---

More combat, more sparring. It was an impressive display, of that Casper could not object. An android fighting an enhanced human. One would be forgiven for considering the exchange somewhat entertaining, but for Hex, the situation strung along a slightly different path. With his attention turning towards the active duo, eyes landed on Rain, his soul infinitely bright in comparison to the android’s, where it was replaced by endless emptiness. ”Sure..,” came a response, the Wraithborn’s pointed ears noting what his friend had asked. Friend, a rather strong word, wasn’t it? Had they reached this level, yet? Thinking back to a mere few moments earlier, the warmth of an embrace, digits interlocking, a head on his shoulders, it all painted a clear picture. If not friendship, what could possibly be at play?

Moving closer to the battle at hand, spectral eyes narrowed. To a being who saw people through the form of their souls, what did Alisa amount to? An object? That was quite narrow-minded, a view Casper would get chastised for. He understood enough to draw that conclusion. However, difficulty remained. Hex was required to push past these feelings if he was to adequately work with his teammates, none of which he viewed with the same level of insecurity as Alisa. He could not place the girl. Brightheart, the Tamaran, her presence was cause for concern due to her biological nature, due to the sunlight she was absorbing. However, that was something Casper could get past with his magic. Alisa was beyond him, her very being so utterly divorced from where he stood that merely looking upon her often caused the Wraithborn momentary confusion. He had to remind himself that she was, in fact, a person. That she wasn’t a doll, or merely a mindless machine. Throughout her battle with Viktor, she had displayed emotion, she had even tricked him, an act raising Casper’s brow.

Perhaps the warrior humanized her far too much in assuming a need for breath. She was a robot, after all, a thing. Ironic then, how Casper and Alisa shared many aspects in that regard. Evidence for her humanity was presented quite frequently, but despite this, Hex was combatting less tolerable views. Viktor lost because he presented concern for a thing, rather than a who, or was that the wrong way of looking at this? The very same technique would have had the very same outcome on Hex himself, yet he was the one silently judging.

Lowering his gaze to grass swaying in the wind, Casper slipped those clawed hands into his pockets. How many of these individuals were prepared for actual battle? For actual warfare? Sparring was different from when the intent to kill replaced friendly movements. What would happen when blood was spilled, and then kept flowing? How would some of these recruits react when stepping into a room filled with death? It was naive to believe that they’d always be on time, that every hostage was going to be saved without failure. It was foolish to think that difficult decisions weren’t going to force uncomfortable thoughts, or even haunting regret. Talon knew this, that much was certain. However, what of the far more bright and less experienced individuals on their team? Kila would push through a hallway of casualties, but would Ja do the same?

Though attempting to maintain focus on the task at hand, Casper tended towards drifting away. He was an empathetic creature without pause. Hex rarely felt anger, and he was seldom ever swept from his feet. It was because of this empathy that worry came to blanket him. He did not wish for these bright, excited smiles to be corrupted by the more realistic side of superherodom. With the boy’s tail drooping behind him, Casper clenched his sharp teeth. These warnings were likely going to come. Black Canary had more experience than any of these young souls, and eventually, once they were ready, she was going to tell them that this job wasn’t glamorous.

Eyes rose, and attention fell back on Viktor and Alisa. Casper sensed blood. He had sensed it since Talon’s battle with Daphne. Necrotic Empathy, his mother called it, the ability to sense another’s wounds, a creature’s injuries. The closer to death they were, the more blatant it became, until death itself was presented loudly, and clearly. At least no one had held back. They were all serious about this, even Zach, despite showing less of it than he could have.

”Well done..,” a ghostly voice congratulated.

Kassandra
Location: Happy Harbour
Interections: No one really

Kassandra’s orange eyes narrowed as she was chastised, yet again, by Zach. Her hands tensed into fists. What was his deal? What had she done wrong to make him angry at her? She wanted to say something, but realized it didn’t matter. Of course he hated her. Everyone else did. It didn’t matter the reason.

She felt her logic was sound, going over the wall. Aleen’a was a surprise to even their trainers, which meant they had not considered super-strength in their training. Breaking through the wall would be impossible without her. Therefore, she wasn’t meant to be helping in that fashion. In conclusion – over the wall, not through it.

But she kept it all to herself, even after Felix and Kila (or was it Ja?) seemed to agree with her. She shot them grateful glances, but kept her mouth shut. It had been made very clear that her opinion didn’t matter here. Why bother trying to convince them otherwise?

So, she waited, hoping the wall would indeed crumble under Aleen’a’s strength.

Location: Happy Harbour
Interactions: Alisa

---

Viktor took Alisa's offered hand as she spoke to him. She did not seem to admire her use of deceit to defeat him as he had. Interesting. He stood up and wiped the blood off of his chin.

"I'll be fine, A. And sweet? I… I just wanted to make sure I didn't kill you…" He winced in discomfort, as she highlighted his momentary panic. And so, he changed the subject. "What are you exactly? I assumed you were not the typical human, but not having respiratory or circulatory systems? A synthetic… a machine?" He was looking over her very intensely, examining her with his eye while feeling out her hand in his. "Ports, hardened skeleton… metallic..." His eyes would meet hers again, full fascination. "Tell me." He requested.

