faster than ever but not faster than Superboy can react.
Superboy swings at him again and Perseus ducks low once more but instead of attacking he grapples Superboy's arm, using his momentum, and slams him on the ground. Superboy gets up, his temper flaring, and rushes at Perseus throwing a barrage of punches.
"Stop dodging!" He growled.
"I'm not built like a mountain, genius!" Perseus shouts.
Superboy lunges at Perseus again and this time instead of dodging Perseus ducks behind Superboy and pushes making Superboy stumble forward. Turning around to charge him again Perseus smirks at him and points down.
"Power isn't the only thing needed to win." Perseus smiles holding out his hand to Superboy who sighs but accepts the handshake.
"I won't lose next time." He grunts.
Perseus smiles cheekily, "We'll see."