---

---

Alisa squirmed uncomfortably under Viktor’s scrutinizing gaze. She looked away, a blush coming to her cheeks. If only he had asked something else! It was a loaded question, that what are you. It spoke to irrefutable differences between her and other people, that otherness that many believed made her less of a person. She supposed that she was. People needed oxygen, food, water, and sleep. People had blood and organs and organ systems and all sorts of fleshy bits and complicated, organic things. Living things. Alisa had none of those things. She was a computer program at her core, with a mechanical body dedicated entirely to her. Yet, deep in her, she believed that that made her no less of a person than Viktor or Jack or Daphne were. No less of a person, but certainly not human.

Unfortunately, many did not believe that. Before all this, she had been safe in her own world. Safely a person. An inhuman person, but a person. But there were those who thought of her as an object- a thing. That way of thinking had nearly led to her death. The thought made her simultaneously furious and ashamed. Hopefully, Viktor and their other teammates would not be like those people.

“Well,” she began, tearing her eyes away from the ground to meet Viktor’s, “I’m not a typical human. I don’t think I’m human at all. I guess the most simplistic explanation is that I’m a robot.” She giggled, nervous. That was certainly the most simplistic explanation. It was nowhere near her full truth. “That’s too simple, though. I’m an artificial intelligence system. My body is completely synthetic, made mostly of stainless steel alloys, copper, and silicon, with a smattering of other materials appropriate to my functions. I have a metallic skeleton like you noticed, yes, and posts that are mostly for charging and checking out vital stuff. I have no need for oxygen, food, water, waste discharge, or sleep, besides for a 4-hour charging period every 72 hours. I don’t have most of the organ systems that organics might. That’s why you felt no pulse and didn’t see me breathing. I don’t have lungs, a heart, arteries, or veins, among many other things.” Alisa listed off her rote functions in a friendly voice before she realized she was sounding a bit too robotic. Idiot.

“Simply put, I’m a walking, talking, very sentient computer! A… machine. It gets a bit more complicated than that, but the more technical stuff is sort of boring. Does that… does that answer your question?” Alisa rubbed the back of her neck, sheepish and anxious. When she put it all out there, her biology- no, anatomy- was embarrassing. She hoped that her teammates would understand, that they wouldn’t fear or hate her. It was what she was, and she couldn’t change how she had been made.

Location: Happy Harbour
Interactions: Alisa

---

Viktor listened quietly, while still holding Alisa's hand. He was not attempting to make her feel uncomfortable. If anything, he didn't even pay attention to her hand. Alisa's initial explanation of simply being a robot caused a slight narrowing in Viktor's eyes. The hint of displeasure was only brief, however, as Alisa further elaborated. Is she not proud?

Though far closer than some of the other members of his team, Viktor was also not the typical human. He was raised by manipulations and little warmth to be a hardened soldier. His goals were the objectives set forth to complete his missions. Lied to about the nature of his father's death, all so he could keep focused and motivated. And finally, they primed him to be suitable in becoming much more than the typical man.

Discovering the truth of his father and H.I.V.E. changed little. He was what they had forged, and his purpose was not all that different. Despite hating H.I.V.E.'s deceit, he was aware of what he was and believed they had created someone meant to be greater than anyone he might have become without them.

He placed Alisa's hand at her side and released it from his.

"Yes, A. I have other questions, but maybe we can discuss them later. Perhaps we can discuss your fighting technique. Improve upon it." He offered.

---

The wall was much stronger than Aleen'a anticipated or was it because it's been a while since she last used her strength? She had to shake her hand after punching the wall but other than that, she felt no pain whatsoever. There was a dent on it where she punched it with cracks crawling all over it like cobwebs. She knew it will only take a couple of hits to take it all down so that was what she will do.

"Ha!" Aleen'a grunted as she released a series of continuous blows at the wall. It shook with every punch she threw at it as dust and parts of it keep falling down. She could hear her groupmates argue behind her whether or not they should climb over the wall instead of destroying it. She stopped for a bit and waited for the team to reach a collective decision first. Once they all agreed that making a big passable wall on the wall was better, she nodded eagerly. "I am on the it!" She eagerly said as she punched the wall again.

Not even a few minutes after, she felt her fist plow through the wall. She ravaged the hole she made, taking out chunks of it to make it bigger with only her bare hands and brute strength. The sun helped her a lot in giving her the necessary power to accomplish her task and before she knew it, she had successfully created a hole on the wall big enough for all of them to go through.

Aleen'a brushed her hands and looked back at her group proudly despite her hair and shoulders now covered in grey dust. "There! Now we can continue. Come on everyone!" She said as she went through the wall first.

---------------------

Talon's embarrassment for quieting down soon turned to curiosity as the pretty girl he just threw knives at smiled at him and skipped away, asking him to sit tight. Hex - the ghost boy that fought valiantly against Black Canary as a volunteer had joined them as well. When he told Talon and Nymph that they had a nice fight as well, Talon nodded at him. These were the kinds of compliments he was comfortable with. Talon sized the boy up and down, nodding to him in recognition of his compliment, as well as trying to say the same to him. Though the outcome of their sparring match was inevitable, Talon was nevertheless impressed that a boy who came off even more shy than he himself did was able to rouse the bravery to willingly trade blows with a member of The Justice League, and in front of everybody. Talon felt this was something that Hex should be truly proud of, and he wished he was able to express that to him.

Meanwhile, on the training grounds, Rain and Cybergirl were exchanging their own haymakers. Talon noted that Cybergirl was throwing incredibly powerful punches, but lacked any sort of real form or strategy. Rain may be physically weaker than her cybernetic parts, but this lack of real training enabled him to keep his edge. Talon felt himself getting more engaged, studying Rain's fighting style. It was evident that he had a similar background as his own - although he was physically taller than Talon and likely stronger, Talon's agility may be the only thing keeping them at some even level.

By this time, Nymph had reapproached Talon and Hex, and she was smiling down at her phone. She was typing away a message for someone, perhaps her brother or another friend of hers. Imagine Talon's shock when instead she showed him the message - one meant for him.

Her friendly demeanor after such a violent display between the two of them touched Talon. He was at a loss for words that she would go the extra mile in order to attempt to communicate with him. Even though he had only been a part of the team for a night, there hadn't been a moment in which someone tried to get through to him via writing or texting - instead only able to exchange small pleasantries based on missions or skills. But she was already displaying a fundamental difference in her philosophy - she was reaching out to him as if he was a person. These thoughts raced through Talon, interrupted only when Nymph took his hand in hers. He felt his face grow hot only briefly as she put her phone in his palm. He looked down at the keypad between his thumbs. Hesitated for a moment. He wrote out simply:

"Thank you."

He wasn't sure what he was more thankful for, her well wishes that he wasn't hurt, or the lengths that she had gone in order to befriend him - if that's what this was.

When she looked expectantly at the phone, Talon thought for another moment before adding another message:

":)"

He immediately felt stupid. What was wrong with him? Was he blowing it already? What should he say to a girl like this? His teammate, now his friend, formerly his opponent? He wondered if he was looking as foolish as he felt. Luckily, she asked if he and Hex wanted to finish watching the fight between the others. Talon was grateful for the distraction. The fight itself didn't last much longer, and Talon himself was surprised to see that Cybergirl seemingly came out victorious.

As the two teammates walked off the training grounds and towards the others, Talon felt himself grow irritated. How could Rain have been defeated? And by someone with such amateurish tactics? Was it possible that Talon had overestimated Rain's abilities? Or was Cybergirl and the others just that strong? And if Rain was stronger than Talon was - what good would Talon be on the team? He handed Nymph her phone back without another glance and approached Rain. He could feel himself getting angry, like the old days.

"You lost. Were you pulling your punches?"

Location: Happy Harbour
Interactions: Talon

---

Viktor's eyes shifted to Talon as he abruptly walked up and addressed his loss to Alisa. His expression remained neutral, but he found Talon's interruption slightly rude. And so, he did not answer immediately. Instead, Viktor reached down to grab his shirt to place it back on. He was not fond of Talon's approach, but he wouldn't escalate the bit of tension he could feel between them. Speaking his thoughts to someone he considered to be his peer was the best action.

"You're too focused on the wrong things. In this, winning and losing are nowhere near as important as what could be learned of our teammates' abilities." Viktor said evenly. He might have left things at that, but pride nipped at him. "I lost, and you won, yes. And if I pulled my punches, does that mean you went all out? Against her?" His eyes fell on Daphne briefly before returning to Talon.

---

Pulling one's punches, a concept Casper was somewhat unaware of. Magic functioned along another set of rules than physical combat. Zatanna had taught the boy how to focus his dark spells into less lethal effects, but taking it further than that was still an impossibility. How would it go if he fought his teammates? One that wasn’t Alisa. What would they do if struck by the Necrotic forces running through Hex? Learned paralysis was imminent, which was a better outcome than death, naturally. If truth was to be told, he did not particularly enjoy sparring. Perhaps a ridiculous point to present, but equally so, Casper was quite afraid of his magic coming in contact with Black Canary. Necromancy wasn’t a whimsical force, it wasn’t flashy magic causing superficial injuries and prompting quips in return. It was death magic, the darkest spellcraft yet presented. Following his recruitment by Zatanna, Hex had deliberately chosen to avoid delving into the physical side of Necromancy. Blood, flesh, decay, and bones. Where Casper was able to alter his soul magic into less fatal results, the same could not be said of the other aspect. Pulling his punches, as Viktor and Talon had stated, was not an option.

In a way, Casper was going against his nature every single time he denied himself the deadly touch of Necromantic chaos. A sword swung and still sheathed. Yet, the boy’s mother congratulated him for this.

’Your powers are your own. Wield Death as you see fit.’

Clenching his teeth, Casper averted that phantasmal gaze. How long until this argument was aimed at him? If the Wraith’s father witnessed this, a boy suppressing his magic, extreme disappointment would soon follow. However, that begged the question. Why on earth would Hex care? His father had plunged a dagger into the Wraithborn’s heart, robbed him of life, and replaced every fiber of Casper being with the element of death. Hex recalled once coming across a peculiar title in regards to his species. An elemental. A Death Elemental.

.̷̨̙̠̫͇͛.̷̫͇͔͝͠.̸̜͕̲̀̀̌̈́.̴̤̠̅͋̚.̴̡̳͕̞͕̿̌͝.̵̧͗́͆.̸̲͈͚͉͕̌͗.̶̦͕̃͗̒

A brief moment passed alongside a flinch, the grass beneath Casper’s feet withering to dust, wind soon sweeping faded particles into the air. He was lost in thought again, darkness penetrating his mind with results seeping onto the surface. ”S-sorry..,” the ghostly boy stuttered, fumbling back somewhat as large, spectral orbs swept across his teammates.

“Dude, you messed up the grass!” Coal exclaimed, flying atop Casper’s head, beady eyes narrowed at the small patch of dead vegetation beneath the Wraith.

”I didn’t mean to..,” Hex returned, a mellow expression presenting itself upon his face.

“You’ve been off your game for a while now, something’s up.” The crow challenged, its beak lightly hitting Casper on the forehead.

A momentary slip-up, a brief second of losing control. ’What if that was a teammate?’ Hex clenched his fist, the boy’s claws nearly digging into his flesh. Talon had hurt Daphne because he lost control. Viktor was present enough to maintain it. Was Casper? Turning his attention towards the other group, Hex hoped for this sparring session to reach its conclusion. Something was in his head, and while ignoring it was far better than chasing after the spectral chimes ringing within, he was starting to feel himself grow more susceptible to insecurity. Something was attempting to push him in the direction he had so vehemently opposed. ”I’m just tired..,” a lie, and a bad one, but Coal knew better than to make a scene in front of the others. Very specific circumstances were required for Casper to grow fatigued, mainly attempting to reach beyond his current capabilities, and that certainly had not transpired, yet.

S E C R E T S A N C T U A R Y

---

Black Canary stood with her arms crossed, observing Cybergirl and Rain's sparring session. Cybergirl won and the Leaguer found herself smirking inwardly. She wasn't supposed to be smug, but she still loved it when one of the girls could beat the guys because they underestimated her. She observed Rain's concern and made a mental note of it, he wasn't as tough as he made himself out to be. So Batwoman was right about him.

"Alright team assemble here"
She waved them over to her, waiting until they were all gathered together before continuing. Looking at each of their faces she started to speak.
"Good work today, I've seen some of you crossing their boundaries, adaptability and concern for your fellow team members. Well done Rain, Talon, Hex, Cybergirl and Nymph"

As a teacher she couldn't be more pleased. There was certainly room for improvement, but this was a great start. She put her black jacket back on and got ready to give her team instructions.
"Dinah, you gave me a team of slugs, they're still on the first obstacle"
The annoyed voice of Green Arrow complained through her ear piece. Black Canary sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"You've got to be kidding me...."

She looked at her watch, they were about half an hour into training. Maybe they were having trouble with the wall? In any case, she wasn't going to let her team wait.
"Do you want me to give them some incentive?"
Dinah didn't like Ollie's tone, she knew that was going to end up making this worse.
"No Ollie, just let them figure things out on their own"
Dinah looked over at the forest where the obstacle course was located. Knowing Green Arrow he was probably hauled up in a tree somewhere taking a nap. He was never really a morning person.

"Alright here's wha..."
Black Canary was again distracted. This time by Hex who's powers seemed to be malfunctioning in a disturbing manner. Her eyes narrowed at the patch of dead grass and the particles floating in the sky around them. She positioned herself in front of the team in a protective manner.. Zatanna had given her the basics of Hex's powers, so she knew what the team was getting itself into. Along with that she'd given her a fair warning of it's potential danger.
"Hex, take back control...now"

Usually she ignored the crow, but she caught on to what he was saying and it was worrying. She wasn't satisfied with Hex's answer, but she let it slide for the moment. She was pretty sure a simple sparring session would not have tired him out. Keeping Hex in her peripheral vision she laid down the rules to her team.

"Seeing as your other team members haven't crossed the first obstacle yet this is your chance to show them how it's done. You'll be starting on the opposite end of the obstacle course."

Black Canary led the team through a different path in the forest, avoiding the first group so they could reach the end of the course, which would be their starting point.

"As far as handicaps go, Talon you can only take one piece of equipment with you, Hex you can only teleport a maximum of two meters in front of you and finally only Nymph is allowed to speak"

She was aware the sparring session had left a lasting impact on Nymph. This would add yet another layer of pressure to the situation. Dinah wanted to see how she would react. The fact that she had a breakdown wasn't unexpected, what surprised her was her resilience. She approached her former sparring partner not with fear, but compassion. The Martian Manhunter was right about her.

"Good luck"

Dinah stood a little ways away from the five tires, waiting for the team to start figuring out what they were supposed to do with them. Five short poles were hammered into the ground a good distance away from the tires. They were tall enough for one tire to be flipped on top of them, with the pole coming through the round opening.

---------------------

Talon's eyes narrowed. Rain had dismissed his concern with hardly a second glance. His insinuation about whether or not he had taken it easy on Nymph burned behind Talon's eyes. His met Rain's. Sized him up. In a previous life, Talon would immediately resort to violence in such a situation as this - easier than dealing with whatever it was that was really bothering him. He had to fight the desire to lunge at Rain already.

"What use would be we to each other if we held back?"

Talon pointed at Rain, emphasizing his point as he felt his frustration grow at being patronized. If anyone ever went easy on him, he'd take it as the greatest possible insult - he refused to be pitied.

"Try something like that with me, and I'll make you regret it." Talon spat through gritted teeth. He stepped closer to Rain, glaring at each other all the while. Just when the tension was becoming unbearable, Black Canary called out to them. The next training session was to begin - they would be making their way through the obstacle course - starting from the opposite end of the other teammates. Talon broke his eye contact with Rain in the interim and looked over to the others when he witnessed the black energy coming off of his teammate Hex. Talon felt a chill throughout him he didn't care for, felt himself shiver half a moment as the grass at the young boy's feet decayed and died.

What a frightening gift the boy had.

Feeling himself still seething at the exchange with Rain, Talon stepped backwards from the group, letting the others - like Nymph - take charge of the first round of the obstacle course...

---

Kila’s arms crossed watching the Tamaranean dismantle the wall. As time ebbed on, the absurdly young veteran bounced on his feet. He seemed to have an anxious spirit within. Granted, it wouldn’t be a wrong guess to a certain extent. When obstacle courses, or really when tasks were assigned to his team in the past, laziness was not tolerated. Sluggishness was punished, deadlines were to be met. Missions had time frames to be completed in, even if one was doing something that was a lynchpin to success and waiting was part of it, the others had other tasks.

Standing here, though, with no task other than to do so, ate at Kila. His Amai said that these people of the Justice League were nothing like the BSF but he did not care to find out. He was at least trying to remember what his plan was before the strange power took control of him moments ago. Nothing he could recall ever threw him off that abruptly in his life. Regardless, it seemed to slowly come back, though he hadn’t quite remembered the specifics. Thus, once Aleen’a created the pathway and stepped through, Kila was right on her heels.

”Thank you, Princess.”

Once through and able to see the rest of the course, Kila felt better about their chances. Though, that’s when the corner of his vision caught sight of the other squad walking off. To think that they were still on the first obstacle while the other team had finished sparring made the pins that settled in his chest worse.

The monkey bars were simple and needed no description. Thus, Kila started from a jog that became a sprint. His hair briefly flew behind his head, eyes focused on the center prongs of the monkey bars. Once near to the pit, Kila jumped. Making it about halfway, he grabbed onto one of the middle bars. However, he didn’t wait long, using his momentum to his advantage swinging forward. His flight would have cleared the remaining amount of a gap, but he instead extended his leg in front of him. Timing his movement below the spaces between in each bar, he hooked his leg to the last prong and swung himself up to sit atop of it.

Pushing himself up to a balanced standing position he looked at the last bit of the course directly. Kila took particular note of the pit with seemingly no way across. While he gambled mentally about whether he could make the jump or not, he knew that would be of no use to his teammates. While he thought about how they all could get across, Kila looked down at the monkey bars he was standing on, tapping his foot against them. The Meta had an idea. Hopping down, he backed away from the ladder, watching their progress while approaching the next.

”Come on Speech Devil! I need you on this side.”

---

Daphne still felt sick to her stomach after watching the sparring session between Cybergirl and Rain. She had a troubled look on her face while she stood together with her team. Adding to that was the building tension between Rain and Talon. She didn't understand where it was coming from. Talon was upset Rain "let" Cybergirl win, but Daphne agreed with Rain. It wasn't about winning or losing. It was a training exercise. When Talon stared Rain down, Daphne felt herself getting anxious, heat rising to her cheeks and her skin prickled. Her eyes went back and forth between them, to predict what was going to happen. She didn't really feel like getting in between them, but her desire to keep them from fighting each other was stronger. Luckily she didn't have to intervene. Black Canary started to explain their next course of action, literally, because they were also going to the obstacle course.

She followed the blonde Leaguer into the forest alongside her team. The nerves were getting worse, if this was anything like the sparring sessions this was not going to be easy. Daphne figured a distraction would be good so she walked up to Alisa, tapping her on the shoulder lightly to get her attention. She had a soft smile ready for when Alisa turned to her, which was oddly at ends with what she was about to say.

"You know you really freaked me out back there, I thought you well....you know" She couldn't even bring herself to say it. Daphne touched Cybergirl's shoulder. Through the fabric of Cybergirl's clothes Daphne could feel the cold surface of her skin, she logically didn't have any body heat. Even though she knew that, it was still unsettling to experience it with her own senses. Instead of sap or blood Alisa was being kept alive by eletricity, light in a sense. Someone filled with light. She for sure had the personality to match. Daphne wanted to chat some more with Alisa, but before she could say something else Black Canary started to explain their limitations for the obstacle course.

Daphne listened attentively and started to panic inwardly when she heard hers. She was the only one allowed to talk.....
She had to process the gravity of that limitation for a second. That would mean....
Oh this was going to be so bad. She sighed feeling incredibly reluctant and dragged herself towards the rest. Black Canary left them standing at a set of five tires without any explanation of what they were supposed to be doing. Daphne didn't want the nerves to get to her. She tried to calmly assess their first obstacle but in the back of her mind she kept thinking how everyone was going to look at her. Thinking about it made it feel like they were staring and suddenly she was too nervous to look at any of her team members.

"Well okay so...." She started quietly. Daphne looked around to see if the others were looking into her direction. Rain had the same blank expression on his face he usually had, and for some reason it made her more nervous now. Instinctively her hair started to move to shield her face away from the prying eyes of the group. Daphne waved it away impatiently, blowing out an irritated breath.
Alright time to focus.

She put her hands on her hips so she wouldn't fall back into crossing them in front of her body, breaking her protective posture. Forcing herself to stay in this open position cleared her mind. Daphne looked at the tires and the path ahead, a good distance away she spotted a set of poles. Five each, the same amount as the tires. They were lined up straight across of each one. Her brows furrowed together in thought while she tried to figure this out. Was it as simple as it looked or?

Daphne walked up to the first tire to look at it up close. It wasn't just a regular car tire, these were the huge ones they used in physical training. They had deep ridges and were not as easy to roll, because they were going to fall of to one side due to their weight. Her first thought was to have someone help her set it up straight so she could push it herself, but that probably wouldn't work. She would end up needing Cybergirl's or Rain's strength to set it upright again. They were going to need to depend on them for this. She wasn't strong enough to flip a tire, neither was Hex and Talon she wasn't sure of.

She went back to the team, gathering up the courage to speak. Daphne didn't look directly at both Rain and Cybergirl, despite the latter being less intimidating.
"I think we need to flip those tires and put them on the poles on the other end, but I'm not strong enough to move them"
Daphne hesitated, realizing how dumb she must sound. Obviously she wasn't strong enough to lift the tires, anyone could see that.

---

Take control. Yes, retain stability. Closing his eyes, Casper allowed a moment to pass, an attempt at regaining calm. The deathly creature was known for it, after all, for his immovable sense of apathetic balance. It had been momentarily shaken, insecurity confiscating what had once been a sense of confidence. Lowering his gaze to the proof of his lapse in stability, Hex was reminded of a chilling fact. This was the result of his failure to remain calm. Death. ”It won’t happen again..,” Casper stated quietly, his body tensing at Black Canary’s words. Quietly, the boy followed as they had started towards the obstacle course. Good, he required a distraction.

It was a fair limitation placed on him, one he could appreciate. Casper’s ability to teleport required situational awareness. He needed to have view of where he was manifesting, or an understanding of the surrounding area. This would not always be the case, which limited his ability to teleport, forcing short-distance movements. However, another aspect that had been placed upon the group caused the Wraith to shift his gaze, eyes landing on Daphne. An interesting contrast from what one would have suspected. She was the leader, now. She was the only one with a voice.

Were Talon and Viktor going to be okay with this development? Indeed, it did not require an assassin’s training in body language to see Daphne’s nerves at play. She was scared, anxious, and insecure. If something went wrong, she as the leader was the blame. Her instructions were going to push them forward, and she had never asked for this responsibility. Never, throughout his life, had Casper taken on the role of caretaker, or older brother, but if memory served, Daphne was amongst the youngest in their group. Sixteen, if he wasn’t mistaken.

A clawed hand extended, gently landing atop the girl’s shoulder. Though an otherwise mellow expression constantly remained upon Hex’s features, the boy had set aside his own demons to instead focus on his friend. Their leader.

’Not every issue can be solved with a spell, Casper.'
’Sometimes, you just need to believe in your friends.’

While Zatanna’s words had appeared distant, almost alien at the time, they were now applying in ways Hex could never anticipate. He did care. He did have friends, albeit a slowly growing development, and he did have what amounted to a circus of a family.

Affording the girl a soft smile, Casper’s claws gently squeezed her shoulder. There was pride in his approach, a smile that indicated more than words ever could. ’You’ve done good.’ It was soon followed by a nod, Hex’s attention moving towards Alisa and Viktor, the first two with assignments to complete.

---

---

A small smile replaced Alisa’s ashamed expression. Viktor didn’t seem shocked- he seemed intrigued. She had been worried for a moment there- his brows had narrowed as though he disliked her explanation. “I’d like that a lot,” she told him. “Maybe catch me later and we can talk. I don’t mind explaining, and it would be great to learn some more.” While Alisa didn’t desire to fight, she would have to while she was stuck in this role. She far preferred being useful and a good teammate over refusing to learn and being a burden.

Before Viktor got a chance to respond, Talon approached them. Did he sound… angry at Viktor? For “holding back” in their spar? Alisa frowned. She had won fair and square! It had been because of her tactics that she had won, not Viktor taking it easy on her. She was about to say so when Viktor started talking, and then Talon… woah.

Alisa’s eyebrows climbed up high into her forehead. Seriously? Threats? Despite herself, she felt a bit scared of Talon at that moment. He clearly had a temper, and given that they were superheroes… well, he probably had a skillset to back that temper up. It was such a little thing to get mad about, too, and while it wasn’t directed at her, it was certainly a bit disconcerting. They were a team. From what Cyborg had told her, a superhero team was supposed to be friendly, if not friends with each other. She shot Viktor a concerned glance from where she was standing next to him.

There was certainly a fight brewing here, but before it could escalate, Black Canary announced what they would be doing next- joining the others on the obstacle course! Alisa smiled. That sounded like a fun game. Unfortunately, only Daphne could speak, which would make it a bit hard, but still! Fun! This was much better than beating each other up. Alisa followed the rest of her teammates to the obstacle course.

While they were walking, there was a tap on her shoulder. Alisa turned around to see… Daphne! She grinned broadly. She had been wanting a chance to talk to the other girl, but she hadn’t yet gotten one. She laughed lightly at what Daphne had to say and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. It was sweet of you to worry, but I’m a lot more durable than, well… you and Talon. I don’t go down easily.” Before Alisa could get a chance to elaborate further, they arrived.

Before they started, however, Alisa wanted to do something. With a significant amount of trepidation, she walked up to Talon and tapped him on the shoulder. She didn’t want things to go sour between him and Viktor later because of Viktor and her’s fight. “Hey,” she started, awkward, in a quiet tone. “Don’t be angry at Viktor for “pulling his punches” or anything. I don’t even think he did, but even if that did happen, I didn’t win because of that. I won because he underestimated or forgot or didn’t know my physiology and thought oxygen deprivation would kill me. So please chill out. Okay? We’re all friends and teammates here, I promise.” She smiled broadly at him as she finished, and then walked off.

Without waiting for a response, Alisa walked off. She gave Daphne an enthusiastic thumbs-up and a smile- she couldn’t talk, after all- and waved Viktor over so they could start lifting the tires onto the poles. Alisa picked up one with only a little difficulty, flipped it, dragged it over to the pole, and set it down. They were heavier than they looked, but not too heavy.

Location: Happy Harbour
Interactions: Team Canary

---

As calm as Viktor may have seemed during their interaction, he felt as if every cell in his body wanted him to engage Talon. A friendly rivalry that sparked competition spoiled into something more hostile. What kept him from striking? An unfavorable outcome or was he waiting for his rival to strike first? His cold gaze lined up with Talon's fiery glare.

Even when Black Canary initially spoke, he remained in place. Talon as he presented himself at this moment, deserved his full attention. His eyebrows furrowing slightly was the only visible sign of aggression from Viktor, but it was noticeable due to how neutral his expression normally was. For you, I'd give my all. He kept his thoughts to himself... for now. This was not the time nor the place.

It wasn't until limitations were stated, that Viktor turned to face Black Canary. One piece of equipment… 2 meters of teleportation… Nymph is the only one who may speak… Hmm. His eyes looked upon Black Canary, wondering how she came up with such odd limitations.

"Black Canary. You will not hear me speak until after we clear this course, but I must tell you that even with these limitations, our team will impress you." Viktor challenged.

"Big talk for someone who lost their match. But I like it, I have faith in this group." Viktor's right eye twitched at the first part of the comment before turning away. He nodded to himself before focusing back on the team. He was beginning to believe he was being perceived as weak.

Daphne being the only one who could speak meant she would be calling the shots for the team… False. Her nervousness under his stare and the timid way she addressed the team, gave him little confidence in her ability to lead. Alisa waved him over towards the tires, and he followed, but Viktor didn't touch a tire until he saw her method. He watched as she flipped the tire until she reached the pole on the other end of the grassy field. That is… a way. He frowned and shrugged before clapping his hands rapidly towards Alisa followed by abruptly holding a single opened hand forward, almost as if telling her to stay put.

He lifted a tire upright, crouched behind it while placing his hands on the grooves, and then sent it rolling quickly towards Alisa. He knew her strength so he was sure she could stop it and place it on a pole on the side she was now standing on. Once Alisa got the tire in place, he would grab a second tire and do the same action. He'd continue until the four tires were rolled across to Alisa. This is my way.

Location: Obstacle Course
Interactions: Team Arrow

---

Aleen'a kept at it, making more and more of a dent in the wall. Ja had wandered off at some point and now returned and offered his own analytical take on the wall. Huh... he sure seemed different today. There was something going on there. He'd seemed friendly enough yesterday, but had turned around and been pretty hostile to Zach this morning. Felix shrugged, writing it off as the other young man having a serious game face.

He was right about the wall though. Aleen'a had basically already made the decision for them. Felix just took a few steps back to watch. He wasn't about to get hit by any falling material, or worse crushed by a crumbling wall. He watched the alien with awe as she wailed on the wall. Felix's own knuckles almost ached with the sound of each thud, but she just went at it like one of them might go at a punching bag. Even when the dust obscured her, they could hear her consistent punches. He grew restless, just waiting on her and he and the other Felix started cheering her on.


"Let's go princess! Wreck that kliz!"

Soon enough she'd succeeded in making them a passage through the wall. Felix looked at the structure, his mind full of images of crumbling buildings. He quickly rushed through the hole after Aleen'a and Ja. The other boy outpaced him easily, and before Felix knew it, he was on the other edge of the monkey bars. Felix whistled, watching him effortlessly swing himself up to the top of the bars.

Felix followed right after him, making his way across. Nothing so fancy but he steadily and quickly made his way from one end of the monkey bars to the other. He sighed, wishing he could be recording this. He swung his way into a small leap off the last bar and landed on his feet facing the next pit. Yeah, it was time for Zach to do something it seemed.

--

Felix hung playfully from one bar where he'd stayed behind at the first end of the monkey bars. "You catch that, Speech Devil?" he said to Zach, "You're needed. Hope Ja's idea doesn't involve a string of hankies huh?" He shifted to hang on his other arm. "Gotta get over there first. You need any help? I think Aleen'a here can carry all of us on her back if we ask real nice." The instincts of a cocky teenager took over and he subconsciously began doing a few pull-ups. "I mean, I could try too if you want. I could get us halfway across before we fell. Would make a good story." Really, he knew he wasn't needed here. But if he was going to stick around he had to do something, and heckling Zach was a fun something.

---

Before Talon had stepped away from the others, Cybergirl had tapped him on his shoulder. “Don’t be angry at Viktor for “pulling his punches” or anything. I don’t even think he did, but even if that did happen, I didn’t win because of that. I won because he underestimated or forgot or didn’t know my physiology and thought oxygen deprivation would kill me. So please chill out. Okay? We’re all friends and teammates here, I promise.” She smiled at Talon as she finished and then abruptly turned face and left him, quickly catching up to Nymph and exchanging words. Talon had heard what she had said, but didn't know if he agreed with her. He didn't know the sort of strength that Rain was capable of, but something was nagging at Talon regardless. But he did agree with Cybergirl about one thing - they were teammates. Or at least, were supposed to be. And that meant being honest with each other. And when you're honest with someone all the time, you can't always be nice.

Talon unhooked the utility belt from around his waist and handed it to Black Canary, but not before removing a black buckled object with two prongs on the end of it - a previous version of a Batrope that Nightwing had given him during a patrol in Bludhaven. He unstrapped the gauntlets he wore and dropped those to the ground, landing heavily with a thud. He felt lighter already - knew that his own physical conditioning would be the only thing he could contribute to the current obstacles. He'd have to rely on the others for their enhanced strength - those being Cybergirl and Rain. He wondered if Hex was able to utilize his abilities in a way that would increase his strength. As Talon looked over Hex, he wondered about the boy. The sparring session he had with Black Canary did not seem to have really hurt him, but his dejection afterwards and his spilling of decaying energy were disconcerting. Was he feeling alright? Talon approached the spread of dead grass that had wilted at Hex's feet. Dug his fingernails into the dirt. Surprisingly, it also gave way - the soil itself grown softer from whatever it was that emanated out of the ghost. He brushed the dirt from his fingers and got up off of his haunches, rejoining the others.

Their new instructions included the caveat that only Nymph was able to speak to the others. Talon was perfectly okay with that. He wondered if he'd be able to take orders from the others, then quickly shook the thought from his mind. Cybergirl was right, the team would require cooperation, and he'd give it. Luckily, non-verbal communication was something that Talon himself was really comfortable with. Happy enough to sit back for the first challenge, Talon watched as Rain and Cybergirl took the initiative of rolling the giant wheels into their necessary locations. Talon watched as they tried to speak to each other without speaking. Felt familiar.

Once Aleen’a burst a hole in the wall, Kassandra climbed through after some of the others. She brushed the grit from her uniform and hair, and frowned as she noticed the other set of trainees being led to the other side. Had they finished sparring already? She felt a little burst of frustration. They had definitely been meant to go over the wall, and a lot faster, too.

She looked at the monkey bars with unfamiliarity. What exactly were they meant to do here? However, Kila inadvertently showed her the way as he jumped and leapt across them with ease. She felt like applauding somewhat. It had been a very graceful display. She inhaled, then took off running. While no one was going to call her a speedster, she wasn’t exactly slow. Kassandra leapt and hit the first bar hard, her palms clanging against the metal. A quick-timed release had her on the next and onward, but she nearly ran out of steam by the end. She started to swing back and forth to get more momentum.

“This is-” She grunted as she swung, further and further with each repetition. “Harder than it looks!” She finally leapt for the last bar, catching it just barely with her fingertips and then dropping to the other side. “You are very nimble, Kila.”

She turned to watch the other team rolling massive tires. Part of her wanted to continue on, but they were supposed to be a team, right? She stayed put, wondering if they were also going to spar with each other when this was finished. That tiny, dark friend in her head whispered the hope that she'd be paired against Zachary.

Location: Happy Harbor, Obstacle Course
Interactions: Kila @DClassified Felix @Prints Avoid

Zach grined and gave Aleen’a a thumbs up gesture as she busted through the wall with ease, and the group climbed through the resulting hole. Zach dusted himself off. That was a lot easier than having to climb that 12 foot monstrosity.

The next obstacle was a set of monkey bars over a large hole in the ground. On there own, not really an issue. Zach had played on monkey bars when he was kid. Or at least tried to. Sometimes jerks thought it would be funny to push him off. That ruined his recess, and he’d spend the rest of the time reading books on the playground.

Kila showed everyone up by jumping and leaping across the bars with easy. Then he called him over, referring to him as a Speech Devil Zach raised an eyebrow. ”Is he talking to me?” Honestly, it wasn’t the worst name he had ever been called.

Zach just rolled his eyes at Felix’s attempts at being funny. Honestly, how did this guy have almost as many subscribers as he does. Still, he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of getting upset. “As much as I would love to be carried in your sexy arms, I got this. Maybe next time.” He blew the boy a kiss and made his way across the bar while angrily mumbling to himself. “Idiot…”

He eventually made his way to where Kila was standing. A bit winded from going across those bars, but otherwise fine. Nearby, there was another large hole in the ground, seemingly without any way across. Zach could easily make a bridge over this, but Kila seemed like he had other ideas. ”So, what’s your big idea now Kitty Cat?”